Iris Graphics 540 vs Radeon R9 M280X

In this comparison between Iris Graphics 540 and Radeon R9 M280X you will find out which graphics card performs better in today's games. Bear in mind that third-party versions may have more efficient cooling and higher clock speeds. This will increase cards' performance, though not by much. In addition to raw power you should also take into account the dimensions. Thicker models simply will not fit into a small mini-ITX case. The resolution of your monitor also affects the choice, since 4K gameplay requires a more powerful GPU. And don't overspend on the graphics card. Other parts of your build may also need to be upgraded, save some money for the CPU or power supply. For some people Iris Graphics 540 will be the best choice, for others Radeon R9 M280X will be their preference. Study the comparison tables below and make your choice.

Iris Graphics 540 and Radeon R9 M280X are Laptop Graphics Cards

Note: Iris Graphics 540 and Radeon R9 M280X are only used in laptop graphics. They have lower GPU clock speed compared to the desktop variant, which results in lower power consumption, but also 10-30% lower gaming performance. Check available laptop models with Iris Graphics 540 or Radeon R9 M280X here:

Main Specs

  Iris Graphics 540 Radeon R9 M280X
Power consumption (TDP) 15 Watt
Interface PCIe 3.0 x1 PCIe 3.0 x16
Memory type eDRAM Not Listed
Maximum RAM amount 64 MB
Display Connectors No outputs No outputs
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  • Iris Graphics 540 is connected by PCIe 3.0 x1, and Radeon R9 M280X uses PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.
  • Both cards are used in Laptops.
  • Iris Graphics 540 is build with Gen. 9 Skylake architecture, and Radeon R9 M280X - with GCN.
  • Core clock speed of Radeon R9 M280X is 600 MHz higher, than Iris Graphics 540.
  • Iris Graphics 540 is manufactured by 14 nm process technology, and Radeon R9 M280X - by 28 nm process technology.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 8−9 2−3
ultra / 1080p 5−6 1−2
QHD / 1440p 0−1 0−1
low / 720p 20−22 14−16
medium / 1080p 10−12 4−5
The average gaming FPS of Iris Graphics 540 in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 120% more, than Radeon R9 M280X.

Full Specs

  Iris Graphics 540 Radeon R9 M280X
Architecture Gen. 9 Skylake GCN
Code name Skylake GT3e Saturn XT
Type Laptop Laptop
Release date 1 September 2015 1 February 2015
Pipelines 48 896
Core clock speed 300 MHz 900 MHz
Boost Clock 1050 MHz
Transistor count 189 million 2,080 million
Manufacturing process technology 14 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 50.40 61.60
Floating-point performance 1,792 gflops
Memory bandwidth 96 GB/s
Shared memory + -
DirectX 12 (12_1)
Shader Model 6.4 6.3
OpenGL 4.6 4.4
OpenCL 2.1 Not Listed
Vulkan 1.1.97
FreeSync +
Bus support Not Listed
Laptop size large
HD3D +
PowerTune +
DualGraphics +
ZeroCore +
Switchable graphics +
Mantle +
Quick Sync +
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