AMD Radeon R7 M365X vs NVIDIA GeForce 940M Comparison

The AMD Radeon R7 M365X and NVIDIA GeForce 940M are both end-of-life mobile GPUs from 2015, targeting the entry-level segment of the laptop market. Benchmark data shows they are extremely close in overall performance, with the AMD part averaging a score of 5416 and the NVIDIA part averaging 5284. This places them in the 32nd and 31st percentiles of all GPUs, respectively, indicating that both are firmly in the lower performance tier. The head-to-head results are split, with each card winning one of the two benchmark tests, making the choice between them dependent on the specific workload.

Where Each One Wins

The two GPUs divide their wins cleanly across the two available benchmark tests. The NVIDIA GeForce 940M takes the victory in the Geekbench OpenCL test, scoring 6018 against the AMD Radeon R7 M365X's 5939, a delta of -1.3% from the AMD card's perspective. This indicates a slight edge for NVIDIA in compute workloads that leverage OpenCL, which is often used for general-purpose GPU tasks and some content creation applications.

Conversely, the AMD Radeon R7 M365X wins decisively in the Geekbench Vulkan test. It scores 4893, which is 7.6% higher than the NVIDIA card's 4549. Vulkan is a modern graphics API that is increasingly used in games and other real-time rendering applications, suggesting that the AMD card has a distinct advantage in this more contemporary graphics workload. This split means that for users prioritizing OpenCL compute, the 940M is the stronger option, while for those focused on Vulkan-based graphics, the R7 M365X is the clear winner. The data does not show any other benchmark categories, so conclusions about other workload types cannot be drawn from this dataset.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on fundamentally different architectures, which explains their divergent performance profiles. The AMD Radeon R7 M365X uses the "Litho" chip based on the GCN 1.0 architecture, manufactured on a 28 nm process at TSMC. In contrast, the NVIDIA GeForce 940M uses the GM107 chip based on the Maxwell architecture, also on a 28 nm process at the same foundry. While both use the same process node, the transistor counts differ significantly. The NVIDIA chip packs 1,870 million transistors on a 148 mm² die, while the AMD chip has 950 million transistors on a much smaller 77 mm² die.

The difference in transistor density is minimal (12.3M / mm² for AMD, 12.6M / mm² for NVIDIA), but the larger NVIDIA die allows for a more substantial hardware configuration. The GeForce 940M features 512 shading units, 32 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 16 render output units (ROPs). The Radeon R7 M365X is configured with fewer resources: 384 shading units, 24 TMUs, and only 8 ROPs. This hardware disparity directly impacts key performance metrics. The NVIDIA card achieves a pixel rate of 17.57 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 35.14 GTexel/s, while the AMD card reaches only 6.600 GPixel/s and 19.80 GTexel/s, respectively.

The memory subsystems also present a major architectural contrast. The R7 M365X uses 1024 MB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 64.00 GB/s. The 940M, despite having 2 GB of memory, uses slower DDR3 on a narrower 64-bit bus, resulting in a significantly lower bandwidth of only 14.40 GB/s. This is a critical difference, as the AMD card's memory is over four times faster in terms of bandwidth. Clock speeds also differ, with the NVIDIA card having a base clock of 1020 MHz and a boost clock of 1098 MHz, while the AMD memory clock is 1000 MHz (4 Gbps effective). The NVIDIA GPU's higher shading unit count and clock speed contribute to its higher FP32 performance of 1,124.4 GFLOPS, compared to 633.6 GFLOPS for the AMD card.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the benchmark data, the choice between these two GPUs hinges on the target application. For users whose primary workload involves OpenCL compute tasks, the NVIDIA GeForce 940M is the superior choice. Its 6018 OpenCL score is the highest single benchmark result between the two cards, and its higher FP32 throughput suggests better raw compute capability. The data also shows its pixel and texture rates are more than double those of the AMD card, which could benefit certain rendering tasks.

For users who prioritize modern graphics APIs, the AMD Radeon R7 M365X is the recommended option. Its 7.6% lead in the Vulkan benchmark is substantial and indicates better performance in applications that utilize this API. Despite having lower theoretical compute and fillrate numbers, the R7 M365X's high-bandwidth GDDR5 memory (64.00 GB/s vs 14.40 GB/s) likely plays a significant role in its Vulkan advantage, as memory bandwidth is often a bottleneck in graphics workloads. The overall average benchmark score also slightly favors the AMD card (5416 vs 5284), although this difference is marginal. The data suggests that a user seeking a modern graphics API performance should choose the AMD, while a user focused on raw compute and legacy APIs should choose the NVIDIA.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon R7 M365X has a slightly higher average benchmark score of 5416, compared to the NVIDIA GeForce 940M's 5284, a difference of roughly 2.5%.

Q: Which GPU performs better in the Vulkan graphics API?

A: The AMD Radeon R7 M365X performs better in Vulkan, scoring 4893 compared to the NVIDIA GeForce 940M's 4549, a 7.6% advantage for AMD.

Q: Which GPU has the higher memory bandwidth?

A: The AMD Radeon R7 M365X has significantly higher memory bandwidth at 64.00 GB/s, using GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, while the NVIDIA GeForce 940M has 14.40 GB/s from DDR3 on a 64-bit bus.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce 940M has more shading units, with 512, compared to the AMD Radeon R7 M365X's 384 shading units.

Q: Which GPU has a higher pixel rate?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce 940M has a much higher pixel rate of 17.57 GPixel/s, compared to the AMD Radeon R7 M365X's 6.600 GPixel/s.

Q: Which GPU is the winner in the OpenCL benchmark?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce 940M wins the OpenCL benchmark, scoring 6018 versus the AMD Radeon R7 M365X's 5939.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head results show a clear split in performance characteristics. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the NVIDIA GeForce 940M emerges as the winner with a score of 6018. The AMD Radeon R7 M365X trails with 5939, resulting in a delta of -1.3% for the AMD card. This is a narrow margin, but it demonstrates that the NVIDIA architecture, with its higher FP32 throughput of 1,124.4 GFLOPS and superior fillrates, has an edge in this compute workload. The 940M's larger number of shading units (512 vs 384) and higher clock speeds are likely contributors to this result.

The situation reverses in the Geekbench Vulkan test. Here, the AMD Radeon R7 M365X scores 4893, defeating the NVIDIA GeForce 940M's 4549 by a substantial 7.6% margin. This is a more decisive victory than the OpenCL result. The AMD card's advantage in this test is notable, especially considering its lower raw compute specifications. The key differentiator appears to be the memory system: the R7 M365X's GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus provides 64.00 GB/s of bandwidth, which is more than four times the 14.40 GB/s available to the 940M. This suggests that Vulkan workloads are more memory-bandwidth-sensitive, and the AMD card's superior memory subsystem gives it a significant edge in this modern API. The data from these two tests indicates that while the NVIDIA card is better for classic compute, the AMD card is better for contemporary graphics interfaces.