AMD Radeon HD 7730M vs NVIDIA GeForce MX130 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains one direct head-to-head measurement between the AMD Radeon HD 7730M and the NVIDIA GeForce MX130: the Geekbench OpenCL test. In this single recorded comparison, the AMD Radeon HD 7730M scores 6581 points against 6102 points for the NVIDIA GeForce MX130. That is a 7.8% lead for the AMD part, a meaningful margin in raw compute throughput. The AMD GPU wins the only head-to-head benchmark the database tracks between these two, giving it a 1 to 0 win record.

Placing that OpenCL score into the broader context of all recorded GPUs, the AMD Radeon HD 7730M sits at the 38th percentile, while the NVIDIA GeForce MX130 lands at the 32nd percentile. That six-percentile gap reinforces the raw performance advantage seen in the direct comparison, though both parts occupy the lower middle tier of the GPU landscape.

Looking at the nearest rivals in the database for each card tells a similar story. The AMD Radeon HD 7730M's average benchmark score is 6581. Its closest competitor, the AMD Radeon R7 M460, averages 6612, which is 0.5% higher. The Intel UHD Graphics P750 trails by a hair at 6554, a 0.4% deficit. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M scores 6513, or 1% lower, and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M scores 6493, 1.4% lower. The AMD part essentially trades blows with these rivals, staying within a point or two of each, which suggests it holds its own against a spread of integrated and older discrete solutions.

The NVIDIA GeForce MX130, by contrast, has an average benchmark score of 5508. Its nearest rival, the AMD FirePro M4000, scores 5537, which is 0.5% higher. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M scores 5501, a 0.1% deficit. The AMD Radeon R7 M440 scores 5483, 0.5% lower, and the NVIDIA Quadro M4000 scores 5467, 0.7% lower. The MX130's cluster of rivals is tighter and sits at a lower absolute level than the HD 7730M's cluster, confirming that the AMD GPU is the faster part in this pairing.

It is notably the MX130 has a second recorded benchmark, Geekbench Vulkan, where it scores 4914. The HD 7730M has no Vulkan result in the database, so no cross-part comparison is possible on that API. The OpenCL result remains the only apples-to-apples measurement.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon HD 7730M wins in the raw compute race. Its OpenCL score of 6581 is 7.8% above the MX130's 6102, and its average benchmark score across all recorded tests is 6581 versus 5508 for the NVIDIA part. That 1073-point gap in average performance is substantial for two mobile-class GPUs. The HD 7730M also carries more shading units, 512 versus 384, and more texture mapping units, 32 versus 24, which helps explain its higher aggregate throughput.

The NVIDIA GeForce MX130, however, does not win any of the recorded head-to-head benchmarks, so the database gives it zero wins. Where it does show advantages is in architectural efficiency and memory technology. Its GDDR5 memory delivers 40.10 GB/s of bandwidth across a 64-bit bus, which is 39% higher bandwidth than the HD 7730M's 28.80 GB/s over a 128-bit bus. That narrower but faster memory interface may benefit bandwidth-sensitive workloads, even though the database does not include a synthetic test that isolates memory-bound scenarios.

The MX130 also has a higher clock speed profile. Its base clock is 1109 MHz with a boost of 1189 MHz, compared to the HD 7730M's 575 MHz base and 675 MHz boost. Clock speed alone does not decide performance, as the HD 7730M's larger execution resource pool compensates, but the MX130's higher frequencies point to better per-clock efficiency from the Maxwell architecture.

For users prioritizing raw OpenCL compute, the AMD part is the clear choice. For those who value memory bandwidth, modern API support, or lower power draw per clock, the MX130 has structural advantages even if it loses the only direct benchmark.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations and different design philosophies. The AMD Radeon HD 7730M uses the Chelsea chip built on GCN 1.0, a first-generation Graphics Core Next design. It is fabricated on TSMC's 28 nm process and packs 1,500 million transistors into a 123 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 12.2 million per square millimeter. The NVIDIA GeForce MX130 uses the GM108S chip based on Maxwell, also on TSMC's 28 nm node, but with 1,020 million transistors on a smaller 77 mm² die, yielding a higher density of 13.2 million per square millimeter.

The compute layouts differ significantly. The HD 7730M has 512 shading units, 32 texture mapping units, and 16 ROPs. The MX130 has 384 shading units, 24 texture mapping units, and only 8 ROPs. In raw shading and texturing capacity, the AMD GPU has 33% more shaders and 33% more TMUs. The MX130 counters with higher clock speeds, 1109 MHz base and 1189 MHz boost versus 575 MHz and 675 MHz, which narrows the throughput gap. Pixel rate favors the AMD part at 10.80 GPixel/s versus 9.512 GPixel/s, but texture rate favors the NVIDIA part at 28.54 GTexel/s versus 21.60 GTexel/s. FP32 compute tells the story clearly: the MX130 reaches 913.2 GFLOPS versus 691.2 GFLOPS for the HD 7730M.

Memory architecture is a major differentiator. The HD 7730M uses 2 GB of DDR3 on a 128-bit bus, running at 900 MHz with 1800 Mbps effective speed, for 28.80 GB/s of bandwidth. The MX130 uses 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 64-bit bus, running at 1253 MHz with 5 Gbps effective speed, for 40.10 GB/s. Despite half the bus width, the MX130 delivers 39% more bandwidth thanks to GDDR5's higher data rate.

Feature support also diverges. The HD 7730M supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The MX130 supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The NVIDIA part has a newer Vulkan revision, which may matter for modern titles that rely on newer Vulkan extensions. The bus interface differs as well: the HD 7730M uses PCIe 2.0 x16, while the MX130 uses PCIe 3.0 x4. The older x16 link offers more lanes, but the newer PCIe 3.0 standard provides higher per-lane bandwidth. Power draw is close, with the HD 7730M rated at 25 W and the MX130 at 30 W, a 5 W difference that could affect thin-and-light laptop thermals.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear winner in raw compute: the AMD Radeon HD 7730M. Its OpenCL score of 6581 beats the MX130's 6102 by 7.8%, and its average benchmark score of 6581 is 19.5% higher than the MX130's 5508. The HD 7730M also sits at a higher percentile rank, 38th versus 32nd, and its nearest rivals cluster around the 6500 mark, while the MX130's rivals cluster around 5500. For anyone choosing between these two solely on recorded performance, the AMD part is the faster GPU.

The NVIDIA GeForce MX130 is not without merit. Its GDDR5 memory provides 40.10 GB/s of bandwidth, substantially higher than the HD 7730M's 28.80 GB/s, which could benefit certain memory-heavy workloads. Its Maxwell architecture achieves higher clock speeds, 1189 MHz boost versus 675 MHz, and its Vulkan 1.4 support is newer than the HD 7730M's 1.2.170. However, none of these advantages translate into a benchmark win in the database. The MX130 records zero wins in head-to-head testing.

The verdict depends on what the user values. For OpenCL compute workloads, the AMD Radeon HD 7730M is the better pick by a clear margin. For users who prioritize memory bandwidth or newer API support, the MX130 offers structural advantages, but the recorded benchmark data does not show those advantages converting into higher scores. The HD 7730M is the stronger performer in this matchup.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher OpenCL benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 7730M scores 6581 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 7.8% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce MX130's score of 6102.

Q: How many head-to-head benchmark wins does each GPU have?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 7730M has 1 win in the head-to-head benchmarks, while the NVIDIA GeForce MX130 has 0 wins.

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

A: The NVIDIA GeForce MX130 has 40.10 GB/s of memory bandwidth from its GDDR5 memory, while the AMD Radeon HD 7730M has 28.80 GB/s from DDR3.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 7730M has 512 shading units, while the NVIDIA GeForce MX130 has 384 shading units.

Q: What are the DirectX and Vulkan support levels for each GPU?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 7730M supports DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170. The NVIDIA GeForce MX130 supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and Vulkan 1.4.

Q: How do their average benchmark scores compare?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 7730M has an average benchmark score of 6581, while the NVIDIA GeForce MX130 has an average benchmark score of 5508.