AMD Radeon R9 M375 vs NVIDIA Tesla M10 Comparison

The AMD Radeon R9 M375 and NVIDIA Tesla M10 are both end-of-life, 28 nm parts aimed at very different workloads, yet benchmark data shows the Radeon is surprisingly competitive in compute tasks. The R9 M375 wins both head-to-head tests, but the Tesla M10’s architecture and memory configuration tell a different story for specific use cases. Based strictly on the provided data, the Radeon edges out the Tesla in raw Geekbench scores, while the Tesla counters with a larger memory pool and higher peak throughput figures.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct comparisons available are two Geekbench compute tests, and AMD’s Radeon R9 M375 wins both. In Geekbench OpenCL, the R9 M375 scores 10457 against the Tesla M10’s 10318, a 1.3% advantage. That margin is small but consistent. In Geekbench Vulkan, the gap widens to 6%: the Radeon posts 9682 while the Tesla manages 9130. These are not landslide victories, but the data is unambiguous—two tests, two wins for the AMD part.

Context from nearest rivals reinforces the Radeon’s standing. The R9 M375’s average benchmark score is 10070, placing it in the 48th percentile of all GPUs. Its closest rival, the NVIDIA Quadro K5100M, averages 10043 (0.3% behind), while the AMD Radeon Pro 5300M sits at 10013 (0.6% behind). The only rival ahead is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950A at 10273, which beats the R9 M375 by 2%. In contrast, the Tesla M10’s average score is 9724, landing in the 47th percentile. Its closest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla C2070, averages 9716 (0.1% behind), while the GeForce GTX 1070 leads it by 0.6% with a 9780 average. The Quadro P4000 (9665) and Radeon Pro WX 2100 (9653) trail by 0.6% and 0.7%, respectively. So, while the Tesla is competitive within its own peer group, it sits roughly 3.5% below the Radeon in average score (10070 vs. 9724).

The Vulkan test is particularly telling. A 6% delta suggests the Radeon’s GCN 1.0 architecture handles Vulkan workloads better than NVIDIA’s Maxwell does, at least in this specific benchmark. The OpenCL result is closer, but the Radeon still holds the lead. If you are choosing based purely on these two numbers, the R9 M375 is the faster card.

The Verdict

From the data alone, the AMD Radeon R9 M375 is the better choice for general compute benchmarks. It wins both head-to-head tests, has a higher average benchmark score (10070 vs. 9724), and sits in a higher percentile (48th vs. 47th). The delta in OpenCL is modest at 1.3%, but the Vulkan lead of 6% is more decisive. For anyone running OpenCL or Vulkan compute tasks, the Radeon delivers more performance per benchmark point.

However, the Tesla M10 is not without merit, but its advantages lie outside the benchmark suite. The Tesla offers 8 GB of GDDR5 memory versus the Radeon’s 2 GB of DDR3, and its memory bandwidth is 83.20 GB/s compared to 28.80 GB/s. That is a massive difference—nearly three times the bandwidth—which matters for memory-bound workloads even if synthetic scores do not capture it. The Tesla also has higher pixel rate (20.90 GPixel/s vs. 16.24 GPixel/s) and texture rate (52.24 GTexel/s vs. 40.60 GTexel/s), plus a higher FP32 throughput of 1.672 TFLOPS versus 1,299.2 GFLOPS. The Tesla’s boost clock of 1306 MHz also exceeds the Radeon’s 1015 MHz boost.

So, the verdict depends on what you prioritize. If you rely on Geekbench scores as your metric, the Radeon wins. If you need more memory, higher bandwidth, or raw throughput rates, the Tesla is the stronger candidate. But strictly from the benchmark results provided, the R9 M375 is the winner.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations and design philosophies. The AMD Radeon R9 M375 uses the Tropo chip built on GCN 1.0 architecture, part of the Gem System generation (R9 M300 series). It is fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC, with 1,500 million transistors on a 123 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 12.2M per mm². The NVIDIA Tesla M10 uses the GM107 chip with Maxwell architecture, from the Tesla Maxwell generation (Mxx series). It is also on TSMC’s 28 nm node, but packs 1,870 million transistors on a 148 mm² die, for a density of 12.6M per mm². The Tesla has more transistors and a larger die, but the density is only slightly higher.

In terms of compute resources, both cards have identical counts: 640 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 16 ROPs. Neither has ray tracing cores or tensor cores. The difference lies in how those units are organized and clocked. The Radeon’s base clock is 1000 MHz with a boost of 1015 MHz, while the Tesla starts at 1033 MHz and boosts to 1306 MHz. The Tesla’s higher boost clock directly contributes to its higher pixel, texture, and FP32 rates.

Memory architecture diverges sharply. The Radeon uses 2 GB of DDR3 on a 128-bit bus, running at 900 MHz (1800 Mbps effective), for 28.80 GB/s bandwidth. The Tesla uses 8 GB of GDDR5 on the same 128-bit bus, but at 1300 MHz (5.2 Gbps effective), yielding 83.20 GB/s. This is a fourfold increase in capacity and nearly triple the bandwidth. The Tesla also supports a newer Vulkan version (1.4 vs. 1.2.170) and DirectX 12 (11_0) compared to the Radeon’s DirectX 12 (11_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6.

Specification Differences

The key specification differences are straightforward. Memory size: 2 GB on the Radeon versus 8 GB on the Tesla. Memory type: DDR3 versus GDDR5. Memory bandwidth: 28.80 GB/s versus 83.20 GB/s. Base clock: 1000 MHz versus 1033 MHz. Boost clock: 1015 MHz versus 1306 MHz. Pixel rate: 16.24 GPixel/s versus 20.90 GPixel/s. Texture rate: 40.60 GTexel/s versus 52.24 GTexel/s. FP32 performance: 1,299.2 GFLOPS versus 1.672 TFLOPS.

Power and physical specs also differ. The Tesla has a TDP of 225 W, requires a single 8-pin power connector, and suggests a 550 W PSU. It is a dual-slot card, 267 mm long (10.5 inches), and has no display outputs. The Radeon’s TDP, slot width, power connectors, suggested PSU, and dimensions are not listed in the data. The Tesla’s transistor count is 1,870 million versus 1,500 million, and its die size is 148 mm² versus 123 mm². Release dates differ: the Radeon launched on May 4, 2015, while the Tesla launched on May 17, 2016. The Radeon’s predecessor is Solar System and successor is Polaris Mobile; the Tesla’s predecessor is Tesla Kepler and successor is Tesla Pascal.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon R9 M375 has an average benchmark score of 10070, while the NVIDIA Tesla M10 scores 9724. The Radeon also holds a higher percentile rank at 48 versus 47.

Q: How much faster is the Radeon in Vulkan performance?

A: In the Geekbench Vulkan test, the Radeon R9 M375 scores 9682 against the Tesla M10’s 9130, resulting in a 6% advantage for the AMD card.

Q: Does the Tesla M10 have any memory advantage?

A: Yes. The Tesla M10 has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory with 83.20 GB/s bandwidth, compared to the Radeon’s 2 GB of DDR3 with 28.80 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU has higher peak compute rates?

A: The Tesla M10 has higher rates: FP32 of 1.672 TFLOPS, pixel rate of 20.90 GPixel/s, and texture rate of 52.24 GTexel/s. The Radeon’s corresponding figures are 1,299.2 GFLOPS, 16.24 GPixel/s, and 40.60 GTexel/s.

Q: Do both GPUs have the same number of shading units?

A: Yes, both the AMD Radeon R9 M375 and NVIDIA Tesla M10 have 640 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 16 ROPs.

Q: What are the closest rivals for each card per the data?

A: For the Radeon, the closest rival is the NVIDIA Quadro K5100M with a 0.3% delta. For the Tesla, the closest rival is the NVIDIA Tesla C2070 with a 0.1% delta.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon R9 M375 wins in benchmark scores. It leads in both Geekbench OpenCL (10457 vs. 10318) and Geekbench Vulkan (9682 vs. 9130). Its average score of 10070 surpasses the Tesla’s 9724, and it ranks higher in the 48th percentile. For any task that relies on these specific compute benchmarks, the Radeon is the faster option. The 6% Vulkan lead is especially notable for applications that leverage that API.

The NVIDIA Tesla M10 wins in memory capacity and bandwidth. With 8 GB of GDDR5 and 83.20 GB/s bandwidth, it offers four times the memory and nearly three times the bandwidth of the Radeon’s 2 GB DDR3 at 28.80 GB/s. This makes it better suited for workloads that need to hold large datasets on the GPU or that are memory-bandwidth constrained. The Tesla also has higher pixel and texture rates (20.90 GPixel/s and 52.24 GTexel/s) and higher FP32 throughput (1.672 TFLOPS vs. 1,299.2 GFLOPS), meaning raw fill-rate and compute peaks favor the Tesla. Additionally, the Tesla’s 1306 MHz boost clock is higher than the Radeon’s 1015 MHz, and its 8 GB memory is a clear advantage for multi-tenant or virtualized environments, a typical Tesla use case. The Tesla also supports Vulkan 1.4 versus 1.2.170 on the Radeon, which may matter for newer Vulkan features.

In practical terms, if your metric is the provided Geekbench scores, pick the Radeon. If your metric is memory size, bandwidth, or peak throughput, pick the Tesla. The data does not show a single overall winner, but the benchmark results favor AMD while the specification sheet favors NVIDIA.