AMD Radeon RX 560 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 560 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti are a classic pairing of 75 W, dual-slot, end-of-life graphics cards aimed at entry-level desktops. Both use 14 nm process nodes and 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, but their architectures and benchmark results tell very different stories. The data shows a clear split: the RX 560 dominates in one specific compute workload, while the GTX 1050 Ti wins nearly every other head-to-head test, often by substantial margins. This analysis breaks down the exact scores, architectural roots, and use-case implications from the benchmark data.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head results are lopsided, with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti claiming victory in 8 of 9 tests. The single win for the AMD Radeon RX 560 is a massive one: in Geekbench Metal, the RX 560 scores 18,941 versus the GTX 1050 Ti’s 7,834, a delta of 141.8%. This is an outlier result that heavily favors AMD’s compute-oriented GCN design in Apple’s Metal API, and it single-handedly flips the narrative for macOS or Metal-centric workloads.

Outside of that, the GTX 1050 Ti is consistently ahead. In Geekbench OpenCL, the NVIDIA card scores 18,129 against the RX 560’s 16,472, a 9.1% lead. The gap widens dramatically in the Passmark suite. In Passmark DirectX 10, the GTX 1050 Ti posts 31 versus 16, a 48.4% advantage. DirectX 11 shows a similar story: 45 vs 25, a 44.4% lead. Even in DirectX 12, where AMD’s GCN architecture is often expected to shine, the GTX 1050 Ti wins 26 to 21, a 19.2% margin.

The most telling results are in the synthetic gaming and compute benchmarks. Passmark G3D, a proxy for overall graphics performance, shows the GTX 1050 Ti scoring 6,340 versus the RX 560’s 3,671 — a 42.1% lead. Passmark GPU Compute follows suit: 2,652 vs 1,437, a 45.8% difference. The NVIDIA card also wins in DirectX 9 (104 vs 57, a 45.2% lead) and in 2D graphics (651 vs 485, a 25.5% lead). These numbers are not close; the GTX 1050 Ti is the clear winner for the vast majority of gaming and general GPU workloads.

The average benchmark scores reinforce the hierarchy. The RX 560 has an average benchmark score of 4,569, placing it at the 26th percentile of all GPUs. The GTX 1050 Ti averages 4,193, placing it at the 25th percentile. Interestingly, the RX 560’s average is actually higher due to that Metal outlier, but its nearest rivals tell a different story: the RX 560 sits near the AMD Radeon R5 M230 (4,577, -0.2%), Intel HD Graphics P530 (4,560, +0.2%), and NVIDIA Quadro M3000M (4,621, -1.1%). The GTX 1050 Ti’s rivals include the AMD Radeon R5 M330 (4,170, +0.6%) and NVIDIA Quadro K3000M (4,241, -1.1%). The percentile ranking is nearly identical, but the distribution of wins is decisively in NVIDIA’s favor.

FAQ

Q: Which card wins in DirectX 11 gaming benchmarks?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti wins decisively, scoring 45 in Passmark DirectX 11 versus the AMD Radeon RX 560’s 25, a 44.4% lead.

Q: Is there any benchmark where the AMD Radeon RX 560 beats the GTX 1050 Ti?

A: Yes. In Geekbench Metal, the RX 560 scores 18,941, which is 141.8% higher than the GTX 1050 Ti’s 7,834. This is the only head-to-head test the RX 560 wins.

Q: How do the cards compare in raw compute performance?

A: The GTX 1050 Ti leads in Passmark GPU Compute with a score of 2,652 versus 1,437 for the RX 560, a 45.8% advantage. However, in Geekbench OpenCL, the GTX 1050 Ti’s lead is much smaller at 9.1% (18,129 vs 16,472).

Q: What is the difference in overall graphics performance, as measured by Passmark G3D?

A: The GTX 1050 Ti is significantly ahead, scoring 6,340 compared to the RX 560’s 3,671, which represents a 42.1% performance gap.

Q: Do the cards have similar standings among all GPUs?

A: Yes, they are very close. The RX 560 sits at the 26th percentile of all GPUs, while the GTX 1050 Ti is at the 25th percentile. Their average benchmark scores are also close, at 4,569 for the RX 560 and 4,193 for the GTX 1050 Ti.

Q: Which card is better for older DirectX 9 titles?

A: The GTX 1050 Ti is far better for legacy DirectX 9 games, scoring 104 in the Passmark DirectX 9 test versus the RX 560’s 57, a 45.2% lead.

Architecture Differences

The architectural split between the two cards is fundamental. The AMD Radeon RX 560 is built on the Polaris 21 chip using the GCN 4.0 architecture, manufactured by GlobalFoundries on a 14 nm process. It packs 3,000 million transistors on a 123 mm² die, for a density of 24.4 million transistors per square millimeter. In contrast, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti uses the GP107 chip with the Pascal architecture, also on a 14 nm process but fabricated by Samsung. It has more transistors — 3,300 million — on a slightly larger 132 mm² die, yielding a density of 25.0 million transistors per square millimeter.

These silicon differences lead to distinct hardware configurations. The RX 560 is built around a wide, compute-heavy layout: 1,024 shading units, 64 texture mapping units (TMUs), and only 16 raster output units (ROPs). The GTX 1050 Ti takes the opposite approach, with 768 shading units and 48 TMUs but double the ROPs at 32. This explains the performance profiles: the RX 560 has a higher texture rate (81.60 GTexel/s vs 66.82 GTexel/s) and higher FP32 throughput (2.611 TFLOPS vs 2.138 TFLOPS), while the GTX 1050 Ti has a much higher pixel rate (44.54 GPixel/s vs 20.40 GPixel/s).

FP16 compute is another differentiator. The RX 560 runs FP16 at a 1:1 ratio with FP32, delivering 2.611 TFLOPS. The GTX 1050 Ti is severely limited here, with only 33.41 GFLOPS of FP16 (1:64 ratio). Memory clocks are nearly identical (1750 MHz for RX 560, 1752 MHz for GTX 1050 Ti), as is effective bandwidth (112.0 GB/s vs 112.1 GB/s). The API support also differs: the RX 560 supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3, while the GTX 1050 Ti supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.4. Both support OpenGL 4.6.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ on several key specification fields. The most obvious is the PCIe interface: the RX 560 uses PCIe 3.0 x8, while the GTX 1050 Ti uses the full PCIe 3.0 x16 interface. The physical dimensions also vary, with the RX 560 measuring 170 mm (6.7 inches) in length, while the GTX 1050 Ti is shorter at 145 mm (5.7 inches) and has a recorded height of 111 mm (4.4 inches).

Clock speeds are higher on the NVIDIA card. The GTX 1050 Ti has a base clock of 1291 MHz and a boost clock of 1392 MHz, compared to the RX 560’s 1175 MHz base and 1275 MHz boost. The shading unit count differs significantly, as noted: 1,024 for the RX 560 versus 768 for the GTX 1050 Ti. TMUs are 64 vs 48, and ROPs are 16 vs 32, respectively. The transistor count and die size also differ, with the GTX 1050 Ti having 3,300 million transistors on 132 mm² versus the RX 560’s 3,000 million on 123 mm².

The display outputs are nearly identical, with both cards offering 1x DVI, 1x HDMI, and 1x DisplayPort, though the HDMI version differs: HDMI 2.0b on the RX 560 and HDMI 2.0 on the GTX 1050 Ti. The launch MSRP differs, with the RX 560 at 99 USD and the GTX 1050 Ti at 139 USD. Both cards are dual-slot, require no power connectors, and have a suggested PSU of 250 W. The RX 560 was released on 2017-04-17, while the GTX 1050 Ti came earlier on 2016-10-24.

Where Each One Wins

The use-case split is stark, driven by the benchmark results. The AMD Radeon RX 560 is the clear winner in any workload that leverages Apple’s Metal API. The 141.8% lead in Geekbench Metal is the single largest margin in the entire head-to-head set, making the RX 560 the obvious choice for macOS-based systems or users who prioritize Metal compute performance. Its higher shading unit count and 1:1 FP16 ratio also suggest a theoretical edge in compute-heavy tasks, though the Passmark GPU Compute test shows the GTX 1050 Ti winning by 45.8%, so this advantage does not translate to all compute scenarios.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti wins everywhere else, and by wide margins. For traditional gaming, the data is unambiguous: the GTX 1050 Ti leads by 48.4% in DirectX 10, 44.4% in DirectX 11, 45.2% in DirectX 9, and 19.2% in DirectX 12. The Passmark G3D score of 6,340 vs 3,671 (a 42.1% lead) confirms that the GTX 1050 Ti is the better general-purpose gaming card. Its higher ROP count (32 vs 16) and higher pixel rate (44.54 GPixel/s vs 20.40 GPixel/s) directly explain its dominance in rasterization-heavy workloads.

For users building a small form factor or low-power system, the GTX 1050 Ti also has an edge in physical size, being 25 mm shorter. The PCIe 3.0 x16 interface on the GTX 1050 Ti is another advantage over the RX 560’s x8 link, though the practical impact is not directly quantified in the benchmark data. In summary, the GTX 1050 Ti is the superior card for nearly all gaming and Windows-based compute tasks, while the RX 560 is a niche pick for Metal-centric environments where its architecture shines. The data suggests that the GTX 1050 Ti is the more versatile and consistently faster option, despite its higher launch MSRP.