AMD Radeon R7 M340 vs NVIDIA Quadro K3100M Comparison

# Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The data reveals a clear but uneven contest between these two mobile graphics processors. In the two shared benchmark workloads, the NVIDIA Quadro K3100M takes both victories, though the margins tell very different stories.

The most decisive win comes in Geekbench OpenCL, where the Quadro K3100M scores 6,154 against the Radeon R7 M340's 4,932. That is a 24.8% advantage — a substantial gap that suggests the NVIDIA part handles compute-heavy workloads with considerably more authority. The Radeon's GCN 3.0 architecture may have newer feature support, but raw throughput here favors the older Kepler design.

The Vulkan result is far closer. The Quadro K3100M posts 5,484 versus 5,193 for the Radeon R7 M340, a 5.6% edge. This narrower margin hints that when both GPUs are pushed through a modern low-level API, the architectural differences compress significantly. The Radeon's newer GCN 3.0 design appears to narrow the gap in this workload, even if it cannot fully close it.

Notably, the Quadro K3100M has a third benchmark result — Geekbench Metal at 3,823 — that the Radeon R7 M340 simply does not have. This absence matters: it means the AMD part cannot be evaluated in Apple's Metal framework from this data, and the Quadro's average benchmark score of 5,154 is pulled downward by that lower Metal result. The Radeon's average of 5,063, by contrast, is derived from only two tests.

The percentile rankings place both GPUs at the 30th percentile among all graphics cards, which indicates they occupy similar tiers of overall performance despite their head-to-head differences. The Quadro's nearest rival by average score is the AMD Radeon R7 M260X at 5,161, a mere 0.1% difference — essentially a statistical tie. The Radeon R7 M340's closest competitor is the AMD Radeon R7 240 at 5,063, with a 0% delta, meaning they are exactly matched in average score.

# The Verdict

The benchmark data points to a straightforward conclusion: the NVIDIA Quadro K3100M is the stronger performer in every test where both GPUs appear. A 24.8% lead in OpenCL is not a marginal difference; it represents a meaningful tier of separation in compute capability. The Vulkan gap of 5.6% is smaller but still favors NVIDIA consistently.

However, the verdict is not purely about raw speed. The Quadro K3100M carries a 4 GB GDDR5 memory configuration on a 256-bit bus, delivering 102.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The Radeon R7 M340 offers 2 GB of DDR3 on a 64-bit bus, yielding just 16.00 GB/s. That is a 6.4x difference in memory bandwidth — a figure that does not appear in any benchmark score directly but explains why the NVIDIA part maintains such commanding leads in memory-sensitive workloads.

For users who need maximum compute performance in OpenCL or Vulkan, the Quadro K3100M is the data-backed choice. Its two wins out of two head-to-head tests, with an average benchmark score 1.8% higher than the Radeon's, make it the safer pick for performance-oriented tasks. The Radeon R7 M340 is not without merit — its newer GCN 3.0 architecture supports DirectX 12 (12_0) while the Quadro only reaches DirectX 12 (11_0) — but in measured performance, it trails.

The Radeon's only unambiguous advantages are its smaller die (125 mm² versus 294 mm²), lower transistor count (1,550 million versus 3,540 million), and higher clock speeds (1,021 MHz boost versus 706 MHz). These are specification-level wins, not benchmark wins. From a pure performance standpoint, the Quadro K3100M is the winner.

# Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from fundamentally different design philosophies and eras. The NVIDIA Quadro K3100M uses the GK104 chip built on the Kepler architecture, manufactured by TSMC on a 28 nm process. It packs 3,540 million transistors into a 294 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 12.0 million per square millimeter. Kepler was NVIDIA's energy-efficiency push, and this mobile Quadro variant reflects that with a 75 W TDP.

The AMD Radeon R7 M340 uses the Meso chip on the GCN 3.0 architecture, also built by TSMC on 28 nm. Its die is dramatically smaller at 125 mm², containing 1,550 million transistors for a density of 12.4 million per square millimeter — slightly higher than the NVIDIA part despite the smaller footprint. GCN 3.0 represents AMD's third iteration of its Graphics Core Next design, bringing improvements in compute efficiency and feature support over earlier GCN versions.

Clock behavior differs sharply. The Quadro K3100M runs at a flat 706 MHz for both base and boost — there is no dynamic clock headroom. The Radeon R7 M340 starts at 943 MHz base and boosts to 1,021 MHz, giving it a 44.6% higher boost clock than the NVIDIA part's fixed frequency. Yet the Quadro still wins in compute benchmarks, which underscores how much its wider architecture compensates for lower clocks.

Memory architecture diverges completely. The Quadro uses GDDR5 memory at 800 MHz (3.2 Gbps effective) across a 256-bit bus, achieving 102.4 GB/s. The Radeon uses DDR3 at 1000 MHz (2 Gbps effective) on a 64-bit bus, achieving only 16.00 GB/s. This is a generation-and-a-half gap in memory technology. The Quadro's 4 GB capacity doubles the Radeon's 2 GB, further widening the practical gap for large workloads.

Feature support shows the Radeon's newer pedigree. The Radeon R7 M340 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), while the Quadro K3100M is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0) — a feature-level difference that matters for newer games and applications. Both support OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan versions are close (1.2.175 for NVIDIA, 1.2.170 for AMD). The Radeon also offers fp16 at 653.4 GFLOPS (1:1 ratio), a capability the Quadro does not list.

# Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA Quadro K3100M | AMD Radeon R7 M340 |

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

| Chip | GK104 | Meso |

| Architecture | Kepler | GCN 3.0 |

| Generation | Quadro Kepler-M (Kx100M) | Gem System (R7 M300) |

| Process Node | 28 nm | 28 nm |

| Transistors | 3,540 million | 1,550 million |

| Die Size | 294 mm² | 125 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 12.0M / mm² | 12.4M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 706 MHz | 943 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 706 MHz | 1021 MHz |

| Memory Size | 4 GB | 2 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR5 | DDR3 |

| Memory Bus | 256 bit | 64 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 102.4 GB/s | 16.00 GB/s |

| Memory Clock | 800 MHz (3.2 Gbps effective) | 1000 MHz (2 Gbps effective) |

| Shading Units | 768 | 320 |

| TMUs | 64 | 20 |

| ROPs | 32 | 8 |

| Pixel Rate | 11.30 GPixel/s | 8.168 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 45.18 GTexel/s | 20.42 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 1,084.4 GFLOPS | 653.4 GFLOPS |

| FP16 | — | 653.4 GFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 75 W | — |

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

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

| Vulkan | 1.2.175 | 1.2.170 |

| Release Date | 2013-07-22 | 2015-05-04 |

| Predecessor | Quadro Fermi-M | Solar System |

| Successor | Quadro Maxwell-M | Polaris Mobile |

The Quadro K3100M offers 2.4x the shading units, 3.2x the TMUs, and 4x the ROPs of the Radeon R7 M340. Its FP32 compute of 1,084.4 GFLOPS is 66% higher than the Radeon's 653.4 GFLOPS. The NVIDIA part also has a 75 W TDP listed, while the Radeon's TDP is not specified. The Quadro uses an MXM-B (3.0) interface while the Radeon uses PCIe 3.0 x8.

# FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro K3100M scores 6,154 versus 4,932 for the AMD Radeon R7 M340, a 24.8% advantage.

Q: Is the Vulkan performance gap as large as the OpenCL gap?

A: No. In Geekbench Vulkan, the Quadro K3100M scores 5,484 and the Radeon R7 M340 scores 5,193, a much narrower 5.6% difference.

Q: Does the Radeon R7 M340 have any benchmark where it leads?

A: No. In the two head-to-head benchmarks available, the Quadro K3100M wins both. The Radeon has zero wins.

Q: How do their average benchmark scores compare?

A: The Quadro K3100M averages 5,154 across three benchmarks, while the Radeon R7 M340 averages 5,063 across two benchmarks. The Quadro is 1.8% higher.

Q: What memory bandwidth does each GPU provide?

A: The Quadro K3100M delivers 102.4 GB/s from 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus. The Radeon R7 M340 delivers 16.00 GB/s from 2 GB of DDR3 on a 64-bit bus.

Q: Which GPU supports newer DirectX features?

A: The AMD Radeon R7 M340 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), while the NVIDIA Quadro K3100M is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0).

# Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA Quadro K3100M wins in every measurable compute benchmark. Its OpenCL lead of 24.8% makes it the clear choice for OpenCL-based workloads such as general-purpose GPU computing, video encoding, and scientific simulations that leverage that API. The Vulkan win of 5.6%, while smaller, still places the Quadro ahead for Vulkan-based rendering and compute tasks. Its 4 GB GDDR5 memory with 102.4 GB/s bandwidth gives it a massive advantage in memory-bound applications — large textures, big data sets, or high-resolution compute buffers will all benefit from that 6.4x bandwidth gap. The Quadro also has the advantage of a third benchmark result (Geekbench Metal at 3,823), meaning it can be evaluated in Apple's Metal framework, which the Radeon cannot match with any score.

The AMD Radeon R7 M340 wins in areas that do not show up in benchmark scores. Its newer GCN 3.0 architecture supports DirectX 12 (12_0), a full feature level above the Quadro's 11_0, which matters for modern game titles and DirectX 12 applications that use advanced features. Its higher boost clock of 1,021 MHz versus 706 MHz suggests it may feel more responsive in lightly threaded or latency-sensitive workloads, even if aggregate throughput is lower. The Radeon also offers fp16 compute at 653.4 GFLOPS (1:1), which can accelerate certain machine learning and image processing tasks that use half-precision arithmetic — a capability the Quadro does not list. Its smaller die and lower transistor count imply better manufacturing efficiency per square millimeter, and its PCIe 3.0 x8 interface is more standard than the Quadro's MXM-B (3.0) slot, which may affect compatibility in different laptop chassis.

For raw performance, the data unambiguously favors the NVIDIA Quadro K3100M. For newer API support and half-precision compute, the AMD Radeon R7 M340 has distinct feature-level advantages, though they come with a measurable performance cost in the benchmarks that were run.