AMD Radeon 550X vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 Comparison

The data places the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 and AMD Radeon 550X at nearly the same overall performance tier, with the GTX 760 holding a clear edge in the available shared benchmarks. Their average benchmark scores are 9458 for the NVIDIA card and 8918 for the AMD card, a difference of roughly 6 percent. Both cards sit within one percentile point of each other on the global scale, at 46 and 45 percent respectively, indicating they belong to the same performance class. However, the head-to-head results show the GTX 760 is not just marginally faster; it leads by a significant margin in compute workloads, which suggests a meaningful architectural advantage despite the similar overall ranking.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The Geekbench OpenCL test provides the first direct comparison point. The GTX 760 scores 11299, while the Radeon 550X scores 8866. This gives the NVIDIA card a 27.4 percent advantage. This is a substantial gap, far larger than the 1.6 percent delta the GTX 760 shows over its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon R7 M380, in the full benchmark suite. The OpenCL result indicates that the GTX 760’s raw compute throughput is considerably higher, which aligns with its larger shading unit count and wider memory bus.

The Geekbench Vulkan test widens the gap further. Here, the GTX 760 produces a score of 12551 against the Radeon 550X’s 8970, resulting in a 39.9 percent lead for the NVIDIA card. This is the largest win in either direction across the head-to-head data. A near-40 percent margin in a modern API like Vulkan is substantial and points to the GTX 760 handling draw calls and graphics workloads with much greater efficiency. Notably, the GTX 760’s Vulkan score is also higher than its own OpenCL score, while the Radeon 550X’s Vulkan score (8970) is only slightly above its OpenCL result (8866), suggesting the NVIDIA architecture scales better with the Vulkan API.

Across the two shared tests, the GTX 760 wins both, giving it a 2-0 record in the head-to-head comparison. The average of these two wins is roughly 33.7 percent, which is a decisive margin. It is worth remembering the GTX 760’s average benchmark score of 9458 is pulled down by its Geekbench Metal score of 4524, which is not a test the AMD card runs. If Metal were excluded, the NVIDIA card’s average would be even higher relative to its rival. The data consistently shows the GTX 760 outperforming the Radeon 550X in every workload where both were measured.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the benchmark results, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 is the faster card. It wins both head-to-head tests, with leads of 27.4 percent in OpenCL and 39.9 percent in Vulkan. Its average benchmark score is 540 points higher than the AMD Radeon 550X. For any user prioritizing raw compute or graphics performance in OpenCL and Vulkan applications, the GTX 760 is the clear choice from this data set.

The Radeon 550X, however, is not without its own merits. Its average score of 8918 places it just 0.6 percent behind the AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100 and 0.8 percent ahead of the AMD Radeon R9 M265X, showing it is competitive with its immediate peers. Its low power consumption of 50 W, compared to the GTX 760’s 170 W, makes it the more efficient option in terms of performance per watt, even if that efficiency does not translate into higher raw scores. It also requires no power connectors, whereas the GTX 760 needs two 6-pin connectors, and its suggested power supply is 250 W versus 450 W.

The decision hinges on what the user values more: raw performance or operational efficiency. If the goal is maximum frame rates and compute throughput, the GTX 760 wins decisively. If the goal is a low-power, low-footprint card that still delivers comparable average performance to the GTX 760 in the broader benchmark pool, the Radeon 550X is the more practical option. The GTX 760 is the performance winner; the Radeon 550X is the efficiency winner.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different architectural generations and manufacturing processes. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 uses the GK104 chip, built on the Kepler architecture, and is manufactured on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It contains 3,540 million transistors on a 294 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 12.0 million per square millimeter. The AMD Radeon 550X uses the Lexa chip, built on GCN 4.0, and is manufactured on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. It contains 2,200 million transistors on a 103 mm² die, giving it a transistor density of 21.4 million per square millimeter.

The process node difference is significant: 14 nm is a smaller, more modern node than 28 nm, which allows the AMD card to pack a higher density of transistors into a much smaller die. The AMD card also has a higher base clock of 1082 MHz and boost clock of 1218 MHz, compared to the GTX 760’s 980 MHz base and 1032 MHz boost. Despite the higher clocks, the Radeon 550X delivers lower raw performance because it has far fewer execution units: 512 shading units, 32 texture mapping units, and 16 render output units, versus the GTX 760’s 1152 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 32 ROPs.

Memory subsystems also differ. Both use 2 GB of GDDR5, but the GTX 760 has a 256-bit memory bus providing 192.3 GB/s of bandwidth, while the Radeon 550X has a 128-bit bus providing 112.0 GB/s. The GTX 760’s memory clock is 1502 MHz (6 Gbps effective), and the Radeon 550X’s is 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective), but the wider bus on the NVIDIA card more than compensates for the lower clock. The GTX 760 also features higher pixel and texture rates: 24.77 GPixel/s and 99.07 GTexel/s, respectively, versus 19.49 GPixel/s and 38.98 GTexel/s on the AMD card. The FP32 compute is 2.378 TFLOPS for NVIDIA and 1,247.2 GFLOPS for AMD, with the AMD card matching its FP32 output in FP16 at a 1:1 ratio, a feature the GTX 760 does not list.

FAQ

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 has an average benchmark score of 9458, while the AMD Radeon 550X has an average score of 8918, making the GTX 760 the higher-scoring card by 540 points.

Q: How much faster is the GTX 760 in the Vulkan test?

A: The GTX 760 scores 12551 in Geekbench Vulkan, compared to 8970 for the Radeon 550X, which is a 39.9 percent advantage for the NVIDIA card.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The GTX 760 has a TDP of 170 W and requires two 6-pin power connectors, while the Radeon 550X has a TDP of 50 W and requires no power connectors.

Q: Does the Radeon 550X support newer API versions than the GTX 760?

A: Yes, the Radeon 550X supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3, while the GTX 760 supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and Vulkan 1.2.175.

Q: Which card has a higher memory bandwidth?

A: The GTX 760 has a memory bandwidth of 192.3 GB/s due to its 256-bit bus, whereas the Radeon 550X has 112.0 GB/s on a 128-bit bus.

Q: What is the nearest rival to each card?

A: The GTX 760’s nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN BLACK with an average score of 9474, while the Radeon 550X’s nearest rival is the AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100 with an average score of 8863.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 wins in every head-to-head benchmark recorded. Its OpenCL score of 11299 beats the Radeon 550X’s 8866 by 27.4 percent, and its Vulkan score of 12551 beats 8970 by 39.9 percent. The GTX 760 also wins on raw specifications: it has more shading units (1152 vs 512), more TMUs (96 vs 32), more ROPs (32 vs 16), and a wider memory bus (256-bit vs 128-bit). Its pixel rate of 24.77 GPixel/s and texture rate of 99.07 GTexel/s are both higher than the AMD card’s 19.49 GPixel/s and 38.98 GTexel/s. For users running OpenCL or Vulkan workloads, the GTX 760 is the definitive winner.

The AMD Radeon 550X wins on efficiency and physical footprint. Its 50 W TDP is 120 W lower than the GTX 760’s 170 W, and it draws power solely from the PCIe slot, eliminating the need for auxiliary power connectors. Its suggested power supply is 250 W, versus 450 W for the GTX 760. The card is also much shorter at 145 mm (5.7 inches) compared to 241 mm (9.5 inches) for the GTX 760. It uses a newer 14 nm process, has a higher base and boost clock, and supports newer API versions, including DirectX 12_0 and Vulkan 1.3. For a compact, low-power system, the Radeon 550X is the better fit.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every core specification. The GTX 760 uses the GK104 chip on a 28 nm process with 3,540 million transistors and a 294 mm² die, while the Radeon 550X uses the Lexa chip on a 14 nm process with 2,200 million transistors and a 103 mm² die. The GTX 760 has clocks of 980 MHz base and 1032 MHz boost, whereas the Radeon 550X has 1082 MHz base and 1218 MHz boost. Memory is 2 GB GDDR5 on both, but the GTX 760 has a 256-bit bus with 192.3 GB/s bandwidth, and the Radeon 550X has a 128-bit bus with 112.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Compute resources differ sharply: the GTX 760 has 1152 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, against 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs on the Radeon 550X. The GTX 760’s pixel rate is 24.77 GPixel/s and texture rate is 99.07 GTexel/s; the Radeon 550X’s are 19.49 GPixel/s and 38.98 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 2.378 TFLOPS for NVIDIA and 1,247.2 GFLOPS for AMD. The GTX 760 has a TDP of 170 W with two 6-pin connectors and a 450 W suggested PSU, while the Radeon 550X has a 50 W TDP with no connectors and a 250 W suggested PSU. The GTX 760 uses PCIe 3.0 x16, and the Radeon 550X uses PCIe 3.0 x8. Display outputs also differ: the GTX 760 has 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 1x DisplayPort 1.2, while the Radeon 550X has 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, and 1x DisplayPort 1.4a. The GTX 760’s launch MSRP was 249 USD.