AMD Radeon 880M vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN BLACK Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a clear split between these two GPUs, with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN BLACK taking 6 of the 9 shared benchmark wins, while the AMD Radeon 880M claims 3. The most decisive victory for the AMD part comes in the Geekbench Vulkan test, where it scores 40,006 against NVIDIA's 29,561, a 26.1% advantage. This is the largest single-benchmark gap in either direction and signals a fundamental difference in modern API efficiency.

The Geekbench OpenCL result follows the same pattern, with AMD at 31,285 and NVIDIA at 27,218, a 13% margin in favor of the Radeon 880M. These two compute-oriented tests are the only head-to-head wins for AMD that exceed 1%, and they highlight the architectural gulf between a 2014 discrete GPU and a 2024 integrated processor.

NVIDIA's wins are concentrated in the PassMark suite, and several are substantial. The DirectX 10 test shows the GTX TITAN BLACK at 47 versus AMD's 31, a 51.6% lead. DirectX 9 is similarly lopsided: 133 to 97, a 37.1% advantage. The PassMark G3D score favors NVIDIA at 9,184 against 7,615, a 20.6% margin. Smaller wins appear in DirectX 12 (34 vs 32, a 6.3% edge) and GPU compute (3,726 vs 3,719, a marginal 0.2% difference). The DirectX 11 test is a perfect tie at 73 points each, the only benchmark where neither side gains ground.

The PassMark G2D test is the remaining AMD victory, and it is notable: AMD scores 969 versus NVIDIA's 595, a 38.6% advantage in 2D rendering workloads. This is a significant margin, though 2D performance rarely dictates gaming decisions.

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark distribution tells a coherent story. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN BLACK wins across the legacy DirectX 9 and DirectX 10 workloads by wide margins, and it also holds a solid lead in the composite G3D score, which aggregates general 3D rendering performance. Its DirectX 12 win is narrow, but it still edges ahead. For users running older games or applications built on DirectX 9 or 10 APIs, the data clearly favors the GTX TITAN BLACK.

The AMD Radeon 880M dominates in Vulkan and OpenCL compute workloads, with its 26.1% Vulkan lead and 13% OpenCL lead being the strongest arguments for its selection. The PassMark G2D result adds another dimension: AMD is nearly 39% faster in 2D rendering, which matters for desktop compositing, UI work, and certain productivity tasks. The near-tie in GPU compute (0.2% difference) means neither card has a meaningful edge there, while the DirectX 11 tie at 73 suggests parity in that API generation.

In practical terms, the GTX TITAN BLACK is the pick for older DirectX titles and general 3D rasterization, while the Radeon 880M is the choice for Vulkan-based games, compute-heavy OpenCL workloads, and 2D-centric applications. The GTX TITAN BLACK retains a 20.6% lead in the G3D composite, which is the broadest single measure of 3D capability, but the AMD part's modern API support narrows the gap in current-generation software.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from entirely different eras and design philosophies. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN BLACK uses the GK110B chip on the Kepler architecture, built on a 28 nm process at TSMC with 7,080 million transistors on a 561 mm² die. That works out to a transistor density of 12.6 million per square millimeter. The AMD Radeon 880M employs the Strix Point chip with RDNA 3.5 architecture, manufactured on a 4 nm process, also at TSMC, packing 34,000 million transistors into just 233 mm². The density difference is enormous: 145.9 million transistors per square millimeter versus 12.6 million, a 11.6x ratio that reflects over a decade of process node advancement.

Core configurations diverge sharply. The GTX TITAN BLACK has 2,880 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs. The Radeon 880M counters with 768 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 16 ROPs, but adds 12 ray tracing cores, a feature the Kepler part lacks entirely. Clock speeds tell the opposite story: NVIDIA runs at 889 MHz base and 980 MHz boost, while AMD operates at 400 MHz base and 2,900 MHz boost, a 196% higher boost clock that partially compensates for its reduced core count.

Memory is another fundamental split. The GTX TITAN BLACK has 6 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, delivering 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Radeon 880M uses system shared memory, with its size, bus width, and bandwidth all dependent on the host system. This gives NVIDIA a massive bandwidth advantage in dedicated VRAM scenarios, while AMD benefits from flexibility and avoids dedicated memory overhead.

The process node and transistor budget differences also show up in power and physical design. NVIDIA has a 250 W TDP with dual-slot cooling and requires both a 6-pin and 8-pin power connector, plus a 600 W suggested PSU. AMD fits everything into a 15 W TDP with no power connectors, an integrated graphics package, and a PCIe 4.0 x8 interface versus NVIDIA's PCIe 3.0 x16. The Radeon 880M also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the GTX TITAN BLACK is limited to DirectX 12 (11_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6, but AMD's Vulkan 1.4 support is newer than NVIDIA's 1.2.175.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN BLACK records an average benchmark score of 9,474, compared to the AMD Radeon 880M's 8,436. The NVIDIA part also sits at the 46th percentile of all GPUs, while AMD is at the 43rd.

Q: How do the nearest rivals compare for each card?

A: The GTX TITAN BLACK's closest competitor is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760, with a score of 9,458 and a 0.2% difference. The Radeon 880M's nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675MX at 8,427, a 0.1% gap. Both cards sit within 2% of their nearest neighbors, indicating tight clustering in their performance tiers.

Q: What is the biggest performance gap in either direction?

A: The largest margin is in the Geekbench Vulkan test, where the AMD Radeon 880M leads by 26.1%. The largest NVIDIA margin is in PassMark DirectX 10, where the GTX TITAN BLACK leads by 51.6%.

Q: Do these GPUs support the same DirectX version?

A: No. The AMD Radeon 880M supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN BLACK is limited to DirectX 12 (11_1). This gives AMD access to newer rendering features.

Q: How does memory configuration affect performance?

A: The GTX TITAN BLACK uses 6 GB of dedicated GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus with 336.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Radeon 880M relies on system shared memory, so its bandwidth is system dependent. This makes NVIDIA's memory subsystem far more predictable for heavy 3D workloads.

Q: Which card has a higher boost clock?

A: The AMD Radeon 880M boosts to 2,900 MHz, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN BLACK boosts to 980 MHz. AMD's clock is nearly three times higher, though it delivers this with far fewer shading units.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN BLACK | AMD Radeon 880M |

|---|---|---|

| Chip | GK110B | Strix Point |

| Architecture | Kepler | RDNA 3.5 |

| Generation | GeForce 700 | Navi III IGP (Strix Point Mobile) |

| Process Node | 28 nm | 4 nm |

| Transistors | 7,080 million | 34,000 million |

| Die Size | 561 mm² | 233 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 12.6M / mm² | 145.9M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 889 MHz | 400 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 980 MHz | 2,900 MHz |

| Memory Size | 6 GB | System Shared |

| Memory Type | GDDR5 | System Shared |

| Memory Bus | 384 bit | System Shared |

| Memory Bandwidth | 336.0 GB/s | System Dependent |

| Shading Units | 2,880 | 768 |

| TMUs | 240 | 48 |

| ROPs | 48 | 16 |

| Ray Tracing Cores | None | 12 |

| Pixel Rate | 58.80 GPixel/s | 46.40 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 235.2 GTexel/s | 139.2 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 5.645 TFLOPS | 4.454 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | None | 4.454 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 250 W | 15 W |

| Slot Width | Dual-slot | IGP |

| Power Connectors | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin | None |

| Suggested PSU | 600 W | None |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x8 |

| DirectX | 12 (11_1) | 12 Ultimate (12_2) |

| Vulkan | 1.2.175 | 1.4 |

| Production Status | End-of-life | Active |

| Release Date | 2014-02-17 | 2024-07-14 |

| Predecessor | GeForce 600 | Navi II IGP |

| Successor | GeForce 900 | None |

| Launch MSRP | 999 USD | None |

The Verdict

The data points to distinct use cases rather than a single winner. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN BLACK is the stronger choice for legacy DirectX 9 and 10 workloads, where it leads by 37.1% and 51.6% respectively, and for general 3D rendering as measured by the G3D test, where it holds a 20.6% advantage. Its 6 GB of dedicated GDDR5 memory and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth make it a more capable option for bandwidth-sensitive applications, and its 2,880 shading units provide raw throughput that the Radeon 880M cannot match in traditional rasterization.

The AMD Radeon 880M is the better pick for modern API adoption. Its 26.1% Vulkan lead and 13% OpenCL advantage are decisive, and its 38.6% G2D margin shows clear superiority in 2D rendering. The 12 ray tracing cores give it hardware features the NVIDIA card simply does not have, while its 15 W TDP and integrated form factor allow deployment in compact, power-efficient systems where a 250 W dual-slot card is impractical.

The average scores tell the final story: 9,474 for NVIDIA versus 8,436 for AMD, a 12.3% gap that places the GTX TITAN BLACK at the 46th percentile and the Radeon 880M at the 43rd. The GTX TITAN BLACK remains the stronger overall 3D performer, but the Radeon 880M's modern API support and compute efficiency make it the more future-proof option. Users prioritizing older game libraries or maximum raw bandwidth should lean toward NVIDIA; those targeting Vulkan, compute, or 2D-heavy workflows should choose AMD.