GPU Comparison

# NVIDIA GeForce GT 730M vs AMD Radeon 550

The AMD Radeon 550 dominates this comparison, winning both available head-to-head benchmarks by massive margins. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 730M, a 2013-era Kepler part, trails the 2017 Polaris-based Radeon 550 in every measurable compute and graphics workload, with the AMD card delivering roughly three times the raw performance in OpenCL and Vulkan tests. Despite the Radeon 550's lower overall GPU percentile ranking (18th vs 20th for the GT 730M), its benchmark scores tell a clear story of generational and architectural superiority.

Where Each One Wins

The Radeon 550 wins every category where data exists. In OpenCL compute workloads, it scores 10,339 versus the GT 730M's 3,107, representing a 69.9% margin in the AMD card's favor. Vulkan performance follows the same pattern, with the Radeon 550 hitting 11,257 against the GT 730M's 3,524, a 68.7% lead. These are not marginal differences; the AMD part is in a different performance class entirely.

The GT 730M has no benchmark victories to claim. Its average benchmark score of 3,316 places it just above the NVIDIA GeForce 920M (3,287, +0.9%) and just below the Intel HD Graphics 530 (3,332, -0.5%). This positions the GT 730M as a low-end mobile solution that competes with integrated graphics from the same era. The Radeon 550, despite its 18th percentile ranking, shows a different profile in its nearest rivals: it sits within 0.2% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti GDDR6X (2,795 vs 2,795), a striking data point that reflects the average score metric's quirks rather than real-world equivalence, and is 1.8% ahead of the Intel UHD Graphics 610 (2,752).

The Radeon 550 also provides a broader benchmark suite in the benchmark database, including PassMark DirectX 9/10/11/12 tests, 2D, 3D, and compute results. Its PassMark G3D score of 2,124 and GPU compute score of 936 indicate balanced performance across legacy and modern API workloads. The GT 730M lacks these additional test results, limiting direct comparison to the two Geekbench tests.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is substantial. The GT 730M uses the GK107 chip on NVIDIA's Kepler architecture, built on a 28 nm process at TSMC with 1,270 million transistors on a 118 mm² die. The Radeon 550 employs the Lexa chip with AMD's GCN 4.0 architecture, fabricated by GlobalFoundries on a 14 nm node with 2,200 million transistors packed into a smaller 103 mm² die. This yields a transistor density of 21.4M per mm² for the Radeon 550 versus 10.8M per mm² for the GT 730M, highlighting the efficiency gains of the newer process.

Core configurations differ significantly. The Radeon 550 features 512 shading units, 32 texture mapping units, and 16 raster output units, while the GT 730M has 384 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. The AMD card's higher base clock of 1,100 MHz and boost clock of 1,183 MHz dwarf the GT 730M's fixed 725 MHz clock. These differences compound: the Radeon 550 delivers 1,211.4 GFLOPS of FP32 performance versus 556.8 GFLOPS for the GT 730M, and its texture rate of 37.86 GTexel/s is over 63% higher than the GT 730M's 23.20 GTexel/s. Pixel rate shows an even bigger gap, with the Radeon 550 hitting 18.93 GPixel/s against 5.80 GPixel/s.

Memory subsystems also separate the two. The GT 730M relies on 2 GB of DDR3 on a 128-bit bus, providing 28.80 GB/s of bandwidth. The Radeon 550 uses 2 GB of GDDR5 on a narrower 64-bit bus but achieves 56.00 GB/s, nearly double the bandwidth. The AMD card's memory runs at 1,750 MHz (7 Gbps effective) versus 900 MHz (1,800 Mbps effective) for the NVIDIA part. The Radeon 550 also supports FP16 at a 1:1 ratio with FP32, while the GT 730M has no FP16 capability listed.

API support favors the newer card. The Radeon 550 supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3, while the GT 730M is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0) and Vulkan 1.2.175. Both support OpenGL 4.6. The Radeon 550's PCIe 3.0 x8 interface is narrower than the GT 730M's PCIe 3.0 x16, but this is unlikely to matter given the performance differential. Physical characteristics also differ: the Radeon 550 is a dual-slot card measuring 145 mm (5.7 inches) with display outputs including 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, and 1x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the GT 730M is an MXM module with portable-device-dependent outputs.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two available head-to-head benchmarks paint an unambiguous picture. In Geekbench OpenCL, the Radeon 550 scores 10,339 against the GT 730M's 3,107. The delta of -69.9% (from the GT 730M's perspective) means the NVIDIA card delivers less than one-third of the AMD part's compute throughput. This is not a close contest; it reflects the Radeon 550's 2.2x higher shading unit count, 63% higher clock speed, and 2.2x greater FP32 throughput.

Geekbench Vulkan shows the same story. The Radeon 550 posts 11,257 versus 3,524 for the GT 730M, a 68.7% deficit for the NVIDIA card. Vulkan's lower-level API overhead tends to expose architectural efficiencies, and the GCN 4.0 architecture with its newer driver support and Vulkan 1.3 compliance clearly outperforms the Kepler part's Vulkan 1.2.175 implementation. The Radeon 550's FP16 support at 1:1 ratio may also contribute to compute-heavy Vulkan workloads.

These results align with the average benchmark scores: the GT 730M averages 3,316 across its two tests, while the Radeon 550 averages 2,801 across nine tests. The Radeon 550's average is dragged down by its PassMark DirectX scores, which are not directly comparable to Geekbench results. Within the PassMark suite, the Radeon 550 shows strong DirectX 9 performance (35) and weaker DirectX 10 (7), 11 (15), and 12 (14) results, indicating driver or hardware optimization differences across API generations.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute performance?

A: The AMD Radeon 550, with 1,211.4 GFLOPS FP32 versus 556.8 GFLOPS for the GT 730M. This is reflected in the Geekbench OpenCL scores of 10,339 versus 3,107.

Q: How do their memory bandwidths compare?

A: The Radeon 550 provides 56.00 GB/s using GDDR5 on a 64-bit bus, while the GT 730M offers 28.80 GB/s via DDR3 on a 128-bit bus. Despite half the bus width, the AMD card has nearly double the bandwidth.

Q: What are their API compatibility levels?

A: The Radeon 550 supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3, while the GT 730M supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and Vulkan 1.2.175. Both support OpenGL 4.6.

Q: Which GPU has better Vulkan performance?

A: The Radeon 550 scores 11,257 in Geekbench Vulkan versus 3,524 for the GT 730M, a 68.7% advantage. The AMD card's newer architecture and Vulkan 1.3 support contribute to this gap.

Q: How does the Radeon 550 compare to its nearest rivals in average score?

A: It sits within 0.2% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti GDDR6X (2,795 vs 2,795), 0.6% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce 820M (2,784), and 1.8% ahead of the Intel UHD Graphics 610 (2,752).

Q: What is the GT 730M's competitive position?

A: Its average score of 3,316 places it 0.5% behind the Intel HD Graphics 530 (3,332) and 0.9% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce 920M (3,287). It ranks in the 20th percentile of all GPUs.

The Verdict

The data supports only one conclusion: the AMD Radeon 550 is the superior GPU by every measurable metric in this comparison. Its 69.9% OpenCL lead and 68.7% Vulkan lead over the GT 730M are decisive, and its architectural advantages, 512 shading units versus 384, 14 nm process versus 28 nm, GDDR5 versus DDR3, and nearly 2.2x the FP32 throughput, are overwhelming. The GT 730M's 20th percentile ranking and closeness to integrated graphics like the Intel HD Graphics 530 indicate it belongs in a much lower performance tier.

The Radeon 550's 18th percentile ranking might seem contradictory given its dominance, but this reflects the full GPU landscape, not the comparison at hand. Its nearest rivals include the RTX 3060 Ti GDDR6X at a nearly identical average score, which is an artifact of the averaging method across different test suites. Within the PassMark tests, the Radeon 550 shows mixed results across DirectX versions, but its Geekbench performance is unambiguous.

For users choosing between these two, the Radeon 550 is the clear pick for any workload involving OpenCL compute, Vulkan rendering, or modern API support. Its 2 GB GDDR5 memory, dual-slot design, and dedicated display outputs make it a functional discrete card for desktop use. The GT 730M, as an MXM module from 2013, is only relevant in legacy portable systems where its 33 W TDP and compact form factor were advantages at the time. The Radeon 550's 50 W TDP and 250 W suggested PSU requirement are modest by modern standards.

The GT 730M's only potential advantage is its 128-bit memory bus, but the Radeon 550's GDDR5 speed more than compensates. With no benchmark victories, no architectural advantages, and no API superiority, the GT 730M cannot be recommended over the Radeon 550 in any scenario where both are available. The data is unambiguous: the Radeon 550 wins this matchup decisively.