Maxwell GPU Surface Book (940M, GDDR5) vs Radeon R9 M385

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Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon R9 M385 and Maxwell GPU Surface Book (940M, GDDR5), covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

R9 M385
2015
4 GB GDDR5
5.35
+45%

R9 M385 outperforms Maxwell GPU Surface Book (940M, GDDR5) by a considerable 45% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.

Place in the ranking614713
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
ArchitectureGCN 2.0 (2013−2017)Maxwell (2014−2017)
GPU code nameStratoSurface Book
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
Release date5 May 2015 (9 years ago)1 October 2015 (9 years ago)

Detailed specifications

General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores896384
Core clock speed900 MHz954 MHz
Boost clock speed1100 MHz993 MHz
Number of transistors2,080 millionno data
Manufacturing process technology28 nm28 nm
Texture fill rate56.00no data
Floating-point processing power1.792 TFLOPSno data
ROPs16no data
TMUs56no data

Form factor & compatibility

Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).

Laptop sizemedium sizedno data
Bus supportPCIe 3.0no data
InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16no data

VRAM capacity and type

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory typeGDDR5GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount4 GB1 GB
Memory bus width128 Bit64 Bit
Memory clock speed1500 MHz5012 MHz
Memory bandwidth76.8 GB/sno data
Shared memory--

Connectivity and outputs

Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.

Display ConnectorsNo outputsno data
Eyefinity+-

Supported technologies

Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.

FreeSync+-
HD3D+-
PowerTune+-
DualGraphics+-
TrueAudio+-
ZeroCore+-
Switchable graphics+-
Optimus-+

API compatibility

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectXDirectX® 12DirectX 12 (FL 11_0), Shader 5.0
Shader Model6.3no data
OpenGL4.4no data
OpenCLNot Listedno data
Mantle+-
CUDA-+

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

Average FPS across all PC games

Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:

Full HD40−45
+42.9%
28
−42.9%

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 9−10
+50%
6−7
−50%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 14−16
+27.3%
10−12
−27.3%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 6−7
+50%
4−5
−50%
Battlefield 5 14−16
+75%
8−9
−75%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 10−12
+37.5%
8−9
−37.5%
Cyberpunk 2077 9−10
+50%
6−7
−50%
Far Cry 5 12−14
+71.4%
7−8
−71.4%
Far Cry New Dawn 14−16
+50%
10−11
−50%
Forza Horizon 4 30−35
+61.9%
21−24
−61.9%
Hitman 3 10−12
+57.1%
7−8
−57.1%
Horizon Zero Dawn 30−35
+61.9%
21−24
−61.9%
Metro Exodus 12−14
+62.5%
8−9
−62.5%
Red Dead Redemption 2 14−16
+55.6%
9−10
−55.6%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 18−20
+35.7%
14−16
−35.7%
Watch Dogs: Legion 45−50
+60%
30−33
−60%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 14−16
+27.3%
10−12
−27.3%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 6−7
+50%
4−5
−50%
Battlefield 5 14−16
+75%
8−9
−75%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 10−12
+37.5%
8−9
−37.5%
Cyberpunk 2077 9−10
+50%
6−7
−50%
Far Cry 5 12−14
+71.4%
7−8
−71.4%
Far Cry New Dawn 14−16
+50%
10−11
−50%
Forza Horizon 4 30−35
+61.9%
21−24
−61.9%
Hitman 3 10−12
+57.1%
7−8
−57.1%
Horizon Zero Dawn 30−35
+61.9%
21−24
−61.9%
Metro Exodus 12−14
+117%
6−7
−117%
Red Dead Redemption 2 14−16
+55.6%
9−10
−55.6%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 18−20
+35.7%
14−16
−35.7%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 18−20
+20%
14−16
−20%
Watch Dogs: Legion 45−50
+60%
30−33
−60%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 14−16
+27.3%
10−12
−27.3%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 6−7
+50%
4−5
−50%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 10−12
+57.1%
7−8
−57.1%
Cyberpunk 2077 9−10
+50%
6−7
−50%
Far Cry 5 12−14
+71.4%
7−8
−71.4%
Forza Horizon 4 30−35
+61.9%
21−24
−61.9%
Hitman 3 10−12
+57.1%
7−8
−57.1%
Horizon Zero Dawn 30−35
+61.9%
21−24
−61.9%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 18−20
+58.3%
12−14
−58.3%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 18−20
+20%
14−16
−20%
Watch Dogs: Legion 45−50
+60%
30−33
−60%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 14−16
+55.6%
9−10
−55.6%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5 10−11
+66.7%
6−7
−66.7%
Far Cry New Dawn 8−9
+60%
5−6
−60%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 5−6
+66.7%
3−4
−66.7%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 0−1 0−1
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 5−6
+66.7%
3−4
−66.7%
Cyberpunk 2077 2−3
+100%
1−2
−100%
Far Cry 5 6−7
+50%
4−5
−50%
Forza Horizon 4 12−14
+550%
2−3
−550%
Hitman 3 9−10
+50%
6−7
−50%
Horizon Zero Dawn 12−14
+50%
8−9
−50%
Metro Exodus 3−4
+50%
2−3
−50%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 4−5
+100%
2−3
−100%
Watch Dogs: Legion 30−35
+61.9%
21−24
−61.9%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 10−11
+66.7%
6−7
−66.7%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5 4−5
+100%
2−3
−100%
Far Cry New Dawn 4−5
+100%
2−3
−100%
Hitman 3 1−2 0−1
Horizon Zero Dawn 10−11
+66.7%
6−7
−66.7%
Metro Exodus 2−3
+100%
1−2
−100%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 1−2 0−1

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 3−4
+50%
2−3
−50%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 2−3
+100%
1−2
−100%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2−3
+100%
1−2
−100%
Cyberpunk 2077 0−1 0−1
Far Cry 5 3−4
+50%
2−3
−50%
Forza Horizon 4 5−6
+150%
2−3
−150%
Watch Dogs: Legion 2−3
+100%
1−2
−100%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 6−7
+50%
4−5
−50%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 10−11
+0%
10−11
+0%

1440p
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3−4
+0%
3−4
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 7−8
+0%
7−8
+0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 6−7
+0%
6−7
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 6−7
+0%
6−7
+0%

4K
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 1−2
+0%
1−2
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%

This is how R9 M385 and Maxwell GPU Surface Book (940M, GDDR5) compete in popular games:

  • R9 M385 is 43% faster in 1080p

Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:

  • in Forza Horizon 4, with 1440p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the R9 M385 is 550% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

  • R9 M385 is ahead in 28 tests (74%)
  • there's a draw in 10 tests (26%)

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 5.35 3.69
Recency 5 May 2015 1 October 2015
Maximum RAM amount 4 GB 1 GB

R9 M385 has a 45% higher aggregate performance score, and a 300% higher maximum VRAM amount.

Maxwell GPU Surface Book (940M, GDDR5), on the other hand, has an age advantage of 4 months.

The Radeon R9 M385 is our recommended choice as it beats the Maxwell GPU Surface Book (940M, GDDR5) in performance tests.


Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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AMD Radeon R9 M385
Radeon R9 M385
NVIDIA Maxwell GPU Surface Book (940M, GDDR5)
Maxwell GPU Surface Book (940M, GDDR5)

Comparisons with similar GPUs

We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.

Community ratings

Here you can see the user ratings of the compared graphics cards, as well as rate them yourself.


5 1 vote

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3.6 5 votes

Rate Maxwell GPU Surface Book (940M, GDDR5) on a scale of 1 to 5:

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Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about this comparison, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.