AMD Radeon R7 M440 vs NVIDIA GeForce 940M Comparison

The AMD Radeon R7 M440 and NVIDIA GeForce 940M are both end-of-life mobile graphics solutions from the 2015-2016 era, built on a 28 nm TSMC process. Benchmark results from the database show a split decision: each card wins one of the two head-to-head tests, with the AMD card taking the Vulkan test by a wide margin and the NVIDIA card taking the OpenCL test by a more moderate one. This makes for a nuanced comparison where the choice depends entirely on the workload and API in question.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two benchmark results paint opposite pictures. In Geekbench OpenCL, the NVIDIA GeForce 940M scores 6018 against the AMD Radeon R7 M440's 5214, giving NVIDIA a 13.4% advantage. This is a substantial lead, indicating that in compute workloads that leverage OpenCL, the 940M has a clear edge. The delta is significant enough that it would be noticeable in real-world applications that rely on this API.

The situation reverses completely in Geekbench Vulkan. Here, the AMD Radeon R7 M440 scores 5751, while the NVIDIA GeForce 940M falls to 4549. The AMD card wins by 26.4%, a much larger margin than NVIDIA's OpenCL victory. This is a decisive win for AMD, suggesting that the R7 M440 is far better optimized for Vulkan workloads, possibly due to its newer architecture generation or driver maturity in that API. The 1202-point gap between the two cards in this test is the single largest difference in any measured metric.

Looking at the average benchmark scores, the AMD R7 M440 averages 5483 across both tests, while the NVIDIA 940M averages 5284. This gives AMD a narrow overall lead of about 3.8% in the aggregate, despite losing one of the two tests. This average, however, masks the starkly different performance profiles of each card. The AMD card's average is pulled up by its strong Vulkan showing, while the NVIDIA card's average is dragged down by its weak Vulkan result. The percentile rankings are close too, with the R7 M440 sitting at the 32nd percentile of all GPUs and the 940M at the 31st percentile, meaning both are in the lower-middle tier of graphics hardware.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide is fundamental. The AMD Radeon R7 M440 uses the Meso chip based on GCN 3.0 architecture, part of the "Gem System (R7 M400)" generation. The NVIDIA GeForce 940M uses the GM107 chip based on Maxwell architecture, from the GeForce 900M generation. Both are fabricated by TSMC on a 28 nm process, but the transistor counts differ: the AMD chip packs 1,550 million transistors on a 125 mm² die, while the NVIDIA chip has 1,870 million transistors on a larger 148 mm² die. This results in nearly identical transistor densities of 12.4M per mm² for AMD and 12.6M per mm² for NVIDIA.

The execution resources tell the story of the performance difference. The NVIDIA 940M has 512 shading units, 32 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 16 raster output units (ROPs). The AMD R7 M440 has fewer of each: 320 shading units, 20 TMUs, and 8 ROPs. This gives the NVIDIA card a clear theoretical advantage in raw throughput. The pixel rate for the 940M is 17.57 GPixel/s versus 7.128 GPixel/s for the AMD card, and the texture rate is 35.14 GTexel/s versus 17.82 GTexel/s. The FP32 compute performance is similarly lopsided: 1,124.4 GFLOPS for NVIDIA versus 570.2 GFLOPS for AMD. Notably, the AMD card's FP16 performance is identical to its FP32 at 570.2 GFLOPS (1:1 ratio), while the NVIDIA card has no listed FP16 capability.

Clock speeds also differ. The NVIDIA 940M has a base clock of 1020 MHz and a boost clock of 1098 MHz, while the AMD R7 M440 has no base or boost clock listed in the data. Both cards run their DDR3 memory at 900 MHz with 1800 Mbps effective speed, and both have a 64-bit memory bus, yielding the same 14.40 GB/s bandwidth. However, the memory configuration differs in capacity: the AMD card has 4 GB, while the NVIDIA card has 2 GB.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon R7 M440 wins decisively in Vulkan-based workloads. The 26.4% lead over the NVIDIA 940M in the Geekbench Vulkan test is the largest margin in any comparison. This suggests that for applications, games, or compute tasks that use the Vulkan API, the R7 M440 is the stronger choice. The card also has a higher average benchmark score overall, 5483 versus 5284, which may indicate better balanced performance across different API types. Additionally, the AMD card features 4 GB of memory, double the NVIDIA card's 2 GB, which could be an advantage in memory-intensive scenarios like high-resolution textures or larger datasets, even if the bandwidth is identical.

The NVIDIA GeForce 940M wins in OpenCL-based workloads. Its 13.4% advantage in the Geekbench OpenCL test is substantial. The card's raw compute resources are significantly higher, with 512 shading units versus 320, and its pixel rate of 17.57 GPixel/s is more than double the AMD card's 7.128 GPixel/s. This makes the 940M the better option for applications that leverage OpenCL for general-purpose GPU computing, such as video encoding, image processing, or scientific simulations. The NVIDIA card also has a higher boost clock of 1098 MHz, which can help in sustained workloads. The 940M supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and Vulkan 1.4, while the AMD card supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.2.170, though the AMD card's higher DX12 feature level may matter in some modern titles.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon R7 M440 has an average benchmark score of 5483, which is higher than the NVIDIA GeForce 940M's average of 5284.

Q: How large is the Vulkan performance gap between the two cards?

A: The AMD Radeon R7 M440 scores 5751 in Geekbench Vulkan, while the NVIDIA GeForce 940M scores 4549, giving AMD a 26.4% advantage in that test.

Q: Does the NVIDIA GeForce 940M have more shading units than the AMD Radeon R7 M440?

A: Yes, the NVIDIA GeForce 940M has 512 shading units, while the AMD Radeon R7 M440 has 320 shading units.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth for both cards?

A: Both the AMD Radeon R7 M440 and the NVIDIA GeForce 940M have a 64-bit memory bus and DDR3 memory running at 1800 Mbps effective, resulting in a bandwidth of 14.40 GB/s for each.

Q: Which card has a higher pixel rate?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce 940M has a pixel rate of 17.57 GPixel/s, which is significantly higher than the AMD Radeon R7 M440's pixel rate of 7.128 GPixel/s.

Q: What is the transistor count difference between the two chips?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce 940M's GM107 chip contains 1,870 million transistors, while the AMD Radeon R7 M440's Meso chip contains 1,550 million transistors.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in several key specification fields. The AMD Radeon R7 M440 uses a Meso chip with GCN 3.0 architecture, while the NVIDIA GeForce 940M uses a GM107 chip with Maxwell architecture. The AMD card has no listed base or boost clock, whereas the NVIDIA card has a base clock of 1020 MHz and a boost clock of 1098 MHz. Memory capacity differs: the AMD card has 4 GB of DDR3, while the NVIDIA card has 2 GB of DDR3. The shading unit count is 320 for AMD versus 512 for NVIDIA, the TMU count is 20 versus 32, and the ROP count is 8 versus 16. The pixel rate is 7.128 GPixel/s for AMD versus 17.57 GPixel/s for NVIDIA, and the texture rate is 17.82 GTexel/s versus 35.14 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 570.2 GFLOPS for AMD versus 1,124.4 GFLOPS for NVIDIA, and the AMD card has FP16 performance of 570.2 GFLOPS while the NVIDIA card has no listed FP16 value. The TDP is not listed for the AMD card, but the NVIDIA card has a TDP of 75 W. The AMD card is an IGP with a PCIe 3.0 x8 bus interface, while the NVIDIA card is an MXM Module with an MXM-B (3.0) bus interface. The AMD card supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.2.170, while the NVIDIA card supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and Vulkan 1.4. The transistor count is 1,550 million for AMD versus 1,870 million for NVIDIA, and the die size is 125 mm² versus 148 mm².

The Verdict

The data points to a clear split: for Vulkan-based workloads, the AMD Radeon R7 M440 is the superior choice, offering a 26.4% performance advantage over the NVIDIA GeForce 940M. This makes it the better pick for users whose applications are built on Vulkan, and its 4 GB memory capacity provides additional headroom for memory-heavy tasks. The AMD card also edges out the NVIDIA card in average benchmark score, 5483 versus 5284, suggesting slightly better overall versatility across the tested APIs.

For OpenCL-based workloads, the NVIDIA GeForce 940M is the stronger option, with a 13.4% lead in the Geekbench OpenCL test. Its significantly higher pixel rate, texture rate, and FP32 compute performance indicate that it can handle raw compute tasks more efficiently. The NVIDIA card also has a higher boost clock and a larger transistor count, which may contribute to its performance in sustained loads. Users prioritizing OpenCL acceleration in productivity or scientific applications should favor the 940M.

Ultimately, the choice hinges on the primary API used by the target software. If Vulkan is the focus, the AMD R7 M440 wins. If OpenCL is the focus, the NVIDIA 940M wins. The overall average score slightly favors AMD, but the margin is small, and the API-specific performance differences are large enough that the decision should be driven by the specific use case rather than the aggregate score.