AMD Radeon R7 M370 vs NVIDIA GeForce MX230 Comparison

The Verdict

The data in this comparison points to a clear but narrow overall winner: the AMD Radeon R7 M370. In the recorded head-to-head benchmarks, the AMD part wins both tests. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 7063 against 5739 for the NVIDIA GeForce MX230, a 23.1% advantage. In Geekbench Vulkan, the margin shrinks dramatically to 0.8%, with the R7 M370 scoring 6465 versus 6414. The average benchmark score for the AMD card is 6764, while the NVIDIA card averages 6077, a difference of roughly 11.3%.

However, the verdict is not simply "buy the AMD part." The MX230, despite losing both direct comparisons, holds its own in specific workloads. Its Vulkan score of 6414 is within striking distance of the AMD card, and its architecture is significantly newer. The GeForce MX230 sits at the 35th percentile of all GPUs in the database, while the Radeon R7 M370 sits at the 38th percentile. That 3-percentile gap reflects the AMD card's higher average score, but the NVIDIA card is not far behind in the broader ranking.

Who should pick which? Strictly from the data, users prioritizing raw compute performance in OpenCL should choose the AMD Radeon R7 M370, as it delivers a 23.1% higher score in that specific test. Users who need Vulkan performance will find the two nearly identical, with only 0.8% separating them. The MX230's advantage lies elsewhere: it has a 14 nm process node versus 28 nm, a dramatically lower TDP of 10 W (the AMD card has no recorded TDP), and a much higher pixel rate of 24.50 GPixel/s versus 7.680 GPixel/s. For thin-and-light systems where power draw and pixel throughput matter, the MX230 is the more sensible choice despite losing the aggregate benchmark race.

The end-of-life status of both parts complicates any purchase recommendation. The AMD card was released in May 2015, the NVIDIA card in February 2019. Neither is current, but the MX230 is the more recent design. The data suggests that the AMD card wins on raw compute benchmarks, while the NVIDIA card wins on efficiency and pixel processing. The choice depends entirely on which metric the user values more.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon R7 M370 has an average benchmark score of 6764, which is 11.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce MX230's average of 6077. The AMD card also ranks at the 38th percentile of all GPUs, versus the 35th percentile for the NVIDIA card.

Q: How do the two cards compare in Vulkan performance?

A: The AMD Radeon R7 M370 scores 6465 in Geekbench Vulkan, while the NVIDIA GeForce MX230 scores 6414. The AMD card wins by 0.8%, a margin so small it is effectively a tie in real-world usage.

Q: What is the biggest performance gap between the two cards?

A: The largest gap is in Geekbench OpenCL, where the AMD Radeon R7 M370 scores 7063 versus 5739 for the NVIDIA GeForce MX230. That is a 23.1% difference in favor of the AMD card.

Q: Which GPU has better pixel throughput?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce MX230 has a pixel rate of 24.50 GPixel/s, which is significantly higher than the AMD Radeon R7 M370's 7.680 GPixel/s. This suggests the NVIDIA card is better suited for fill-rate-bound tasks.

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

A: The AMD Radeon R7 M370 uses a 28 nm process node from TSMC, while the NVIDIA GeForce MX230 uses a 14 nm process node from Samsung. The NVIDIA card also has a higher transistor density: 24.3M per mm² versus 12.3M per mm².

Q: Do both cards support DirectX 12?

A: Yes, both support DirectX 12, but at different feature levels. The AMD Radeon R7 M370 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), while the NVIDIA GeForce MX230 supports DirectX 12 (12_1). The NVIDIA card supports a higher feature level.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two GPUs is substantial. The AMD Radeon R7 M370 is built on GCN 1.0 architecture with the chip codenamed Litho, and it belongs to the Gem System generation within the R7 M300 series. The NVIDIA GeForce MX230 uses Pascal architecture with the GP108 chip and belongs to the GeForce MX (2xx) generation. These are fundamentally different designs from different eras.

The manufacturing process tells a clear story of generational progress. The AMD card uses a 28 nm process at TSMC, while the NVIDIA card uses a 14 nm process at Samsung. The transistor counts reflect this difference: the AMD chip packs 950 million transistors on a 77 mm² die, while the NVIDIA chip packs 1,800 million transistors on a slightly smaller 74 mm² die. This results in a transistor density of 12.3M per mm² for AMD versus 24.3M per mm² for NVIDIA. The NVIDIA chip is more than twice as dense, a direct consequence of the smaller process node.

The compute layouts differ in interesting ways. The AMD card has 384 shading units, 24 texture mapping units, and 8 ROPs. The NVIDIA card has 256 shading units, 16 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. The AMD card has more shaders and TMUs, but the NVIDIA card has twice the ROP count. This explains the pixel rate disparity: the MX230 achieves 24.50 GPixel/s while the R7 M370 achieves only 7.680 GPixel/s. The texture rates are much closer, with the NVIDIA card at 24.50 GTexel/s and the AMD card at 23.04 GTexel/s. The NVIDIA card is only 6.3% ahead in texture throughput despite having fewer TMUs, because its clock speeds are far higher.

The API support also differs. The AMD card supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The NVIDIA card supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The NVIDIA card has a higher DirectX feature level and a newer Vulkan version. The AMD card's predecessor is listed as "Solar System" and its successor as "Polaris Mobile," while the NVIDIA card has no recorded predecessor or successor.

Specification Differences

The clock speeds show a stark difference. The AMD Radeon R7 M370 has a base clock of 875 MHz and a boost clock of 960 MHz. The NVIDIA GeForce MX230 has a base clock of 1519 MHz and a boost clock of 1531 MHz. The NVIDIA card runs at roughly 60% higher clocks, which partially compensates for its lower shader count. Memory clocks also differ: the AMD card runs its GDDR5 at 900 MHz (3.6 Gbps effective), while the NVIDIA card runs its GDDR5 at 1502 MHz (6 Gbps effective).

Memory configuration is a mixed bag. Both cards have 2 GB of GDDR5, but the AMD card uses a 128-bit bus while the NVIDIA card uses a 64-bit bus. This gives the AMD card a bandwidth of 57.60 GB/s versus 48.06 GB/s for the NVIDIA card, a 19.8% advantage for AMD. The narrower bus on the NVIDIA card is compensated by its higher memory clock, but not fully.

The power characteristics are dramatically different. The NVIDIA GeForce MX230 has a TDP of 10 W, is listed as an IGP (integrated graphics processor) in slot width, and requires no power connectors. The AMD Radeon R7 M370 has no recorded TDP, slot width, or power connector information. The bus interface also differs: the AMD card uses PCIe 3.0 x8, while the NVIDIA card uses PCIe 3.0 x4. The NVIDIA card's display outputs are listed as "Portable Device Dependent," while the AMD card has no recorded display outputs.

Compute throughput figures are close despite the architectural differences. The AMD card delivers 737.3 GFLOPS of FP32 performance, while the NVIDIA card delivers 783.9 GFLOPS. The NVIDIA card is 6.3% ahead in raw FP32. The NVIDIA card also has a recorded FP16 figure of 12.25 GFLOPS (at a 1:64 ratio), while the AMD card has no recorded FP16 performance.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded head-to-head data contains only two tests, and the AMD Radeon R7 M370 wins both. The first is Geekbench OpenCL, where the AMD card scores 7063 against 5739 for the NVIDIA GeForce MX230. The 23.1% delta is the single largest performance gap in this comparison. This is a substantial margin that suggests the AMD card has a real advantage in general-purpose compute workloads that leverage OpenCL.

The second test is Geekbench Vulkan, where the AMD card scores 6465 and the NVIDIA card scores 6414. The delta is only 0.8%, which is within the margin of measurement noise for most benchmark suites. This near-tie is notable because the NVIDIA card's Vulkan driver and architecture were expected to be more modern, yet the AMD card still edges ahead.

Looking at the nearest rivals in the database provides context. The AMD Radeon R7 M370's closest competitors by average score are the AMD FirePro M5100 at 6830 (-1% delta), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675M at 6946 (-2.6% delta), the NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010 at 6698 (+1% delta), and the AMD Radeon R7 M460 at 6612 (+2.3% delta). The NVIDIA GeForce MX230's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX A400 at 6078 (0% delta), the Intel Iris Pro Graphics 6200 at 6117 (-0.7% delta), the NVIDIA Quadro P2000 at 6049 (+0.5% delta), and the AMD Radeon 760M at 6019 (+1% delta).

The average benchmark scores tell a complementary story. The AMD card's average of 6764 places it near the GTX 675M, a desktop-class GPU from an older generation. The NVIDIA card's average of 6077 places it near the RTX A400, a professional card. The 11.3% gap between the two averages is substantial, but the Vulkan test shows that the NVIDIA card can close most of that gap in specific API environments.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon R7 M370 wins decisively in OpenCL compute. Its score of 7063 is 23.1% higher than the MX230's 5739, making it the clear choice for workloads that rely on OpenCL acceleration. The AMD card also wins the average benchmark score comparison at 6764 versus 6077, and it holds a higher percentile ranking at 38 versus 35. The AMD card's wider 128-bit memory bus provides 57.60 GB/s of bandwidth, which is 19.8% higher than the NVIDIA card's 48.06 GB/s. For memory-bandwidth-sensitive tasks, the AMD card is the better option.

The NVIDIA GeForce MX230 wins in several specific areas that the benchmarks do not directly capture. Its pixel rate of 24.50 GPixel/s is more than three times the AMD card's 7.680 GPixel/s, which makes it far better suited for fill-rate-bound rendering scenarios. Its texture rate of 24.50 GTexel/s edges out the AMD card's 23.04 GTexel/s by 6.3%. Its FP32 throughput of 783.9 GFLOPS is 6.3% higher than the AMD card's 737.3 GFLOPS. The NVIDIA card also has twice the ROP count (16 versus 8), which directly supports its pixel throughput advantage.

The NVIDIA card wins on efficiency metrics as well. Its 10 W TDP, absence of power connectors, and IGP slot width indicate it is designed for low-power portable systems. The AMD card has no recorded TDP, but its 28 nm process and older architecture suggest it is less efficient. The NVIDIA card's 14 nm process from Samsung and transistor density of 24.3M per mm² indicate a more modern, denser design.

The Vulkan test is essentially a draw, with the AMD card winning by only 0.8%. Users who primarily work in Vulkan will see no meaningful difference between the two. The NVIDIA card's higher DirectX feature level (12_1 versus 11_1) and newer Vulkan version (1.4 versus 1.2.170) give it a forward-looking API advantage, even if current benchmark scores do not reflect it.

In summary, the AMD Radeon R7 M370 is the benchmark winner, particularly in OpenCL and average compute scores. The NVIDIA GeForce MX230 is the efficiency and pixel-throughput winner, with a much lower TDP, higher pixel rate, and newer process node. The choice between them depends on whether the user prioritizes raw compute benchmark scores or power efficiency and pixel processing capability.