NVIDIA GeForce 825M vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 GDDR6 Comparison

FAQ

Q: What is the performance difference between the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 GDDR6 and the NVIDIA GeForce 825M?

A: The benchmark data shows a massive gap. The RTX 4070 GDDR6 scores 4,334.5 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, while the GeForce 825M scores 3,694 in Geekbench OpenCL. These are different tests, but the RTX 4070 GDDR6 sits in the 25th percentile of all GPUs, while the 825M sits in the 22nd percentile, indicating the RTX 4070 GDDR6 is positioned higher in the overall performance distribution.

Q: How do the nearest rivals compare for each card?

A: The RTX 4070 GDDR6 is nearly matched by the Intel Iris Pro Graphics 5200, which scores 4,360, a delta of -0.6%. It also trails the NVIDIA GeForce 930M by 1.2% (4,388 score) and beats the AMD FirePro W2100 by 0.9% and the GeForce GTX 460M by 1.2%. The 825M's closest rival is the GeForce GT 740M, which scores 3,717, a delta of -0.6%, and the Quadro 3000M at 3,718, also -0.6%.

Q: Which card has more memory bandwidth?

A: The RTX 4070 GDDR6 has 480.0 GB/s of bandwidth, compared to the 825M's 14.40 GB/s. This is a direct result of the RTX 4070 GDDR6's 192-bit bus and GDDR6 memory, versus the 825M's 64-bit bus and DDR3 memory.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The RTX 4070 GDDR6 has a 200 W TDP and requires a 550 W power supply with a single 16-pin connector. The GeForce 825M has a 33 W TDP, uses no power connectors, and is designed as an integrated graphics processor (IGP).

Q: Which card supports newer technologies?

A: The RTX 4070 GDDR6 has 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores, supporting hardware ray tracing and AI acceleration. The GeForce 825M has no RT cores and no tensor cores, meaning it lacks these dedicated hardware features.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two NVIDIA parts is generation-defining. The RTX 4070 GDDR6 is built on the AD104 chip using the Ada Lovelace architecture, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. The GeForce 825M uses the GK208 chip with the Kepler 2.0 architecture, on a 28 nm process. This node difference is stark: the RTX 4070 GDDR6 packs 35,800 million transistors into a 294 mm² die, giving a density of 121.8 million transistors per mm². The 825M has 1,020 million transistors on an 87 mm² die, with a density of just 11.7 million per mm². The newer chip is over 35 times more transistor-dense, which explains its massive computational advantage.

The feature sets differ fundamentally. The RTX 4070 GDDR6 includes 46 RT cores for real-time ray tracing and 184 tensor cores for AI workloads, while the 825M has neither. The RTX 4070 GDDR6 also has 5,888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. The 825M has 384 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 8 ROPs. These are not incremental differences; they represent a completely different class of hardware.

Clock speeds also show the process advantage. The RTX 4070 GDDR6 runs at a base of 1920 MHz and boosts to 2475 MHz, while the 825M runs at 850 MHz base and 941 MHz boost. The fill rates follow suit: the RTX 4070 GDDR6 delivers 158.4 GPixel/s pixel rate and 455.4 GTexel/s texture rate, versus the 825M's 7.528 GPixel/s and 30.11 GTexel/s. The FP32 compute is 29.15 TFLOPS for the RTX 4070 GDDR6, compared to 722.7 GFLOPS for the 825M. That is a 40-fold difference in raw floating-point throughput, though the RTX 4070 GDDR6 also supports FP16 at 29.15 TFLOPS (1:1), while the 825M has no FP16 rating in the data.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous. The RTX 4070 GDDR6 is a desktop-class discrete GPU designed for modern gaming and rendering workloads, while the GeForce 825M is an older, low-power integrated-class part. Anyone building a system for current games, ray tracing, or content creation should choose the RTX 4070 GDDR6. Its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory, 46 RT cores, and 184 tensor cores provide the hardware foundation for DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4 support.

The GeForce 825M is for legacy systems or portable devices where power draw is critical. Its 33 W TDP and integrated nature (IGP) make it suitable for basic tasks, but the 14.40 GB/s bandwidth and 1024 MB DDR3 memory will bottleneck any modern software. The data shows the RTX 4070 GDDR6 has a 25th percentile ranking, meaning it outperforms 75% of all GPUs in the database. The 825M ranks in the 22nd percentile, putting it below the RTX 4070 GDDR6 in overall standing.

There is no scenario in the recorded data where the 825M wins a head-to-head benchmark, as the head-to-head benchmark list is empty. The RTX 4070 GDDR6 is the only sensible choice for gaming or professional graphics, while the 825M is a relic for basic display output.

Specification Differences

| Specification | RTX 4070 GDDR6 | GeForce 825M |

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

| Architecture | Ada Lovelace | Kepler 2.0 |

| Process Node | 5 nm | 28 nm |

| Transistors | 35,800 million | 1,020 million |

| Die Size | 294 mm² | 87 mm² |

| Base Clock | 1920 MHz | 850 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2475 MHz | 941 MHz |

| Memory Size | 12 GB | 1024 MB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | DDR3 |

| Memory Bus | 192 bit | 64 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 480.0 GB/s | 14.40 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 5888 | 384 |

| TMUs | 184 | 32 |

| ROPs | 64 | 8 |

| RT Cores | 46 | None |

| Tensor Cores | 184 | None |

| Pixel Rate | 158.4 GPixel/s | 7.528 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 455.4 GTexel/s | 30.11 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 29.15 TFLOPS | 722.7 GFLOPS |

| TDP | 200 W | 33 W |

| Slot Width | Dual-slot | IGP |

| Power Connectors | 1x 16-pin | None |

| Suggested PSU | 550 W | None |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x8 |

| Display Outputs | 1x HDMI 2.13x DisplayPort 1.4a | Portable Device Dependent |

| DirectX Support | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | 12 (11_0) |

| Vulkan Support | 1.4 | 1.2.175 |

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database has no shared head-to-head benchmarks between these two cards. However, the individual benchmark scores and percentile rankings allow a comparison. The RTX 4070 GDDR6 scores 4,334.5 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test. The GeForce 825M scores 3,694 in the Geekbench OpenCL test. While these tests measure different workloads, the raw numbers suggest the RTX 4070 GDDR6 has a clear advantage in raw processing power.

Looking at the nearest rivals, the RTX 4070 GDDR6 is tightly clustered around the 4,300 point mark in the database. Its closest rival is the Intel Iris GT 5200 at 4,360 (delta -0.6%), and the AMD FirePro W2100 at 4,295 (delta +0.9%). The 825M is similarly clustered around the 3,700 point mark, with the GeForce GT 740M at 3,717 (delta -0.6%) and the Quadro 3000M at 3,718 (delta -0.6%). These deltas show that each card sits in a performance tier, but the tiers are far apart.

The biggest wins for the RTX 4070 GDDR6 are in every category: memory bandwidth, shading units, and compute. It has 33 times the bandwidth, 15.3 times the shading units, and 40.3 times the FP32 throughput. The 825M's only "win" is in power efficiency, but even then, the RTX 4070 GDDR6 delivers far more performance per watt per unit of silicon area.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 4070 GDDR6 wins in every performance-oriented scenario recorded in the database. Its 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores give it a clear advantage in ray-traced games and AI-accelerated workloads. The 12 GB GDDR6 memory with 480.0 GB/s bandwidth allows it to handle large textures and high-resolution assets without stuttering. For 4K gaming, 3D rendering, video editing, or scientific computing, the data shows the RTX 4070 GDDR6 is the appropriate choice.

The GeForce 825M wins in scenarios where power draw and physical size are the only constraints. With a 33 W TDP and no power connector, it can be placed in thin laptops or portable devices. Its PCIe 3.0 x8 interface and 1024 MB DDR3 memory are sufficient for basic video playback, simple productivity applications, and legacy software that does not require modern graphics features. It also supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and Vulkan 1.2.175, so it can run some modern API titles, but at very low settings.

The RTX 4070 GDDR6 has a launch MSRP of 599 USD, which the database records. The 825M has no launch MSRP recorded. For users with a desktop system and a dedicated power supply of at least 550 W, the RTX 4070 GDDR6 is the only sensible option for any graphics-intensive work. For users with an old laptop or a device with no PCIe power connectors, the 825M is the only option available, but its performance ceiling is low. The data shows the RTX 4070 GDDR6 is in the top 25% of all GPUs, while the 825M is in the top 22%, meaning the RTX 4070 GDDR6 has a higher potential for compute performance.