AMD Radeon R7 M380 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison available between the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 and the AMD Radeon R7 M380 is the Geekbench OpenCL test, and the result is decisive. The GTX 760 scores 11,299 points against the R7 M380’s 9,313 points, a 21.3% advantage that places it firmly ahead in raw compute workloads. This is not a marginal gap; it is a substantial lead that reflects the fundamental hardware differences between the two parts.

Looking at the broader benchmark landscape, the GTX 760’s average benchmark score of 9,458 puts it just 0.2% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN BLACK (9,474) and 1.6% ahead of the R7 M380 (9,313). The R7 M380, by contrast, sits 0.1% ahead of the GTX 850M (9,302) and 0.2% ahead of the GTX 465 (9,294). These deltaPct values show that the R7 M380 is essentially neck-and-neck with mid-range NVIDIA parts from the same era, while the GTX 760 is operating in a slightly higher performance tier.

The Geekbench OpenCL test is particularly relevant here because it exercises general-purpose compute through the OpenCL API, which stresses shader throughput, memory bandwidth, and driver efficiency. The GTX 760’s 21.3% edge in this test is consistent with its superior hardware specifications: 1,152 shading units versus 640, 96 texture mapping units versus 40, and 32 ROPs versus 16. The GTX 760 also has a much larger memory bus at 256-bit versus the R7 M380’s 128-bit, and its GDDR5 memory delivers 192.3 GB/s of bandwidth compared to the R7 M380’s DDR3 at 32.00 GB/s. That is a 6x difference in memory bandwidth, which alone explains a significant portion of the compute performance gap.

It is importantly the R7 M380 has no Vulkan or Metal benchmark scores in the data, while the GTX 760 has both a Geekbench Vulkan score of 12,551 and a Geekbench Metal score of 4,524. This means the GTX 760 can be evaluated across a broader range of APIs, and its Vulkan score is notably higher than its OpenCL score, suggesting the architecture scales well with modern low-level APIs. The R7 M380’s single OpenCL score is its only quantitative data point, so any assessment of its API-specific performance must be limited to that one result.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 wins the only head-to-head benchmark available, and it wins by a wide margin. The 21.3% lead in Geekbench OpenCL is not a close call; it is a decisive victory that places the GTX 760 in a different performance class. The GTX 760 also holds a small but consistent edge in average benchmark score, at 9,458 versus 9,313, a 1.6% difference that further confirms its superior standing.

For users prioritizing raw compute performance, the GTX 760 is the clear choice. Its 2.378 TFLOPS of FP32 throughput dwarfs the R7 M380’s 1,171.2 GFLOPS, and its texture rate of 99.07 GTexel/s is nearly triple the R7 M380’s 36.60 GTexel/s. Pixel rate tells a similar story: 24.77 GPixel/s versus 14.64 GPixel/s. These are not incremental improvements; they are fundamental advantages that will manifest in any workload that stresses shader math, texture fetching, or fill-rate.

The R7 M380 does have one notable advantage: memory capacity. It offers 4 GB of DDR3 versus the GTX 760’s 2 GB of GDDR5. In scenarios where memory capacity matters more than bandwidth — such as holding larger textures or datasets in VRAM — the R7 M380 could theoretically avoid spills to system memory. However, the practical benefit is limited by the R7 M380’s DDR3 interface, which provides only 32.00 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX 760’s 192.3 GB/s is 6x higher, meaning the GTX 760 can move data far faster even if it has less total capacity.

The verdict is straightforward: the GTX 760 is the superior GPU by every performance metric in the data. The R7 M380 is a competent mid-range part, as evidenced by its near-identical average score to the GTX 850M (0.1% deltaPct), but it cannot match the GTX 760’s compute muscle. Users who need maximum performance should choose the GTX 760; users who need more VRAM for specific workloads should consider the R7 M380, but they should be prepared for significantly lower throughput.

Where Each One Wins

The GTX 760 wins in every performance category that the data captures. Its 21.3% lead in Geekbench OpenCL is the headline result, but the underlying specifications reinforce this dominance across multiple dimensions. In compute-heavy applications such as GPGPU tasks, video encoding, or physics simulations, the GTX 760’s 1,152 shading units and 2.378 TFLOPS FP32 throughput provide a substantial advantage. The 96 TMUs and 32 ROPs also make it the better choice for texture-heavy rendering and high-resolution fill-rate workloads.

The GTX 760 also wins on API support breadth. It has scores for Metal (4,524), OpenCL (11,299), and Vulkan (12,551), while the R7 M380 only has an OpenCL score. This means the GTX 760 has been validated across multiple graphics APIs, and its Vulkan score being 11.1% higher than its OpenCL score suggests it performs even better in modern low-level API environments. The R7 M380’s Vulkan support is listed as 1.2.170, but without a benchmark score, its real-world Vulkan performance cannot be assessed from the data.

The R7 M380’s only clear win is memory capacity. Its 4 GB of VRAM is double the GTX 760’s 2 GB, which can be beneficial for workloads that require large working sets. However, the DDR3 memory type and 128-bit bus width severely limit the practical utility of that capacity. The R7 M380’s 32.00 GB/s bandwidth is a bottleneck that will negate much of the capacity advantage in bandwidth-sensitive tasks. The R7 M380 also has a smaller die (123 mm² versus 294 mm²) and fewer transistors (1,500 million versus 3,540 million), which likely translates to lower power consumption — though the data does not provide a TDP figure for the R7 M380 to confirm this.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 has an average benchmark score of 9,458, which is 1.6% higher than the AMD Radeon R7 M380’s 9,313.

Q: How large is the performance gap in the only direct head-to-head benchmark?

A: In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the GTX 760 scores 11,299 versus the R7 M380’s 9,313, giving the GTX 760 a 21.3% lead.

Q: Does the R7 M380 have any benchmark advantage over the GTX 760?

A: No. The R7 M380 has zero benchmark wins in the head-to-head data. The GTX 760 wins the only direct comparison and has a higher average score.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference between the two?

A: The GTX 760 has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 192.3 GB/s bandwidth. The R7 M380 has 4 GB of DDR3 on a 128-bit bus with 32.00 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU has higher shader and texture throughput?

A: The GTX 760 has 1,152 shading units and 96 TMUs, producing 2.378 TFLOPS FP32 and 99.07 GTexel/s. The R7 M380 has 640 shading units and 40 TMUs, producing 1,171.2 GFLOPS and 36.60 GTexel/s.

Q: Are there any API-specific benchmark scores for the R7 M380?

A: Only Geekbench OpenCL, where it scores 9,313. The GTX 760 has OpenCL (11,299), Vulkan (12,551), and Metal (4,524) scores.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on fundamentally different architectures from different eras. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 uses the GK104 chip based on the Kepler architecture, manufactured on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It contains 3,540 million transistors on a 294 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 12.0M per mm². The AMD Radeon R7 M380 uses the Tropo chip based on the GCN 1.0 architecture, also manufactured on a 28 nm process at TSMC, but with 1,500 million transistors on a 123 mm² die, yielding a slightly higher transistor density of 12.2M per mm².

The core configurations differ dramatically. The GTX 760 has 1,152 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, while the R7 M380 has 640 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. This means the GTX 760 has 80% more shading units, 140% more TMUs, and 100% more ROPs than the R7 M380. Clock speeds are also higher on the GTX 760, with a base clock of 980 MHz and boost clock of 1,032 MHz, versus the R7 M380’s 900 MHz base and 915 MHz boost.

Memory architecture is another major divergence. The GTX 760 uses 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 192.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The R7 M380 uses 4 GB of DDR3 on a 128-bit bus, delivering only 32.00 GB/s. The memory clock differs as well: the GTX 760 runs at 1,502 MHz (6 Gbps effective) while the R7 M380 runs at 1,000 MHz (2 Gbps effective). This 6x bandwidth gap is one of the most significant architectural differences between the two.

Both GPUs support PCIe 3.0 x16 and DirectX 12, though the GTX 760 supports DirectX 12 (11_0) while the R7 M380 supports DirectX 12 (11_1). OpenGL support is identical at 4.6, and Vulkan support is close: 1.2.175 on the GTX 760 versus 1.2.170 on the R7 M380. The GTX 760 has display outputs (2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, 1x DisplayPort 1.2) while the R7 M380’s display outputs are not listed.

The GTX 760 is a dual-slot card with a 241 mm (9.5 inches) length, requiring 2x 6-pin power connectors and a 450 W suggested PSU. It has a TDP of 170 W. The R7 M380’s thermal and power specifications are not listed, and neither is its physical dimensions. The GTX 760 launched on 2013-06-24 with a launch MSRP of 249 USD, while the R7 M380 launched on 2015-05-04 with no MSRP listed. Both are end-of-life products, with the GTX 760 succeeding the GeForce 600 series and preceding the GeForce 900 series, and the R7 M380 succeeding the Solar System series and preceding the Polaris Mobile series.