AMD Radeon R9 M395X vs AMD Radeon RX 7800M Comparison

# AMD Radeon RX 7800M vs AMD Radeon R9 M395X

The AMD Radeon RX 7800M and AMD Radeon R9 M395X represent two completely different eras of mobile graphics. The RX 7800M is a current-generation RDNA 3.0 part built on a 5 nm process, while the R9 M395X is an end-of-life GCN 3.0 product from 2015 on 28 nm. The data shows a generational chasm: in the only shared benchmark (Geekbench OpenCL), the RX 7800M scores 120,778 versus the R9 M395X's 17,829 — a 577.4% advantage. This is not a close contest; it is a demonstration of how far mobile GPUs have advanced in less than a decade. The RX 7800M also holds a higher percentile ranking (73rd vs 71st among all GPUs), though the average benchmark scores (27,883 vs 25,891) suggest the gap is narrower in overall workloads than the single OpenCL run implies.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7800M leads with an average benchmark score of 27,883, compared to the AMD Radeon R9 M395X's 25,891. This places the RX 7800M in the 73rd percentile of all GPUs, while the R9 M395X sits in the 71st percentile.

Q: How do the two compare in the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The RX 7800M scores 120,778, which is 577.4% higher than the R9 M395X's 17,829. This is the only head-to-head benchmark available, and the RX 7800M wins it decisively.

Q: What are the memory specifications of each card?

A: The RX 7800M features 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 432.0 GB/s bandwidth. The R9 M395X has 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 160.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RX 7800M has more capacity but a narrower bus; its bandwidth advantage is 2.7 times that of the R9 M395X.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units and texture mapping units?

A: The RX 7800M has 3,840 shading units and 240 TMUs, while the R9 M395X has 2,048 shading units and 128 TMUs. The RX 7800M also has 96 ROPs versus the R9 M395X's 32 ROPs.

Q: Is the R9 M395X still in production?

A: No, the R9 M395X is listed as end-of-life, with a release date of May 2015. The RX 7800M is active and was released in September 2024.

Q: Do both cards support the same DirectX version?

A: No. The RX 7800M supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the R9 M395X supports DirectX 12 (12_0). The RX 7800M also supports Vulkan 1.4 versus Vulkan 1.2.170 on the R9 M395X.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two GPUs is fundamental. The RX 7800M uses the Navi 32 chip built on RDNA 3.0 architecture, manufactured on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It packs 28,100 million transistors into a 346 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 81.2 million per mm². The R9 M395X, by contrast, uses the Amethyst chip on GCN 3.0 architecture, fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It contains only 5,000 million transistors across a 366 mm² die — a density of 13.7 million per mm². The RX 7800M crams more than five times the transistors into a slightly smaller die, which explains its massive compute advantage.

Shader configuration reflects the architectural leap. The RX 7800M has 3,840 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, plus 60 ray tracing cores. The R9 M395X has 2,048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, with no ray tracing hardware. The RX 7800M also supports RDNA 3.0's 1:1 FP16/FP32 ratio, delivering 35.87 TFLOPS in both precision modes. The R9 M395X also has a 1:1 ratio but only reaches 2.961 TFLOPS. Pixel and texture rates tell the same story: 224.2 GPixel/s and 560.4 GTexel/s for the RX 7800M versus 23.14 GPixel/s and 92.54 GTexel/s for the R9 M395X.

Memory architecture differs as well. The RX 7800M uses 12 GB of GDDR6 at 18 Gbps effective on a 192-bit interface, achieving 432.0 GB/s. The R9 M395X uses 8 GB of GDDR5 at 5 Gbps effective on a 256-bit bus, achieving 160.0 GB/s. The RX 7800M's memory clock is 2250 MHz, while the R9 M395X's is 1250 MHz. The R9 M395X's wider bus partially compensates, but bandwidth is still 2.7 times higher on the RX 7800M.

API support is another differentiator. The RX 7800M supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The R9 M395X supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The newer DirectX 12 Ultimate feature set, including ray tracing and mesh shaders, is only available on the RX 7800M. The R9 M395X also lacks the RX 7800M's PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, using PCIe 3.0 x16 instead. Power draw differs significantly: the RX 7800M is rated at 180 W TDP, while the R9 M395X is rated at 75 W TDP.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison available is Geekbench OpenCL, and it is lopsided. The RX 7800M scores 120,778, while the R9 M395X scores 17,829. That is a delta of 577.4% in favor of the RX 7800M. To put this in perspective, the RX 7800M's nearest rivals in overall average score are the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 (27,839, only 0.2% behind) and the AMD Radeon Pro W5500X (27,973, 0.3% ahead). The R9 M395X's closest competitors include the AMD FirePro W7100 (25,856, 0.1% behind) and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT (26,011, 0.5% ahead). The 577.4% OpenCL gap dwarfs any of these inter-generation rival deltas.

Beyond the head-to-head, the broader benchmark suites show the RX 7800M's versatility. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it scores 2,994. Passmark G3D gives it 17,613, and Passmark GPU Compute gives 9,342. It also posts Geekbench Vulkan score of 126,668. The R9 M395X has no equivalent results in these tests — only Geekbench Metal (33,953) and Geekbench OpenCL (17,829). This absence of overlapping benchmarks means the head-to-head table understates the RX 7800M's dominance; the R9 M395X simply cannot run many modern workloads at comparable settings.

Average scores reinforce the gap. The RX 7800M's average benchmark score is 27,883, which is 1,992 points higher than the R9 M395X's 25,891. That 7.7% difference in average is modest compared to the OpenCL blowout, suggesting the R9 M395X holds up better in older or lighter workloads. But the RX 7800M's percentile is higher (73 vs 71), and it wins the only direct comparison available.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon RX 7800M | AMD Radeon R9 M395X |

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

| Architecture | RDNA 3.0 | GCN 3.0 |

| Process Node | 5 nm | 28 nm |

| Transistors | 28,100 million | 5,000 million |

| Die Size | 346 mm² | 366 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 81.2M / mm² | 13.7M / mm² |

| Memory Size | 12 GB | 8 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR5 |

| Memory Bus Width | 192 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 432.0 GB/s | 160.0 GB/s |

| Memory Clock | 2250 MHz | 1250 MHz |

| Shading Units | 3,840 | 2,048 |

| TMUs | 240 | 128 |

| ROPs | 96 | 32 |

| RT Cores | 60 | None |

| Pixel Rate | 224.2 GPixel/s | 23.14 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 560.4 GTexel/s | 92.54 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 35.87 TFLOPS | 2.961 TFLOPS |

| TDP | 180 W | 75 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

| DirectX | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | 12 (12_0) |

| Vulkan | 1.4 | 1.2.170 |

| Slot Width | IGP | MXM Module |

| Production Status | Active | End-of-life |

| Release Date | September 2024 | May 2015 |

Where Each One Wins

The RX 7800M wins everywhere the data can measure. In the single head-to-head benchmark, Geekbench OpenCL, it beats the R9 M395X by 577.4%. Its pixel rate is 9.7 times higher, texture rate is 6.1 times higher, and FP32 compute is 12.1 times higher. For any modern DirectX 12 Ultimate or Vulkan 1.4 workload, the RX 7800M is the only viable choice. Its 60 ray tracing cores enable effects the R9 M395X cannot process at all. The RX 7800M also has 4 GB more memory and 272 GB/s more bandwidth, which matters for high-resolution textures and large datasets.

The R9 M395X has one clear advantage: power efficiency in raw terms. Its 75 W TDP is less than half of the RX 7800M's 180 W. In a system with strict power limits, the R9 M395X draws significantly less. It also uses a 256-bit memory bus, which is wider than the RX 7800M's 192-bit bus, though this does not overcome the bandwidth deficit. The R9 M395X's MXM Module form factor differs from the RX 7800M's IGP, which means it may fit in systems designed for MXM upgrades. Its end-of-life status and 2015 release date mean it is only relevant for legacy systems or retro builds.

The R9 M395X also has a Geekbench Metal score of 33,953, which the RX 7800M does not have a comparable result for. This is a narrow niche — Metal is Apple's API, and the R9 M395X's presence there suggests it was used in Macs. The RX 7800M's benchmark suite lacks Metal entirely, so for Metal-specific workloads, the R9 M395X has at least one data point. But even in OpenCL, the R9 M395X's 17,829 is dwarfed by the RX 7800M's 120,778.

The Verdict

The data leaves no room for ambiguity: the AMD Radeon RX 7800M is the superior GPU by every measurable metric. It delivers 577.4% higher OpenCL performance, 12.1 times the FP32 throughput, and 2.7 times the memory bandwidth. It supports modern APIs like DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4, includes ray tracing hardware, and holds a higher percentile ranking. For anyone building a new system or upgrading a laptop with an IGP slot, the RX 7800M is the obvious choice. Its 180 W TDP is a consideration for power budgets, but the performance per watt is vastly better given the compute advantage.

The R9 M395X is a relic from 2015. Its 75 W TDP is its only spec advantage, and even that comes with a massive performance penalty. It is end-of-life, has no ray tracing support, and caps at DirectX 12 (12_0). For legacy systems with MXM slots that cannot accommodate the RX 7800M's IGP form factor, the R9 M395X may be the only drop-in option. But the benchmark results show it cannot compete in any modern workload. The RX 7800M wins the head-to-head, wins the average score comparison, and wins on architecture. Pick the RX 7800M unless you are constrained by a specific form factor or power envelope that only the R9 M395X fits.