AMD FirePro W4170M vs AMD Radeon R7 M445 Comparison

The AMD Radeon R7 M445 and the AMD FirePro W4170M are both end-of-life mobile GPUs built on a 28 nm TSMC process, yet they target very different segments of the laptop market. In the single head-to-head benchmark available, the Geekbench OpenCL test, the R7 M445 scores 5358 points against the FirePro W4170M’s 5034 points, a 6.4% advantage for the Radeon part. This places the R7 M445 at the 31st percentile of all GPUs, while the FirePro W4170M sits just one point lower at the 30th percentile, making the performance gap narrow in absolute terms.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The sole benchmark comparison, Geekbench OpenCL, provides a clear but limited picture. The Radeon R7 M445 wins with a score of 5358, defeating the FirePro W4170M’s 5034 by a delta of 6.4%. This is a modest but consistent victory, not a landslide. To contextualize this, the R7 M445’s nearest rivals include the Intel UHD Graphics P630 at 5370 (just 0.2% ahead of the R7) and the NVIDIA GeForce 840M at 5322 (0.7% behind). The FirePro W4170M’s closest competitors are the AMD Radeon R7 M340 at 5063 (0.6% ahead of the FirePro) and the AMD Radeon R5 M430 at 5018 (0.3% behind). Both cards are clustered within a tight performance band, where a 6.4% difference separates them but external rivals are often within 1% of either.

The R7 M445’s win comes despite having fewer shading units (320 vs. 384) and a lower base clock (780 MHz vs. 825 MHz). The advantage likely stems from its newer architecture—GCN 3.0 versus GCN 1.0—and a higher boost clock ratio (920 MHz boost versus 900 MHz), which allows it to sustain better compute throughput in the OpenCL workload. The FirePro W4170M does counter with a higher texture rate (21.60 GTexel/s vs. 18.40 GTexel/s) and more raw FP32 compute (691.2 GFLOPS vs. 588.8 GFLOPS), but the benchmark data shows that raw specs do not translate directly into a win. The R7 M445’s pixel rate is also slightly higher at 7.360 GPixel/s versus 7.200 GPixel/s, a marginal edge that contributes to its overall score.

Looking at the nearest rivals for each card reinforces the separation. The R7 M445 is positioned against integrated and older discrete parts like the NVIDIA GeForce 930A (5317, 0.8% behind the R7) and even the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M (5308, 0.9% behind, which appears anomalous given that part’s usual standing). The FirePro W4170M, meanwhile, is grouped with AMD’s own lower-tier parts like the Radeon R7 Graphics (4998, 0.7% behind the FirePro). This suggests that while the two cards are close, the R7 M445 edges into slightly faster company, while the FirePro W4170M sits at the top of a lower performance tier. No other benchmark tests were recorded for either card, so the data is limited to this single compute-oriented metric.

The Verdict

From the data alone, the AMD Radeon R7 M445 is the faster GPU in OpenCL compute tasks, winning the only recorded head-to-head test by 6.4%. Its Geekbench score of 5358 places it at the 31st percentile, and it beats its nearest rival (Intel UHD Graphics P630) by only 0.2%, indicating it is competitive with modern integrated graphics. The FirePro W4170M, scoring 5034, is effectively a wash against the R7 M340 and R7 240 (both 5063, with the FirePro 0.6% behind), meaning it is roughly a match for older discrete entry-level parts.

For users prioritizing raw compute performance in applications that leverage OpenCL, the R7 M445 is the clear pick. Its 6.4% lead is not transformative, but it is consistent and places it in a higher percentile bracket. The FirePro W4170M, despite its professional branding, offers no benchmark advantage; it trails in the only test and is also older (released 2015-04-22 versus 2016-05-14 for the R7 M445). However, the FirePro W4170M does offer double the memory bandwidth (64.00 GB/s vs. 32.00 GB/s) and a wider 128-bit bus versus the R7 M445’s 64-bit bus, which could benefit memory-intensive workloads not captured in this single benchmark. Yet, based strictly on the data presented, the R7 M445 wins on performance, and the FirePro W4170M’s only consolation is its higher texture rate and FP32 throughput, which did not translate into a higher score.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs stem from different generations of AMD’s Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture. The Radeon R7 M445 uses GCN 3.0, built on the Meso chip, while the FirePro W4170M uses the older GCN 1.0, based on the Opal chip. This generational gap is significant: GCN 3.0 brought refinements in compute efficiency and power management, which likely explains the R7 M445’s higher benchmark score despite fewer shading units. The R7 M445 integrates 320 shading units, 20 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 8 render output units (ROPs), while the FirePro W4170M has 384 shading units, 24 TMUs, and 8 ROPs. The FirePro’s higher unit counts give it a theoretical compute advantage—691.2 GFLOPS FP32 versus 588.8 GFLOPS—but the R7 M445’s newer architecture is more efficient per unit.

The transistor counts differ substantially: the R7 M445 packs 1,550 million transistors on a 125 mm² die, while the FirePro W4170M has 950 million transistors on a 77 mm² die. This yields nearly identical transistor densities (12.4M / mm² for the R7 versus 12.3M / mm² for the FirePro), indicating that the R7 M445’s larger die is used for more compute resources or architectural enhancements rather than denser packing. The R7 M445 also supports DirectX 12 at feature level 12_0, while the FirePro W4170M is limited to DirectX 12 (11_1), a notable API capability difference. Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.2.170, so software compatibility is otherwise equal.

The R7 M445 belongs to the "Gem System (R7 M400)" generation, with a predecessor of "Solar System" and a successor of "Polaris Mobile." The FirePro W4170M is from the "FirePro Mobile (Wx100M)" generation, succeeding "FirePro Mobility" and being succeeded by "Radeon Pro Mobile." These lineage differences reflect their intended markets: the R7 M445 is a consumer mobility part, while the FirePro W4170M is a professional mobile workstation GPU, though the benchmark data shows no professional-grade compute advantage in OpenCL.

Specification Differences

The specification sheets reveal several key differences beyond the benchmark scores. Memory configuration is the most striking: the R7 M445 has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 64-bit bus, yielding 32.00 GB/s bandwidth, while the FirePro W4170M has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, providing 64.00 GB/s bandwidth—exactly double. This means the FirePro W4170M can move data twice as fast, which is crucial for memory-bound professional applications, even if the OpenCL compute test favored the R7 M445.

Clock speeds are similar but not identical. The R7 M445 runs at 780 MHz base and 920 MHz boost, while the FirePro W4170M runs at 825 MHz base and 900 MHz boost. The R7 M445’s higher boost clock gives it a peak frequency advantage, while the FirePro W4170M has a higher base clock. Memory clocks are identical at 1000 MHz, with 4 Gbps effective speed. The R7 M445’s shading units (320 vs. 384) and TMUs (20 vs. 24) are lower, but its ROP count matches at 8. Pixel rates are nearly identical (7.360 GPixel/s vs. 7.200 GPixel/s), while texture rates favor the FirePro (21.60 GTexel/s vs. 18.40 GTexel/s). FP32 performance favors the FirePro (691.2 GFLOPS vs. 588.8 GFLOPS), and the R7 M445 lists FP16 at 588.8 GFLOPS (1:1), while the FirePro does not list FP16 support.

Form factor and power delivery differ: the R7 M445 is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with a slot width of "IGP" and no power connectors, while the FirePro W4170M is an MXM Module with a slot width of "MXM Module" and explicitly "None" for power connectors. Both use a PCIe 3.0 x8 bus interface and have display outputs described as "Portable Device Dependent." Neither card has a launch MSRP listed, so no pricing data is available for either part.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher Geekbench OpenCL score?

A: The AMD Radeon R7 M445 scores 5358, beating the AMD FirePro W4170M’s 5034 by 6.4%.

Q: How does the R7 M445 compare to its nearest rival, the Intel UHD Graphics P630?

A: The R7 M445 scores 5358, which is 0.2% lower than the Intel UHD Graphics P630’s 5370, making them effectively equivalent.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference between the two cards?

A: The FirePro W4170M has 64.00 GB/s bandwidth on a 128-bit bus, while the R7 M445 has 32.00 GB/s on a 64-bit bus—exactly half.

Q: Which card has more shading units and higher FP32 compute?

A: The FirePro W4170M has 384 shading units and 691.2 GFLOPS FP32, while the R7 M445 has 320 shading units and 588.8 GFLOPS FP32.

Q: Do both cards support the same DirectX version?

A: No, the R7 M445 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), while the FirePro W4170M supports DirectX 12 (11_1); both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.2.170.

Q: What are the release dates for these GPUs?

A: The R7 M445 was released on 2016-05-14, while the FirePro W4170M was released earlier on 2015-04-22; both are end-of-life.