AMD Radeon 540 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M and AMD Radeon 540 are two end-of-life graphics cards from different eras, with the GTX 880M launching in 2014 and the Radeon 540 in 2017. Their average benchmark scores place them within 5% of each other overall, with the GTX 880M scoring 8040 and the Radeon 540 scoring 7673, a difference of roughly 4.8%. Despite this near-parity in aggregate performance, the two cards have radically different architectures, memory configurations, and intended use cases, which the benchmark data and specifications make clear.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only directly comparable benchmark between the two cards is Geekbench OpenCL, and the results show a narrow victory for the AMD Radeon 540. In that test, the Radeon 540 scores 6184, while the GTX 880M scores 5622, giving the AMD card a 9.1% lead. This is a meaningful margin in a compute-oriented workload, and it suggests that the Radeon 540's GCN 4.0 architecture handles OpenCL tasks more efficiently than the older Kepler design. The GTX 880M does not post a win in any head-to-head test, as the data shows the Radeon 540 taking the sole victory.

Looking at the broader benchmark suite, the GTX 880M has a Geekbench Metal score of 10458, which the Radeon 540 does not have a comparable result for, as it instead has a Geekbench Vulkan score of 9162. The GTX 880M's average benchmark score of 8040 is higher than the Radeon 540's 7673, but the Radeon 540's nearest rivals tell a different story. The Radeon 540 sits just 0.6% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti, which scores 7723, and 1.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro WX 3100 at 7580, plus 1.5% ahead of the Radeon R7 250 at 7557. Meanwhile, the GTX 880M's nearest rivals are all NVIDIA parts: it is effectively tied with the Quadro P5000 at 8039, and it trails the GTX 650 Ti by 0.2% (8053) and the GTX 650 Ti Boost by 0.3% (8067). This positioning indicates that the GTX 880M is competing in a slightly higher performance tier than the Radeon 540, even though the direct OpenCL result favors the AMD card.

The percentile rankings reinforce this split: the GTX 880M sits at the 42nd percentile of all GPUs, while the Radeon 540 is at the 41st percentile. That single-point difference is negligible in real-world terms, but the underlying benchmark scores show that the GTX 880M has a slight edge in overall compute throughput, likely due to its much larger memory bus and higher fill rates, despite the Radeon 540's newer architecture.

The Verdict

From the data, the GTX 880M is the stronger overall performer in aggregate benchmarks, with an average score of 8040 versus 7673 for the Radeon 540, and it also holds a higher percentile ranking. However, the Radeon 540 wins the only direct comparison available, the Geekbench OpenCL test, by 9.1%, which indicates that for compute-heavy applications that rely on OpenCL, the AMD card is the better choice. If your priority is raw compute in OpenCL workloads, the Radeon 540 is the pick, as its 6184 score clearly beats the GTX 880M's 5622.

For general graphics performance, the GTX 880M's specifications suggest it is the more capable card, with 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus delivering 160.0 GB/s of bandwidth, compared to the Radeon 540's 1 GB on a 32-bit bus at 24.00 GB/s. That massive bandwidth advantage translates into better texture and pixel throughput, as the GTX 880M has a texture rate of 127.1 GTexel/s and a pixel rate of 31.78 GPixel/s, versus 28.39 GTexel/s and 18.93 GPixel/s for the Radeon 540. The GTX 880M also has significantly more shading units (1536 vs 384) and TMUs (128 vs 24), which explains its higher FP32 compute of 3.050 TFLOPS versus 908.5 GFLOPS for the Radeon 540.

Choose the GTX 880M if you need a mobile MXM module with high memory capacity and bandwidth for large textures or multi-monitor setups. Choose the Radeon 540 if you are building a low-power desktop system (50 W TDP versus 122 W) and prioritize OpenCL compute performance over memory-heavy gaming, as the data shows it wins the only direct benchmark.

FAQ

Q: Which card has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M, with an average score of 8040, compared to the AMD Radeon 540's 7673.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon 540 beat the GTX 880M in any benchmark?

A: Yes, in Geekbench OpenCL, the Radeon 540 scores 6184 against the GTX 880M's 5622, a 9.1% advantage.

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

A: The GTX 880M has 160.0 GB/s of bandwidth via a 256-bit bus and 8 GB of GDDR5, while the Radeon 540 has 24.00 GB/s via a 32-bit bus and 1 GB of GDDR5.

Q: What is the transistor density difference between the two?

A: The Radeon 540 is denser at 21.4M transistors per mm², while the GTX 880M is at 12.0M per mm², despite the GTX 880M having more total transistors (3,540 million vs 2,200 million).

Q: Which card supports newer API features?

A: The Radeon 540 supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3, while the GTX 880M supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and Vulkan 1.2.175.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The GTX 880M has a TDP of 122 W and uses an MXM Module slot, while the Radeon 540 has a TDP of 50 W and is a single-slot card with a suggested PSU of 250 W.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every major specification category. The GTX 880M uses 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, while the Radeon 540 uses only 1 GB on a 32-bit bus. Memory clocks also differ: the GTX 880M runs at 1250 MHz (5 Gbps effective), and the Radeon 540 runs at 1500 MHz (6 Gbps effective), but the Radeon's narrow bus limits its bandwidth to 24.00 GB/s versus 160.0 GB/s for the GTX 880M.

The GTX 880M has 1536 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, while the Radeon 540 has 384 shading units, 24 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. This leads to the GTX 880M's higher pixel rate of 31.78 GPixel/s and texture rate of 127.1 GTexel/s, compared to the Radeon 540's 18.93 GPixel/s and 28.39 GTexel/s. The GTX 880M's FP32 compute is 3.050 TFLOPS, while the Radeon 540 offers 908.5 GFLOPS, and the Radeon also has FP16 at 908.5 GFLOPS (1:1), which the GTX 880M does not list.

The form factors are entirely different: the GTX 880M is an MXM Module with a bus interface of MXM-B (3.0), while the Radeon 540 is a single-slot card with a PCIe 3.0 x8 interface. Display outputs also differ, with the GTX 880M being "Portable Device Dependent" and the Radeon 540 offering 2x DisplayPort 1.4a.

Architecture Differences

The GTX 880M is built on NVIDIA's Kepler architecture using the GK104 chip, manufactured on a 28 nm process at TSMC, with 3,540 million transistors on a 294 mm² die. The Radeon 540 uses AMD's GCN 4.0 architecture with the Lexa chip, built on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries, with 2,200 million transistors on a 103 mm² die. This makes the Radeon 540 far more transistor-dense at 21.4M per mm² versus 12.0M per mm² for the GTX 880M.

The memory interfaces reflect their different design goals: the GTX 880M's 256-bit bus and 8 GB capacity suggest a focus on bandwidth and capacity for high-resolution textures, while the Radeon 540's 32-bit bus and 1 GB capacity are clearly aimed at low-power, entry-level tasks. The API support also differs, with the Radeon 540 supporting DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3, while the GTX 880M is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0) and Vulkan 1.2.175. The Radeon 540's FP16 support at 1:1 ratio is a notable feature absent from the GTX 880M's specifications.

Where Each One Wins

The GTX 880M wins in scenarios where memory bandwidth and capacity are critical, given its 160.0 GB/s bandwidth and 8 GB VRAM. This makes it the better choice for large texture loads, high-resolution gaming, or any workload that benefits from a wide memory bus. Its higher pixel rate (31.78 GPixel/s) and texture rate (127.1 GTexel/s) also give it an edge in rasterization-heavy tasks, and its 3.050 TFLOPS FP32 compute is more than three times the Radeon 540's 908.5 GFLOPS, suggesting superior raw compute for tasks that can use all its shading units.

The Radeon 540 wins in compute efficiency and low-power operation, as shown by its 9.1% lead in Geekbench OpenCL (6184 vs 5622). Its 50 W TDP makes it suitable for systems with minimal power delivery, and its newer GCN 4.0 architecture with 14 nm process and Vulkan 1.3 support gives it an API advantage for modern applications. The Radeon 540 also has a higher transistor density (21.4M / mm²) and FP16 support, which can be beneficial in specific compute workloads that leverage half-precision arithmetic. For a desktop system where power consumption is a concern and OpenCL compute is the priority, the Radeon 540 is the data-backed winner.