GPU Comparison

# Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data shows a clear split between these two mobile-class GPUs, with each taking one decisive victory in the two available tests. In Geekbench OpenCL, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M posts a score of 9,745 against the AMD Radeon 540's 6,184, a commanding 57.6% advantage. This is the single largest performance gap in the comparison, and it reflects the GTX 950M's raw compute advantage in general-purpose workloads.

However, the tables turn completely in Geekbench Vulkan. Here, the AMD Radeon 540 scores 9,162, beating the GTX 950M's 6,525 by 28.8%. This is a substantial reversal, and it suggests that the Radeon 540's architecture is significantly more efficient in modern graphics API workloads, despite its lower raw compute specifications. The delta between the two Vulkan scores is nearly half the magnitude of the OpenCL gap, but it is still a decisive win for AMD in that specific test.

Looking at the broader benchmark landscape, the average benchmark scores place these two GPUs very close together. The GTX 950M averages 8,135 across its benchmark suite, while the Radeon 540 averages 7,673. That is a 5.7% difference in favor of NVIDIA based on the raw averages, but the individual test results tell a more nuanced story. The GTX 950M sits at the 42nd percentile of all GPUs, while the Radeon 540 sits at the 41st percentile, a negligible separation in overall standing. In practical terms, these are peer-class parts that trade blows depending on the workload.

Examining the nearest rivals for each card reinforces this picture. The GTX 950M's closest competitor, the AMD Radeon R9 M360, averages 8,129, just 0.1% behind the GTX 950M's 8,135. The NVIDIA GeForce 945M is 0.4% behind, and the NVIDIA GRID K2 is 0.7% behind. The GTX 950M also edges out the far more powerful NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 by 0.4% in average score, a quirk of the benchmark suite that underscores how synthetic averages can obscure real-world differences. For the Radeon 540, the nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti at 7,723, which is 0.6% ahead; the AMD Radeon Pro WX 3100 trails by 1.2%, the AMD Radeon R7 250 by 1.5%, and the Intel Arc A310 by 1.6%.

# Where Each One Wins

The GTX 950M is the clear winner in compute-heavy, OpenCL-based applications. Its 57.6% lead in that test is not a marginal advantage; it is a dominant one. The card's 640 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 1,438.7 GFLOPS of FP32 performance give it substantial processing headroom for tasks like video encoding, physics simulations, and general-purpose GPU compute. The 4 GB DDR3 memory on a 128-bit bus provides 28.80 GB/s of bandwidth, which is adequate for these workloads.

The Radeon 540, by contrast, is the winner in Vulkan-based workloads, which are increasingly relevant for modern gaming and graphics applications. Its 28.8% advantage in that test suggests that the GCN 4.0 architecture handles the Vulkan API's low-level overhead more efficiently. The card's 384 shading units and 24 TMUs are fewer than the GTX 950M's, and its FP32 performance is just 908.5 GFLOPS, about 37% lower. Yet in Vulkan, it outperforms the NVIDIA part by a wide margin. The GDDR5 memory, despite being on a narrow 32-bit bus with 24.00 GB/s bandwidth, appears to be better utilized in this API.

The win distribution is exactly even: one benchmark win for each card. This is a rarity in GPU comparisons, and it means the choice between these two cannot be made on overall score alone. Instead, the decision hinges on which type of workload matters more to the user. For OpenCL-centric tasks, the GTX 950M is clearly superior. For Vulkan-centric tasks, the Radeon 540 is the better pick.

The pixel rates are nearly identical, the GTX 950M posts 17.98 GPixel/s against the Radeon 540's 18.93 GPixel/s, meaning rasterization throughput is not a differentiator. The texture rate favors NVIDIA at 44.96 GTexel/s versus 28.39 GTexel/s, which aligns with its higher TMU count. These specification-level differences support the benchmark results: the GTX 950M is built for throughput, while the Radeon 540 is built for efficiency in modern API contexts.

# The Verdict

The data points to a simple conclusion: choose the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M if your priority is OpenCL compute performance, and choose the AMD Radeon 540 if your priority is Vulkan graphics performance. There is no universal winner here, because the two benchmarks split almost perfectly down the middle.

The GTX 950M's 57.6% OpenCL advantage is the single most decisive metric in this comparison. It is a massive margin that makes the NVIDIA card the obvious choice for any workload that leverages OpenCL, whether that is professional applications, scientific computing, or content creation tools that offload processing to the GPU. The card's higher shading unit count, TMU count, and FP32 throughput all support this strength.

The Radeon 540's 28.8% Vulkan victory is equally decisive within its domain. For users running Vulkan-based games or applications, the AMD card delivers noticeably better performance. This is particularly relevant given the growing adoption of Vulkan in modern game engines and emulators. The Radeon 540 also offers a more modern feature set with DirectX 12 (12_0) support, compared to the GTX 950M's DirectX 12 (11_0), which may matter for compatibility with the latest titles.

For users who need a balanced card for mixed workloads, the average benchmark scores suggest the GTX 950M holds a slight edge, 8,135 versus 7,673, a 5.7% difference. The percentile rankings (42nd versus 41st) reinforce this marginal overall advantage. However, this small gap is unlikely to be perceptible in real-world usage, and the specific workload will ultimately determine which card performs better.

Neither card is a clear recommendation for all scenarios. The GTX 950M is the safer choice for compute-heavy tasks, while the Radeon 540 is the better option for modern graphics APIs. Both are end-of-life products, so availability may be limited, but among these two, the decision should be driven entirely by the intended use case.

# FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M averages 8,135, while the AMD Radeon 540 averages 7,673, a 5.7% difference in favor of NVIDIA.

Q: How big is the GTX 950M's lead in OpenCL performance?

A: The GTX 950M scores 9,745 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 57.6% higher than the Radeon 540's 6,184.

Q: Does the Radeon 540 win any benchmark?

A: Yes, the Radeon 540 scores 9,162 in Geekbench Vulkan, beating the GTX 950M's 6,525 by 28.8%.

Q: What are the nearest rivals for each card?

A: The GTX 950M's closest rival is the AMD Radeon R9 M360 at 8,129 (0.1% behind), while the Radeon 540's closest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti at 7,723 (0.6% ahead).

Q: Which card has better DirectX 12 support?

A: The AMD Radeon 540 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), while the GTX 950M supports DirectX 12 (11_0).

Q: How do the percentile rankings compare?

A: The GTX 950M ranks at the 42nd percentile of all GPUs, and the Radeon 540 ranks at the 41st percentile.

# Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from fundamentally different architectural lineages. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M uses the GM107 chip based on the Maxwell architecture, manufactured by TSMC on a 28 nm process. The die size is 148 mm², containing 1,870 million transistors, which yields a transistor density of 12.6 million per mm². Maxwell was designed for efficiency and features a unified shader design that scales well across NVIDIA's mobile lineup.

The AMD Radeon 540 uses the Lexa chip based on the GCN 4.0 architecture, manufactured by GlobalFoundries on a 14 nm process. The die size is notably smaller at 103 mm², yet it packs 2,200 million transistors, resulting in a significantly higher transistor density of 21.4 million per mm². GCN 4.0, part of the Polaris generation, introduced improvements in clock scaling and power efficiency compared to earlier GCN iterations.

The process node difference is substantial, 28 nm versus 14 nm, and it explains the Radeon 540's higher transistor density despite the smaller die. The Radeon 540 is also a newer product, with a release date of April 19, 2017, versus March 12, 2015 for the GTX 950M. The GTX 950M's predecessor is the GeForce 800M, and its successor is the GeForce 10 Mobile series. The Radeon 540's predecessor is Arctic Islands, and its successor is Vega.

In terms of API support, the Radeon 540 offers DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3, while the GTX 950M offers DirectX 12 (11_0) and Vulkan 1.4. Both support OpenGL 4.6. The Radeon 540 also supports FP16 compute at a 1:1 ratio with FP32, whereas the GTX 950M has no listed FP16 capability, a notable difference for workloads that leverage half-precision arithmetic.

# Specification Differences

The most striking specification difference is in memory configuration. The GTX 950M comes with 4 GB of DDR3 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 28.80 GB/s of bandwidth. The Radeon 540, by contrast, has just 1024 MB of GDDR5 memory on a 32-bit bus, providing 24.00 GB/s of bandwidth. Despite having a quarter of the memory capacity, the Radeon 540's GDDR5 memory operates at 1500 MHz (6 Gbps effective), while the GTX 950M's DDR3 operates at 900 MHz (1800 Mbps effective).

Compute resources differ significantly. The GTX 950M features 640 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 16 ROPs, while the Radeon 540 has 384 shading units, 24 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. This gives the GTX 950M a texture rate of 44.96 GTexel/s versus 28.39 GTexel/s for the Radeon 540. Pixel rates are nearly matched at 17.98 GPixel/s and 18.93 GPixel/s respectively. FP32 performance is 1,438.7 GFLOPS for the GTX 950M and 908.5 GFLOPS for the Radeon 540.

Power consumption differs by 25 W, with the GTX 950M rated at 75 W TDP and the Radeon 540 at 50 W TDP. The Radeon 540 has a suggested PSU of 250 W, while the GTX 950M lists none. The GTX 950M is an IGP (integrated GPU) with no power connectors and portable-device-dependent display outputs. The Radeon 540 is a single-slot card with no power connectors and features 2x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. Both use a PCIe 3.0 x8 bus interface.

Clock speeds are only partially specified. The GTX 950M has a base clock of 993 MHz and a boost clock of 1124 MHz, while the Radeon 540's base and boost clocks are not listed. The GTX 950M's memory clock is 900 MHz (1800 Mbps effective), and the Radeon 540's is 1500 MHz (6 Gbps effective).