AMD Radeon 760M vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in the only shared benchmark test?

A: The AMD Radeon 760M wins the sole head-to-head test (Geekbench OpenCL) with a score of 20,255 versus 5,731 for the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti, a delta of 253.4%.

Q: How do their overall benchmark averages compare?

A: The AMD Radeon 760M has an average benchmark score of 6,019, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti averages 5,731. The 760M sits at the 35th percentile of all GPUs, slightly above the GTX 550 Ti's 33rd percentile.

Q: What are the closest rivals to each card?

A: The Radeon 760M's nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 6400 (average score 6,001, a 0.3% difference). The GTX 550 Ti's nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670MX (average 5,721, a 0.2% difference).

Q: What is the process technology difference?

A: The Radeon 760M is built on a 4 nm process at TSMC, whereas the GTX 550 Ti uses a 40 nm process, also at TSMC. This represents a massive generational leap in manufacturing.

Q: Does the GTX 550 Ti support modern APIs?

A: The GTX 550 Ti supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, but has no Vulkan support. The Radeon 760M supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Q: Which card has a higher transistor count?

A: The AMD Radeon 760M has 25,390 million transistors on a 178 mm² die, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti has 1,170 million transistors on a 238 mm² die.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Radeon 760M and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti are separated by more than a decade of GPU design philosophy. The 760M is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture, part of the Navi III IGP generation with the Phoenix chip. It is manufactured on a 4 nm process at TSMC, packing 25,390 million transistors into a 178 mm² die. This yields a transistor density of 142.6 million transistors per square millimeter.

The GTX 550 Ti, by contrast, is a discrete graphics card from the GeForce 500 generation, using the Fermi 2.0 architecture with the GF116 chip. It is built on a 40 nm process at TSMC, with 1,170 million transistors on a 238 mm² die — a transistor density of just 4.9 million per square millimeter. The density difference is staggering: the Radeon 760M packs roughly 29 times more transistors per area.

Feature support diverges sharply. The Radeon 760M includes 8 dedicated ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent from the GTX 550 Ti. The 760M also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the GTX 550 Ti is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0) with no Vulkan support at all. Both support OpenGL 4.6.

The memory architecture is fundamentally different. The Radeon 760M uses system-shared memory, with a system-dependent bandwidth and no dedicated VRAM. The GTX 550 Ti has 1024 MB of dedicated GDDR5 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 98.50 GB/s of bandwidth. The 760M's memory clock is listed as "System Shared" — it borrows from the host system's RAM.

Power characteristics reflect their different roles. The Radeon 760M is an IGP with a 15 W TDP and no power connectors, while the GTX 550 Ti is a dual-slot card with a 116 W TDP, a single 6-pin power connector, and a suggested 300 W power supply. The GTX 550 Ti also has a physical presence: 210 mm (8.3 inches) in length, with display outputs of 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a. The 760M's display outputs are motherboard dependent.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two GPUs share exactly one benchmark result: Geekbench OpenCL. This single data point is decisive. The AMD Radeon 760M scores 20,255, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti scores 5,731. That is a 253.4% advantage for the 760M — the newer integrated solution is more than three and a half times faster in raw compute throughput.

This result is consistent with their broader benchmark profiles. The Radeon 760M shows a wide range of scores across multiple tests: 400 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, 30,336 in Geekbench Vulkan, 5,310 in Passmark G3D, and 2,840 in Passmark GPU Compute. Its average benchmark score is 6,019. The GTX 550 Ti has only the one Geekbench OpenCL result, which also serves as its average score of 5,731.

The win count is equally one-sided: the Radeon 760M wins 1 head-to-head test, while the GTX 550 Ti wins 0. There is no test in which the older NVIDIA card comes out ahead. The margin is not close — 253.4% is a generational gap, not a incremental improvement.

Looking at percentile placement, the Radeon 760M ranks at the 35th percentile of all GPUs, while the GTX 550 Ti sits at the 33rd percentile. Both are near the middle-low range, but the 760M's position is achieved with far more modern features and a fraction of the power draw.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon 760M | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti |

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

| Architecture | RDNA 3.0 | Fermi 2.0 |

| Process Node | 4 nm | 40 nm |

| Transistors | 25,390 million | 1,170 million |

| Die Size | 178 mm² | 238 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 142.6M / mm² | 4.9M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 800 MHz | N/A |

| Boost Clock | 2599 MHz | N/A |

| Memory Size | System Shared | 1024 MB |

| Memory Type | System Shared | GDDR5 |

| Memory Bus Width | System Shared | 192 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | System Dependent | 98.50 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 512 | 192 |

| TMUs | 32 | 32 |

| ROPs | 16 | 24 |

| RT Cores | 8 | N/A |

| Pixel Rate | 41.58 GPixel/s | 7.200 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 83.17 GTexel/s | 28.80 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 5.323 TFLOPS | 691.2 GFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 5.323 TFLOPS (1:1) | N/A |

| TDP | 15 W | 116 W |

| Slot Width | IGP | Dual-slot |

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

| Suggested PSU | N/A | 300 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x8 | PCIe 2.0 x16 |

| DirectX | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | 12 (11_0) |

| Vulkan | 1.4 | N/A |

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

| Release Date | 2024-01-30 | 2011-03-14 |

| Predecessor | Navi II IGP | GeForce 400 |

| Successor | N/A | GeForce 600 |

| Launch MSRP | N/A | 149 USD |

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the AMD Radeon 760M is the superior GPU in every measurable way within this comparison. It wins the only shared benchmark by 253.4%, has a higher average benchmark score (6,019 vs 5,731), and ranks higher in percentile placement (35th vs 33rd). The 760M also offers modern features that the GTX 550 Ti simply lacks: ray tracing cores, Vulkan support, DirectX 12 Ultimate, and FP16 compute.

The GTX 550 Ti's sole advantages are in areas that reflect its age and different design goals. It has more ROPs (24 vs 16), dedicated GDDR5 memory with a 192-bit bus and 98.50 GB/s bandwidth (versus system-shared memory), and a lower transistor count that historically meant lower cost. Its launch MSRP was 149 USD, but that was in 2011.

For anyone choosing between these two today, the Radeon 760M is the clear pick. It delivers more than triple the compute performance in a 15 W IGP package versus a 116 W discrete card. The GTX 550 Ti is end-of-life, while the 760M is active and current. The 760M's system-shared memory is a limitation, but its raw performance and feature set overwhelm the GTX 550 Ti's dedicated VRAM advantage.

Where Each One Wins

AMD Radeon 760M wins on:

• Raw compute performance: 253.4% ahead in Geekbench OpenCL, and 5.323 TFLOPS FP32 versus 691.2 GFLOPS.
• Modern API support: DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4 versus DirectX 12 (11_0) and no Vulkan.
• Ray tracing: 8 dedicated RT cores versus none.
• Efficiency: 15 W TDP versus 116 W, with no power connectors required.
• Pixel and texture throughput: 41.58 GPixel/s and 83.17 GTexel/s versus 7.200 GPixel/s and 28.80 GTexel/s.
• Manufacturing: 4 nm process versus 40 nm, with 142.6M transistors per mm² versus 4.9M.
• Availability: Active production status versus end-of-life.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti wins on:

• Dedicated memory: 1024 MB GDDR5 with 98.50 GB/s bandwidth versus system-shared memory with system-dependent bandwidth.
• Raster operations: 24 ROPs versus 16.
• Bus interface: PCIe 2.0 x16 versus PCIe 4.0 x8 (though the newer standard is faster, the older card uses a wider physical lane count).
• Physical form factor: a discrete dual-slot card with 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI outputs, versus motherboard-dependent outputs on the IGP.
• Historical context: a lower transistor count (1,170 million vs 25,390 million) that reflects its simpler, older design.

The GTX 550 Ti's wins are largely historical or architectural curiosities. Its dedicated VRAM and higher ROP count do not translate into benchmark victories — the 760M wins the only test where both have scores. For modern workloads, the Radeon 760M is the only rational choice between these two.