AMD Radeon R5 M240 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a single head-to-head benchmark between these two mobile graphics processors, and the result is decisive. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the AMD Radeon R5 M240 scores 6975, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M scores 5622. This represents a 19.4% advantage for the AMD part, and it is the only benchmark where both GPUs appear side by side.

This outcome is notable because it runs counter to the broader performance picture suggested by each GPU's average benchmark score. The GeForce GTX 880M has an average benchmark score of 8040 across its recorded tests, while the Radeon R5 M240 has an average of 6975. The NVIDIA part also sits at the 42nd percentile of all GPUs in the database, compared to the 39th percentile for the AMD part. Yet in the specific OpenCL workload, the smaller AMD chip wins by nearly a fifth.

The closest rivals for each GPU help contextualize the head-to-head result. The GeForce GTX 880M's average score of 8040 places it within 0.5% of the NVIDIA Quadro P5000 (8039), the GeForce GTX 650 Ti (8053), the GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost (8067), and the NVIDIA GRID K2 (8080). The Radeon R5 M240's average of 6975 puts it 0.4% ahead of the GeForce GTX 675M (6946), 0.7% behind the GeForce GTX 680M (7023), 0.8% behind the NVIDIA T600 (7035), and 2.1% ahead of the AMD FirePro M5100 (6830).

The OpenCL delta of 19.4% is far larger than any of the margins between these GPUs and their nearest rivals. That gap suggests the AMD Radeon R5 M240 is particularly strong in compute-oriented OpenCL tasks, despite having a lower overall average benchmark score. The GeForce GTX 880M may have the higher average across the database, but the only direct comparison available favors the AMD part by a wide margin.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon R5 M240 wins the only direct benchmark comparison, taking the Geekbench OpenCL test with a 19.4% lead. If a workload resembles that OpenCL test, the data indicates the AMD part is the stronger choice. Compute-heavy applications that rely on OpenCL acceleration would likely show an advantage for the Radeon R5 M240.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M wins on the aggregate benchmark picture. Its average benchmark score of 8040 is 15.3% higher than the AMD part's 6975. The GTX 880M also holds a higher percentile ranking, 42nd versus 39th, which means it outperforms a greater share of the GPU population in the database. For users who care about overall performance across a broad mix of workloads, the NVIDIA part appears superior.

The GTX 880M also wins on raw hardware specifications that typically drive rasterization and gaming performance. It has 1536 shading units versus 320 for the Radeon R5 M240, 128 texture mapping units versus 20, and 32 render output units versus 8. Its pixel rate is 31.78 GPixel/s compared to 8.240 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 127.1 GTexel/s versus 20.60 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 3.050 TFLOPS for NVIDIA and 659.2 GFLOPS for AMD. These are differences of roughly 4x to 6x in favor of the GeForce.

Memory capacity and bandwidth also favor the NVIDIA part. The GTX 880M has 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 160.0 GB/s, while the Radeon R5 M240 has 1024 MB of DDR3 on a 64-bit bus, delivering 14.40 GB/s. That is more than an 11x difference in memory bandwidth.

The AMD part wins on clock speed. Its base clock is 1000 MHz and boost is 1030 MHz, while the GTX 880M runs at 954 MHz base and 993 MHz boost. The AMD chip also has a slightly higher transistor density, 12.3M per mm² versus 12.0M per mm² for NVIDIA.

For use-case selection, the data points to the Radeon R5 M240 for OpenCL compute workloads and the GeForce GTX 880M for everything else, particularly memory-intensive tasks and traditional graphics rendering.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU performs better in the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark?

A: The AMD Radeon R5 M240 scores 6975, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M scores 5622. The AMD part leads by 19.4%.

Q: Does the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M have a higher average benchmark score?

A: Yes. The GTX 880M has an average benchmark score of 8040, while the Radeon R5 M240 has an average of 6975.

Q: How does the memory configuration differ between the two GPUs?

A: The GTX 880M has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus with 160.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Radeon R5 M240 has 1024 MB of DDR3 memory on a 64-bit bus with 14.40 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: What are the shading unit counts for each GPU?

A: The GTX 880M has 1536 shading units, while the Radeon R5 M240 has 320 shading units.

Q: Which GPU has a higher boost clock?

A: The Radeon R5 M240 has a boost clock of 1030 MHz, compared to 993 MHz for the GTX 880M.

Q: What percentile rank does each GPU hold in the database?

A: The GTX 880M sits at the 42nd percentile of all GPUs, while the Radeon R5 M240 sits at the 39th percentile.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every major specification category. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M uses the GK104 chip built on the Kepler architecture, while the AMD Radeon R5 M240 uses the Jet chip built on GCN 1.0. Both are manufactured by TSMC on a 28 nm process, but the transistor counts diverge sharply: the GTX 880M packs 3,540 million transistors on a 294 mm² die, while the Radeon R5 M240 has 690 million transistors on a 56 mm² die.

Clock speeds favor the AMD part. The Radeon R5 M240 runs at 1000 MHz base and 1030 MHz boost, while the GTX 880M runs at 954 MHz base and 993 MHz boost. Memory clocks also differ: the GTX 880M runs at 1250 MHz with 5 Gbps effective, while the Radeon R5 M240 runs at 900 MHz with 1800 Mbps effective.

Memory capacity, type, bus width, and bandwidth all favor the NVIDIA part. The GTX 880M offers 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 160.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Radeon R5 M240 offers 1024 MB of DDR3 on a 64-bit bus with 14.40 GB/s bandwidth.

Compute resources differ by multiples. The GTX 880M has 1536 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The Radeon R5 M240 has 320 shading units, 20 TMUs, and 8 ROPs. Pixel rates are 31.78 GPixel/s versus 8.240 GPixel/s, and texture rates are 127.1 GTexel/s versus 20.60 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 3.050 TFLOPS for NVIDIA and 659.2 GFLOPS for AMD.

Power and form factor data is partial. The GTX 880M has a TDP of 122 W and uses an MXM Module slot width with no power connectors. The Radeon R5 M240 has no recorded TDP or slot width. The bus interface differs: the GTX 880M uses MXM-B (3.0), while the Radeon R5 M240 uses PCIe 3.0 x8.

API support is similar but not identical. Both support DirectX 12, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan. The GTX 880M supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and Vulkan 1.2.175, while the Radeon R5 M240 supports DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170.

Release dates differ by about six months. The GTX 880M was released on 2014-03-11, and the Radeon R5 M240 on 2014-09-17. Both are end-of-life products.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide is fundamental. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M is built on the Kepler architecture with the GK104 chip, a design from the GeForce 800M generation. The AMD Radeon R5 M240 is built on GCN 1.0 with the Jet chip, part of the Gem System (R5 M200) generation. Both use a 28 nm TSMC process, but the transistor density is nearly identical: 12.0M per mm² for NVIDIA and 12.3M per mm² for AMD. The NVIDIA die is much larger at 294 mm² versus 56 mm², which explains its 5x transistor advantage.

The memory architecture reflects the different market positions. The GTX 880M uses GDDR5 with a 256-bit interface, while the Radeon R5 M240 uses DDR3 with a 64-bit interface. This is not just a capacity difference; it changes the fundamental bandwidth profile. The GTX 880M can move 160.0 GB/s, while the Radeon R5 M240 manages 14.40 GB/s.

The compute architecture also differs in scale. Kepler's 1536 shading units and 128 TMUs give the GTX 880M a texture rate of 127.1 GTexel/s, while GCN 1.0's 320 shading units and 20 TMUs yield 20.60 GTexel/s. The NVIDIA part has 4x the ROPs, 32 versus 8, which drives its 31.78 GPixel/s pixel rate against 8.240 GPixel/s for AMD.

Both GPUs lack dedicated ray tracing and tensor cores, as neither field is recorded in the database. The NVIDIA part has a higher DirectX feature level, 11_0 versus 11_1, but the AMD part has a slightly newer Vulkan version, 1.2.175 versus 1.2.170.

The transistor density numbers are nearly equal, but the architectural efficiency differs. The GTX 880M achieves 3.050 TFLOPS from 3,540 million transistors, while the Radeon R5 M240 achieves 659.2 GFLOPS from 690 million transistors. Per transistor, the AMD part delivers slightly more compute, but the NVIDIA part delivers far more total throughput.

The Verdict

The data makes a clear split recommendation. For OpenCL compute workloads, the AMD Radeon R5 M240 is the better choice. It wins the only head-to-head benchmark by 19.4%, scoring 6975 against the GTX 880M's 5622. This is a substantial margin, and it suggests the AMD architecture is more efficient in this specific workload class despite having far fewer shading units and much lower memory bandwidth.

For general graphics performance, memory-intensive tasks, and any workload that benefits from high bandwidth or large frame buffers, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M is the stronger part. Its average benchmark score of 8040 is 15.3% higher than the AMD part's 6975. Its 8 GB GDDR5 frame buffer with 160.0 GB/s bandwidth dwarfs the Radeon's 1024 MB DDR3 with 14.40 GB/s. Its pixel rate of 31.78 GPixel/s and texture rate of 127.1 GTexel/s are multiples of the AMD part's 8.240 GPixel/s and 20.60 GTexel/s.

The percentile rankings reinforce this view. The GTX 880M sits at the 42nd percentile of all GPUs, while the Radeon R5 M240 sits at the 39th. The NVIDIA part also has a much larger die and transistor budget, 294 mm² and 3,540 million transistors versus 56 mm² and 690 million, which positions it as a higher-tier product.

Users who prioritize OpenCL compute should pick the Radeon R5 M240. Users who need rasterization performance, high-resolution textures, or large memory buffers should pick the GeForce GTX 880M. The AMD part wins the single direct comparison, but the NVIDIA part wins the broader performance picture.