AMD FirePro W5130M vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti Comparison

# Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database includes a direct OpenCL benchmark comparison between the AMD FirePro W5130M and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti. In that specific test, the NVIDIA part finishes with a score of 5731 against 4904 for the AMD part, a margin of 827 points. Measured as a percentage of the AMD score, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti leads by 14.4%. This is a single-test result, and the wider benchmark record tells a more balanced story across different workloads.

The AMD FirePro W5130M has a single recorded Geekbench OpenCL score of 4904, placing it at the 29th percentile of all GPUs in the database. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti, by comparison, records a score of 5731 and sits at the 33rd percentile. The percentile gap of 4 points indicates that both products occupy a similar performance tier in the overall distribution, with the NVIDIA card holding a modest edge in the raw compute metric.

Looking at the nearest rivals in the database, the AMD FirePro W5130M sits only 0.1% above the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB (4901 versus 4904). The NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 is 0.2% behind the AMD FirePro W5130M, and the AMD Radeon R7 M265 trails by 0.5%. On the other side, the AMD Radeon R7 M360 scores 4931, which is 0.5% above the FirePro W5130M, and the AMD Radeon R7 M465 leads by 1.9% with a score of 5841. These margins are tight, often within the noise of benchmark run-to-run variation. The one head-to-head result, however, shows a clear single-sample win for the NVIDIA part.

# Where Each One Wins

Looking at the recorded benchmark distribution, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti is the winner in the only direct head-to-head comparison. The data shows no direct wins for the AMD FirePro W5130M in that specific test. The NVIDIA part comes out ahead by 14.4% in the OpenCL workload, which is a significant margin for a compute-oriented test.

An analysis of nearest rivals suggests a pattern. The AMD FirePro W5130M sits in a cluster of similarly scored GPUs. The NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 is 0.2% behind it, while the AMD Radeon R7 M265 is 0.5% behind. The AMD Radeon R7 M360 is 0.5% ahead of the FirePro W5130M. The AMD Radeon R7 M465 is 1.9% ahead of the FirePro W5130M. This indicates the FirePro W5130M is in the middle of a dense pack, and its position in the percentile ranking (29th) reflects a product that is competitive within its mobile graphics class, but not a class leader.

For the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti, the nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670MX at 0.2% behind, the Intel Iris Pro Graphics P6300 at 0.3% behind, and the AMD Radeon HD 8790M at 0.7% behind. The AMD Radeon R7 M465 leads the GTX 550 Ti by 1.9%. The margins are again narrow, but the GTX 550 Ti tends to score above many of its immediate peers, and it is the clearly stronger part in the one direct comparison available.

The AMD FirePro W5130M has a production status of end-of-life, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti is also end-of-life. Neither is a current product. For legacy applications, the AMD part offers a different feature set, which is detailed in the specification differences below, and the NVIDIA part has the higher benchmark score.

# FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in OpenCL compute, the AMD FirePro W5130M or the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti?

A: In the recorded Geekbench OpenCL benchmark, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti scores 5731 versus 4704 for the AMD FirePro W5130M. That puts the NVIDIA part ahead by 14.4% in that specific test.

Q: How big is the performance gap between the AMD FirePro W5130M and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti?

A: The average benchmark score of the AMD FirePro W5130M is 4904, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti averages 5731. The NVIDIA is the faster part by roughly 827 points or 16.9% when comparing these averages.

Q: What is the performance percentile of the AMD FirePro W5130M?

A: The AMD FirePro W5130M has a recorded score of 4904, which places it at the 29th percentile of all GPUs in the database. This is a mid-range placement, meaning there is a large group of faster parts above it.

Q: What is the performance percentile of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti benchmark score is 5731, which places it at the 33rd percentile. It sits in the lower-middle tier of the database, with a majority of GPUs scoring higher.

# Specification Differences

Comparing the two specification sheets, the differences begin with the chip and process technology. The AMD FirePro W5130M uses the Tropo chip based on the GCN 1.0 architecture, built on a 28 nm process at TSMC with 1,500 million transistors on a 123 mm² die. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti uses the GF116 chip, which is Fermi 2.0, manufactured at TSMC on a 40 nm process with 1,170 million transistors on a 238 mm² die. The AMD has the smaller transistor geometry and the higher transistor count, while the NVIDIA has the larger die.

The transistor density figures follow the same order: the AMD FirePro W5130M packs 12.2 million transistors per square millimeter, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti has 4.9 million per square millimeter. Clock behavior differs by design: the AMD base clock is 900 MHz with a 925 MHz boost, while the NVIDIA memory clock is set to 1026 MHz. The AMD memory runs at an effective 4 Gbps, whereas the NVIDIA memory runs at an effective 4.1 Gbps. The AMD memory configuration consists of 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, providing 64.00 GB/s of bandwidth. The NVIDIA carries 1024 MB of GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus, which yields 98.50 GB/s.

The other compute resources show the AMD with 512 shader units, 32 texture memory units, and 16 render output units. The NVIDIA has 192 shader units, 32 TMUs and 24 ROPs. The AMD part has a higher shader unit count, while the NVIDIA has more ROPs. Pixel fillrate and texture rate are also higher on the NVIDIA: 7.200 GPixel/s and 28.80 GTexel/s versus 14.80 GPixel/s and 29.60 GTexel/s on the AMD. In terms of raw FP32 compute, the AMD FirePro W5130M shows 947.2 GFLOPS.

The interface, power, and physical specifications differ between the two. The AMD FirePro W5130M uses a PCIe 3.0 x16 bus interface, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti uses PCIe 2.0 x16. The AMD part is in the FirePro Mobile (Wx) series, and the NVIDIA part is in the GeForce 500 series. The AMD predecessor is the FirePro Mobility, and its successor is the Radeon Pro Mobile. The NVIDIA predecessor is the GeForce 400, and its successor is the GeForce 600. The AMD FirePro W5130M supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The NVIDIA supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and no Vulkan API is listed.

The production status of both parts is end-of-life. The AMD FirePro W5130M was released on 2015-10-01; the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti was released on 2011-03-14.

# Architecture Differences

At the architecture and feature level, these two mobile GPUs diverge in several meaningful ways.

The AMD FirePro W5130M is built on GCN 1.0, a 28 nm design with the Tropo chip. It uses 1,500 million transistors on a 123 mm² die. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti uses the Fermi 2.0 architecture, the GF116 chip, built on a 40 nm process with 1,170 million transistors and a 238 mm² die. The AMD has the higher transistor count and the smaller die, while the NVIDIA has the larger die and the larger process node.

The memory subsystem also differs. The AMD FirePro W5130M has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, giving 64.00 GB/s of bandwidth. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti has 1024 MB of GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus, yielding 98.50 GB/s. The NVIDIA therefore has the wider memory bus and the higher bandwidth, while the AMD has the larger frame buffer.

The compute resources are distributed differently. The AMD FirePro W5130M implements 512 shader units, 32 texture memory units, and 16 ROPs. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti implements 192 shader units, 32 TMUs, and 24 ROPs. The AMD has the advantage in shader unit count by a wide margin, while the NVIDIA has the advantage in ROP count.

Pixel rates and texture rates favor the NVIDIA part: 7.200 GPixel/s and 28.80 GTexel/s versus 14.80 GPixel/s and 29.60 GTexel/s for the AMD. In FP32 compute, the AMD FirePro W5130M is rated at 947.2 GFLOPS.

The interface and power specifications also separate the two. The AMD FirePro W5130M uses a PCIe 3.0 x16 bus, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti uses PCIe 2.0 x16. The AMD part is a dual-slot card, the NVIDIA is also dual-slot. The AMD requires a 6-pin power connector; the NVIDIA requires a 6-pin connector. The AMD has a suggested PSU of 300 W. The NVIDIA has a suggested PSU of 300 W. The AMD board supports 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a outputs, while the NVIDIA board supports 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a outputs. The display outputs are identical.

The AMD FirePro W5130M comes from the FirePro Mobility (Wx) generation and was launched on 2015-10-01. Its predecessor was the FirePro Mobility, and it was succeeded by the Radeon Pro Mobile. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti belongs to the GeForce 500 generation, launched on 2011-03-14, preceded by the GeForce 400 and succeeded by the GeForce 600. The AMD carries a launch MSRP of 149 USD, a price detail that is recorded but not further covered here.