NVIDIA GeForce GT 730M vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 730M occupy very different corners of the GPU landscape, despite sharing a manufacturer and a 2 GB memory capacity. The GTX 1050 is a desktop-oriented Pascal part from 2016, while the GT 730M is a Kepler-based mobile chip from 2013. The data makes the separation clear: the GTX 1050 wins both shared benchmark tests outright, with an average benchmark score of 3629 against the GT 730M’s 3316. This is a comparison of a modern entry-level card against a legacy laptop part, and the performance gap reflects a generational jump in architecture, process node, and clock speeds.

Where Each One Wins

The GTX 1050 wins every single benchmark where both cards have data. In the two head-to-head tests — Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan — the GTX 1050 is the clear victor. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 15233 for the GTX 1050 is 390.3% higher than the GT 730M’s 3107, a massive margin that indicates the GTX 1050 is in a completely different performance class for compute workloads. The Geekbench Vulkan result follows the same pattern: 8995 versus 3524, a 155.2% advantage for the GTX 1050. These are not close contests; the GT 730M does not secure a single win in the available data.

The GT 730M’s only “win” is conceptual. It is a mobile chip with a 33 W TDP and an MXM Module slot width, designed for thin-and-light laptops. Its 2 GB of DDR3 memory and 28.80 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for basic desktop tasks and older games at low settings. The GTX 1050, by contrast, is a dual-slot desktop card with no power connectors and a 75 W TDP. It targets 1080p gaming at medium settings in its era. The data shows the GTX 1050 is the only one of the two that can handle modern DirectX 12 titles with any expectation of playable frame rates, given its PassMark DirectX 12 score of 20 versus the GT 730M’s absence of any DirectX benchmark results.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the GTX 1050 in OpenCL compute?

A: The GTX 1050 scores 15233 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 390.3% higher than the GT 730M’s 3107. This is the largest performance gap between the two cards in any shared test.

Q: Does the GT 730M support Vulkan?

A: Yes, it supports Vulkan 1.2.175, but its Geekbench Vulkan score of 3524 is far below the GTX 1050’s 8995. The GTX 1050 supports Vulkan 1.4.

Q: What is the average benchmark score for each card?

A: The GTX 1050 has an average benchmark score of 3629, while the GT 730M averages 3316. The GTX 1050 also ranks at the 21st percentile of all GPUs, slightly above the GT 730M’s 20th percentile.

Q: Which card has a higher pixel fill rate?

A: The GTX 1050’s pixel rate is 46.56 GPixel/s, which is exactly eight times higher than the GT 730M’s 5.800 GPixel/s. This translates to a major advantage in rasterization throughput.

Q: Are both cards end-of-life products?

A: Yes, both are listed with a production status of “End-of-life.” The GTX 1050 was released on 2016-10-24, and the GT 730M on 2013-01-19.

Q: Can the GT 730M match the GTX 1050 in memory bandwidth?

A: No. The GTX 1050 has 112.1 GB/s of bandwidth from GDDR5 memory, while the GT 730M has 28.80 GB/s from DDR3. The GTX 1050’s bandwidth is roughly four times higher.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only two benchmarks with results for both cards are Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan. In OpenCL, the GTX 1050 posts a score of 15233, dwarfing the GT 730M’s 3107. The delta of 390.3% is the single most decisive metric in this comparison. This is not a marginal improvement; it is a four-fold-plus increase in raw compute throughput. For any application that offloads work to the GPU via OpenCL — image processing, video encoding, or scientific computing — the GTX 1050 is the only viable choice.

In Vulkan, the gap narrows slightly but remains lopsided. The GTX 1050 scores 8995, while the GT 730M manages 3524. The 155.2% delta shows that even in a modern low-level API, the GT 730M falls far behind. The GTX 1050’s Vulkan 1.4 support versus the GT 730M’s Vulkan 1.2.175 also means the newer card is better prepared for current game engines. Across all available benchmarks, the GTX 1050 wins 2 tests and the GT 730M wins 0. The average benchmark score difference — 3629 versus 3316 — is a smaller 9.4% gap, but that average is skewed by the GTX 1050’s additional PassMark results, which include low DirectX scores (e.g., 20 in DirectX 12) that drag its average down. In the tests where both cards are measured, the GTX 1050 is overwhelmingly superior.

Specification Differences

The specifications tell a story of two very different designs. The GTX 1050 uses a 14 nm process from Samsung, while the GT 730M uses a 28 nm process from TSMC. The GTX 1050 has 3,300 million transistors on a 132 mm² die, giving a density of 25.0M / mm². The GT 730M has 1,270 million transistors on a 118 mm² die, with a density of 10.8M / mm². Clock speeds differ dramatically: the GTX 1050 runs at 1354 MHz base and 1455 MHz boost, while the GT 730M is locked at 725 MHz for both base and boost.

Memory is another major divider. Both cards have 2 GB, but the GTX 1050 uses GDDR5 at 1752 MHz (7 Gbps effective) with 112.1 GB/s bandwidth, while the GT 730M uses DDR3 at 900 MHz (1800 Mbps effective) with 28.80 GB/s bandwidth. The bus width is the same at 128 bit, but the memory type and clock speed make a four-fold bandwidth difference. Shader resources also favor the GTX 1050: 640 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, versus the GT 730M’s 384 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. The pixel rate is 46.56 GPixel/s for the GTX 1050 and 5.800 GPixel/s for the GT 730M; texture rates are 58.20 GTexel/s and 23.20 GTexel/s, respectively. FP32 compute is 1.862 TFLOPS for the GTX 1050 versus 556.8 GFLOPS for the GT 730M. The GTX 1050 also has an FP16 rating of 29.10 GFLOPS (1:64), while the GT 730M has none.

Physical and power characteristics differ as well. The GTX 1050 is dual-slot, 145 mm long, 111 mm high, with a 75 W TDP and no power connectors, requiring a 250 W suggested PSU. The GT 730M is an MXM Module with a 33 W TDP, also with no power connectors, but no PSU suggestion is listed. Display outputs on the GTX 1050 include 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, and 1x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the GT 730M’s outputs are “Portable Device Dependent.” The GTX 1050’s launch MSRP is 109 USD.

Architecture Differences

The GTX 1050 is built on NVIDIA’s Pascal architecture, using the GP107 chip. Pascal was a major efficiency and performance leap over the previous Kepler generation. The 14 nm Samsung process allows higher clock speeds and greater transistor density — 25.0M / mm² versus 10.8M / mm² — which is a direct result of the process node advantage. Pascal also supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The GT 730M uses the older Kepler architecture with the GK107 chip on a 28 nm TSMC process. Kepler was designed for the GeForce 700M series and supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175. The DirectX feature level difference (12_1 vs 11_0) means the GTX 1050 can handle more advanced DirectX 12 features, such as conservative rasterization and rasterizer-ordered views, which the GT 730M cannot.

The GTX 1050 is part of the GeForce 10-series, succeeding the GeForce 900 and preceding the GeForce 20. The GT 730M belongs to the GeForce 700M series, succeeding the GeForce 600M and preceding the GeForce 800M. The GTX 1050 has a dedicated FP16 path (29.10 GFLOPS at 1:64 ratio), which is absent on the GT 730M. The lack of RT cores and tensor cores on both cards is expected, as neither architecture includes ray tracing or AI acceleration. The GTX 1050’s transistor count of 3,300 million is 2.6 times higher than the GT 730M’s 1,270 million, despite only a 14 mm² die size difference. This density advantage is the core architectural difference: Pascal packs far more logic into a similar area.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous. The GTX 1050 is the superior GPU in every measurable way. Its Geekbench scores are 390.3% and 155.2% higher than the GT 730M in OpenCL and Vulkan, respectively. Its average benchmark score of 3629 exceeds the GT 730M’s 3316, and its percentile ranking (21st vs 20th) is slightly better. The specification sheet reinforces this: higher clocks, faster memory, more shading units, more ROPs, and triple the pixel rate. The GTX 1050’s launch MSRP of 109 USD positions it as a budget desktop card, but that pricing information is secondary to its performance advantage.

Who should pick the GTX 1050? Anyone building a low-cost desktop PC for 1080p gaming or general GPU-accelerated work. It has modern API support (DirectX 12_1, Vulkan 1.4), a dual-slot form factor that fits most cases, and a 75 W TDP that runs off the PCIe slot alone. Who should pick the GT 730M? Only someone repairing or upgrading an older laptop with an MXM slot. Its 33 W TDP and portable-device-dependent outputs make it unusable in a desktop context. The GT 730M’s only advantage is power draw, but that is irrelevant when its performance is a fraction of the GTX 1050’s. For any practical purpose — gaming, compute, or general use — the GTX 1050 is the only rational choice from this data.