AMD Radeon R5 M330 vs NVIDIA GeForce 830M Comparison

The AMD Radeon R5 M330 and NVIDIA GeForce 830M are two end-of-life mobile graphics processors from the 2014-2015 era, both built on a 28 nm TSMC process. The benchmark data shows a split decision: each card wins one of the two tested workloads, with the AMD part taking a decisive victory in Vulkan while the NVIDIA part edges out a narrow win in OpenCL. Their average benchmark scores are close, at 4170 for the AMD and 3957 for the NVIDIA, placing both in the bottom quarter of all GPUs (25th and 24th percentiles, respectively).

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon R5 M330 establishes its clear advantage in the Geekbench Vulkan test, scoring 4037 against the NVIDIA GeForce 830M's 3590. That is a 12.5% lead, which is the largest performance gap between the two in any benchmark. This suggests that in applications or games leveraging the Vulkan API, the AMD part holds a meaningful edge. The AMD card also has a higher average benchmark score overall (4170 versus 3957), driven largely by its strong Vulkan showing, which offsets its slight deficit in OpenCL.

The NVIDIA GeForce 830M wins the Geekbench OpenCL test, scoring 4324 against the AMD's 4302. The margin is razor-thin at 0.5%, essentially a statistical tie in practical terms, but it is a win nonetheless. This indicates that in OpenCL compute workloads, the two cards are nearly interchangeable, with the NVIDIA part having a marginal edge. The NVIDIA card also benefits from a higher base clock (1082 MHz versus 955 MHz) and a higher boost clock (1150 MHz versus 1030 MHz), which likely contributes to its OpenCL showing despite having fewer shading units.

Looking at the broader rival landscape, the AMD R5 M330's average score of 4170 puts it 0.4% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro K2100M (4151) and 1.9% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 8 GB (4093), but 0.5% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (4193) and 1.7% behind the NVIDIA Quadro K3000M (4241). The NVIDIA GeForce 830M's average of 3957 is essentially tied with the AMD Radeon R5 M420 (3956, 0% delta), 0.1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 745M (3953), 0.2% behind the NVIDIA Quadro K2000 (3964), and 0.5% behind the AMD Radeon HD 6850 X2 (3977).

The Verdict

The data supports a clear recommendation based on workload type. For users prioritizing Vulkan-based applications or newer game titles that use that API, the AMD Radeon R5 M330 is the better choice, offering a 12.5% performance advantage over the NVIDIA GeForce 830M. This is the single largest performance differential observed between the two cards, making it the deciding factor for Vulkan-centric use cases.

For OpenCL compute tasks, the NVIDIA GeForce 830M is the nominal winner, but the 0.5% margin is within noise. Users who primarily run OpenCL workloads would see virtually identical performance from either card. However, the NVIDIA card's higher clock speeds (1082 MHz base, 1150 MHz boost) may offer slightly better consistency in sustained workloads, even if the benchmark delta is minimal.

From a pure specification standpoint, the AMD card has more shading units (320 versus 256), more texture mapping units (20 versus 16), and a higher FP32 throughput (659.2 GFLOPS versus 588.8 GFLOPS). It also has a lower TDP of 18 W versus the NVIDIA's 33 W, making it a more power-efficient option. The NVIDIA card counters with a higher pixel rate (9.200 GPixel/s versus 8.240 GPixel/s) and a larger transistor count (1,020 million versus 690 million) on a larger die (77 mm² versus 56 mm²). Given the split benchmark results, the choice ultimately hinges on API preference, with the AMD card's Vulkan dominance being the most compelling differentiator.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two benchmark results tell a story of contrasting strengths. In Geekbench OpenCL, the NVIDIA GeForce 830M scores 4324, edging out the AMD Radeon R5 M330's 4302 by a mere 0.5%. This near-tie reflects the similar memory configurations: both cards feature 2 GB of DDR3 memory on a 64-bit bus with identical 14.40 GB/s bandwidth and the same 900 MHz memory clock (1800 Mbps effective). The NVIDIA card's higher core clocks likely account for its slight edge here.

The Geekbench Vulkan test is where the AMD Radeon R5 M330 separates itself. Its score of 4037 beats the NVIDIA GeForce 830M's 3590 by a substantial 12.5%. This is a significant margin for two cards that are otherwise closely matched in average performance. The AMD card's architectural advantage in Vulkan is evident, likely stemming from its GCN 1.0 design's handling of the API's draw calls and command buffers. In contrast, the NVIDIA Maxwell architecture, while strong in OpenCL, does not translate that efficiency to Vulkan in this comparison.

Considering the wider rival context, the AMD card's Vulkan score of 4037 is notably strong for its class. Its average benchmark score of 4170 places it above the NVIDIA GeForce 830M's 3957, and the AMD card sits 0.4% above the NVIDIA Quadro K2100M, a professional mobile GPU. Meanwhile, the NVIDIA GeForce 830M's average score of 3957 is exactly matched by the AMD Radeon R5 M420 (0% delta), showing that these two are peers in the mid-range mobile segment. The head-to-head data thus reveals that while OpenCL performance is a coin flip, Vulkan performance is a clear win for AMD.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon R5 M330 has a higher average benchmark score of 4170, compared to the NVIDIA GeForce 830M's 3957.

Q: What is the largest performance difference between the two cards?

A: The largest difference is in Geekbench Vulkan, where the AMD Radeon R5 M330 scores 4037, which is 12.5% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce 830M's 3590.

Q: Do both cards have the same memory configuration?

A: Yes, both the AMD Radeon R5 M330 and the NVIDIA GeForce 830M feature 2 GB of DDR3 memory on a 64-bit bus, with identical bandwidth of 14.40 GB/s and a memory clock of 900 MHz (1800 Mbps effective).

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: The AMD Radeon R5 M330 has 320 shading units, while the NVIDIA GeForce 830M has 256 shading units.

Q: How does the power consumption compare?

A: The AMD Radeon R5 M330 has a TDP of 18 W, which is lower than the NVIDIA GeForce 830M's TDP of 33 W.

Q: In which benchmark does the NVIDIA GeForce 830M win?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce 830M wins the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark with a score of 4324, narrowly beating the AMD Radeon R5 M330's 4302 by 0.5%.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on fundamentally different architectures. The AMD Radeon R5 M330 uses the GCN 1.0 architecture, based on the "Exo" chip, while the NVIDIA GeForce 830M uses the Maxwell architecture, based on the "GM108" chip. Both are manufactured by TSMC on a 28 nm process, but the transistor counts differ significantly: the AMD chip contains 690 million transistors on a 56 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 12.3M per mm². The NVIDIA chip packs 1,020 million transistors on a larger 77 mm² die, yielding a higher density of 13.2M per mm².

The AMD Radeon R5 M330 belongs to the "Gem System (R5 M300)" generation, while the NVIDIA GeForce 830M is part of the "GeForce 800M" generation. The AMD card's predecessor is "Solar System" and its successor is "Polaris Mobile." The NVIDIA card's predecessor is "GeForce 700M" and its successor is "GeForce 900M." These generational placements indicate different development timelines, with the AMD card releasing on 2015-05-04 and the NVIDIA card releasing earlier on 2014-03-11.

In terms of compute resources, the AMD card has 320 shading units, 20 texture mapping units, and 8 ROPs. The NVIDIA card has 256 shading units, 16 texture mapping units, and 8 ROPs. The AMD card's higher shading unit count contributes to its FP32 throughput of 659.2 GFLOPS, while the NVIDIA card delivers 588.8 GFLOPS. Texture rates also differ: the AMD card achieves 20.60 GTexel/s, while the NVIDIA card achieves 18.40 GTexel/s. However, the NVIDIA card has a higher pixel rate at 9.200 GPixel/s versus the AMD's 8.240 GPixel/s.

API support reveals another architectural divergence. The AMD card supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The NVIDIA card supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The higher Vulkan version on the NVIDIA card (1.4 versus 1.2.170) does not translate to better Vulkan performance in the benchmark data, where the AMD card leads by 12.5%. Both cards are end-of-life, use a PCIe 3.0 x8 bus interface, and have portable-device-dependent display outputs.

Specification Differences

The most apparent difference is in clock speeds. The AMD Radeon R5 M330 has a base clock of 955 MHz and a boost clock of 1030 MHz, while the NVIDIA GeForce 830M runs at 1082 MHz base and 1150 MHz boost. The NVIDIA card's clocks are approximately 13% higher at base and 12% higher at boost, which helps offset its lower core count in some workloads.

Memory specifications are identical between the two cards. Both use 2 GB of DDR3 memory on a 64-bit bus, with a memory clock of 900 MHz (1800 Mbps effective) and bandwidth of 14.40 GB/s. This parity means memory bandwidth is not a differentiating factor in their benchmark performance.

Compute unit counts differ, with the AMD card featuring 320 shading units, 20 TMUs, and 8 ROPs, versus the NVIDIA card's 256 shading units, 16 TMUs, and 8 ROPs. The AMD card's raw compute advantage is reflected in its FP32 performance of 659.2 GFLOPS and texture rate of 20.60 GTexel/s, both higher than the NVIDIA's 588.8 GFLOPS and 18.40 GTexel/s. However, the NVIDIA card achieves a higher pixel rate of 9.200 GPixel/s versus 8.240 GPixel/s.

Power consumption is a major differentiator. The AMD Radeon R5 M330 has a TDP of 18 W, while the NVIDIA GeForce 830M has a TDP of 33 W. This makes the AMD card significantly more power-efficient, which could be a critical factor in thin-and-light laptops where thermal and battery constraints are tight. Both cards are IGP (integrated graphics processor) solutions with no power connectors and portable-device-dependent display outputs.

Manufacturing details also differ. The AMD chip is smaller at 56 mm² with 690 million transistors, while the NVIDIA chip is larger at 77 mm² with 1,020 million transistors. The transistor density is slightly higher on the NVIDIA chip at 13.2M per mm² versus 12.3M per mm². Both are produced by TSMC on a 28 nm process. The production status for both is end-of-life, and neither has a launch MSRP listed in the data.