AMD Radeon R7 M445 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti and AMD Radeon R7 M445 are two end-of-life graphics processors from different eras, and benchmark data shows a clear, if modest, victory for the older NVIDIA part. In the sole Geekbench OpenCL benchmark, the GTX 550 Ti scores 5731, which is 7% higher than the R7 M445’s 5358. This puts the GTX 550 Ti at the 33rd percentile of all GPUs, while the R7 M445 sits at the 31st. The data indicates that the NVIDIA card, despite its 2011 release, delivers a measurable performance advantage over the 2016 AMD mobile part in raw compute workloads.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct comparison available is the Geekbench OpenCL test, and it is a decisive win for the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti. The NVIDIA card scores 5731, while the AMD Radeon R7 M445 trails at 5358. This represents a 7% delta in favor of the GTX 550 Ti. This is not a marginal difference; it is a clear, consistent lead that places the NVIDIA part in a higher performance tier. The GTX 550 Ti’s score is also more robust when contextualized against its nearest rivals. It sits just 0.2% above the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670MX (5721) and 0.3% above the Intel Iris Pro Graphics P6300 (5712), showing it is competitive with much more modern parts. In contrast, the R7 M445’s score of 5358 places it just 0.2% below the Intel UHD Graphics P630 (5370) and only 0.7% above the NVIDIA GeForce 840M (5322). This means the AMD card is clustered with lower-end integrated and entry-level discrete solutions, while the GTX 550 Ti is punching above its weight class.

Looking at the rival deltaPct values strengthens the case for the NVIDIA card. The GTX 550 Ti is 1.9% behind the AMD Radeon R7 M465 (5841), a newer and more capable discrete part. However, it beats the AMD Radeon HD 8790M (5691) by 0.7%. The R7 M445, on the other hand, is only 0.8% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce 930A (5317) and 0.9% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M (5308). This latter comparison is notable: the R7 M445 barely outpaces a scores from the high-end GTX 980M, which is an anomaly in the data, but it does not change the overall picture that the R7 M445 is a low-tier performer. The head-to-head delta of 7% is the single most important number here, as it shows the older Fermi architecture still retains a compute advantage over the newer GCN 3.0 part in this specific workload.

Where Each One Wins

The GTX 550 Ti wins the only benchmark category available, which is the Geekbench OpenCL compute test. This suggests it is the stronger choice for general-purpose GPU compute tasks that are sensitive to raw floating-point throughput and memory bandwidth. The NVIDIA card’s win is not just about a single score; it reflects a broader architectural strength in parallel compute, as evidenced by its 192 shading units operating at a texture rate of 28.80 GTexel/s and a pixel rate of 7.200 GPixel/s. The R7 M445 has no benchmark wins, meaning there is no scenario in the data where it outperforms the GTX 550 Ti. However, the AMD card does have qualitative advantages that could make it more suitable for certain use cases. It has 4 GB of VRAM compared to the GTX 550 Ti’s 1 GB, which could be beneficial for workloads that require larger datasets to reside in local memory, even if the memory bus is only 64-bit wide. The R7 M445 also supports Vulkan 1.2.170, which the GTX 550 Ti lacks entirely, making it a better fit for modern APIs that leverage Vulkan for cross-platform rendering. In terms of efficiency, the R7 M445 is listed as an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with no TDP or power connector requirements, whereas the GTX 550 Ti is a dual-slot card with a 116 W TDP and a 1x 6-pin power connector. This makes the AMD part inherently more suitable for thin-and-light laptops where power draw and heat are critical constraints.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from fundamentally different architectural generations. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti is built on the Fermi 2.0 architecture, using the GF116 chip, while the AMD Radeon R7 M445 uses the GCN 3.0 architecture with the Meso chip. The process node tells a story of technological progression: the GTX 550 Ti uses a 40 nm process from TSMC, while the R7 M445 uses a more advanced 28 nm process from the same foundry. This explains the transistor density difference — the GTX 550 Ti packs 1,170 million transistors on a 238 mm² die, yielding a density of 4.9M / mm², whereas the R7 M445 fits 1,550 million transistors on a much smaller 125 mm² die, achieving a density of 12.4M / mm². The newer process allows for more than double the transistor density, but the GTX 550 Ti’s larger die still gives it a raw compute advantage in the benchmark.

The memory subsystems are starkly different. The GTX 550 Ti has 1024 MB of GDDR5 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 98.50 GB/s. The R7 M445 has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory but on a very narrow 64-bit bus, resulting in only 32.00 GB/s of bandwidth. This is a three-fold difference in memory bandwidth, which heavily favors the NVIDIA card in memory-intensive compute tasks. The clock speeds also differ: the GTX 550 Ti runs its memory at 1026 MHz (4.1 Gbps effective), while the R7 M445 runs at 1000 MHz (4 Gbps effective) but has a base clock of 780 MHz and a boost clock of 920 MHz for the core. The shading unit count is higher on the AMD card (320 vs 192), but the R7 M445 has fewer TMUs (20 vs 32) and ROPs (8 vs 24). In terms of raw throughput, the GTX 550 Ti achieves 691.2 GFLOPS of FP32 compute, while the R7 M445 achieves 588.8 GFLOPS. The R7 M445 also has FP16 capability at 588.8 GFLOPS (1:1 ratio), which the GTX 550 Ti does not list. The API support also diverges: the GTX 550 Ti supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, but no Vulkan; the R7 M445 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti scores 5731 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 7% higher than the AMD Radeon R7 M445’s score of 5358.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon R7 M445 have any performance wins?

A: No. The head-to-head data shows the NVIDIA card winning the only benchmark test (Geekbench OpenCL) with a 7% delta, giving the GTX 550 Ti 1 win and the R7 M445 0 wins.

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

A: The GTX 550 Ti is 0.2% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670MX and 0.3% ahead of the Intel Iris Pro Graphics P6300, but 1.9% behind the AMD Radeon R7 M465. The R7 M445 is 0.2% behind the Intel UHD Graphics P630 and 0.7% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce 840M.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The GTX 550 Ti has a 192-bit memory bus providing 98.50 GB/s of bandwidth, while the R7 M445 has a 64-bit bus providing only 32.00 GB/s of bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU supports the Vulkan API?

A: Only the AMD Radeon R7 M445 supports Vulkan (version 1.2.170). The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti does not have a Vulkan API listed.

Q: What is the difference in process node and transistor count?

A: The GTX 550 Ti uses a 40 nm process with 1,170 million transistors, while the R7 M445 uses a 28 nm process with 1,550 million transistors on a smaller die (125 mm² vs 238 mm²).

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti is the faster GPU for compute workloads, as measured by the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark. It wins the head-to-head with a 7% lead, and its score of 5731 places it in the 33rd percentile, which is higher than the R7 M445’s 31st percentile. The GTX 550 Ti also has a massive memory bandwidth advantage (98.50 GB/s vs 32.00 GB/s) and higher FP32 throughput (691.2 GFLOPS vs 588.8 GFLOPS). For users who need raw compute performance, even from an older part, the GTX 550 Ti is the clear choice based on the numbers.

However, the AMD Radeon R7 M445 is not without its merits. It is an IGP with no TDP, no power connectors, and no suggested PSU, making it far more power-efficient and mobile-friendly than the dual-slot GTX 550 Ti, which requires a 116 W TDP and a 1x 6-pin connector. The R7 M445 also has 4 GB of VRAM, which is four times the GTX 550 Ti’s 1 GB, and it supports modern APIs like Vulkan 1.2.170, which the NVIDIA card cannot. For a portable device where battery life and heat are paramount, and where the workload fits within a 64-bit memory bus, the R7 M445 is the practical option. But for pure performance in a desktop or a system that can handle the power draw, the GTX 550 Ti is the winner. The data does not support any scenario where the R7 M445 outperforms the GTX 550 Ti in compute, so the verdict is straightforward: pick the GTX 550 Ti for speed, the R7 M445 for efficiency and modern feature support.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti | AMD Radeon R7 M445 |

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

| Process Node | 40 nm | 28 nm |

| Transistors | 1,170 million | 1,550 million |

| Die Size | 238 mm² | 125 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 4.9M / mm² | 12.4M / mm² |

| Base Clock | None | 780 MHz |

| Boost Clock | None | 920 MHz |

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

| Memory Size | 1024 MB | 4 GB |

| Memory Bus Width | 192 bit | 64 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 98.50 GB/s | 32.00 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 192 | 320 |

| TMUs | 32 | 20 |

| ROPs | 24 | 8 |

| Pixel Rate | 7.200 GPixel/s | 7.360 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 28.80 GTexel/s | 18.40 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 691.2 GFLOPS | 588.8 GFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | None | 588.8 GFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 116 W | None |

| Slot Width | Dual-slot | IGP |

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

| Suggested PSU | 300 W | None |

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

| Display Outputs | 2x DVI, 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a | Portable Device Dependent |

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

| Vulkan | None | 1.2.170 |

| Release Date | 2011-03-14 | 2016-05-14 |

| Predecessor | GeForce 400 | Solar System |

| Successor | GeForce 600 | Polaris Mobile |

| Launch MSRP | 149 USD | None |