AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M Comparison

# FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins in Geekbench OpenCL performance?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M scores 14,509 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT scores 12,756. The GTX 965M leads by 13.7%, a significant margin that highlights the older Maxwell architecture’s strength in this specific compute workload.

Q: How does the RX 7900 XT perform in Vulkan compared to the GTX 965M?

A: The RX 7900 XT scores 71,068 in Geekbench Vulkan versus 14,299 for the GTX 965M. That is a 79.9% lead for AMD, meaning the RX 7900 XT delivers roughly five times the Vulkan performance of the older NVIDIA part.

Q: What are the average benchmark scores for both GPUs?

A: The GTX 965M has an average benchmark score of 14,404, while the RX 7900 XT averages 13,745. Despite the RX 7900 XT winning Vulkan overwhelmingly, its overall average is slightly lower due to the OpenCL deficit.

Q: How do these GPUs rank against all other GPUs?

A: The GTX 965M sits at the 56th percentile among all GPUs, while the RX 7900 XT ranks at the 55th percentile. Both are nearly identical in overall percentile standing, despite their vast architectural differences.

Q: What does the RX 7900 XT’s nearestRivals data reveal?

A: The RX 7900 XT’s closest rivals include the AMD Radeon 660M (deltaPct -0.5%), NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile (deltaPct -0.5%), and AMD Radeon RX 570X (deltaPct -0.9%). The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is 1.5% ahead, showing the 7900 XT sits in a tight competitive cluster.

Q: Which GPU has a higher boost clock?

A: The RX 7900 XT has a boost clock of 2394 MHz, compared to the GTX 965M’s 950 MHz. This is a 152% difference in raw boost frequency, though architecture differences make direct clock comparisons imperfect.

# Architecture Differences

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT represent two completely different eras of GPU design. The GTX 965M uses the GM204 chip built on Maxwell 2.0 architecture, fabricated on TSMC’s 28 nm process. It packs 5,200 million transistors into a 398 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 13.1 million transistors per square millimeter. This is a mobile-oriented part with an MXM Module slot width and no power connectors, reflecting its laptop heritage.

In stark contrast, the RX 7900 XT uses the Navi 31 chip with RDNA 3.0 architecture, codenamed “Plum Bonito.” It is built on TSMC’s 5 nm process, housing 57,700 million transistors in a 529 mm² die. The transistor density is 109.1 million per square millimeter — more than eight times that of the GTX 965M. This is a dual-slot desktop card requiring two 8-pin power connectors and a suggested 700 W power supply.

The computing resources differ massively. The GTX 965M has 1,024 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, and 32 raster output pipelines. The RX 7900 XT has 5,376 shading units, 336 TMUs, and 192 ROPs — roughly 5.3x, 5.3x, and 6x the respective counts. The RX 7900 XT also includes 84 ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent from the Maxwell-based GTX 965M. Neither GPU includes tensor cores.

Memory subsystems are equally divergent. The GTX 965M uses 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 80.19 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 7900 XT offers 20 GB of GDDR6 on a 320-bit bus, reaching 800.0 GB/s — exactly ten times the bandwidth. This memory capacity and bandwidth gap underpins many of the performance differences in modern workloads.

The process node advantage is stark: 5 nm versus 28 nm. This drives not only transistor density but also clock speeds. The GTX 965M has a base clock of 924 MHz and boost of 950 MHz, while the RX 7900 XT has a base of 1387 MHz, a game clock of 2025 MHz, and a boost of 2394 MHz. The RX 7900 XT’s boost is 2.5 times higher than the GTX 965M’s.

API support also differentiates the pair. The GTX 965M supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The RX 7900 XT supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The DirectX 12_2 versus 12_1 distinction matters for modern ray-traced and mesh-shader workloads.

# Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head data between these two GPUs is limited to two Geekbench tests, and the results are dramatically split. In Geekbench OpenCL, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M scores 14,509 against the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT’s 12,756. The GTX 965M wins by 13.7%. This is an unexpected result given the RX 7900 XT’s vastly superior hardware specifications. The OpenCL workload appears to favor the older Maxwell architecture, possibly due to driver maturity or workload characteristics that do not scale with the RX 7900 XT’s massive shader count.

The Geekbench Vulkan test tells the opposite story. The RX 7900 XT scores 71,068, while the GTX 965M manages only 14,299. The AMD part leads by 79.9%, a crushing margin that reflects not just the raw hardware advantage but also the modern Vulkan driver stack. The RX 7900 XT’s score is roughly 4.97 times higher than the GTX 965M’s.

Looking at the broader benchmark picture, the GTX 965M’s average benchmark score of 14,404 is higher than the RX 7900 XT’s 13,745. This is counterintuitive but driven by the OpenCL result being included in the average. The RX 7900 XT has a much wider benchmark portfolio, including PassMark tests where it scores 29,009 in G3D, 16,828 in GPU compute, and 1,232 in G2D. It also has a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5,623. The GTX 965M’s benchmark set is limited to the two Geekbench tests, so its average is computed from a narrower sample.

The RX 7900 XT’s nearest rivals help contextualize its average score. The AMD Radeon 660M and NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile are both 0.5% slower, the AMD Radeon RX 570X is 0.9% slower, and the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is 1.5% faster. This places the RX 7900 XT in a tight grouping where small percentage differences separate competitors. The GTX 965M’s nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 at 0.1% slower, NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN at 0.2% slower, and AMD Radeon Vega 11 at 0.4% slower.

The win count is even at one apiece, with each GPU taking one of the two head-to-head tests. This balanced outcome masks the enormous performance disparity in Vulkan, where the RX 7900 XT is nearly five times faster. The OpenCL result is the outlier, and any analysis must weigh whether that single test outweighs the Vulkan margin.

# The Verdict

The data presents a nuanced picture. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M wins the OpenCL benchmark by 13.7%, a result that defies its older architecture and far smaller compute resources. However, this single victory must be weighed against the RX 7900 XT’s 79.9% Vulkan lead. In Vulkan, the AMD part is categorically faster — the score difference is 56,769 points, which is larger than the GTX 965M’s entire Vulkan score.

For users prioritizing modern graphics workloads, particularly those leveraging Vulkan, the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT is the clear choice. Its 71,068 Vulkan score, 84 ray tracing cores, 20 GB of GDDR6 memory, and 800.0 GB/s bandwidth make it suited for contemporary gaming and compute tasks. The GTX 965M’s 2 GB memory and 80.19 GB/s bandwidth are severe limitations for modern titles.

For users focused on OpenCL compute, the GTX 965M’s 14,509 score is surprisingly competitive and even superior to the RX 7900 XT. This could matter for specific legacy applications or workloads optimized for Maxwell’s compute units. The GTX 965M’s 56th percentile ranking versus the RX 7900 XT’s 55th percentile reinforces that, on average, the older GPU holds its own in the limited benchmark set.

The RX 7900 XT’s launch MSRP is 899 USD. The GTX 965M has no launch MSRP listed.

Architecture dictates the verdict. The RX 7900 XT is built for modern, feature-rich workloads with DirectX 12 Ultimate support and ray tracing. The GTX 965M is an end-of-life mobile part from 2015, limited to DirectX 12_1. For any user with a choice, the RX 7900 XT is the superior hardware by nearly every measure except the OpenCL anomaly. The GTX 965M’s only compelling case is a narrow compute niche where its OpenCL score is higher.

The production status for both GPUs is end-of-life, so neither is a current purchase recommendation. But for those comparing existing systems, the RX 7900 XT is the performance leader in Vulkan by an enormous margin, while the GTX 965M offers a surprising OpenCL advantage that should not be ignored in legacy workflows.

# Specification Differences

• Process Node: GTX 965M is 28 nm; RX 7900 XT is 5 nm.
• Transistors: GTX 965M has 5,200 million; RX 7900 XT has 57,700 million.
• Die Size: GTX 965M is 398 mm²; RX 7900 XT is 529 mm².
• Transistor Density: GTX 965M has 13.1M / mm²; RX 7900 XT has 109.1M / mm².
• Base Clock: GTX 965M is 924 MHz; RX 7900 XT is 1387 MHz.
• Boost Clock: GTX 965M is 950 MHz; RX 7900 XT is 2394 MHz.
• Game Clock: GTX 965M has none; RX 7900 XT is 2025 MHz.
• Memory Size: GTX 965M is 2 GB; RX 7900 XT is 20 GB.
• Memory Type: GTX 965M is GDDR5; RX 7900 XT is GDDR6.
• Memory Bus Width: GTX 965M is 128 bit; RX 7900 XT is 320 bit.
• Memory Bandwidth: GTX 965M is 80.19 GB/s; RX 7900 XT is 800.0 GB/s.
• Shading Units: GTX 965M has 1,024; RX 7900 XT has 5,376.
• TMUs: GTX 965M has 64; RX 7900 XT has 336.
• ROPs: GTX 965M has 32; RX 7900 XT has 192.
• Ray Tracing Cores: GTX 965M has none; RX 7900 XT has 84.
• Pixel Rate: GTX 965M is 30.40 GPixel/s; RX 7900 XT is 459.6 GPixel/s.
• Texture Rate: GTX 965M is 60.80 GTexel/s; RX 7900 XT is 804.4 GTexel/s.
• FP32 Performance: GTX 965M is 1.946 TFLOPS; RX 7900 XT is 51.48 TFLOPS.
• FP16 Performance: GTX 965M has none listed; RX 7900 XT is 103.0 TFLOPS (2:1).
• TDP: GTX 965M has none listed; RX 7900 XT is 300 W.
• Slot Width: GTX 965M is MXM Module; RX 7900 XT is Dual-slot.
• Power Connectors: GTX 965M has none; RX 7900 XT uses 2x 8-pin.
• Suggested PSU: GTX 965M has none; RX 7900 XT is 700 W.
• Bus Interface: GTX 965M is MXM-B (3.0); RX 7900 XT is PCIe 4.0 x16.
• Display Outputs: GTX 965M is Portable Device Dependent; RX 7900 XT has 1x HDMI 2.1a, 2x DisplayPort 2.1, 1x USB Type-C.
• DirectX Support: GTX 965M is 12 (12_1); RX 7900 XT is 12 Ultimate (12_2).
• Release Date: GTX 965M is 2015-01-08; RX 7900 XT is 2022-11-02.