AMD Radeon R9 M265X vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M Comparison

# AMD Radeon R9 M265X vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M

The mobile GPU landscape of the mid-2010s pits AMD’s GCN 1.0 architecture against NVIDIA’s Maxwell in a battle where raw compute and memory configuration diverge sharply. The data shows a single head-to-head benchmark — Geekbench OpenCL — where the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M outscores the AMD Radeon R9 M265X by 9.2%, yet each card occupies a distinct performance percentile tier. The R9 M265X sits at the 44th percentile of all GPUs, while the GTX 950M rests slightly lower at the 42nd percentile, despite winning the direct comparison. This paradox — a higher percentile rank for the loser and a lower one for the winner — suggests that benchmark averages across multiple tests tell a different story than the single head-to-head metric. The R9 M265X’s average benchmark score of 8,851 is actually higher than the GTX 950M’s average of 8,135, meaning the NVIDIA card’s OpenCL win may not translate to consistent superiority across all workloads.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M claims victory in the only direct head-to-head test recorded: Geekbench OpenCL, where it scores 9,745 against the AMD Radeon R9 M265X’s 8,851 — a 9.2% margin. This is the sole benchmark where both cards appear, so the GTX 950M wins the compute-oriented OpenCL workload decisively. However, the AMD card’s average benchmark score of 8,851 exceeds the NVIDIA card’s average of 8,135, indicating that when additional benchmarks are considered (the GTX 950M also has a Vulkan score of 6,525), the AMD card may hold an edge in consistency or in tests that favor its architecture. The GTX 950M’s Vulkan score of 6,525 is significantly lower than its OpenCL score, dragging its average down. This suggests the NVIDIA card excels in OpenCL compute but struggles in Vulkan scenarios, while the AMD card’s single recorded benchmark shows no such weakness.

For gaming workloads, the specification differences point to divergent strengths. The GTX 950M’s pixel rate of 17.98 GPixel/s and texture rate of 44.96 GTexel/s dwarf the R9 M265X’s 10.00 GPixel/s and 25.00 GTexel/s, meaning the NVIDIA card can fill frames and apply textures roughly 80% faster. This translates to a clear advantage in resolution-heavy and texture-rich gaming scenarios. Conversely, the R9 M265X’s memory bandwidth of 64.00 GB/s is more than double the GTX 950M’s 28.80 GB/s, giving AMD the edge in bandwidth-hungry compute tasks or games that stream large amounts of data. The NVIDIA card compensates with 4 GB of DDR3 memory versus the AMD card’s 2 GB of GDDR5, offering double the capacity but at much lower effective speed — a trade-off between quantity and velocity.

Architecture Differences

The architectural chasm between these two GPUs is profound. AMD’s R9 M265X uses the Venus chip built on GCN 1.0, fabricated by TSMC on a 28 nm process with 1,500 million transistors across a 123 mm² die. NVIDIA’s GTX 950M employs the GM107 chip on Maxwell architecture, also TSMC 28 nm, but packs 1,870 million transistors into a 148 mm² die. The transistor density is nearly identical — 12.2M per mm² for AMD versus 12.6M per mm² for NVIDIA — but NVIDIA deploys its extra 370 million transistors toward higher clock speeds and throughput. The AMD card runs at a base clock of 575 MHz with a 625 MHz boost, while the NVIDIA card starts at 993 MHz and boosts to 1124 MHz — nearly double the AMD frequencies. This clock advantage propels the GTX 950M to 1,438.7 GFLOPS of FP32 compute versus the R9 M265X’s 800.0 GFLOPS, an 80% gap in raw floating-point power.

Both cards share identical shading unit counts (640), TMUs (40), and ROPs (16), but the Maxwell architecture extracts far more performance from the same hardware configuration. The memory subsystems diverge drastically: AMD uses 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus at 1000 MHz (4 Gbps effective) delivering 64.00 GB/s, while NVIDIA uses 4 GB of DDR3 on the same 128-bit bus at 900 MHz (1800 Mbps effective) yielding only 28.80 GB/s. NVIDIA’s choice of DDR3 halves bandwidth but doubles capacity, a design decision aimed at cost and power efficiency rather than raw throughput. The bus interface also differs — the R9 M265X uses PCIe 3.0 x16, while the GTX 950M runs at PCIe 3.0 x8, halving the host link bandwidth. API support shows NVIDIA’s Vulkan 1.4 is newer than AMD’s 1.2.170, while DirectX support is comparable (12 with 11_1 for AMD, 12 with 11_0 for NVIDIA), and OpenGL is identical at 4.6.

The Verdict

The data suggests the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M is the stronger performer in compute-heavy OpenCL workloads, winning the direct head-to-head by 9.2%. Its dramatically higher clock speeds, pixel rate, and texture rate make it the superior choice for gaming and graphics-intensive tasks where fill rate matters. The GTX 950M’s 4 GB memory capacity also future-proofs it for larger textures or multi-tasking scenarios. However, the AMD Radeon R9 M265X holds a higher percentile rank (44th versus 42nd) and a higher average benchmark score (8,851 versus 8,135), suggesting it may be more consistent across a broader range of tests. The AMD card’s GDDR5 memory and double bandwidth (64.00 GB/s versus 28.80 GB/s) make it better suited for bandwidth-sensitive compute tasks, despite its lower raw compute throughput. For users prioritizing OpenCL performance — such as in certain productivity or scientific applications — the GTX 950M wins outright. For those needing consistent performance across diverse workloads or memory bandwidth, the R9 M265X’s profile is compelling. The GTX 950M’s 75 W TDP and integrated form factor (IGP) with no power connectors make it easier to deploy in thin laptops, while the R9 M265X’s TDP is not listed, hinting at potentially higher power draw. Neither card is current — both are end-of-life — but the GTX 950M’s newer release date (March 2015 versus March 2014) and successor lineage (GeForce 10 Mobile) suggest a more modern feature set.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute performance?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M, with 1,438.7 GFLOPS of FP32 compute versus the AMD Radeon R9 M265X’s 800.0 GFLOPS — an 80% advantage for NVIDIA.

Q: How does memory bandwidth compare between the two?

A: The AMD Radeon R9 M265X offers 64.00 GB/s bandwidth from 2 GB of GDDR5, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M provides only 28.80 GB/s from 4 GB of DDR3 — AMD has over double the bandwidth.

Q: What are the clock speed differences?

A: The GTX 950M runs at 993 MHz base and 1124 MHz boost, while the R9 M265X operates at 575 MHz base and 625 MHz boost — NVIDIA’s clocks are roughly 73-80% higher.

Q: Which GPU has a better benchmark percentile ranking?

A: The AMD Radeon R9 M265X ranks at the 44th percentile of all GPUs, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M sits at the 42nd percentile, despite the NVIDIA card winning their direct benchmark.

Q: What is the sole head-to-head benchmark result?

A: In Geekbench OpenCL, the GTX 950M scores 9,745 versus the R9 M265X’s 8,851, a 9.2% margin in NVIDIA’s favor.

Q: Do both GPUs have the same number of shading units?

A: Yes, both have 640 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 16 render output units — the difference lies in architecture and clock speeds, not core counts.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark between these two GPUs is Geekbench OpenCL, where the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M achieves 9,745 points against the AMD Radeon R9 M265X’s 8,851 points, a delta of -9.2% for AMD. This 894-point gap represents a meaningful performance lead for NVIDIA in OpenCL compute tasks, which often leverage the GPU for general-purpose parallel processing. The GTX 950M’s higher boost clock of 1124 MHz versus 625 MHz and its Maxwell architecture’s efficiency likely drive this win, despite the AMD card’s superior memory bandwidth. Interestingly, the GTX 950M’s Vulkan score of 6,525 is 33% lower than its OpenCL score, indicating that its performance varies significantly across APIs. The R9 M265X has no Vulkan score recorded, so its cross-API consistency cannot be assessed from the data. When looking at average benchmark scores across all recorded tests, the R9 M265X’s 8,851 average is 8.8% higher than the GTX 950M’s 8,135 average, flipping the head-to-head result. This suggests the AMD card may outperform in other unrecorded benchmarks, or that the NVIDIA card’s Vulkan performance drags its overall average down. The nearest rival data reinforces this complexity: the GTX 950M’s closest competitor is the AMD Radeon R9 M360 (average 8,129, delta 0.1%), while the R9 M265X’s nearest rival is the AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100 (average 8,863, delta -0.1%). The R9 M265X’s rivals cluster around 8,743-8,918, while the GTX 950M’s rivals cluster around 8,080-8,167, indicating the AMD card competes in a higher average-score tier despite losing the direct matchup.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs diverge on nearly every measurable specification. The AMD Radeon R9 M265X uses the Venus chip on GCN 1.0 architecture, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M uses the GM107 chip on Maxwell. Both are 28 nm TSMC parts, but NVIDIA’s die is larger (148 mm² versus 123 mm²) with more transistors (1,870 million versus 1,500 million). Clock speeds differ dramatically: the AMD card’s base is 575 MHz and boost is 625 MHz, while the NVIDIA card runs at 993 MHz base and 1124 MHz boost. Memory configurations are reversed in strategy — AMD offers 2 GB of GDDR5 at 1000 MHz (4 Gbps effective) for 64.00 GB/s bandwidth, while NVIDIA provides 4 GB of DDR3 at 900 MHz (1800 Mbps effective) for 28.80 GB/s bandwidth. Both use a 128-bit memory bus. The pixel rate is 10.00 GPixel/s for AMD versus 17.98 GPixel/s for NVIDIA, and texture rates are 25.00 GTexel/s versus 44.96 GTexel/s, respectively. FP32 compute is 800.0 GFLOPS for AMD and 1,438.7 GFLOPS for NVIDIA. The NVIDIA card has a listed TDP of 75 W, takes an IGP slot form factor, and requires no power connectors, while the AMD card’s TDP and power requirements are not specified. Bus interfaces differ: the R9 M265X uses PCIe 3.0 x16, the GTX 950M uses PCIe 3.0 x8. API support shows NVIDIA’s Vulkan 1.4 is newer than AMD’s 1.2.170, while DirectX versions are close (12 with 11_1 for AMD, 12 with 11_0 for NVIDIA) and OpenGL is identical (4.6). The AMD card was released on March 20, 2014, with the NVIDIA card following on March 12, 2015. Neither has a launch MSRP listed.