AMD Radeon R9 M375X vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Comparison

The AMD Radeon R9 M375X and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti represent two distinct approaches to graphics processing, separated by nearly three years of architectural evolution. The data reveals a close contest, with the AMD mobile chip narrowly edging out the older NVIDIA desktop card in both available benchmark tests, despite the latter having a larger die and higher raw compute figures. The R9 M375X wins both head-to-head tests, yet the GTX 650 Ti holds its own in specific theoretical throughput metrics, making the choice heavily dependent on the intended workload and platform constraints.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the benchmark data, the AMD Radeon R9 M375X is the faster GPU in practical API tests. It wins the Geekbench OpenCL test with a score of 8273 against 7877 for the GTX 650 Ti, a 5% advantage, and also takes the Vulkan test with 8377 versus 8229, a 1.8% lead. This makes the R9 M375X the better choice for users prioritizing compute workloads in OpenCL or Vulkan environments.

However, the GTX 650 Ti is not without merit. Its average benchmark score of 8053 places it just 3.3% behind the R9 M375X’s average of 8325, a margin that falls within the noise of real-world variance. The NVIDIA card also posts a higher FP32 throughput at 1,425.4 GFLOPS versus 1,299.2 GFLOPS, and a superior texture rate of 59.39 GTexel/s compared to 40.60 GTexel/s. For tasks that rely heavily on raw shader math or texture fetches, the GTX 650 Ti could prove more responsive, despite losing the API-level benchmarks.

The percentile rankings reinforce the closeness: the R9 M375X sits at the 43rd percentile of all GPUs, while the GTX 650 Ti is at the 42nd. The data suggests the R9 M375X is the overall pick for modern API compute, but the GTX 650 Ti remains a viable option for legacy DirectX 11 workloads where its higher texture and pixel fill rates might come into play. The R9 M375X is end-of-life, as is the GTX 650 Ti, so neither offers a future-proofing advantage.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations, which explains their performance profiles. The AMD Radeon R9 M375X is built on the GCN 1.0 architecture, using the Tropo chip manufactured on a 28 nm process at TSMC. This chip contains 1,500 million transistors on a die size of 123 mm², yielding a transistor density of 12.2M per mm². The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti, in contrast, uses the Kepler architecture with the GK106S chip, also on a 28 nm TSMC process, but packs 2,540 million transistors into a much larger 221 mm² die, resulting in a slightly lower density of 11.5M per mm².

The core configurations differ significantly. The R9 M375X has 640 shading units, 40 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 16 raster operation pipelines (ROPs). The GTX 650 Ti offers more of everything on paper: 768 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. This gives the NVIDIA card a theoretical edge in raw throughput, evidenced by its higher FP32 rating of 1,425.4 GFLOPS and texture rate of 59.39 GTexel/s. However, the R9 M375X counters with a higher pixel rate of 16.24 GPixel/s versus 14.85 GPixel/s, despite having the same number of ROPs, due to its higher clock speeds.

Memory configurations are another divergence. The R9 M375X ships with 2 GB of GDDR5, double the 1024 MB on the GTX 650 Ti, both on a 128-bit bus. The NVIDIA card runs its memory at a higher effective speed of 5.4 Gbps, yielding 86.40 GB/s of bandwidth, while the AMD part operates at 4.5 Gbps effective, providing 72.00 GB/s. The extra capacity on the AMD side is offset by lower bandwidth, a trade-off that could matter in texture-heavy scenes. API support also differs: the R9 M375X supports DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170, while the GTX 650 Ti lists DirectX 12 (11_0) and a slightly newer Vulkan 1.2.175.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two benchmark results tell a story of AMD’s advantage in modern compute APIs. In Geekbench OpenCL, the R9 M375X scores 8273, beating the GTX 650 Ti’s 7877 by a full 5%. This is a substantial margin, suggesting the GCN architecture handles OpenCL workloads more efficiently than Kepler, despite the NVIDIA card’s higher theoretical FP32 throughput. The delta is large enough that it cannot be attributed to driver variance alone.

The Vulkan test narrows the gap considerably. The R9 M375X scores 8377, while the GTX 650 Ti achieves 8229, giving the AMD part a 1.8% lead. This smaller margin indicates that Vulkan is more evenly matched between the two architectures, possibly because the newer API reduces overhead for both vendors. Still, the R9 M375X wins this test outright, meaning it holds a 2-0 sweep in head-to-head comparisons, with winsA at 2 and winsB at 0.

These results are consistent with the nearest rival data. The R9 M375X’s average score of 8325 places it just 0.7% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro K1200 and 1.2% behind the GeForce GTX 675MX. The GTX 650 Ti’s average of 8053 sits 0.2% above the GTX 880M and 0.3% below the GRID K2. Neither card is a performance outlier; both cluster tightly with their peers, which underscores the narrowness of the head-to-head difference.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute power?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti leads in FP32 throughput at 1,425.4 GFLOPS, compared to 1,299.2 GFLOPS for the AMD Radeon R9 M375X. This is despite the AMD card winning both benchmark tests.

Q: Why does the R9 M375X win benchmarks if it has lower FP32?

A: The R9 M375X’s wins in Geekbench OpenCL (8273 vs 7877) and Vulkan (8377 vs 8229) suggest that its GCN 1.0 architecture is more efficient at executing real-world API workloads, even though its theoretical peak FP32 is lower.

Q: Which GPU has more memory?

A: The AMD Radeon R9 M375X has 2 GB of GDDR5, exactly double the 1024 MB found on the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti. Both use a 128-bit memory bus.

Q: Is the GTX 650 Ti faster in memory bandwidth?

A: Yes. The GTX 650 Ti delivers 86.40 GB/s of bandwidth versus 72.00 GB/s for the R9 M375X, thanks to its higher effective memory clock of 5.4 Gbps.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The GTX 650 Ti has a listed TDP of 110 W, requires a 300 W suggested PSU, and uses a single 6-pin power connector. The R9 M375X has no TDP, power connector, or PSU data listed in the fact pack.

Q: Which card supports newer graphics APIs?

A: The R9 M375X supports DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170, while the GTX 650 Ti supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and Vulkan 1.2.175. The AMD card has a slightly higher DirectX feature level, but the NVIDIA card has a marginally newer Vulkan version.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon R9 M375X is the clear winner in compute-oriented scenarios that leverage OpenCL or Vulkan. Its benchmark victories in both tests make it the preferred choice for applications like GPU-accelerated rendering, scientific computation, or any workload that uses these APIs. The 5% OpenCL lead is particularly significant, indicating a strong advantage for heterogeneous computing tasks. Additionally, the 2 GB memory capacity gives it a buffer for larger datasets or higher-resolution textures, even if the bandwidth is lower.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti, despite losing both head-to-head tests, wins in specific theoretical metrics. Its FP32 throughput of 1,425.4 GFLOPS and texture rate of 59.39 GTexel/s are notably higher, suggesting it could excel in applications that are heavily shader-bound or texture-fetch-bound, such as certain game engines or content creation tools that rely on DirectX 11. The higher memory bandwidth of 86.40 GB/s also benefits workloads that stream large amounts of data, like video processing or high-resolution display output. For users on a desktop with a 300 W PSU, the GTX 650 Ti is a drop-in solution, whereas the R9 M375X is a mobile part with no such specifications.

The pixel rate favors AMD at 16.24 GPixel/s versus 14.85 GPixel/s, which could translate to better fill-rate performance in games at lower resolutions. However, the GTX 650 Ti’s superior texture rate suggests it handles multi-textured scenes more effectively. The choice ultimately hinges on whether the workload is compute-heavy (R9 M375X) or texture/throughput-heavy (GTX 650 Ti), with the data favoring AMD for modern APIs and NVIDIA for legacy raw throughput.

Specification Differences

The following specifications differ between the two GPUs, highlighting their distinct design priorities:

• Chip: The R9 M375X uses the Tropo chip, while the GTX 650 Ti uses GK106S.
• Architecture: GCN 1.0 for the AMD part, Kepler for the NVIDIA part.
• Transistors: 1,500 million on the R9 M375X versus 2,540 million on the GTX 650 Ti.
• Die Size: 123 mm² for the AMD chip, 221 mm² for the NVIDIA chip.
• Transistor Density: 12.2M / mm² on the R9 M375X, 11.5M / mm² on the GTX 650 Ti.
• Base Clock: The R9 M375X runs at 925 MHz, while the GTX 650 Ti has no listed base clock.
• Boost Clock: The R9 M375X boosts to 1015 MHz; the GTX 650 Ti has no listed boost.
• Memory Clock: 4.5 Gbps effective on the AMD card, 5.4 Gbps effective on the NVIDIA card.
• Memory Size: 2 GB on the R9 M375X, 1024 MB on the GTX 650 Ti.
• Bandwidth: 72.00 GB/s for AMD, 86.40 GB/s for NVIDIA.
• Shading Units: 640 on the R9 M375X, 768 on the GTX 650 Ti.
• TMUs: 40 on the AMD card, 64 on the NVIDIA card.
• Pixel Rate: 16.24 GPixel/s for AMD, 14.85 GPixel/s for NVIDIA.
• Texture Rate: 40.60 GTexel/s for AMD, 59.39 GTexel/s for NVIDIA.
• FP32: 1,299.2 GFLOPS for AMD, 1,425.4 GFLOPS for NVIDIA.
• TDP: Not listed for the R9 M375X; 110 W for the GTX 650 Ti.
• Power Connectors: None listed for AMD; 1x 6-pin for NVIDIA.
• Suggested PSU: None for AMD; 300 W for NVIDIA.
• Display Outputs: None listed for AMD; 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 1.4a for NVIDIA.
• Length: Not specified for AMD; 145 mm (5.7 inches) for NVIDIA.
• DirectX Version: 12 (11_1) for AMD, 12 (11_0) for NVIDIA.
• Vulkan Version: 1.2.170 for AMD, 1.2.175 for NVIDIA.
• Release Date: 2015-05-04 for the R9 M375X, 2012-10-08 for the GTX 650 Ti.