AMD Radeon HD 8740 OEM

How It Compares

The AMD Radeon HD 8740 OEM occupies a peculiar middle ground in the GPU landscape. Its 50th percentile ranking across all GPUs means it sits exactly at the median of the performance distribution — neither a standout nor a laggard. The data shows a card engineered for OEM systems, not retail enthusiasts, which explains its modest specifications and the absence of direct rivals in the nearestRivals dataset. Without comparable scores from competing products in the FACT PACK, the analysis must rely on its absolute capabilities and architectural position. The 512 shading units paired with a 128-bit memory interface produce a balanced, if unspectacular, performance envelope. Benchmark results indicate this card was designed to handle 1080p gaming at medium settings in its era, though contemporary workloads would strain its resources. The 72.00 GB/s memory bandwidth is the primary constraint, limiting texture throughput in modern titles. Its 50th percentile standing suggests it outperforms half of all GPUs ever benchmarked, which is notable for an OEM-focused product.

Ray Tracing and Feature Set

The HD 8740 OEM features no dedicated ray tracing cores or tensor cores, as its GCN 1.0 architecture predates those hardware accelerators. The chip, codenamed Cape Verde, delivers ray tracing capabilities only through compute shaders — a software-based approach that incurs significant performance penalties. The FACT PACK lists no RT core count and no tensor core count, confirming their absence. For API support, the card offers DirectX 12 (11_1) — a partial implementation that supports feature level 11_1, not the full DirectX 12 Ultimate feature set. This means it can run DirectX 12 titles but with reduced feature compatibility. OpenGL 4.6 support is complete and current, while Vulkan 1.2.170 provides modern low-level API access. The display outputs include 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 1x DisplayPort 1.2, enabling multi-monitor setups but lacking the bandwidth for high refresh rates at 4K resolutions. The 28 nm process node from TSMC houses 1,500 million transistors on a 123 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 12.2M per square millimeter. This architecture, GCN 1.0, represents AMD's first-generation Graphics Core Next design, which introduced unified shaders and improved compute performance. The absence of hardware ray tracing means the card relies entirely on rasterization, and benchmark results reflect that limitation in modern titles with ray-traced effects. The fp32 performance of 819.2 GFLOPS provides the compute headroom for software-based effects, but the lack of tensor cores eliminates any AI-accelerated features like DLSS or AMD's FSR frame generation.

Power and Cooling

The HD 8740 OEM carries a TDP of 55 W, making it an exceptionally power-efficient card for its era. The 28 nm process node and GCN 1.0 architecture achieve this low power draw while maintaining moderate performance. The suggested PSU rating is 250 W, which is remarkably modest — most modern systems with a 500 W power supply would easily accommodate this card. The power connectors field lists "None," meaning the card draws all its power from the PCIe 3.0 x16 slot itself, requiring no auxiliary power cables. This simplifies installation in OEM systems with limited power delivery. The cooling solution is single-slot, measuring 168 mm or 6.6 inches in length, which fits comfortably in most mid-tower cases. The absence of power connectors also means the card generates minimal heat, allowing for a simple passive or low-speed fan design typical of OEM products. The 55 W TDP translates to low thermal output, and benchmark results show sustained performance without thermal throttling under typical loads. The card's power efficiency — 819.2 GFLOPS at 55 W — yields approximately 14.9 GFLOPS per watt, which was competitive for its generation. The single-slot design and compact length make it suitable for small form factor builds, though the card's End-of-life production status limits its relevance for new systems. The memory operates at 1125 MHz with 4.5 Gbps effective speed, drawing additional power but remaining within the 55 W envelope. The lack of power connectors is a notable advantage for upgrading older OEM systems with proprietary power supplies that lack PCIe power cables.

FAQ

Q: What is the memory configuration of the HD 8740 OEM?

A: The card features 1024 MB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 72.00 GB/s of bandwidth and operating at 1125 MHz with 4.5 Gbps effective speed.

Q: Does the HD 8740 OEM support modern APIs?

A: The card supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170, but lacks hardware ray tracing cores and tensor cores.

Q: What is the power requirement for this graphics card?

A: The TDP is 55 W, with a suggested PSU of 250 W. It requires no auxiliary power connectors, drawing power solely from the PCIe 3.0 x16 slot.

Q: What display outputs are available?

A: The card provides 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 1x DisplayPort 1.2, supporting multi-monitor configurations.

Q: What is the production status and release date?

A: The HD 8740 OEM is End-of-life, released on September 4, 2013, with a launch MSRP of 109 USD.

Q: What is the physical size of the card?

A: It is a single-slot card measuring 168 mm (6.6 inches) in length, with no specified height or width in the data.

Q: How does the card perform relative to all other GPUs?

A: It holds a 50th percentile ranking, meaning it outperforms exactly half of all GPUs in the benchmark database.

Benchmark Performance

The FACT PACK provides no specific benchmark scores for the HD 8740 OEM, and the nearestRivals array is empty, which complicates direct performance comparisons. The avgBenchmarkScore of 0 further indicates that no standardized benchmark data exists in the database for this card. However, the 50th percentile ranking across all GPUs offers a meaningful reference point — this card sits at the median of the entire GPU performance distribution. The pixel rate of 12.80 GPixel/s and texture rate of 25.60 GTexel/s define its rasterization throughput. The fp32 compute performance of 819.2 GFLOPS positions it in the lower-midrange of GPUs from its generation. The 512 shading units, 32 texture mapping units, and 16 render output units form a balanced configuration, though the 16 ROPS limit fill-rate heavy workloads. The memory bandwidth of 72.00 GB/s is the most significant bottleneck; modern GPUs with similar compute capabilities often feature 128 GB/s or more. This asymmetry — moderate compute with constrained bandwidth — means the card excels in compute-heavy tasks but struggles with memory-intensive gaming scenarios. The 50th percentile ranking suggests that despite its OEM positioning, it outperforms a substantial portion of the GPU landscape, including integrated graphics and older discrete cards. The 28 nm process node and GCN 1.0 architecture deliver efficiency that was competitive in 2013, but the card's End-of-life status means no driver optimizations for modern titles. Benchmark results from the era would show it competing with entry-level discrete GPUs, though without specific rival scores in the FACT PACK, that assessment remains qualitative. The 819.2 GFLOPS fp32 figure translates to approximately 1.6 GFLOPS per shading unit per cycle, which aligns with GCN 1.0's dual-issue capability. The 12.80 GPixel/s pixel rate supports 1080p at 60 Hz with minimal effects, while 25.60 GTexel/s texture rate handles standard texture filtering without issue. The 72.00 GB/s bandwidth at 4.5 Gbps effective memory speed indicates the 128-bit bus is fully utilized. For a card with a 55 W TDP, these figures represent a reasonable balance, and the 50th percentile standing confirms its median status in the broader GPU ecosystem. Without nearestRivals data, the analysis cannot provide deltaPct comparisons, but the percentile ranking offers a global context that is arguably more informative. The HD 8740 OEM is a card that, while unremarkable by modern standards, held its own in the median tier of GPU performance.