AMD Radeon 860M vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630 Comparison

The AMD Radeon 860M and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630 present a fascinating clash of design philosophies: a modern integrated graphics processor (IGP) built on a modern 4 nm process versus a mature, low-profile discrete GPU from a previous generation. The benchmark data reveals a split decision, with each card claiming victory in one of the two available tests. The average benchmark scores are close, with the AMD Radeon 860M achieving 26,401 and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630 scoring 24,277, placing them in the 72nd and 70th percentiles of all GPUs, respectively. This page analyzes the specifications and benchmark results to determine which card excels in specific scenarios and for whom each is the most suitable choice based strictly on the provided data.

The Verdict

The data paints a picture of two distinct winners depending on the workload. For users prioritizing modern graphics API performance and raw compute in a low-power, integrated package, the AMD Radeon 860M is the clear choice. Its Vulkan score of 30,043 is a significant 26.8% higher than the GTX 1630's 23,695, indicating a substantial advantage in titles or applications that leverage Vulkan. This is a major win for the 860M, especially considering its 15 W TDP compared to the GTX 1630's 75 W.

Conversely, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630 is the winner for those needing a dedicated, slot-based solution with a proven OpenCL performance edge. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the GTX 1630 scores 24,858, which is 8.4% ahead of the 860M's 22,759. This suggests that for OpenCL-accelerated workloads, the discrete card holds a performance lead. The average scores also favor the 860M slightly (26,401 vs 24,277), but the margin is not as stark as the Vulkan delta.

The choice is clear: pick the AMD Radeon 860M for the best modern API performance and efficiency; pick the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630 for OpenCL-specific tasks and the benefits of a dedicated discrete card with its own memory. The data shows a tie in benchmark wins (1-1), but the magnitude of the Vulkan victory for the 860M is nearly three times larger than the GTX 1630's OpenCL lead, making the AMD part the overall stronger performer in the tested metrics.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gulf between these two GPUs is vast, reflecting different eras and design goals. The AMD Radeon 860M is built on the RDNA 3.5 architecture, using a 4 nm process at TSMC, and is part of the Navi III IGP generation for Strix Point Mobile. This is a highly integrated design, with the GPU sharing system memory. In contrast, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630 is based on the older Turing architecture, manufactured on a 12 nm process, and belongs to the GeForce 16 series. Its chip, TU117, is a discrete design with its own dedicated memory.

These architectural differences lead to major feature gaps. The 860M explicitly supports 8 RT cores, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing, a feature entirely absent from the GTX 1630, which has no RT cores listed. Furthermore, the 860M supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the GTX 1630 only supports DirectX 12 (12_1). This makes the AMD IGP more future-proof for games using the latest DirectX 12 features. Both cards support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4, but the AMD part's architecture is fundamentally newer and designed for modern APIs.

The process node difference is also telling. The 4 nm process of the 860M is several generations ahead of the 12 nm node used for the GTX 1630. This is reflected in the transistor data: the GTX 1630 has 4,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die, while the 860M's transistor count is unknown. The newer process allows the 860M to achieve higher clock speeds (up to 3000 MHz boost) and higher efficiency (15 W TDP) compared to the GTX 1630's 1785 MHz boost and 75 W TDP. The 860M's design as an IGP also means its memory bandwidth is "System Dependent," whereas the GTX 1630 has a fixed 96.00 GB/s from its GDDR6 memory.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark results from Geekbench offer a clear, if split, picture of performance. The most dramatic difference is in the Geekbench Vulkan test. Here, the AMD Radeon 860M scores 30,043, a full 26.8% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630's 23,695. This is a dominant victory for the 860M and suggests that its architecture is significantly more efficient at handling Vulkan workloads, which are common in modern cross-platform games. A delta of this size is not marginal; it represents a clear tier of performance separation in this specific API.

The tables are turned in the Geekbench OpenCL test. The GTX 1630 posts a score of 24,858, defeating the 860M's 22,759 by a margin of 8.4%. While this is a win for NVIDIA, the delta is smaller than the Vulkan loss. This indicates that while the GTX 1630 has a lead in OpenCL compute performance, its overall capabilities are not as future-proof or as strong in the modern Vulkan API. The GTX 1630's OpenCL score is also lower than its rival's Vulkan score, highlighting a potential API-specific weakness.

Looking at the average benchmark scores provides additional context. The AMD Radeon 860M's average of 26,401 places it slightly ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 (26,331) by 0.3% and behind the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary (26,553) by 0.6%. The GTX 1630's average of 24,277 puts it ahead of the GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER (24,170) by 0.4% and behind the AMD Radeon RX 6800S (24,063) by 0.9%. These comparisons show that both cards are clustered with much more powerful and expensive GPUs in terms of average score, but the 860M's average is over 2,000 points higher, reinforcing its overall performance advantage in these tests.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ significantly across nearly every core specification, reflecting their different roles. The AMD Radeon 860M operates with a base clock of 600 MHz and a boost clock of 3000 MHz, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630 runs at a much higher base clock of 1740 MHz but a lower boost of 1785 MHz. This shows the 860M's ability to ramp up to very high frequencies when needed, a trait enabled by its advanced process node.

In terms of compute units, both cards have 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. However, the clock speed differences lead to vastly different theoretical performance. The 860M has a pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s, while the GTX 1630 is significantly lower at 28.56 GPixel/s and 57.12 GTexel/s. This translates into a major raw throughput advantage for the AMD IGP. The FP32 performance is also higher for the 860M at 3.072 TFLOPS versus the GTX 1630's 1.828 TFLOPS.

Memory is another point of divergence. The GTX 1630 has a fixed 4 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 64-bit bus, providing 96.00 GB/s of bandwidth. The 860M, as an IGP, uses "System Shared" memory, with its bandwidth being "System Dependent." This means the 860M's performance can be heavily influenced by the speed of the laptop's system RAM. The GTX 1630's dedicated memory is a key advantage, as it doesn't compete with the CPU for bandwidth.

Other key differences include the TDP, where the 860M sips power at 15 W while the GTX 1630 uses 75 W; the bus interface, with the 860M on PCIe 4.0 x8 and the GTX 1630 on PCIe 3.0 x16; and the physical form factor, with the 860M being an IGP and the GTX 1630 being a single-slot, 145 mm long discrete card. The GTX 1630 has a suggested PSU of 250 W, while the 860M has no such requirement, needing no power connectors. The production status also differs, with the 860M listed as "Active" and the GTX 1630 as "End-of-life."

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon 860M has a higher average benchmark score of 26,401, compared to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630's 24,277, a difference of roughly 8.7%.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon 860M support hardware ray tracing?

A: Yes, the AMD Radeon 860M is listed with 8 RT cores, indicating hardware support for ray tracing. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630 has no RT cores listed.

Q: Which GPU performs better in the Vulkan API?

A: The AMD Radeon 860M is significantly faster in the Geekbench Vulkan test, scoring 30,043 compared to the GTX 1630's 23,695, a 26.8% advantage.

Q: What are the memory specifications for the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630?

A: The GTX 1630 has 4 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 64-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 96.00 GB/s.

Q: Which GPU has a lower power consumption requirement?

A: The AMD Radeon 860M has a TDP of 15 W, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630 has a TDP of 75 W and a suggested PSU of 250 W.

Q: Is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630 still in production?

A: No, its production status is listed as "End-of-life". The AMD Radeon 860M is currently listed as "Active".

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon 860M is the definitive winner in scenarios involving modern graphics APIs. Its 26.8% lead in the Vulkan benchmark is the largest performance delta between the two cards. This makes it the superior choice for users playing modern games that utilize Vulkan, which is a common API for many cross-platform titles and emulators. Its support for DirectX 12 Ultimate and 8 RT cores also positions it as the more future-proof option for upcoming games that may leverage these features. Furthermore, its incredibly low 15 W TDP makes it ideal for thin-and-light laptops where power efficiency is paramount, as it can deliver competitive performance without the thermal and power overhead of a discrete GPU.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630's primary victory comes in the OpenCL benchmark, where it is 8.4% ahead of the 860M. This makes it the better choice for specific compute workloads that rely heavily on OpenCL, such as certain video editing, rendering, or scientific applications. Its dedicated 4 GB of GDDR6 memory and fixed 96.00 GB/s bandwidth also provide a distinct advantage in scenarios where system memory bandwidth is a bottleneck for the IGP. As a discrete, single-slot card with its own cooling, it is also a straightforward upgrade path for desktop systems with a PCIe 3.0 x16 slot, offering a plug-and-play solution without the need to share system resources. Its 75 W TDP, while higher than the 860M, is still modest and only requires a 250 W PSU.

In summary, the Radeon 860M wins for modern gaming and efficiency, while the GeForce GTX 1630 wins for specific OpenCL compute tasks and for users seeking a dedicated, self-contained GPU. The data shows a clear tie in win count, but the sheer magnitude of the 860M's Vulkan victory suggests it has the higher overall performance ceiling, especially for future software that will increasingly rely on modern APIs like Vulkan and DirectX 12 Ultimate.