AMD Radeon HD 7730M vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The single recorded head-to-head comparison in the database is the Geekbench OpenCL test, and it shows a decisive win for the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti. The NVIDIA card scored 7,877 points against the AMD Radeon HD 7730M’s 6,581 points, a lead of 19.7%. That is not a marginal gap; it is a substantial performance advantage that places the two GPUs in different competitive tiers.

Looking at the broader benchmark averages, the GTX 650 Ti records an average score of 8,053 across all tested workloads, while the HD 7730M sits at 6,581. The difference between their average scores is roughly 1,472 points, which is larger than the gap between the AMD card and any of its nearest rivals. The HD 7730M’s closest competitor, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M, trails by 1.4%, and the GTX 670M is only 1% ahead. In contrast, the GTX 650 Ti’s nearest rival, the GRID K2, sits just 0.3% ahead, meaning the NVIDIA card is essentially trading blows with a much higher-tier product.

The percentile rankings reinforce this separation. The GTX 650 Ti lands in the 42nd percentile of all GPUs in the database, while the HD 7730M sits in the 38th percentile. A four-percentile gap may sound modest, but in a database with thousands of entries, that represents a meaningful stratification. The GTX 650 Ti’s 42nd percentile means it outperforms the majority of recorded GPUs, whereas the HD 7730M’s 38th percentile places it closer to mid-pack or below.

The OpenCL result is the only direct comparison available, but the surrounding data tells a consistent story. The GTX 650 Ti’s texture rate is 59.39 GTexel/s, nearly 2.75 times the HD 7730M’s 21.60 GTexel/s. Pixel throughput also favors NVIDIA: 14.85 GPixel/s versus 10.80 GPixel/s. Floating-point performance is more lopsided still, with the GTX 650 Ti delivering 1,425.4 GFLOPS against the AMD part’s 691.2 GFLOPS. These are not close figures, and they explain why the benchmark delta is so one-sided.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti is the faster GPU in every measured category. It wins the sole head-to-head benchmark by 19.7%, holds a higher average score, sits in a higher percentile, and posts superior raw throughput numbers across pixel, texture, and FP32 workloads. Anyone choosing between these two for raw performance should select the GTX 650 Ti without hesitation.

The AMD Radeon HD 7730M is not without merit, but its strengths lie elsewhere. It consumes only 25 W of power versus the GTX 650 Ti’s 110 W, making it a far more power-efficient option. It also offers 2 GB of memory compared to the GTX 650 Ti’s 1 GB, though the NVIDIA card’s GDDR5 memory at 86.40 GB/s bandwidth completely outstrips the AMD card’s DDR3 at 28.80 GB/s. The HD 7730M is a mobile-oriented part, as its "Portable Device Dependent" display outputs and lack of a standalone power connector indicate, while the GTX 650 Ti is a desktop card requiring a 6-pin connector and a 300 W PSU.

For desktop builders with access to a PCIe 3.0 slot and a power supply capable of feeding a dedicated card, the GTX 650 Ti is the clear choice. For a low-power laptop or compact system where energy draw and heat are primary constraints, the HD 7730M fits that niche, but it will not match the NVIDIA card’s performance.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti wins in every performance benchmark recorded, including the Geekbench OpenCL test and the derived averages. It also wins on memory bandwidth by a factor of three (86.40 GB/s versus 28.80 GB/s), on texture fill rate (59.39 GTexel/s versus 21.60 GTexel/s), and on pixel fill rate (14.85 GPixel/s versus 10.80 GPixel/s). Its FP32 output is more than double that of the AMD card. For any compute or graphics workload that scales with these metrics, the GTX 650 Ti is the superior part.

The AMD Radeon HD 7730M wins on power efficiency. Its 25 W TDP is less than a quarter of the GTX 650 Ti’s 110 W. It also offers double the memory capacity (2 GB versus 1 GB), which could help in scenarios where capacity matters more than bandwidth, though the GDDR5 versus DDR3 difference makes that trade-off questionable. The HD 7730M also supports DirectX 12 (11_1) compared to the GTX 650 Ti’s DirectX 12 (11_0), a minor API version edge. Its Vulkan support is slightly older (1.2.170 versus 1.2.175), but both are recent enough for modern titles.

The HD 7730M’s smaller die size (123 mm² versus 221 mm²) and lower transistor count (1,500 million versus 2,540 million) indicate a less complex chip, which aligns with its lower power draw. For a system that cannot accommodate a 110 W card or a 6-pin power connector, the HD 7730M is the only viable option between the two.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins in Geekbench OpenCL performance?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti wins with a score of 7,877 against the AMD Radeon HD 7730M’s 6,581, a 19.7% advantage.

Q: How much memory does each card have?

A: The GTX 650 Ti has 1,024 MB of GDDR5 memory, while the HD 7730M has 2 GB of DDR3 memory. The HD 7730M has double the capacity, but the GTX 650 Ti’s bandwidth is far higher at 86.40 GB/s versus 28.80 GB/s.

Q: Which GPU is more power-efficient?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 7730M has a 25 W TDP, compared to the GTX 650 Ti’s 110 W. The AMD card draws less than a quarter of the power.

Q: What are the nearest rivals for each card based on average benchmark scores?

A: The GTX 650 Ti’s nearest rival is the NVIDIA GRID K2, which is 0.3% ahead. The HD 7730M’s nearest rival is the AMD Radeon R7 M460, which is 0.5% ahead.

Q: Does the GTX 650 Ti support Vulkan?

A: Yes, it supports Vulkan 1.2.175, while the HD 7730M supports Vulkan 1.2.170.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the GTX 650 Ti?

A: The GTX 650 Ti had a launch MSRP of 149 USD. The HD 7730M has no recorded launch MSRP.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectures and are built on different design philosophies. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti uses the GK106S chip based on the Kepler architecture, part of the GeForce 600 generation. The AMD Radeon HD 7730M uses the Chelsea chip based on GCN 1.0, part of the "London" generation of HD 7700M parts. Both are manufactured on a 28 nm process at TSMC, but their transistor budgets differ significantly: the GK106S packs 2,540 million transistors into a 221 mm² die, while the Chelsea chip fits 1,500 million transistors into a 123 mm² die. The transistor densities are similar (11.5M per mm² versus 12.2M per mm²), but the NVIDIA chip is physically larger and more complex.

The GTX 650 Ti pairs 768 shading units with 64 texture mapping units and 16 ROPs. The HD 7730M offers 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. This means the NVIDIA card has 50% more shaders and double the TMUs, explaining its higher texture fill rate. The GTX 650 Ti’s memory subsystem uses GDDR5 across a 128-bit bus, yielding 86.40 GB/s, while the HD 7730M uses DDR3 across the same 128-bit bus, yielding only 28.80 GB/s. The NVIDIA card’s memory clocks at 1,350 MHz (5.4 Gbps effective), while the AMD card runs at 900 MHz (1,800 Mbps effective).

Power delivery also marks a major architectural divergence. The GTX 650 Ti is a desktop card with a single-slot design, a 1x 6-pin power connector, and a suggested PSU of 300 W. The HD 7730M is a mobile part with no power connector requirements and a 25 W TDP. The bus interfaces differ as well: the GTX 650 Ti uses PCIe 3.0 x16, while the HD 7730M uses PCIe 2.0 x16. Both cards are end-of-life products, but the GTX 650 Ti was released in October 2012, while the HD 7730M came out in April 2012.

Specification Differences

The key specification differences between the two cards are as follows:

• Shading Units: 768 (GTX 650 Ti) versus 512 (HD 7730M)
• Texture Mapping Units: 64 (GTX 650 Ti) versus 32 (HD 7730M)
• ROP Units: 16 (both)
• Memory Size: 1,024 MB (GTX 650 Ti) versus 2 GB (HD 7730M)
• Memory Type: GDDR5 (GTX 650 Ti) versus DDR3 (HD 7730M)
• Memory Clock: 1,350 MHz (GTX 650 Ti) versus 900 MHz (HD 7730M)
• Memory Bandwidth: 86.40 GB/s (GTX 650 Ti) versus 28.80 GB/s (HD 7730M)
• Pixel Rate: 14.85 GPixel/s (GTX 650 Ti) versus 10.80 GPixel/s (HD 7730M)
• Texture Rate: 59.39 GTexel/s (GTX 650 Ti) versus 21.60 GTexel/s (HD 7730M)
• FP32 Performance: 1,425.4 GFLOPS (GTX 650 Ti) versus 691.2 GFLOPS (HD 7730M)
• TDP: 110 W (GTX 650 Ti) versus 25 W (HD 7730M)
• Power Connector: 1x 6-pin (GTX 650 Ti) versus none (HD 7730M)
• Suggested PSU: 300 W (GTX 650 Ti) versus none (HD 7730M)
• Bus Interface: PCIe 3.0 x16 (GTX 650 Ti) versus PCIe 2.0 x16 (HD 7730M)
• Display Outputs: 2x DVI, 1x mini-HDMI (GTX 650 Ti) versus Portable Device Dependent (HD 7730M)
• DirectX Support: 12 (11_0) (GTX 650 Ti) versus 12 (11_1) (HD 7730M)
• Vulkan Support: 1.2.175 (GTX 650 Ti) versus 1.2.170 (HD 7730M)
• Die Size: 221 mm² (GTX 650 Ti) versus 123 mm² (HD 7730M)
• Transistors: 2,540 million (GTX 650 Ti) versus 1,500 million (HD 7730M)
• Release Date: October 2012 (GTX 650 Ti) versus April 2012 (HD 7730M)
• Launch MSRP: 149 USD (GTX 650 Ti) versus not recorded (HD 7730M)