AMD Radeon 540 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data contains one direct comparison between the AMD Radeon 540 and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M: the Geekbench OpenCL test. In this benchmark, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M scores 6513, while the AMD Radeon 540 scores 6184. The delta of -5.1% confirms that the NVIDIA part finishes ahead by roughly five percent. This is a modest margin, not a decisive victory, but it is consistent across the single available metric.

The AMD Radeon 540 does have additional benchmark data that the GTX 670M lacks. The Radeon 540 records a Geekbench Vulkan score of 9162, a result the database does not list for the NVIDIA part. Because the GTX 670M has no Vulkan score, no direct head-to-head comparison can be made on that API. The average benchmark score for the Radeon 540 is 7673, derived from its two recorded tests, while the GTX 670M sits at 6513 from its single OpenCL run. This means the Radeon 540’s average score is about 17.8% higher, but that difference comes from including the Vulkan test, which is not available for the competitor.

Looking at percentile placement, the Radeon 540 lands in the 41st percentile of all GPUs in the database, while the GTX 670M sits in the 38th percentile. The three-percentile gap reflects the Radeon’s overall higher average score, but the direct OpenCL comparison tells a narrower story. In that specific test, the GTX 670M is the winner, and the margin is small enough that real-world variability in drivers or workload composition could plausibly flip the result.

The nearest rivals listed for each card provide additional context. The Radeon 540’s closest neighbors include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti at an average score of 7723 (a -0.6% delta), the AMD Radeon Pro WX 3100 at 7580 (+1.2%), the AMD Radeon R7 250 at 7557 (+1.5%), and the Intel Arc A310 at 7550 (+1.6%). These deltas indicate that the Radeon 540 sits in a tightly packed cluster of GPUs, all within roughly two percent of each other. The GTX 670M, by contrast, is surrounded by the NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M at 6493 (+0.3%), the NVIDIA Quadro M5000M at 6481 (+0.5%), the AMD Radeon Vega 10 Mobile at 6476 (+0.6%), and the Intel UHD Graphics P750 at 6554 (-0.6%). This cluster is even tighter, with all rivals within a single percentage point. The data suggests both cards occupy performance bands where small score differences are common.

The Verdict

The benchmark results indicate that the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M holds a narrow edge in the one directly comparable workload, the OpenCL test, with a 5.1% lead over the AMD Radeon 540. However, the Radeon 540 counters with a much stronger showing in the Vulkan benchmark, where its 9162 score exceeds its own OpenCL result by a substantial margin. Since the GTX 670M has no recorded Vulkan score, the database cannot confirm whether the NVIDIA part would close that gap or remain behind.

For users prioritizing the OpenCL workload, the GTX 670M delivers the higher score. For users who rely on Vulkan performance, the Radeon 540 demonstrates capability that the GTX 670M cannot match in the recorded data. The Radeon 540 also carries a higher average benchmark score (7673 versus 6513) and a higher percentile rank (41 versus 38), which points to broader overall utility across the tests it supports. The GTX 670M, meanwhile, offers a larger memory pool at 1536 MB versus 1024 MB, along with a wider 192-bit memory bus and 72.00 GB/s of bandwidth compared to the Radeon’s 32-bit bus and 24.00 GB/s. Those memory advantages could matter in bandwidth-sensitive tasks, but the direct score evidence only shows a small OpenCL win.

The data does not support a clear overall champion. The GTX 670M wins the only head-to-head test, but the Radeon 540 wins on average score and supports an API the NVIDIA part does not. The choice depends on which workload matters more to the user.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Radeon 540 is built on the Lexa chip using GCN 4.0 architecture, part of the Polaris (RX 500) generation. It is fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries, with 2,200 million transistors on a 103 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 21.4M per mm². The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M uses the GF114 chip with Fermi 2.0 architecture, from the GeForce 600M generation. It is built on a 40 nm process at TSMC, with 1,950 million transistors on a 332 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of just 5.9M per mm². The process node difference is significant: the Radeon’s 14 nm process is two generations ahead of the GTX 670M’s 40 nm node, which explains the much smaller die size and higher transistor density for the AMD part.

The Radeon 540 supports a broader set of modern APIs. It lists DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The GTX 670M lists DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and no Vulkan support. The DirectX feature level difference (12_0 versus 11_0) indicates that the Radeon supports newer shading model features, while the NVIDIA part is limited to the older feature set. The absence of Vulkan on the GTX 670M is a notable architectural limitation, as the Radeon’s Vulkan score of 9162 shows the API is well-supported on the AMD side.

The Radeon 540 also has a much higher pixel rate at 18.93 GPixel/s versus 8.372 GPixel/s for the GTX 670M, a difference of roughly 2.3 times. Its texture rate is lower, however, at 28.39 GTexel/s versus 33.49 GTexel/s. The Radeon delivers higher FP32 compute at 908.5 GFLOPS versus 803.7 GFLOPS, and it also supports FP16 at a 1:1 ratio with the same 908.5 GFLOPS figure, while the GTX 670M has no recorded FP16 capability. These architectural differences align with the Radeon’s newer process and design.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every core specification. The Radeon 540 has 384 shading units, 24 texture mapping units, and 16 ROPs. The GTX 670M has 336 shading units, 56 TMUs, and 24 ROPs. The NVIDIA part has fewer shading units but more than double the TMUs and 50% more ROPs.

Memory configurations diverge sharply. The Radeon 540 uses 1024 MB of GDDR5 on a 32-bit bus with 24.00 GB/s bandwidth and a memory clock of 1500 MHz (6 Gbps effective). The GTX 670M uses 1536 MB of GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus with 72.00 GB/s bandwidth and a memory clock of 750 MHz (3 Gbps effective). The NVIDIA card offers 50% more capacity and three times the bandwidth.

Power and physical specifications also differ. The Radeon 540 has a TDP of 50 W, is single-slot, uses no power connectors, and requires a suggested PSU of 250 W. It uses a PCIe 3.0 x8 bus interface and has 2x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. The GTX 670M has a TDP of 75 W, uses an MXM Module form factor, no power connectors, and an MXM-B (3.0) bus interface. Its display outputs are listed as portable device dependent, meaning the outputs vary by laptop design.

Release timing is distant: the GTX 670M was released on 2012-03-21, while the Radeon 540 came out on 2017-04-19, a gap of over five years. Both are end-of-life products. The GTX 670M’s predecessor is GeForce 500M and its successor is GeForce 700M. The Radeon 540’s predecessor is Arctic Islands and its successor is Vega.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins the only direct head-to-head benchmark?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M wins the Geekbench OpenCL test with a score of 6513 versus 6184 for the AMD Radeon 540, a delta of -5.1% from the Radeon’s perspective.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon 540 have any benchmark advantage over the GTX 670M?

A: Yes. The Radeon 540 records a Geekbench Vulkan score of 9162, and the GTX 670M has no Vulkan benchmark in the database. The Radeon also has a higher average benchmark score of 7673 versus 6513.

Q: How do the two cards compare on memory bandwidth?

A: The GTX 670M has 72.00 GB/s of bandwidth from a 192-bit bus and 1536 MB of GDDR5, while the Radeon 540 has 24.00 GB/s from a 32-bit bus and 1024 MB of GDDR5.

Q: Which card has the higher compute throughput?

A: The Radeon 540 delivers 908.5 GFLOPS of FP32 compute and 908.5 GFLOPS of FP16 (1:1), while the GTX 670M delivers 803.7 GFLOPS of FP32 and has no FP16 figure listed.

Q: What are the process node differences?

A: The Radeon 540 is built on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries, while the GTX 670M uses a 40 nm process at TSMC. The Radeon has a transistor density of 21.4M per mm² versus 5.9M per mm² for the NVIDIA part.

Q: Which card supports newer graphics APIs?

A: The Radeon 540 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The GTX 670M supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, but has no Vulkan support listed.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M wins in the OpenCL workload, the only test where both cards have recorded scores. Its 6513 result beats the Radeon 540’s 6184 by 5.1%. The GTX 670M also leads in memory capacity (1536 MB versus 1024 MB), memory bus width (192-bit versus 32-bit), and memory bandwidth (72.00 GB/s versus 24.00 GB/s). For tasks that are heavily memory-bound, such as large texture reads or high-resolution framebuffer operations, the GTX 670M’s memory subsystem provides a clear advantage. Its higher TMU count (56 versus 24) and ROP count (24 versus 16) also suggest stronger texture filtering and pixel output capabilities, although its pixel rate is lower at 8.372 GPixel/s versus 18.93 GPixel/s.

The AMD Radeon 540 wins on compute-oriented metrics. Its FP32 throughput of 908.5 GFLOPS exceeds the GTX 670M’s 803.7 GFLOPS, and its FP16 support at 908.5 GFLOPS gives it a capability the NVIDIA part lacks entirely. The Radeon’s pixel rate of 18.93 GPixel/s is more than double the GTX 670M’s 8.372 GPixel/s, which indicates faster fill-rate performance in pixel-heavy workloads. Its Vulkan support, demonstrated by a 9162 score, opens up a modern API path that the GTX 670M cannot access. The Radeon also has a higher average benchmark score (7673 versus 6513), a higher percentile rank (41 versus 38), and a much lower TDP at 50 W versus 75 W.

For users working with Vulkan-based applications or compute workloads that leverage FP16, the Radeon 540 is the stronger choice. For users constrained by memory bandwidth or running OpenCL-specific tasks, the GTX 670M holds the edge. The data shows a split decision, with the newer AMD architecture offering better compute density and API coverage, while the older NVIDIA design retains a memory bandwidth advantage that keeps it competitive in the one direct test.