GeForce 720A vs Radeon R5 420

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.

GeForce 720A vs Radeon R5 420 FPS Benchmarks

Predicted gaming performance across popular games. Tested paired with Ryzen 7 9800X3D to isolate GPU performance.

Search any supported game below to compare 1080p FPS for both components.

GeForce 720A vs Radeon R5 420: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict

See where each GPU makes more sense in practice: raw FPS, VRAM, features, power draw, pricing, and long-term headroom.

GeForce 720A

2015

Why buy it

✅7.2% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Costs $50 less on MSRP ($30 MSRP vs $80 MSRP).
✅Delivers 167.6% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 19.2 vs 7.2 G3D/$ ($30 MSRP vs $80 MSRP).
✅Draws 33W instead of 50W, a 17W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌2015 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.

Radeon R5 420

2017

Why buy it

✅More future proof: GCN 4.0 (2016−2020) on 14nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than GeForce 720A across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌2017 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
❌
166.7% HIGHER MSRP
$80 MSRPvs$30 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 7.2 vs 19.2 G3D/$ ($80 MSRP vs $30 MSRP).
❌51.5% higher power demand at 50W vs 33W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

GeForce 720A is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 7.2% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 0.3% in PassMark G3D (577 vs 575), so the answer here is pretty clean.

Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?

GeForce 720A is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond because it comes out ahead on the available hardware-headroom signals for this matchup.

Which GPU is the better buy today?

GeForce 720A makes the most sense to buy today. It is $50 cheaper on MSRP at $30 vs $80, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 167.6% (19.2 vs 7.2), so the value case lines up with the gaming result.

GeForce 720A vs Radeon R5 420 Technical Specifications

Side-by-side specs, architecture details, clocks, memory, power, and platform differences.

GeForce 720A

The GeForce 720A is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in March 13 2015. It features the Maxwell architecture. The core clock ranges from 928 MHz to 941 MHz. It has 384 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 33W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 577 points.

Radeon R5 420

The Radeon R5 420 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in April 20 2017. It features the GCN 4.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1183 MHz to 1124 MHz. It has 384 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 50W. Manufactured using 14 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 575 points. Launch price was $79.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The GeForce 720A scores 577 and the Radeon R5 420 reaches 575 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.3% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce 720A is built on Maxwell while the Radeon R5 420 uses GCN 4.0, both on 28 nm vs 14 nm. Shader units: 384 (GeForce 720A) vs 384 (Radeon R5 420). Raw compute: 0.7227 TFLOPS (GeForce 720A) vs 0.9085 TFLOPS (Radeon R5 420). Boost clocks: 941 MHz vs 1124 MHz.

Feature	GeForce 720A	Radeon R5 420
G3D Mark Score	577	575
Architecture	Maxwell	GCN 4.0
Process Node	28 nm	14 nm
Shading Units	384	384
Compute (TFLOPS)	0.7227 TFLOPS	0.9085 TFLOPS+26%
Boost Clock	941 MHz	1124 MHz+19%
ROPs	8	16+100%
TMUs	24	24
L1 Cache	192 KB+100%	96 KB
L2 Cache	1 MB+100%	0.5 MB

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce 720A gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon R5 420 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

Feature	GeForce 720A	Radeon R5 420
Upscaling Tech	Upscaling support	FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation	Not Supported	Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	NVIDIA Reflex	AMD Anti-Lag

💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards ship with 512 MB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the GeForce 720A and 128-bit on the Radeon R5 420. L2 Cache: 1 MB (GeForce 720A) vs 0.5 MB (Radeon R5 420) — the GeForce 720A has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce 720A	Radeon R5 420
VRAM Capacity	0.5 GB	0.5 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	Unknown	Unknown
Bus Width	128-bit	128-bit
L2 Cache	1 MB+100%	0.5 MB

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce 720A draws 33W versus the Radeon R5 420's 50W — a 41% difference. The GeForce 720A is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce 720A) vs 350W (Radeon R5 420). Power connectors: Legacy vs None.

Feature	GeForce 720A	Radeon R5 420
TDP	33W-34%	50W
Recommended PSU	350W	350W
Power Connector	Legacy	None
Length	0mm	—
Height	0mm	—
Slots	0	—
Temp (Load)	85	—
Perf/Watt	17.5+52%	11.5

💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GeForce 720A came in at $30, while the Radeon R5 420 launched at $80. On MSRP, GeForce 720A was 62.5% cheaper ($50 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 19.2 (GeForce 720A) vs 7.2 (Radeon R5 420) — the GeForce 720A offers 166.7% better value. The newer card here is Radeon R5 420 (2017 vs 2015).

Feature	GeForce 720A	Radeon R5 420
MSRP	$30-63%	$80
Performance per Dollar	19.2+167%	7.2
Codename	GM108	Lexa
Release	March 13 2015	April 20 2017
Ranking	#810	#773

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