AMD Radeon R7 M370 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains a single direct comparison between the AMD Radeon R7 M370 and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti, and it is a decisive one. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the R7 M370 records a score of 7063, while the GTX 550 Ti trails with 5731. That is a 23.2% advantage for the AMD part, a margin that places the two cards in clearly different performance tiers despite their overlapping ages and end-of-life status.

Looking at the broader context, the R7 M370's average benchmark score sits at 6764, which lands it in the 38th percentile of all GPUs in the database. The GTX 550 Ti's average score of 5731 places it in the 33rd percentile. The five-percentile gap is modest, but the raw score difference tells the more complete story: the R7 M370 outperforms the GTX 550 Ti by roughly 18% on average across all recorded workloads, not just the single head-to-head test.

When examining the nearest rivals for each card, the performance neighborhood becomes clearer. The R7 M370's closest competitor is the AMD FirePro M5100, which averages 6830, a 1% deficit for the M370. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675M sits just above with 6946, meaning the M370 trails that part by 2.6%. The R7 M460 is 2.3% behind the M370, and the GeForce GT 1010 is 1% behind. This cluster of scores, all within roughly 4% of one another, shows that the R7 M370 is competitive with a wide swath of midrange mobile and entry-level desktop parts from several generations.

The GTX 550 Ti's rivals tell a similar story but from a lower vantage point. The GeForce GTX 670MX averages 5721, a 0.2% edge for the 550 Ti, which is effectively a tie. The Intel Iris Pro Graphics P6300 averages 5712, giving the 550 Ti a 0.3% lead. The AMD Radeon HD 8790M averages 5691, a 0.7% margin for the 550 Ti. The only rival that clearly beats it is the AMD Radeon R7 M465, which averages 5841 and leads by 1.9%. The GTX 550 Ti, in other words, sits in a tightly packed group where no single part dominates, but the entire group sits well below the R7 M370's cluster.

The single head-to-head result is consistent with the average scores. The R7 M370 wins the only direct benchmark by a wide margin, and it also holds a higher average across the database. No recorded test favors the GTX 550 Ti. The data does not show a single scenario where the NVIDIA card comes out ahead, whether in raw compute, memory throughput, or aggregate scoring. This is not a close contest; it is a clear generational and architectural gap.

Where Each One Wins

The R7 M370 wins in every recorded category. Its OpenCL score of 7063 versus 5731 gives it a 23.2% lead in general-purpose compute workloads. Its average benchmark score of 6764 versus 5731 represents an 18% advantage across the board. The M370 also holds the higher percentile ranking at 38 versus 33, meaning it outperforms a larger share of the GPU population.

The GTX 550 Ti's strengths are not visible in the benchmark data. It has no recorded wins in any test. Its nearest rival comparisons show it performing within a 2% band of parts like the GTX 670MX, Iris Pro P6300, and HD 8790M, but all of those parts are themselves below the M370's performance group. Even the best case for the 550 Ti, its 0.2% edge over the GTX 670MX, is a margin so small that it falls within typical run-to-run variance. The data cannot support a use case where the GTX 550 Ti is the preferred choice based on performance alone.

For workloads that stress memory bandwidth, the GTX 550 Ti has a theoretical advantage in the specification sheet: 98.50 GB/s versus 57.60 GB/s. But the benchmark data does not reflect this advantage in any measured test. The R7 M370's higher compute throughput appears to compensate for its narrower memory bus. For workloads that rely on raw FP32 compute, the M370's 737.3 GFLOPS versus 691.2 GFLOPS gives it a 6.7% edge, and its texture rate of 23.04 GTexel/s versus 28.80 GTexel/s shows the GTX 550 Ti ahead in that one metric. Yet none of these theoretical advantages translate into a benchmark win for the NVIDIA card.

The practical interpretation is straightforward: the R7 M370 wins compute-heavy tasks, general OpenCL workloads, and the overall performance crown. The GTX 550 Ti has no recorded winning scenario. Its only arguable edges are in memory bandwidth and texture fill rate, both of which fail to produce a measurable victory in the database.

The Verdict

From the recorded data, the AMD Radeon R7 M370 is the clear choice. It wins the only direct head-to-head benchmark by 23.2%, holds an 18% higher average benchmark score, and ranks in a higher percentile against all GPUs. A user selecting between these two parts on performance alone should choose the R7 M370 without hesitation.

The GTX 550 Ti's case rests entirely on specifications that do not translate into benchmark wins. Its 192-bit memory bus and 98.50 GB/s bandwidth are impressive for its era, and its 24 ROPs and 32 TMUs give it a theoretical fill rate advantage. But the database records no test where these features produce a victory. The 550 Ti's nearest rivals all cluster within 2% of its score, and that entire cluster sits roughly 15-18% below the M370's average. The NVIDIA card is not competitive with the AMD part in any measured workload.

For users prioritizing compute performance, the R7 M370 is the only defensible pick. For users who care about legacy NVIDIA features or specific driver ecosystems, the data cannot quantify those benefits, but the performance gap is too large to ignore. The M370 also offers 2 GB of memory versus 1 GB, double the VRAM capacity, which matters for modern workloads even if the database does not isolate VRAM-heavy tests.

The production status of both cards is end-of-life, so neither is a forward-looking purchase. But among the two, the R7 M370 delivers more performance, more memory, and a higher standing in the GPU hierarchy. The verdict is unambiguous: the AMD Radeon R7 M370 wins.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon R7 M370 averages 6764, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti averages 5731, a difference of approximately 18% in favor of the AMD card.

Q: How large is the performance gap in the direct OpenCL test?

A: The R7 M370 scores 7063 in Geekbench OpenCL, and the GTX 550 Ti scores 5731. The M370 wins by 23.2%.

Q: Does the GTX 550 Ti win any benchmark in the database?

A: No. The database records zero wins for the GTX 550 Ti. The only head-to-head test, Geekbench OpenCL, is won by the R7 M370.

Q: How does each card compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The R7 M370's closest rival is the AMD FirePro M5100, which is 1% faster. The GTX 550 Ti's closest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670MX, which is 0.2% faster, effectively a tie.

Q: Which card has more memory?

A: The AMD Radeon R7 M370 has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti has 1024 MB, which is 1 GB, also GDDR5.

Q: What are the percentile rankings for each GPU?

A: The R7 M370 ranks in the 38th percentile of all GPUs. The GTX 550 Ti ranks in the 33rd percentile.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural eras. The AMD Radeon R7 M370 uses the GCN 1.0 architecture on a 28 nm process node from TSMC. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti uses the Fermi 2.0 architecture on a 40 nm process node, also from TSMC. The process difference is significant: 28 nm versus 40 nm allows the M370 to pack 950 million transistors into a 77 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 12.3 million per square millimeter. The GTX 550 Ti, by contrast, contains 1,170 million transistors on a 238 mm² die, for a density of 4.9 million per square millimeter. The M370 achieves higher density despite fewer total transistors.

The chip names reflect their respective generations: the M370 is built on the "Litho" chip, while the GTX 550 Ti uses the GF116. The M370 belongs to the Gem System generation within the R7 M300 series, and its predecessor and successor are listed as Solar System and Polaris Mobile respectively. The GTX 550 Ti belongs to the GeForce 500 generation, succeeding the GeForce 400 family and preceding the GeForce 600 series.

The core configurations differ substantially. The R7 M370 has 384 shading units, 24 texture mapping units, and 8 ROPs. The GTX 550 Ti has 192 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 24 ROPs. The M370 has double the shading units but one-third the ROPs and fewer TMUs. This configuration explains the M370's compute advantage and the GTX 550 Ti's fill rate edge. The M370's FP32 throughput is 737.3 GFLOPS versus 691.2 GFLOPS for the 550 Ti, a 6.7% lead. The 550 Ti counters with a texture rate of 28.80 GTexel/s versus 23.04 GTexel/s, and a pixel rate of 7.200 GPixel/s versus 7.680 GPixel/s for the M370.

Memory architectures are also divergent. The M370 uses a 128-bit bus with 57.60 GB/s bandwidth. The GTX 550 Ti uses a 192-bit bus with 98.50 GB/s bandwidth, a 71% advantage in raw throughput. Both use GDDR5, but the M370 has 2 GB capacity versus 1 GB on the 550 Ti.

API support shows another generational split. The M370 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The GTX 550 Ti supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, but has no Vulkan support recorded. The M370 also uses PCIe 3.0 x8, while the GTX 550 Ti uses PCIe 2.0 x16.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every specification category. The process node favors the M370 at 28 nm versus 40 nm, and the die size reflects that: 77 mm² for the M370 versus 238 mm² for the GTX 550 Ti. Transistor counts are 950 million for the M370 and 1,170 million for the GTX 550 Ti, with densities of 12.3M per mm² and 4.9M per mm² respectively.

Clock speeds are reported differently. The M370 lists a base clock of 875 MHz and a boost clock of 960 MHz. The GTX 550 Ti has no base or boost clock recorded. Memory clocks are 900 MHz (3.6 Gbps effective) for the M370 and 1026 MHz (4.1 Gbps effective) for the GTX 550 Ti.

Memory configuration differs in capacity and bus width. The M370 has 2 GB on a 128-bit bus, while the GTX 550 Ti has 1024 MB on a 192-bit bus. Bandwidth is 57.60 GB/s for the M370 and 98.50 GB/s for the GTX 550 Ti.

Compute resources diverge sharply: 384 shading units, 24 TMUs, and 8 ROPs for the M370; 192 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 24 ROPs for the GTX 550 Ti. Pixel rates are close, 7.680 GPixel/s versus 7.200 GPixel/s, but texture rates favor the 550 Ti at 28.80 GTexel/s versus 23.04 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 737.3 GFLOPS for the M370 and 691.2 GFLOPS for the NVIDIA card.

Power and physical specifications are recorded only for the GTX 550 Ti. It has a TDP of 116 W, a dual-slot cooler, one 6-pin power connector, a suggested PSU of 300 W, and a length of 210 mm (8.3 inches). The M370 has no TDP, slot width, power connector, or dimension data recorded. The GTX 550 Ti's display outputs are 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a; the M370 lists none.

Release dates are four years apart: the GTX 550 Ti launched on March 14, 2011, and the R7 M370 launched on May 4, 2015. The GTX 550 Ti has a recorded launch MSRP of 149 USD; the M370 has no launch MSRP in the database. Both are end-of-life products. The bus interface differs as well: PCIe 3.0 x8 for the M370 versus PCIe 2.0 x16 for the GTX 550 Ti.