NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M Mac Edition

The NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M Mac Edition is a Kepler-architecture mobile GPU fabricated on TSMC's 28 nm process. The GK107 chip contains 1,270 million transistors across a 118 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 10.8M per square millimeter. Released on February 2, 2013, this part sits at the 50th percentile of all GPUs in the database, placing it exactly at the median of the performance spectrum. Its base and boost clocks are both fixed at 745 MHz, delivering 572.2 GFLOPS of FP32 compute, a 23.84 GTexel/s texture fill rate, and a 5.960 GPixel/s pixel rate. The entire package operates within a 32 W TDP, and it is classified as an IGP with no power connectors.

How It Compares

The nearestRivals dataset for the GT 640M Mac Edition is empty, meaning no direct comparative scores from specific competing GPUs are available in the benchmark database. Consequently, the primary reference point is its overall percentile ranking. At the 50th percentile, the GT 640M Mac Edition sits exactly in the middle of the global GPU performance distribution. This indicates that half of all GPUs in the database outperform it, while the other half fall behind. This median placement is typical for an entry-level mobile solution, which prioritizes power efficiency over raw throughput.

Relative to its predecessor generation, the GeForce 500M series, the GT 640M Mac Edition represents a generational shift to the Kepler architecture. The 28 nm process node and the 1,270 million transistor count on a 118 mm² die reflect a modern design for its time. However, without specific benchmark scores for the 500M parts, the exact performance delta cannot be quantified. The data simply places the GT 640M Mac Edition as a successor within the NVIDIA mobile lineup, with the GeForce 500M as its predecessor and the GeForce 700M as its successor.

Within the GeForce 600M generation, the GT 640M Mac Edition holds a distinct position. Its 50th percentile score suggests it is a balanced performer, neither a high-end enthusiast part nor a severely limited budget chip. The fixed 745 MHz clock across base and boost indicates no dynamic overclocking headroom, which is a design choice for consistent thermal behavior in a portable device. The lack of any rival scores in the dataset means that its standing is best understood through its percentile and its raw compute metrics, rather than head-to-head comparisons.

FAQ

Q: What architecture does the GT 640M Mac Edition use?

A: It uses the Kepler architecture, built on the GK107 chip. The chip is fabricated by TSMC on a 28 nm process, containing 1,270 million transistors on a 118 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 10.8M per square millimeter.

Q: How much video memory does it have and what type?

A: It has 512 MB of GDDR5 memory, connected via a 64-bit bus. The memory clock is 1250 MHz, which translates to 5 Gbps effective, providing a memory bandwidth of 40.00 GB/s.

Q: What is the thermal design power (TDP)?

A: The TDP is 32 W. It requires no power connectors, and its slot width is classified as IGP, indicating an integrated graphics processor design.

Q: What graphics APIs does it support?

A: It supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175. The DirectX 12 support is at feature level 11_0, which is a specific hardware capability.

Q: When was it released?

A: The release date is February 2, 2013. It is currently marked as end-of-life in the production status.

Q: Does it have dedicated ray tracing or tensor cores?

A: No, the data lists null for both RT cores and tensor cores. This means it lacks dedicated hardware for real-time ray tracing or AI-accelerated tensor operations.

Ray Tracing and Feature Set

The GT 640M Mac Edition does not include dedicated RT cores or tensor cores, as both fields are null in the data. This absence means the GPU relies entirely on traditional rasterization for graphics processing, with no hardware acceleration for ray-traced lighting or AI-based features such as DLSS. The API support, however, includes DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175. The DirectX 12 support is limited to feature level 11_0, which restricts certain modern DirectX 12 features that require higher feature levels. OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.2.175 provide broad compatibility for cross-platform applications, which is particularly relevant for a Mac Edition product.

The display outputs are listed as "Portable Device Dependent," meaning the actual connectors are determined by the host laptop, not the GPU itself. The bus interface is PCIe 3.0 x16, which provides a standard high-bandwidth connection to the system. The pixel rate of 5.960 GPixel/s and texture rate of 23.84 GTexel/s define the raw fill-rate capabilities, which are modest by modern standards. The 384 shading units, 32 texture mapping units, and 8 ROPs form the core processing pipeline. Without tensor cores, any machine learning or denoising tasks must be handled by the general-purpose shading units, which are limited to 572.2 GFLOPS of FP32 compute.

Benchmark Performance

The benchmark data for the GT 640M Mac Edition shows an average benchmark score of 0, but the percentile rank against all GPUs is 50. This discrepancy indicates that while the raw score is zero in the current dataset, the historical positioning places it at the median of all GPUs. The FP32 performance is 572.2 GFLOPS, which is a measure of single-precision floating-point throughput. With 384 shading units running at 745 MHz, this compute figure aligns with a low-end mobile part. The texture rate of 23.84 GTexel/s is derived from the 32 TMUs, while the pixel rate of 5.960 GPixel/s comes from the 8 ROPs.

Comparing these metrics to its percentile standing, the GT 640M Mac Edition's performance is exactly average. Half of all GPUs in the database achieve higher scores, and half achieve lower. The boost clock is identical to the base clock at 745 MHz, indicating no dynamic clocking headroom. This fixed clock behavior is typical for a 32 W IGP designed for thermal consistency. The lack of nearest rivals in the dataset means no direct percentage deltas can be calculated against specific competing cards. Instead, the 50th percentile serves as the sole comparative benchmark.

The memory clock of 1250 MHz, operating at 5 Gbps effective, feeds a 64-bit bus to yield 40.00 GB/s of bandwidth. This bandwidth is a critical constraint for the GPU's overall performance. The 512 MB frame buffer, while small, is paired with the 64-bit interface to keep power consumption at 32 W. For high-resolution workloads, the 40.00 GB/s bandwidth and 512 MB capacity will limit texture streaming and framebuffer operations, making the GT 640M Mac Edition best suited for lower resolutions and less demanding graphical settings.

Memory Subsystem

The GT 640M Mac Edition is equipped with 512 MB of GDDR5 memory, a capacity that is modest even for its release window. The memory bus is 64 bits wide, which is a narrow interface compared to higher-end parts. The memory clock runs at 1250 MHz, translating to 5 Gbps effective, and the resulting bandwidth is 40.00 GB/s. This bandwidth figure is a direct product of the 64-bit bus and the 5 Gbps data rate.

For high-resolution rendering, the 40.00 GB/s bandwidth is a significant bottleneck. At high resolutions, the GPU must frequently swap textures and framebuffer data between the 512 MB VRAM and system memory, as the capacity is insufficient to hold large texture sets. The 64-bit bus further limits the speed at which data can be transferred, leading to potential stuttering or reduced frame rates in memory-intensive scenes. The 8 ROPs, combined with the 5.960 GPixel/s pixel rate, also cap the fill-rate, which is directly tied to resolution.

The 512 MB GDDR5 configuration is a deliberate trade-off to maintain the 32 W TDP. The lack of power connectors and the IGP slot width confirm that this GPU is soldered onto the motherboard, sharing power and thermal budget with the host processor. For users targeting high resolutions, the data suggests that the GT 640M Mac Edition will struggle to maintain smooth performance, as the memory subsystem is the primary limiting factor. Conversely, at lower resolutions, the 40.00 GB/s bandwidth and 512 MB capacity may be sufficient for older or less demanding titles.