GPU Comparison

FAQ

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce 940M has an average benchmark score of 5284, while the AMD Radeon R7 Graphics scores 4998. The 940M sits in the 31st percentile of all GPUs, and the Radeon R7 sits in the 29th percentile.

Q: Which GPU wins in OpenCL performance, and by how much?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce 940M wins the Geekbench OpenCL test with a score of 6018, versus the AMD Radeon R7 Graphics' 4015. That is a 49.9% advantage for the 940M.

Q: Which GPU wins in Vulkan performance, and by how much?

A: The AMD Radeon R7 Graphics wins the Geekbench Vulkan test with a score of 5980, versus the NVIDIA GeForce 940M's 4549. The Radeon R7 leads by 23.9% in this test.

Q: What are the memory configurations of each GPU?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce 940M uses 2 GB of DDR3 memory on a 64-bit bus with 14.40 GB/s of bandwidth. The AMD Radeon R7 Graphics uses system-shared memory, meaning its memory size, type, bus width, and bandwidth are all system dependent.

Q: What are the power consumption figures?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce 940M has a TDP of 75 W, while the AMD Radeon R7 Graphics has a TDP of 25 W. The Radeon R7 draws substantially less power.

Q: Which GPU supports a higher DirectX version?

A: The AMD Radeon R7 Graphics supports DirectX 12 (12_0), while the NVIDIA GeForce 940M supports DirectX 12 (11_0). Both support OpenGL 4.6, but the Radeon R7 has Vulkan 1.2.170 support, while the 940M has Vulkan 1.4.

The Verdict

The data presents a split decision. The NVIDIA GeForce 940M is the stronger choice for OpenCL-based workloads, delivering a 49.9% higher score in that specific test. Its average benchmark score is also higher at 5284 versus 4998, a 5.7% overall advantage in the aggregate metric.

The AMD Radeon R7 Graphics, however, wins decisively in Vulkan performance, outpacing the 940M by 23.9%. It also consumes only one-third of the power (25 W versus 75 W), and it offers a more modern DirectX feature level (12_0 versus 11_0). For users prioritizing power efficiency and Vulkan-based applications, the Radeon R7 is the better pick.

For users whose software relies on OpenCL acceleration, the NVIDIA GeForce 940M is the clear winner. Its higher pixel rate (17.57 GPixel/s versus 5.760 GPixel/s), texture rate (35.14 GTexel/s versus 17.28 GTexel/s), and FP32 throughput (1,124.4 GFLOPS versus 553.0 GFLOPS) reinforce its advantage in compute-heavy scenarios. The 940M also has more shading units (512 versus 384), more TMUs (32 versus 24), and more ROPs (16 versus 8).

The verdict depends on workload. OpenCL users should pick the NVIDIA GeForce 940M. Vulkan users and those with strict power budgets should pick the AMD Radeon R7 Graphics. The 940M is a discrete MXM module, while the Radeon R7 is an integrated GPU (IGP), so the form factor also influences which is usable in a given system.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two GPUs split their head-to-head benchmark results exactly one win each. The NVIDIA GeForce 940M takes the Geekbench OpenCL test with a score of 6018 against the AMD Radeon R7 Graphics' 4015. The delta is 49.9%, which is a massive margin, nearly half again as much performance in that workload. This aligns with the 940M's raw compute specifications: it has 512 shading units versus 384, and its FP32 throughput of 1,124.4 GFLOPS is more than double the Radeon R7's 553.0 GFLOPS.

The AMD Radeon R7 Graphics wins the Geekbench Vulkan test with a score of 5980 against the NVIDIA GeForce 940M's 4549, a 23.9% advantage. This result is notable because the Radeon R7 has significantly lower raw compute specifications, fewer shading units, TMUs, ROPs, and less than half the FP32 throughput. The Vulkan win indicates that the Radeon R7's architecture, GCN 2.0, handles this API more efficiently than the 940M's Maxwell architecture. The Radeon R7 also supports DirectX 12 (12_0), while the 940M is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0), suggesting a more modern feature set for newer APIs.

The average benchmark scores reflect this split: the 940M averages 5284, and the Radeon R7 averages 4998. The 940M's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M (5308, -0.4%), GeForce 930A (5317, -0.6%), GeForce 840M (5322, -0.7%), and GeForce GTX 760M (5236, 0.9%). The Radeon R7's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro 4000 (4979, 0.4%), Radeon R5 M430 (5018, -0.4%), GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB (4970, 0.6%), and FirePro W4170M (5034, -0.7%). Both GPUs sit in similar competitive territory, just a few percentage points from their nearest neighbors.

Specification Differences

The NVIDIA GeForce 940M and AMD Radeon R7 Graphics differ across nearly every specification field. The 940M is built on the GM107 chip with 1,870 million transistors on a 148 mm² die, while the Radeon R7 uses the Spectre Lite chip with 2,410 million transistors on a 245 mm² die. Transistor density is higher on the 940M at 12.6M / mm² versus 9.8M / mm².

Clock speeds differ completely: the 940M has a base clock of 1020 MHz and a boost clock of 1098 MHz, while the Radeon R7 has no listed base or boost clocks. Memory is another major split, the 940M has 2 GB of dedicated DDR3 memory on a 64-bit bus with 14.40 GB/s bandwidth, whereas the Radeon R7 uses system-shared memory entirely.

Compute resources differ substantially: the 940M has 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs, while the Radeon R7 has 384 shading units, 24 TMUs, and 8 ROPs. Pixel rate is 17.57 GPixel/s for the 940M versus 5.760 GPixel/s for the Radeon R7; texture rate is 35.14 GTexel/s versus 17.28 GTexel/s; FP32 is 1,124.4 GFLOPS versus 553.0 GFLOPS.

Power consumption is a major differentiator: the 940M draws 75 W, the Radeon R7 draws 25 W. The form factor also differs: the 940M is an MXM Module with an MXM-B (3.0) bus interface, while the Radeon R7 is an IGP with an IGP bus interface. Display outputs are portable-device dependent for the 940M and motherboard dependent for the Radeon R7. The 940M has no power connectors listed; the Radeon R7 has null power connector data.

Architecture Differences

The NVIDIA GeForce 940M uses the Maxwell architecture on a 28 nm process from TSMC. The AMD Radeon R7 Graphics uses the GCN 2.0 architecture on a 28 nm process from GlobalFoundries. Both are 28 nm parts, but the foundries differ.

The 940M's chip is GM107, which is part of the GeForce 900M generation, released on 2015-03-12. The Radeon R7's chip is Spectre Lite, part of the GCN 2.0 IGP (Kaveri) generation, released on 2014-02-16. The 940M's predecessor is the GeForce 800M and its successor is the GeForce 10 Mobile; the Radeon R7's predecessor is the TeraScale 3 IGP and its successor is the GCN 3.0 IGP.

The 940M has a larger number of shading units (512 versus 384), TMUs (32 versus 24), and ROPs (16 versus 8). The Radeon R7 has more transistors (2,410 million versus 1,870 million) and a larger die (245 mm² versus 148 mm²), but lower transistor density (9.8M / mm² versus 12.6M / mm²). The Radeon R7's memory is system-shared with no dedicated VRAM, whereas the 940M has 2 GB of dedicated DDR3. The Radeon R7's memory bandwidth is system dependent, while the 940M has a fixed 14.40 GB/s.

API support differs: the 940M supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4; the Radeon R7 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The Radeon R7 has a higher DirectX feature level, but the 940M has a newer Vulkan version.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce 940M wins in OpenCL compute workloads. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 6018 is 49.9% higher than the Radeon R7's 4015. This is supported by its higher pixel rate (17.57 GPixel/s versus 5.760 GPixel/s), texture rate (35.14 GTexel/s versus 17.28 GTexel/s), and FP32 throughput (1,124.4 GFLOPS versus 553.0 GFLOPS). The 940M also has more shading units, TMUs, and ROPs, giving it a raw compute advantage. Its higher average benchmark score (5284 versus 4998) suggests it is the more consistent performer overall.

The AMD Radeon R7 Graphics wins in Vulkan workloads. Its Geekbench Vulkan score of 5980 is 23.9% higher than the 940M's 4549. This is notable given the Radeon R7's lower raw specifications, indicating architectural efficiency with Vulkan. The Radeon R7 also supports DirectX 12 (12_0), a higher feature level than the 940M's DirectX 12 (11_0), making it the better choice for newer API-based applications.

The Radeon R7 also wins decisively on power efficiency. Its TDP of 25 W is one-third of the 940M's 75 W. For systems with limited thermal headroom or battery-powered devices, the Radeon R7 is the clear choice. The 940M's higher power draw may be acceptable for users prioritizing compute performance, but the data shows the Radeon R7 delivers competitive Vulkan performance at a fraction of the power.

For OpenCL-centric tasks, such as general-purpose GPU compute that leverages the 940M's doubling of FP32 throughput, the NVIDIA GeForce 940M is the winner. For Vulkan-based gaming or applications, plus strict power budgets, the AMD Radeon R7 Graphics is the winner. The split is clean: one win each in head-to-head benchmarks, with the 940M ahead in average score but the Radeon R7 ahead in efficiency and API modernity.