AMD Radeon R7 M460 vs NVIDIA Quadro M5000M Comparison

The AMD Radeon R7 M460 and NVIDIA Quadro M5000M represent two very different mobile GPU tiers, with the benchmark data revealing a decisive performance gap. In the only directly comparable compute test, the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark, the Quadro M5000M delivers a score of 22,920, which is a staggering 71.2% higher than the Radeon R7 M460's score of 6,612. This single head-to-head result sets the tone for the entire comparison, showing that the Quadro is in a completely different performance class, despite both cards being end-of-life products. The data shows a clear hierarchy, with the Quadro's raw compute power dwarfing the entry-level Radeon.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The sole head-to-head benchmark in the data is Geekbench OpenCL, and it is not a close contest. The NVIDIA Quadro M5000M scores 22,920, while the AMD Radeon R7 M460 scores 6,612. This represents a delta of -71.2% for the Radeon, meaning the Quadro is more than three times faster in this compute workload. This is a massive gulf, indicative of the fundamental architectural and specification disparity between the two.

Delving into the relative performance context, neither GPU sits particularly high in the overall percentile rankings. The Radeon R7 M460 holds a 38th percentile rank, while the Quadro M5000M sits at the 37th percentile. This is a curious data point; despite the Quadro's overwhelming victory in the head-to-head, its average benchmark score across all its tested workloads is 6,481, which is slightly lower than the Radeon's 6,612. This is because the Quadro's average is dragged down by its low Passmark scores in specific API tests, such as its 29 score in DirectX 12 and 35 in DirectX 10. These low scores are likely a reflection of the driver and software ecosystem of a professional workstation card rather than its raw compute capability.

The Radeon's nearest rivals, based on average score, include the AMD Radeon HD 7730M with a 0.5% delta, the Intel UHD Graphics P750 with a 0.9% delta, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M with a 1.5% delta. In contrast, the Quadro M5000M's nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon Vega 10 Mobile with a 0.1% delta, NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M with a -0.2% delta, and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M with a -0.5% delta. This shows that while the Quadro M5000M's average score places it in the same performance bracket as these older or integrated parts, its peak compute score in Geekbench is far superior, highlighting the importance of workload selection when evaluating GPUs.

FAQ

Q: Based on the benchmark data, which GPU is faster in compute performance?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro M5000M is significantly faster. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, it scores 22,920 compared to the AMD Radeon R7 M460's 6,612, a 71.2% difference in the Quadro's favor.

Q: What are the key memory specification differences?

A: The Quadro M5000M has a substantial advantage, featuring 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 160.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The Radeon R7 M460 has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 64-bit bus, yielding only 36.00 GB/s of bandwidth.

Q: How do their processing core counts compare?

A: The Quadro M5000M is equipped with 1,536 shading units, 96 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 64 ROPs. The Radeon R7 M460 has just 384 shading units, 24 TMUs, and 8 ROPs.

Q: What are the power consumption differences?

A: The Quadro M5000M has a listed TDP of 100 W, while the Radeon R7 M460 does not have a TDP listed in the data. The Quadro also uses an MXM module slot and requires no power connectors.

Q: Which GPU supports a newer version of DirectX?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro M5000M supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the AMD Radeon R7 M460 supports DirectX 12 (12_0).

Q: Are both GPUs from the same manufacturing process?

A: Yes, both the AMD Radeon R7 M460 and the NVIDIA Quadro M5000M are fabricated on a 28 nm process node at TSMC.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA Quadro M5000M wins decisively in raw compute and memory-intensive workloads. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 22,920 versus the Radeon's 6,612 demonstrates a massive advantage in general-purpose compute. Its 8 GB of VRAM and 160.4 GB/s of bandwidth make it suitable for large datasets, high-resolution textures, and professional 3D modeling or rendering tasks that require substantial memory pools. The higher pixel rate of 67.26 GPixel/s and texture rate of 100.9 GTexel/s also give it a significant edge in rasterization-heavy applications.

The AMD Radeon R7 M460's "wins" are less about performance and more about its specific profile. It is a low-power, entry-level part designed for basic laptop use. While it loses on every performance metric, its primary advantage lies in its simplicity and low power draw, as implied by its lack of a TDP listing and its small 125 mm² die size. It is the type of GPU that would be found in a general-purpose ultraportable or a budget laptop for light media consumption and everyday productivity tasks, where the massive power and thermal requirements of the Quadro M5000M would be unnecessary and impractical.

Specification Differences

The specification sheet tells the story of two GPUs from different worlds. The most glaring differences are in memory and core configuration. The Quadro M5000M has 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, whereas the Radeon has 2 GB on a 64-bit bus. This leads to a bandwidth disparity of 160.4 GB/s versus 36.00 GB/s. The compute core counts are similarly lopsided, with the Quadro featuring 1,536 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, against the Radeon's 384 shading units, 24 TMUs, and 8 ROPs.

Clock speeds also differ, with the Quadro running at a base of 962 MHz and a boost of 1051 MHz, compared to the Radeon's 730 MHz base and 1024 MHz boost. The Quadro's memory clock is also higher at 1253 MHz (5 Gbps effective) versus 1125 MHz (4.5 Gbps effective). In terms of raw throughput, the Quadro's FP32 performance is 3.229 TFLOPS, dwarfing the Radeon's 786.4 GFLOPS. The bus interface also differs, with the Radeon using PCIe 3.0 x8 and the Quadro using MXM-B (3.0). The Quadro has a TDP of 100 W, while the Radeon's is not listed.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are based on fundamentally different architectures from their respective manufacturers. The AMD Radeon R7 M460 is built on the "Meso" chip using the GCN 3.0 architecture. It is part of the "Gem System (R7 M400)" generation. In contrast, the NVIDIA Quadro M5000M uses the "GM204" chip with the Maxwell 2.0 architecture, belonging to the "Quadro Maxwell-M (Mx000M)" generation. Both are built on a 28 nm process at TSMC, but the chips are vastly different in scale.

The transistor count reveals a significant complexity gap. The GM204 chip in the Quadro contains 5,200 million transistors on a 398 mm² die, while the Meso chip in the Radeon has only 1,550 million transistors on a 125 mm² die. This results in a transistor density of 13.1M / mm² for the NVIDIA chip and 12.4M / mm² for the AMD chip, indicating a more complex and dense design for the Quadro. The Radeon supports FP16 at a 1:1 ratio with FP32, while the Quadro does not list FP16 support. Both support DirectX 12 and OpenGL 4.6, but the Quadro supports a higher DirectX feature level (12_1) and a newer Vulkan version (1.4) compared to the Radeon's 12_0 and 1.2.170. The Quadro's predecessor is the Quadro Kepler-M, while the Radeon's is from the Solar System generation, showing their different lineages and target markets.