AMD Radeon R7 M445 vs NVIDIA Quadro 4000M Comparison

The AMD Radeon R7 M445 and NVIDIA Quadro 4000M are two mobile GPUs separated by five years of architecture design. The data shows a single head-to-head benchmark result, but the specifications reveal two fundamentally different design philosophies: one built for efficiency and modern API support, the other for raw memory throughput and professional-grade compute. The R7 M445 edges out the Quadro 4000M in raw OpenCL performance, but the older NVIDIA part holds its own in specific hardware capabilities.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The sole benchmark comparison is Geekbench OpenCL, where the AMD Radeon R7 M445 scores 5358 points against the NVIDIA Quadro 4000M's 5211 points. This gives AMD a 2.8% lead, a narrow margin that places both cards in virtually the same performance tier. The delta is small enough that real-world application differences would likely outweigh the synthetic score gap.

Context from the nearest rivals clarifies what these numbers mean. The R7 M445 sits within 0.9% of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M in average score, which is remarkable given the GTX 980M's reputation as a high-end part. On the other side, the Quadro 4000M trails the NVIDIA GeForce 940M by 1.4% and beats the AMD Radeon R7 M260X by 1%. The Quadro 4000M's nearest rival list shows it clustering with mid-range consumer parts from 2013-2014, suggesting its Fermi architecture has aged gracefully in compute tasks but not advanced significantly.

The R7 M445 also holds a 0.7% advantage over the NVIDIA GeForce 840M and a 0.8% edge over the GeForce 930A. When a modern entry-level part and a professional mobile GPU from 2011 land within 3% of each other on the same benchmark, it indicates that raw compute throughput has not scaled dramatically in this segment over the intervening years.

Architecture Differences

The R7 M445 uses the Meso chip built on GCN 3.0 architecture, manufactured on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It packs 1,550 million transistors into a 125 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 12.4 million per mm². The Quadro 4000M, by contrast, uses the GF104 chip on the older Fermi architecture, built on a 40 nm process. It contains 1,950 million transistors spread across a much larger 332 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of just 5.9 million per mm². The newer process node gives AMD a 2.1x density advantage, which explains how the R7 M445 achieves competitive performance with fewer transistors.

Memory configurations diverge sharply. The R7 M445 comes with 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 64-bit bus, delivering 32.00 GB/s of bandwidth. The Quadro 4000M has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, providing 80.00 GB/s — 2.5 times more bandwidth. This is the Quadro's single biggest architectural advantage. The R7 M445 compensates with faster effective memory speed at 4 Gbps versus 2.5 Gbps, but the narrow bus limits overall throughput.

Compute resources tell a mixed story. The Quadro 4000M has more shading units (336 vs 320), more texture mapping units (56 vs 20), and more raster output pipelines (32 vs 8). Despite fewer TMUs, the R7 M445 achieves a higher pixel rate of 7.360 GPixel/s against the Quadro's 6.650 GPixel/s, thanks to its higher clock speeds. The texture rate favors the Quadro at 26.60 GTexel/s versus 18.40 GTexel/s due to its 2.8x TMU count. FP32 performance is close: 638.4 GFLOPS for NVIDIA versus 588.8 GFLOPS for AMD, a 8.4% difference.

API support skews toward the newer AMD part. The R7 M445 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The Quadro 4000M supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, but has no Vulkan support listed. Both cards lack ray tracing and tensor cores. The R7 M445 supports FP16 at a 1:1 ratio with FP32, while the Quadro 4000M lists no FP16 capability.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The AMD Radeon R7 M445 scores 5358 points, which is 2.8% higher than the NVIDIA Quadro 4000M's 5211 points. Both cards sit at the 30th-31st percentile of all GPUs.

Q: Does the Quadro 4000M have any significant hardware advantage?

A: Yes, memory bandwidth is the standout difference. The Quadro 4000M delivers 80.00 GB/s over a 256-bit bus, while the R7 M445 manages 32.00 GB/s over a 64-bit bus. The Quadro also has 56 TMUs versus 20, and 32 ROPs versus 8.

Q: Which card supports more modern graphics APIs?

A: The AMD Radeon R7 M445 has broader support, including DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The NVIDIA Quadro 4000M lists DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6 but no Vulkan support.

Q: How do these cards compare to common consumer GPUs?

A: The R7 M445 is within 0.9% of the GeForce GTX 980M and 0.7% of the GeForce 840M. The Quadro 4000M is 1.4% behind the GeForce 940M and 1.1% behind the Quadro K3100M.

Q: What is the power draw of each card?

A: The Quadro 4000M has a TDP of 100 W, while the R7 M445 lists no TDP. The R7 M445 is an integrated graphics processor (IGP), while the Quadro 4000M is an MXM module with no power connectors required.

Q: When were these GPUs released?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro 4000M launched in February 2011, while the AMD Radeon R7 M445 launched in May 2016. Both are now end-of-life products.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon R7 M445 | NVIDIA Quadro 4000M |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | GCN 3.0 | Fermi |

| Process Node | 28 nm | 40 nm |

| Transistors | 1,550 million | 1,950 million |

| Die Size | 125 mm² | 332 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 12.4M / mm² | 5.9M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 780 MHz | — |

| Boost Clock | 920 MHz | — |

| Memory Clock | 1000 MHz (4 Gbps effective) | 625 MHz (2.5 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 4 GB | 2 GB |

| Memory Bus Width | 64 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 32.00 GB/s | 80.00 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 320 | 336 |

| TMUs | 20 | 56 |

| ROPs | 8 | 32 |

| Pixel Rate | 7.360 GPixel/s | 6.650 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 18.40 GTexel/s | 26.60 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 588.8 GFLOPS | 638.4 GFLOPS |

| FP16 | 588.8 GFLOPS (1:1) | — |

| TDP | — | 100 W |

| Slot Width | IGP | MXM Module |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x8 | MXM-B (3.0) |

| DirectX Support | 12 (12_0) | 12 (11_0) |

| Vulkan Support | 1.2.170 | — |

The Verdict

The benchmark data indicates the AMD Radeon R7 M445 is the faster GPU in raw OpenCL compute, with a 2.8% lead over the Quadro 4000M. For users who prioritize modern API compatibility, the R7 M445 is the clear choice: it supports Vulkan, a newer DirectX feature level, and FP16 compute. Its 4 GB of memory also doubles the Quadro's capacity, which matters for texture-heavy workloads that exceed 2 GB.

However, the Quadro 4000M is not obsolete by the numbers. Its 80.00 GB/s memory bandwidth is 2.5x higher than the R7 M445, which is decisive for bandwidth-bound tasks like large matrix operations or high-resolution filtering. The Quadro also has nearly 3x the texture units and 4x the ROPs, making it potentially superior in fill-rate-limited scenarios despite its lower pixel rate. Its FP32 output of 638.4 GFLOPS is higher than AMD's 588.8 GFLOPS.

The practical verdict depends on workload. For general compute and modern gaming API support, the R7 M445 wins. For memory-bandwidth-intensive professional applications, the Quadro 4000M retains a hardware-level advantage that the synthetic benchmark does not fully capture. Neither card is competitive with modern GPUs, but the R7 M445 is the better all-rounder for today's software environment.

Where Each One Wins

AMD Radeon R7 M445 wins on:

• Raw Geekbench OpenCL score (5358 vs 5211, +2.8%)
• Memory capacity (4 GB vs 2 GB)
• API support (Vulkan 1.2.170, DirectX 12_0)
• Pixel fill rate (7.360 GPixel/s vs 6.650 GPixel/s)
• Transistor density (12.4M / mm² vs 5.9M / mm²)
• Production process efficiency (28 nm vs 40 nm)

NVIDIA Quadro 4000M wins on:

• Memory bandwidth (80.00 GB/s vs 32.00 GB/s)
• Memory bus width (256 bit vs 64 bit)
• Texture fill rate (26.60 GTexel/s vs 18.40 GTexel/s)
• FP32 compute (638.4 GFLOPS vs 588.8 GFLOPS)
• Shading units (336 vs 320)
• TMUs (56 vs 20) and ROPs (32 vs 8)

For gaming and consumer workloads, the R7 M445's higher pixel rate and modern API support make it the more practical choice. For professional compute tasks that saturate memory bandwidth, the Quadro 4000M's 80.00 GB/s throughput is a tangible advantage that no benchmark score can dismiss. The data supports both conclusions without contradiction.