AMD Radeon RX 7800M vs NVIDIA P104-100 Comparison

The NVIDIA P104-100 and AMD Radeon RX 7800M represent two very different approaches to GPU design, separated by nearly seven years of architecture evolution. The data shows a decisive performance victory for the AMD part across every shared benchmark, but the NVIDIA card still holds a niche as a specialized mining-focused product. This analysis breaks down the recorded measurements to show exactly where each GPU stands.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark results are unambiguous. The AMD Radeon RX 7800M wins all three head-to-head tests, with the NVIDIA P104-100 trailing by substantial margins. The largest gap appears in Geekbench Vulkan, where the RX 7800M scores 126,668 against the P104-100's 45,165. That is a delta of -64.3% for the NVIDIA card, meaning the AMD part delivers nearly three times the Vulkan performance. In OpenCL, the RX 7800M scores 120,778 versus 52,368, a -56.6% delta. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test shows the RX 7800M at 2,994 points compared to 1,413 for the P104-100, a -52.8% delta.

These are not marginal differences. The RX 7800M roughly doubles or triples the P104-100's output in every shared test. The smallest relative win for AMD is in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, yet even there the score is 2.1 times higher. The pattern suggests that the architectural leap from Pascal to RDNA 3.0, combined with newer memory and compute features, creates a performance chasm that clock speed alone cannot bridge.

Looking at the average benchmark scores, the P104-100 sits at 32,982, while the RX 7800M averages 27,883. Interestingly, the NVIDIA card has a higher average despite losing every head-to-head test. This occurs because the RX 7800M's benchmark suite includes additional Passmark tests with low scores (DirectX 9 at 174, DirectX 10 at 99, DirectX 11 at 176, DirectX 12 at 89, G2D at 892, G3D at 17,613, and GPU Compute at 9,342), which drag down its average. The P104-100 only has three recorded benchmarks, all of which are relatively strong for its class.

Percentile rankings tell a similar story. The P104-100 sits at the 77th percentile among all GPUs, while the RX 7800M sits at the 73rd percentile. The NVIDIA card actually ranks higher in this metric, despite losing every head-to-head matchup. This reflects the different benchmark pools and the fact that the P104-100's three scores are consistently solid, whereas the RX 7800M's Passmark results vary widely. The nearest rivals for each card confirm their positioning: the P104-100 trades blows with mobile workstation GPUs like the NVIDIA T600 Mobile (0.4% delta) and GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile (-0.6% delta), while the RX 7800M sits near desktop-class parts like the GTX 980 Ti (-0.5% delta) and Radeon Pro Vega 20 (0.2% delta).

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins in raw compute performance?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7800M dominates. It scores 120,778 in Geekbench OpenCL versus 52,368 for the NVIDIA P104-100, a -56.6% delta. Its FP32 throughput is rated at 35.87 TFLOPS compared to 6.655 TFLOPS for the P104-100.

Q: Does the NVIDIA P104-100 have any performance advantage?

A: In the recorded head-to-head tests, no. The AMD card wins all three benchmarks. However, the P104-100 has a higher average benchmark score (32,982 versus 27,883) and a higher percentile ranking (77th versus 73rd), driven by its smaller, more consistent benchmark set.

Q: How do their memory subsystems compare?

A: The RX 7800M offers 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 432.0 GB/s bandwidth. The P104-100 has 4 GB of GDDR5X on a 256-bit bus with 320.3 GB/s bandwidth. The AMD card has more capacity and higher bandwidth, though the NVIDIA card has a wider bus.

Q: Which GPU is more power-efficient?

A: The RX 7800M has a stated TDP of 180 W and uses a 5 nm process. The P104-100 has no TDP listed, but its suggested PSU is 200 W and it uses a 16 nm process. The AMD card delivers far higher performance within a defined power envelope, while the NVIDIA card's power draw is unspecified in the data.

Q: Can either card be used for display output?

A: The NVIDIA P104-100 has no display outputs, as it was designed for mining. The AMD Radeon RX 7800M's display outputs are listed as "Portable Device Dependent," meaning it relies on the host device for connectivity.

Q: How do their API feature sets differ?

A: The RX 7800M supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and includes 60 ray tracing cores. The P104-100 supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and has no ray tracing cores. Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 7800M wins in every performance category measured. It has 3,840 shading units versus 1,920, 240 texture mapping units versus 120, and 96 ROPs versus 64. Its pixel rate is 224.2 GPixel/s compared to 110.9 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 560.4 GTexel/s versus 208.0 GTexel/s. The RX 7800M also supports ray tracing through its 60 dedicated RT cores, a feature entirely absent from the P104-100. In FP16 compute, the AMD card delivers 35.87 TFLOPS at a 1:1 ratio, while the P104-100 manages only 104.0 GFLOPS at a 1:64 ratio, meaning the NVIDIA card is effectively crippled for half-precision workloads.

The NVIDIA P104-100 wins in the narrow category of mining-specific utility. Its lack of display outputs, dual-slot form factor, and 1x 8-pin power connector indicate it was built for compute farms, not gaming or workstation use. Its 267 mm length and PCIe 1.0 x4 interface suggest it was designed for simple, low-bandwidth host connections in mining rigs. The card's end-of-life production status and December 2017 release date further cement its role as a legacy product from the cryptocurrency boom era.

For gaming, content creation, or any modern workload, the RX 7800M is the clear choice. Its 12 GB VRAM capacity, ray tracing support, and DirectX 12 Ultimate feature set make it viable for current titles and applications. The P104-100, with 4 GB VRAM and no display outputs, cannot function as a primary GPU in a standard desktop or laptop without a secondary card for video output.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every measurable specification. The NVIDIA P104-100 uses a GP104 chip on a 16 nm TSMC process, while the AMD Radeon RX 7800M uses a Navi 32 chip on a 5 nm TSMC process. Transistor counts reflect this: the RX 7800M packs 28,100 million transistors versus 7,200 million for the P104-100. Die sizes are closer, at 346 mm² for AMD and 314 mm² for NVIDIA, but transistor density tells the real story: 81.2M per mm² for the RX 7800M versus 22.9M per mm² for the P104-100.

Clock speeds differ significantly. The P104-100 has a base clock of 1607 MHz and a boost clock of 1733 MHz. The RX 7800M has a lower base clock of 1295 MHz but a much higher boost clock of 2335 MHz, with a game clock of 2145 MHz. Memory clocks also differ: 1251 MHz (10 Gbps effective) for NVIDIA versus 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) for AMD.

The P104-100 uses a PCIe 1.0 x4 bus interface, which is severely limited compared to the RX 7800M's PCIe 4.0 x16. Physical dimensions differ as well: the P104-100 is 267 mm long and dual-slot, while the RX 7800M is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with no listed dimensions. The NVIDIA card requires a 1x 8-pin power connector and suggests a 200 W PSU, while the AMD card has no power connectors listed and a 180 W TDP. Production status also diverges: the P104-100 is end-of-life, released in December 2017, while the RX 7800M is active, released in September 2024.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these GPUs spans two major generations. The NVIDIA P104-100 is built on Pascal, an architecture from the mining-focused generation of 2017. It has no ray tracing cores, no tensor cores, and its FP16 capability is severely limited at a 1:64 ratio. The AMD Radeon RX 7800M uses RDNA 3.0, a modern architecture from the Navi Mobile (RX 7000M) generation. It includes 60 ray tracing cores and delivers FP16 at a full 1:1 ratio.

The memory architectures reflect their eras. The P104-100 uses GDDR5X, which was state-of-the-art for mining cards in 2017, while the RX 7800M uses GDDR6 with higher effective speeds. The RX 7800M's 12 GB capacity is triple the P104-100's 4 GB, which matters for modern game textures and compute workloads that exceed 4 GB.

The RX 7800M supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), which includes features like mesh shaders and variable rate shading. The P104-100 only supports DirectX 12 (12_1), lacking those newer features. Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4, so API compatibility is similar for older titles. The RX 7800M's predecessor is listed as Polaris Mobile, indicating it replaces an older AMD mobile architecture, while the P104-100 has no listed predecessor or successor.

The process node difference is stark: 16 nm for NVIDIA versus 5 nm for AMD. This explains the RX 7800M's ability to pack 28,100 million transistors into a similar die size while maintaining a 180 W TDP. The P104-100's 7,200 million transistors on 16 nm require a dual-slot cooler and external power, while the RX 7800M operates as an IGP with no power connectors, relying on the host device's power delivery.

The Verdict

The data points to a single conclusion: the AMD Radeon RX 7800M is the superior GPU for virtually any modern use case. It wins all three head-to-head benchmarks by margins of 52.8% to 64.3%, offers six times the FP32 compute (35.87 TFLOPS versus 6.655 TFLOPS), and brings ray tracing, 12 GB of VRAM, and DirectX 12 Ultimate support. Anyone building a gaming laptop or a portable device with discrete-class graphics should choose the RX 7800M without hesitation.

The NVIDIA P104-100 is a historical artifact from the mining era. Its lack of display outputs makes it useless as a standalone graphics card, and its 4 GB VRAM and Pascal architecture limit its relevance in modern workloads. The only scenario where it makes sense is a dedicated mining rig that already has a host GPU for display output, using the P104-100 purely for compute. Its higher average benchmark score (32,982) and percentile ranking (77th) are misleading, as they stem from a smaller, more favorable benchmark set.

For gamers, creators, or professionals, the RX 7800M is the only viable pick. For legacy mining operations or niche compute tasks that do not require ray tracing or modern APIs, the P104-100 might still serve a purpose, but its end-of-life status and 2017 release date mean support and availability will continue to dwindle. The benchmark record is clear: the RX 7800M is a modern powerhouse, while the P104-100 is a relic.