AMD Radeon HD 6950 vs NVIDIA GeForce 930A Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark database records a single OpenCL compute test for these two GPUs, and the AMD Radeon HD 6950 takes the win outright. The Geekbench OpenCL score for the HD 6950 is 6210, while the NVIDIA GeForce 930A scores 5317. That is a 16.8% advantage for the AMD card, which places it in the 36th percentile of all GPUs in the database, versus the 31st percentile for the NVIDIA part.

What does this mean for real-world usage? The HD 6950 is the clear choice for compute-oriented tasks, such as OpenCL acceleration in content creation apps, physics simulations, or any workload that leans on raw shader throughput. Its 1408 shading units and 2.253 TFLOPS of FP32 performance give it a decisive edge in parallel processing. The GeForce 930A, with only 384 shading units and 722.7 GFLOPS, is not in the same league for these tasks.

However, the 930A is designed for a completely different environment. It is an integrated-class GPU (labeled IGP for slot width) with a 33 W TDP, intended for portable devices. Its strengths lie in power efficiency and compactness, not absolute performance. The database shows no benchmark where the 930A wins, but its low power draw and lack of external power connectors make it suitable for thin-and-light laptops where the HD 6950, a 200 W dual-slot card with two 6-pin connectors, physically cannot fit.

In short: the HD 6950 wins every measured performance category, but the 930A wins the efficiency and portability argument by default, as the data records no thermal or size constraints for the NVIDIA part beyond its 33 W TDP and IGP form factor.

Architecture Differences

These two GPUs come from different eras and design philosophies. The AMD Radeon HD 6950 uses the Cayman chip built on TeraScale 3 architecture, fabricated on a 40 nm process at TSMC. It packs 2,640 million transistors on a 389 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 6.8 million per square millimeter. The architecture dates to the Northern Islands generation (HD 6900 family), released in December 2010, and it supports DirectX 11.2 (11_0), OpenGL 4.4, and no Vulkan.

The NVIDIA GeForce 930A uses the GM108 chip based on Maxwell architecture, built on a 28 nm process, also at TSMC. It contains 1,020 million transistors on a much smaller 77 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 13.2 million per square millimeter, nearly double the AMD part. The 930A belongs to the GeForce 900A generation, released in March 2015, and it supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

The architectural gap is significant. TeraScale 3 is an older VLIW-based design, while Maxwell is a more modern, scalar architecture optimized for efficiency. The 28 nm node gives NVIDIA a density advantage, but the HD 6950 compensates with a much larger die and more raw resources. The 930A supports newer API features like Vulkan, which the HD 6950 lacks entirely, and it has a higher OpenGL version (4.6 vs 4.4). However, for the one benchmark recorded, the older AMD architecture still delivers higher compute throughput.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only head-to-head test in the database is Geekbench OpenCL, and the results are unambiguous. The AMD Radeon HD 6950 scores 6210, while the NVIDIA GeForce 930A scores 5317. The delta is 16.8% in favor of AMD. This is not a marginal difference; it is a substantial lead that reflects the HD 6950's much larger shader array and memory bandwidth.

Breaking down why: the HD 6950 has 1408 shading units, 88 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs, with a pixel rate of 25.60 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 70.40 GTexel/s. Its memory subsystem is a 256-bit GDDR5 interface delivering 160.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The 930A has 384 shading units, 24 TMUs, and 8 ROPs, with a pixel rate of 7.528 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 22.58 GTexel/s. Its memory is a 64-bit DDR3 bus providing just 16.02 GB/s. That is a 10x difference in memory bandwidth, which heavily impacts OpenCL workloads that stream data.

The nearest rivals in the database put both scores in context. The HD 6950 sits between the AMD FirePro W600 (6223, 0.2% faster) and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti SUPER (6270, 0.9% faster), meaning it trades blows with much newer cards in this specific test. The 930A, by contrast, is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce 840M (5322, 0.1% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M (5308, 0.2% lower), and the NVIDIA GeForce 940M (5284, 0.6% lower). Interestingly, the GTX 980M, a high-end laptop GPU from the same era, scores only 0.2% below the 930A, showing that the 930A's performance is not as low as its IGP status might suggest in this compute benchmark.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every measurable specification. The HD 6950 uses a 40 nm process, while the 930A uses 28 nm. Transistor count is 2,640 million for AMD versus 1,020 million for NVIDIA. Die size is 389 mm² versus 77 mm². Clock speeds cannot be directly compared because the HD 6950 has no base or boost clock listed, only a memory clock of 1250 MHz (5 Gbps effective). The 930A has a base clock of 928 MHz and a boost clock of 941 MHz, with memory at 1001 MHz (2 Gbps effective).

Memory configurations are starkly different: both have 2 GB, but the HD 6950 uses GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus for 160.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the 930A uses DDR3 on a 64-bit bus for 16.02 GB/s. The AMD card has 1408 shading units, 88 TMUs, and 32 ROPs; the NVIDIA card has 384 shading units, 24 TMUs, and 8 ROPs. Pixel rate is 25.60 GPixel/s versus 7.528 GPixel/s. Texture rate is 70.40 GTexel/s versus 22.58 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 2.253 TFLOPS versus 722.7 GFLOPS.

Power and physical specs diverge completely. The HD 6950 has a 200 W TDP, is dual-slot, requires two 6-pin power connectors, and needs a 550 W suggested PSU. It measures 286 mm long, 126 mm high, and 42 mm wide, with outputs including 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.2. The 930A has a 33 W TDP, is IGP form factor, has no power connectors, and no suggested PSU. Its dimensions are not recorded, and its display outputs are listed as "Portable Device Dependent." The bus interface also differs: PCIe 2.0 x16 for AMD versus PCIe 3.0 x8 for NVIDIA.

API support shows the newer card's advantage: the 930A supports DirectX 12 (11_0) versus 11.2 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6 versus 4.4, and Vulkan 1.4 versus none. Release dates are December 2010 for AMD and March 2015 for NVIDIA. The HD 6950 has a launch MSRP of 299 USD (stated once here); the 930A has no recorded launch MSRP.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in the recorded benchmark?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 6950 is faster, scoring 6210 in Geekbench OpenCL versus 5317 for the NVIDIA GeForce 930A, a 16.8% difference.

Q: Does the NVIDIA GeForce 930A have any performance advantage?

A: No. The database records zero benchmark wins for the 930A. Its advantages are power efficiency (33 W TDP versus 200 W) and form factor (IGP versus dual-slot), not performance.

Q: Why is the HD 6950 so much faster despite being older?

A: The HD 6950 has far more hardware resources: 1408 shading units versus 384, 88 TMUs versus 24, 32 ROPs versus 8, and 160.0 GB/s memory bandwidth versus 16.02 GB/s. These lead to 2.253 TFLOPS versus 722.7 GFLOPS of FP32 compute.

Q: Can the GeForce 930A run modern APIs that the HD 6950 cannot?

A: Yes. The 930A supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The HD 6950 supports DirectX 11.2 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.4, with no Vulkan support.

Q: How does each card compare to its nearest rivals in the database?

A: The HD 6950 is within 1.1% of cards like the AMD FirePro W600 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti SUPER. The 930A is within 0.8% of cards like the GeForce 840M, GTX 980M, 940M, and Radeon R7 M445.

Q: Which card needs more power and cooling?

A: The HD 6950 requires a 200 W TDP, dual-slot cooling, two 6-pin power connectors, and a 550 W suggested PSU. The 930A needs only 33 W, has no power connectors, and fits an IGP slot.

The Verdict

The data tells a clear story. The AMD Radeon HD 6950 is the performance winner by every metric recorded. Its 16.8% lead in OpenCL compute, backed by 10x the memory bandwidth and roughly 3x the shader count, makes it the only choice for anyone running GPU-accelerated workloads on a desktop system with adequate power delivery. The 6210 score places it in the 36th percentile of all GPUs, which is respectable for a 2010 card, and its nearest rivals include modern GPUs like the RTX 5070 Ti SUPER, showing that raw compute does not age as quickly as other features.

The NVIDIA GeForce 930A is not a competitor in the same segment. It is a low-power IGP designed for portability, with a 33 W TDP and no power connectors. Its 5317 score and 31st percentile ranking put it in the same performance class as the GeForce 840M and 940M, which are entry-level mobile parts. The 930A wins only in efficiency and API support, offering Vulkan 1.4 and DirectX 12 (11_0) that the HD 6950 cannot match.

Who should pick which? If you have a desktop with a 550 W PSU and space for a 286 mm dual-slot card, the HD 6950 is the obvious choice for compute performance. It is end-of-life, but its OpenCL throughput still holds up. If you need a GPU for a portable device where power draw and physical size are the limiting factors, the 930A is the only viable option, accepting its lower performance as the trade-off for a 33 W envelope. The benchmark data does not support any scenario where the 930A outperforms the HD 6950; it simply serves a different purpose.