AMD Radeon R9 M265X vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score in the database?

A: The AMD Radeon R9 M265X records an average benchmark score of 8851, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M records 8040. That puts the AMD part roughly 10% higher on average.

Q: How do the two compare in the OpenCL benchmark specifically?

A: In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the AMD Radeon R9 M265X scores 8851 versus 5622 for the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M. That is a 57.4% advantage for the AMD card in this single head-to-head test.

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

A: The AMD Radeon R9 M265X has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, yielding 64.00 GB/s of bandwidth. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M has 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, yielding 160.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU has the higher transistor count and die size?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M uses the GK104 chip with 3,540 million transistors on a 294 mm² die. The AMD Radeon R9 M265X uses the Venus chip with 1,500 million transistors on a 123 mm² die. Despite the larger silicon, the NVIDIA card's average score is lower in the database.

Q: What are the core clock speeds of each GPU?

A: The AMD Radeon R9 M265X runs at a base clock of 575 MHz and a boost clock of 625 MHz. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M runs at a base clock of 954 MHz and a boost clock of 993 MHz.

Q: What is the percentile ranking of each GPU relative to all GPUs in the database?

A: The AMD Radeon R9 M265X sits at the 44th percentile, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M sits at the 42nd percentile. The AMD card is placed slightly higher in the overall distribution.

The Verdict

The recorded data points to a clear winner for compute workloads: the AMD Radeon R9 M265X. Its OpenCL score of 8851 dominates the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M's 5622 in the same test, a 57.4% gap that is difficult to ignore. The AMD part also holds a higher percentile rank (44th versus 42nd) and a higher average benchmark score (8851 versus 8040). For anyone prioritizing raw compute throughput in OpenCL-based applications, the AMD card is the logical choice.

However, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M should not be dismissed outright. It carries significantly more memory (8 GB versus 2 GB), a wider 256-bit memory bus, and substantially higher memory bandwidth at 160.0 GB/s versus 64.00 GB/s. It also has more shading units, texture mapping units, and render output units. For workloads that are memory-bound or that benefit from larger frame buffers, the NVIDIA card offers structural advantages that the single OpenCL benchmark does not capture.

The database shows only one head-to-head benchmark, and the AMD card wins it. But the specification sheet tells a more nuanced story: the NVIDIA part is built with 3,540 million transistors, more than double the AMD chip's 1,500 million, and it runs at much higher clocks. The AMD card achieves its benchmark victory despite having fewer resources on paper. That suggests architectural efficiency differences in compute tasks, not raw hardware strength.

Which GPU to pick depends on the workload. For OpenCL compute, the AMD Radeon R9 M265X is the data-backed winner. For memory-heavy tasks or scenarios requiring large amounts of VRAM, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M's 8 GB and 160.0 GB/s bandwidth make it the more capable option, even if its recorded OpenCL score is lower.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records exactly one head-to-head benchmark between these two GPUs: Geekbench OpenCL. The AMD Radeon R9 M265X scores 8851, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M scores 5622. The delta is 57.4% in favor of AMD. This is not a marginal difference; it is a decisive margin that places the AMD card well ahead in this specific compute test.

Context from the nearest rivals reinforces the significance of this result. The AMD Radeon R9 M265X's closest competitor in the database is the AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100, which averages 8863, a delta of -0.1%. That puts the R9 M265X essentially on par with a professional workstation card in average score. Its other nearest rivals, the AMD Radeon 550X (8918, -0.8%), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile (8746, 1.2%), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 v2 (8743, 1.2%), all fall within a narrow band around its score. The AMD R9 M265X is competitive with much newer hardware in compute terms.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M, by contrast, sits near the NVIDIA Quadro P5000 (8039, 0% delta), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti (8053, -0.2%), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost (8067, -0.3%), and the NVIDIA GRID K2 (8080, -0.5%). Its average score of 8040 places it in the company of older desktop GPUs, a full 811 points below the AMD card's average of 8851.

It is also importantly the NVIDIA card has a second recorded benchmark, Geekbench Metal, where it scores 10458. That test is not available for the AMD card in the database, so it cannot be compared directly. But it does suggest that the NVIDIA card's compute capabilities are not uniformly weak; the OpenCL result may not represent its best case.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every major specification category. The AMD Radeon R9 M265X uses a 128-bit memory bus with 2 GB of GDDR5, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M uses a 256-bit bus with 8 GB of GDDR5. Memory bandwidth follows suit: 64.00 GB/s for AMD versus 160.0 GB/s for NVIDIA. Effective memory speed is 4 Gbps for the AMD card and 5 Gbps for the NVIDIA card.

Core counts also diverge sharply. The AMD card has 640 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 16 render output units. The NVIDIA card has 1536 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 32 render output units. The NVIDIA card has more than double the shading units and three times the TMUs.

Clock speeds tell a similar story. The AMD card operates at 575 MHz base and 625 MHz boost. The NVIDIA card operates at 954 MHz base and 993 MHz boost. The NVIDIA card's boost clock is 368 MHz higher than the AMD card's boost clock.

Pixel and texture rates reflect these differences. The AMD card delivers 10.00 GPixel/s and 25.00 GTexel/s. The NVIDIA card delivers 31.78 GPixel/s and 127.1 GTexel/s. Floating point performance is 800.0 GFLOPS for AMD versus 3.050 TFLOPS for NVIDIA.

Power and form factor also differ. The AMD card has no recorded TDP or slot width in the database. The NVIDIA card has a TDP of 122 W, uses an MXM Module form factor, has no power connectors, and uses an MXM-B (3.0) bus interface. The AMD card uses PCIe 3.0 x16.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Radeon R9 M265X is built on the Venus chip using GCN 1.0 architecture, part of the Gem System (R9 M200) generation. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M is built on the GK104 chip using Kepler architecture, part of the GeForce 800M generation. Both are fabricated by TSMC on a 28 nm process, and their transistor densities are nearly identical: 12.2M / mm² for AMD and 12.0M / mm² for NVIDIA.

The physical scale of the chips is very different. The NVIDIA GK104 contains 3,540 million transistors on a 294 mm² die. The AMD Venus contains 1,500 million transistors on a 123 mm² die. The NVIDIA chip is 171 mm² larger and has 2,040 million more transistors. Despite this massive hardware advantage, the NVIDIA card's OpenCL score is lower, which raises questions about how each architecture utilizes its resources.

API support shows a split. The AMD card supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The NVIDIA card supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175. The Vulkan versions are close, but the DirectX feature levels differ slightly.

Production status and release timing are similar. Both are end-of-life products. The AMD card was released on 2014-03-20, and the NVIDIA card on 2014-03-11, just nine days apart. Their generational predecessors and successors differ: the AMD card's predecessor is Solar System and its successor is Polaris Mobile, while the NVIDIA card's predecessor is GeForce 700M and its successor is GeForce 900M.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon R9 M265X wins in compute benchmarks. Its OpenCL score of 8851 is 57.4% higher than the NVIDIA card's 5622, and its average score of 8851 exceeds the NVIDIA card's 8040. It also holds a higher percentile rank at 44 versus 42. For OpenCL-based workloads, the data is unambiguous: the AMD card is the stronger performer.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M wins on paper in almost every hardware category. It has more shading units (1536 versus 640), more TMUs (128 versus 40), more ROPs (32 versus 16), a wider memory bus (256-bit versus 128-bit), more memory (8 GB versus 2 GB), higher bandwidth (160.0 GB/s versus 64.00 GB/s), higher clocks (993 MHz boost versus 625 MHz boost), and higher pixel and texture rates (31.78 GPixel/s versus 10.00 GPixel/s, 127.1 GTexel/s versus 25.00 GTexel/s). Its FP32 throughput of 3.050 TFLOPS is nearly four times the AMD card's 800.0 GFLOPS.

The NVIDIA card also has a recorded Metal benchmark score of 10458, which is higher than its own OpenCL score and higher than the AMD card's OpenCL score. For applications that use Metal, the NVIDIA card may perform better than its OpenCL result suggests.

The AMD card wins the only direct benchmark comparison, but the NVIDIA card wins the specification comparison. The database records one compute test, and AMD dominates it. For memory-intensive workloads, large textures, or scenarios where 8 GB of VRAM matters, the NVIDIA card's hardware profile makes it the more suitable choice. For raw OpenCL compute, the AMD card is the winner according to the recorded data.