NVIDIA GeForce GT 740 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Comparison

# NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 vs NVIDIA GeForce GT 740

The GTX 1050 and GT 740 are two NVIDIA cards from different eras, and the benchmark data leaves no ambiguity about their relative standing. The GTX 1050 wins all three shared head-to-head tests by massive margins, with deltas ranging from 120.3% to 296%. The GT 740, a Kepler-based card from the GeForce 700 generation, simply cannot keep pace with the Pascal-based GTX 1050 in compute or graphics workloads. For anyone choosing between these two, the GTX 1050 is the clear pick for modern gaming and general GPU acceleration, while the GT 740 only makes sense as a stopgap for legacy systems where its lower 64W TDP and single-slot form factor are absolute requirements.

The Verdict

The data points to one conclusion: the GTX 1050 is the superior card for virtually every use case. Its average benchmark score of 3629 sits well above the GT 740's 3431, and the head-to-head results show a 231.1% advantage in Geekbench Metal, a 296% advantage in Geekbench OpenCL, and a 120.3% advantage in Geekbench Vulkan. The GTX 1050 also places in the 21st percentile of all GPUs, matching the GT 740's percentile, but with a much higher absolute score. For gaming, the GTX 1050's 2GB GDDR5 memory, 640 shading units, and 32 ROPs deliver a playable experience at 1080p for eSports and older titles, while the GT 740's 384 shading units and 16 ROPs struggle with anything beyond light 2D work or very old games. The GT 740's only practical advantage is its 64W TDP versus the GTX 1050's 75W TDP, along with its single-slot design—useful for compact or low-power builds—but that trade-off costs you over double the performance in compute workloads.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different architectural generations. The GTX 1050 uses the GP107 chip on the Pascal architecture, built on Samsung's 14 nm process with 3,300 million transistors packed into a 132 mm² die. That translates to a transistor density of 25.0M per mm². The GT 740 uses the GK107 chip on the older Kepler architecture, built on TSMC's 28 nm process with just 1,270 million transistors on a 118 mm² die, for a density of 10.8M per mm². The manufacturing and design gap is stark: the GTX 1050 packs more than 2.6 times the transistors into a slightly larger die, which explains its massive performance advantage. The GTX 1050 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the GT 740 only supports DirectX 12 (11_0), meaning the newer card handles more advanced DX12 features. Vulkan support also differs: the GTX 1050 runs Vulkan 1.4, while the GT 740 is limited to Vulkan 1.2.175. The GTX 1050 has no dedicated FP16 support (listed as 29.10 GFLOPS at 1:64 ratio), while the GT 740 has no FP16 data at all. Both cards share the same PCIe 3.0 x16 bus interface, but the GTX 1050 adds modern display outputs—1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, and 1x DisplayPort 1.4a—compared to the GT 740's 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 1.4a.

Where Each One Wins

The GTX 1050 wins everywhere that performance matters. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 15233 versus the GT 740's 3847—a 296% lead that makes it far better for compute tasks like video encoding, photo editing, or any OpenCL-accelerated workload. In Geekbench Metal, the GTX 1050 scores 7823 versus 2363, a 231.1% lead, making it the better choice for macOS-style Metal applications or cross-platform GPU compute. In Geekbench Vulkan, the GTX 1050 scores 8995 versus 4083, a 120.3% lead, which matters for Vulkan-based games and modern rendering APIs. The GT 740's wins are purely physical: it draws 64W versus the GTX 1050's 75W, it occupies a single slot instead of dual slots, and it requires a 6-pin power connector while the GTX 1050 needs none. For a low-profile or passively cooled HTPC build where power draw and physical size trump raw speed, the GT 740 could be argued as a fit—but only if you never plan to run anything more demanding than 2D desktop work or legacy DirectX 9 titles. The GTX 1050 also offers a higher pixel rate (46.56 GPixel/s versus 7.944 GPixel/s) and texture rate (58.20 GTexel/s versus 31.78 GTexel/s), meaning it fills frames faster and handles texture-heavy scenes better.

FAQ

Q: Which card has more raw compute power?

A: The GTX 1050. Its FP32 rating is 1.862 TFLOPS, versus the GT 740's 762.6 GFLOPS—a difference of over 1.1 TFLOPS in the GTX 1050's favor. This shows up directly in the Geekbench OpenCL score, where the GTX 1050 leads by 296%.

Q: Can the GT 740 run modern games at all?

A: The data suggests it is severely limited. With only 1024 MB of GDDR5 memory, a 128-bit bus, and 16 ROPs, the GT 740 would struggle with any modern title that requires more than 1GB of VRAM or high fill-rate. The GTX 1050, with 2GB GDDR5 and 32 ROPs, is the minimum viable option for contemporary gaming, though both cards are end-of-life products.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The GTX 1050 offers 112.1 GB/s of bandwidth, while the GT 740 offers 80.19 GB/s. The GTX 1050 also uses faster memory at 7 Gbps effective versus the GT 740's 5 Gbps effective. That 31.91 GB/s gap directly impacts texture streaming and higher-resolution assets.

Q: Are these cards the same length?

A: Yes, both are 145 mm or 5.7 inches long. However, the GTX 1050 is dual-slot with a height of 111 mm, while the GT 740 is single-slot with no listed height. The GTX 1050 also needs no power connectors, whereas the GT 740 requires a 1x 6-pin connector.

Q: Which card is better for Vulkan-based applications?

A: The GTX 1050, by a substantial margin. It scores 8995 in Geekbench Vulkan versus the GT 740's 4083, a 120.3% difference. The GTX 1050 also supports Vulkan 1.4, while the GT 740 is capped at Vulkan 1.2.175.

Q: Do both cards support DirectX 12?

A: Yes, but at different feature levels. The GTX 1050 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the GT 740 supports DirectX 12 (11_0). That means the GTX 1050 can handle more advanced DX12 features like conservative rasterization and rasterizer-ordered views, which the GT 740 cannot.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head results are a one-sided affair. In Geekbench Metal, the GTX 1050 scores 7823 against the GT 740's 2363, a delta of 231.1%. This is a compute benchmark that stresses general-purpose GPU performance, and the GTX 1050's Pascal architecture with 640 shading units simply overwhelms the GT 740's 384 shading units. In Geekbench OpenCL, the margin widens further: 15233 versus 3847, a 296% delta. This is the largest gap in the shared tests, and it reflects both the GTX 1050's higher clock speeds (1354 MHz base, 1455 MHz boost) and its superior memory subsystem. The GT 740 has no base or boost clock listed, but its 7.944 GPixel/s pixel rate and 31.78 GTexel/s texture rate are roughly 6x and 1.8x lower than the GTX 1050's respective rates. In Geekbench Vulkan, the GTX 1050 scores 8995 versus 4083, a 120.3% delta—still a crushing win, though the closest of the three. This narrower margin may reflect Vulkan's better optimization on Kepler-class hardware, but the GTX 1050 still doubles the GT 740's score. Across all three tests, the GTX 1050 wins 3 of 3, with no wins for the GT 740.

The GTX 1050 also has additional benchmark data that the GT 740 lacks entirely. In Passmark G3D, it scores 5028; in Passmark GPU Compute, it scores 2091; in Passmark DirectX 9, it scores 83; in Passmark DirectX 11, it scores 38; and in Passmark DirectX 10, it scores 24. The GT 740 has no Passmark results in the FACT PACK, so direct comparison is impossible, but the GTX 1050's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 122 and Geekbench OpenCL score of 15233 indicate it handles both legacy and modern APIs with reasonable competence. The GT 740's only listed benchmarks are the three Geekbench tests, and it loses all of them by margins that would be embarrassing in any real-world scenario.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every specification that matters. The GTX 1050 uses the GP107 chip on a 14 nm Samsung process, while the GT 740 uses the GK107 chip on a 28 nm TSMC process. Transistor count is 3,300 million versus 1,270 million, and die size is 132 mm² versus 118 mm², giving the GTX 1050 a density of 25.0M per mm² versus 10.8M per mm². The GTX 1050 has 640 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 32 ROPs; the GT 740 has 384 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. Memory differs: the GTX 1050 has 2 GB GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus with 112.1 GB/s bandwidth, while the GT 740 has 1024 MB GDDR5 on the same 128-bit bus but only 80.19 GB/s bandwidth. Clock speeds show the GTX 1050 with a 1354 MHz base and 1455 MHz boost, while the GT 740 has no base or boost clock listed—only a 1253 MHz memory clock (5 Gbps effective) versus the GTX 1050's 1752 MHz memory clock (7 Gbps effective). Pixel rate is 46.56 GPixel/s versus 7.944 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 58.20 GTexel/s versus 31.78 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 1.862 TFLOPS versus 762.6 GFLOPS. Power draw is 75W versus 64W, slot width is dual-slot versus single-slot, and power connectors are none versus 1x 6-pin. Display outputs are 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, 1x DisplayPort 1.4a versus 2x DVI, 1x mini-HDMI 1.4a. The GTX 1050 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4; the GT 740 supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175. The GTX 1050 launched at an MSRP of 109 USD, while the GT 740 launched at 89 USD. Release dates are 2016-10-24 for the GTX 1050 and 2014-05-28 for the GT 740. Both are end-of-life, with the GTX 1050 succeeding the GeForce 900 series and preceding GeForce 20, while the GT 740 succeeded GeForce 600 and preceded GeForce 900.