AMD Radeon R9 M360 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 records an average benchmark score of 9780, while the AMD Radeon R9 M360 scores 8129. The GTX 1070 sits in the 47th percentile of all GPUs, compared to the R9 M360's 42nd percentile.

Q: How do the two cards compare in Geekbench OpenCL performance?

A: The GTX 1070 scores 44,700 in Geekbench OpenCL versus 8,211 for the R9 M360. That is a 444.4% difference, making the GTX 1070 more than five times faster in this compute workload.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference?

A: The GTX 1070 has 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 256.3 GB/s bandwidth. The R9 M360 has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus with 72.00 GB/s bandwidth. The GTX 1070 offers quadruple the memory bus width and roughly 3.5 times the bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU supports newer API versions?

A: The GTX 1070 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The R9 M360 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. Both cards handle modern APIs, but the GTX 1070 has a higher DirectX feature level and a newer Vulkan version.

Q: What is the transistor count difference between the two chips?

A: The GTX 1070's GP104 chip contains 7,200 million transistors on a 314 mm² die. The R9 M360's Tropo chip contains 1,500 million transistors on a 123 mm² die. The GTX 1070 has nearly five times the transistor count.

Q: Are both cards still in production?

A: No. Both the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 and the AMD Radeon R9 M360 are marked as end-of-life in the database. The GTX 1070 was released on 2016-06-09, and the R9 M360 was released on 2015-05-04.

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data is unambiguous in this comparison. The GTX 1070 wins both recorded head-to-head tests, and it does so by massive margins. In Geekbench OpenCL, the GTX 1070 delivers 44,700 points against the R9 M360's 8,211 points. In Geekbench Vulkan, the GTX 1070 scores 22,121 versus 8,047 for the R9 M360. The GTX 1070 also holds the advantage in raw specification counts: 1,920 shading units versus 512, 120 texture mapping units versus 32, and 64 ROPs versus 16.

There is no workload category in the recorded data where the R9 M360 takes the lead. Its only two benchmark entries, OpenCL and Vulkan, both fall far behind. The R9 M360 does have a lower power profile in terms of unspecified TDP, but the database does not list a TDP figure for it. The R9 M360's smaller die size of 123 mm² and lower transistor count of 1,500 million suggest it targets lower-power mobile or compact desktop scenarios, but the performance gap in every measured test remains firmly in favor of the GTX 1070.

For compute-heavy tasks like OpenCL rendering or Vulkan-based graphics workloads, the GTX 1070 is the clear choice. The R9 M360's closest rivals in the database, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M at 8,135 average score and the GeForce 945M at 8,099, show that the R9 M360 sits in a much lower performance class. The GTX 1070's nearest rivals, such as the AMD FirePro W5000 at 9,803 and the Quadro M2000M at 9,832, are all within 0.5% of its average score, indicating the GTX 1070 competes in a different tier entirely.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from fundamentally different architectural generations. The GTX 1070 uses NVIDIA's Pascal architecture on a 16 nm TSMC process. The R9 M360 uses AMD's GCN 1.0 architecture on a 28 nm TSMC process. The process node difference alone explains much of the performance gap: 16 nm versus 28 nm allows the GTX 1070 to pack 22.9 million transistors per square millimeter, while the R9 M360 achieves only 12.2 million per square millimeter.

The GTX 1070's GP104 chip is physically larger and more complex. Its die measures 314 mm² and contains 7,200 million transistors. The R9 M360's Tropo chip measures 123 mm² with 1,500 million transistors. This is not just a matter of size; the GTX 1070 allocates its transistor budget across more shading units, more texture units, and more ROPs. It also runs at higher clocks: a base of 1506 MHz with a boost of 1683 MHz, compared to the R9 M360's base of 900 MHz and boost of 925 MHz.

The memory subsystems reflect different design priorities. The GTX 1070 uses a 256-bit memory bus with GDDR5 running at 2002 MHz (8 Gbps effective), yielding 256.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The R9 M360 uses a 128-bit bus with GDDR5 at 1125 MHz (4.5 Gbps effective), yielding 72.00 GB/s. The GTX 1070's memory clock is nearly double, and its bus width is double, resulting in a bandwidth advantage of roughly 3.5 times.

API support also differs. The GTX 1070 lists DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The R9 M360 lists DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. Both are modern enough for current games, but the GTX 1070 has a higher DirectX feature level. The GTX 1070 also supports newer display outputs: 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the R9 M360 has no display output details recorded.

Specification Differences

The GTX 1070 and R9 M360 differ in nearly every measurable specification. The GTX 1070 has 1,920 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The R9 M360 has 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. The GTX 1070's pixel rate is 107.7 GPixel/s versus 14.80 GPixel/s for the R9 M360. Texture rate stands at 202.0 GTexel/s for the GTX 1070 versus 29.60 GTexel/s for the R9 M360.

Compute performance follows the same pattern. The GTX 1070 delivers 6.463 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, while the R9 M360 delivers 947.2 GFLOPS. The GTX 1070 also lists FP16 performance at 101.0 GFLOPS (1:64), while the R9 M360 has no FP16 data recorded. The GTX 1070 has a TDP of 150 W with a suggested PSU of 450 W and a 1x 8-pin power connector. The R9 M360 has no TDP, power connector, or PSU data in the database.

Memory size and bandwidth are major differentiators. The GTX 1070 has 8 GB of GDDR5 with 256.3 GB/s bandwidth. The R9 M360 has 4 GB of GDDR5 with 72.00 GB/s bandwidth. The GTX 1070 uses a dual-slot cooler and measures 267 mm in length, 112 mm in height, and 40 mm in width. The R9 M360 has no physical dimensions recorded. Both cards use PCIe 3.0 x16, and both are end-of-life products.

The GTX 1070 has a launch MSRP of 379 USD. The R9 M360 has no launch MSRP recorded. The GTX 1070's predecessor is the GeForce 900 series and its successor is the GeForce 20 series. The R9 M360's predecessor is the Solar System series and its successor is Polaris Mobile. The GTX 1070 belongs to the GeForce 10-series generation, while the R9 M360 belongs to the Gem System (R9 M300) generation.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records two direct head-to-head benchmark comparisons between these GPUs. Both are compute-oriented tests, and both show overwhelming wins for the GTX 1070.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the GTX 1070 scores 44,700 against the R9 M360's 8,211. The delta is 444.4%, meaning the GTX 1070 is more than five times faster. This is the larger of the two gaps and reflects the GTX 1070's massive advantage in shading units, clock speed, memory bandwidth, and FP32 compute throughput. OpenCL workloads often scale with raw compute resources, and the GTX 1070 has 6.463 TFLOPS versus 947.2 GFLOPS.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the GTX 1070 scores 22,121 against the R9 M360's 8,047. The delta is 174.9%, meaning the GTX 1070 is roughly 2.7 times faster. Vulkan tests typically exercise both graphics and compute paths, and the GTX 1070's higher DirectX feature level and newer Vulkan version (1.4 versus 1.2.170) likely contribute to this result.

The GTX 1070 also wins on every derived metric. Its average benchmark score of 9780 is 20.3% higher than the R9 M360's 8129. Its percentile rank of 47 versus 42 means it outperforms a larger share of the GPU population. The GTX 1070's nearest rivals, the FirePro W5000 and Quadro M2000M, have average scores of 9803 and 9832 respectively, both within 0.5% of the GTX 1070. The R9 M360's nearest rivals, the GTX 950M and GeForce 945M, score 8135 and 8099, placing the R9 M360 in a much lower performance band.

The Verdict

The data presents a one-sided comparison. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 wins both recorded head-to-head benchmarks, holds a higher average benchmark score, and leads in every major specification category. The AMD Radeon R9 M360 does not win a single recorded test.

For users seeking compute performance, the GTX 1070 is the only rational choice. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 44,700 is over five times the R9 M360's 8,211, and its Vulkan score of 22,121 is nearly three times the R9 M360's 8,047. The GTX 1070 also offers 8 GB of memory versus 4 GB, and its 256.3 GB/s bandwidth dwarfs the R9 M360's 72.00 GB/s. This makes the GTX 1070 suitable for larger textures, higher resolutions, and memory-intensive workloads that would bottleneck the R9 M360.

The R9 M360 does have some redeeming characteristics, but they are not performance-based. Its smaller die size of 123 mm² and lower transistor count of 1,500 million suggest lower manufacturing costs and potentially lower power draw, though the database does not record a TDP for it. For users who only need basic 3D acceleration in a compact or low-power system, the R9 M360 might suffice. However, its 512 shading units and 16 ROPs place it firmly in entry-level territory, as confirmed by its nearest rivals in the GTX 950M class.

The verdict depends entirely on the use case. The GTX 1070 is for gamers, content creators, and compute users who need serious performance. The R9 M360 is for basic display output and light 3D workloads where the GTX 1070's larger footprint and higher power requirements would be overkill. Given that both cards are end-of-life, the GTX 1070 remains a viable used-market option while the R9 M360 is best avoided for anything beyond casual use.