AMD Radeon R9 M470 vs AMD Radeon R9 M485X vs AMD Radeon R9 M470X

AMD Radeon R9 M470

The AMD Radeon R9 M470 is an upper mainstream mobile graphics card based on the familiar Bonaire chip. This 28 nm GPU uses 768 shaders (12 Compute Units CU) and is based on the second generation of the GCN architecture (Graphics Core Next). The maximum memory size is 4 GB (GDDR5, 6000 MHz effective) and it is attached via 128-bit interface. Compared to the technologically identical predecessor card Radeon R9 M380 (1000 MHz), the R9 M470 could have a slightly higher clock.

Contrary to the R9 M300 series, the number of products within the R9 M400 series is currently limited to three (M485X, M470X and M470), but this will probably change with the launch of the new Polaris architecture in Q2 2016.

Sources: AMD (specs), AnandTech (Bonaire chip)

AMD Radeon R9 M485X

The AMD Radeon R9 M485X is a mobile graphics card based on the familiar Tonga chip. The R9 M485X uses all 2048 shaders (32 Compute Units CU) and is based on the third generation of the GCN architecture (Graphics Core Next). Similar to the predecessor cards R9 M395X and M295X, the power consumption should be between 100 and 125 Watts. Compared to the technologically identical Radeon R9 M395X (909 MHz Boost; optional upgrade for the 2015 iMac), the Radeon R9 M485X could have a slightly higher clock. It is the only model from the series (M485X, M470X and M470) with up to 8 GB GDDR5 RAM and a 256-bit memory interface. 

Contrary to the R9 M300 series, the number of products within the R9 M400 series is currently limited to three (M485X, M470X and M470), but this will probably change with the launch of the new Polaris architecture in Q2 2016.

Our gaming benchmarks with the iMac show the predecessor GPU M395X roughly on par with a GeForce GTX 880M or GTX 970M (see below), respectively. Still, the performance is definitely not sufficient for demanding titles in 5K, and this will most likely not change with the M485X.

Sources: AMD (specs), AnandTech (Tonga chip)

AMD Radeon R9 M470X

The AMD Radeon R9 M470X is an upper mainstream mobile graphics card based on the familiar Bonaire chip. This 28 nm GPU uses all 896 shaders (14 Compute Units CU) and is based on the second generation of the GCN architecture (Graphics Core Next). The maximum memory size is 4 GB (GDDR5, 6000 MHz effective) and it is attached via 128-bit interface. Compared to the technologically identical predecessor card Radeon R9 M385X (1100 MHz), the R9 M470X could have a slightly higher clock.

Contrary to the R9 M300 series, the number of products within the R9 M400 series is currently limited to three (M485X, M470X and M470), but this will probably change with the launch of the new Polaris architecture in Q2 2016.

Sources: AMD (specs), AnandTech (Bonaire chip)