AMD Radeon R8 M445DX vs NVIDIA Quadro 4000 Comparison

The Verdict

The data presents a clear, if narrow, picture. The NVIDIA Quadro 4000 wins the only head-to-head benchmark available, a Geekbench OpenCL test, with a score of 4979 against the AMD Radeon R8 M445DX’s 4727. That is a 5.3% advantage for the Quadro. However, the context of these parts matters more than the raw delta. The Quadro 4000 is a workstation card from the Fermi era, launched in 2010, while the R8 M445DX is a 2016 integrated graphics processor (IGP) designed for laptops.

For users whose workload is defined by that single OpenCL score, the NVIDIA Quadro 4000 is the better performer. Its 29th percentile ranking against all GPUs places it just one percentile above the R8 M445DX’s 27th percentile, but it is nonetheless ahead. The Quadro 4000 also carries a 2 GB dedicated GDDR5 memory buffer with 89.86 GB/s of bandwidth, whereas the AMD part relies on system memory, making its bandwidth "System Dependent." In any task that stresses memory bandwidth, the Quadro 4000’s dedicated pool is a structural advantage.

Yet, the AMD Radeon R8 M445DX is not without merit. It is a much newer design with twice the shading units (320 vs. 256) and a higher FP32 compute rate of 653.4 GFLOPS, compared to the Quadro’s 486.4 GFLOPS. It also supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.2.170, while the Quadro is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0) with no Vulkan support listed. For a system builder prioritizing modern API compatibility in an integrated package, the R8 M445DX is the more future-proof choice, despite losing the compute benchmark.

The verdict is thus split. Pick the Quadro 4000 if the sole criterion is the measured OpenCL performance and you have a PCIe 2.0 x16 slot and a 300 W power supply. Pick the R8 M445DX if you need an IGP with no discrete power connector, modern API support, and a smaller die footprint.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations and design philosophies. The NVIDIA Quadro 4000 is built on the Fermi architecture, using the GF100 chip, fabricated on a 40 nm process at TSMC. It packs 3,100 million transistors onto a 529 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 5.9 million transistors per mm². This is a large, power-hungry discrete chip. In contrast, the AMD Radeon R8 M445DX uses the Meso chip with the GCN 3.0 architecture, built on a 28 nm process, also at TSMC. It contains 1,550 million transistors on a much smaller 125 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 12.4 million per mm² — more than double the density of the Fermi part.

The memory subsystems are fundamentally different. The Quadro 4000 has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, providing 89.86 GB/s of bandwidth. The R8 M445DX has no dedicated memory; its memory size, type, and bus width are all "System Shared," and its bandwidth is "System Dependent." This means the AMD part’s performance scales with the host system’s RAM and memory controller, a typical trade-off for an integrated GPU.

Compute resources also differ significantly. The Quadro 4000 has 256 shading units, 32 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 32 render output units (ROPs). The R8 M445DX has 320 shading units, 20 TMUs, and only 8 ROPs. The AMD part has more shaders but fewer texture and pixel processing units. Its clock behavior is dynamic, with a base clock of 780 MHz and a boost clock of 1021 MHz, whereas the Quadro 4000’s base and boost clocks are listed as null, with only a memory clock of 702 MHz (2.8 Gbps effective) specified. The R8 M445DX also supports FP16 at a 1:1 ratio with FP32, both at 653.4 GFLOPS, while the Quadro 4000 lists no FP16 capability.

The Quadro 4000 is a single-slot card with a 1x 6-pin power connector and a 142 W TDP, requiring a 300 W power supply. The R8 M445DX is an IGP with no TDP listed, no power connectors, and no suggested PSU, integrated directly onto the motherboard via an IGP bus interface. The display outputs also reflect their intended use: the Quadro offers 1x DVI and 2x DisplayPort, while the R8 M445DX’s outputs are "Portable Device Dependent."

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher Geekbench OpenCL score?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro 4000 scores 4979, which is 5.3% higher than the AMD Radeon R8 M445DX’s 4727. The Quadro 4000 wins the head-to-head benchmark.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon R8 M445DX have dedicated video memory?

A: No. Its memory size, type, and bus width are all listed as "System Shared," and its bandwidth is "System Dependent." The NVIDIA Quadro 4000, by contrast, has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 89.86 GB/s of bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU supports more modern graphics APIs?

A: The AMD Radeon R8 M445DX. It supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.2.170. The NVIDIA Quadro 4000 supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, but no Vulkan version is listed.

Q: How do their transistor densities compare?

A: The AMD R8 M445DX has a transistor density of 12.4 million per mm², while the NVIDIA Quadro 4000 has 5.9 million per mm². The AMD part is built on a 28 nm process with 1,550 million transistors, while the Quadro uses a 40 nm process with 3,100 million transistors.

Q: What is the physical form factor of each GPU?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro 4000 is a single-slot, 241 mm long card requiring a 1x 6-pin power connector and a 300 W power supply. The AMD Radeon R8 M445DX is an IGP with no slot width, length, or power connector specifications.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The AMD Radeon R8 M445DX has 320 shading units, compared to the NVIDIA Quadro 4000’s 256. The AMD part also has a higher FP32 compute rate of 653.4 GFLOPS versus 486.4 GFLOPS.

Specification Differences

The following table lists only the fields where the two GPUs differ according to the data pack.

| Field | NVIDIA Quadro 4000 | AMD Radeon R8 M445DX |

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

| Architecture | Fermi | GCN 3.0 |

| Generation | Quadro Fermi (x000) | Gem System Hybrid (Rx M400) |

| Process Node | 40 nm | 28 nm |

| Transistors | 3,100 million | 1,550 million |

| Die Size | 529 mm² | 125 mm² |

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

| Base Clock | null | 780 MHz |

| Boost Clock | null | 1021 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 702 MHz (2.8 Gbps effective) | System Shared |

| Memory Size | 2 GB | System Shared |

| Memory Type | GDDR5 | System Shared |

| Memory Bus Width | 256 bit | System Shared |

| Memory Bandwidth | 89.86 GB/s | System Dependent |

| Shading Units | 256 | 320 |

| TMUs | 32 | 20 |

| ROPs | 32 | 8 |

| Pixel Rate | 7.600 GPixel/s | 8.168 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 15.20 GTexel/s | 20.42 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 486.4 GFLOPS | 653.4 GFLOPS |

| FP16 | null | 653.4 GFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 142 W | null |

| Slot Width | Single-slot | IGP |

| Power Connectors | 1x 6-pin | null |

| Suggested PSU | 300 W | null |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 2.0 x16 | IGP |

| Display Outputs | 1x DVI, 2x DisplayPort | Portable Device Dependent |

| DirectX Version | 12 (11_0) | 12 (12_0) |

| Vulkan Version | null | 1.2.170 |

| Dimensions | 241 mm (L), 111 mm (H), 20 mm (W) | null |

| Release Date | 2010-11-01 | 2016-05-14 |

| Launch MSRP | 1,199 USD | null |

| Predecessor | Quadro FX Tesla | null |

| Successor | Quadro Kepler | null |

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The single benchmark in the data pack is Geekbench OpenCL. The NVIDIA Quadro 4000 scored 4979, and the AMD Radeon R8 M445DX scored 4727. The NVIDIA card wins by 5.3%. This is a substantial margin for a compute workload, though the absolute numbers place both in the bottom third of all GPUs.

Placing these scores in context, the Quadro 4000’s nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB, which averages 4970 — a mere 0.2% lower. The Quadro 4000 also edges out the AMD Radeon R7 M360 by 1% (4931) and sits just behind the AMD Radeon R7 Graphics (4998, -0.4%) and AMD Radeon R5 M430 (5018, -0.8%). This suggests the Quadro 4000 is a mid-pack performer in the lower percentile range, holding its own against much newer integrated and entry-level discrete parts.

The R8 M445DX, on the other hand, is closely matched with the AMD Radeon R5 M335, which scores 4752, just 0.5% higher. It also trails the AMD Radeon R5 M255 (4788, -1.3%) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB (4791, -1.3%). Interestingly, the R8 M445DX beats the NVIDIA Quadro P400, which scores 4684, by 0.9%. This shows the AMD IGP is competitive with entry-level discrete workstation cards, but its 4727 score is simply below the Quadro 4000’s 4979.

The biggest architectural wins each way are clear. The Quadro 4000’s dedicated 89.86 GB/s memory bandwidth is its key advantage; the R8 M445DX’s is listed as "System Dependent," which in a shared-memory configuration is rarely able to match a discrete GDDR5 pool. Conversely, the R8 M445DX’s higher FP32 throughput (653.4 GFLOPS vs. 486.4 GFLOPS) and better API support (DirectX 12_0 and Vulkan) mean it could outperform the Quadro in modern gaming or compute workloads that leverage those features, even though the single OpenCL test favors NVIDIA. The Quadro’s win is real, but it is a narrow one, and the AMD part’s design is demonstrably more efficient per transistor, with double the density and a much smaller die.