AMD Radeon R7 M265 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark comparison between the AMD Radeon R7 M265 and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M is starkly one-sided. Across the single shared benchmark test in the data — Geekbench OpenCL — the GTX 970M delivers a score of 18,946, while the R7 M265 manages 4,929. That is a delta of -74% for the AMD part, meaning NVIDIA’s mobile GPU is roughly 3.8 times faster in raw compute throughput. The margin is not close; it is a categorical gap that places these two products in entirely different performance tiers.

The R7 M265’s average benchmark score sits at 4,929, which places it in the 29th percentile of all GPUs tracked by the database. Its nearest rivals, according to the data, include the AMD Radeon R7 M360 at 4,931 (a 0% delta), the AMD FirePro W5130M at 4,904 (0.5% faster), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 at 4,893 (0.7% faster). Interestingly, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB also appears in its nearest rivals list with a score of 4,901 — though that score is suspiciously low for that product and likely reflects a specific workload, not general performance. The takeaway is that the R7 M265 is clustered tightly with entry-level mobile and legacy desktop parts from roughly the same era.

The GTX 970M, by contrast, posts an average benchmark score of 4,628, which places it in the 27th percentile overall. That percentile figure is counterintuitive given its Geekbench OpenCL dominance, but the average is dragged down by other tests in its suite. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro M3000M at 4,621 (0.2% delta), the AMD Radeon R5 M320 at 4,657 (-0.6%), and the AMD Radeon R5 M230 at 4,577 (1.1%). The GTX 970M also has a full suite of PassMark results: DirectX 9 at 99, DirectX 10 at 28, DirectX 11 at 42, DirectX 12 at 24, G2D at 381, G3D at 5,704, and GPU Compute at 2,289. It also posts a Geekbench Vulkan score of 18,292 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 472.

The R7 M265 has only one benchmark entry — Geekbench OpenCL. That paucity of data points limits the depth of analysis, but the single result is unambiguous: the GTX 970M wins the head-to-head by a wide margin. The deltaPct of -74% is the only comparative figure available, and it tells the entire story of this matchup.

Where Each One Wins

The data shows that the GTX 970M wins the only direct comparison available. There is no benchmark in the head-to-head set where the R7 M265 comes out ahead — winsA is 0, winsB is 1. If the analysis is restricted strictly to what the FACT PACK provides, the AMD part has no victory condition in any measured workload.

That said, the R7 M265 does have a distinctive strength in its own right: its average benchmark score of 4,929 is actually higher than the GTX 970M’s average of 4,628. This is because the GTX 970M’s average includes several low-scoring PassMark results (DirectX 10 at 28, DirectX 12 at 24) that pull its mean down. The R7 M265, having only the Geekbench OpenCL score of 4,929, presents a cleaner average. So in terms of aggregate consistency, the AMD part appears less volatile — but that is an artifact of having fewer data points, not a sign of competitive performance.

For real-world usage, the GTX 970M’s higher scores in every meaningful test category — OpenCL, Vulkan, 3DMark, and PassMark G3D — indicate it is the better choice for compute-heavy tasks, modern API workloads, and general 3D rendering. The R7 M265’s single OpenCL score of 4,929 places it near the bottom of the database percentile (29th), suggesting it is suitable only for light, legacy workloads.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations and design philosophies. The AMD Radeon R7 M265 is built on GCN 1.0, the first iteration of AMD’s Graphics Core Next architecture. It uses the Opal chip, fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. The chip contains 950 million transistors on a die size of 77 mm², yielding a transistor density of 12.3 million transistors per square millimeter.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M is based on Maxwell 2.0, the second-generation Maxwell architecture. Its chip is GM204, also fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC, but the die is vastly larger: 398 mm² with 5,200 million transistors, giving a density of 13.1 million transistors per square millimeter. Maxwell 2.0 introduced significant efficiency improvements over its predecessor, and the GTX 970M’s architecture supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.4. The R7 M265 supports DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170. Both support OpenGL 4.6.

The transistor count difference is enormous — the GTX 970M has more than five times the transistors of the R7 M265. The die size difference (398 mm² vs. 77 mm²) reflects that scale. The GTX 970M also has substantially more execution resources: 1,280 shading units, 80 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs, compared to the R7 M265’s 384 shading units, 24 TMUs, and 8 ROPs. Neither GPU has dedicated ray tracing or tensor cores, which is consistent with their mid-2010s origins.

Specification Differences

The specification sheet reveals a clear hierarchy. The GTX 970M runs at a base clock of 924 MHz with a boost clock of 1,038 MHz, while the R7 M265 operates at 725 MHz base and 825 MHz boost. Memory configurations diverge sharply: the GTX 970M comes with 6 GB of GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus, delivering 120.3 GB/s of bandwidth, whereas the R7 M265 has 2 GB of DDR3 on a 128-bit bus, yielding just 28.80 GB/s. The effective memory speed is 5 Gbps for the GTX 970M versus 1,800 Mbps for the R7 M265.

Pixel and texture rates follow the same pattern. The GTX 970M achieves 49.82 GPixel/s and 83.04 GTexel/s, while the R7 M265 manages 6.600 GPixel/s and 19.80 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 2.657 TFLOPS for the NVIDIA part versus 633.6 GFLOPS for the AMD part — a factor of roughly 4.2.

Form factor and interface also differ. The GTX 970M is an MXM module with an MXM-B (3.0) bus interface and no power connectors, with display outputs described as "Portable Device Dependent." The R7 M265 uses PCIe 3.0 x8. The GTX 970M’s release date is October 6, 2014, while the R7 M265 was released January 8, 2014. Both are end-of-life products. The R7 M265’s predecessor is "Solar System" and successor is "Polaris Mobile"; the GTX 970M’s predecessor is "GeForce 800M" and successor is "GeForce 10 Mobile."

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon R7 M265 has an average benchmark score of 4,929, which is higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M’s average of 4,628.

Q: How much faster is the GTX 970M in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The GTX 970M scores 18,946 in Geekbench OpenCL, compared to the R7 M265’s 4,929. The deltaPct is -74%, meaning the GTX 970M is roughly 3.8 times faster.

Q: What are the memory specifications of each GPU?

A: The GTX 970M has 6 GB of GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus with 120.3 GB/s bandwidth. The R7 M265 has 2 GB of DDR3 on a 128-bit bus with 28.80 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Do either of these GPUs support Vulkan?

A: Yes, both support Vulkan. The GTX 970M supports Vulkan 1.4, while the R7 M265 supports Vulkan 1.2.170.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The GTX 970M has 1,280 shading units, while the R7 M265 has 384 shading units — a 3.3x difference.

Q: What is the process node for each chip?

A: Both are fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. The GTX 970M’s die is 398 mm² with 5,200 million transistors; the R7 M265’s die is 77 mm² with 950 million transistors.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M is the superior product in nearly every measurable category. It has roughly 4.2 times the FP32 compute, 4.2 times the memory bandwidth, 3.3 times the shading units, and a 3.8x advantage in Geekbench OpenCL. Its support for DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.4 makes it more future-proof for modern APIs compared to the R7 M265’s DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170.

The only metric where the R7 M265 appears better is the average benchmark score, but that is a statistical artifact of the GTX 970M having multiple low-scoring PassMark entries. The R7 M265’s single Geekbench OpenCL score of 4,929 places it in the 29th percentile, while the GTX 970M’s suite of results demonstrates a wider range of capabilities, from G2D at 381 to G3D at 5,704.

For users seeking a mobile GPU for gaming, 3D rendering, or compute workloads, the GTX 970M is the clear choice based on all available benchmark data. The R7 M265, with its 28.80 GB/s bandwidth and 633.6 GFLOPS, is suited only for the most basic display tasks or legacy applications. The GTX 970M’s MXM form factor and 6 GB frame buffer also make it more viable for modern workloads that demand larger memory pools. In this matchup, the verdict is not close: the GTX 970M wins decisively across every meaningful benchmark in the FACT PACK.