AMD Radeon R7 M370 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M Comparison

The AMD Radeon R7 M370 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M represent two distinct eras of mobile graphics, with the data revealing a clear but narrow victory for the newer AMD part. In the sole head-to-head benchmark available, the Geekbench OpenCL test, the R7 M370 scores 7063 against the GTX 580M’s 6389, a 10.5% advantage. This places the AMD GPU at the 38th percentile of all GPUs, while the NVIDIA part sits just one point lower at the 37th percentile. The average benchmark scores reinforce this: the R7 M370 averages 6764, while the GTX 580M averages 6389.

The Verdict

The benchmark data presents a straightforward conclusion for those choosing between these two end-of-life mobile GPUs: the AMD Radeon R7 M370 is the faster part in compute workloads. Its 10.5% lead in Geekbench OpenCL translates to a real, measurable performance advantage, and its higher average benchmark score of 6764 versus 6389 confirms this is not a one-off result. The R7 M370 also demonstrates superior API support, particularly with Vulkan 1.2.170, which the GTX 580M lacks entirely. For any application leveraging modern compute interfaces, the AMD card is the only choice from this pairing.

The GTX 580M, however, is not without its own merits. Its nearest rival data shows a perfect score match with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 SE (both 6389), indicating that within its own generation, it held its own. Yet, when compared directly to the R7 M370, it consistently falls behind. Its only benchmark score is lower, its percentile rank is lower, and its architectural foundation is older. The data suggests that while the GTX 580M was a capable part in its time, the R7 M370 offers superior compute performance and modern feature support. Neither card should be considered for modern gaming at high settings, but for legacy applications or basic compute tasks, the R7 M370 is the statistically superior option.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is significant, reflecting their different release periods. The AMD Radeon R7 M370 is built on the GCN 1.0 architecture, fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. This allows for a chip codenamed Litho that packs 950 million transistors into a die size of just 77 mm². The resulting transistor density is 12.3 million per square millimeter, a figure that highlights the efficiency of the smaller process node. In contrast, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M uses the Fermi 2.0 architecture, built on a much larger 40 nm process. Its GF114 chip is substantially bigger, measuring 332 mm² and containing 1,950 million transistors, but with a lower transistor density of just 5.9 million per square millimeter.

These architectural differences have direct implications for performance characteristics. The R7 M370, despite having fewer transistors, achieves a higher memory clock of 900 MHz (3.6 Gbps effective) compared to the GTX 580M’s 750 MHz (3 Gbps effective). However, the GTX 580M’s older, larger design allows for a wider 256-bit memory bus, which we will examine in the specification section. The R7 M370 supports both DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170, while the GTX 580M only reaches DirectX 12 (11_0) and has no Vulkan support at all. This makes the AMD card more future-proof for software that leverages modern graphics APIs, even at this low performance tier. The R7 M370 also uses a PCIe 3.0 x8 bus interface, whereas the GTX 580M relies on an MXM-B (3.0) interface, which is a module standard rather than a direct PCIe connection.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison available is Geekbench OpenCL, and it paints a clear picture. The AMD Radeon R7 M370 scores 7063, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M scores 6389. The delta percentage of 10.5% indicates that the AMD card is a solid step ahead in this compute-centric workload. This is a meaningful margin, not a marginal one. For context, the R7 M370’s nearest rival, the AMD FirePro M5100, scores 6830, which is 1% lower than the R7 M370’s average. The GTX 580M’s closest competitor, the GTX 460 SE, scores exactly 6389, matching it perfectly. This suggests that the R7 M370 is competing at a slightly higher performance tier than the GTX 580M, despite their similar percentile rankings.

There are no other head-to-head results in the data, so we cannot analyze gaming performance, texture throughput, or pixel fill rate in direct competition. However, the single OpenCL result is consistent with the overall average benchmark scores. The R7 M370’s average of 6764 is derived from two benchmarks (OpenCL and Vulkan), while the GTX 580M’s average of 6389 comes from just its OpenCL score. The fact that the R7 M370’s Vulkan score of 6465 is still higher than the GTX 580M’s OpenCL score further reinforces the AMD card’s compute advantage. This indicates that even in a different API, the R7 M370 outperforms the GTX 580M’s best result.

Specification Differences

The specification sheets reveal where the two GPUs diverge most sharply. The most striking differences are in memory bandwidth and texture processing capabilities. The NVIDIA GTX 580M has a 256-bit memory bus, which provides a bandwidth of 96.00 GB/s, compared to the R7 M370’s 128-bit bus and 57.60 GB/s. This is a 40% advantage for the NVIDIA card in raw memory bandwidth. Similarly, the GTX 580M has 64 texture mapping units (TMUs) and 32 raster operation units (ROPs), versus the R7 M370’s 24 TMUs and 8 ROPs. This translates to a texture rate of 39.68 GTexel/s and a pixel rate of 9.920 GPixel/s for the GTX 580M, compared to 23.04 GTexel/s and 7.680 GPixel/s for the AMD card. These are substantial specification wins for the older NVIDIA GPU.

However, the AMD R7 M370 counters with higher clocks. The R7 M370 has a base clock of 875 MHz and a boost clock of 960 MHz, while the GTX 580M has no listed base or boost clocks, only a memory clock. The R7 M370’s shading units are 384, matching the GTX 580M’s 384, but the AMD card’s higher clock speed gives it a floating-point performance of 737.3 GFLOPS, whereas the GTX 580M achieves 952.3 GFLOPS. This is a significant advantage for the NVIDIA part, driven by its higher clock speeds and wider memory interface. The GTX 580M also has a listed TDP of 100 W, while the R7 M370 has no TDP listed. The GTX 580M is an MXM module with no power connectors, while the R7 M370 uses PCIe 3.0 x8. The GTX 580M’s display outputs are listed as "Portable Device Dependent," while the R7 M370 has no such listing.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in compute benchmarks?

A: The AMD Radeon R7 M370 is faster, scoring 7063 in Geekbench OpenCL compared to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M’s 6389, a 10.5% lead.

Q: Does the NVIDIA GTX 580M have any advantages over the AMD R7 M370?

A: Yes, the GTX 580M has a wider 256-bit memory bus providing 96.00 GB/s bandwidth, versus the R7 M370’s 128-bit bus and 57.60 GB/s. It also has more TMUs (64 vs 24) and ROPs (32 vs 8), leading to higher texture and pixel rates.

Q: Which GPU supports more modern graphics APIs?

A: The AMD R7 M370 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The NVIDIA GTX 580M supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, but has no Vulkan support.

Q: What is the process node difference between the two?

A: The AMD R7 M370 is built on a 28 nm process, while the NVIDIA GTX 580M uses a 40 nm process. The AMD chip is smaller at 77 mm² and has a higher transistor density of 12.3M / mm².

Q: How do their average benchmark scores compare?

A: The AMD R7 M370 has an average benchmark score of 6764, while the NVIDIA GTX 580M averages 6389. The R7 M370 ranks at the 38th percentile of all GPUs, and the GTX 580M at the 37th.

Q: Which GPU has a higher floating-point performance rating?

A: The NVIDIA GTX 580M has a higher FP32 rating of 952.3 GFLOPS, compared to the AMD R7 M370’s 737.3 GFLOPS, despite the AMD card having a higher boost clock.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon R7 M370 wins in the only direct head-to-head benchmark, the Geekbench OpenCL test, with a 10.5% margin. It also wins on modern API support, offering Vulkan 1.2.170 which is absent from the NVIDIA card. Its smaller 28 nm process and higher transistor density suggest better power efficiency per transistor, though TDP data is missing for the AMD part. The R7 M370’s higher memory clock of 900 MHz (3.6 Gbps effective) compared to the GTX 580M’s 750 MHz (3 Gbps effective) is another point in its favor. For compute workloads that leverage OpenCL or Vulkan, the R7 M370 is the clear winner.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M wins in several raw specification categories. Its 256-bit memory bus provides 96.00 GB/s bandwidth, a massive 40% advantage over the R7 M370’s 57.60 GB/s. This, combined with its 64 TMUs and 32 ROPs, gives it a pixel rate of 9.920 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 39.68 GTexel/s, both far exceeding the AMD card. Its FP32 performance of 952.3 GFLOPS is also higher than the R7 M370’s 737.3 GFLOPS. For applications that are heavily bandwidth-bound or rely on texture and pixel throughput, the GTX 580M’s architectural strengths could make it the better performer, despite losing the compute benchmark. The data suggests a divergent use case: compute and modern API workloads favor AMD, while traditional rasterization-heavy tasks might favor NVIDIA’s wider memory path.