NVIDIA GeForce 930M vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Comparison

The Verdict

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 is decisively the faster part in this comparison. Across the two shared benchmark workloads, the GTX 1050 wins both, with the GeForce 930M trailing by 66.9% in Geekbench OpenCL and 58.5% in Geekbench Vulkan. The data shows no scenario in the recorded database where the 930M takes the lead. For any user choosing between these two, the GTX 1050 is the clear performance pick.

The 930M, however, holds a different kind of advantage. It is an integrated-class part with a 33 W TDP, whereas the GTX 1050 is a dual-slot discrete card at 75 W. The 930M slots into portable devices with no power connectors and a PCIe 3.0 x8 interface. The GTX 1050 needs a free PCIe 3.0 x16 slot, occupies two slots, and requires a 250 W suggested PSU. If the priority is low power and compact integration, the 930M fits that niche. If the priority is raw compute, the GTX 1050 is the only rational choice.

The benchmark averages reinforce this split. The 930M posts an average benchmark score of 4388, landing in the 26th percentile of all GPUs. The GTX 1050 has a lower average score of 3629 and sits in the 21st percentile. This is an unusual inversion: the GTX 1050 wins the direct head-to-head tests but has a lower aggregate average, indicating that the 930M's scores are concentrated in workloads where it performs relatively better, while the GTX 1050's broader test suite includes lower-scoring DirectX 9 and compute tasks.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from entirely different architectural generations. The 930M uses the Maxwell architecture, built on a 28 nm process at TSMC, with the GM108S chip. The GTX 1050 uses Pascal, manufactured on a 14 nm process at Samsung, with the GP107 chip. This node shrink is significant: the GTX 1050 packs 3,300 million transistors on a 132 mm² die, for a density of 25.0M transistors per mm². The 930M has 1,020 million transistors on a 77 mm² die, at 13.2M per mm². The GTX 1050 has more than three times the transistor count and nearly double the die area.

Core counts follow the same pattern. The GTX 1050 has 640 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The 930M has 384 shading units, 24 TMUs, and only 8 ROPs. Clock speeds also favor the GTX 1050: it runs at 1354 MHz base and 1455 MHz boost, while the 930M is locked at 549 MHz for both base and boost. This combination of more cores and much higher clocks produces a massive throughput gap.

Memory is another major differentiator. The 930M uses 2 GB of DDR3 on a 64-bit bus, yielding 12.80 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX 1050 uses 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 112.1 GB/s, roughly 8.8 times the bandwidth. The GTX 1050 also supports DirectX 12 (12_1) while the 930M only reaches DirectX 12 (11_0). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4.

The GTX 1050 has a higher pixel rate of 46.56 GPixel/s versus 4.392 GPixel/s for the 930M, and a texture rate of 58.20 GTexel/s versus 13.18 GTexel/s. FP32 throughput is 1.862 TFLOPS for the GTX 1050 versus 421.6 GFLOPS for the 930M. The GTX 1050 also has a listed FP16 rate of 29.10 GFLOPS (1:64), which the 930M does not report.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records two shared workloads between these GPUs: Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan. The GTX 1050 wins both by wide margins.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the GTX 1050 scores 15233 against 5046 for the 930M. That is a delta of 66.9% in favor of the GTX 1050, meaning the GTX 1050 delivers roughly three times the OpenCL performance. This is consistent with the architectural gap: more shading units, higher clocks, and vastly superior memory bandwidth all feed compute-heavy workloads.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the GTX 1050 scores 8995 versus 3729 for the 930M, a delta of 58.5%. The GTX 1050 is still far ahead, but the margin narrows slightly, suggesting that Vulkan's overhead or workload characteristics partially close the gap. Still, the 930M does not approach parity in either test.

Notably, the 930M has only these two benchmark entries in the database, while the GTX 1050 has a much richer set: 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, Geekbench Metal, Geekbench OpenCL, Geekbench Vulkan, and multiple Passmark tests (DirectX 9, 10, 11, 12, G2D, G3D, and GPU compute). The GTX 1050's Passmark G3D score is 5028, and its GPU compute score is 2091. Its DirectX 9 score of 83 is far higher than its DirectX 11 score of 38 or DirectX 12 score of 20, indicating that this card is strongest in older API workloads. The 930M lacks any such data, so its behavior in those tests is unrecorded.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in the shared benchmarks?

A: The GTX 1050 wins both recorded head-to-head tests. It scores 15233 in Geekbench OpenCL versus 5046 for the 930M (66.9% ahead), and 8995 in Geekbench Vulkan versus 3729 (58.5% ahead).

Q: Why does the 930M have a higher average benchmark score than the GTX 1050?

A: The 930M has an average benchmark score of 4388, while the GTX 1050 averages 3629. This is because the 930M only has two scores (both in the 3700 to 5000 range), while the GTX 1050 has eleven scores, including low DirectX 9, 10, and 12 results that drag its average down.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The 930M has a 33 W TDP and uses no power connectors. The GTX 1050 has a 75 W TDP, also uses no power connectors, but requires a 250 W suggested PSU.

Q: Do both cards support the same APIs?

A: Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4. The GTX 1050 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the 930M only supports DirectX 12 (11_0).

Q: Which card has better memory bandwidth?

A: The GTX 1050 has 112.1 GB/s of bandwidth from its GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus. The 930M has 12.80 GB/s from DDR3 on a 64-bit bus.

Q: Is the 930M an integrated GPU?

A: Yes, the 930M is listed as having an IGP slot width, meaning it is designed for integration into portable devices. The GTX 1050 is a dual-slot discrete card.

Where Each One Wins

The GTX 1050 wins every recorded head-to-head benchmark, so its case is straightforward. It is the choice for any workload that appears in the database: OpenCL compute, Vulkan rendering, and by extension the broader Passmark suite where it scores 5028 in G3D and 2091 in GPU compute. Its DirectX 9 score of 83 suggests strong legacy API performance, and its DirectX 11 score of 38 and DirectX 12 score of 20 indicate modern API support, albeit with lower relative numbers. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 122 rounds out its modern API coverage.

The 930M does not win any recorded benchmark against the GTX 1050. Its wins are contextual, not performance-based. It has a 33 W TDP versus 75 W for the GTX 1050, which makes it suitable for thin-and-light portables where power draw is the limiting factor. It requires no PCIe power connectors and uses a narrower x8 interface, giving it flexibility in low-power motherboards. Its integrated design means no expansion slot is needed at all, unlike the GTX 1050's dual-slot footprint and 145 mm length.

For users who need to run CUDA or OpenCL workloads on a low-power platform, the 930M still delivers 421.6 GFLOPS of FP32 throughput, which is usable for light compute tasks. The GTX 1050, however, offers 1.862 TFLOPS, making it over four times faster in raw math. The 930M's 4.392 GPixel/s pixel rate and 13.18 GTexel/s texture rate are adequate for basic 2D and older 3D workloads, but the GTX 1050's 46.56 GPixel/s and 58.20 GTexel/s put it in a different class entirely.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every major specification. The process node is 28 nm for the 930M versus 14 nm for the GTX 1050. Transistor count is 1,020 million versus 3,300 million. Die size is 77 mm² versus 132 mm². Transistor density is 13.2M per mm² versus 25.0M per mm².

Clocks: the 930M runs at 549 MHz base and boost, while the GTX 1050 runs at 1354 MHz base and 1455 MHz boost. Memory clock is 800 MHz (1600 Mbps effective) for the 930M versus 1752 MHz (7 Gbps effective) for the GTX 1050.

Memory: both have 2 GB, but the 930M uses DDR3 on a 64-bit bus with 12.80 GB/s bandwidth, while the GTX 1050 uses GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus with 112.1 GB/s bandwidth.

Core configuration: 384 shading units, 24 TMUs, and 8 ROPs for the 930M; 640 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 32 ROPs for the GTX 1050.

Throughput: the 930M has 4.392 GPixel/s pixel rate, 13.18 GTexel/s texture rate, and 421.6 GFLOPS FP32. The GTX 1050 has 46.56 GPixel/s, 58.20 GTexel/s, and 1.862 TFLOPS FP32. The GTX 1050 also lists 29.10 GFLOPS FP16 (1:64), while the 930M has no FP16 entry.

Power and physical: the 930M has a 33 W TDP and IGP slot width with no power connectors. The GTX 1050 has a 75 W TDP, dual-slot width, no power connectors, and a 250 W suggested PSU. The GTX 1050 is 145 mm long and 111 mm tall.

Interface and outputs: the 930M uses PCIe 3.0 x8 and has display outputs described as "Portable Device Dependent." The GTX 1050 uses PCIe 3.0 x16 and has 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, and 1x DisplayPort 1.4a.

API support: both have OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4. The 930M has DirectX 12 (11_0), while the GTX 1050 has DirectX 12 (12_1).

Release timing: the 930M launched on 2015-03-12 and its predecessor is GeForce 800M, successor GeForce 10 Mobile. The GTX 1050 launched on 2016-10-24, preceded by GeForce 900 and succeeded by GeForce 20. The GTX 1050 has a recorded launch MSRP of 109 USD. The 930M has no recorded launch MSRP.