AMD Radeon 540 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Comparison

# Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data splits almost perfectly down the middle between these two end-of-life GPUs, with each card claiming one decisive victory. In Geekbench OpenCL, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti posts a score of 7,877 against the AMD Radeon 540's 6,184, delivering a 27.4% advantage. That is a substantial margin in compute workloads, placing the older Kepler card firmly ahead in raw OpenCL throughput. The GTX 650 Ti's average benchmark score of 8,053 reinforces this edge, sitting just 0.2% above the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M and 0.2% below the GTX 650 Ti Boost, meaning it holds its own against much newer mobile and desktop parts.

However, the Radeon 540 strikes back hard in Geekbench Vulkan. There, AMD's card scores 9,162 versus NVIDIA's 8,229, a 10.2% swing in favor of the Polaris-based GPU. This Vulkan result is notable because it flips the overall narrative: despite losing OpenCL by nearly 30%, the Radeon 540's modern architecture extracts significantly better performance from the Vulkan API. The Radeon 540's average benchmark score of 7,673 trails the GTX 650 Ti's 8,053 by about 4.7%, but that aggregate figure masks the split personality of these two results. When looking at the nearest rivals, the Radeon 540 sits 0.6% below the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti and 1.2% above the AMD Radeon Pro WX 3100, showing it competes in a similar performance band despite its lower OpenCL showing. The GTX 650 Ti, by contrast, edges out the Quadro P5000 by 0.2% and trails the GRID K2 by 0.3%, placing it in a tight cluster of mid-range parts.

The wins are evenly split at one apiece, but the magnitude of the OpenCL loss for AMD is nearly three times the size of NVIDIA's Vulkan deficit. That asymmetry matters: the GTX 650 Ti's OpenCL lead is decisive, while the Radeon 540's Vulkan advantage, though clear, is more modest in percentage terms. For applications that rely on OpenCL — many legacy compute workloads and older rendering pipelines — the GTX 650 Ti is the stronger choice by a wide margin. For Vulkan-based gaming or modern API compute, the Radeon 540 pulls ahead, but not with the same overwhelming force.

# Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different eras and fundamentally different design philosophies. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti uses the GK106S chip built on Kepler architecture, manufactured by TSMC on a 28 nm process. It packs 2,540 million transistors into a 221 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 11.5M per mm². The AMD Radeon 540, meanwhile, uses the Lexa chip based on GCN 4.0 architecture, fabricated by GlobalFoundries on a much more advanced 14 nm process. Despite the newer node, the Radeon 540 has slightly fewer transistors at 2,200 million, but they fit into a dramatically smaller 103 mm² die, achieving a density of 21.4M per mm² — nearly double that of the Kepler part.

The compute configurations diverge sharply. The GTX 650 Ti fields 768 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, and 16 ROPs. The Radeon 540 counters with 384 shading units, 24 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. NVIDIA's card thus has twice the shader count and nearly 2.7 times the texture units, which explains its dominant OpenCL performance. However, AMD's newer architecture delivers higher clock-for-clock efficiency, and the Radeon 540's pixel rate of 18.93 GPixel/s actually exceeds the GTX 650 Ti's 14.85 GPixel/s despite fewer ROPs being identical. Texture rate tells a different story: the GTX 650 Ti hits 59.39 GTexel/s versus the Radeon 540's 28.39 GTexel/s, a 2.1x advantage for NVIDIA.

Memory subsystems also differ fundamentally. Both cards feature 1024 MB of GDDR5, but the GTX 650 Ti uses a 128-bit bus delivering 86.40 GB/s of bandwidth, while the Radeon 540 operates on a severely constrained 32-bit bus yielding just 24.00 GB/s. That is a 3.6x bandwidth gap in NVIDIA's favor, which likely contributes heavily to its OpenCL win. The memory clocks are close — 1350 MHz (5.4 Gbps effective) for NVIDIA versus 1500 MHz (6 Gbps effective) for AMD — but the bus width difference is overwhelming. FP32 compute also favors NVIDIA: 1,425.4 GFLOPS versus 908.5 GFLOPS. The Radeon 540 does offer 908.5 GFLOPS FP16 with a 1:1 ratio, while the GTX 650 Ti has no FP16 support listed.

Power and interface differences are stark. The GTX 650 Ti draws 110 W TDP and requires a 1x 6-pin power connector plus a 300 W suggested PSU. The Radeon 540 sips just 50 W, needs no power connector, and works with a 250 W PSU. Bus interfaces also differ: the GTX 650 Ti uses PCIe 3.0 x16, while the Radeon 540 runs at PCIe 3.0 x8. Display outputs reflect their eras: NVIDIA offers 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 1.4a, while AMD provides 2x DisplayPort 1.4a. API support favors the newer card: the Radeon 540 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), Vulkan 1.3, and OpenGL 4.6, while the GTX 650 Ti is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0), Vulkan 1.2.175, and OpenGL 4.6.

# FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins in OpenCL performance?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti wins decisively, scoring 7,877 versus the AMD Radeon 540's 6,184 in Geekbench OpenCL, a 27.4% advantage.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon 540 outperform in any benchmark?

A: Yes, the Radeon 540 wins Geekbench Vulkan with a score of 9,162 against the GTX 650 Ti's 8,229, a 10.2% lead.

Q: Which card has more memory bandwidth?

A: The GTX 650 Ti has a 128-bit memory bus with 86.40 GB/s bandwidth, while the Radeon 540 has a 32-bit bus with only 24.00 GB/s — a 3.6x difference in favor of NVIDIA.

Q: How do their power requirements compare?

A: The Radeon 540 has a 50 W TDP with no power connector and a 250 W suggested PSU. The GTX 650 Ti draws 110 W, needs a 1x 6-pin connector, and requires a 300 W PSU.

Q: Which card supports newer graphics APIs?

A: The Radeon 540 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), Vulkan 1.3, and OpenGL 4.6. The GTX 650 Ti is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0), Vulkan 1.2.175, and OpenGL 4.6.

Q: What are their transistor densities?

A: The Radeon 540 achieves 21.4M transistors per mm² on a 103 mm² die, while the GTX 650 Ti has 11.5M per mm² on a 221 mm² die.

# The Verdict

The data paints a clear picture for specific use cases, not a blanket winner. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti is the pick for OpenCL-heavy workloads, where its 27.4% lead over the Radeon 540 is decisive. Its 768 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 86.40 GB/s of memory bandwidth provide a substantial compute advantage that the newer AMD part cannot overcome in that API. Gamers using Vulkan should favor the AMD Radeon 540, which posts a 10.2% higher score in that benchmark and supports Vulkan 1.3 versus NVIDIA's 1.2.175.

The Radeon 540 also wins on efficiency and integration: 50 W TDP with no power connector makes it far easier to slot into existing systems, and its 14 nm process with 21.4M transistors per mm² shows a more modern design. The GTX 650 Ti's 110 W draw and 6-pin requirement demand more from a PSU. For users prioritizing raw OpenCL compute, the GTX 650 Ti's average benchmark score of 8,053 versus 7,673 for the Radeon 540 confirms its overall edge, and its nearest rivals include the GTX 650 Ti Boost and GRID K2, both within 0.3%. The Radeon 540's closest competition includes the GTX 1660 Ti and Radeon Pro WX 3100, showing it trades blows with a different performance tier.

The spec sheet favors the Radeon 540 in process node (14 nm vs 28 nm), API support (DirectX 12_0 vs 11_0, Vulkan 1.3 vs 1.2.175), and power efficiency (50 W vs 110 W, no connector vs 6-pin). The GTX 650 Ti counters with superior memory bandwidth (86.40 GB/s vs 24.00 GB/s), higher texture rate (59.39 GTexel/s vs 28.39 GTexel/s), and more shading units (768 vs 384). Ultimately, the choice hinges on workload: OpenCL users take the GTX 650 Ti; Vulkan users and low-power builders take the Radeon 540.

# Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti | AMD Radeon 540 |

|---|---|---|

| Chip | GK106S | Lexa |

| Architecture | Kepler | GCN 4.0 |

| Generation | GeForce 600 | Polaris (RX 500) |

| Process Node | 28 nm | 14 nm |

| Foundry | TSMC | GlobalFoundries |

| Transistors | 2,540 million | 2,200 million |

| Die Size | 221 mm² | 103 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 11.5M / mm² | 21.4M / mm² |

| Memory Clock | 1350 MHz (5.4 Gbps effective) | 1500 MHz (6 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Bus Width | 128 bit | 32 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 86.40 GB/s | 24.00 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 768 | 384 |

| TMUs | 64 | 24 |

| ROPs | 16 | 16 |

| Pixel Rate | 14.85 GPixel/s | 18.93 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 59.39 GTexel/s | 28.39 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 1,425.4 GFLOPS | 908.5 GFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | — | 908.5 GFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 110 W | 50 W |

| Power Connectors | 1x 6-pin | None |

| Suggested PSU | 300 W | 250 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x8 |

| Display Outputs | 2x DVI, 1x mini-HDMI 1.4a | 2x DisplayPort 1.4a |

| DirectX | 12 (11_0) | 12 (12_0) |

| Vulkan | 1.2.175 | 1.3 |

| OpenGL | 4.6 | 4.6 |

| Dimensions (Length) | 145 mm (5.7 inches) | — |

| Release Date | 2012-10-08 | 2017-04-19 |

| Launch MSRP | 149 USD | — |

| Predecessor | GeForce 500 | Arctic Islands |

| Successor | GeForce 700 | Vega |

| Production Status | End-of-life | End-of-life |

| Geekbench OpenCL | 7,877 | 6,184 |

| Geekbench Vulkan | 8,229 | 9,162 |

| Average Benchmark Score | 8,053 | 7,673 |

| Percentile vs All GPUs | 42 | 41 |