AMD Radeon HD 8730M vs AMD Radeon R7 M340 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison recorded in the database is the Geekbench OpenCL test, and the result is decisive. The AMD Radeon HD 8730M scores 5955 points, while the AMD Radeon R7 M340 scores 4932 points. That is a 20.7% advantage for the older HD 8730M, and it wins the only head-to-head contest between these two mobile GPUs.

This is not a marginal gap. A 20.7% delta in compute workloads places the HD 8730M clearly ahead in OpenCL performance. The R7 M340 does not win any recorded benchmark comparison, so the head-to-head record stands at 1 win for the HD 8730M and 0 wins for the R7 M340.

Context from the database’s nearest rival lists reinforces the separation. The HD 8730M sits at the 34th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 5955. Its closest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro K620M at 5957 (a 0% delta), the AMD Radeon HD 8750M at 5970 (a -0.3% delta from the HD 8730M’s perspective), the Intel UHD Graphics 730 at 5929 (a 0.4% delta), and the NVIDIA Quadro K4000 at 5982 (a -0.5% delta). The HD 8730M is essentially level with those parts, all within 0.5% of its score.

The R7 M340, by contrast, sits at the 30th percentile, with an average benchmark score of 5063. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon R7 240 at 5063 (0% delta), the AMD FirePro W4170M at 5034 (0.6% ahead of the R7 M340), the AMD Radeon R5 M430 at 5018 (0.9% ahead), and the AMD Radeon R7 Graphics at 4998 (1.3% ahead). The R7 M340 is the weakest or near-weakest in its immediate peer group, with its closest rival matching it exactly and three others edging it out by less than 1.5%.

The practical meaning of the 20.7% OpenCL delta is that the HD 8730M is a meaningfully faster compute part, despite being released earlier and built on an older architecture generation. The R7 M340’s higher clock speeds do not compensate for its narrower memory bus and fewer shader units, at least in the recorded OpenCL workload.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architecture generations and different chip designs. The HD 8730M uses the Mars chip, built on GCN 1.0 architecture, and belongs to the Solar System generation (HD 8700M series). The R7 M340 uses the Meso chip, built on GCN 3.0 architecture, and belongs to the Gem System generation (R7 M300 series). Both are manufactured by TSMC on a 28 nm process, so the process node is identical.

The transistor counts differ substantially. The HD 8730M packs 950 million transistors on a 77 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 12.3 million per mm². The R7 M340 packs 1,550 million transistors on a 125 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 12.4 million per mm². The R7 M340’s chip is larger and has roughly 63% more transistors, but that does not translate into higher benchmark performance.

The shading resources are actually lower on the R7 M340. The HD 8730M has 384 shading units, 24 texture mapping units, and 8 ROPs. The R7 M340 has 320 shading units, 20 texture mapping units, and 8 ROPs. So the HD 8730M has 64 more shading units and 4 more TMUs, while both parts have the same ROP count.

Clock speeds favor the R7 M340. The HD 8730M runs at a base clock of 650 MHz with a boost clock of 700 MHz. The R7 M340 runs at a base clock of 943 MHz with a boost clock of 1021 MHz. That is a 293 MHz base clock advantage and a 321 MHz boost clock advantage for the newer part, yet the extra frequency does not overcome the shader deficit in the OpenCL benchmark.

Memory configurations are markedly different. The HD 8730M has 2 GB of DDR3 on a 128-bit bus, with a memory clock of 900 MHz (1800 Mbps effective) and bandwidth of 28.80 GB/s. The R7 M340 also has 2 GB of DDR3, but on a 64-bit bus, with a memory clock of 1000 MHz (2 Gbps effective) and bandwidth of only 16.00 GB/s. The HD 8730M has twice the bus width and 80% more memory bandwidth.

The R7 M340 does have a notable feature advantage in FP16 compute. It supports FP16 at 653.4 GFLOPS (1:1 ratio with FP32), while the HD 8730M has no recorded FP16 capability. FP32 compute also favors the R7 M340: it delivers 653.4 GFLOPS versus 537.6 GFLOPS for the HD 8730M. The pixel rate and texture rate likewise favor the R7 M340, at 8.168 GPixel/s versus 5.600 GPixel/s, and 20.42 GTexel/s versus 16.80 GTexel/s, respectively.

The DirectX support differs. The HD 8730M supports DirectX 12 (11_1), while the R7 M340 supports DirectX 12 (12_0). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.2.170. Both use a PCIe 3.0 x8 bus interface.

The R7 M340 also has an additional recorded benchmark: a Geekbench Vulkan score of 5193. The HD 8730M has no Vulkan score in the database, so cross-API comparison is not possible from the recorded data.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher OpenCL benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 8730M scores 5955 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the AMD Radeon R7 M340 scores 4932. The HD 8730M is 20.7% faster in this test.

Q: Do the two GPUs have the same memory configuration?

A: No. Both have 2 GB of DDR3, but the HD 8730M uses a 128-bit bus with 28.80 GB/s bandwidth, while the R7 M340 uses a 64-bit bus with 16.00 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The HD 8730M has 384 shading units, compared to 320 shading units on the R7 M340. The HD 8730M also has 24 TMUs versus 20 TMUs, while both have 8 ROPs.

Q: Does the R7 M340 have any compute advantage?

A: Yes. The R7 M340 delivers 653.4 GFLOPS of FP32 compute and supports FP16 at 653.4 GFLOPS (1:1 ratio). The HD 8730M delivers 537.6 GFLOPS of FP32 and has no recorded FP16 support.

Q: Which GPU uses a newer architecture?

A: The R7 M340 uses GCN 3.0 architecture on the Meso chip, while the HD 8730M uses GCN 1.0 architecture on the Mars chip. The R7 M340 also belongs to a newer generation, the Gem System (R7 M300 series), versus the Solar System (HD 8700M series) for the HD 8730M.

Q: How do their DirectX versions compare?

A: The HD 8730M supports DirectX 12 (11_1), while the R7 M340 supports DirectX 12 (12_0). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.2.170.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear winner for general compute workloads: the AMD Radeon HD 8730M. Its 20.7% OpenCL advantage over the R7 M340 is the single most important recorded metric, and it also holds a higher percentile ranking (34th versus 30th) among all GPUs in the database.

The HD 8730M achieves its victory through a wider memory bus and more shading units. The 128-bit bus provides 28.80 GB/s of bandwidth, nearly double the 16.00 GB/s of the R7 M340’s 64-bit bus. The 384 shading units and 24 TMUs give it more parallel throughput resources than the 320 shaders and 20 TMUs on the R7 M340. These structural advantages outweigh the R7 M340’s higher clock speeds (943 MHz base / 1021 MHz boost versus 650 MHz / 700 MHz).

That said, the R7 M340 is not without merit. It delivers higher raw FP32 compute (653.4 GFLOPS versus 537.6 GFLOPS), higher pixel rate (8.168 GPixel/s versus 5.600 GPixel/s), higher texture rate (20.42 GTexel/s versus 16.80 GTexel/s), and adds FP16 support at 1:1 ratio. It also supports DirectX 12 (12_0), a more complete feature level than the HD 8730M’s DirectX 12 (11_1). For workloads that leverage these newer capabilities, especially FP16 compute, the R7 M340 is the more capable part.

The R7 M340 also has a recorded Vulkan score of 5193, which the HD 8730M lacks entirely. That suggests the R7 M340 has at least some Vulkan compute presence, while the HD 8730M has none recorded. Users targeting Vulkan-based workloads should consider the R7 M340, though no direct cross-GPU Vulkan comparison is available.

For pure OpenCL performance, the choice is unambiguous: the HD 8730M. For users who need newer API support, FP16 capability, or higher theoretical pixel and texture throughput, the R7 M340 is the better fit. The database records only one head-to-head benchmark, and the HD 8730M wins it. Until additional tests are recorded, that single result stands as the primary performance divider.

Specification Differences

The table below lists only the fields where the two GPUs differ, based on the recorded data.

| Specification | AMD Radeon HD 8730M | AMD Radeon R7 M340 |

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

| Chip | Mars | Meso |

| Architecture | GCN 1.0 | GCN 3.0 |

| Generation | Solar System (HD 8700M) | Gem System (R7 M300) |

| Transistors | 950 million | 1,550 million |

| Die Size | 77 mm² | 125 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 12.3M / mm² | 12.4M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 650 MHz | 943 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 700 MHz | 1021 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 900 MHz (1800 Mbps effective) | 1000 MHz (2 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Bus Width | 128 bit | 64 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 28.80 GB/s | 16.00 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 384 | 320 |

| TMUs | 24 | 20 |

| Pixel Rate | 5.600 GPixel/s | 8.168 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 16.80 GTexel/s | 20.42 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 537.6 GFLOPS | 653.4 GFLOPS |

| FP16 | Not recorded | 653.4 GFLOPS (1:1) |

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

| Release Date | 2013-03-31 | 2015-05-04 |

| Predecessor | London | Solar System |

| Successor | Gem System | Polaris Mobile |

| Geekbench OpenCL Score | 5955 | 4932 |

| Geekbench Vulkan Score | Not recorded | 5193 |

| Average Benchmark Score | 5955 | 5063 |

| Percentile vs All GPUs | 34 | 30 |

The two parts share several characteristics: both are AMD GPUs, both use TSMC’s 28 nm process, both have 2 GB of DDR3 memory, both have 8 ROPs, both use PCIe 3.0 x8, both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.2.170, and both are end-of-life products with no launch MSRP recorded. The core differences are structural: the HD 8730M has more shaders and a wider memory bus, while the R7 M340 has higher clocks, a larger chip, newer architecture, and FP16 support.