AMD Radeon 840M vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Max-Q Comparison

FAQ

Q: What are the architecture and process node differences between the AMD Radeon 840M and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Max-Q?

A: The AMD Radeon 840M uses the RDNA 3.5 architecture on a 4 nm TSMC process, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Max-Q uses Ada Lovelace on a 5 nm TSMC process. The AMD chip is part of the Navi III IGP (Strix Point Mobile) generation, whereas the NVIDIA part belongs to the GeForce 40 Mobile generation.

Q: How do the shading unit counts compare between the two GPUs?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Max-Q has 4,608 shading units, which is 18 times the 256 shading units found in the AMD Radeon 840M. The NVIDIA part also carries 144 texture mapping units and 48 render output units, compared to 16 TMUs and 8 ROPs on the AMD side.

Q: What is the memory configuration for each product?

A: The RTX 4070 Max-Q uses 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 256.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Radeon 840M uses system shared memory with a system dependent bandwidth and no dedicated VRAM.

Q: What are the boost clock speeds for the two GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon 840M has a boost clock of 2900 MHz, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Max-Q boosts to 1230 MHz. The base clocks are 400 MHz for the AMD part and 735 MHz for the NVIDIA part.

Q: Do both GPUs support the same DirectX and Vulkan versions?

A: Yes, both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Both also feature ray tracing cores, with the AMD part having 4 RT cores and the NVIDIA part having 36 RT cores.

Q: What is the thermal design power for each GPU?

A: The AMD Radeon 840M has a TDP of 15 W, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Max-Q has a TDP of 35 W. Both are integrated-class parts with no power connectors and a slot width of IGP.

The Verdict

The recorded data places these two GPUs in entirely different performance classes. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Max-Q delivers 11.34 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, a figure that dwarfs the AMD Radeon 840M's 1,484.8 GFLOPS (approximately 1.48 TFLOPS). That is a 7.6x advantage in raw floating-point throughput for the NVIDIA part.

The RTX 4070 Max-Q also leads decisively in pixel and texture throughput. Its 59.04 GPixel/s pixel rate is 2.5x the AMD part's 23.20 GPixel/s, and its 177.1 GTexel/s texture rate is 3.8x the 46.40 GTexel/s posted by the Radeon 840M. The NVIDIA GPU further separates itself with 144 tensor cores and 36 RT cores, whereas the AMD part lists no tensor cores and only 4 RT cores.

For users who need maximum rendering performance in a mobile platform, the RTX 4070 Max-Q is the clear choice based on compute and memory bandwidth metrics. Its 256.0 GB/s dedicated GDDR6 bandwidth, versus the system-dependent shared memory of the Radeon 840M, removes any reliance on system RAM performance.

The AMD Radeon 840M is the lower-power option at 15 W versus 35 W, and it uses a more advanced 4 nm process node. It suits scenarios where power draw is the priority and where the workload does not demand high FP32 throughput or dedicated VRAM. The NVIDIA part is the performance leader in every measured specification category, making it the appropriate pick for GPU-intensive tasks such as high-resolution rendering or ray-traced workloads.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head benchmark array in the database contains no recorded entries for this pair, so the comparison relies entirely on the specification-level measurements. The largest single advantage for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Max-Q appears in shading throughput: its 11.34 TFLOPS FP32 output is roughly 7.6 times the Radeon 840M's 1,484.8 GFLOPS.

Texture fill rate shows the next biggest gap. The RTX 4070 Max-Q produces 177.1 GTexel/s versus 46.40 GTexel/s for the AMD part, a 3.8x margin. Pixel fill rate follows at 59.04 GPixel/s versus 23.20 GPixel/s, giving the NVIDIA GPU a 2.5x lead.

Memory bandwidth presents a structural separation. The NVIDIA part accesses 8 GB of GDDR6 across a 128-bit bus at 256.0 GB/s, while the AMD part depends on system shared memory with bandwidth labeled as system dependent. In any workload where dedicated memory bandwidth matters, the RTX 4070 Max-Q holds an unquantified but substantial advantage.

The RT core count difference also favors NVIDIA heavily: 36 RT cores versus 4 RT cores on the AMD part. Tensor cores exist only on the NVIDIA side at 144 units. The AMD Radeon 840M does counter with a higher boost clock of 2900 MHz versus 1230 MHz on the NVIDIA part, but that clock advantage does not translate into higher throughput given the massive difference in execution resources.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every major specification field.

• Shading units: 256 on the AMD Radeon 840M; 4,608 on the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Max-Q.
• Texture mapping units: 16 on AMD; 144 on NVIDIA.
• Render output units: 8 on AMD; 48 on NVIDIA.
• Ray tracing cores: 4 on AMD; 36 on NVIDIA.
• Tensor cores: none listed on AMD; 144 on NVIDIA.
• FP32 compute: 1,484.8 GFLOPS on AMD; 11.34 TFLOPS on NVIDIA.
• FP16 compute: 1,484.8 GFLOPS (1:1) on AMD; 11.34 TFLOPS (1:1) on NVIDIA.
• Pixel rate: 23.20 GPixel/s on AMD; 59.04 GPixel/s on NVIDIA.
• Texture rate: 46.40 GTexel/s on AMD; 177.1 GTexel/s on NVIDIA.
• Base clock: 400 MHz on AMD; 735 MHz on NVIDIA.
• Boost clock: 2900 MHz on AMD; 1230 MHz on NVIDIA.
• Memory: system shared on AMD; 8 GB GDDR6, 128-bit, 256.0 GB/s on NVIDIA.
• Memory clock: system shared on AMD; 2000 MHz with 16 Gbps effective on NVIDIA.
• TDP: 15 W on AMD; 35 W on NVIDIA.
• Process node: 4 nm on AMD; 5 nm on NVIDIA.
• Transistors: unknown on AMD; 22,900 million on NVIDIA.
• Die size: unknown on AMD; 188 mm² on NVIDIA.
• Transistor density: not listed on AMD; 121.8M / mm² on NVIDIA.
• Chip name: Krackan Point on AMD; AD106 on NVIDIA.
• Release date: 2025-02-28 for AMD; 2023-01-02 for NVIDIA.
• Predecessor: Navi II IGP on AMD; GeForce 30 Mobile on NVIDIA.
• Successor: none listed on AMD; GeForce 50 Mobile on NVIDIA.

The bus interface is identical at PCIe 4.0 x8, and both use the IGP slot width with no power connectors.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Radeon 840M is built on RDNA 3.5, fabricated by TSMC on a 4 nm process. It belongs to the Navi III IGP generation under the Krackan Point chip designation. The architecture emphasizes efficiency, reflected in its 15 W TDP and integrated design with system shared memory.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Max-Q uses Ada Lovelace, also fabricated by TSMC but on a 5 nm process. The chip is AD106, containing 22,900 million transistors on a 188 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 121.8M per mm². The Ada Lovelace architecture includes dedicated tensor cores and a much larger RT core array, which supports hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI workloads.

The AMD part integrates 4 RT cores and no tensor cores, while the NVIDIA part integrates 36 RT cores and 144 tensor cores. Both architectures support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so API compatibility is not a differentiator.

The AMD GPU has a higher boost clock at 2900 MHz, a common trait for integrated graphics running on a 4 nm process with a 15 W power envelope. The NVIDIA GPU runs a lower 1230 MHz boost but compensates with 18x the shading units, 9x the RT cores, and 6x the ROPs.

Memory architecture differs fundamentally: the AMD part shares system memory with the host processor, making bandwidth dependent on the platform, while the NVIDIA part uses 8 GB of dedicated GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with fixed 256.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Max-Q wins in every throughput category recorded in the database. Its FP32 compute of 11.34 TFLOPS makes it suitable for heavy graphics rendering, 3D modeling, and any workload that scales with shading throughput. The 36 RT cores provide hardware ray tracing capability at a scale the AMD part cannot approach. The 144 tensor cores enable AI-accelerated features, which the AMD part lacks entirely.

The dedicated 8 GB GDDR6 frame buffer with 256.0 GB/s bandwidth gives the RTX 4070 Max-Q a clear advantage for texture-heavy scenes and high-resolution rendering, as it does not contend with the system memory bus. The 177.1 GTexel/s texture rate and 59.04 GPixel/s pixel rate support high-detail textures and high-resolution output.

The AMD Radeon 840M wins in power efficiency. Its 15 W TDP is less than half the 35 W TDP of the NVIDIA part, making it the better fit for platforms where thermal and power budgets are tight. The 4 nm process node also suggests a more advanced manufacturing technology than the 5 nm node used by NVIDIA. The higher 2900 MHz boost clock indicates the AMD part can reach higher frequencies, though with far fewer execution units.

The AMD part's system shared memory approach means it uses whatever memory bandwidth the platform provides, which can be adequate for light workloads but does not match dedicated VRAM. Its 256 shading units and 8 ROPs place it in the entry-level integrated segment.

The release timeline also matters: the Radeon 840M launched on 2025-02-28, over two years after the RTX 4070 Max-Q's 2023-01-02 release. The NVIDIA part has a successor in GeForce 50 Mobile, while the AMD part lists no successor.

For gaming and rendering workloads, the data points firmly to the RTX 4070 Max-Q. For low-power integrated use where the GPU shares system memory and the workload stays light, the Radeon 840M offers a lower-power path with modern RDNA 3.5 architecture.