AMD Radeon 550X vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records a single direct comparison between the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti and the AMD Radeon 550X: the Geekbench OpenCL test. In this measurement, the GTX 560 Ti scores 10,690 points, while the Radeon 550X scores 8,866 points. That yields a decisive 20.6% advantage for the older NVIDIA card. This is a substantial gap in raw compute throughput, indicating that the GTX 560 Ti processes general-purpose workloads at a meaningfully higher rate than the Radeon 550X.

The GTX 560 Ti also holds a stronger position in the broader performance distribution. It sits at the 49th percentile among all GPUs in the database, while the Radeon 550X sits at the 45th percentile. Although both cards occupy the lower-middle range of the spectrum, the 560 Ti is closer to the median, whereas the 550X dips slightly below it. This percentile difference aligns with the 20.6% OpenCL delta, reinforcing that the NVIDIA part is the better compute performer in this pairing.

Looking at the nearest rivals for each card provides additional context. The GTX 560 Ti's closest competitors include the AMD Radeon RX 6600S, which scores 10,629 (0.6% behind the 560 Ti), and the NVIDIA Quadro K2200, which scores 10,761 (0.7% ahead). The AMD Radeon R9 M275X trails by 1% at 10,582, and the AMD Radeon Pro 450 leads by 1.1% at 10,804. These tight margins show that the 560 Ti is clustered with a group of mid-range cards, and its 10,690 score is right in the middle of that pack.

For the Radeon 550X, the nearest rivals cluster much lower. The AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100 scores 8,863 (0.6% behind), the AMD Radeon R9 M265X scores 8,851 (0.8% behind), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 scores 9,022 (1.2% ahead), and the NVIDIA TITAN V CEO Edition scores 9,037 (1.3% ahead). The 550X's 8,866 score places it near the bottom of this group, with only two rivals trailing by less than a point. Notably, the GTX 660, a card from the same era as the 560 Ti, outperforms the 550X by 1.2%, suggesting the 550X is not competitive against even slightly older mid-range NVIDIA parts.

The head-to-head data shows no countervailing win for the Radeon 550X. In the only recorded test, it loses outright. There is no Geekbench Vulkan result for the GTX 560 Ti in the database, so the 550X's Vulkan score of 8,970 cannot be compared directly. However, the OpenCL result is unambiguous: the 560 Ti wins the sole head-to-head benchmark by a wide margin, and the 550X has zero wins in this comparison.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from vastly different eras and design philosophies. The GTX 560 Ti uses the GF114 chip, built on NVIDIA's Fermi 2.0 architecture, and belongs to the GeForce 500 generation. It is fabricated on a 40 nm process at TSMC, with a die size of 332 mm² and 1,950 million transistors. The transistor density works out to 5.9 million per square millimeter. In contrast, the Radeon 550X uses the Lexa chip, built on AMD's GCN 4.0 architecture, and belongs to the Polaris (RX 500X) generation. It is fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries, with a much smaller die size of 103 mm² but a higher transistor count of 2,200 million. The transistor density is 21.4 million per square millimeter, nearly four times that of the 560 Ti.

The memory subsystems differ significantly. The GTX 560 Ti has 1,024 MB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 128.3 GB/s and a memory clock of 1,002 MHz (4 Gbps effective). The Radeon 550X has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, yielding a lower bandwidth of 112.0 GB/s and a memory clock of 1,750 MHz (7 Gbps effective). The 550X has double the capacity but half the bus width, resulting in lower overall bandwidth. The 560 Ti's wider bus compensates for its slower memory clock, giving it a 14.6% bandwidth advantage.

Compute resources are organized differently. The 560 Ti has 384 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The 550X has 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. The 550X has 33% more shading units, but the 560 Ti has double the TMUs and double the ROPs. These structural differences lead to distinct rate limits: the 560 Ti achieves a pixel rate of 13.17 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 52.67 GTexel/s, while the 550X achieves a higher pixel rate of 19.49 GPixel/s but a lower texture rate of 38.98 GTexel/s. The 550X wins on pixel throughput, but the 560 Ti wins on texture throughput by 35%.

In raw floating-point performance, the two are nearly tied. The 560 Ti delivers 1,263.4 GFLOPS of FP32 compute, while the 550X delivers 1,247.2 GFLOPS. The 560 Ti leads by a mere 1.3%, which is within the noise of architectural differences. The 550X also supports FP16 at a 1:1 ratio, delivering 1,247.2 GFLOPS, while the 560 Ti has no recorded FP16 capability. This makes the 550X more flexible for mixed-precision workloads, but it does not help in the OpenCL test where the 560 Ti wins by 20.6%.

Power and interface specifications diverge sharply. The 560 Ti has a TDP of 170 W, requires two 6-pin power connectors, and suggests a 450 W PSU. It uses a PCIe 2.0 x16 interface. The 550X has a TDP of 50 W, requires no power connectors, and suggests a 250 W PSU. It uses a PCIe 3.0 x8 interface. The 550X is dramatically more power-efficient, drawing 70% less power, but it also has less headroom for sustained performance.

The API support differs as well. The 560 Ti supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and has no Vulkan support recorded. The 550X supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. This makes the 550X the more modern choice for Vulkan-based applications. Display outputs also differ: the 560 Ti has two DVI ports and one mini-HDMI 1.3a, while the 550X has one DVI, one HDMI 2.0b, and one DisplayPort 1.4a.

FAQ

Q: Which card wins the only head-to-head benchmark in the database?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti wins the Geekbench OpenCL test with a score of 10,690 versus the AMD Radeon 550X's 8,866, a 20.6% advantage.

Q: How do the two cards compare in memory bandwidth?

A: The GTX 560 Ti has 128.3 GB/s of bandwidth from a 256-bit bus, while the Radeon 550X has 112.0 GB/s from a 128-bit bus. The 560 Ti leads by 14.6%.

Q: What is the power draw difference?

A: The GTX 560 Ti has a TDP of 170 W and requires two 6-pin connectors, while the Radeon 550X has a TDP of 50 W and requires no power connectors.

Q: Does the Radeon 550X support Vulkan?

A: Yes, the Radeon 550X supports Vulkan 1.3, while the GTX 560 Ti has no recorded Vulkan support in the database.

Q: Which card has higher FP32 compute?

A: The GTX 560 Ti delivers 1,263.4 GFLOPS, while the Radeon 550X delivers 1,247.2 GFLOPS. The 560 Ti leads by 1.3%.

Q: How do the cards compare in texture and pixel rates?

A: The GTX 560 Ti has a texture rate of 52.67 GTexel/s and a pixel rate of 13.17 GPixel/s. The Radeon 550X has a texture rate of 38.98 GTexel/s and a pixel rate of 19.49 GPixel/s. The 560 Ti wins on texture rate, while the 550X wins on pixel rate.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti | AMD Radeon 550X |

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

| Chip | GF114 | Lexa |

| Architecture | Fermi 2.0 | GCN 4.0 |

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

| Process Node | 40 nm | 14 nm |

| Foundry | TSMC | GlobalFoundries |

| Transistors | 1,950 million | 2,200 million |

| Die Size | 332 mm² | 103 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 5.9M / mm² | 21.4M / mm² |

| Base Clock | null | 1082 MHz |

| Boost Clock | null | 1218 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1002 MHz (4 Gbps effective) | 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 1024 MB | 2 GB |

| Memory Bus Width | 256 bit | 128 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 128.3 GB/s | 112.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 384 | 512 |

| TMUs | 64 | 32 |

| ROPs | 32 | 16 |

| Pixel Rate | 13.17 GPixel/s | 19.49 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 52.67 GTexel/s | 38.98 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 1,263.4 GFLOPS | 1,247.2 GFLOPS |

| FP16 | null | 1,247.2 GFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 170 W | 50 W |

| Power Connectors | 2x 6-pin | None |

| Suggested PSU | 450 W | 250 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 2.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x8 |

| Display Outputs | 2x DVI, 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, 1x DisplayPort 1.4a |

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

| Vulkan | null | 1.3 |

| Length | 229 mm (9 inches) | 145 mm (5.7 inches) |

| Release Date | 2011-01-24 | 2019-03-26 |

| Launch MSRP | 249 USD | null |

The Verdict

The data points to a clear winner for raw compute performance: the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti. Its 20.6% OpenCL lead over the Radeon 550X is the single most decisive number in this comparison. The 560 Ti also holds a higher percentile rank (49th versus 45th) and a higher average benchmark score (10,690 versus 8,918). If the task is general-purpose compute, the 560 Ti is the better choice.

However, the 550X is not without merit. It draws only 50 W versus 170 W, requires no power connectors, and suggests a 250 W PSU instead of 450 W. It also has double the memory capacity (2 GB versus 1 GB), a higher pixel rate (19.49 GPixel/s versus 13.17 GPixel/s), and modern API support including Vulkan 1.3 and DirectX 12 (12_0). For users prioritizing efficiency, memory capacity, or modern feature support, the 550X has clear advantages.

The 560 Ti's texture rate of 52.67 GTexel/s is 35% higher than the 550X's 38.98 GTexel/s, which can matter in texture-bound workloads. Its wider 256-bit memory bus provides 14.6% more bandwidth, which helps in memory-intensive tasks. But the 550X's smaller die (103 mm² versus 332 mm²) and higher transistor density (21.4M/mm² versus 5.9M/mm²) show a much more modern manufacturing approach.

For gaming and general use, the 550X's higher pixel rate and larger memory buffer may make it more suitable for higher-resolution textures, but the 560 Ti's superior texture rate and bandwidth could give it an edge in other scenarios. The lack of Vulkan support on the 560 Ti is a significant limitation for modern titles that rely on that API.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti wins in compute throughput, as demonstrated by the 20.6% OpenCL advantage. It also wins in texture processing, with a 35% higher texture rate, and in memory bandwidth, with a 14.6% higher figure. Its 128.3 GB/s bandwidth and 52.67 GTexel/s texture rate make it the stronger choice for workloads that saturate these resources, such as physics simulations, image processing, or texture-heavy rendering. Its FP32 output of 1,263.4 GFLOPS edges out the 550X's 1,247.2 GFLOPS, though by a slim margin.

The AMD Radeon 550X wins in power efficiency and physical footprint. Its 50 W TDP is 120 W lower than the 560 Ti's 170 W, and its 145 mm length is 84 mm shorter. It requires no power connectors, making it far easier to install in a compact system. It also wins in memory capacity, offering 2 GB versus 1 GB, and in pixel rate, at 19.49 GPixel/s versus 13.17 GPixel/s. This combination suggests it is better suited for 2D-heavy or display-oriented workloads where pixel fill rate matters more than texture throughput.

The 550X also wins on modern software support. It offers Vulkan 1.3 and DirectX 12 (12_0), while the 560 Ti is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0) and has no Vulkan support. For users running recent games or applications that use Vulkan, the 550X is the only viable option. Its FP16 capability, at 1,247.2 GFLOPS, also gives it an advantage in workloads that can use half-precision math, a feature the 560 Ti lacks entirely.

In terms of overall benchmark standing, the 560 Ti sits at the 49th percentile, above the 550X's 45th percentile. The 560 Ti's average score of 10,690 is 19.9% higher than the 550X's 8,918. These aggregate numbers reinforce that the 560 Ti is the stronger performer in the database's measurements, even though it is older by eight years. The 550X's nearest rivals, such as the GTX 660 at 9,022, show that it is grouped with cards that are generally slower than the 560 Ti's peer set, which includes the Quadro K2200 at 10,761 and the Radeon Pro 450 at 10,804.