AMD Radeon 880M vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 and the AMD Radeon 880M represent two vastly different eras of GPU design, separated by over a decade of architectural evolution. The GTX 560 is a legacy discrete card from the Fermi 2.0 generation, built on a 40 nm process, while the 880M is a modern integrated graphics processor (IGP) using RDNA 3.5 on a 4 nm node. Benchmark data shows the 880M decisively outperforms the older card in the single shared test, yet the GTX 560 maintains a slight edge in overall percentile ranking. This analysis breaks down where each component wins based strictly on the provided performance metrics and specifications.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon 880M is the clear winner in raw computational throughput, as evidenced by its dominant performance in the Geekbench OpenCL test. The 880M scores 31,285, which is a staggering 245% higher than the GTX 560’s score of 9,058. This massive delta reflects the fundamental generational leap in shader performance, with the 880M’s 768 shading units and 4.454 TFLOPS FP32 throughput dwarfing the GTX 560’s 336 shading units and 1,088.6 GFLOPS. The 880M also leads decisively in texture and pixel fill rates, posting 139.2 GTexel/s and 46.40 GPixel/s respectively, compared to the GTX 560’s 45.36 GTexel/s and 11.34 GPixel/s. This makes the 880M the superior choice for any compute-heavy or modern rendering workload.

However, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 has its own niche based on the available data. Despite its lower raw compute scores, it holds a higher percentile ranking among all GPUs at 45, compared to the 880M’s 43rd percentile. This suggests that while the 880M is faster in a single synthetic test, the GTX 560’s performance profile aligns more closely with the median of the broader GPU landscape. The GTX 560 also benefits from dedicated GDDR5 memory with a 256-bit bus, providing 128.0 GB/s of bandwidth. While the 880M uses system-shared memory with system-dependent bandwidth, the GTX 560’s dedicated VRAM can be advantageous in scenarios sensitive to memory latency and allocation, though no specific benchmark in the pack confirms this advantage.

The 880M wins in architectural capability, supporting DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, whereas the GTX 560 is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0) with no Vulkan support listed. The 880M also includes 12 ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent from the GTX 560. For legacy applications, the GTX 560’s dual-slot design and 2x 6-pin power connectors indicate it was built for desktop expansion, while the 880M is an IGP designed for portable devices, meaning the GTX 560 wins in the category of being a standalone, upgradeable component.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous for most users: the AMD Radeon 880M is the superior performer. In the head-to-head Geekbench OpenCL benchmark, it wins outright with a deltaPct of -71 (indicating the GTX 560 is 71% slower). The 880M’s score of 31,285 places it in a completely different performance class than the GTX 560’s 9,058. Any user prioritizing compute performance, modern API support, or energy efficiency should choose the 880M. Its 15 W TDP is a fraction of the GTX 560’s 150 W, making it vastly more suitable for thin-and-light laptops or low-power systems.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 only makes sense for a very specific user: one who needs a dedicated PCIe card for an older desktop system and values its 45th percentile ranking over the 880M’s 43rd. The GTX 560’s launch MSRP was 199 USD, but its production status is end-of-life, meaning it is a legacy part. The data shows no scenario where the GTX 560 wins on raw speed, but its dedicated memory subsystem and established driver ecosystem for older games might appeal to retro-builders. However, for anyone considering these two for modern workloads, the 880M is the only logical choice, delivering over three times the OpenCL performance at one-tenth the power draw.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison available is the Geekbench OpenCL test, and it is a landslide victory for the AMD Radeon 880M. The 880M scores 31,285 points, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 manages only 9,058 points. This represents a deltaPct of -71, meaning the GTX 560’s score is 71% lower than the 880M’s. To put that in perspective, the GTX 560’s score is closer to its nearest rivals, the NVIDIA TITAN V CEO Edition (9,037) and GeForce GTX 660 (9,022), differing by just 0.2% and 0.4% respectively. The 880M, on the other hand, sits among a faster crowd, with its nearest rival being the AMD Radeon 890M at 9,210, a -1.7% delta, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675MX at 8,427, a 0.1% delta.

This single benchmark underscores the generational gap. The 880M’s FP32 compute of 4.454 TFLOPS is roughly four times the GTX 560’s 1,088.6 GFLOPS, which aligns with the observed score difference. Furthermore, the 880M’s boost clock of 2900 MHz is dramatically higher than the GTX 560’s memory clock of 1000 MHz, though comparing clock speeds across architectures is not directly indicative of performance. The 880M also shows its strength in other benchmarks not shared with the GTX 560, such as a Passmark G3D score of 7,615 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 40,006, while the GTX 560 has no corresponding data. The verdict from the head-to-head is clear: the 880M is not just faster; it is in a different league entirely.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher Geekbench OpenCL score?

A: The AMD Radeon 880M scores 31,285, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 scores 9,058. The 880M wins this benchmark by a deltaPct of -71, meaning it is 71% faster.

Q: How does the GTX 560 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GTX 560’s average benchmark score is 9,058. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA TITAN V CEO Edition at 9,037, a 0.2% difference, followed by the GeForce GTX 660 at 9,022, a 0.4% difference, and the AMD Radeon 550X at 8,918, a 1.6% difference.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon 880M support ray tracing?

A: Yes, the 880M includes 12 ray tracing cores, part of its RDNA 3.5 architecture. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 has no ray tracing cores listed in its specifications.

Q: What are the power consumption figures for these two GPUs?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 has a TDP of 150 W and requires a 450 W suggested PSU with 2x 6-pin power connectors. The AMD Radeon 880M has a TDP of just 15 W and requires no power connectors, as it is an IGP.

Q: Which GPU has a higher percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 is in the 45th percentile, while the AMD Radeon 880M is in the 43rd percentile. Despite the 880M’s higher raw score in the head-to-head, the GTX 560 ranks slightly higher overall.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference?

A: The GTX 560 uses 1024 MB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 128.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The 880M uses system-shared memory with a system-shared bus and system-dependent bandwidth, meaning its performance relies on the host system’s RAM.

Architecture Differences

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 and AMD Radeon 880M are built on fundamentally different architectures and process nodes. The GTX 560 uses the GF114 chip with the Fermi 2.0 architecture, fabricated on a 40 nm process at TSMC. It contains 1,950 million transistors on a die size of 332 mm², resulting in a transistor density of 5.9M per mm². In contrast, the 880M uses the Strix Point chip with RDNA 3.5 architecture, built on a 4 nm process, also at TSMC. This modern chip packs 34,000 million transistors into a smaller 233 mm² die, achieving a dramatically higher density of 145.9M per mm².

The core configurations differ significantly. The GTX 560 has 336 shading units, 56 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 32 render output units (ROPs). The 880M has 768 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 16 ROPs, plus 12 dedicated ray tracing cores. The 880M’s pixel rate is 46.40 GPixel/s and its texture rate is 139.2 GTexel/s, both far exceeding the GTX 560’s 11.34 GPixel/s and 45.36 GTexel/s. In terms of compute, the 880M delivers 4.454 TFLOPS for both FP32 and FP16 (1:1 ratio), while the GTX 560 provides 1,088.6 GFLOPS of FP32 with no FP16 data.

Memory architecture also diverges completely. The GTX 560 is a discrete card with 1024 MB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, offering 128.0 GB/s bandwidth. The 880M is an integrated GPU with system-shared memory, where the bus width and bandwidth are system-dependent. Clock behavior varies too: the GTX 560 lists a memory clock of 1000 MHz (4 Gbps effective) but no base or boost core clocks, while the 880M has a base clock of 400 MHz and a boost clock of 2900 MHz. The 880M supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, whereas the GTX 560 is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, with no Vulkan support. The GTX 560 is a dual-slot, 150 W card with a PCIe 2.0 x16 interface, while the 880M is an IGP with a 15 W TDP on PCIe 4.0 x8, designed for portable devices. The GTX 560’s release date is 2011-05-16, and the 880M’s is 2024-07-14, representing a 13-year gap in engineering.