AMD Radeon R7 M370 vs NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010 Comparison

The AMD Radeon R7 M370 and NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010 occupy a similar performance tier, with both landing at the 38th percentile among all GPUs in the database. Their average benchmark scores are separated by less than 1%, making them direct competitors in the entry-level discrete graphics space. The R7 M370, an end-of-life mobile part from AMD’s GCN 1.0 generation, and the GT 1010, an end-of-life desktop card from NVIDIA’s Pascal lineup, approach this performance level from very different architectural directions.

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data points to a narrow but clear victory for the AMD Radeon R7 M370 in the only directly comparable test. In the Geekbench OpenCL workload, the R7 M370 scores 7063, while the NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010 scores 6698. That represents a 5.4% advantage for the AMD part, which is a meaningful margin at this performance level.

However, the GT 1010 has a countervailing advantage in its feature set and efficiency profile. The GT 1010 is the only card of the two with a published TDP of 30 W and a suggested PSU of 200 W, while the R7 M370 lists no TDP at all. The GT 1010 also requires no power connectors and ships as a single-slot card measuring 147 mm (5.8 inches) in length, making it a more flexible option for small form factor or low-power builds. The R7 M370, by contrast, has no listed dimensions or power requirements, reflecting its origins as a mobile GPU.

The R7 M370 also demonstrates broader API compatibility in one key area: it supports Vulkan 1.2.170, whereas the GT 1010 supports Vulkan 1.4. In DirectX, the GT 1010 supports version 12 (12_1), while the R7 M370 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), indicating the NVIDIA part is more forward-compatible for modern gaming titles. OpenGL support is identical at 4.6 for both.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs represent fundamentally different design philosophies from different eras. The AMD Radeon R7 M370 is built on GCN 1.0 architecture using a 28 nm process at TSMC, packing 950 million transistors into a 77 mm² die. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010 uses the Pascal architecture on a 14 nm process at Samsung, with 1,800 million transistors in a 74 mm² die. This means the GT 1010 fits nearly twice as many transistors into a slightly smaller area, yielding a transistor density of 24.3M per mm² versus 12.3M per mm² for the R7 M370.

The core configurations diverge significantly. The R7 M370 fields 384 shading units, 24 texture mapping units, and 8 ROPs. The GT 1010 counters with 256 shading units, 16 TMUs, and 8 ROPs. Despite having fewer shaders and TMUs, the GT 1010 achieves higher pixel and texture rates: 11.74 GPixel/s versus 7.68 GPixel/s, and 23.49 GTexel/s versus 23.04 GTexel/s, respectively. This is a direct consequence of the GT 1010’s much higher clock speeds — 1228 MHz base and 1468 MHz boost versus 875 MHz base and 960 MHz boost for the R7 M370. The FP32 throughput tells a similar story: 751.6 GFLOPS for the GT 1010 versus 737.3 GFLOPS for the R7 M370, a narrow win for NVIDIA despite its smaller shader count.

Memory configurations also differ. Both cards use 2 GB of GDDR5, but the R7 M370 employs a 128-bit bus delivering 57.60 GB/s of bandwidth, while the GT 1010 uses a 64-bit bus with 48.06 GB/s. The R7 M370’s memory runs at 900 MHz (3.6 Gbps effective), while the GT 1010’s runs at 1502 MHz (6 Gbps effective). The wider bus gives AMD the bandwidth advantage, though the GT 1010’s faster memory clock partially compensates.

The bus interfaces differ as well: the R7 M370 uses PCIe 3.0 x8, while the GT 1010 uses PCIe 3.0 x4. The GT 1010 also lists display outputs as 1x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 2.0, while the R7 M370 has no listed display outputs, consistent with its mobile orientation.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon R7 M370 has an average benchmark score of 6764, while the NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010 scores 6698. The R7 M370 leads by approximately 1%.

Q: How do the two cards compare in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The R7 M370 scores 7063 in Geekbench OpenCL, versus 6698 for the GT 1010, giving AMD a 5.4% lead in that specific workload.

Q: Which GPU has higher clock speeds?

A: The GT 1010 has substantially higher clocks, with a base of 1228 MHz and boost of 1468 MHz, compared to the R7 M370’s 875 MHz base and 960 MHz boost.

Q: What are the transistor counts and process nodes?

A: The R7 M370 uses 950 million transistors on a 28 nm process, while the GT 1010 uses 1,800 million transistors on a 14 nm process.

Q: Which card offers better memory bandwidth?

A: The R7 M370 provides 57.60 GB/s over a 128-bit bus, while the GT 1010 provides 48.06 GB/s over a 64-bit bus.

Q: Do both cards support the same DirectX version?

A: No. The GT 1010 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the R7 M370 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), making the NVIDIA card more capable for newer DirectX 12 titles.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every major specification category. The R7 M370 is fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC with 950 million transistors on a 77 mm² die; the GT 1010 uses a 14 nm process at Samsung with 1,800 million transistors on a 74 mm² die. Transistor density favors the GT 1010 at 24.3M / mm² versus 12.3M / mm².

Clock speeds favor NVIDIA decisively: 1228 MHz base and 1468 MHz boost for the GT 1010, against 875 MHz base and 960 MHz boost for the R7 M370. Memory clocks also differ, with the GT 1010 at 1502 MHz (6 Gbps effective) versus 900 MHz (3.6 Gbps effective) for the R7 M370.

The shader configuration is split: the R7 M370 has 384 shading units and 24 TMUs, while the GT 1010 has 256 shading units and 16 TMUs. Both have 8 ROPs. Pixel rates favor the GT 1010 at 11.74 GPixel/s versus 7.68 GPixel/s, and texture rates are nearly identical at 23.49 GTexel/s versus 23.04 GTexel/s. FP32 output is also close, with the GT 1010 at 751.6 GFLOPS and the R7 M370 at 737.3 GFLOPS.

Memory bus width and bandwidth favor AMD: 128-bit and 57.60 GB/s versus 64-bit and 48.06 GB/s, both with 2 GB GDDR5. The bus interface differs: PCIe 3.0 x8 for AMD, PCIe 3.0 x4 for NVIDIA. The GT 1010 lists a 30 W TDP, single-slot form factor, no power connectors, a 200 W suggested PSU, and 147 mm (5.8 inches) length; the R7 M370 has none of these listed. Display outputs are present on the GT 1010 (1x DVI, 1x mini-HDMI 2.0) but absent on the R7 M370.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct head-to-head benchmark available is Geekbench OpenCL, and it favors the AMD Radeon R7 M370 with a score of 7063 against 6698 for the NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010. The 5.4% delta is the single largest performance gap between the two in any measured test.

This OpenCL result is interesting because the raw hardware specifications would suggest a closer contest. The GT 1010 has higher clock speeds, higher pixel rate, and slightly higher FP32 throughput. Yet the R7 M370’s advantage in memory bandwidth — 57.60 GB/s versus 48.06 GB/s — likely plays a role in its OpenCL win, as memory-bound workloads benefit from the wider 128-bit bus.

The average benchmark scores tell a similar but less dramatic story. The R7 M370 averages 6764 across its two recorded tests (OpenCL and Vulkan), while the GT 1010 averages 6698 from its single OpenCL result. The R7 M370’s Vulkan score of 6465 is lower than its OpenCL score, suggesting the GT 1010 might close the gap in Vulkan-based workloads, though no direct Vulkan comparison exists in the data.

When placed against the nearest rivals, the two cards sit in a tight cluster. The R7 M370 is 1% below the AMD FirePro M5100 (6830) and 2.3% above the AMD Radeon R7 M460 (6612). The GT 1010 is 1.3% above the Radeon R7 M460 and 1.8% above the Radeon HD 7730M (6581). Both cards are within 2.6% of the GeForce GTX 675M (6946), though that NVIDIA part is on the other side of the R7 M370. The overall picture is one of near-parity, with the R7 M370 holding a slight edge in compute-oriented tests and the GT 1010 offering a more modern feature set and power profile.