AMD Radeon R9 M380 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon R9 M380 has a higher average benchmark score of 15521, compared to 13515 for the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570. The R9 M380 sits at the 58th percentile of all GPUs, while the GTX 570 sits at the 54th percentile.

Q: How do the two compare in OpenCL performance?

A: In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 scores 13515, which is 7% ahead of the AMD Radeon R9 M380's 12565. This is the only direct head-to-head benchmark recorded in the database.

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

A: The AMD Radeon R9 M380 offers 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus with 96.00 GB/s bandwidth. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 has 1280 MB of GDDR5 memory on a 320-bit bus with 152.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU has a higher transistor count?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 contains 3,000 million transistors on a 520 mm² die, while the AMD Radeon R9 M380 has 2,080 million transistors on a 160 mm² die. Despite fewer transistors, the R9 M380 achieves a much higher transistor density of 13.0M / mm² compared to 5.8M / mm² for the GTX 570.

Q: What are the release dates of these two GPUs?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 was released on December 6, 2010, and the AMD Radeon R9 M380 was released on May 4, 2015. Both are now end-of-life products.

Q: What API support does each GPU provide?

A: The AMD Radeon R9 M380 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, but has no Vulkan support recorded.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every major specification category. The AMD Radeon R9 M380 uses a 28 nm process, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 uses a larger 40 nm process. The R9 M380 has a base clock of 900 MHz and a boost clock of 1000 MHz; the GTX 570 has no base or boost clock listed. Memory speeds differ as well: the R9 M380 runs at 1500 MHz with 6 Gbps effective, while the GTX 570 runs at 950 MHz with 3.8 Gbps effective.

Memory capacity and bus width diverge sharply. The R9 M380 packs 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus with 96.00 GB/s bandwidth. The GTX 570 has 1280 MB of GDDR5 on a 320-bit bus with 152.0 GB/s bandwidth, giving it the higher memory bandwidth despite the smaller capacity.

Compute resources also differ. The R9 M380 has 768 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. The GTX 570 has 480 shading units, 60 TMUs, and 40 ROPs. Pixel and texture rates reflect these differences: the GTX 570 achieves 21.96 GPixel/s versus 16.00 GPixel/s for the R9 M380, while the R9 M380 reaches 48.00 GTexel/s versus 43.92 GTexel/s for the GTX 570. FP32 throughput is 1.536 TFLOPS for the R9 M380 and 1,405.4 GFLOPS for the GTX 570.

The GTX 570 carries a 219 W TDP, dual-slot cooling, 2x 6-pin power connectors, and a suggested 550 W power supply. Its length is 267 mm (10.5 inches). The R9 M380 has no TDP, slot width, power connector, or dimension data recorded. The bus interface differs: PCIe 3.0 x16 for the R9 M380 versus PCIe 2.0 x16 for the GTX 570. Display outputs are only listed for the GTX 570, which offers 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon R9 M380 wins on overall average benchmark score, holding a 15521 average versus 13515 for the GTX 570. It also wins on the Metal API test, scoring 18476 in Geekbench Metal, a test the GTX 570 does not appear in. For modern API support, the R9 M380 offers Vulkan 1.2.170 and DirectX 12 (12_0), while the GTX 570 only reaches DirectX 12 (11_0) and has no Vulkan support. The R9 M380 also has four times the memory capacity, 4 GB versus 1280 MB, and a newer 28 nm manufacturing process.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 wins the only direct head-to-head benchmark, the Geekbench OpenCL test, with 13515 against 12565 for the R9 M380, a 7% advantage. It also holds advantages in memory bandwidth (152.0 GB/s versus 96.00 GB/s), pixel rate (21.96 GPixel/s versus 16.00 GPixel/s), and ROP count (40 versus 16). The GTX 570 has more TMUs (60 versus 48) and a higher texture-to-shader ratio, though its absolute texture rate is slightly lower at 43.92 GTexel/s versus 48.00 GTexel/s. Its 320-bit memory bus provides substantially wider memory access than the 128-bit bus on the R9 M380.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only recorded head-to-head benchmark between these two GPUs is the Geekbench OpenCL test, and it favors the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570. The GTX 570 scores 13515, which is 7% higher than the R9 M380's 12565. This result is notable because the R9 M380 has the higher average benchmark score overall (15521 versus 13515), driven largely by its strong Geekbench Metal result of 18476, a test where the GTX 570 has no recorded score.

In the broader context of the database, the R9 M380's average score places it near the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (15548, a delta of -0.2%), the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (15679, a delta of -1%), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 (15290, a delta of 1.5%), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 (15283, a delta of 1.6%). The GTX 570's average score of 13515 places it near the AMD Radeon HD 7770M (13536, a delta of -0.2%), the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT (13543, a delta of -0.2%), the NVIDIA P106-090 (13470, a delta of 0.3%), and the AMD Radeon Pro 555 (13407, a delta of 0.8%).

The gap between the two cards in the OpenCL test is substantial: 7% is a meaningful margin in GPU compute workloads. However, the R9 M380's Metal score of 18476, which is far above its OpenCL score, suggests that the card's performance varies significantly by API and workload type. The GTX 570 has no Metal score recorded, so cross-API comparison is limited to OpenCL.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Radeon R9 M380 is built on GCN 2.0 architecture using the Strato chip, fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. Its generation is listed as Gem System (R9 M300), and its predecessor and successor are Solar System and Polaris Mobile, respectively. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 uses Fermi 2.0 architecture with the GF110 chip, fabricated on a 40 nm process at TSMC. It belongs to the GeForce 500 generation, with the GeForce 400 as predecessor and GeForce 600 as successor.

Die size and transistor density tell a clear story of process evolution. The R9 M380 has a 160 mm² die with 2,080 million transistors, yielding a density of 13.0M / mm². The GTX 570 has a much larger 520 mm² die with 3,000 million transistors, yielding only 5.8M / mm². The R9 M380 achieves nearly two and a quarter times the transistor density of the GTX 570.

The R9 M380's newer architecture brings modern API support, including Vulkan 1.2.170 and DirectX 12 (12_0), whereas the GTX 570 is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0) and has no Vulkan support. Both support OpenGL 4.6. The R9 M380 uses a PCIe 3.0 x16 interface, while the GTX 570 uses PCIe 2.0 x16, limiting its potential data transfer rate with the host system.

Memory architecture also differs fundamentally. The R9 M380 opts for a smaller 128-bit bus with higher effective memory speed (6 Gbps effective) and larger capacity (4 GB). The GTX 570 uses a wider 320-bit bus with lower effective speed (3.8 Gbps effective) and smaller capacity (1280 MB). The GTX 570's memory bandwidth of 152.0 GB/s exceeds the R9 M380's 96.00 GB/s, but the R9 M380's larger frame buffer is better suited for higher resolutions and larger textures.

The GTX 570 has a defined power envelope with a 219 W TDP, dual-slot cooler, and 2x 6-pin power connectors. The R9 M380 has no TDP or power connector data recorded, which is consistent with its mobile-oriented positioning in the R9 M300 generation.

The Verdict

The data presents two different strengths. The AMD Radeon R9 M380 is the better overall GPU by average benchmark score: 15521 versus 13515, a difference of roughly 15%. It also delivers a strong Metal performance of 18476, supports Vulkan, and offers 4 GB of memory, making it the more future-proof option for modern workloads and API requirements.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 wins the only direct head-to-head comparison in OpenCL, beating the R9 M380 by 7%. It also provides higher memory bandwidth (152.0 GB/s versus 96.00 GB/s), a wider 320-bit memory bus, and faster pixel fill rate (21.96 GPixel/s versus 16.00 GPixel/s). Its 219 W TDP and dual-slot design indicate a desktop-class power envelope, while the R9 M380's lack of such data suggests a lower-power mobile part.

Benchmark results indicate that users prioritizing raw OpenCL compute performance should favor the GTX 570, as it leads by 7% in that specific test. Users prioritizing overall average performance, modern API support including Vulkan, Metal performance, or memory capacity should choose the R9 M380. The R9 M380's average score places it in competition with the GTX 1080 Ti and RTX 2060 in the database, while the GTX 570's average score places it near the RX 9070 XT and P106-090. The R9 M380 is the more balanced card across the recorded data, but the GTX 570 retains a clear edge in the one benchmark where both have recorded results.