G3D Mark is a standard benchmark that measures graphics performance in real-world gaming scenarios. It simplifies comparing cards from different brands, where higher scores directly correlate with better fps and smoother gaming experiences.

Head-to-Head Verdict, Benchmarks, Value & Long-Term Outlook

This comparison brings together gaming FPS, raw graphics performance, VRAM, feature set, power efficiency, pricing context, and long-term value so you can see which GPU actually makes more sense.

FirePro M4170

2015

Why buy it

✅More future proof: GCN 1.0 (2012−2020) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌Very weak future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.
❌
102% HIGHER MSRP
$200 MSRPvs$99 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 5.8 vs 11.8 G3D/$ ($200 MSRP vs $99 MSRP).
❌130.8% higher power demand at 150W vs 65W.

GeForce GT 640

2012

Why buy it

✅Costs $101 less on MSRP ($99 MSRP vs $200 MSRP).
✅Delivers 102.2% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 11.8 vs 5.8 G3D/$ ($99 MSRP vs $200 MSRP).
✅Draws 65W instead of 150W, a 85W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Very weak future-proofing: 2012-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.

FirePro M4170

2015

GeForce GT 640

2012

Why buy it

✅More future proof: GCN 1.0 (2012−2020) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Why buy it

✅Costs $101 less on MSRP ($99 MSRP vs $200 MSRP).
✅Delivers 102.2% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 11.8 vs 5.8 G3D/$ ($99 MSRP vs $200 MSRP).
✅Draws 65W instead of 150W, a 85W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Very weak future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.
❌
102% HIGHER MSRP
$200 MSRPvs$99 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 5.8 vs 11.8 G3D/$ ($200 MSRP vs $99 MSRP).
❌130.8% higher power demand at 150W vs 65W.

Trade-offs

❌Very weak future-proofing: 2012-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.

Quick Answers

So, is GeForce GT 640 better than FirePro M4170?

Yes, but this is not really about a huge raw performance gap. The broader synthetic picture is also very close at 1,168 vs 1,169 in G3D Mark. The bigger reason to prefer GeForce GT 640 is the overall package: you are getting no meaningful modern upscaling stack, plus much lower power draw (65W vs 150W).

Which one is more future-proof for 2026 and beyond?

FirePro M4170 is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer 2015 generation instead of 2012. That makes it the safer long-run choice for modern games.

Which one is the smarter buy today, not just the cheaper card?

GeForce GT 640 can still make sense if you find it at the right price, especially around $99 MSRP. GeForce GT 640 is still the smarter buy for most people, though, because the raw performance is close while the overall package is cleaner. GeForce GT 640 is about $101 cheaper on MSRP at $99 MSRP versus $200 MSRP, and you are getting 0.1% higher G3D Mark. FirePro M4170 is the newer 2015 card, so it still has a real case if you care more about newer architecture and future-proofing than about squeezing out the strongest gaming value today.

When does FirePro M4170 make more sense than GeForce GT 640?

Yes. FirePro M4170 is still an excellent gaming GPU in 2026: it is still comfortable for 1080p and decent for 1440p, though 4K is more situational. It makes more sense if your priority is newer architecture, future-proofing, and staying closer to $200 MSRP more than squeezing out the extra headroom of GeForce GT 640. The trade-off is that GeForce GT 640 currently gives you 0.1% higher G3D Mark. It also leads G3D-per-dollar by 102.2%.

Games Benchmarks

Real-world benchmarks and performance projections based on comprehensive hardware analysis and comparative metrics. Values represent expected performance on High/Ultra settings at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K. Modeled using a Ryzen 7 9800X3D reference profile to minimize specific CPU bottlenecks.

Note: Performance behavior can vary per game. Specific architectures may perform better or worse depending on game engine optimizations and API implementation.

FirePro M4170 Benchmark Check

GeForce GT 640 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	FirePro M4170	GeForce GT 640
1080p
low	18 FPS	16 FPS
medium	12 FPS	11 FPS
high	7 FPS	7 FPS
ultra	4 FPS	4 FPS
1440p
low	10 FPS	11 FPS
medium	6 FPS	6 FPS
high	3 FPS	3 FPS
ultra	1 FPS	1 FPS
4K
low	4 FPS	4 FPS
medium	2 FPS	3 FPS
high	1 FPS	1 FPS
ultra	1 FPS	1 FPS

Open FirePro M4170 Open GeForce GT 640

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	FirePro M4170	GeForce GT 640
1080p
low	53 FPS	34 FPS
medium	32 FPS	15 FPS
high	23 FPS	11 FPS
ultra	15 FPS	7 FPS
1440p
low	19 FPS	11 FPS
medium	11 FPS	5 FPS
high	7 FPS	4 FPS
ultra	6 FPS	3 FPS
4K
low	5 FPS	4 FPS
medium	3 FPS	2 FPS
high	2 FPS	1 FPS
ultra	2 FPS	1 FPS

Open FirePro M4170 Open GeForce GT 640

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	FirePro M4170	GeForce GT 640
1080p
low	53 FPS	53 FPS
medium	42 FPS	42 FPS
high	35 FPS	35 FPS
ultra	26 FPS	26 FPS
1440p
low	39 FPS	39 FPS
medium	32 FPS	32 FPS
high	26 FPS	26 FPS
ultra	20 FPS	20 FPS
4K
low	26 FPS	26 FPS
medium	21 FPS	21 FPS
high	18 FPS	18 FPS
ultra	13 FPS	13 FPS

Open FirePro M4170 Open GeForce GT 640

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	FirePro M4170	GeForce GT 640
1080p
low	53 FPS	53 FPS
medium	42 FPS	42 FPS
high	29 FPS	26 FPS
ultra	18 FPS	16 FPS
1440p
low	7 FPS	6 FPS
medium	5 FPS	4 FPS
high	4 FPS	3 FPS
ultra	2 FPS	2 FPS
4K
low	4 FPS	4 FPS
medium	3 FPS	2 FPS
high	2 FPS	2 FPS
ultra	2 FPS	1 FPS

Open FirePro M4170 Open GeForce GT 640

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of FirePro M4170 and GeForce GT 640

FirePro M4170

The FirePro M4170 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in April 23 2015. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 825 MHz to 900 MHz. It has 384 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 150W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 1,168 points.

GeForce GT 640

The GeForce GT 640 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in June 5 2012. It features the Kepler architecture. The core clock speed is 902 MHz. It has 384 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 65W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 1,169 points. Launch price was $99.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The FirePro M4170 scores 1,168 and the GeForce GT 640 reaches 1,169 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.1% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The FirePro M4170 is built on GCN 1.0 while the GeForce GT 640 uses Kepler, both on a 28 nm process. Shader units: 384 (FirePro M4170) vs 384 (GeForce GT 640). Raw compute: 0.6912 TFLOPS (FirePro M4170) vs 0.6927 TFLOPS (GeForce GT 640).

Feature	FirePro M4170	GeForce GT 640
G3D Mark Score	1,168	1,169
Architecture	GCN 1.0	Kepler
Process Node	28 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	384	384
Compute (TFLOPS)	0.6912 TFLOPS	0.6927 TFLOPS
ROPs	8	16+100%
TMUs	24	32+33%
L1 Cache	96 KB+200%	32 KB
L2 Cache	256 KB	256 KB

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GT 640 gives access to NVIDIA DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling), widely regarding as the superior upscaling method for image quality. The FirePro M4170 relies on FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution), which is capable but generally slightly noisier than DLSS in motion.

Feature	FirePro M4170	GeForce GT 640
Upscaling Tech	Upscaling support	Upscaling support
Frame Generation	Not Supported	Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	Standard	NVIDIA Reflex

💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards feature 4 GB of GDDR5. Bus width: 64-bit vs 128-bit.

Feature	FirePro M4170	GeForce GT 640
VRAM Capacity	4 GB	4 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Bus Width	64-bit	128-bit+100%
L2 Cache	256 KB	256 KB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 (FirePro M4170) vs 11.0 (GeForce GT 640). Vulkan: 1.2 vs 1.1. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.5. Maximum simultaneous displays: 3 vs 3.

Feature	FirePro M4170	GeForce GT 640
DirectX	12+9%	11.0
Vulkan	1.2+9%	1.1
OpenGL	4.6+2%	4.5
Max Displays	3	3

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: VCE 1.0 (FirePro M4170) vs NVENC 1.0 (GeForce GT 640). Decoder: UVD vs PureVideo HD VP5. Supported codecs: H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2 (FirePro M4170) vs MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1,MPEG-4 ASP (GeForce GT 640).

Feature	FirePro M4170	GeForce GT 640
Encoder	VCE 1.0	NVENC 1.0
Decoder	UVD	PureVideo HD VP5
Codecs	H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2	MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1,MPEG-4 ASP

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The FirePro M4170 draws 150W versus the GeForce GT 640's 65W — a 79.1% difference. The GeForce GT 640 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (FirePro M4170) vs 300W (GeForce GT 640). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs None. Card length: 0mm vs 145mm, occupying 1 vs 1 slots. Typical load temperature: 70°C vs 60°C.

Feature	FirePro M4170	GeForce GT 640
TDP	150W	65W-57%
Recommended PSU	350W	300W-14%
Power Connector	PCIe-powered	None
Length	0mm	145mm
Height	0mm	111mm
Slots	1	1
Temp (Load)	70°C	60°C-14%
Perf/Watt	7.8	18.0+131%

💰

Value Analysis

The FirePro M4170 launched at $200 MSRP, while the GeForce GT 640 launched at $99. The GeForce GT 640 costs 50.5% less ($101 savings) on MSRP. Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 5.8 (FirePro M4170) vs 11.8 (GeForce GT 640) — the GeForce GT 640 offers 103.4% better value. The FirePro M4170 is the newer GPU (2015 vs 2012).