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AMD Radeon R5 M255

AMD Radeon R5 M255

The AMD Radeon R5 M255 is an entry-level DirectX 12 graphics card for laptops, which is based on the Sun GPU (GCN architecture). The core is clocked at up to 940 MHz and the DDR3 graphics memory runs at 1000 MHz (64-bit interface).

Architecture

Compared to the Mars chip (e.g. HD 8570M), Sun offers less hardware units. The GPU integrates 320 shaders, 20 TMUs and 4 ROPs and is therefore located in the low-end segment.

Performance

The performance of the Radeon R5 M255 is similar to the HD 8500M series, e.g. the HD 8570M. Due to a slightly higher core clock, the M255 beats the R5 M230. Overall, the GPU performs a bit better than a GeForce 820M and beats Intels HD Graphics 4600. Current and demanding games of 2014 will run fluently only in low resolutions and detail settings.

The 320 shaders can be used with OpenCL 1.2 for general-purpose calculations (as 5 compute units). Compared to old TeraScale 2 chips, the GCN-based architecture offers improved performance in this framework.

Features

The R5 series also supports automatic graphics switching between the integrated GPU and discrete GPU. Called Enduro, the technology supersedes AMD's Dynamic Switchable Graphics and is similar to Nvidia's Optimus. Furthermore, the R5 M255 can directly support multiple monitors using Eyefinity technology.

Other features of the R5 series include ZeroCore for reducing power consumption when the display is turned off and Power Gating to power down areas of the chip that are not used. PowerTune allows automatic overclocking and underclocking of the graphics card as long as the GPU is within its TDP limit. For example, the chip may be underclocked when running FurMark and OCCT, but will overclock in certain games.

Power Consumption

The power consumption should be similar to slower models of the HD 8500M or 8600M series. As a result, the R5 M255 is suited for 13-inch notebooks or larger.

Radeon R5 M200 Series

Radeon R5 M255 320 @ 0.94 GHz64 Bit @ 1800 - 2000 MHz
Radeon R5 M240 compare 320 @ 1.03 GHz64 Bit @ 1800 MHz
Radeon R5 M230 compare 320 @ 0.86 GHz64 Bit @ 1800 - 2000 MHz
CodenameTopaz Pro / Sun
ArchitectureGCN
Pipelines320 - unified
Core Speed940 MHz
Memory Speed1800 - 2000 MHz
Memory Bus Width64 Bit
Memory TypeDDR3
Max. Amount of Memory4 GB
Shared Memoryno
APIDirectX 12, Shader 5.0, OpenGL 4.3
technology28 nm
FeaturesPCI Express 3.0 x8, App Acceleration, PowerPlay, PowerTune, ZeroCore, Enduro, Eyefinity, Mantle
Date of Announcement01.05.2014
Link to Manufacturer Pagewww.amd.com

Benchmarks

Performance Rating - 3DMark 11 + Fire Strike + Time Spy
0.5 pt (1%)
3DMark - 3DMark Cloud Gate Score
min: 4606     avg: 4880     median: 4859 (5%)     max: 5169 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
min: 5936     avg: 6043     median: 6053 (2%)     max: 6164 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Fire Strike Standard Score
min: 973     avg: 982     median: 980 (2%)     max: 994 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
min: 1068     avg: 1078     median: 1080.5 (1%)     max: 1084 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Ice Storm Graphics
min: 34939     avg: 42701     median: 44076.5 (5%)     max: 47713 Points
3DMark 11 - 3DM11 Performance Score
min: 1866     avg: 1952     median: 1907 (3%)     max: 2173 Points
3DMark 11 - 3DM11 Performance GPU
min: 1717     avg: 1831     median: 1784 (2%)     max: 2080 Points
3DMark Vantage
3DM Vant. Perf. total +
3DM Vant. Perf. GPU no PhysX +
3DMark 06 3DMark 06 - Standard 1280x1024 +
SPECviewperf 12
specvp12 sw-03 +
SPECviewperf 12 - specvp12 sw-03
min: 8.47     avg: 8.7     median: 8.7 (2%)     max: 8.83 fps
specvp12 snx-02 +
SPECviewperf 12 - specvp12 snx-02
min: 3.21     avg: 3.3     median: 3.3 (0%)     max: 3.34 fps
specvp12 showcase-01 +
SPECviewperf 12 - specvp12 showcase-01
min: 14.15     avg: 14.2     median: 14.2 (3%)     max: 14.23 fps
specvp12 mediacal-01 +
SPECviewperf 12 - specvp12 mediacal-01
min: 3.23     avg: 3.4     median: 3.4 (1%)     max: 3.61 fps
specvp12 maya-04 +
SPECviewperf 12 - specvp12 maya-04
min: 5.89     avg: 6     median: 6 (2%)     max: 6.19 fps
specvp12 energy-01 +
SPECviewperf 12 - specvp12 energy-01
min: 13.98     avg: 14.2     median: 14.2 (13%)     max: 14.4 fps
specvp12 creo-01 +
SPECviewperf 12 - specvp12 creo-01
min: 14.93     avg: 15.6     median: 15.6 (6%)     max: 16.31 fps
specvp12 catia-04 +
SPECviewperf 12 - specvp12 catia-04
min: 4.56     avg: 4.8     median: 4.8 (1%)     max: 5.03 fps
Cinebench R10 Cinebench R10 Shading (32bit) +
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Shading (32bit)
min: 5079     avg: 6014     median: 5647.5 (4%)     max: 7681 points
Cinebench R11.5 Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64 Bit +
Cinebench R11.5 - Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64 Bit
min: 36.61     avg: 40.5     median: 40.5 (14%)     max: 44.52 fps
Cinebench R15
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit +
Cinebench R15 - Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit
min: 34.43     avg: 35.8     median: 34.7 (2%)     max: 37.7 fps
Cinebench R15 OpenGL Ref. Match 64 Bit +
- Range of benchmark values for this graphics card
- Average benchmark values for this graphics card
* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance

Game Benchmarks

The following benchmarks stem from our benchmarks of review laptops. The performance depends on the used graphics memory, clock rate, processor, system settings, drivers, and operating systems. So the results don't have to be representative for all laptops with this GPU. For detailed information on the benchmark results, click on the fps number.

low 1920x1080
19.6  fps    + Compare + 📈 Graph
med. 1920x1080
11.4  fps    + Compare + 📈 Graph
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
Additional Benchmarks
Low Preset 1280x720
32.1
low 1920x1080
7.1  fps    + Compare + 📈 Graph
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
Additional Benchmarks
Lowest Settings 1280x720
12.4
low 1920x1080
8.9  fps    + Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
Additional Benchmarks
Lowest Preset (DX12) 1280x720
19.8
low 1920x1080
6  fps    + Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
Additional Benchmarks
Low Preset 1280x720
10.3
low 1920x1080
18.5  fps    + Compare
med. 1920x1080
12.6  fps    + Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
Additional Benchmarks
Low Preset 1280x720
32.1
med. 1920x1080
24.6  fps    + Compare + 📈 Graph
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
Additional Benchmarks
Low Preset 1920x1080
36.2
low 1280x720
20  fps    + Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
Additional Benchmarks
Low Preset 1920x1080
11
low 1280x720
14  fps    + Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
Additional Benchmarks
Low Preset 1920x1080
9
low 1280x720
31.6  fps    + Compare + 📈 Graph
med. 1920x1080
10.5  fps    + Compare + 📈 Graph
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
Additional Benchmarks
Low Preset (DX12) 1920x1080
18.1
Far Cry 6

Far Cry 6

2021
low 1280x720
2.8  fps    + Compare + 📈 Graph
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
low 1280x720
7  fps    + Compare + 📈 Graph
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
New World

New World

2021
low 1280x720
12.2  fps    + Compare + 📈 Graph
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
F1 2021

F1 2021

2021
low 1280x720
37.7  fps    + Compare
med. 1920x1080
11.8  fps    + Compare
high 1920x1080
8.8  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings low.
low 1280x720
27.4  fps    + Compare + 📈 Graph
med. 1920x1080
17.5  fps    + Compare + 📈 Graph
high 1920x1080
15.2  fps    + Compare + 📈 Graph
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
Additional Benchmarks
Low Preset 1920x1080
19.1
Days Gone

Days Gone

2021
low 1280x720
13.1  fps    + Compare + 📈 Graph
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
Hitman 3

Hitman 3

2021
low 1280x720
17.3  fps    + Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
Additional Benchmarks
Minimum Settings 1920x1080
10.3
low 1280x720
15  fps    + Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
low 1280x720
17.8  fps    + Compare + 📈 Graph
med. 1920x1080
5.1  fps    + Compare + 📈 Graph
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
low 1280x720
11  fps    + Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
Dirt 5

Dirt 5

2020
low 1280x720
15.5  fps    + Compare
med. 1920x1080
5.1  fps    + Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
low 1280x720
22.9  fps    + Compare + 📈 Graph
med. 1920x1080
9.9  fps    + Compare + 📈 Graph
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.