AMD Radeon R5 M240 vs NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010 Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data splits cleanly between these two legacy mobile and desktop parts. The AMD Radeon R5 M240 wins the only head-to-head comparison available, taking the Geekbench OpenCL test with a score of 6975 against the NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010's 6698. That is a 4.1% advantage for the AMD part. The NVIDIA GPU, meanwhile, does not win any benchmark category in this dataset; its single result falls behind in every comparison. For compute workloads measured by OpenCL, the R5 M240 is the stronger performer. The GT 1010 counters with advantages in other areas—memory capacity, bandwidth, and pixel throughput—but those do not translate into a benchmark victory in the recorded data. The R5 M240's percentile ranking among all GPUs is 39, slightly ahead of the GT 1010's 38th percentile, which reinforces the narrow but consistent lead the AMD part holds in measured performance. Neither card is a performance leader; both sit in the lower third of the GPU landscape, making them suitable for basic tasks rather than demanding applications.

Architecture Differences

These two GPUs come from different manufacturers, different foundries, and different architectural generations. The AMD Radeon R5 M240 uses the Jet chip built on GCN 1.0 architecture, manufactured by TSMC on a 28 nm process. It packs 690 million transistors into a 56 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 12.3 million per square millimeter. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010 employs the GP108 chip with Pascal architecture, fabricated by Samsung on a 14 nm process. It contains 1,800 million transistors on a 74 mm² die, achieving 24.3 million transistors per square millimeter. The manufacturing node difference is significant: 14 nm versus 28 nm allows the NVIDIA part to nearly triple the transistor count while only increasing die size by about 32%. The GT 1010's transistor density is roughly double that of the R5 M240. In terms of feature set, the R5 M240 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The GT 1010 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The NVIDIA part has a more recent DirectX feature level and a newer Vulkan version. Both lack ray tracing and tensor cores. The R5 M240 belongs to the Gem System (R5 M200) generation, while the GT 1010 is part of GeForce 10. Their production statuses are both end-of-life, though their release dates differ by over six years—the AMD part released in September 2014, the NVIDIA part in January 2021.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The sole head-to-head benchmark is Geekbench OpenCL, and it shows a modest but clear win for the AMD Radeon R5 M240. The AMD card scores 6975, while the NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010 scores 6698, giving the R5 M240 a 4.1% advantage. This margin is small enough that real-world differences would be difficult to notice, but it is consistent across the nearest rival comparisons. The R5 M240 sits 0.4% above the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675M (6946) and 2.1% above the AMD FirePro M5100 (6830), while trailing the GTX 680M (7023) by 0.7% and the NVIDIA T600 (7035) by 0.8%. The GT 1010, by contrast, is 1% below the AMD Radeon R7 M370 (6764), 1.9% below the AMD FirePro M5100 (6830), and only 1.3% above the AMD Radeon R7 M460 (6612) and 1.8% above the AMD Radeon HD 7730M (6581). The deltaPct values reveal that the R5 M240's closest rivals are spread within a 2.9% band, while the GT 1010's rivals span a 3.7% range. The GT 1010's performance deficit to the R5 M240 in OpenCL is consistent with its lower percentile ranking. The AMD part's advantage likely stems from its higher shading unit count—320 versus 256—and its higher texture unit count—20 versus 16—even though the NVIDIA part has higher clock speeds.

Specification Differences

The specification sheets reveal several meaningful differences beyond the benchmark scores. Memory is a major differentiator: the R5 M240 has 1024 MB of DDR3 on a 64-bit bus, delivering 14.40 GB/s of bandwidth. The GT 1010 has 2 GB of GDDR5 on the same 64-bit bus, but achieves 48.06 GB/s—more than three times the bandwidth. This is a substantial advantage for the NVIDIA part in memory-heavy workloads, even if the OpenCL benchmark does not reflect it. Clock speeds also favor the GT 1010: it runs at 1228 MHz base and 1468 MHz boost, compared to the R5 M240's 1000 MHz base and 1030 MHz boost. The GT 1010's memory clock is 1502 MHz (6 Gbps effective) versus the R5 M240's 900 MHz (1800 Mbps effective). Pixel and texture rates follow the same pattern: the GT 1010 achieves 11.74 GPixel/s and 23.49 GTexel/s, while the R5 M240 manages 8.240 GPixel/s and 20.60 GTexel/s. Floating-point performance (FP32) also favors the NVIDIA part: 751.6 GFLOPS versus 659.2 GFLOPS. The GT 1010 has a specified TDP of 30 W, a single-slot form factor, no power connectors, and a suggested PSU of 200 W; the R5 M240 has no listed TDP, slot width, or power connector data. The bus interface differs: the R5 M240 uses PCIe 3.0 x8, while the GT 1010 uses PCIe 3.0 x4. Display outputs are only listed for the GT 1010: 1x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 2.0. The GT 1010 has a physical length of 147 mm (5.8 inches); the R5 M240 has no dimensions listed. Neither card has a launch MSRP in the data.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher Geekbench OpenCL score?

A: The AMD Radeon R5 M240 scores 6975, which is 4.1% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010's 6698.

Q: How does the memory bandwidth compare between the two cards?

A: The GT 1010 has 48.06 GB/s of bandwidth from 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 64-bit bus. The R5 M240 has 14.40 GB/s from 1024 MB of DDR3 on the same 64-bit bus, making the NVIDIA part's bandwidth more than three times higher.

Q: What are the transistor counts and process nodes for each GPU?

A: The R5 M240 uses 690 million transistors on a 28 nm TSMC process. The GT 1010 uses 1,800 million transistors on a 14 nm Samsung process.

Q: Do both cards support the same DirectX version?

A: No. The R5 M240 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), while the GT 1010 supports DirectX 12 (12_1). The NVIDIA part has a higher feature level.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The R5 M240 has 320 shading units, compared to the GT 1010's 256. However, the GT 1010 has higher clock speeds (1228 MHz base, 1468 MHz boost) versus the R5 M240 (1000 MHz base, 1030 MHz boost).

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

A: The R5 M240's nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675M (6946, +0.4%), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680M (7023, -0.7%), NVIDIA T600 (7035, -0.8%), and AMD FirePro M5100 (6830, +2.1%). The GT 1010's nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon R7 M370 (6764, -1%), AMD Radeon R7 M460 (6612, +1.3%), AMD Radeon HD 7730M (6581, +1.8%), and AMD FirePro M5100 (6830, -1.9%).

The Verdict

The data presents a clear but narrow picture. In raw compute performance as measured by Geekbench OpenCL, the AMD Radeon R5 M240 is the winner, beating the NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010 by 4.1%. Its higher shading unit and texture unit counts give it an edge in parallel compute tasks, even with lower clock speeds and significantly less memory bandwidth. The R5 M240 also holds a slightly better percentile ranking (39th versus 38th). For users prioritizing compute throughput in OpenCL workloads, the AMD card is the better choice. However, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010 offers substantial advantages in specifications that matter for other use cases. Its 2 GB of GDDR5 memory with 48.06 GB/s bandwidth—more than triple the R5 M240's 14.40 GB/s—makes it better suited for memory-intensive applications. Its higher pixel rate (11.74 GPixel/s versus 8.240 GPixel/s) and texture rate (23.49 GTexel/s versus 20.60 GTexel/s) suggest better performance in rasterization tasks, despite losing the OpenCL benchmark. The GT 1010 also has a defined power envelope (30 W TDP, no power connectors, 200 W suggested PSU) and a compact 147 mm single-slot design, making it easier to integrate into small systems. The R5 M240 lacks these specifications entirely in the data, implying less predictability for system builders. The GT 1010's newer architecture (Pascal on 14 nm versus GCN 1.0 on 28 nm) and higher transistor density (24.3M/mm² versus 12.3M/mm²) indicate better efficiency potential. The verdict depends on workload: the R5 M240 wins the one recorded benchmark, but the GT 1010 wins on memory, bandwidth, pixel throughput, and power specification completeness. For OpenCL compute, choose the R5 M240. For broader system compatibility and memory-heavy tasks, the GT 1010 is the more balanced option. Neither card is suitable for demanding gaming or professional workloads, as both sit below the 40th percentile of all GPUs.