AMD Radeon R5 M430 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Comparison

# AMD Radeon R5 M430 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti

The database places these two mobile and desktop graphics solutions in different performance tiers, with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti holding a clear lead in raw compute across every recorded workload. The AMD Radeon R5 M430, a GCN 1.0 era chip built on a 28 nm process at TSMC, is positioned as an entry-level discrete solution, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti, a Pascal architecture part on Samsung's 14 nm node, targets 1080p gaming with high efficiency. Benchmark results show the GTX 1050 Ti winning both head-to-head comparisons, with its largest margins in OpenCL and Vulkan workloads.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the recorded benchmark data, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti is the clear choice for users who prioritize raw compute performance. It wins both head-to-head comparisons decisively, with a 71.6% advantage in Geekbench OpenCL and a 51.2% advantage in Geekbench Vulkan. The AMD Radeon R5 M430, meanwhile, trails in every test. Its average benchmark score sits at 5018 versus 4193 for the NVIDIA part, a 16.4% gap in average scores. The R5 M430 does hold a slight edge in one rival comparison, coming within 0.3% of the AMD FirePro W4170M and 0.4% above the AMD Radeon R7 Graphics, but that is a narrow win over other low-end parts rather than a meaningful advantage over the GTX 1050 Ti. The GTX 1050 Ti also posts a much higher percentile rank among all GPUs (25th percentile vs 30th percentile), meaning it sits higher in the performance distribution. The data indicates that the GTX 1050 Ti is the pick for any workload that is compute-bound, while the R5 M430 is a fallback for light, legacy uses.

Architecture Differences

The two chips diverge substantially in their underlying design. The AMD Radeon R5 M430 is built on the GCN 1.0 architecture (chip name Jet), produced on a 28 nm process at TSMC, with 690 million transistors on a 56 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 12.3 million per mm². It uses a 64-bit DDR3 memory interface with 4 GB of memory and a 16.00 GB/s memory bandwidth. Its shading unit count is 320, with 20 texture mapping units and 8 ROPs. The chip operates at a base clock of 780 MHz, boost clock of 855 MHz, and the memory clock runs at 1000 MHz (2 Gbps effective). It supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. It succeeds the "Solar System" generation and is succeeded by "Polaris Mobile" in AMD's lineup. Its production status is end-of-life.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti, by contrast, is a Pascal architecture chip (GP107) built on Samsung's 14 nm process with 3,300 million transistors on a 132 mm² die, for a density of 25.0M per mm². It features 768 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The clock runs at a base of 1291 MHz with a boost of 1392 MHz, and memory is 4 GB GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, producing a bandwidth of 112.1 GB/s. Memory clock is 1752 MHz (7 Gbps effective). The card has no power connectors, a dual-slot width, and a 250 W suggested PSU. It connects over PCIe 3.0 x16 and outputs via 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, and 1x DisplayPort 1.4a. API support includes DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. It carries a launch MSRP of 139 USD, was released on 2016-10-24, replaces the GeForce 900 series, and was succeeded by the GeForce 20 series. Production status is end-of-life.

The architectural gap is wide: the GTX 1050 Ti is a far more complex, recent, and larger chip with more than double the transistor count and a much higher density, and it supports a more modern feature set. The M430 is a low-power, older-generation part. These differences are visible in the performance figures.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two parts were tested across multiple API and workload categories, and the NVIDIA part won every recorded session of the head-to-head results.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the AMD Radeon M5 M430 scores 5152, while the GTX 1050 Ti scores 18129. That is a 71.6% difference in favor of NVIDIA. The second head-to-head is Geekbench Vulkan, where the AMD scores 4884 and the NVIDIA scores 10001, a 51.2% margin. These are the largest wins in the entire database.

The average benchmark score across all recorded tests tells the same story: the AMD part averages 5018, the NVIDIA part averages 4193, which is a 16.4% relative advantage for the GTX 1050 Ti. The AMD Radeon R5 M430 does have a close rival in the AMD FirePro W4170M (0.3% lower), but no rival in the GTX's range matches it.

The NVIDIA part also ranks in the 25th percentile of all GPUs, while the AMD part ranks in the 75th percentile. Put simply, benchmark data shows the GTX 1050 Ti is the faster, more capable GPU for compute and graphics workloads.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti than the AMD Radeon R5 M430?

A: In Geekbench OpenCL, the GTX 1050 Ti scores 18129 versus 5152, a 71.6% lead. In Geekbench Vulkan, it extends the lead to 51.2% (10001 vs 4884).

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti has a higher average score of 4193 across all recorded workloads, versus 5018 for the AMD Radeon R5 M430. That's a 16.4% average advantage.

Q: What kind of memory does each card have?

A: The AMD Radeon R5 M430 uses 4 GB of DDR3 on a 64-bit bus with 16.00 GB/s bandwidth. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti uses 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus with 112.1 GB/s.

Q: Which GPU has a higher transistor density?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti has a transistor density of 25.0M per mm², vs 12.3M per mm² for the AMD Radeon R5 M430.

Q: Which GPU has a higher core clock?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti has a base clock of 1291 MHz and boost of 1395 MHz. The AMD Radeon R5 M430 has a base of 780 MHz and a boost of 855 MHz.

Where Each One Wins

Strictly on the recorded benchmark results, it is hard to grant the AMD Radeon M5 M430 a single winning category. Its only wins are narrow relative to the AMD FirePro W4070M and the AMD Radeon R7 Graphics, where it is within 0.3% and 0.4%, respectively. These are not meaningful wins, they are within noise of the same-class integrated parts.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti wins both head-to-head workloads without a single loss. Its biggest wins are in Geekbench OpenCL, where it is 71.6% ahead, and in Geekbench Vulkan, where it is 51.2% ahead. The data suggests: choose the GTX 1050 Ti for any workload that involves sustained throughput, and choose the Radeon R5 M430 only if the workload is very light and the platform is already built around AMD's ecosystem.