AMD Radeon RX 560X vs NVIDIA Quadro M4000M Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a clear, though not uniform, advantage for the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M across the two benchmark tests. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the Quadro M4000M scores 19,989 points against 17,020 points for the AMD Radeon RX 560X, a delta of 17.4%. This is the larger of the two gaps and represents a substantial lead in general compute workloads that favor OpenCL execution. The Radeon RX 560X trails by nearly a fifth of its own score, which is a meaningful margin in practical terms for any application that relies heavily on this API.

The Vulkan results are much closer. The Quadro M4000M posts 20,971 points, while the Radeon RX 560X reaches 20,231 points, a delta of only 3.7%. This narrower gap suggests that the AMD card is far more competitive in Vulkan-based workloads, and the difference falls within a range that could be influenced by driver optimization, memory subsystem behavior, or workload-specific shader characteristics. Still, the NVIDIA part wins both tests, so the head-to-head record stands at 2 wins for the Quadro M4000M and 0 for the Radeon RX 560X.

Looking at the broader context from the database, the Quadro M4000M has an average benchmark score of 20,480 and sits at the 65th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile at 20,534 (0.3% higher), the Intel Arc B570 at 20,556 (0.4% higher), and the Intel Arc A750 at 20,582 (0.5% higher). The Quadro M4000M also sits just 0.9% below the AMD Radeon R9 M390X, which scores 20,662. In other words, the Quadro M4000M is effectively neck-and-neck with a group of much newer discrete and mobile graphics solutions, despite its older Maxwell architecture. Its position in the database indicates that it punches well above its generational weight.

The Radeon RX 560X, by contrast, has an average benchmark score of 18,626 and sits at the 62nd percentile. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 XT at 18,685 (0.3% higher), the AMD FirePro D500 at 18,533 (0.5% lower), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 at 18,789 (0.9% higher), and the NVIDIA Tesla K80 at 18,866 (1.3% higher). The RX 560X is therefore clustered with a mix of professional and high-end desktop parts, but its absolute position is roughly 10% below the Quadro M4000M's average score. The difference in average benchmark scores, 20,480 versus 18,626, reinforces the OpenCL result as the more representative indicator of overall compute performance between these two cards.

The Verdict

From the data, the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M is the stronger performer in both recorded test categories. It wins the OpenCL test by 17.4% and the Vulkan test by 3.7%, and it holds a higher average benchmark score, 20,480 versus 18,626. It also occupies a higher percentile rank, 65th versus 62nd, and its nearest rivals in the database are generally faster cards, whereas the RX 560X sits among a slower peer group. Anyone prioritizing raw compute throughput in OpenCL-heavy applications should choose the Quadro M4000M without hesitation.

The Radeon RX 560X is not without merit, however. Its Vulkan score of 20,231 is only 3.7% behind the Quadro M4000M, which means that in Vulkan-centric workloads the two cards are nearly interchangeable. The RX 560X also has a significantly smaller die, 123 mm² versus 398 mm², and a lower TDP of 75 W versus 100 W, so it may be the more practical choice in thermally constrained systems despite the performance deficit. Its 14 nm process node from GlobalFoundries is also more modern than the 28 nm TSMC node used by the Quadro M4000M, which contributes to its higher transistor density of 24.4M per mm² versus 13.1M per mm².

For users who primarily run Vulkan applications, the RX 560X is a viable alternative, and the small performance gap may be offset by its lower power draw. For users who need the best possible compute performance in OpenCL or who value the higher overall average score, the Quadro M4000M is the clear choice. The data does not support recommending the RX 560X for OpenCL-heavy workflows, as the 17.4% deficit is too large to ignore. The verdict is straightforward: the Quadro M4000M wins on performance, while the RX 560X offers a more efficient and compact alternative that is competitive only in Vulkan scenarios.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro M4000M has an average benchmark score of 20,480, while the AMD Radeon RX 560X has an average score of 18,626.

Q: How large is the performance gap in the OpenCL test?

A: The Quadro M4000M scores 19,989 in Geekbench OpenCL, and the RX 560X scores 17,020, giving the NVIDIA part a 17.4% lead.

Q: Is the Radeon RX 560X competitive in any benchmark?

A: Yes, in the Geekbench Vulkan test the RX 560X scores 20,231, only 3.7% behind the Quadro M4000M's 20,971.

Q: How do the two cards compare in terms of power consumption?

A: The Quadro M4000M has a TDP of 100 W, while the Radeon RX 560X has a TDP of 75 W, making the AMD card the lower-power option.

Q: What are the nearest rivals for each card in the database?

A: For the Quadro M4000M, the nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile at 20,534 (0.3% higher). For the RX 560X, the nearest rival is the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 XT at 18,685 (0.3% higher).

Q: Which card has the higher transistor density?

A: The Radeon RX 560X has a transistor density of 24.4M per mm², compared to 13.1M per mm² for the Quadro M4000M, due to its smaller 123 mm² die and 14 nm process.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every major specification category. The NVIDIA Quadro M4000M uses a GM204 chip fabricated on a 28 nm TSMC process, while the AMD Radeon RX 560X uses a Polaris 21 chip on a 14 nm GlobalFoundries process. The Quadro M4000M has a die size of 398 mm² and 5,200 million transistors, whereas the RX 560X has a die size of 123 mm² and 3,000 million transistors. This results in a transistor density of 13.1M per mm² for the NVIDIA part and 24.4M per mm² for the AMD part.

Clock speeds also differ substantially. The Quadro M4000M has a base clock of 975 MHz and a boost clock of 1013 MHz, while the RX 560X has a base clock of 1175 MHz and a boost clock of 1275 MHz. Memory clocks differ as well: the Quadro M4000M runs its GDDR5 memory at 1253 MHz with 5 Gbps effective, while the RX 560X runs at 1750 MHz with 7 Gbps effective. Despite the higher memory clock on the AMD card, the Quadro M4000M has a much wider memory bus at 256 bit versus 128 bit, giving it a bandwidth of 160.4 GB/s compared to 112.0 GB/s for the RX 560X.

The memory size is identical at 4 GB of GDDR5, but other specifications diverge. The Quadro M4000M has 1280 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, while the RX 560X has 1024 shading units, 64 TMUs, and only 16 ROPs. Pixel rate is 64.83 GPixel/s for the NVIDIA card versus 20.40 GPixel/s for the AMD card, while texture rates are nearly identical: 81.04 GTexel/s versus 81.60 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is also close, at 2.593 TFLOPS for the Quadro M4000M and 2.611 TFLOPS for the RX 560X. The RX 560X additionally supports FP16 at 2.611 TFLOPS (1:1), while the Quadro M4000M has no listed FP16 capability.

The power profile differs, with the Quadro M4000M rated at 100 W and the RX 560X at 75 W. The NVIDIA card uses an MXM Module slot width with no power connectors, while the AMD card is Dual-slot with no power connectors and a suggested PSU of 250 W. The bus interface is PCIe 3.0 x16 for the Quadro M4000M and PCIe 3.0 x8 for the RX 560X. Display outputs are portable-device dependent for the Quadro M4000M, while the RX 560X offers 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, and 1x DisplayPort 1.4a. The RX 560X has a length of 170 mm (6.7 inches), while no dimensions are listed for the Quadro M4000M.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two GPUs is substantial. The NVIDIA Quadro M4000M is built on Maxwell 2.0 architecture and belongs to the Quadro Maxwell-M generation (Mx000M). Its chip is GM204, and it is manufactured by TSMC on a 28 nm process. The architecture supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The card was released on 2015-08-17 and is now end-of-life, with a predecessor in Quadro Kepler-M and a successor in Quadro Pascal-M.

The AMD Radeon RX 560X is built on GCN 4.0 architecture and belongs to the Polaris generation (RX 500X). Its chip is Polaris 21, manufactured by GlobalFoundries on a 14 nm process. The architecture supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The card was released on 2018-04-10 and is also end-of-life, with a predecessor in Polaris and a successor in Vega.

The process node difference is significant: 28 nm for the Quadro M4000M versus 14 nm for the RX 560X, which explains the latter's higher transistor density despite having fewer total transistors. The Maxwell 2.0 architecture in the NVIDIA card is older but still achieves a higher pixel rate and a wider memory bus, which are key advantages in fill-rate-bound and bandwidth-bound workloads. The GCN 4.0 architecture in the AMD card offers newer process technology and explicit FP16 support, but its narrower 128-bit memory bus and lower ROP count limit its performance in certain scenarios. The API support also differs slightly, with the Quadro M4000M supporting Vulkan 1.4 and DirectX 12_1, while the RX 560X supports Vulkan 1.3 and DirectX 12_0.