AMD Radeon R9 M265X vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950A Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher benchmark score in the database?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950A scores 10273 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 16.1% higher than the AMD Radeon R9 M265X’s score of 8851. The GTX 950A wins the only recorded head-to-head benchmark.

Q: How do these two GPUs compare in their overall percentile ranking?

A: The GTX 950A sits at the 48th percentile of all GPUs, while the R9 M265X sits at the 44th percentile. The GTX 950A is therefore ranked higher in the overall distribution.

Q: What are the closest rivals to the GTX 950A in the database?

A: The nearest rivals to the GTX 950A are the AMD Radeon RX 6500M with an average score of 10362 (0.9% higher), the NVIDIA Tesla C2075 at 10400 (1.2% higher), the AMD Radeon R9 M375 at 10070 (2% lower), and the AMD Radeon RX 550X at 10481 (2% lower).

Q: What are the closest rivals to the R9 M265X in the database?

A: The nearest rivals to the R9 M265X are the AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100 with an average score of 8863 (0.1% higher), the AMD Radeon 550X at 8918 (0.8% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile at 8746 (1.2% lower), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 v2 at 8743 (1.2% lower).

Q: Which GPU has a faster memory clock and what is the effective data rate?

A: The AMD Radeon R9 M265X has a memory clock of 1000 MHz with 4 Gbps effective data rate, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950A has a memory clock of 1001 MHz with 2 Gbps effective. Despite the similar clock frequency, the R9 M265X doubles the effective data rate due to its memory type.

Q: What are the release dates for these two GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon R9 M265X was released on 2014-03-20, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950A was released on 2015-03-12. Both are marked as end-of-life products in the database.

Architecture Differences

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950A is built on the Maxwell architecture using the GM107 chip, manufactured by TSMC on a 28 nm process. It integrates 1,870 million transistors on a die size of 148 mm², yielding a transistor density of 12.6 million per square millimeter. The GPU belongs to the GeForce 900A generation and uses an MXM-B (3.0) bus interface, which is typical for mobile and embedded modules.

The AMD Radeon R9 M265X employs the GCN 1.0 architecture with the Venus chip, also fabricated by TSMC on the same 28 nm node. It contains 1,500 million transistors on a smaller die of 123 mm², resulting in a slightly lower transistor density of 12.2 million per square millimeter. This GPU belongs to the Gem System (R9 M200) generation and uses the standard PCIe 3.0 x16 bus interface.

Both GPUs feature identical counts of shading units (640), texture mapping units (40), and render output units (16). The core architectural difference lies in the underlying design philosophies: Maxwell is optimized for higher clock speeds and better instruction efficiency, while GCN 1.0 is designed for parallel throughput with a different scheduling model.

The clock behavior further separates them. The GTX 950A runs at a base clock of 993 MHz with a boost up to 1124 MHz. The R9 M265X operates at a much lower base clock of 575 MHz with a boost of 625 MHz. This substantial clock advantage for the NVIDIA part is a primary factor in its performance lead.

Memory architecture also diverges significantly. The GTX 950A uses 2 GB of DDR3 memory on a 128-bit bus, achieving 32.03 GB/s bandwidth. The R9 M265X also has 2 GB and a 128-bit bus, but it utilizes GDDR5 memory, doubling the bandwidth to 64.00 GB/s. This gives the AMD part a clear advantage in raw memory throughput.

API support differs slightly. The GTX 950A supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The R9 M265X supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The Vulkan version on the NVIDIA card is newer, while the AMD card has a marginally higher DirectX feature level.

Power characteristics are not fully comparable. The GTX 950A has a specified TDP of 75 W and uses no power connectors, consistent with its MXM Module form factor. The R9 M265X has no TDP value recorded in the database, and its power connector requirements are also unspecified.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950A wins decisively in raw computational throughput. Its FP32 performance is 1,438.7 GFLOPS, which is nearly double the 800.0 GFLOPS of the R9 M265X. This large gap in floating-point capability makes the GTX 950A the better choice for compute-heavy workloads such as OpenCL-based tasks, physics simulations, and general GPGPU applications.

The GTX 950A also leads in pixel and texture processing rates. It delivers 17.98 GPixel/s and 44.96 GTexel/s, compared to the R9 M265X’s 10.00 GPixel/s and 25.00 GTexel/s. These figures translate to faster rasterization and texture filtering, which can benefit games that are fill-rate bound or texture-heavy.

The AMD Radeon R9 M265X wins in memory bandwidth. With 64.00 GB/s against the GTX 950A’s 32.03 GB/s, the AMD card has exactly double the bandwidth. This advantage becomes relevant in scenarios where large textures, high-resolution framebuffers, or memory-intensive shaders are involved, though the NVIDIA card’s higher compute rates may still compensate in most workloads.

The R9 M265X also has a superior bus interface. It uses PCIe 3.0 x16, which is a standard and widely compatible slot interface. The GTX 950A uses MXM-B (3.0), which is a modular laptop interface. In portable systems, the MXM form factor allows for upgradeability, but the PCIe interface of the AMD card is more universal across desktop and mobile platforms.

For the single recorded benchmark, the GTX 950A wins outright. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 10273 for the NVIDIA card is 16.1% higher than the 8851 for the AMD card. Based on the database’s win tally, the GTX 950A records 1 win and the R9 M265X records 0 wins.

In terms of ecosystem positioning, the GTX 950A’s closest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6500M and NVIDIA Tesla C2075, both of which score slightly higher. The R9 M265X’s rivals include the AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100 and AMD Radeon 550X, which score nearly identically. This places the GTX 950A in a higher performance tier than the R9 M265X based on the database’s nearest rival clusters.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across several key specification fields. The chip names are distinct: GM107 for NVIDIA versus Venus for AMD. The architectures are Maxwell versus GCN 1.0, and the generations are GeForce 900A versus Gem System (R9 M200).

Transistor count differs, with the GTX 950A having 1,870 million versus 1,500 million for the R9 M265X. Die size also differs: 148 mm² versus 123 mm². The resulting transistor densities are close, at 12.6M per mm² for NVIDIA and 12.2M per mm² for AMD.

Clock speeds are markedly different. The GTX 950A has a base clock of 993 MHz and a boost of 1124 MHz. The R9 M265X has a base clock of 575 MHz and a boost of 625 MHz. Memory clocks are similar in frequency (1001 MHz versus 1000 MHz) but differ in effective data rate: 2 Gbps versus 4 Gbps.

Memory type is the most significant differentiator. The GTX 950A uses DDR3, while the R9 M265X uses GDDR5. Both have 2 GB capacity and a 128-bit bus width. The resulting bandwidth is 32.03 GB/s for NVIDIA and 64.00 GB/s for AMD.

Compute rates show a large gap. The GTX 950A produces 1,438.7 GFLOPS FP32, 17.98 GPixel/s pixel rate, and 44.96 GTexel/s texture rate. The R9 M265X produces 800.0 GFLOPS, 10.00 GPixel/s, and 25.00 GTexel/s.

The GTX 950A has a TDP of 75 W, while the R9 M265X has no TDP recorded. The NVIDIA card uses an MXM Module slot width with no power connectors, and its bus interface is MXM-B (3.0). The AMD card has no slot width or power connector data, and it uses PCIe 3.0 x16.

Release dates differ by about a year. The R9 M265X launched on 2014-03-20, and the GTX 950A launched on 2015-03-12. The predecessor names also differ: GeForce 800A for NVIDIA, Solar System for AMD. The R9 M265X has a recorded successor, Polaris Mobile, while the GTX 950A has none.

API support differs in DirectX and Vulkan versions. The GTX 950A supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and Vulkan 1.4. The R9 M265X supports DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170. OpenGL support is identical at 4.6 for both.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records a single head-to-head benchmark between these two GPUs, using the Geekbench OpenCL test. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950A scores 10273, while the AMD Radeon R9 M265X scores 8851. The delta is 16.1% in favor of the NVIDIA card, making it the clear winner in this comparison.

To contextualize the GTX 950A’s score, the database places it near several rivals. The AMD Radeon RX 6500M scores 10362, which is 0.9% higher. The NVIDIA Tesla C2075 scores 10400, which is 1.2% higher. On the lower side, the AMD Radeon R9 M375 scores 10070 (2% lower) and the AMD Radeon RX 550X scores 10481 (2% lower). This indicates that the GTX 950A’s performance is competitive with modern entry-level discrete GPUs, sitting just below the RX 6500M and Tesla C2075.

The R9 M265X’s score of 8851 places it near a different set of rivals. The AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100 scores 8863, which is only 0.1% higher. The AMD Radeon 550X scores 8918, which is 0.8% higher. On the lower end, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile scores 8746 (1.2% lower) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 v2 scores 8743 (1.2% lower). The R9 M265X is essentially clustered with these four GPUs, showing that its performance is comparable to older professional and mid-range mobile parts.

The 16.1% delta between the two cards is substantial. For context, the largest gap among the GTX 950A’s nearest rivals is only 2%, and the largest gap among the R9 M265X’s rivals is 1.2%. The performance difference between the two compared GPUs is therefore an order of magnitude larger than the typical variance within their respective peer groups.

This benchmark result aligns with the architecture analysis. The GTX 950A’s higher clock speeds (993 MHz base versus 575 MHz base) and greater FP32 throughput (1,438.7 GFLOPS versus 800.0 GFLOPS) explain its superior OpenCL score. OpenCL workloads often scale with raw compute throughput, which favors the Maxwell design.

The R9 M265X’s higher memory bandwidth (64.00 GB/s versus 32.03 GB/s) does not translate into a benchmark win. This suggests that the Geekbench OpenCL test is more sensitive to compute rate and clock speed than to memory throughput. The GDDR5 advantage of the AMD card cannot offset the NVIDIA card’s nearly doubled FP32 rate.

The percentile rankings reinforce this outcome. The GTX 950A is at the 48th percentile of all GPUs, while the R9 M265X is at the 44th percentile. Although the difference is only four percentile points, it places the NVIDIA card above nearly half of all recorded GPUs, whereas the AMD card falls just below that threshold.

In the database’s win tally, the GTX 950A records 1 win and the R9 M265X records 0 wins. The head-to-head result is unambiguous. For users prioritizing compute performance in OpenCL-based applications, the GTX 950A is the superior choice. The R9 M265X retains advantages in memory bandwidth and a more universal PCIe interface, but these do not overcome the compute deficit in the recorded benchmark.