AMD Radeon R9 M375X vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 Comparison

The Verdict

The data paints a clear picture: the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 is the substantially stronger part in every measured scenario. It wins both head-to-head benchmarks by wide margins, and its raw compute numbers dwarf those of the AMD Radeon R9 M375X. The GTX 970 is a desktop-class GPU from 2014, while the R9 M375X is a mobile-oriented part from 2015. The gap in performance is not close.

For someone building a desktop gaming rig or upgrading an existing desktop, the GTX 970 is the only rational choice based on the recorded data. It delivers nearly four times the OpenCL score and more than double the Vulkan score of the R9 M375X. The GTX 970 also carries a much larger memory pool, wider bus, and higher texture and pixel rates.

The R9 M375X is a different animal. It is a small, low-power mobile chip. Its benchmark scores place it in the 43rd percentile of all GPUs, which is squarely mid-pack. The GTX 970 sits at the 39th percentile, but that figure is dragged down by its average benchmark score being lower than its OpenCL and Vulkan peaks. That average includes several Passmark tests where the GTX 970 scores very low (46, 41, 71), which pulls its average down. The R9 M375X only has two recorded benchmarks, both compute-oriented, so its average is higher relative to its raw capability.

If you need a GPU for a thin laptop or a low-power embedded system, the R9 M375X is the one that fits that role. If you need a GPU for a desktop that can actually play games at reasonable settings, the GTX 970 wins outright. The data does not support any other conclusion.

Where Each One Wins

The GTX 970 wins every single head-to-head benchmark recorded. In OpenCL, it scores 29982 versus 8273 for the R9 M375X, a delta of 72.4 percent in favor of NVIDIA. In Vulkan, the GTX 970 scores 20005 versus 8377, a 58.1 percent advantage. There are no benchmark categories where the R9 M375X comes out ahead. The wins tally is 2 for the GTX 970, 0 for the R9 M375X.

That said, the R9 M375X does have its own niche. Its average benchmark score of 8325 is actually higher than the GTX 970's average of 7157. This is because the GTX 970's average includes several low-scoring DirectX 9, 10, and 12 Passmark results (143, 46, and 41 respectively), which are not comparable to the R9 M375X's compute-focused benchmarks. The R9 M375X also has a higher percentile ranking (43 vs 39), which reflects its more consistent performance in the tests it actually runs.

So if your workload is purely compute-light, mobile, and power-constrained, the R9 M375X holds its own against its own rivals. It sits within 1.6 percent of the NVIDIA GeForce MX330 and within 1.3 percent of the AMD Radeon 880M. It is essentially tied with the NVIDIA Quadro K1200 (0.7 percent ahead) and the GTX 675MX (1.2 percent behind). Those are the fighters in its weight class.

The GTX 970, by contrast, sits in a different tier. Its nearest rivals are the Intel Iris Pro Graphics P580 (0.2 percent behind), the GTX 560 SE (0.2 percent behind), the AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile (0.6 percent behind), and the GTX 750 (0.9 percent behind). Those are much weaker parts. The GTX 970 is not competing with the R9 M375X at all, it is competing with integrated graphics and low-end desktop cards.

Architecture Differences

The architectural split is stark. The R9 M375X uses the Tropo chip, built on GCN 1.0 architecture, from the Gem System generation (R9 M300 series). It is fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. The chip contains 1,500 million transistors on a 123 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 12.2 million per square millimeter. It packs 640 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 16 raster output units. The GPU has no dedicated ray tracing or tensor cores, which is expected for a 2015 mobile part.

The GTX 970 uses the GM204 chip, built on Maxwell 2.0 architecture, from the GeForce 900 generation. It is also fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC, but the die is much larger at 398 mm². The transistor count is 5,200 million, which is nearly 3.5 times the R9 M375X, and the density is 13.1 million per square millimeter. The GTX 970 has 1664 shading units, 104 TMUs, and 56 ROPs. Again, no ray tracing or tensor cores are present.

Clock speeds differ substantially. The R9 M375X runs at 925 MHz base and 1015 MHz boost. The GTX 970 runs at 1050 MHz base and 1178 MHz boost. Memory clocks also differ: the R9 M375X runs at 1125 MHz (4.5 Gbps effective), while the GTX 970 runs at 1753 MHz (7 Gbps effective). The GTX 970 also has a 256-bit memory bus versus the R9 M375X's 128-bit bus, and it has 4 GB of GDDR5 versus 2 GB.

The GTX 970 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The R9 M375X supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The GTX 970 is also a dual-slot card with 2x 6-pin power connectors and a 300 W suggested PSU, while the R9 M375X has no listed power connector, slot width, or PSU requirement, confirming its mobile nature.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute performance?

A: The GTX 970. Its FP32 performance is 3.920 TFLOPS, versus 1,299.2 GFLOPS for the R9 M375X. That is roughly triple the compute throughput.

Q: Is the R9 M375X competitive with the GTX 970 in any way?

A: No. In the two head-to-head benchmarks recorded, the GTX 970 wins by 72.4 percent in OpenCL and 58.1 percent in Vulkan. The R9 M375X does not win a single recorded test.

Q: Why does the GTX 970 have a lower percentile ranking than the R9 M375X?

A: The GTX 970's 39th percentile is based on an average benchmark score of 7157, which includes several low-scoring Passmark tests (DirectX 9 at 143, DirectX 10 at 46, DirectX 12 at 41). The R9 M375X's 43rd percentile comes from an average of 8325, which is based only on its two compute benchmarks. The average does not reflect the GTX 970's true compute dominance.

Q: Which GPU is better for gaming?

A: Based on the data, the GTX 970. It has 4 GB of memory, a 256-bit bus, and 224.4 GB/s of bandwidth, versus 2 GB, 128-bit, and 72 GB/s for the R9 M375X. Its pixel rate of 65.97 GPixel/s and texture rate of 122.5 GTexel/s are far ahead of the R9 M375X's 16.24 GPixel/s and 40.60 GTexel/s.

Q: Are these GPUs still in production?

A: No. Both are listed as end-of-life. The R9 M375X was released on May 4, 2015, and the GTX 970 was released on September 18, 2014.

Q: Does the R9 M375X have any advantage over the GTX 970?

A: It is a much smaller chip (123 mm² vs 398 mm²) with far fewer transistors (1,500 million vs 5,200 million), which implies lower power draw and heat output. It also has no power connector requirement listed, while the GTX 970 requires 2x 6-pin connectors and a 300 W PSU. For a compact laptop or a low-power system, the R9 M375X is the practical pick.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two recorded head-to-head tests are both compute-oriented, and the GTX 970 dominates both.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the GTX 970 scores 29982. The R9 M375X scores 8273. The delta is 72.4 percent in favor of the GTX 970. That is not a marginal win, it is a landslide. For context, the R9 M375X's OpenCL score of 8273 puts it just above the NVIDIA Quadro K1200 (8265, 0.7 percent ahead) and just below the GTX 675MX (8427, 1.2 percent behind). The GTX 970's OpenCL score is more than three and a half times the R9 M375X's.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the gap narrows slightly but remains decisive. The GTX 970 scores 20005, while the R9 M375X scores 8377. The delta is 58.1 percent. The R9 M375X's Vulkan score is roughly 42 percent of the GTX 970's. That is still a massive gap, but it shows that the R9 M375X is relatively stronger in Vulkan than in OpenCL, likely due to driver maturity or workload characteristics.

Looking at the broader benchmark picture, the GTX 970 also has a Passmark G3D score of 9638 and a Passmark GPU compute score of 4073. Those are not head-to-head tests against the R9 M375X, but they reinforce the GTX 970's standing. Its Passmark DirectX 11 score is 71, which is low in absolute terms but still higher than its DirectX 10 (46) and DirectX 12 (41) scores. The R9 M375X has no equivalent legacy tests recorded.

The R9 M375X's only two recorded benchmarks are 8273 (OpenCL) and 8377 (Vulkan). Those scores are close to each other, suggesting the chip is balanced between compute APIs. The GTX 970, by contrast, shows a much larger spread between its OpenCL (29982) and Vulkan (20005) results, indicating that OpenCL is a stronger workload for it.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every measurable specification except for process node, foundry, and memory type.

| Specification | AMD Radeon R9 M375X | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 |

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

| Architecture | GCN 1.0 | Maxwell 2.0 |

| Process | 28 nm | 28 nm |

| Foundry | TSMC | TSMC |

| Transistors | 1,500 million | 5,200 million |

| Die size | 123 mm² | 398 mm² |

| Transistor density | 12.2M / mm² | 13.1M / mm² |

| Base clock | 925 MHz | 1050 MHz |

| Boost clock | 1015 MHz | 1178 MHz |

| Memory clock | 1125 MHz (4.5 Gbps) | 1753 MHz (7 Gbps) |

| Memory size | 2 GB | 4 GB |

| Memory bus | 128 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory bandwidth | 72.00 GB/s | 224.4 GB/s |

| Shading units | 640 | 1664 |

| TMUs | 40 | 104 |

| ROPs | 16 | 56 |

| Pixel rate | 16.24 GPixel/s | 65.97 GPixel/s |

| Texture rate | 40.60 GTexel/s | 122.5 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 1,299.2 GFLOPS | 3.920 TFLOPS |

| TDP | Not listed | 148 W |

| Slot width | Not listed | Dual-slot |

| Power connectors | Not listed | 2x 6-pin |

| Suggested PSU | Not listed | 300 W |

| DirectX | 12 (11_1) | 12 (12_1) |

| Vulkan | 1.2.170 | 1.4 |

| Release date | May 4, 2015 | September 18, 2014 |

| Launch MSRP | Not listed | 329 USD |

The GTX 970 is larger in every dimension that matters for performance. It has 2.6 times the shading units, 2.6 times the TMUs, 3.5 times the ROPs, 3.1 times the memory bandwidth, and exactly 3.0 times the FP32 throughput. The only areas where the R9 M375X is not clearly behind are process node and foundry, which are identical, and power requirements, where the R9 M375X has no listed power draw or connector needs.

The GTX 970 is also physically larger: 267 mm long, 111 mm tall, and 40 mm wide, with a dual-slot cooler. The R9 M375X has no listed dimensions, which is typical for a mobile chip. The GTX 970's display outputs are 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, and 3x DisplayPort 1.2. The R9 M375X has no listed display outputs.

In short, the GTX 970 is a desktop power card with a 329 USD launch MSRP, and the R9 M375X is a mobile chip with no listed MSRP. The data is unambiguous: for anyone who needs real graphics performance, the GTX 970 is the only option. For anyone who needs a low-power mobile part, the R9 M375X is the only option. There is no middle ground.