AMD Radeon HD 7730M vs NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010 Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010 and AMD Radeon HD 7730M represent two distinct eras of mobile and entry-level desktop graphics, separated by nearly a decade of architectural evolution. The data shows a narrow but definitive edge for the NVIDIA part in the sole available benchmark, though the underlying specifications tell a more complex story of trade-offs between bandwidth, compute resources, and process technology.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct comparison available is the Geekbench OpenCL test, which measures general-purpose compute performance across a range of workloads. In this test, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010 scores 6698 points against 6581 for the AMD Radeon HD 7730M, yielding a 1.8% advantage for the NVIDIA part. This is a slim margin, well within the range of run-to-run variance that benchmark data typically shows, but it does establish a consistent order between the two.

Context from the nearest rivals reinforces how close this pairing is. The GT 1010 sits in a cluster where the AMD Radeon R7 M370 scores 6764 (-1% delta), the R7 M460 scores 6612 (+1.3% delta), and the FirePro M5100 scores 6830 (-1.9% delta). For the HD 7730M, the immediate competition includes the Intel UHD Graphics P750 at 6554 (+0.4% delta), the R7 M460 at 6612 (-0.5% delta), the GeForce GTX 670M at 6513 (+1% delta), and the GeForce GT 555M at 6493 (+1.4% delta). Both parts land in the 38th percentile of all GPUs, meaning they are statistically indistinguishable in overall standing despite the slight numeric separation.

Looking at the raw compute metrics, the GT 1010 achieves 751.6 GFLOPS of FP32 throughput, while the HD 7730M manages 691.2 GFLOPS — a 8.7% gap in theoretical peak compute that is larger than the benchmark delta. The NVIDIA part also leads in fill rates, with 11.74 GPixel/s pixel throughput versus 10.80 GPixel/s, and 23.49 GTexel/s texture throughput versus 21.60 GTexel/s. These advantages suggest the GT 1010 should win by a slightly larger margin in compute-bound tasks, but the benchmark result compresses that gap considerably.

The memory subsystem tells a different story. The GT 1010 uses 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 64-bit bus, delivering 48.06 GB/s of bandwidth. The HD 7730M also has 2 GB, but it is DDR3 on a 128-bit bus, yielding only 28.80 GB/s. That is a 66.9% bandwidth advantage for the NVIDIA card — a substantial difference that should favor the GT 1010 in bandwidth-sensitive workloads like texture-heavy gaming or certain compute kernels. Yet the benchmark only reflects a 1.8% win, suggesting that the HD 7730M's higher shading unit count (512 vs 256) and texture units (32 vs 16) compensate for its slower memory in the specific workloads Geekbench exercises.

The Verdict

The data supports a clear but modest conclusion: the NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010 is the faster part, winning the only head-to-head benchmark by 1.8%. For anyone choosing strictly on performance, the GT 1010 is the correct pick. The margin is small enough that real-world differences would be imperceptible in most applications, but the benchmark result is unambiguous — one win for NVIDIA, zero for AMD.

However, the HD 7730M is not without its own rationale. Its 512 shading units and 32 texture units are double the GT 1010's respective counts, and it matches the NVIDIA part's 8 ROPs with 16 of its own. This suggests the AMD card retains headroom in workloads that scale well with raw shader count, even if its lower clock speeds (575 MHz base, 675 MHz boost versus 1228/1468 MHz) and slower memory hold it back in most scenarios. The GT 1010 compensates for fewer units with much higher clocks and faster memory, which is why it ultimately prevails.

For a system builder prioritizing the highest benchmark score, the GT 1010 is the answer. For someone with a workload specifically tuned to shader-heavy parallelism, the HD 7730M's architecture may offer untapped potential, but the data as presented does not demonstrate any scenario where it wins. The verdict is straightforward: NVIDIA takes the performance crown, albeit by a hair.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from fundamentally different design philosophies and process generations. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010 is built on the Pascal architecture, fabricated on a 14 nm process at Samsung. It packs 1,800 million transistors into a 74 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 24.3 million per square millimeter. The AMD Radeon HD 7730M uses the older GCN 1.0 architecture, produced on TSMC's 28 nm node. It contains 1,500 million transistors across a much larger 123 mm² die, with a density of just 12.2 million per square millimeter.

The chip designs reflect their respective generations. The GT 1010 uses the GP108 chip, a small, efficient design aimed at entry-level desktop use. The HD 7730M uses the Chelsea chip, part of the London family for the HD 7700M series, and was designed for mobile integration. The NVIDIA part is 49 mm² smaller, yet packs 300 million more transistors, a direct consequence of the denser 14 nm process versus the older 28 nm node.

Clock speeds show the starkest divergence. The GT 1010 runs at 1228 MHz base and 1468 MHz boost, while the HD 7730M operates at just 575 MHz base and 675 MHz boost. That is a 2.1x difference in base clock and 2.2x in boost clock, which largely explains how the NVIDIA card achieves competitive performance with half the shading units. The GT 1010 also runs its memory at 1502 MHz (6 Gbps effective), while the HD 7730M's memory clocks at 900 MHz (1800 Mbps effective) — a 3.3x difference in effective data rate.

Memory configuration diverges strongly. The GT 1010 uses a 64-bit bus with GDDR5, achieving 48.06 GB/s. The HD 7730M uses a 128-bit bus with DDR3, achieving 28.80 GB/s. The wider bus partially compensates for the slower memory type, but not enough to match the NVIDIA part's bandwidth. Power consumption is close: the GT 1010 has a 30 W TDP, while the HD 7730M is rated at 25 W.

Interface and connectivity differ as well. The GT 1010 uses PCIe 3.0 x4, while the HD 7730M uses PCIe 2.0 x16. The NVIDIA card offers 1x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 2.0 outputs, whereas the AMD part's display outputs are "Portable Device Dependent," reflecting its mobile heritage. In API support, the GT 1010 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The HD 7730M supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The NVIDIA part's newer generation is also evident in its release date of 2021, versus 2012 for the AMD card, and its predecessor/successor lineage (GeForce 900 to GeForce 20) versus Vancouver to Solar System for AMD.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010 scores 6698, which is 1.8% higher than the AMD Radeon HD 7730M's 6581. The GT 1010 wins the only head-to-head benchmark available.

Q: How do the shading unit counts compare?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 7730M has 512 shading units, exactly double the NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010's 256. The AMD card also has twice the texture units (32 vs 16) and twice the ROPs (16 vs 8).

Q: Which GPU has higher memory bandwidth?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010 achieves 48.06 GB/s using GDDR5 on a 64-bit bus. The AMD Radeon HD 7730M delivers 28.80 GB/s from DDR3 on a 128-bit bus, which is 66.9% lower.

Q: What are the process node and transistor density differences?

A: The GT 1010 is fabricated on a 14 nm process at Samsung with 24.3 million transistors per mm². The HD 7730M uses a 28 nm process at TSMC with 12.2 million transistors per mm². The NVIDIA chip is 74 mm² versus 123 mm² for AMD.

Q: What is the power consumption of each GPU?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010 has a 30 W TDP, while the AMD Radeon HD 7730M is rated at 25 W. The GT 1010 also specifies a 200 W suggested PSU.

Q: How do these GPUs compare to their nearest rivals?

A: The GT 1010 is 1.8% faster than the HD 7730M, 1.3% faster than the R7 M460, and 1% slower than the R7 M370. The HD 7730M is 0.4% faster than the Intel UHD Graphics P750 and 1.4% faster than the GeForce GT 555M.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010 wins in every measurable performance category from the data. It takes the OpenCL benchmark by 1.8%, leads in FP32 throughput (751.6 GFLOPS vs 691.2 GFLOPS), pixel rate (11.74 GPixel/s vs 10.80 GPixel/s), texture rate (23.49 GTexel/s vs 21.60 GTexel/s), and memory bandwidth (48.06 GB/s vs 28.80 GB/s). Its 14 nm process, higher clock speeds, and GDDR5 memory give it advantages across the board. It also supports a newer DirectX version (12_1 vs 11_1) and a newer Vulkan version (1.4 vs 1.2.170), making it the better choice for applications leveraging modern graphics APIs.

The AMD Radeon HD 7730M's wins are structural rather than performance-based. It has double the shading units, texture units, and ROPs of the GT 1010, which means it is theoretically better suited to workloads that scale with raw unit count rather than clock speed. Its 128-bit memory bus is twice as wide, and its PCIe 2.0 x16 interface provides more lanes than the GT 1010's PCIe 3.0 x4. It also has a lower TDP at 25 W versus 30 W, making it slightly more power-efficient on paper. In practice, none of these advantages translate into a benchmark win — the GT 1010's superior clocks and bandwidth dominate. The HD 7730M's best case is a workload that fully utilizes its 512 shaders while remaining insensitive to memory bandwidth, but the data does not provide evidence of such a scenario. For all measured purposes, the GT 1010 is the faster and more capable part.