AMD Radeon R7 M365X vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark pairing available between these two GPUs is Geekbench OpenCL, and the result favors the AMD Radeon R7 M365X. The AMD part scores 5,939 against the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti’s 5,731, a 3.5% margin in AMD’s favor. While that is a measurable lead, it is far from a decisive victory; in practical terms, both cards sit in the same performance neighborhood, and the delta is well within the range of run-to-run variance for OpenCL workloads that scale differently across architectures.

Looking beyond the direct head-to-head, the GTX 550 Ti’s 5,731 average score places it at the 33rd percentile of all GPUs, while the R7 M365X’s 5,416 average (which includes both its OpenCL and Vulkan results) sits at the 32nd percentile. The discrepancy between the R7 M365X’s higher OpenCL score and its lower average is explained by its Vulkan result of 4,893, which drags the aggregate down. The GTX 550 Ti has no Vulkan benchmark recorded, so its average equals its OpenCL score.

The GTX 550 Ti’s nearest rivals reinforce this picture. It trails the AMD Radeon R7 M465 by 1.9% (5,841 vs. 5,731), but leads the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670MX by 0.2% (5,721), the Intel Iris Pro Graphics P6300 by 0.3% (5,712), and the AMD Radeon HD 8790M by 0.7% (5,691). The R7 M365X, meanwhile, sits 0.5% behind the AMD Radeon 610M (5,444), 0.9% ahead of the Intel UHD Graphics P630 (5,370), 0.9% behind the NVIDIA Quadro M4000 (5,467), and 1.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon R7 M445 (5,358). Neither card dominates its immediate competition; both are clustered within a few percentage points of their neighbors.

What the numbers do show is that the R7 M365X has a slight edge in raw OpenCL compute, but the GTX 550 Ti is more consistent across its recorded workload. The 3.5% delta in the head-to-head is smaller than the gap between the R7 M365X’s OpenCL and Vulkan scores, which differ by 21.4% internally. That inconsistency suggests the AMD card’s OpenCL advantage is workload-specific rather than a general performance lead.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from fundamentally different design generations. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti is built on the GF116 chip using Fermi 2.0 architecture, fabricated on a 40 nm process at TSMC. The AMD Radeon R7 M365X uses the Litho chip with GCN 1.0 architecture, also produced by TSMC but on a newer 28 nm node. The process shrink gives AMD a significant transistor density advantage: the R7 M365X packs 12.3 million transistors per square millimeter, versus 4.9M / mm² for the GTX 550 Ti. That density allows the AMD chip to fit 950 million transistors into a 77 mm² die, while NVIDIA’s larger 238 mm² die holds 1,170 million transistors.

The shader configurations differ sharply. The GTX 550 Ti has 192 shading units, 32 texture mapping units, and 24 ROPs. The R7 M365X has 384 shading units — exactly double — but only 24 TMUs and 8 ROPs. That configuration reveals the AMD card’s compute-oriented design: more shaders for parallel throughput, but fewer fixed-function units for texture and pixel output. The FP32 numbers reflect this: the GTX 550 Ti delivers 691.2 GFLOPS, while the R7 M365X reaches 633.6 GFLOPS. Despite having twice the shader count, the AMD part is slightly slower in raw floating-point because its lower clock rates and narrower memory subsystem offset the wider SIMD layout.

Memory architecture also diverges. Both use 1024 MB of GDDR5, but the GTX 550 Ti runs a 192-bit bus with 98.50 GB/s bandwidth, while the R7 M365X uses a 128-bit bus with 64.00 GB/s. That 34.5 GB/s bandwidth deficit is significant for memory-bound workloads, and it helps explain why the AMD card’s OpenCL lead is modest despite its shader advantage. The GTX 550 Ti’s memory clock is 1026 MHz (4.1 Gbps effective), slightly higher than the R7 M365X’s 1000 MHz (4 Gbps effective).

Pixel and texture rates follow the ROP/TMU counts. The GTX 550 Ti produces 7.200 GPixel/s and 28.80 GTexel/s, versus 6.600 GPixel/s and 19.80 GTexel/s for the R7 M365X. The NVIDIA card leads in both fixed-function metrics, with a 9.1% pixel rate advantage and a 45.5% texture rate advantage. API support differs as well: the GTX 550 Ti supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, but no Vulkan; the R7 M365X supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The AMD Radeon R7 M365X scores 5,939 versus the GTX 550 Ti’s 5,731, a 3.5% advantage for the AMD card.

Q: How do their shading unit counts compare?

A: The R7 M365X has 384 shading units, exactly double the GTX 550 Ti’s 192. Despite this, the GTX 550 Ti achieves higher FP32 throughput at 691.2 GFLOPS versus 633.6 GFLOPS.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The GTX 550 Ti has a 192-bit bus delivering 98.50 GB/s, while the R7 M365X uses a 128-bit bus with 64.00 GB/s. The NVIDIA card offers 34.5 GB/s more bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU supports Vulkan?

A: Only the AMD Radeon R7 M365X supports Vulkan, with version 1.2.170. The GTX 550 Ti has no Vulkan support listed.

Q: How do their transistor densities compare?

A: The R7 M365X has a transistor density of 12.3M / mm² on a 77 mm² die, while the GTX 550 Ti has 4.9M / mm² on a 238 mm² die.

Q: What is the DirectX support level for each card?

A: The GTX 550 Ti supports DirectX 12 (11_0), while the R7 M365X supports DirectX 12 (11_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti | AMD Radeon R7 M365X |

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

| Architecture | Fermi 2.0 | GCN 1.0 |

| Chip | GF116 | Litho |

| Process Node | 40 nm | 28 nm |

| Transistors | 1,170 million | 950 million |

| Die Size | 238 mm² | 77 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 4.9M / mm² | 12.3M / mm² |

| Memory Clock | 1026 MHz (4.1 Gbps effective) | 1000 MHz (4 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Bus Width | 192 bit | 128 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 98.50 GB/s | 64.00 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 192 | 384 |

| TMUs | 32 | 24 |

| ROPs | 24 | 8 |

| Pixel Rate | 7.200 GPixel/s | 6.600 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 28.80 GTexel/s | 19.80 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 691.2 GFLOPS | 633.6 GFLOPS |

| TDP | 116 W | Not specified |

| Slot Width | Dual-slot | Not specified |

| Power Connectors | 1x 6-pin | Not specified |

| Suggested PSU | 300 W | Not specified |

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

| Display Outputs | 2x DVI, 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a | Not specified |

| DirectX | 12 (11_0) | 12 (11_1) |

| Vulkan | Not specified | 1.2.170 |

| Length | 210 mm (8.3 inches) | Not specified |

| Release Date | 2011-03-14 | 2015-05-04 |

| Predecessor | GeForce 400 | Solar System |

| Successor | GeForce 600 | Polaris Mobile |

| Launch MSRP | 149 USD | Not specified |

The Verdict

The data points to a nuanced conclusion. The AMD Radeon R7 M365X wins the only direct head-to-head benchmark, taking Geekbench OpenCL by 3.5%. It also offers modern API support with Vulkan 1.2.170 and a newer DirectX feature level (11_1 vs. 11_0). Its 28 nm process and higher transistor density represent a more efficient design, and its 384 shading units suggest better compute scalability in workloads that can utilize them.

However, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti is not obsolete by the numbers. It leads in FP32 throughput (691.2 GFLOPS vs. 633.6 GFLOPS), memory bandwidth (98.50 GB/s vs. 64.00 GB/s), pixel rate (7.200 GPixel/s vs. 6.600 GPixel/s), and texture rate (28.80 GTexel/s vs. 19.80 GTexel/s). It also carries a higher percentile rank (33rd vs. 32nd) and a higher average benchmark score (5,731 vs. 5,416) once the R7 M365X’s Vulkan result is factored in. The GTX 550 Ti’s 192-bit memory bus and 24 ROPs give it a fill-rate advantage that matters for traditional rasterization.

For users prioritizing raw OpenCL compute in a single benchmark, the R7 M365X is the better pick — it wins the head-to-head and offers Vulkan support for modern applications. For users who need consistent memory bandwidth, higher fill rates, or a card with a defined power envelope (116 W TDP, 300 W suggested PSU), the GTX 550 Ti is the safer choice based on the available data. The GTX 550 Ti also has a known launch MSRP of 149 USD, while the R7 M365X has none listed.

Neither card is a clear winner across all metrics. The R7 M365X takes the compute crown in the direct comparison, but the GTX 550 Ti counters with superior memory and rasterization characteristics. The decision hinges on workload: compute-heavy OpenCL or Vulkan tasks favor AMD, while bandwidth- and fill-rate-sensitive workloads favor NVIDIA. Given the R7 M365X’s 32nd percentile ranking versus the GTX 550 Ti’s 33rd, the overall performance class is statistically equivalent — the 3.5% OpenCL delta is the only significant differentiator in benchmark data.