AMD FirePro W4170M vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M and AMD FirePro W4170M are both end-of-life mobile graphics solutions built on TSMC’s 28 nm process, but they target different workloads. Based strictly on the benchmark data, the GTX 765M holds a decisive performance advantage, winning the only shared benchmark test by 42.6%. This is reflected in their average benchmark scores: the GTX 765M averages 5,501 points versus 5,034 for the FirePro W4170M, placing them in the 32nd and 30th percentiles of all GPUs, respectively. The data indicates that the GTX 765M is the superior choice for raw compute performance, while the FirePro W4170M’s only notable distinction is its later release date and a different feature set that may appeal to specific mobile workstation use cases.

The Verdict

The benchmark results are unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M outperforms the AMD FirePro W4170M in every measurable compute test. In Geekbench OpenCL, the GTX 765M scores 7,176 against 5,034 for the FirePro W4170M, a 42.6% delta. This is not a marginal difference; it is a substantial lead that places the GTX 765M at 32% percentile ranking versus 30% for the AMD part. The GTX 765M’s average benchmark score of 5,501 is 9.3% higher than the FirePro’s 5,034, and it even edges out its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce MX130, by 0.1% (5,508 vs 5,501). The FirePro W4170M, by contrast, sits just 0.3% above the AMD Radeon R5 M430 and 0.7% above the AMD Radeon R7 Graphics, indicating it is at the lower end of its performance class.

Given this data, the GTX 765M is the clear pick for any user prioritizing compute performance, whether for gaming, content creation, or general GPU-accelerated tasks. The FirePro W4170M, while newer (released 2015-04-22 versus 2013-05-29), offers no performance compensation for its age advantage. The only scenario where the FirePro might be chosen is if a system requires its specific API support or bus interface, but from a pure performance standpoint, the data does not support selecting it over the GTX 765M. For a mobile workstation needing OpenCL compute, the GTX 765M delivers 42.6% more throughput, making it the only rational choice based on these numbers.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is significant and explains the performance disparity. The GTX 765M uses the GK106 chip based on NVIDIA’s Kepler architecture, while the FirePro W4170M uses the Opal chip based on AMD’s GCN 1.0 architecture. Both are fabricated by TSMC on a 28 nm process, but the similarities end there. The GTX 765M integrates 2,540 million transistors on a 221 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 11.5M per mm². The FirePro W4170M is far smaller, with 950 million transistors on a 77 mm² die, giving it a higher density of 12.3M per mm². This means the AMD chip is more transistor-dense but has fewer total resources.

The compute configuration reveals the core difference. The GTX 765M features 768 shading units, 64 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 16 raster operation pipelines (ROPs). The FirePro W4170M has only 384 shading units, 24 TMUs, and 8 ROPs — exactly half the shaders, 62.5% fewer TMUs, and half the ROPs. This directly translates to the performance gap: the GTX 765M delivers 1,325.6 GFLOPS of FP32 compute versus 691.2 GFLOPS for the FirePro, a 91.8% advantage. Pixel rate is similarly lopsided at 13.81 GPixel/s versus 7.200 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 55.23 GTexel/s versus 21.60 GTexel/s. The GTX 765M also has higher clock speeds, with a base of 797 MHz and boost of 863 MHz, compared to 825 MHz base and 900 MHz boost for the FirePro — though the AMD part boosts higher, its fewer cores cannot compensate.

Memory configurations are nearly identical: both have 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, with bandwidth of 64.13 GB/s for the GTX 765M and 64.00 GB/s for the FirePro. The GTX 765M runs memory at 1002 MHz (4 Gbps effective), while the FirePro runs at 1000 MHz (4 Gbps effective), a negligible difference. API support differs slightly: the GTX 765M supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and Vulkan 1.2.175, while the FirePro supports DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170. Both support OpenGL 4.6. The bus interface also differs: the GTX 765M uses MXM-B (3.0), while the FirePro uses PCIe 3.0 x8. The GTX 765M has a TDP of 75 W; the FirePro’s TDP is not listed.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M has an average benchmark score of 5,501, compared to 5,034 for the AMD FirePro W4170M. This places the GTX 765M in the 32nd percentile of all GPUs and the FirePro in the 30th percentile.

Q: How large is the performance gap in the shared OpenCL test?

A: In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the GTX 765M scores 7,176 while the FirePro W4170M scores 5,034. The NVIDIA part wins by 42.6%, which is the only head-to-head benchmark listed.

Q: Do both GPUs have the same memory configuration?

A: Yes, both feature 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus. The GTX 765M has a bandwidth of 64.13 GB/s, while the FirePro W4170M has 64.00 GB/s, a difference of only 0.13 GB/s.

Q: What are the shading unit counts for each GPU?

A: The GTX 765M has 768 shading units, while the FirePro W4170M has 384. This 2:1 ratio is a primary reason for the GTX 765M’s superior FP32 performance of 1,325.6 GFLOPS versus 691.2 GFLOPS.

Q: Which GPU was released more recently?

A: The AMD FirePro W4170M was released on 2015-04-22, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M was released on 2013-05-29. Despite being nearly two years newer, the FirePro does not outperform the older GTX 765M.

Q: What are the nearest rivals for each GPU based on average score?

A: The GTX 765M’s nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce MX130 (5,508, delta -0.1%), followed by the AMD Radeon R7 M440 (5,483, delta 0.3%). The FirePro W4170M’s nearest rival is the AMD Radeon R7 M340 (5,063, delta -0.6%) and the AMD Radeon R7 240 (5,063, delta -0.6%).

Specification Differences

The following specifications differ between the two GPUs based on the data provided:

• Chip: GK106 (NVIDIA) versus Opal (AMD)
• Architecture: Kepler versus GCN 1.0
• Generation: GeForce 700M versus FirePro Mobile (Wx100M)
• Transistors: 2,540 million versus 950 million
• Die Size: 221 mm² versus 77 mm²
• Transistor Density: 11.5M / mm² versus 12.3M / mm²
• Base Clock: 797 MHz versus 825 MHz
• Boost Clock: 863 MHz versus 900 MHz
• Memory Clock: 1002 MHz versus 1000 MHz
• Memory Bandwidth: 64.13 GB/s versus 64.00 GB/s
• Shading Units: 768 versus 384
• TMUs: 64 versus 24
• ROPs: 16 versus 8
• Pixel Rate: 13.81 GPixel/s versus 7.200 GPixel/s
• Texture Rate: 55.23 GTexel/s versus 21.60 GTexel/s
• FP32: 1,325.6 GFLOPS versus 691.2 GFLOPS
• TDP: 75 W versus not listed
• Bus Interface: MXM-B (3.0) versus PCIe 3.0 x8
• DirectX Support: 12 (11_0) versus 12 (11_1)
• Vulkan Support: 1.2.175 versus 1.2.170
• Release Date: 2013-05-29 versus 2015-04-22
• Predecessor: GeForce 600M versus FirePro Mobility
• Successor: GeForce 800M versus Radeon Pro Mobile
• Average Benchmark Score: 5,501 versus 5,034
• Percentile: 32 versus 30

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only head-to-head benchmark available is Geekbench OpenCL, and the result is a decisive win for the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M. The GTX 765M scores 7,176, while the AMD FirePro W4170M scores 5,034, yielding a delta of 42.6% in favor of the NVIDIA part. This is not a close contest — the GTX 765M outperforms the FirePro by more than two thousand points, a margin that dwarfs the differences seen among their respective nearest rivals. For context, the GTX 765M’s nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce MX130, scores 5,508, which is only 7 points above the GTX 765M. The FirePro’s nearest rival, the AMD Radeon R7 M340, scores 5,063, just 29 points above the FirePro. The gap between the two compared GPUs is 2,142 points, which is far larger than any intra-class delta.

The GTX 765M also wins the only other metric that can be directly compared: average benchmark score. It averages 5,501, while the FirePro averages 5,034, a difference of 467 points (9.3%). The GTX 765M’s wins tally stands at 1, while the FirePro has 0 wins. This consistent across-the-board advantage is explained by the hardware: the GTX 765M has double the shading units (768 vs 384), more than double the TMUs (64 vs 24), and double the ROPs (16 vs 8). The FP32 compute output is 1,325.6 GFLOPS versus 691.2 GFLOPS, meaning the NVIDIA chip can process 634.4 more GFLOPS per second. The pixel rate is 13.81 GPixel/s versus 7.200 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 55.23 GTexel/s versus 21.60 GTexel/s. These are not marginal improvements; they are structural advantages that show up in every compute-bound workload.

Where Each One Wins

Based on the data, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M wins in every category where a comparison is possible. It wins the sole head-to-head benchmark (Geekbench OpenCL) by 42.6%, has a higher average benchmark score (5,501 vs 5,034), and ranks higher in the overall percentile (32nd vs 30th). The GTX 765M is the clear choice for any application that relies on OpenCL compute, which includes many professional rendering, scientific simulation, and machine learning workloads. Its 1,325.6 GFLOPS of FP32 compute is nearly double the FirePro’s 691.2 GFLOPS, making it suitable for tasks that demand sustained mathematical throughput. The higher pixel rate (13.81 GPixel/s) and texture rate (55.23 GTexel/s) also suggest better performance in graphics-intensive scenarios, though no gaming benchmarks are present in the data.

The AMD FirePro W4170M, in contrast, has no benchmark wins in the dataset. However, it does have some qualitative advantages that could matter in specific contexts. Its bus interface is PCIe 3.0 x8, which may be more compatible with certain mobile workstation platforms than the GTX 765M’s MXM-B (3.0) interface. It also supports DirectX 12 (11_1), a slightly higher feature level than the GTX 765M’s DirectX 12 (11_0), which could theoretically enable additional rendering features in some applications. The FirePro is also a newer design (2015-04-22 vs 2013-05-29), which might mean better driver support or optimizations in certain professional software, though this is not quantified in the data. For users who require PCIe 3.0 x8 connectivity or the specific GCN 1.0 feature set, the FirePro W4170M is the only option — but for pure performance, the GTX 765M wins outright.