AMD Radeon R5 M335 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M and AMD Radeon R5 M335 are both end-of-life mobile graphics solutions, yet they represent two distinct eras of laptop GPU design. The GTX 560M is a Fermi 2.0-era part from 2011, while the R5 M335 is a GCN 1.0 part from 2015. Benchmark data shows the GTX 560M holds a narrow but definitive lead in the single available head-to-head test, though both chips sit at the 28th percentile of all GPUs, indicating they are firmly entry-level performers by modern standards.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in the head-to-head benchmark?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M wins the Geekbench OpenCL test with a score of 4855, which is 2.3% higher than the AMD Radeon R5 M335’s score of 4745.

Q: How do these GPUs compare to their nearest rivals?

A: The GTX 560M’s average score of 4855 puts it 0.2% ahead of the GeForce 940MX and 0.2% behind the Radeon R6 M255DX. The R5 M335’s average score of 4752 puts it 0.5% ahead of the Radeon R8 M445DX and 1.5% ahead of the Quadro P400.

Q: What are the key memory differences?

A: The GTX 560M uses 1536 MB of GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus, delivering 60.00 GB/s of bandwidth. The R5 M335 uses 2 GB of DDR3 on a 64-bit bus, delivering 14.40 GB/s — a substantial gap in memory throughput.

Q: Which GPU has more shader processors?

A: The AMD Radeon R5 M335 has 320 shading units, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M has 192. Despite this, the GTX 560M still wins the OpenCL benchmark.

Q: What is the transistor density difference?

A: The R5 M335, built on a 28 nm process, has a transistor density of 12.3M / mm². The GTX 560M, on a 40 nm process, has a density of 4.9M / mm² — the AMD chip is significantly denser.

Q: Do both GPUs support DirectX 12?

A: Yes. The GTX 560M supports DirectX 12 (11_0), and the R5 M335 supports DirectX 12 (11_1). Both also support OpenGL 4.6.

Architecture Differences

The GTX 560M is built on NVIDIA’s Fermi 2.0 architecture, using the GF116 chip fabricated on a 40 nm process at TSMC. It packs 1,170 million transistors into a 238 mm² die. The R5 M335 uses AMD’s GCN 1.0 architecture with the Exo chip, fabricated on a 28 nm process at the same foundry, containing 690 million transistors on a much smaller 56 mm² die. The R5 M335’s die is roughly one-quarter the size of the GTX 560M’s, yet it has a transistor density of 12.3M / mm² versus 4.9M / mm² for the NVIDIA part — a clear demonstration of process node advancement.

Shader configuration differs markedly. The GTX 560M has 192 shading units, 32 texture mapping units, and 24 ROPs. The R5 M335 has 320 shading units, 20 TMUs, and 8 ROPs. This means the AMD chip has 67% more shaders but 37.5% fewer TMUs and 66.7% fewer ROPs than the NVIDIA chip. The R5 M335 compensates with a higher pixel rate of 8.240 GPixel/s versus 6.200 GPixel/s for the GTX 560M, but the NVIDIA card’s texture rate of 24.80 GTexel/s beats the AMD card’s 20.60 GTexel/s.

Memory architecture is a stark contrast. The GTX 560M uses 1536 MB of GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus with 60.00 GB/s bandwidth. The R5 M335 uses 2 GB of DDR3 on a 64-bit bus with only 14.40 GB/s bandwidth — a 4.17x advantage in bandwidth for the NVIDIA card. The R5 M335 does have more capacity and a newer bus interface (PCIe 3.0 x8 versus MXM-B 3.0 for the GTX 560M), but its narrow memory bus is a severe bottleneck. The GTX 560M also has a defined TDP of 75 W, while the R5 M335 lists no TDP. The NVIDIA card uses an MXM Module slot width with no power connectors, and the AMD card also uses no power connectors.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear, if narrow, victory for the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M in raw compute performance. It wins the only head-to-head benchmark available, the Geekbench OpenCL test, by 2.3%. Its memory bandwidth advantage is enormous — 60.00 GB/s versus 14.40 GB/s — which directly impacts texture-heavy workloads and higher resolutions. The GTX 560M also has a higher texture fill rate of 24.80 GTexel/s.

However, the Radeon R5 M335 is not without merits. It has more VRAM (2 GB versus 1536 MB), a newer architecture (GCN 1.0 versus Fermi 2.0), and a higher pixel rate of 8.240 GPixel/s. It also supports Vulkan 1.2.170, while the GTX 560M has no Vulkan support listed. For users who prioritize API compatibility and larger framebuffer capacity, the R5 M335 is the more modern choice.

For pure benchmark performance, pick the GTX 560M. For a more feature-complete modern driver stack and higher pixel throughput, the R5 M335 is defensible, but the NVIDIA card’s superior memory subsystem and winning benchmark score make it the stronger performer in this matchup.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every major specification. The GTX 560M uses a 40 nm process, while the R5 M335 uses 28 nm. Transistor count is 1,170 million for NVIDIA versus 690 million for AMD, with die sizes of 238 mm² and 56 mm² respectively. Memory speed differs: the GTX 560M runs at 625 MHz (2.5 Gbps effective), while the R5 M335 runs at 900 MHz (1800 Mbps effective). Memory size is 1536 MB GDDR5 versus 2 GB DDR3, with bus widths of 192-bit versus 64-bit, yielding bandwidths of 60.00 GB/s versus 14.40 GB/s.

Shading units are 192 versus 320, TMUs are 32 versus 20, and ROPs are 24 versus 8. Pixel rates are 6.200 GPixel/s versus 8.240 GPixel/s, and texture rates are 24.80 GTexel/s versus 20.60 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 595.2 GFLOPS for NVIDIA versus 659.2 GFLOPS for AMD. The GTX 560M has a TDP of 75 W; the R5 M335 has no listed TDP. Bus interfaces are MXM-B (3.0) versus PCIe 3.0 x8. The GTX 560M supports DirectX 12 (11_0), while the R5 M335 supports DirectX 12 (11_1). Only the R5 M335 lists Vulkan support, at version 1.2.170. Both use no power connectors and have portable-device-dependent display outputs.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The single head-to-head benchmark, Geekbench OpenCL, shows the GTX 560M scoring 4855 against the R5 M335’s 4745, a delta of 2.3% in NVIDIA’s favor. This win is notable because the R5 M335 has more shading units (320 versus 192) and higher FP32 throughput (659.2 GFLOPS versus 595.2 GFLOPS). The GTX 560M’s victory despite lower theoretical compute suggests its memory bandwidth of 60.00 GB/s is a decisive factor — the R5 M335’s 14.40 GB/s is less than one-quarter of that figure.

The GTX 560M’s average benchmark score of 4855 places it in the 28th percentile of all GPUs, identical to the R5 M335’s 28th percentile. In the rival comparison, the GTX 560M is 0.2% ahead of the GeForce 940MX and 0.8% behind the GeForce GTS 450. The R5 M335 is 0.5% ahead of the Radeon R8 M445DX and 1.5% ahead of the Quadro P400. Interestingly, the R5 M335 has a second benchmark score from Geekbench Vulkan at 4758, which is slightly higher than its OpenCL score of 4745, but no Vulkan score exists for the GTX 560M to compare against.

Where Each One Wins

The GTX 560M wins in scenarios that demand high memory throughput. Its 60.00 GB/s bandwidth versus the R5 M335’s 14.40 GB/s makes it superior for texture-heavy gaming, higher resolutions, and any workload that streams large amounts of data. It also has a higher texture rate (24.80 GTexel/s) and more TMUs (32 versus 20), which benefits games that rely heavily on texture mapping. The NVIDIA card wins the only direct benchmark comparison, so it is the default choice for raw OpenCL compute performance.

The R5 M335 wins in areas of architectural modernity and specific compute characteristics. It has a higher pixel rate (8.240 GPixel/s versus 6.200 GPixel/s) and more ROPs would normally help fill-rate-bound scenarios, but it actually has fewer ROPs (8 versus 24). Its FP32 output of 659.2 GFLOPS is higher than the GTX 560M’s 595.2 GFLOPS, so it wins in pure shader math throughput. It also has 2 GB VRAM versus 1536 MB, which helps with larger textures or datasets that fit within memory. The R5 M335’s Vulkan support gives it access to modern rendering APIs that the GTX 560M lacks entirely.

For battery-conscious systems, the R5 M335 has no listed TDP, whereas the GTX 560M is rated at 75 W — suggesting the AMD part may draw less power, though no official figure exists in the data. The R5 M335 also uses a PCIe 3.0 x8 interface, which is more standard for laptops, versus the MXM-B (3.0) module interface of the GTX 560M. Ultimately, the GTX 560M is the benchmark winner, but the R5 M335 offers modern API support and higher shader count for specific workloads.