AMD Radeon 740M vs NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max-Q Comparison

FAQ

Q: What is the architectural generation of each GPU?

A: The AMD Radeon 740M is built on RDNA 3.0, part of the Navi III IGP (Phoenix) generation, while the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max-Q uses the Blackwell 2.0 architecture from the Blackwell PRO W (x000) generation.

Q: How do the process nodes compare?

A: The AMD Radeon 740M uses a 4 nm TSMC process with a die size of 137 mm², while the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max-Q uses a 5 nm TSMC process with a much larger die size of 750 mm².

Q: What are the average benchmark scores for each?

A: The AMD Radeon 740M has an average benchmark score of 12,870, while the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max-Q has an average score of 11,088 based on the recorded data.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max-Q has 24,064 shading units, which is dramatically more than the 256 shading units found on the AMD Radeon 740M.

Q: What is the memory configuration on each?

A: The AMD Radeon 740M uses system-shared memory with system-dependent bandwidth, whereas the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max-Q has 96 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus with 1.79 TB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU has a higher boost clock?

A: The AMD Radeon 740M has a higher boost clock at 2800 MHz compared to 2280 MHz for the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max-Q, despite the NVIDIA card having a higher base clock of 1035 MHz versus 800 MHz.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Radeon 740M and NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max-Q represent two fundamentally different design philosophies. The Radeon 740M is an integrated GPU (IGP) based on the Phoenix2 chip, built on TSMC's 4 nm process with 20,900 million transistors packed into a 137 mm² die. This yields a transistor density of 152.6 million per mm². The NVIDIA part, in contrast, uses the GB202 chip on TSMC's 5 nm process, with 92,200 million transistors spread across a massive 750 mm² die, resulting in a lower transistor density of 122.9 million per mm².

The RDNA 3.0 architecture in the AMD part is designed for efficiency and integration. It features 256 shading units, 16 texture mapping units, and 8 raster operation units. Ray tracing is handled by 4 dedicated RT cores, and the GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The Blackwell 2.0 architecture in the NVIDIA GPU is a professional workstation-class design with 24,064 shading units, 752 TMUs, and 192 ROPs. It also includes 188 RT cores and 752 tensor cores, which the AMD part lacks entirely. Both support the same API set, including DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4.

Clock behavior differs notably. The AMD Radeon 740M has a base clock of 800 MHz and a boost of 2800 MHz, while the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max-Q runs at 1035 MHz base and 2280 MHz boost. The memory subsystem is another major divergence: the AMD part uses system-shared memory with system-dependent bandwidth, while the NVIDIA card uses dedicated 96 GB of GDDR7 on a 512-bit interface delivering 1.79 TB/s.

Power and physical characteristics also separate these two. The Radeon 740M consumes 45 W TDP and is an IGP with no power connectors, requiring motherboard-dependent display outputs. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max-Q has a 300 W TDP, is dual-slot, uses a single 16-pin power connector, and suggests a 700 W PSU. It measures 267 mm in length, 111 mm in height, and 40 mm in width, with 4x DisplayPort 2.1b outputs. The bus interfaces differ as well: PCIe 4.0 x8 for AMD versus PCIe 5.0 x16 for NVIDIA.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data reveals a counterintuitive result: despite the enormous specification gap, the average scores are far closer than the hardware differences would suggest. The AMD Radeon 740M records an average benchmark score of 12,870, while the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max-Q averages 11,088. This puts the AMD part ahead by approximately 16% in the overall average, a surprising margin given the NVIDIA card's raw compute advantages.

Looking at individual tests, the AMD Radeon 740M achieves 10,172 in Geekbench OpenCL and 15,568 in Geekbench Vulkan. The NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max-Q has only one recorded benchmark result: 11,088 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. The absence of overlapping test suites makes direct apples-to-apples comparison impossible, but the average scores serve as a proxy for overall performance standing.

The percentile data contextualizes these numbers. The AMD Radeon 740M sits at the 53rd percentile among all GPUs, while the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max-Q is at the 50th percentile. This near-parity in percentile ranking reinforces that the average scores, rather than peak theoretical throughput, place these two in similar performance tiers according to the database.

Nearest rival comparisons further illuminate the picture. The AMD Radeon 740M's nearest rivals include the AMD FirePro W5100 (12,847, 0.2% higher), AMD Radeon Pro 455 (12,831, 0.3% higher), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 (12,830, 0.3% higher), and AMD Radeon RX 580 (12,928, 0.4% lower). The NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max-Q's nearest rivals are the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000D Blackwell Max-Q (11,088, 0% difference), AMD Radeon RX 550 (11,075, 0.1% higher), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER (11,047, 0.4% higher), and AMD FirePro W4300 (11,225, 1.2% lower). These clusters show that both GPUs sit in performance bands where small score differences translate into tight competition.

The theoretical compute figures tell a different story than the benchmarks. The NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max-Q delivers 109.7 TFLOPS FP32 and FP16, versus 2.867 TFLOPS for the AMD Radeon 740M. Pixel rate is 437.8 GPixel/s versus 22.40 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 1,714.6 GTexel/s versus 44.80 GTexel/s. However, the recorded benchmark scores do not reflect this massive theoretical gap, indicating that the synthetic workloads in the database favor the AMD part's architecture or that driver optimizations and test conditions play a significant role.

Specification Differences

The specification sheets for these two GPUs diverge on nearly every measurable field.

Process and Die: AMD uses 4 nm at TSMC with 20,900 million transistors on a 137 mm² die (152.6M transistors per mm²). NVIDIA uses 5 nm at TSMC with 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die (122.9M per mm²).

Clocks: AMD base 800 MHz, boost 2800 MHz, memory system shared. NVIDIA base 1035 MHz, boost 2280 MHz, memory clock 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective).

Memory: AMD has system-shared size, type, bus width, and system-dependent bandwidth. NVIDIA has 96 GB GDDR7, 512-bit bus, 1.79 TB/s bandwidth.

Compute Units: AMD has 256 shading units, 16 TMUs, 8 ROPs, 4 RT cores, no tensor cores. NVIDIA has 24,064 shading units, 752 TMUs, 192 ROPs, 188 RT cores, 752 tensor cores.

Rates: AMD pixel rate 22.40 GPixel/s, texture rate 44.80 GTexel/s, FP32 2.867 TFLOPS, FP16 2.867 TFLOPS (1:1). NVIDIA pixel rate 437.8 GPixel/s, texture rate 1,714.6 GTexel/s, FP32 109.7 TFLOPS, FP16 109.7 TFLOPS (1:1).

Power and Physical: AMD TDP 45 W, IGP slot width, no power connectors, no suggested PSU, PCIe 4.0 x8, motherboard-dependent display outputs. NVIDIA TDP 300 W, dual-slot, 1x 16-pin connector, 700 W suggested PSU, PCIe 5.0 x16, 4x DisplayPort 2.1b, dimensions 267 mm x 111 mm x 40 mm.

Release and Status: AMD released 2024-01-30, predecessor Navi II IGP, successor Navi III IGP, active production. NVIDIA released 2025-03-17, predecessor Workstation Ada, no successor listed, active production. NVIDIA has a launch MSRP of 8,565 USD.

The Verdict

The data presents a clear but unusual verdict. The AMD Radeon 740M wins on average benchmark score (12,870 versus 11,088) and holds a higher percentile ranking (53rd versus 50th). It also carries a higher boost clock (2800 MHz versus 2280 MHz) and uses a smaller, denser process node. For users whose workloads align with the Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan tests, the Radeon 740M is the better-performing option according to the recorded measurements.

The NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max-Q is the choice for those who need its specific feature set. It offers 96 GB of GDDR7 memory with 1.79 TB/s bandwidth, 188 RT cores, 752 tensor cores, and PCIe 5.0 x16 connectivity. Its 300 W TDP and dual-slot design indicate a professional workstation card intended for sustained compute tasks, not the integrated, low-power segment that the Radeon 740M occupies.

The benchmark results contradict the theoretical specifications. The NVIDIA card's 109.7 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 437.8 GPixel/s pixel rate dwarf the AMD part's figures, yet the database scores place them nearly equal. This suggests that the synthetic workloads used for the average score do not fully exercise the NVIDIA card's capabilities, or that the AMD part's driver and architecture handle those specific tests more efficiently.

For a system builder seeking an integrated GPU with competitive synthetic benchmark scores, the AMD Radeon 740M delivers results at a fraction of the power envelope. For a professional requiring massive memory capacity, ray tracing hardware, tensor cores, and workstation-grade display outputs, the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max-Q is the only option with those specifications. The data does not support the NVIDIA card being faster in the recorded benchmarks, but the specification sheet clearly positions it for a different class of workload entirely.