AMD Radeon 550 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M Comparison

The Verdict

The benchmark data separates these two end-of-life mobile and desktop parts along predictable architectural lines. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M wins six of the nine head-to-head tests, while the AMD Radeon 550 wins three. The GTX 860M’s average benchmark score of 2967 places it in the 19th percentile of all GPUs, marginally ahead of the Radeon 550’s 2801 average and 18th percentile rank. The two are close overall — the GTX 860M leads by roughly 5.9% in average score — but the distribution of wins is lopsided.

The GTX 860M is the pick for legacy DirectX workloads and general 3D rendering. It leads the Radeon 550 by 45.1% in Passmark G3D (3081 vs 2124) and by 33.7% in Passmark GPU compute (1251 vs 936). Its DirectX 9 and DirectX 11 leads are 57.1% and 53.3%, respectively. The Radeon 550, however, is the pick for Vulkan and 2D work. Its Vulkan score of 11257 beats the GTX 860M’s 9648 by 14.3%, and its G2D score of 479 more than doubles the GTX 860M’s 226 (a 52.8% deficit for NVIDIA). The Radeon 550 also has a slight edge in DirectX 12 (14 vs 13, a 7.1% lead).

For a user choosing strictly from this data: the GTX 860M is the stronger all-round 3D performer, particularly in older API titles, while the Radeon 550 is the better choice for Vulkan-native applications, 2D/desktop acceleration, and any workload that benefits from newer DirectX 12 features. The Radeon 550’s launch MSRP was 79 USD; the GTX 860M has no listed launch price. Neither card should be recommended for modern high-end gaming — both sit below the 20th percentile of all GPUs.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different process nodes and design philosophies. The GTX 860M uses NVIDIA’s Kepler architecture on a 28 nm TSMC process, packing 3,540 million transistors into a 294 mm² die with a transistor density of 12.0M / mm². The Radeon 550 uses AMD’s GCN 4.0 architecture on a 14 nm GlobalFoundries process, with 2,200 million transistors on a much smaller 103 mm² die, yielding a higher density of 21.4M / mm².

The GTX 860M’s chip is the GK104; the Radeon 550’s is the Lexa. The NVIDIA part belongs to the GeForce 800M generation (predecessor GeForce 700M, successor GeForce 900M), while the AMD part is from the Polaris (RX 500) generation (predecessor Arctic Islands, successor Vega). The GTX 860M is an IGP (integrated into a portable device), whereas the Radeon 550 is a dual-slot discrete card measuring 145 mm (5.7 inches) in length.

Compute resources differ substantially. The GTX 860M has 1152 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 16 ROPs. The Radeon 550 has 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. The GTX 860M thus has 2.25 times the shading units and 3 times the TMUs. Neither card has ray tracing or tensor cores. The GTX 860M’s pixel rate is 21.96 GPixel/s and its texture rate is 87.84 GTexel/s; the Radeon 550’s are 18.93 GPixel/s and 37.86 GTexel/s. FP32 throughput is 2.108 TFLOPS for the GTX 860M versus 1,211.4 GFLOPS for the Radeon 550. The AMD card also lists FP16 at 1,211.4 GFLOPS (1:1), while the NVIDIA card has no listed FP16 figure.

API support differs. The GTX 860M supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175. The Radeon 550 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The newer DirectX 12_0 feature level and Vulkan 1.3 support on the AMD side align with its strong Vulkan benchmark showing. Power draws also differ: the GTX 860M is rated at 75 W TDP with no power connectors, while the Radeon 550 is rated at 50 W TDP with no power connectors and a suggested PSU of 250 W. The bus interface is PCIe 3.0 x16 for the GTX 860M and PCIe 3.0 x8 for the Radeon 550.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The Geekbench OpenCL test is nearly a tie. The GTX 860M scores 10461 against the Radeon 550’s 10339, a 1.2% lead for NVIDIA. That margin is within noise, but it sets the tone for the compute results: the GTX 860M’s higher FP32 throughput (2.108 TFLOPS vs 1,211.4 GFLOPS) translates into a 33.7% win in Passmark GPU compute (1251 vs 936).

The Vulkan test flips the script. The Radeon 550 scores 11257 versus the GTX 860M’s 9648, a 14.3% lead for AMD. This is the largest single-test win for either card in terms of raw points (1609 points). The Radeon 550’s Vulkan 1.3 support over the GTX 860M’s Vulkan 1.2.175 likely explains part of this gap.

Passmark DirectX results are where the GTX 860M dominates. In DirectX 9, the GTX 860M scores 55 versus 35, a 57.1% lead. In DirectX 10, it scores 15 versus 7, a 114.3% lead — the largest percentage margin in the entire comparison. In DirectX 11, it scores 23 versus 15, a 53.3% lead. The only DirectX test the Radeon 550 wins is DirectX 12, where it scores 14 versus 13, a 7.1% lead.

Passmark G3D (the overall 3D marker) shows the GTX 860M at 3081 versus 2124 for the Radeon 550, a 45.1% lead. This aligns with the GTX 860M’s higher texture rate (87.84 GTexel/s vs 37.86 GTexel/s) and pixel rate (21.96 GPixel/s vs 18.93 GPixel/s). The G2D test is the Radeon 550’s biggest win: 479 versus 226, a 52.8% lead for AMD. That 2D advantage is notable given the Radeon 550’s smaller memory bus (64 bit vs 128 bit) and lower bandwidth (56.00 GB/s vs 80.00 GB/s).

Specification Differences

The two cards differ on nearly every core specification. The GTX 860M uses a 28 nm TSMC process; the Radeon 550 uses 14 nm GlobalFoundries. Transistor counts are 3,540 million versus 2,200 million. Die size is 294 mm² versus 103 mm². Transistor density is 12.0M / mm² versus 21.4M / mm².

Clocks: the GTX 860M runs at 797 MHz base and 915 MHz boost with memory at 1250 MHz (5 Gbps effective). The Radeon 550 runs at 1100 MHz base and 1183 MHz boost with memory at 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective). The AMD card has higher clocks, but the NVIDIA card has more execution units.

Memory: both have 2 GB GDDR5, but the GTX 860M uses a 128-bit bus with 80.00 GB/s bandwidth, while the Radeon 550 uses a 64-bit bus with 56.00 GB/s bandwidth.

Compute units: the GTX 860M has 1152 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. The Radeon 550 has 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. Pixel rates are 21.96 GPixel/s versus 18.93 GPixel/s; texture rates are 87.84 GTexel/s versus 37.86 GTexel/s. FP32 is 2.108 TFLOPS versus 1,211.4 GFLOPS. The Radeon 550 has FP16 at 1,211.4 GFLOPS (1:1); the GTX 860M has no FP16 figure.

Power and physical: the GTX 860M is 75 W TDP, IGP slot width, no power connectors, and PCIe 3.0 x16. The Radeon 550 is 50 W TDP, dual-slot, no power connectors, suggested PSU 250 W, and PCIe 3.0 x8. Display outputs differ: the GTX 860M is "Portable Device Dependent," while the Radeon 550 has 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, and 1x DisplayPort 1.4a. Release dates are 2014-03-09 for the GTX 860M and 2017-04-19 for the Radeon 550. Both are end-of-life.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M has an average benchmark score of 2967, compared to the AMD Radeon 550’s 2801. The GTX 860M also sits in the 19th percentile of all GPUs versus the Radeon 550’s 18th.

Q: Which GPU is better for Vulkan workloads?

A: The AMD Radeon 550. It scores 11257 in Geekbench Vulkan versus the GTX 860M’s 9648, a 14.3% lead. The Radeon 550 also supports Vulkan 1.3, while the GTX 860M supports Vulkan 1.2.175.

Q: How big is the DirectX 9 performance gap?

A: The GTX 860M leads by 57.1% in Passmark DirectX 9, scoring 55 versus the Radeon 550’s 35. The largest single margin is in DirectX 10, where the GTX 860M leads 114.3% (15 vs 7).

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The GTX 860M has a 128-bit memory bus with 80.00 GB/s bandwidth. The Radeon 550 has a 64-bit bus with 56.00 GB/s bandwidth. Both use 2 GB of GDDR5 memory, but the Radeon 550’s memory runs at a higher effective speed (7 Gbps vs 5 Gbps).

Q: Which card has higher shading unit count?

A: The GTX 860M has 1152 shading units, while the Radeon 550 has 512. The GTX 860M also has 96 TMUs versus 32, though both have 16 ROPs.

Q: What is the Radeon 550’s launch MSRP?

A: The AMD Radeon 550 had a launch MSRP of 79 USD. The GTX 860M has no listed launch MSRP.

Where Each One Wins

The GTX 860M is the clear winner for legacy DirectX gaming and compute-heavy workloads. Its 45.1% lead in Passmark G3D (3081 vs 2124) makes it the stronger choice for older game titles running DirectX 9, 10, or 11 — it leads those tests by 57.1%, 114.3%, and 53.3%, respectively. The 33.7% lead in GPU compute (1251 vs 936) suggests better performance for GPGPU tasks that use OpenCL or general compute shaders. The GTX 860M’s higher texture rate (87.84 GTexel/s vs 37.86 GTexel/s) and pixel rate (21.96 GPixel/s vs 18.93 GPixel/s) back up these wins. Its 128-bit memory bus (80.00 GB/s) also provides more bandwidth than the Radeon 550’s 64-bit bus (56.00 GB/s), which helps in texture-heavy scenes.

The Radeon 550 wins in three specific areas. First, Vulkan: a 14.3% lead (11257 vs 9648) makes it the better choice for Vulkan-native engines and modern API workloads. Second, 2D acceleration: its G2D score of 479 versus 226 (a 52.8% lead) indicates substantially better desktop compositing and 2D rendering performance. Third, DirectX 12: a 7.1% lead (14 vs 13), although the absolute scores are low on both sides. The Radeon 550’s higher clock speeds (1183 MHz boost vs 915 MHz) and newer process node (14 nm vs 28 nm) contribute to its efficiency, while its lower TDP (50 W vs 75 W) makes it a lighter power draw. Its newer Vulkan 1.3 API support is also a clear feature advantage.

For use-case planning: choose the GTX 860M for older game libraries, OpenCL compute, and any workload where texture throughput matters. Choose the Radeon 550 for Vulkan development, 2D-heavy desktop workflows, DirectX 12 titles (marginal), and situations where lower power consumption and smaller physical footprint are priorities. Neither card is competitive with modern parts — the GTX 860M’s nearest rival is the GTX 750 Ti (0.5% ahead) and the Radeon 550’s nearest rival is the RTX 3060 Ti GDDR6X (0.2% ahead), which shows both sit in crowded, low-performance territory.