AMD Radeon HD 8730M vs NVIDIA T600 Comparison

The Verdict

The NVIDIA T600 is the decisive winner in every measurable category. Its average benchmark score of 7035 places it in the 39th percentile of all GPUs, while the AMD Radeon HD 8730M sits at 5955, in the 34th percentile. The T600 outperforms the HD 8730M by 368.1% in the only head-to-head benchmark available, Geekbench OpenCL. This is not a close contest.

The T600 is the only choice for anyone needing modern compute acceleration, productivity workloads, or even light content creation. Its Turing architecture, GDDR6 memory, and 4 GB frame buffer provide a platform that can handle current software demands. The HD 8730M, from 2013, is a legacy part that should only be considered for vintage systems or basic display output where its lower performance is acceptable. For any task beyond simple 2D desktop work, the T600 is the clear recommendation.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different eras and design philosophies. The NVIDIA T600 is built on the Turing architecture, specifically the TU117 chip, fabricated on TSMC's 12 nm process. The AMD Radeon HD 8730M uses the older GCN 1.0 architecture, with the Mars chip, on a 28 nm process.

Transistor counts highlight the generational gap. The T600 packs 4,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 23.5M per mm². The HD 8730M has just 950 million transistors on a 77 mm² die, with a density of 12.3M per mm². The T600 has nearly five times the transistor count and roughly double the density, reflecting the newer fabrication node.

Memory configurations differ significantly. The T600 comes with 4 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 160.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The HD 8730M has 2 GB of DDR3 memory, also on a 128-bit bus, but only achieves 28.80 GB/s. That is a massive bandwidth disparity, nearly 5.6 times in favor of the T600.

The compute resources also favor NVIDIA. The T600 has 640 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 32 raster operations units. The HD 8730M has 384 shading units, 24 TMUs, and only 8 ROPs. Pixel rate for the T600 is 42.72 GPixel/s versus 5.600 GPixel/s for the AMD part. Texture rate is 53.40 GTexel/s versus 16.80 GTexel/s. FP32 throughput is 1.709 TFLOPS versus 537.6 GFLOPS. The T600 also supports FP16 at 3.418 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio, a feature the HD 8730M lacks entirely.

Clock speeds tell a similar story. The T600 runs at a base of 735 MHz and boosts to 1335 MHz, with memory at 1250 MHz or 10 Gbps effective. The HD 8730M runs at 650 MHz base and 700 MHz boost, with memory at 900 MHz or 1800 Mbps effective. Even at lower clocks, the T600's superior architecture and memory system deliver far higher throughput.

API support is another differentiator. The T600 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The HD 8730M supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The T600 also uses PCIe 3.0 x16, while the HD 8730M is limited to PCIe 3.0 x8. The T600 is a single-slot card with four mini-DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, while the HD 8730M has no listed display outputs, slot width, or power connectors, indicating it was designed for mobile or OEM integration.

The T600 has a TDP of 40 W and a suggested PSU of 200 W, with no power connectors required. The HD 8730M has no TDP listed, but its modest specifications suggest low power draw. The T600 is end-of-life, releasing in April 2021, while the HD 8730M is also end-of-life, releasing in March 2013. The T600's predecessor is Quadro Volta and its successor is Workstation Ampere. The HD 8730M's predecessor is London and its successor is Gem System.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA T600 wins in all scenarios. Its 4 GB GDDR6 frame buffer and 160.0 GB/s bandwidth make it suitable for modern applications that demand large textures and high memory throughput. The 3.418 TFLOPS FP16 capability opens up accelerated compute workloads in AI inference and image processing that the HD 8730M cannot handle. The 42.72 GPixel/s fill rate supports higher resolutions and more complex visual effects in professional visualization.

The T600 also benefits from newer API support. Vulkan 1.4 and DirectX 12 (12_1) allow it to run the latest games and applications with feature-level support that the HD 8730M's DirectX 12 (11_1) cannot match. The PCIe 3.0 x16 interface provides full bandwidth for data transfer, and the four mini-DisplayPort outputs enable multi-monitor professional setups.

The AMD Radeon HD 8730M has no benchmark wins in the recorded data. Its only role is as a basic display adapter for systems that do not require compute performance. Its 2 GB DDR3 memory and 28.80 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 2D desktop work, video playback, and very old games. The 537.6 GFLOPS FP32 throughput is a fraction of the T600's 1.709 TFLOPS, so any GPU-accelerated task will be significantly slower.

The HD 8730M's lower transistor count and smaller die size mean it generates less heat, but the T600's 40 W TDP is already modest. The HD 8730M has no listed power connectors or slot width, suggesting it was built for compact or mobile designs, but that is a form factor advantage, not a performance one.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the NVIDIA T600 than the AMD Radeon HD 8730M?

A: In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the T600 scores 27875 versus 5955 for the HD 8730M, a delta of 368.1% in favor of the T600.

Q: Which GPU has more memory bandwidth?

A: The NVIDIA T600 has 160.0 GB/s of bandwidth from 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus. The AMD Radeon HD 8730M has 28.80 GB/s from 2 GB of DDR3 on a 128-bit bus.

Q: Can the AMD Radeon HD 8730M handle modern APIs?

A: It supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The NVIDIA T600 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, which is a newer feature level.

Q: What is the FP16 compute capability of each GPU?

A: The NVIDIA T600 delivers 3.418 TFLOPS of FP16 performance with a 2:1 ratio. The AMD Radeon HD 8730M has no FP16 capability listed.

Q: Which GPU has a higher pixel fill rate?

A: The NVIDIA T600 achieves 42.72 GPixel/s, while the AMD Radeon HD 8730M achieves 5.600 GPixel/s.

Q: Are these GPUs still in production?

A: Both are listed as end-of-life. The NVIDIA T600 was released in April 2021, and the AMD Radeon HD 8730M was released in March 2013.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison in the database is Geekbench OpenCL. The NVIDIA T600 scores 27875, while the AMD Radeon HD 8730M scores 5955. This results in a delta of 368.1% for the T600. That means the T600 is nearly 4.7 times faster in OpenCL compute workloads.

The T600's average benchmark score is 7035, placing it in the 39th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680M with an average score of 7023 (0.2% behind), the AMD Radeon R5 M240 at 6975 (0.9% behind), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675M at 6946 (1.3% behind). The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 sits at 7157, which is 1.7% ahead of the T600. This places the T600 in a competitive position among older and mid-range parts.

The HD 8730M has an average benchmark score of 5955, in the 34th percentile. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA Quadro K620M at 5957 (0% delta), the AMD Radeon HD 8750M at 5970 (0.3% ahead), the Intel UHD Graphics 730 at 5929 (0.4% behind), and the NVIDIA Quadro K4000 at 5982 (0.5% ahead). The HD 8730M is essentially on par with these low-end parts, with no meaningful performance separation.

Looking at the T600's individual benchmark results, the Passmark suite shows a broad range. DirectX 9 scores 114, DirectX 10 scores 32, DirectX 11 scores 49, and DirectX 12 scores 25. The G2D score is 756, the G3D score is 6479, and the GPU compute score is 2402. These numbers indicate that the T600 excels in compute and modern workloads but is less impressive in legacy DirectX tests, which is typical for a professional workstation GPU.

The HD 8730M has only one recorded benchmark, the Geekbench OpenCL score of 5955. No DirectX or compute scores are available, which limits the comparison but reinforces the fact that this is a minimal-performance part.

The wins tally is 1 for the NVIDIA T600 and 0 for the AMD Radeon HD 8730M. Every metric in the database, from raw compute to memory bandwidth to fill rates, favors the T600. There is no scenario in the recorded data where the HD 8730M comes out ahead. The verdict is unambiguous: the NVIDIA T600 is the superior GPU by a wide margin.