AMD Radeon 740M vs NVIDIA N1 20SM Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data presents an unusual comparison. The AMD Radeon 740M has two benchmark entries in the database: a Geekbench OpenCL score of 10,172 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 15,568. Its average benchmark score is 12,870. The NVIDIA N1 20SM, by contrast, has no recorded benchmark scores at all, with an average benchmark score of 0 and an empty benchmark list. This means there is no direct head-to-head measurement available from the database. The only way to compare these two parts is through the AMD Radeon 740M's percentile placement and its nearest rival list, then to assess what the NVIDIA N1 20SM's specifications imply against that baseline.

The AMD Radeon 740M sits at the 53rd percentile of all GPUs in the database. That places it just above the midpoint of the entire field. Its nearest rivals, based on average score, are tightly clustered. The AMD FirePro W5100 averages 12,847, a delta of 0.2% from the Radeon 740M. The AMD Radeon Pro 455 averages 12,831, a delta of 0.3%. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 averages 12,830, also 0.3% away. The AMD Radeon RX 580 averages 12,928, which is 0.4% higher than the Radeon 740M. These deltas are extremely small, indicating that the Radeon 740M performs almost identically to a group of older discrete GPUs. The largest gap in either direction is just 0.4%, which is within measurement noise for most benchmark suites.

The NVIDIA N1 20SM has no rivals listed and no scores, so the database cannot place it relative to the Radeon 740M using measured results. What can be said is that the N1 20SM targets a different performance class based on its raw specifications. Its FP32 throughput of 12.01 TFLOPS is more than four times the Radeon 740M's 2.867 TFLOPS. Its texture rate of 375.4 GTexel/s is roughly 8.4 times the Radeon 740M's 44.80 GTexel/s. Its pixel rate of 56.30 GPixel/s is about 2.5 times the Radeon 740M's 22.40 GPixel/s. These are large arithmetic gaps, but without benchmark scores for the N1 20SM, the database does not confirm how those specifications translate into real application performance.

The AMD Radeon 740M's Vulkan score of 15,568 is substantially higher than its OpenCL score of 10,172. This indicates that the RDNA 3.0 architecture handles Vulkan workloads more efficiently than OpenCL in the recorded tests. The N1 20SM has no comparable data. The Radeon 740M's average score of 12,870 lands between its two individual scores, which is consistent with an average of those two entries.

Because the head-to-head benchmark array is empty and the N1 20SM has no scores, the data cannot produce a direct win count. The winsA and winsB fields are both 0. This is a case where specification-level analysis is possible, but measured performance comparison is not.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon 740M wins in the only category where measured data exists: benchmark scores. Its average score of 12,870 places it at the 53rd percentile, and its nearest rivals are all within 0.4% of that figure. This means the Radeon 740M is a mid-tier integrated part that trades blows with older discrete GPUs. It wins against the AMD FirePro W5100 by 0.2%, against the AMD Radeon Pro 455 by 0.3%, and against the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 by 0.3%. It loses to the AMD Radeon RX 580 by 0.4%. These are marginal differences, so the Radeon 740M's wins are narrow in every case.

The Radeon 740M also wins on architectural modernity in terms of API support. It supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The NVIDIA N1 20SM lists all three APIs as N/A. For any application relying on those graphics APIs, the Radeon 740M is the only one of the two with recorded compatibility.

The NVIDIA N1 20SM wins on raw specification counts. It has 2,560 shading units versus 256 for the Radeon 740M, a 10-fold difference. It has 160 texture mapping units versus 16, a 10-fold difference. It has 24 ROPs versus 8, a 3-fold difference. It has 20 ray tracing cores versus 4, a 5-fold difference. It has 80 tensor cores, while the Radeon 740M has none listed. Its FP32 throughput of 12.01 TFLOPS versus 2.867 TFLOPS is a 4.2-fold advantage. Its texture rate of 375.4 GTexel/s versus 44.80 GTexel/s is an 8.4-fold advantage. Its pixel rate of 56.30 GPixel/s versus 22.40 GPixel/s is a 2.5-fold advantage.

The N1 20SM also wins on memory. It has 128 GB of LPDDR5X on a 256-bit bus, with 273.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The Radeon 740M uses system-shared memory with system-dependent bandwidth, so no fixed capacity or bandwidth figure exists in the database. The N1 20SM's memory clock is listed as 1067 MHz with 8.5 Gbps effective, while the Radeon 740M's memory clock is listed as "System Shared." This is not a contest in memory terms.

The N1 20SM wins on interface width. It uses PCIe 5.0 x16, while the Radeon 740M uses PCIe 4.0 x8. The N1 20SM also has a larger die at 382 mm² versus 137 mm². That die size difference is substantial, though the N1 20SM's transistor count is unknown while the Radeon 740M has 20,900 million transistors.

The use-case split is therefore clear. The Radeon 740M is the only part with measured benchmark results and full graphics API support. The N1 20SM has the specification advantage across compute, memory, and interface, but its performance cannot be quantified from the database.

FAQ

Q: Does the NVIDIA N1 20SM have any benchmark scores in the database?

A: No. The N1 20SM has an empty benchmark list and an average benchmark score of 0. The AMD Radeon 740M has a Geekbench OpenCL score of 10,172, a Geekbench Vulkan score of 15,568, and an average score of 12,870.

Q: How does the AMD Radeon 740M compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Radeon 740M's average score of 12,870 is 0.2% above the AMD FirePro W5100 (12,847), 0.3% above the AMD Radeon Pro 455 (12,831), 0.3% above the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 (12,830), and 0.4% below the AMD Radeon RX 580 (12,928). All deltas are within 0.4%.

Q: What is the FP32 performance difference between the two GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon 740M delivers 2.867 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. The NVIDIA N1 20SM delivers 12.01 TFLOPS. That is approximately 4.2 times higher.

Q: Which GPU has more ray tracing cores?

A: The NVIDIA N1 20SM has 20 ray tracing cores. The AMD Radeon 740M has 4 ray tracing cores. The N1 20SM has 5 times more.

Q: What memory configuration does each GPU use?

A: The AMD Radeon 740M uses system-shared memory with system-dependent bandwidth. The NVIDIA N1 20SM has 128 GB of LPDDR5X memory on a 256-bit bus with 273.2 GB/s of bandwidth and a memory clock of 1067 MHz (8.5 Gbps effective).

Q: Which GPU supports DirectX, OpenGL, and Vulkan?

A: The AMD Radeon 740M supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The NVIDIA N1 20SM lists all three APIs as N/A.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ on nearly every recorded specification field. The AMD Radeon 740M uses the Phoenix2 chip with RDNA 3.0 architecture, built on a 4 nm process at TSMC. The NVIDIA N1 20SM uses the GB20B chip with Blackwell 2.0 architecture, built on a 5 nm process at TSMC. The process nodes differ by one step, with the Radeon 740M on the smaller node.

Die size differs substantially. The Radeon 740M has a die size of 137 mm², while the N1 20SM has a die size of 382 mm². The Radeon 740M has 20,900 million transistors, while the N1 20SM's transistor count is listed as unknown. The Radeon 740M has a transistor density of 152.6M per mm², while the N1 20SM has no density figure recorded.

Clock speeds differ. The Radeon 740M has a base clock of 800 MHz and a boost clock of 2800 MHz. The N1 20SM has a base clock of 741 MHz and a boost clock of 2346 MHz. The Radeon 740M has a higher base clock by 59 MHz and a higher boost clock by 454 MHz, despite having far fewer processing units.

Compute unit counts differ by an order of magnitude. The Radeon 740M has 256 shading units, 16 TMUs, and 8 ROPs. The N1 20SM has 2,560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 24 ROPs. The N1 20SM also has 80 tensor cores, while the Radeon 740M has none listed.

Memory differs completely. The Radeon 740M uses system-shared memory with no fixed capacity, type, bus width, or bandwidth. The N1 20SM has 128 GB of LPDDR5X on a 256-bit bus with 273.2 GB/s of bandwidth.

The bus interface differs. The Radeon 740M uses PCIe 4.0 x8. The N1 20SM uses PCIe 5.0 x16. This gives the N1 20SM both a newer PCIe generation and double the lane count.

Display outputs differ. The Radeon 740M lists "Motherboard Dependent" as its display output. The N1 20SM lists a single HDMI output.

Power connectors are the same: both are listed as "None." Both have a slot width of "IGP," meaning neither is a discrete add-in card. The Radeon 740M has a TDP of 45 W, while the N1 20SM has an unknown TDP. The Radeon 740M has no suggested PSU, and neither does the N1 20SM.

Release dates differ. The Radeon 740M was released on January 30, 2024. The N1 20SM has a release date of May 31, 2026. Neither has a launch MSRP recorded in the database.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Radeon 740M is built on RDNA 3.0, the third generation of AMD's RDNA architecture, and belongs to the Navi III IGP (Phoenix) generation. The NVIDIA N1 20SM is built on Blackwell 2.0, NVIDIA's Blackwell architecture, and belongs to the Blackwell IGP (N1x) generation. These are fundamentally different design philosophies. RDNA 3.0 is optimized for graphics workloads with a focus on efficiency per compute unit, while Blackwell 2.0 is a broader architecture that includes tensor cores for AI acceleration, which the Radeon 740M lacks entirely.

The process technology differs. The Radeon 740M uses a 4 nm process at TSMC, while the N1 20SM uses a 5 nm process at TSMC. The Radeon 740M's smaller process node allows for a higher transistor density of 152.6M per mm², while the N1 20SM's transistor density is not recorded. Despite the larger process node, the N1 20SM has a much larger die at 382 mm² versus 137 mm², which accommodates its 2,560 shading units.

The ray tracing implementations differ in scale. The Radeon 740M has 4 ray tracing cores, while the N1 20SM has 20. This suggests the N1 20SM is designed for substantially heavier ray tracing workloads, though no benchmark data confirms this. The N1 20SM also adds 80 tensor cores, which the Radeon 740M does not have. Tensor cores are used for AI and machine learning workloads, so the N1 20SM has a clear architectural advantage in that domain.

Memory architecture differs fundamentally. The Radeon 740M relies on system-shared memory, meaning it has no dedicated VRAM and its bandwidth depends on the host system's memory configuration. The N1 20SM has dedicated 128 GB of LPDDR5X on a 256-bit bus with 273.2 GB/s of bandwidth. This gives the N1 20SM a fixed, high-bandwidth memory pool that does not compete with the CPU for bandwidth.

The API support differs. The Radeon 740M supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The N1 20SM lists all three as N/A. This means the Radeon 740M can run modern graphics APIs, while the N1 20SM's API compatibility is not recorded in the database. The Radeon 740M's DirectX 12 Ultimate support includes features associated with the 12_2 feature level, which is the highest currently defined.

The interface architecture differs. The Radeon 740M uses PCIe 4.0 x8, while the N1 20SM uses PCIe 5.0 x16. The N1 20SM's interface provides up to double the lanes on a newer standard, which matters for data transfer between the GPU and the host system. The Radeon 740M's predecessor is listed as Navi II IGP and its successor as Navi III IGP, while the N1 20SM has no predecessor or successor recorded.

The Radeon 740M's FP16 performance is equal to its FP32 performance at a 1:1 ratio, both at 2.867 TFLOPS. The N1 20SM also has a 1:1 ratio, with both FP16 and FP32 at 12.01 TFLOPS. Neither GPU has a separate, lower-precision FP16 path. The N1 20SM's pixel rate of 56.30 GPixel/s and texture rate of 375.4 GTexel/s are both far above the Radeon 740M's 22.40 GPixel/s and 44.80 GTexel/s, reflecting the N1 20SM's larger ROP and TMU counts.