AMD Radeon 890M vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data contains a single direct head-to-head benchmark between the AMD Radeon 890M and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M, and the result is decisive. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the AMD Radeon 890M scores 37,254 points, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M scores 5,622 points. That represents a delta of 562.6% in favor of the AMD part. This is not a marginal victory; it is a generational gap expressed in raw compute throughput. The AMD Radeon 890M outperforms the GTX 880M by a factor of more than six in this synthetic compute workload.

The broader benchmark database reinforces this gap. The AMD Radeon 890M holds an average benchmark score of 9,210 across all recorded tests, placing it at the 45th percentile of all GPUs. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M, by contrast, has an average benchmark score of 8,040, placing it at the 42nd percentile. While the percentile difference is small, the average score difference is 1,170 points in favor of the 890M, roughly 14.6% higher on average across all tests.

Looking at the nearest rivals list for each card, the context becomes clearer. The AMD Radeon 890M's closest competitor is the AMD Radeon Vega 8 with an average score of 9,221, a negligible delta of -0.1%. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M's closest rival is the NVIDIA Quadro P5000 with an average score of 8,039, a delta of 0%. This means the 890M sits in a performance tier alongside discrete desktop cards like the GTX 960 (9,273 average score, -0.7% delta) and GTX 465 (9,294 average score, -0.9% delta), while the 880M sits alongside lower-tier desktop parts like the GTX 650 Ti (8,053 average score, -0.2% delta) and GTX 650 Ti Boost (8,067 average score, -0.3% delta).

The head-to-head OpenCL result is the only direct comparison available, but it aligns with the average score differential. The 890M's individual benchmark results are consistently strong: 40,808 in Geekbench Vulkan, 8,076 in Passmark G3D, and 4,157 in Passmark GPU Compute. The GTX 880M's only other recorded result is 10,458 in Geekbench Metal, which has no equivalent on the AMD side. The single direct comparison, however, leaves no ambiguity about which part is faster in compute-heavy workloads.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon 890M wins in every scenario where the two cards have overlapping benchmark data. The only direct head-to-head test, Geekbench OpenCL, goes to the 890M by a 562.6% margin. This indicates that the 890M is substantially stronger in general-purpose GPU compute tasks, which are often representative of workloads like physics simulations, video encoding, and machine learning inference.

The 890M also wins on raw rasterization potential based on its specification profile. It has a pixel rate of 92.80 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 185.6 GTexel/s, compared to the GTX 880M's 31.78 GPixel/s and 127.1 GTexel/s. The 890M's FP32 throughput is 5.939 TFLOPS versus 3.050 TFLOPS for the GTX 880M. These figures suggest the 890M should dominate in fill-rate-bound and shader-bound scenarios, which covers most modern game rendering.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M retains one advantage: memory capacity and bandwidth. The GTX 880M has 8 GB of dedicated GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 160.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The 890M uses system shared memory, with bandwidth described as "System Dependent." In scenarios where dedicated VRAM is critical, such as large texture sets at high resolutions, the GTX 880M's fixed memory pool could be beneficial. However, the 890M's shared memory architecture allows it to access the full system memory pool, which can exceed 8 GB on modern laptops.

The GTX 880M also has a higher shading unit count at 1,536 versus 1,024, but this does not translate into a performance win in the recorded data. The 890M's RDNA 3.5 architecture is far more efficient per unit, as evidenced by the OpenCL score. For legacy DirectX 9 and DirectX 10 workloads, the GTX 880M may have compatibility advantages due to its older driver stack, but no benchmark data supports this claim.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Radeon 890M is built on the Strix Point chip using the RDNA 3.5 architecture, fabricated on a 4 nm process at TSMC. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M uses the GK104 chip with the Kepler architecture, fabricated on a 28 nm process, also at TSMC. The process node difference is stark: 4 nm versus 28 nm. This directly impacts transistor density, with the 890M packing 34,000 million transistors into a 233 mm² die, yielding a density of 145.9M transistors per mm². The GTX 880M has 3,540 million transistors on a 294 mm² die, a density of 12.0M per mm². The 890M has nearly ten times the transistor density of the GTX 880M.

The 890M is a Navi III IGP (integrated graphics processor) from the Strix Point Mobile generation, while the GTX 880M is a discrete MXM module from the GeForce 800M generation. The 890M has 16 ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent from the GTX 880M, which has no RT cores. The 890M also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the GTX 880M only supports DirectX 12 (11_0). Vulkan support also differs: the 890M supports Vulkan 1.4, the GTX 880M supports Vulkan 1.2.175.

The 890M has 64 texture mapping units and 32 ROPs, while the GTX 880M has 128 TMUs and 32 ROPs. The GTX 880M has more TMUs, but the 890M's higher clock speeds compensate. The 890M boosts to 2900 MHz, while the GTX 880M boosts to 993 MHz. The 890M's base clock is 400 MHz, but its boost clock is nearly three times the GTX 880M's boost clock. The 890M also has a 1:1 FP16 to FP32 ratio, delivering 5.939 TFLOPS in both precisions, while the GTX 880M has no listed FP16 capability.

The 890M is a 15 W part, while the GTX 880M is a 122 W part. This is a critical architectural difference: the 890M delivers dramatically higher performance at less than one-eighth the power draw. The 890M uses the PCIe 4.0 x8 bus interface, while the GTX 880M uses MXM-B (3.0). The 890M is an IGP with no power connectors, while the GTX 880M is an MXM module with no external power connectors listed.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every measurable specification. The 890M is manufactured by AMD, the GTX 880M by NVIDIA. The 890M uses RDNA 3.5 architecture, the GTX 880M uses Kepler. The process nodes are 4 nm and 28 nm, respectively. The 890M has 34,000 million transistors on a 233 mm² die, while the GTX 880M has 3,540 million transistors on a 294 mm² die.

Clock speeds differ substantially: the 890M has a base clock of 400 MHz and a boost clock of 2900 MHz, while the GTX 880M has a base clock of 954 MHz and a boost clock of 993 MHz. Memory configurations are completely different: the 890M uses system shared memory with no dedicated VRAM, while the GTX 880M has 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 160.0 GB/s bandwidth. The 890M's memory bandwidth is system dependent.

Shading units: the 890M has 1,024, the GTX 880M has 1,536. TMUs: 64 versus 128. ROPs are equal at 32. The 890M has 16 RT cores, the GTX 880M has none. Pixel rate: 92.80 GPixel/s versus 31.78 GPixel/s. Texture rate: 185.6 GTexel/s versus 127.1 GTexel/s. FP32: 5.939 TFLOPS versus 3.050 TFLOPS. FP16: 5.939 TFLOPS (1:1) versus none listed.

TDP: 15 W versus 122 W. Slot width: IGP versus MXM Module. Power connectors: none for both. Bus interface: PCIe 4.0 x8 versus MXM-B (3.0). DirectX support: 12 Ultimate (12_2) versus 12 (11_0). OpenGL is the same at 4.6. Vulkan: 1.4 versus 1.2.175. Production status: Active versus End-of-life. Release date: 2024-07-14 versus 2014-03-11. Predecessor: Navi II IGP versus GeForce 700M. Successor: none versus GeForce 900M.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in compute workloads?

A: The AMD Radeon 890M is significantly faster. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, it scores 37,254 compared to the GTX 880M's 5,622, a 562.6% advantage.

Q: How do their average benchmark scores compare?

A: The 890M has an average benchmark score of 9,210 across all tests, while the GTX 880M averages 8,040. The 890M ranks at the 45th percentile of all GPUs, the GTX 880M at the 42nd.

Q: Does the GTX 880M have any advantage in memory specifications?

A: Yes, the GTX 880M has 8 GB of dedicated GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus with 160.0 GB/s bandwidth. The 890M uses system shared memory with system-dependent bandwidth.

Q: What are the power consumption differences?

A: The 890M has a TDP of 15 W, while the GTX 880M has a TDP of 122 W. The 890M delivers higher performance at a fraction of the power draw.

Q: Which GPU supports newer graphics APIs?

A: The 890M supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the GTX 880M supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and Vulkan 1.2.175. Both support OpenGL 4.6.

Q: What is the architectural generation gap?

A: The 890M uses RDNA 3.5 on a 4 nm process, released in 2024. The GTX 880M uses Kepler on a 28 nm process, released in 2014. The 890M also includes 16 ray tracing cores, which the GTX 880M lacks entirely.