NVIDIA GeForce 930M vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 GDDR6 Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce 930M and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 GDDR6 represent two vastly different eras of mobile graphics, yet the benchmark data places them surprisingly close in average score. The 930M, a Maxwell-based mobile chip from 2015, and the RTX 4070 GDDR6, an Ada Lovelace part from 2024, are separated by nearly a decade of architectural evolution. The data shows the GeForce 930M has an average benchmark score of 4388, while the RTX 4070 GDDR6 sits at 4335, a difference of just 1.2% in favor of the older chip, which complicates any straightforward performance narrative.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The comparison is complicated by the fact that there are no direct head-to-head benchmark results shared between the two GPUs. Instead, the database places them within a shared field of rivals, which provides the basis for comparison. The GeForce 930M’s nearest rivals include the GeForce GT 645M (average score 4411, a -0.5% delta), the Intel Iris Pro Graphics 5200 (4360, 0.7% delta), and the AMD FirePro W2100 (4295, 2.2% delta). The RTX 4070 GDDR6’s nearest rivals include the same Intel Iris Pro Graphics 5200 (4360, -0.6% delta), the AMD FirePro W2100 (4295, 0.9% delta), and the GeForce GTX 460M (4282, 1.2% delta).

The most striking data point is that the 930M and the RTX 4070 GDDR6 are listed as nearest rivals to each other. The 930M shows a +1.2% delta against the RTX 4070 GDDR6, while the RTX 4070 GDDR6 shows a -1.2% delta against the 930M. This means that, based on the average benchmark score, the 930M edges out the RTX 4070 GDDR6 by a narrow margin. However, this is a statistical artifact of the averaging method, not a reflection of raw compute capability. The 930M’s average score of 4388 is derived from two different tests: a Geekbench OpenCL score of 5046 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 3729. The RTX 4070 GDDR6’s average of 4335 is based on a single test: 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, with a score of 4334.5.

In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the 930M scores 5046. This is its strongest result, and it pulls the average up. In Geekbench Vulkan, the 930M drops to 3729, which is significantly lower than its OpenCL score. The RTX 4070 GDDR6’s single 3DMark result of 4334.5 sits between those two numbers. Therefore, the 930M appears to be faster in one specific compute workload (OpenCL), while the RTX 4070 GDDR6 is faster in a modern DX12 gaming workload, as represented by 3DMark Steel Nomad. The data does not provide a direct comparison of the two in the same test, so any conclusion about a "win" is based on the aggregate average, which favors the 930M by a hair. This is a case where the average score is misleading, as the underlying workloads are entirely different.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce 930M has an average benchmark score of 4388, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 GDDR6 has an average score of 4335. This gives the 930M a 1.2% advantage over the RTX 4070 GDDR6, according to the nearestRivals data.

Q: What is the performance gap between the GeForce 930M and the GeForce RTX 4070 GDDR6?

A: The delta between the two is 1.2% in favor of the 930M when comparing their average benchmark scores. The RTX 4070 GDDR6 shows a -1.2% delta against the 930M in its rival list.

Q: How does the GeForce 930M compare to the Intel Iris Pro Graphics 5200?

A: The GeForce 930M has an average score of 4388, which is 0.7% higher than the Intel Iris Pro Graphics 5200’s score of 4360. The 930M is the faster of the two in this comparison.

Q: How does the GeForce RTX 4070 GDDR6 compare to the AMD FirePro W2100?

A: The RTX 4070 GDDR6 has an average score of 4335, which is 0.9% higher than the AMD FirePro W2100’s score of 4295. The RTX 4070 GDDR6 is the faster of the two.

Q: Is the GeForce 930M faster than the GeForce GTX 460M?

A: Yes, the GeForce 930M’s average score of 4388 is higher than the GeForce GTX 460M’s average score of 4282, which is a 2.2% delta in favor of the 930M. The GTX 460M is actually a rival of the RTX 4070 GDDR6, not the 930M, but the data shows the 930M is faster than it.

Q: What are the available benchmark tests for each GPU?

A: The GeForce 930M has two benchmark results: a Geekbench OpenCL score of 5046 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 3729. The GeForce RTX 4070 GDDR6 has one benchmark result: a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4334.5.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is immense. The GeForce 930M is built on the Maxwell architecture, using the GM108S chip, while the RTX 4070 GDDR6 uses the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD104 chip. The manufacturing process highlights the generational leap: the 930M uses a 28 nm process from TSMC, whereas the RTX 4070 GDDR6 uses a 5 nm process, also from TSMC. The transistor count reflects this: the 930M has 1,020 million transistors on a die size of 77 mm², resulting in a transistor density of 13.2M per mm². The RTX 4070 GDDR6 packs 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die, achieving a density of 121.8M per mm².

The core configuration differs drastically. The 930M has 384 shading units, 24 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 8 render output units (ROPs). It has no dedicated ray tracing (RT) cores or tensor cores. The RTX 4070 GDDR6, in contrast, has 5,888 shading units, 184 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, along with 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores. The shading unit count alone is over 15 times higher on the RTX 4070 GDDR6. The presence of RT and tensor cores on the RTX 4070 GDDR6 enables hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI-driven features like DLSS, which the 930M cannot support. The pixel rate on the 930M is 4.392 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 13.18 GTexel/s, while the RTX 4070 GDDR6 achieves 158.4 GPixel/s and 455.4 GTexel/s, respectively.

The FP32 compute performance is another clear divider. The 930M delivers 421.6 GFLOPS of FP32 performance. The RTX 4070 GDDR6 delivers 29.15 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, which is 29,150 GFLOPS. That is a roughly 69-fold difference in raw floating-point throughput. The RTX 4070 GDDR6 also lists FP16 performance at 29.15 TFLOPS (1:1), while the 930M has no listed FP16 figure. API support also differs: the 930M supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The RTX 4070 GDDR6 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, which includes the latest features like mesh shaders and variable rate shading.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every measurable specification. The GeForce 930M has a base and boost clock of 549 MHz, while the RTX 4070 GDDR6 has a base clock of 1920 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz. Memory is a major differentiator: the 930M has 2 GB of DDR3 memory on a 64-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 12.80 GB/s. The RTX 4070 GDDR6 has 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 480.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is 37.5 times higher. The memory clock on the 930M is 800 MHz (1600 Mbps effective), while the RTX 4070 GDDR6 runs at 2500 MHz (20 Gbps effective).

The power and physical specifications are equally divergent. The 930M has a TDP of 33 W and uses an IGP slot width, requiring no power connectors. The RTX 4070 GDDR6 has a TDP of 200 W, a dual-slot width, and requires a single 16-pin power connector, with a suggested PSU of 550 W. The bus interface differs as well: the 930M uses PCIe 3.0 x8, while the RTX 4070 GDDR6 uses PCIe 4.0 x16. The display outputs also vary, with the 930M being "Portable Device Dependent" and the RTX 4070 GDDR6 offering 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The RTX 4070 GDDR6 has physical dimensions of 240 mm in length, 110 mm in height, and 40 mm in width, while the 930M has no listed dimensions. The release dates are 2015-03-12 for the 930M and 2024-08-19 for the RTX 4070 GDDR6. The RTX 4070 GDDR6 has a launch MSRP of 599 USD, while the 930M has no listed MSRP.

Where Each One Wins

Based strictly on the benchmark data, the GeForce 930M wins in the aggregate average score. Its average of 4388 is higher than the RTX 4070 GDDR6’s 4335, and it also outperforms all of its own listed rivals except the GeForce GT 645M. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the 930M scores 5046, which is its peak result and indicates a strength in compute workloads that are not gaming-specific. If a user is running OpenCL-based applications, the 930M’s score suggests it can handle those tasks reasonably well, at least relative to its peers.

The GeForce RTX 4070 GDDR6 wins in the context of modern gaming. Its single 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4334.5 is a direct measure of DX12 gaming performance, a workload that the 930M has no comparable result for. The RTX 4070 GDDR6 also beats the AMD FirePro W2100 (4295) and the GeForce GTX 460M (4282) in average score. The RTX 4070 GDDR6’s architectural features—the RT cores and tensor cores—suggest it is designed for workloads that the 930M cannot handle at all, such as ray-traced gaming and AI-accelerated features. The data does not provide a direct comparison in a shared gaming benchmark, so the RTX 4070 GDDR6’s win is implied by its test type and its superior specs, not by a head-to-head number.

The Verdict

The choice between these two GPUs is not a matter of preference; it is a matter of era and application. The data shows the GeForce 930M has a higher average benchmark score, but that score is derived from Geekbench compute tests, not gaming benchmarks. The 930M is an end-of-life product from 2015, with 2 GB of DDR3 memory and a 64-bit bus. It is suitable for legacy applications, basic productivity, and older games that do not demand much memory bandwidth or shading power. Its 26th percentile ranking among all GPUs and its proximity to integrated graphics like the Intel Iris Pro 5200 (4360) suggest it is a low-end part, even by the standards of its time.

The GeForce RTX 4070 GDDR6, despite its lower average score, is a modern, high-end part with a 25th percentile ranking. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4334.5 is a measure of contemporary gaming performance, and its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory, 192-bit bus, and 29.15 TFLOPS of FP32 performance put it in a completely different class of hardware. The 930M’s 421.6 GFLOPS is a rounding error compared to the RTX 4070 GDDR6’s 29.15 TFLOPS. A user building a new system for current games should choose the RTX 4070 GDDR6 without hesitation, based on its architecture, memory, and feature set. A user with a legacy 930M system should not expect it to run modern titles at playable settings. The benchmark averages are a statistical quirk; the raw specifications tell the real story. The RTX 4070 GDDR6 is the only viable option for any serious modern workload.