AMD Radeon R7 240 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher Geekbench OpenCL score?

A: The AMD Radeon R7 240 scores 5,063, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M scores 4,855. The R7 240 leads by 4.3% in this benchmark.

Q: How does each GPU rank against all other GPUs?

A: The Radeon R7 240 sits at the 30th percentile, while the GeForce GTX 560M sits at the 28th percentile. Both are low-ranking parts, but the R7 240 is slightly higher.

Q: What are the closest rivals to the Radeon R7 240?

A: Its nearest rival is the AMD Radeon R7 M340 with a 0% delta, followed by the AMD FirePro W4170M at 0.6% slower, the AMD Radeon R5 M430 at 0.9% slower, and the AMD Radeon R7 Graphics at 1.3% slower.

Q: What are the closest rivals to the GeForce GTX 560M?

A: Its nearest rival is the AMD Radeon R6 M255DX, which is 0.2% faster. The NVIDIA GeForce 940MX is 0.2% slower, the NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 is 0.8% slower, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB is 0.9% slower.

Q: Which GPU has higher memory bandwidth?

A: The GeForce GTX 560M has 60.00 GB/s of bandwidth, while the Radeon R7 240 has 28.80 GB/s. The GTX 560M has over double the bandwidth.

Q: What is the pixel rate for each GPU?

A: The Radeon R7 240 achieves 6.240 GPixel/s, while the GeForce GTX 560M achieves 6.200 GPixel/s. The R7 240 is marginally ahead.

Architecture Differences

The Radeon R7 240 is built on GCN 1.0 architecture using the Oland chip, fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It packs 950 million transistors into a 77 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 12.3M per mm². The GeForce GTX 560M uses the Fermi 2.0 architecture with the GF116 chip, built on a 40 nm process, also at TSMC. It contains 1,170 million transistors spread across a much larger 238 mm² die, giving a density of only 4.9M per mm².

The R7 240 features 320 shading units, 20 texture mapping units, and 8 raster output pipelines. In contrast, the GTX 560M has 192 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 24 ROPs. The AMD part relies on more shaders but fewer texture units and ROPs, while the NVIDIA part has fewer shaders but more TMUs and ROPs.

Memory architecture differs substantially. The R7 240 uses 2 GB of DDR3 memory on a 128-bit bus. The GTX 560M uses 1,536 MB of GDDR5 memory on a 192-bit bus. The GDDR5 memory runs at 625 MHz with 2.5 Gbps effective speed, while the R7 240's DDR3 runs at 900 MHz with 1,800 Mbps effective speed.

The R7 240 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The GTX 560M supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, but has no Vulkan support listed. The AMD GPU offers a more modern API feature set.

The R7 240 uses a PCIe 3.0 x8 bus interface, while the GTX 560M uses an MXM-B (3.0) module connector. The R7 240 has a 30 W TDP with no power connectors and a suggested 200 W PSU, while the GTX 560M has a 75 W TDP, also with no power connectors, and no suggested PSU listed.

Where Each One Wins

The Radeon R7 240 wins the only head-to-head benchmark, the Geekbench OpenCL test, by 4.3%. This makes it the better choice for compute-oriented workloads that leverage OpenCL acceleration. Its higher shading unit count and newer architecture likely contribute to this advantage.

The GeForce GTX 560M, despite losing the compute benchmark, has clear advantages in raw memory throughput. Its 60.00 GB/s bandwidth is more than double the R7 240's 28.80 GB/s. This could translate to better performance in bandwidth-sensitive tasks, such as high-resolution texture loading or certain gaming scenarios, though the benchmark data does not directly confirm this.

The GTX 560M also has substantially higher texture fill rate at 24.80 GTexel/s versus 15.60 GTexel/s for the R7 240. It also has triple the ROP count (24 versus 8), which could improve fill-rate-bound workloads like anti-aliasing or post-processing effects.

The R7 240 counters with higher FP32 compute at 499.2 GFLOPS versus 595.2 GFLOPS for the GTX 560M — wait, that is actually lower. The GTX 560M has higher FP32 at 595.2 GFLOPS. So the R7 240's win in OpenCL is not due to raw FP32, but possibly due to driver efficiency or the newer architecture.

The R7 240 wins on efficiency, with a 30 W TDP versus 75 W for the GTX 560M. The R7 240 also has a smaller die, lower transistor count, and newer process node, making it a more power-efficient design overall.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon R7 240 | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | GCN 1.0 | Fermi 2.0 |

| Process Node | 28 nm | 40 nm |

| Transistors | 950 million | 1,170 million |

| Die Size | 77 mm² | 238 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 12.3M / mm² | 4.9M / mm² |

| Memory Size | 2 GB | 1536 MB |

| Memory Type | DDR3 | GDDR5 |

| Memory Bus | 128 bit | 192 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 28.80 GB/s | 60.00 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 320 | 192 |

| TMUs | 20 | 32 |

| ROPs | 8 | 24 |

| Pixel Rate | 6.240 GPixel/s | 6.200 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 15.60 GTexel/s | 24.80 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 499.2 GFLOPS | 595.2 GFLOPS |

| TDP | 30 W | 75 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x8 | MXM-B (3.0) |

| Display Outputs | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, 1x VGA | Portable Device Dependent |

| DirectX | 12 (11_1) | 12 (11_0) |

| Vulkan | 1.2.170 | None |

| Release Date | 2013-10-07 | 2011-05-29 |

| Launch MSRP | 69 USD | None |

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison is the Geekbench OpenCL test. The Radeon R7 240 scores 5,063, while the GeForce GTX 560M scores 4,855. This gives the R7 240 a 4.3% victory, which is a meaningful margin given how close these two cards are in overall performance.

Contextualizing this result, the R7 240's score places it exactly level with the AMD Radeon R7 M340 (5,063, 0% delta) and just ahead of the AMD FirePro W4170M (5,034, 0.6% slower). The GTX 560M's score of 4,855 sits just below the AMD Radeon R6 M255DX (4,867, 0.2% faster) and just above the NVIDIA GeForce 940MX (4,844, 0.2% slower).

The 4.3% delta between the two cards is larger than the gap between either card and its immediate rivals. This suggests that while both cards are in the same performance tier, the R7 240 has a consistent edge in OpenCL compute workloads.

The R7 240 achieves this win despite having lower FP32 compute (499.2 GFLOPS versus 595.2 GFLOPS), lower texture rate (15.60 GTexel/s versus 24.80 GTexel/s), and lower memory bandwidth (28.80 GB/s versus 60.00 GB/s). This indicates that the GCN 1.0 architecture is more efficient at extracting compute performance from its resources, or that driver optimizations favor this workload type.

The GTX 560M's higher bandwidth and texture rate do not translate into a benchmark win, suggesting that the OpenCL test is more sensitive to shader throughput or architecture efficiency than raw memory or texture capabilities.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the benchmark data, the AMD Radeon R7 240 is the better performer. It wins the only available head-to-head benchmark by 4.3%, and it ranks higher overall at the 30th percentile versus the 28th percentile for the GeForce GTX 560M.

The R7 240 also offers superior efficiency. Its 30 W TDP is less than half of the GTX 560M's 75 W TDP. It uses a newer 28 nm process node versus 40 nm, and it fits into a smaller die (77 mm² versus 238 mm²). The R7 240 also has a more modern feature set, including Vulkan 1.2.170 support, which the GTX 560M lacks entirely.

The GTX 560M does have notable hardware advantages in memory bandwidth (60.00 GB/s versus 28.80 GB/s), texture rate (24.80 GTexel/s versus 15.60 GTexel/s), and ROP count (24 versus 8). These specifications suggest it could be faster in certain rasterization-heavy or bandwidth-bound applications. However, no benchmark data in this comparison confirms such an advantage.

For users prioritizing compute performance, efficiency, and modern API support, the Radeon R7 240 is the clear choice. The GeForce GTX 560M may appeal to those who value its higher memory bandwidth and texture throughput, but without benchmark evidence of superiority in those areas, the R7 240's measured win stands as the decisive factor.

The R7 240 also has a longer support lifecycle, with a 2013 release date versus 2011 for the GTX 560M, and a successor (Pirate Islands) versus the GTX 560M's successor (GeForce 600M). Both are end-of-life products, but the R7 240 is newer and better positioned in terms of software support.

Ultimately, the data supports the Radeon R7 240 as the stronger GPU in this matchup. Its benchmark victory, combined with superior efficiency and modern features, makes it the recommended choice for compute workloads and general use. The GTX 560M's only advantages are in specifications that did not translate to a benchmark win in this comparison.