AMD Radeon HD 7730M vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M Comparison

AMD Radeon HD 7730M vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The single available head-to-head benchmark, Geekbench OpenCL, places the AMD Radeon HD 7730M ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M, with a score of 6581 against 6389. That is a delta of exactly 3 percent in favor of the AMD part. While a 3 percent margin is not overwhelming, it is notable given the architectural gulf between these two mobile GPUs, and it establishes the HD 7730M as the faster card in general-purpose compute workloads as measured by this test.

Looking at the broader context, both chips sit very close to each other in the overall GPU hierarchy. The HD 7730M achieves a 38th percentile ranking across all GPUs, while the GTX 580M lands at the 37th percentile. That one-percentile gap mirrors the 3 percent score delta, confirming that these are effectively adjacent performers in the database, with the AMD card holding a slim but consistent edge. The nearest rival data reinforces this positioning: the HD 7730M’s closest competitor is the AMD Radeon R7 M460, which scores 6612, meaning the HD 7730M trails it by only 0.5 percent. Meanwhile, the GTX 580M’s direct rival is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 SE, which matches its score of 6389 exactly.

In raw numbers, the HD 7730M’s 6581 OpenCL score sits 0.4 percent above the Intel UHD Graphics P750 (6554) and 1 percent above the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M (6513). The GTX 580M’s 6389 score is 0.3 percent below the NVIDIA RTX PRO 5000 72 GB Blackwell (6407) and 0.9 percent above the AMD Radeon Pro WX 4100 (6330). These are extremely tight groupings, and the data suggests that in real-world tasks, the performance difference between these two GPUs would be difficult to perceive without instrumentation. Yet the head-to-head result is unambiguous: the HD 7730M wins the only benchmark where both are measured, and it does so with a 3 percent margin.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon HD 7730M wins the single benchmark test available in this comparison, the Geekbench OpenCL test. This is a compute-oriented workload that exercises the GPU’s shading units, memory subsystem, and general processing throughput. The HD 7730M’s victory here, with a 3 percent delta, suggests that its GCN 1.0 architecture handles OpenCL-style parallel workloads slightly more efficiently than the Fermi 2.0 architecture in the GTX 580M. The wins tally is 1 for the AMD card and 0 for the NVIDIA card, meaning there is no benchmark category in this dataset where the GTX 580M comes out ahead.

However, the GTX 580M’s lack of a benchmark win does not mean it lacks strengths. Its specification profile points to advantages in specific usage scenarios that the OpenCL test may not fully capture. The GTX 580M offers a texture rate of 39.68 GTexel/s and a pixel rate of 9.920 GPixel/s, and while these are computed from its clock and unit configuration, they indicate a design aimed at traditional rasterization throughput. The HD 7730M, by contrast, delivers 21.60 GTexel/s and 10.80 GPixel/s. In texture-heavy gaming workloads, the GTX 580M’s higher texture throughput could translate to better performance, even though the OpenCL score favors the AMD part. The data does not include a gaming benchmark, so this remains an inference from the specification differences rather than a measured result.

For compute tasks, the HD 7730M is the clear winner based on the benchmark. For tasks that rely on memory bandwidth, the GTX 580M has a substantial theoretical edge, with 96.00 GB/s versus the HD 7730M’s 28.80 GB/s, but again, no benchmark confirms this advantage in practice. The takeaway is that the HD 7730M wins the only contest measured, while the GTX 580M’s wins would have to come in unmeasured territory.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations and manufacturing processes. The AMD Radeon HD 7730M uses the Chelsea chip based on GCN 1.0 architecture, built on a 28 nm process at TSMC. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M uses the GF114 chip based on Fermi 2.0 architecture, built on a 40 nm process, also at TSMC. The process node difference is significant: 28 nm versus 40 nm means the AMD chip is manufactured with a smaller feature size, which contributes to its much lower transistor density of 12.2 million transistors per square millimeter, versus 5.9M for the NVIDIA chip.

The transistor counts tell an interesting story. The GTX 580M packs 1,950 million transistors on a die size of 332 mm², while the HD 7730M contains 1,500 million transistors on a much smaller 123 mm² die. This means the NVIDIA chip has 30 percent more transistors overall, but the AMD chip crams them into a far smaller area. The HD 7730M’s die is roughly 37 percent the size of the GTX 580M’s, which is a direct consequence of the denser 28 nm process. This has implications for power and thermal characteristics, as the smaller die typically requires less power to operate.

The shading unit counts differ as well. The HD 7730M has 512 shading units, while the GTX 580M has 384. Despite having fewer shading units, the GTX 580M achieves a higher FP32 throughput of 952.3 GFLOPS, compared to the HD 7730M’s 691.2 GFLOPS. This is because the NVIDIA chip runs at higher clock speeds, with its memory clocked at 750 MHz (3 Gbps effective) compared to the AMD chip’s 900 MHz memory clock (1800 Mbps effective). The GTX 580M also has more texture mapping units (64 vs 32) and more ROPs (32 vs 16), which explains its higher texture rate.

Memory configurations also differ substantially. Both have 2 GB of memory, but the HD 7730M uses DDR3 on a 128-bit bus, yielding 28.80 GB/s bandwidth. The GTX 580M uses GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, yielding 96.00 GB/s bandwidth — more than three times the bandwidth. The NVIDIA card’s memory advantage is one of the largest specification gaps between the two, and it could matter in bandwidth-sensitive applications. The HD 7730M supports DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170, while the GTX 580M supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and has no Vulkan support listed. Both support OpenGL 4.6.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the benchmark data, the AMD Radeon HD 7730M is the better performer of the two. It wins the only head-to-head benchmark, scoring 6581 against the GTX 580M’s 6389, a 3 percent advantage. It also holds a slightly higher percentile ranking at 38 versus 37. For users who prioritize OpenCL compute performance, the HD 7730M is the clear choice.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M, however, should not be dismissed. Its 3 percent deficit in the single benchmark is small, and its specification sheet shows areas where it could outperform the AMD card in tasks not covered by this test. The GTX 580M’s 96.00 GB/s memory bandwidth is more than triple the HD 7730M’s 28.80 GB/s, and its texture rate of 39.68 GTexel/s is nearly double. These are meaningful advantages for graphics-heavy workloads, even if the OpenCL score does not reflect them.

The choice between these two depends on the workload. For compute tasks measured by OpenCL, the HD 7730M wins. For scenarios where memory bandwidth and texture throughput dominate, the GTX 580M has the theoretical edge. Given that the HD 7730M is the only one with a confirmed win, it earns the recommendation for general-purpose use. The GTX 580M is the pick only if the specific application leans heavily on its bandwidth and texture advantages, which remain unverified in this dataset.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher Geekbench OpenCL score?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 7730M scores 6581, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M scores 6389, giving the AMD card a 3 percent advantage.

Q: How do these GPUs rank against all other GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 7730M is at the 38th percentile, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M is at the 37th percentile.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference between the two?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M has 96.00 GB/s bandwidth, while the AMD Radeon HD 7730M has 28.80 GB/s.

Q: Do both GPUs support DirectX 12?

A: Yes, but with different feature levels. The AMD Radeon HD 7730M supports DirectX 12 (11_1), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M supports DirectX 12 (11_0).

Q: What are the FP32 performance figures?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 7730M delivers 691.2 GFLOPS, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M delivers 952.3 GFLOPS.

Q: Which GPU is the closest rival to each?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 7730M’s closest rival is the AMD Radeon R7 M460 (0.5 percent higher score), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M’s closest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 SE, which matches its score exactly.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon HD 7730M | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M |

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

| Architecture | GCN 1.0 | Fermi 2.0 |

| Process Node | 28 nm | 40 nm |

| Transistors | 1,500 million | 1,950 million |

| Die Size | 123 mm² | 332 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 12.2M / mm² | 5.9M / mm² |

| Memory Type | DDR3 | GDDR5 |

| Memory Bus Width | 128 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 28.80 GB/s | 96.00 GB/s |

| Memory Clock | 900 MHz (1800 Mbps effective) | 750 MHz (3 Gbps effective) |

| Shading Units | 512 | 384 |

| Texture Mapping Units | 32 | 64 |

| Raster Operations Pipelines | 16 | 32 |

| Pixel Rate | 10.80 GPixel/s | 9.920 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 21.60 GTexel/s | 39.68 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 691.2 GFLOPS | 952.3 GFLOPS |

| TDP | 25 W | 100 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 2.0 x16 | MXM-B (3.0) |

| DirectX Support | 12 (11_1) | 12 (11_0) |

| Vulkan Support | 1.2.170 | None |

| Release Date | 2012-04-23 | 2011-06-27 |