AMD Radeon RX 550 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 870M Comparison

AMD Radeon RX 550 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 870M represent two very different eras of mobile and desktop graphics, yet their benchmark data places them in a surprisingly close contest. The RX 550, built on a modern 14 nm process with GCN 4.0, faces off against the older 28 nm Kepler-based GTX 870M, a once-high-end laptop part. While the GTX 870M boasts a wider memory bus and more shading units, the RX 550 counters with a significantly higher clock speed and newer architecture. The result is a split decision in the head-to-head benchmarks, with each card claiming a victory in one test, making this comparison a study in how architectural efficiency can offset raw hardware specifications.

Where Each One Wins

The data reveals a clear division of labor based on the workload. In the Geekbench Metal test, the AMD Radeon RX 550 is the outright winner, posting a score of 20,838 compared to the GTX 870M's 7,288. This represents a massive 185.9% advantage for the RX 550. This result strongly suggests that the RX 550's GCN 4.0 architecture is far more optimized for Apple's Metal API, which is the primary graphics and compute framework on macOS. For users running Metal-based applications, creative suites, or games on a Hackintosh or supported Mac environment, the RX 550 is the clear choice based on this metric alone.

Conversely, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 870M takes the crown in the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark. It scores 12,630 against the RX 550's 11,063, a 12.4% lead. OpenCL is a cross-platform API that is heavily used in many professional and scientific compute applications, as well as in some Windows-based game engines. This win indicates that the GTX 870M, despite its older Kepler architecture, retains a raw compute throughput advantage in this specific cross-vendor API. Its higher number of shading units (1344 vs 512) and texture mapping units (112 vs 32) likely contribute to this result, allowing it to process certain parallel workloads more effectively.

The overall average benchmark scores reflect this split. The RX 550 has an average score of 11,075, while the GTX 870M trails slightly with 9,959. This places the RX 550 in the 50th percentile of all GPUs, while the GTX 870M sits in the 48th percentile. While these are close, the RX 550's higher average and its dominance in Metal suggest it is the more well-rounded performer, particularly for users who value modern API support and efficiency.

Architecture Differences

The fundamental difference lies in their respective architectures and manufacturing processes. The AMD Radeon RX 550 is built on the GCN 4.0 architecture and fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. This is a mature, power-efficient node that allows for a small die size of 103 mm² and a total of 2,200 million transistors. The transistor density is a high 21.4M / mm², which is a hallmark of a modern, tightly packed design. This efficiency is reflected in its 50 W TDP, which requires no power connectors and only a 250 W suggested PSU.

In contrast, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 870M uses the older Kepler architecture, manufactured on a 28 nm process at TSMC. This results in a much larger die size of 294 mm² and a significantly higher transistor count of 3,540 million. However, the transistor density is lower at 12.0M / mm², showing a less efficient packing of transistors. The GTX 870M's power draw is double that of the RX 550 at 100 W, a direct consequence of the older, less efficient manufacturing process. It is designed as an MXM Module, meaning it's intended for use in laptops and mobile workstations, whereas the RX 550 is a dual-slot, PCIe 3.0 x8 desktop card.

The memory configurations also differ. The RX 550 ships with 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, providing 112.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX 870M counters with 3 GB of GDDR5 on a wider 192-bit bus, resulting in a slightly higher bandwidth of 120.0 GB/s. This extra memory and bandwidth give the NVIDIA card an edge in texture-heavy applications, as its texture rate of 108.3 GTexel/s is nearly three times that of the RX 550's 37.86 GTexel/s. The GTX 870M's pixel rate of 27.08 GPixel/s also outpaces the RX 550's 18.93 GPixel/s, indicating a higher fill-rate capability.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the benchmark data, the choice comes down to your software ecosystem. The AMD Radeon RX 550 is the recommended pick for users whose primary workloads utilize the Metal API. Its 185.9% lead in the Geekbench Metal test is not a marginal difference; it is a generational leap in performance. For anyone building a system where macOS compatibility is a priority, the RX 550 is the only sensible option from this pair.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 870M is the better choice for cross-platform compute in OpenCL environments. Its 12.4% lead in that test shows it can still handle demanding compute tasks. However, this advantage is much narrower than the RX 550's Metal dominance. Furthermore, the GTX 870M is an end-of-life mobile part, making it harder to integrate into a modern desktop system without an MXM-to-PCIe adapter, which is not a factor for the standard desktop RX 550. The data suggests the RX 550's modern architecture provides a more future-proof foundation, despite its lower raw compute specs.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in the Geekbench Metal benchmark?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 550 is significantly faster, scoring 20,838 compared to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 870M's 7,288. This is a 185.9% difference in favor of the RX 550.

Q: Does the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 870M win any benchmarks?

A: Yes, the GeForce GTX 870M wins the Geekbench OpenCL test, scoring 12,630 against the RX 550's 11,063, a 12.4% advantage.

Q: What are the architectural differences between the two cards?

A: The AMD RX 550 uses the GCN 4.0 architecture on a 14 nm process, while the NVIDIA GTX 870M uses the older Kepler architecture on a 28 nm process. This makes the RX 550 significantly more power-efficient (50 W TDP vs 100 W TDP).

Q: How much memory does each card have?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 550 has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 870M has 3 GB of GDDR5 memory on a wider 192-bit bus.

Q: Based on the average benchmark score, which GPU ranks higher?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 550 has a higher average benchmark score of 11,075, placing it in the 50th percentile of all GPUs. The GTX 870M averages 9,959, placing it in the 48th percentile.

Q: Which GPU has a higher texture fill rate?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 870M has a significantly higher texture rate of 108.3 GTexel/s, compared to the AMD RX 550's 37.86 GTexel/s, due to its larger number of texture mapping units.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most striking result in the head-to-head comparison is the Geekbench Metal test, where the AMD Radeon RX 550 delivers a decisive victory. With a score of 20,838 versus the GTX 870M's 7,288, the RX 550 is nearly three times faster. This 185.9% delta reflects the efficiency of the GCN 4.0 architecture when communicating with Apple's Metal framework. This is not a close race; it is a clear demonstration that the RX 550 is the superior choice for any Metal-based application, likely including modern games and creative software on supported platforms. The data implies that the older Kepler architecture is severely handicapped in this API.

Conversely, the Geekbench OpenCL test tells a different story. Here, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 870M fights back, scoring 12,630 against the RX 550's 11,063. This 12.4% win for the GTX 870M shows that its brute-force compute resources—1344 shading units and 112 TMUs—can still overpower the RX 550's more efficient but smaller 512-shader design in a general-purpose compute API. The result is closer, but it underscores that the GTX 870M is not obsolete; it can still hold its own in OpenCL-heavy workloads. This 1-1 split in the head-to-head is what makes this comparison so interesting.

Specification Differences

The core specifications highlight the generational gap between these two GPUs. The AMD Radeon RX 550 features 512 shading units, 32 texture mapping units, and 16 ROPs. In contrast, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 870M is equipped with 1344 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, and 24 ROPs. This gives the GTX 870M a 2.6x advantage in shader count and a 3.5x advantage in TMUs, explaining its higher texture and pixel rates. The RX 550's clock speeds are higher, with a base of 1100 MHz and boost of 1183 MHz, versus the GTX 870M's 941 MHz base and 967 MHz boost.

The memory subsystems also differ. The RX 550 offers 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, while the GTX 870M offers 3 GB on a 192-bit bus. This results in a memory bandwidth of 112.0 GB/s for the RX 550 and 120.0 GB/s for the GTX 870M. The compute performance is also starkly different: the RX 550 delivers 1,211.4 GFLOPS FP32, while the GTX 870M delivers 2.599 TFLOPS FP32. The GTX 870M also has no listed FP16 performance, while the RX 550 supports it at a 1:1 ratio. Finally, the RX 550 supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3, while the GTX 870M supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and Vulkan 1.2.175, indicating a slightly lower feature level in the NVIDIA card.