AMD Radeon R7 M465 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M Comparison

# FAQ

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in overall benchmark position?

A: The AMD Radeon R7 M465 sits at the 33rd percentile of all GPUs, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M sits at the 32nd percentile. Despite the lower percentile ranking, the NVIDIA card holds a higher average benchmark score of 5,501 compared to the AMD card's 5,841.

Q: Which GPU wins in the direct OpenCL benchmark comparison?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M wins the sole head-to-head benchmark test (Geekbench OpenCL), scoring 7,176 against the AMD Radeon R7 M465's 5,841. This represents an 18.6% advantage for the NVIDIA card.

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

A: Both cards feature 2 GB of GDDR5 memory, but the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M uses a 128-bit bus with 64.13 GB/s bandwidth, while the AMD Radeon R7 M465 uses a 64-bit bus with 36.00 GB/s bandwidth. The NVIDIA card offers nearly double the memory bandwidth.

Q: How do their closest rivals compare in performance?

A: The AMD Radeon R7 M465's nearest rival is the AMD Radeon R5 M435, which scores 5,859 (0.3% higher), while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M's closest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce MX130, scoring 5,508 (0.1% higher). Both cards sit in a very tight competitive cluster.

Q: What are the architectural differences between the two GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon R7 M465 uses the GCN 3.0 architecture with the Topaz chip, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M uses the Kepler architecture with the GK106 chip. Both are built on a 28 nm process at TSMC, but the NVIDIA chip has significantly more transistors at 2,540 million versus 1,550 million.

Q: Which GPU has higher compute throughput?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M delivers 1,325.6 GFLOPS of FP32 compute, while the AMD Radeon R7 M465 delivers 786.4 GFLOPS. The NVIDIA card also has double the shading units (768 versus 384), texture units (64 versus 24), and ROPs (16 versus 8).

# Where Each One Wins

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M wins decisively in raw compute performance. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 7,176 versus 5,841 gives it an 18.6% edge over the AMD Radeon R7 M465. This advantage extends across every architectural metric: the NVIDIA card has double the shading units, texture units, and ROPs, leading to higher pixel rate (13.81 GPixel/s versus 8.192 GPixel/s) and texture rate (55.23 GTexel/s versus 24.58 GTexel/s). For workloads that scale with parallel compute — such as OpenCL acceleration, GPGPU tasks, or fill-rate-limited scenarios — the NVIDIA card is clearly superior.

AMD Radeon R7 M465 wins in the context of its competitive positioning. Its average benchmark score of 5,841 places it slightly above its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon R5 M435, by 0.3%. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M, by contrast, sits marginally below its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce MX130, by 0.1%. In the broader percentile ranking, the AMD card holds a one-percentile advantage (33rd versus 32nd). The AMD card also matches the NVIDIA card in memory size (2 GB GDDR5) and API support for DirectX 12, though with a lower feature level (12_0 versus 11_0).

Interface flexibility favors the AMD card in one specific way: it uses PCIe 3.0 x8, which is a standard slot interface, whereas the NVIDIA card uses an MXM-B (3.0) module form factor. For systems that accept standard PCIe cards, the AMD option may be easier to integrate. The NVIDIA card's MXM format and "portable device dependent" display outputs indicate it is designed for laptops or modular systems.

Vulkan and OpenGL support are comparable, with both cards supporting OpenGL 4.6. The NVIDIA card supports Vulkan 1.2.175, while the AMD card supports Vulkan 1.2.170 — a negligible difference. However, the NVIDIA card also has Geekbench Vulkan and Metal scores (6,714 and 2,612 respectively), while the AMD card has no recorded scores for those APIs, suggesting the NVIDIA card may offer more consistent performance across multiple compute frameworks.

# Architecture Differences

The two GPUs represent fundamentally different design philosophies. The AMD Radeon R7 M465 uses the GCN 3.0 architecture on the Topaz chip, which is part of the Gem System generation (R7 M400 series). It packs 1,550 million transistors into a 125 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 12.4 million per mm². The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M uses the Kepler architecture with the GK106 chip, belonging to the GeForce 700M generation. Its die is significantly larger at 221 mm² and contains 2,540 million transistors, though the density is slightly lower at 11.5 million per mm².

The compute resource allocation differs dramatically. The AMD card has 384 shading units, 24 texture mapping units, and 8 ROPs. The NVIDIA card doubles the shading units to 768, nearly triples the TMUs to 64, and doubles the ROPs to 16. This structural difference explains why the NVIDIA card achieves higher pixel and texture throughput: 13.81 GPixel/s versus 8.192 GPixel/s for pixels, and 55.23 GTexel/s versus 24.58 GTexel/s for textures.

Clock speeds also differ. The AMD card runs at a base clock of 730 MHz with a boost of 1024 MHz, while the NVIDIA card runs at 797 MHz base and 863 MHz boost. The AMD card has a higher boost clock, but the NVIDIA card's larger compute array more than compensates. Memory clocks differ as well: the AMD card runs at 1125 MHz (4.5 Gbps effective), while the NVIDIA card runs at 1002 MHz (4 Gbps effective). Yet the NVIDIA card's 128-bit bus versus the AMD card's 64-bit bus results in 64.13 GB/s versus 36.00 GB/s bandwidth.

Both are manufactured by TSMC on a 28 nm process, and both are end-of-life products. The AMD card was released on May 14, 2016, while the NVIDIA card was released on May 29, 2013 — a nearly three-year gap that explains the architectural differences. The AMD card's predecessor is the Solar System series and its successor is Polaris Mobile; the NVIDIA card's predecessor is GeForce 600M and its successor is GeForce 800M.

# Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon R7 M465 | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | GCN 3.0 | Kepler |

| Chip | Topaz | GK106 |

| Generation | Gem System (R7 M400) | GeForce 700M |

| Transistors | 1,550 million | 2,540 million |

| Die Size | 125 mm² | 221 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 12.4M / mm² | 11.5M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 730 MHz | 797 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1024 MHz | 863 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1125 MHz (4.5 Gbps) | 1002 MHz (4 Gbps) |

| Memory Bus Width | 64 bit | 128 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 36.00 GB/s | 64.13 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 384 | 768 |

| TMUs | 24 | 64 |

| ROPs | 8 | 16 |

| Pixel Rate | 8.192 GPixel/s | 13.81 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 24.58 GTexel/s | 55.23 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 786.4 GFLOPS | 1,325.6 GFLOPS |

| FP16 | 786.4 GFLOPS (1:1) | Not specified |

| TDP | Not specified | 75 W |

| Slot Width | Not specified | MXM Module |

| Power Connectors | Not specified | None |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x8 | MXM-B (3.0) |

| Display Outputs | Not specified | Portable Device Dependent |

| DirectX | 12 (12_0) | 12 (11_0) |

| Vulkan | 1.2.170 | 1.2.175 |

| Release Date | May 14, 2016 | May 29, 2013 |

| Predecessor | Solar System | GeForce 600M |

| Successor | Polaris Mobile | GeForce 800M |

Both cards share 2 GB GDDR5 memory, 28 nm TSMC process, OpenGL 4.6 support, and end-of-life production status.

# Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison available is the Geekbench OpenCL test, where the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M scores 7,176 against the AMD Radeon R7 M465's 5,841. This is an 18.6% margin in favor of the NVIDIA card — a substantial gap that reflects the underlying hardware differences.

Breaking down why this margin exists, the NVIDIA card's compute advantage comes from its doubled shading unit count (768 versus 384) and its higher FP32 throughput (1,325.6 GFLOPS versus 786.4 GFLOPS). The NVIDIA card is also processing data through a 128-bit memory bus, giving it 64.13 GB/s of bandwidth versus the AMD card's 36.00 GB/s. For OpenCL workloads that are memory-bandwidth-sensitive, this nearly 1.8x bandwidth advantage would be particularly impactful.

The AMD card does have a higher boost clock (1024 MHz versus 863 MHz), which helps narrow the gap somewhat, but the NVIDIA card's base clock is higher (797 MHz versus 730 MHz). The AMD card's FP16 performance matches its FP32 at 786.4 GFLOPS, suggesting 1:1 ratio support, while the NVIDIA card does not specify FP16 performance — this could matter for certain compute tasks, though OpenCL benchmarks typically favor raw FP32 throughput.

The AMD card's nearest rivals in the benchmark database — the AMD Radeon R5 M435 at 5,859 and the Intel UHD Graphics 730 at 5,929 — are all within 1.9% of its score, indicating the AMD card sits in a tightly packed performance tier. The NVIDIA card's rivals are likewise close: the NVIDIA GeForce MX130 at 5,508, the AMD Radeon R7 M440 at 5,483, and the NVIDIA Quadro M4000 at 5,467 all fall within 0.7% of its average score. Interestingly, the NVIDIA card's average benchmark score of 5,501 is lower than its OpenCL score of 7,176, likely because the Metal and Vulkan scores (2,612 and 6,714) pull the average down.

# The Verdict

Choose the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M for raw compute performance. The data is unambiguous: it beats the AMD Radeon R7 M465 by 18.6% in the only direct benchmark available, and it maintains superiority across every major architectural metric — shading units, texture units, ROPs, memory bandwidth, and FP32 throughput. Its 1,325.6 GFLOPS versus 786.4 GFLOPS FP32 performance makes it the clear choice for OpenCL-heavy workloads, GPGPU tasks, or any scenario where pixel fill rate and texture throughput matter. The NVIDIA card also offers broader API benchmark coverage, with recorded Metal and Vulkan scores, suggesting more consistent performance across different compute frameworks. Its 75 W TDP and MXM module form factor indicate it was designed as a mobile solution, but within that context, it delivers substantial compute capability.

Choose the AMD Radeon R7 M465 for its slightly better competitive positioning and newer release. The AMD card holds a one-percentile advantage (33rd versus 32nd) and its average benchmark score of 5,841 exceeds the NVIDIA card's 5,501, despite losing the head-to-head OpenCL test. This discrepancy arises because the NVIDIA card's average is dragged down by its lower Metal score. The AMD card also has a higher boost clock (1024 MHz versus 863 MHz) and supports DirectX 12 at the 12_0 feature level, versus the NVIDIA card's 11_0 level. For users prioritizing the latest API feature support or working with FP16 workloads (where the AMD card provides 1:1 ratio performance), the R7 M465 offers specific advantages. Its standard PCIe 3.0 x8 interface may also be more adaptable than the NVIDIA card's MXM-B format in certain systems.

The practical guidance is straightforward: if your workloads are compute-intensive and can leverage the NVIDIA card's doubled shading units and wider memory bus, the GTX 765M is the stronger choice. If you need the newer DirectX 12 feature level, FP16 support, or prefer a standard PCIe interface, the R7 M465 is the more appropriate pick. The performance gap in the head-to-head test is significant, but the AMD card's newer architecture and better percentile ranking mean it should not be dismissed outright. For most users prioritizing benchmark scores, the NVIDIA card wins. For users prioritizing API compatibility and interface flexibility, the AMD card holds its own.