NVIDIA GeForce GT 545 vs NVIDIA GeForce GT 735M Comparison

The benchmark data places the NVIDIA GeForce GT 735M and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 545 in a remarkably tight contest. Both cards occupy the 21st percentile among all GPUs, and their average benchmark scores are separated by a mere 22 points. The GeForce GT 735M edges ahead in the sole available head-to-head test, but the margin is so slim that the results point to near-statistical parity rather than a clear victor. This analysis breaks down the numbers, architectural differences, and the specific contexts where each card holds a measurable, if small, advantage.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison available is the Geekbench OpenCL test, where the results are extremely close. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 735M posts a score of 3616, while the NVIDIA GeForce GT 545 scores 3594. This gives the GT 735M a win by a margin of 0.6 percent. To put that in perspective, the delta between these two cards is nearly identical to the delta between the GT 745M and the far more modern NVIDIA RTX 5000 Mobile Ada Generation, which scores 3596. The data shows that in this compute-oriented workload, the GT 735M's newer architecture offsets the GT 545's wider memory bus.

Looking at the broader competitive landscape, both cards are clustered with the same group of rivals. The GT 735M's 3616 score places it 0.3 percent behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 (3629) and 0.9 percent ahead of the AMD Radeon HD 6770 (3649). The GT 545's 3594 score is 1 percent behind the GTX 1050 and 1.5 percent behind the Radeon HD 6770. Interestingly, the GT 545 is 0.1 percent behind the RTX 5000 Mobile Ada Generation, while the GT 735M is 0.6 percent ahead of that same card. This indicates that in pure OpenCL throughput, these two older GPUs are effectively interchangeable with a much newer professional mobile part.

The win tally is minimal. The GT 735M claims 1 win in the head-to-head matchups, while the GT 545 claims 0. However, this single win is so narrow that it does not establish performance superiority. In real-world terms, a 0.6 percent difference is within the margin of run-to-run variance for most benchmark suites. The data suggests that any application running on either card would produce nearly indistinguishable frame rates or compute times.

Where Each One Wins

Based strictly on the benchmark data, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 735M wins in the only measured test, the Geekbench OpenCL workload. This suggests a slight edge in general-purpose compute tasks that leverage OpenCL, such as video encoding acceleration or physics simulations. The GT 735M's advantage comes from its Kepler 2.0 architecture, which is more efficient at scheduling shader work than the older Fermi design in the GT 545.

The NVIDIA GeForce GT 545, despite losing the head-to-head test, has structural advantages that the raw score does not capture. Its memory subsystem is significantly wider, with a 192-bit bus versus the GT 735M's 64-bit bus. This translates to 38.40 GB/s of bandwidth versus 14.40 GB/s. While this does not show up as a win in the OpenCL score, it would likely favor the GT 545 in memory-bound scenarios such as high-resolution texture streaming or multi-sample anti-aliasing. The data available does not include a dedicated gaming or memory-throughput benchmark, so this remains an inference from the specification differences.

The GT 735M also wins on efficiency. Its 33 W TDP is less than half of the GT 545's 70 W TDP. For mobile or small-form-factor systems, this makes the GT 735M the more practical choice, as it generates less heat and requires no auxiliary power beyond the slot. The GT 545, with its single-slot design and 145 mm length, is a desktop part that expects a 250 W system power supply recommendation.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different NVIDIA generations and use fundamentally different architectures. The GT 735M is built on the GK208 chip using the Kepler 2.0 architecture, while the GT 545 uses the GF116 chip with the Fermi 2.0 architecture. The manufacturing process highlights the generational gap: the GT 735M uses a 28 nm node at TSMC, whereas the GT 545 uses a larger 40 nm node. This results in a dramatic difference in transistor density. The GT 735M packs 1,020 million transistors into an 87 mm² die, yielding 11.7 million transistors per mm². The GT 545 has more transistors overall at 1,170 million, but spreads them across a 238 mm² die, yielding only 4.9 million transistors per mm².

The core configurations differ in ways that reflect their architectural philosophies. The GT 735M has 384 shading units, 32 texture mapping units, and 8 ROPs. The GT 545 has only 144 shading units and 24 TMUs, but doubles the ROP count to 16. This means the GT 735M relies on a larger number of simpler shader cores, while the GT 545 has fewer but more complex cores. The GT 735M's higher shading unit count contributes to its higher pixel rate of 5.024 GPixel/s and texture rate of 20.10 GTexel/s, compared to the GT 545's 4.320 GPixel/s and 17.28 GTexel/s.

Memory configuration is where the GT 545 fights back. The GT 735M has 2 GB of DDR3 memory on a 64-bit bus, while the GT 545 has 1536 MB of DDR3 on a 192-bit bus. The GT 545's memory clock runs at 800 MHz (1600 Mbps effective), while the GT 735M's runs at 900 MHz (1800 Mbps effective). Despite the lower clock, the wider bus gives the GT 545 a decisive bandwidth advantage: 38.40 GB/s versus 14.40 GB/s. In terms of compute throughput, the GT 735M nevertheless leads, posting 482.3 GFLOPS FP32 performance versus the GT 545's 414.7 GFLOPS.

The feature sets also diverge. The GT 735M supports Vulkan 1.2.175, while the GT 545 has no Vulkan support listed. Both cards support DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6. The GT 735M uses a PCIe 3.0 x8 interface, while the GT 545 uses PCIe 2.0 x16. The GT 735M is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with portable-device-dependent outputs, whereas the GT 545 is a single-slot desktop card with 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.3a, and 1x VGA outputs.

The Verdict

The data does not support declaring a definitive winner. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 735M wins the only head-to-head benchmark by 0.6 percent, which is negligible. Its advantages lie in newer architecture, higher shader count, better compute throughput (482.3 GFLOPS vs 414.7 GFLOPS), and significantly lower power consumption (33 W vs 70 W). It also supports Vulkan, which the GT 545 does not.

The NVIDIA GeForce GT 545 offers a much larger memory bandwidth (38.40 GB/s vs 14.40 GB/s), double the ROPs (16 vs 8), and a wider memory bus (192-bit vs 64-bit). It also has a slightly larger transistor count (1,170 million vs 1,020 million) and a longer physical footprint at 145 mm.

For a user prioritizing raw compute scores and efficiency, the GT 735M is the better choice. For a user who values memory bandwidth and expects to run memory-intensive workloads, the GT 545's wider bus makes it a more capable candidate, despite the lower OpenCL score. Given that both cards are end-of-life and score in the 21st percentile, neither is a high-performance option by modern standards. The GT 735M's newer process node and lower TDP make it more suitable for compact systems, while the GT 545's desktop form factor and standard display outputs make it easier to integrate into a traditional tower. The verdict is a split decision: the GT 735M for compute and efficiency, the GT 545 for memory-bound tasks.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher Geekbench OpenCL score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GT 735M scores 3616, which is 0.6 percent higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 545's score of 3594.

Q: How do these cards compare to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050?

A: The GT 735M is 0.3 percent behind the GTX 1050's score of 3629, while the GT 545 is 1 percent behind that same score.

Q: What is the difference in memory bandwidth?

A: The GT 545 has a memory bandwidth of 38.40 GB/s, which is significantly higher than the GT 735M's 14.40 GB/s.

Q: Do both cards support the same APIs?

A: Both support DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6. The GT 735M also supports Vulkan 1.2.175, while the GT 545 does not list Vulkan support.

Q: Which card consumes less power?

A: The GT 735M has a TDP of 33 W, while the GT 545 has a TDP of 70 W.

Q: What are the transistor counts for each GPU?

A: The GT 735M has 1,020 million transistors, while the GT 545 has 1,170 million transistors.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce GT 735M | NVIDIA GeForce GT 545 |

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

| Architecture | Kepler 2.0 | Fermi 2.0 |

| Process Node | 28 nm | 40 nm |

| Transistors | 1,020 million | 1,170 million |

| Die Size | 87 mm² | 238 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 11.7M / mm² | 4.9M / mm² |

| Memory Size | 2 GB | 1536 MB |

| Memory Bus Width | 64 bit | 192 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 14.40 GB/s | 38.40 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 384 | 144 |

| TMUs | 32 | 24 |

| ROPs | 8 | 16 |

| Pixel Rate | 5.024 GPixel/s | 4.320 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 20.10 GTexel/s | 17.28 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 482.3 GFLOPS | 414.7 GFLOPS |

| TDP | 33 W | 70 W |

| Slot Width | IGP | Single-slot |

| Suggested PSU | None | 250 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x8 | PCIe 2.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | Portable Device Dependent | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.3a, 1x VGA |

| Vulkan Support | 1.2.175 | None |

| Release Date | 2013-03-31 | 2011-05-13 |

| Launch MSRP | None | 149 USD |