AMD Radeon HD 7730M vs NVIDIA RTX A400 Comparison

# FAQ

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in raw OpenCL performance?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A400 scores 22,844 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the AMD Radeon HD 7730M scores 6,581. The delta is -71.2% from the AMD's perspective, meaning the RTX A400 is approximately 3.47 times faster in this workload.

Q: Which GPU has a higher percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 7730M sits at the 38th percentile, while the NVIDIA RTX A400 sits at the 35th percentile. Despite the RTX A400's much higher raw OpenCL score, it ranks slightly lower overall when averaged across all benchmark types.

Q: What is the average benchmark score for each card, and how do they compare?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 7730M has an average benchmark score of 6,581, while the NVIDIA RTX A400 averages 6,078. This is interesting—the RTX A400's OpenCL score is far higher, but its average is dragged down by other tests like Passmark DX10 (32), DX11 (37), and DX12 (27).

Q: What are the closest rivals for each GPU according to benchmark data?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 7730M's nearest rivals include the Intel UHD Graphics P750 (0.4% ahead), AMD Radeon R7 M460 (0.5% behind), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M (1% behind), and NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M (1.4% behind). The RTX A400's nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce MX230 (0% delta), NVIDIA Quadro P2000 (0.5% ahead), Intel Iris Pro Graphics 6200 (0.6% behind), and AMD Radeon 760M (1% behind).

Q: Which GPU supports newer graphics APIs?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A400 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), Vulkan 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6. The AMD Radeon HD 7730M supports DirectX 12 (11_1), Vulkan 1.2.170, and OpenGL 4.6. The RTX A400 clearly has a more modern API feature set.

Q: What are the production statuses of these two GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 7730M is marked as End-of-life, having been released in April 2012. The NVIDIA RTX A400 is Active, with a release date of April 2024.

# Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is substantial, reflecting over a decade of GPU development. The AMD Radeon HD 7730M uses the Chelsea chip built on GCN 1.0 architecture, manufactured on a 28 nm process at TSMC. The NVIDIA RTX A400 uses the GA107 chip based on Ampere architecture, built on an 8 nm process at Samsung. This process difference alone is significant—the Ampere chip packs 8,700 million transistors into a 200 mm² die, while the GCN 1.0 chip contains 1,500 million transistors on a 123 mm² die. The transistor density tells the story: 43.5M per mm² for the RTX A400 versus 12.2M per mm² for the HD 7730M.

The AMD GPU has 512 shading units, 32 texture mapping units, and 16 ROPs. The NVIDIA GPU has 768 shading units, 24 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. Notably, the RTX A400 also includes 6 RT cores and 24 tensor cores—hardware features entirely absent from the older AMD chip. These dedicated cores enable hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI workloads, capabilities the HD 7730M simply cannot offer.

Clock speeds differ drastically as well. The AMD chip runs at a 575 MHz base clock with a 675 MHz boost. The RTX A400 operates at 1,417 MHz base and 1,762 MHz boost—more than double the AMD's clocks. The memory systems are also generations apart: the HD 7730M uses 2 GB of DDR3 on a 128-bit bus at 900 MHz (1,800 Mbps effective), while the RTX A400 uses 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus at 1,500 MHz (12 Gbps effective). Despite the narrower bus, the RTX A400's memory bandwidth of 96.00 GB/s far exceeds the HD 7730M's 28.80 GB/s.

The API support reflects their respective eras. The HD 7730M supports DirectX 12 (11_1), which is a limited implementation of DirectX 12. The RTX A400 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), the full modern feature set. Vulkan support also jumps from 1.2.170 on the AMD to 1.4 on the NVIDIA.

# Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only directly comparable benchmark between these two GPUs in the data is Geekbench OpenCL, and the results are lopsided. The NVIDIA RTX A400 scores 22,844, while the AMD Radeon HD 7730M scores 6,581. This represents a delta of -71.2% from the AMD's perspective. In practical terms, the RTX A400 delivers roughly 3.5 times the OpenCL compute performance of the HD 7730M.

This massive gap makes sense when examining the specifications. The RTX A400 has 768 shading units versus 512, higher clock speeds (1,762 MHz boost versus 675 MHz), and significantly faster memory (96.00 GB/s versus 28.80 GB/s). The FP32 compute rating tells the same story: the RTX A400 achieves 2.706 TFLOPS, while the HD 7730M manages only 691.2 GFLOPS—a nearly 4x difference.

However, the RTX A400's own benchmark suite reveals a more complex picture. While its OpenCL and Vulkan scores are strong (22,844 and 22,237 respectively), its Passmark scores tell a different story. The RTX A400 scores only 32 in Passmark DirectX 10, 37 in DirectX 11, and 27 in DirectX 12. These low scores suggest that the RTX A400's driver optimization or hardware design may not favor legacy DirectX workloads. Its Passmark G3D score of 5,983 and G2D score of 899 are more respectable, as is its GPU compute score of 2,557.

The AMD HD 7730M has only the one OpenCL benchmark in the data, so its performance profile across other workloads remains unmeasured here. The data shows the RTX A400 wins the head-to-head comparison 1-0, but the HD 7730M's percentile ranking (38th) is actually higher than the RTX A400's (35th). This suggests that when considering the broader benchmark landscape, the older AMD card holds up surprisingly well relative to other GPUs.

# Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon HD 7730M | NVIDIA RTX A400 |

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

| Process Node | 28 nm (TSMC) | 8 nm (Samsung) |

| Transistors | 1,500 million | 8,700 million |

| Die Size | 123 mm² | 200 mm² |

| Base Clock | 575 MHz | 1,417 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 675 MHz | 1,762 MHz |

| Memory Size | 2 GB DDR3 | 4 GB GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus | 128 bit | 64 bit |

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

| Shading Units | 512 | 768 |

| TMUs | 32 | 24 |

| ROPs | 16 | 16 |

| RT Cores | None | 6 |

| Tensor Cores | None | 24 |

| Pixel Rate | 10.80 GPixel/s | 28.19 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 21.60 GTexel/s | 42.29 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 691.2 GFLOPS | 2.706 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | Not specified | 2.706 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 25 W | 50 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 2.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x8 |

| Display Outputs | Portable Device Dependent | 4x mini-DisplayPort 1.4a |

| DirectX Support | 12 (11_1) | 12 Ultimate (12_2) |

| Vulkan Support | 1.2.170 | 1.4 |

| Slot Width | Not specified | Single-slot |

| Power Connectors | Not specified | None |

| Suggested PSU | Not specified | 250 W |

| Dimensions | Not specified | 163 mm x 69 mm |

| Production Status | End-of-life | Active |

| Release Date | 2012-04-23 | 2024-04-15 |

The specification table reveals a clear generational divide. The RTX A400 doubles the memory capacity, quadruples the bandwidth, and nearly quadruples FP32 throughput. It also introduces RT and tensor cores, which the HD 7730M lacks entirely. The AMD card is more power-efficient on paper (25 W versus 50 W TDP), but the RTX A400 delivers far more performance per watt given its massive compute advantage.

# Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA RTX A400 wins decisively in raw compute performance. Its OpenCL score of 22,844 dwarfs the HD 7730M's 6,581. For any workload that leverages general-purpose GPU computing—such as scientific simulation, data processing, or machine learning inference—the RTX A400 is clearly superior. Its 2.706 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 1:1 FP16 ratio (also 2.706 TFLOPS) make it suitable for compute-heavy tasks. The inclusion of 24 tensor cores further enhances its capability for AI-related workloads, a feature entirely absent from the AMD card.

The RTX A400 also wins on modern API support and connectivity. Its DirectX 12 Ultimate support, Vulkan 1.4 compatibility, and PCIe 4.0 x8 interface position it for contemporary software and systems. The 4x mini-DisplayPort 1.4a outputs provide professional multi-display capabilities, whereas the HD 7730M's display outputs are listed as "Portable Device Dependent," reflecting its mobile laptop origins.

The AMD Radeon HD 7730M's advantages are more subtle. Its 25 W TDP is half the RTX A400's 50 W, making it more suitable for power-constrained environments. The 128-bit memory bus, while paired with slower DDR3, offers double the bus width of the RTX A400's 64-bit interface. In legacy DirectX workloads, the HD 7730M might hold its own, although no direct benchmark data in the pack confirms this. The HD 7730M's higher percentile ranking (38th versus 35th) suggests it performs better relative to its contemporaries than the RTX A400 does relative to its generation.

# The Verdict

The data clearly shows the NVIDIA RTX A400 as the more powerful GPU for modern compute workloads. Its OpenCL benchmark score of 22,844 versus 6,581 for the AMD HD 7730M represents a 247% performance advantage. The RTX A400's modern architecture delivers hardware ray tracing, tensor cores, and comprehensive API support that the 2012-era AMD chip cannot match. For users working with current software that leverages DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, or AI acceleration, the RTX A400 is the obvious choice.

However, the AMD HD 7730M's 38th percentile ranking versus the RTX A400's 35th percentile suggests that in the broader context of all GPUs, the older card is not as far behind as the raw numbers might imply. Its lower power draw (25 W versus 50 W) and wider memory bus (128-bit versus 64-bit) are interesting trade-offs. The HD 7730M's End-of-life status, though, means no further driver optimizations or feature updates are coming.

The RTX A400's low Passmark DirectX scores (32 in DX10, 37 in DX11, 27 in DX12) are curious given its otherwise strong performance. This could indicate driver maturity issues or architectural trade-offs in the Ampere design for legacy workloads. The HD 7730M, with only an OpenCL score in the data, may perform differently across other benchmarks—but without that data, the RTX A400's overall superiority in measured tests stands.

Users who need maximum compute performance, modern API support, and professional display outputs should choose the NVIDIA RTX A400. Those with extremely tight power budgets or legacy software compatibility concerns might consider the AMD HD 7730M, but its End-of-life status and significantly lower performance make it a difficult recommendation for any new deployment. The RTX A400 is the data-supported winner for virtually all use cases.