AMD Radeon R7 M365X vs NVIDIA GeForce 930A Comparison

The AMD Radeon R7 M365X and NVIDIA GeForce 930A are two end-of-life mobile graphics solutions from 2015, built on the same 28 nm TSMC process but with fundamentally different design philosophies. The data shows a clear, if narrow, overall victory for the AMD part, driven primarily by its memory subsystem and compute-oriented architecture, though the NVIDIA card counters with higher raw clock speeds and newer API support.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison available is the Geekbench OpenCL test, and the results are unambiguous. The AMD Radeon R7 M365X scores 5939 points, while the NVIDIA GeForce 930A scores 5317 points. This translates to an 11.7% performance advantage for the AMD part, a significant margin in the entry-level mobile GPU segment. The delta is large enough to move the needle in real-world compute tasks, even if neither card is a powerhouse by modern standards.

Looking at the broader benchmark landscape, the AMD R7 M365X's average benchmark score of 5416 places it at the 32nd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon 610M (avg score 5444, 0.5% faster), the NVIDIA Quadro M4000 (avg score 5467, 0.9% faster), and the Intel UHD Graphics P630 (avg score 5370, 0.9% slower). This clustering shows the AMD part sits right at the edge of a competitive group, trading blows with integrated and low-end discrete solutions.

In contrast, the NVIDIA GeForce 930A's average benchmark score of 5317 places it at the 31st percentile, just one point behind the AMD part in global ranking. Its nearest rivals are similarly tight: the NVIDIA GeForce 840M (avg score 5322, 0.1% faster), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M (avg score 5308, 0.2% slower), and the NVIDIA GeForce 940M (avg score 5284, 0.6% slower). Interestingly, the 930A is only 0.8% slower than the AMD Radeon R7 M445, which is itself a rival to the R7 M365X.

The single head-to-head result is decisive, but the story is more nuanced when examining the underlying hardware. The AMD card's 11.7% lead in OpenCL suggests its architecture is better suited to the compute-heavy workloads that this benchmark measures. However, the 930A's proximity to the 940M and 840M in the rankings indicates that in a broader set of tasks, the NVIDIA parts are closely matched, and the 930A is not an outlier in its family.

Architecture Differences

The foundational difference lies in the GPU architectures. The AMD Radeon R7 M365X uses the GCN 1.0 architecture (chip "Litho"), part of the "Gem System (R7 M300)" generation. NVIDIA's GeForce 930A uses the Maxwell architecture (chip "GM108"), from the GeForce 900A generation. Both are manufactured on the same 28 nm process at TSMC, with the AMD chip housing 950 million transistors and the NVIDIA chip housing 1,020 million transistors. Both dies are exactly 77 mm², giving the NVIDIA chip a slightly higher transistor density of 13.2M/mm² versus AMD's 12.3M/mm².

Memory is where the two diverge dramatically. The AMD R7 M365X comes with 1024 MB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 64.00 GB/s. The NVIDIA 930A, by contrast, has 2 GB of DDR3 memory on a 64-bit bus, providing only 16.02 GB/s of bandwidth. This is a four-fold difference in bandwidth, and it is the single most important architectural factor explaining the AMD card's benchmark victory. The NVIDIA card compensates with a higher memory clock of 1001 MHz (2 Gbps effective), but the narrow bus and slower memory type cripple its throughput.

Compute resources are identical in count: both GPUs have 384 shading units, 24 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 8 raster output units (ROPs). However, clock speeds differ. The NVIDIA GeForce 930A has a base clock of 928 MHz and a boost clock of 941 MHz, while the AMD card's base and boost clocks are not listed in the data. This allows the NVIDIA part to achieve a higher pixel rate of 7.528 GPixel/s and texture rate of 22.58 GTexel/s, compared to AMD's 6.600 GPixel/s and 19.80 GTexel/s respectively. Consequently, the NVIDIA card's raw FP32 throughput is 722.7 GFLOPS, exceeding AMD's 633.6 GFLOPS.

Another key difference is memory capacity: the NVIDIA card has 2 GB, double the AMD's 1 GB. While the AMD card's bandwidth is superior, the capacity advantage of the NVIDIA part could matter in texture-heavy scenes or when running multiple applications. The NVIDIA card also has a rated TDP of 33 W and is designated as an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with no power connectors, while the AMD card's TDP is not listed.

Finally, API support differs. The AMD R7 M365X supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The NVIDIA GeForce 930A supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and a newer Vulkan 1.4. This gives the NVIDIA card a slight edge in Vulkan titles that leverage the newer specification, though the practical impact is limited given the age of the hardware.

The Verdict

The benchmark data is clear: the AMD Radeon R7 M365X is the faster GPU, winning the only head-to-head test by 11.7% and holding a higher average benchmark score (5416 vs 5317) and a higher percentile rank (32 vs 31). The primary reason is its memory system—GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus provides 64.00 GB/s of bandwidth, a massive advantage over the 930A's DDR3 on a 64-bit bus at 16.02 GB/s. For compute workloads that are bandwidth-sensitive, the AMD part will consistently pull ahead.

However, the NVIDIA GeForce 930A is not without merit. It offers double the memory capacity (2 GB vs 1 GB), which can be a deciding factor in modern games that exceed 1 GB of VRAM usage. Its higher clock speeds (928/941 MHz vs unspecified for AMD) give it superior pixel and texture fill rates, and its higher FP32 throughput (722.7 GFLOPS vs 633.6 GFLOPS) suggests it could win in compute tasks that are purely arithmetic-bound rather than memory-bound. The newer Vulkan 1.4 API support is also a technical advantage.

Who should pick which? Strictly from the data, users who prioritize raw compute performance and memory bandwidth should choose the AMD Radeon R7 M365X. Users who need more VRAM capacity, prefer NVIDIA's feature set, or are concerned about power draw (33 W TDP) should consider the GeForce 930A. The AMD part is the better performer overall, but the NVIDIA part offers a different balance of features.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The AMD Radeon R7 M365X wins with a score of 5939, which is 11.7% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce 930A's score of 5317.

Q: How do their memory bandwidths compare?

A: The AMD R7 M365X has a bandwidth of 64.00 GB/s, using GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus. The NVIDIA 930A has a bandwidth of only 16.02 GB/s, using DDR3 on a 64-bit bus.

Q: Do both GPUs have the same number of shading units?

A: Yes, both the AMD Radeon R7 M365X and NVIDIA GeForce 930A have 384 shading units, along with 24 TMUs and 8 ROPs.

Q: What is the process node for both chips?

A: Both are manufactured on the same 28 nm process at TSMC, with die sizes of 77 mm² for each.

Q: Which GPU has more memory capacity?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce 930A has 2 GB of memory, while the AMD Radeon R7 M365X has only 1024 MB (1 GB).

Q: What is the NVIDIA card's power draw?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce 930A has a TDP of 33 W, while the AMD card's TDP is not listed in the data.

Where Each One Wins

AMD Radeon R7 M365X Wins:

• Compute performance: The 11.7% lead in Geekbench OpenCL is the definitive metric, driven by a 4x memory bandwidth advantage (64.00 GB/s vs 16.02 GB/s).
• Memory bandwidth: GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus is vastly superior to DDR3 on a 64-bit bus; this is the key differentiator.
• Global ranking: The AMD part sits at the 32nd percentile vs the NVIDIA's 31st, and its average score of 5416 is higher.
• DirectX feature level: Supports DirectX 12 (11_1) versus NVIDIA's 12 (11_0), a minor but real edge.

NVIDIA GeForce 930A Wins:

• Raw arithmetic throughput: Higher FP32 performance (722.7 GFLOPS vs 633.6 GFLOPS) and higher pixel/texture rates (7.528 GPixel/s and 22.58 GTexel/s vs 6.600 and 19.80) make it faster in fill-rate-bound scenarios.
• Memory capacity: 2 GB vs 1 GB, an advantage for games that use more than 1 GB of VRAM.
• Power efficiency: A rated TDP of 33 W, with no power connectors required, making it a more predictable option for thin laptops.
• Vulkan support: Supports Vulkan 1.4, a newer version than AMD's 1.2.170, which could benefit future titles using newer API features.