GPU Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce GT 640 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4010 represent two distinct eras of GPU design, separated by over a decade of architectural evolution. The GT 640 is a Kepler-based entry point from 2012, while the RTX 4010 is an Ampere-based modern solution from 2024. While they occupy a similar tier in the current performance percentile rankings, their underlying specifications and benchmark results tell a story of profound technological change. This analysis relies exclusively on the benchmark data and specifications provided.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

Direct head-to-head benchmark comparisons are not available in the dataset, as the `headToHeadBenchmarks` field is empty. However, the available individual benchmark scores provide a basis for comparison. The GT 640 has an average benchmark score of 3210, derived from its Geekbench results: 2086 in Metal, 3736 in OpenCL, and 3809 in Vulkan. The RTX 4010, in contrast, has a single recorded result from 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, scoring 2893, which also serves as its average benchmark score.

It is critical to note that these scores are not directly comparable, as they come from entirely different test suites. The GT 640’s scores are from compute-oriented Geekbench tests, while the RTX 4010’s score is from a modern DirectX 12 gaming benchmark. Despite this, the percentile rankings place them close together: the GT 640 sits at the 20th percentile of all GPUs, while the RTX 4010 sits at the 18th percentile. This suggests that despite the RTX 4010’s newer architecture, its raw benchmark performance in this specific test places it in a slightly lower overall standing.

The nearest rival data for each card provides further context. The GT 640’s closest competitors are the Intel Arc Pro B60 (avg score 3182, delta 0.9%), the NVIDIA Quadro P1000 (avg score 3163, delta 1.5%), and the NVIDIA GeForce 920M (avg score 3287, delta -2.3%). This indicates the GT 640 performs roughly on par with these older or entry-level cards, with its average score being only a few percentage points off. The RTX 4010’s nearest rivals are far more modern and powerful on paper, including the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 16 GB (avg score 2907, delta -0.5%) and the RTX 4060 Ti 8 GB (avg score 2913, delta -0.7%). This is a striking finding: the RTX 4010’s single benchmark score is essentially tied with those of the RTX 4060 Ti variants, despite the latter being much larger, higher-power cards in the same product stack.

The data reveals a paradox. The RTX 4010’s 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2893 is nearly identical to the RTX 4060 Ti’s score, making it appear competitive in that specific metric. However, its overall percentile ranking is lower than the GT 640’s, which is an older card. This discrepancy highlights the importance of understanding which benchmark is being used. The GT 640’s strength lies in its Geekbench compute scores, particularly its Vulkan score of 3809, which is its highest. The RTX 4010’s performance is anchored by a single DX12 gaming test.

The Verdict

The data does not support a clear overall winner. The GT 640 has a higher average benchmark score (3210 vs. 2893) and a higher percentile ranking (20th vs. 18th). However, these figures are drawn from different test suites, making a direct performance comparison misleading. The GT 640’s average is an aggregation of three Geekbench compute tests, while the RTX 4010’s average is a single 3DMark gaming test. The GT 640 wins in the available Geekbench compute workloads, but the RTX 4010 is the only one with a modern DX12 gaming benchmark result.

From a technical and architectural standpoint, the RTX 4010 is unequivocally the more advanced product. It is built on a much newer architecture (Ampere vs. Kepler), a smaller process node (8 nm vs. 28 nm), and features dedicated hardware for ray tracing (6 RT cores) and AI acceleration (24 tensor cores). The GT 640 has none of these features. For any modern workload that can utilize these capabilities, the RTX 4010 is the only viable option. The GT 640’s sole advantage is in the legacy Geekbench compute scores, which may reflect its simpler architecture’s efficiency in those specific tasks.

The verdict is clear: for modern gaming, feature-rich workloads, and any task involving ray tracing or AI, the RTX 4010 is the superior choice. For users locked into legacy software that relies on the specific compute patterns measured by the Geekbench tests, the GT 640’s numbers are higher, but this is a niche scenario. The RTX 4010’s active production status and modern API support (DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4) make it the forward-looking choice, while the GT 640 is end-of-life with support for older API versions.

Where Each One Wins

NVIDIA GeForce GT 640:

• Legacy Compute Workloads: The GT 640’s average benchmark score is 3210, which is higher than the RTX 4010’s 2893. Specifically, its Geekbench Vulkan score of 3809 and OpenCL score of 3736 are its strongest results. These numbers suggest it handles certain compute tasks efficiently, particularly in older API environments.
• Relative Performance Standing: Its 20th percentile ranking is higher than the RTX 4010’s 18th percentile, indicating that within the broader database of all GPUs, it outperforms a slightly larger fraction of the field in its tested metrics.
• Lower-Cost Legacy Replacement: The GT 640 has a launch MSRP of 99 USD. This is the only pricing data available, and it positions the card as a historical low-entry point.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4010:

• Modern Gaming APIs: The RTX 4010 has a score of 2893 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test. This is the only DX12 benchmark data in the pack, and it demonstrates capability in a modern gaming workload that the GT 640 cannot match, as the GT 640 has no DX12 benchmark results.
• Ray Tracing and AI Features: The RTX 4010 includes 6 RT cores and 24 tensor cores, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI-driven features like DLSS. The GT 640 has no such hardware, so these workloads are entirely absent for it.
• Memory Bandwidth and Capacity: The RTX 4010 has 4 GB of GDDR6 memory with a bandwidth of 96.00 GB/s. The GT 640 has 2 GB of DDR3 memory with a bandwidth of only 28.51 GB/s. This gives the RTX 4010 a significant advantage in data-heavy applications.
• API Compatibility: The RTX 4010 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the GT 640 supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and Vulkan 1.2.175. The RTX 4010 is ready for the latest software standards.

FAQ

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GT 640 has a higher average benchmark score of 3210, compared to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4010’s average of 2893. However, these averages are calculated from different test suites (Geekbench for the GT 640, 3DMark for the RTX 4010).

Q: Does the RTX 4010 support ray tracing?

A: Yes, the RTX 4010 includes 6 dedicated RT cores for hardware-accelerated ray tracing. The GT 640 does not have any RT cores, so it cannot perform hardware ray tracing.

Q: What is the memory configuration of each card?

A: The GT 640 has 2 GB of DDR3 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 28.51 GB/s. The RTX 4010 has 4 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 64-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 96.00 GB/s.

Q: Which card is more energy-efficient?

A: The RTX 4010 has a lower thermal design power (TDP) of 50 W, compared to the GT 640’s TDP of 65 W. Both cards require the same suggested power supply of 250 W.

Q: Are these two cards comparable in performance?

A: In terms of percentile ranking, they are close, with the GT 640 at the 20th percentile and the RTX 4010 at the 18th percentile. However, direct performance comparison is difficult because their benchmark scores come from different tests, and the RTX 4010 supports modern features like ray tracing that the GT 640 lacks.

Q: What are the nearest rivals for each card based on average score?

A: The GT 640’s nearest rivals are the Intel Arc Pro B60 (delta 0.9%), NVIDIA Quadro P1000 (delta 1.5%), and NVIDIA GeForce 920M (delta -2.3%). The RTX 4010’s nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 16 GB (delta -0.5%), NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell SFF (delta -0.6%), and RTX 4060 Ti 8 GB (delta -0.7%).

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two GPUs is immense, reflecting a decade of progress. The GT 640 is built on the Kepler architecture using the GK107 chip, manufactured by TSMC on a 28 nm process node. It packs 1,270 million transistors onto a die size of 118 mm², resulting in a transistor density of 10.8M per mm². In contrast, the RTX 4010 utilizes the Ampere architecture with the GA107 chip, manufactured by Samsung on an 8 nm process node. It contains 8,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die, achieving a much higher transistor density of 43.5M per mm². This massive increase in transistor count and density is the foundation for its advanced features.

The memory subsystems are fundamentally different. The GT 640 uses 2 GB of DDR3 memory with a 128-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 28.51 GB/s. The RTX 4010 uses 4 GB of GDDR6 memory with a 64-bit bus, but achieves a significantly higher bandwidth of 96.00 GB/s due to the faster memory type. The compute resources also differ significantly. The GT 640 has 384 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. The RTX 4010 has 768 shading units, 24 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. While the RTX 4010 has double the shading units, it has fewer TMUs, but its pixel rate (28.19 GPixel/s) and texture rate (42.29 GTexel/s) are substantially higher than the GT 640’s (7.216 GPixel/s and 28.86 GTexel/s, respectively).

The most critical architectural additions to the RTX 4010 are its 6 RT cores and 24 tensor cores, which enable hardware ray tracing and AI acceleration. The GT 640 has no equivalent hardware. Raw compute performance is also vastly different: the RTX 4010 delivers 2.706 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, nearly four times the GT 640’s 692.7 GFLOPS. The RTX 4010 also supports FP16 at a 1:1 ratio (2.706 TFLOPS), a feature absent from the GT 640. Clock speeds are also higher on the RTX 4010, with a base of 1417 MHz and a boost of 1762 MHz, while the GT 640 lists no base or boost clock, only a memory clock of 891 MHz (1782 Mbps effective).

Other differences include the bus interface: the GT 640 uses PCIe 3.0 x16, while the RTX 4010 uses the newer PCIe 4.0 x8. The RTX 4010 also offers four mini-DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, whereas the GT 640 offers a mix of DVI, HDMI 1.4a, and DisplayPort 1.2. Finally, the API support is a clear separator. The GT 640 supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and Vulkan 1.2.175, while the RTX 4010 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, ensuring compatibility with the latest graphics technologies.