AMD Radeon RX 570X vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950 Comparison

# FAQ

Q: How do the average benchmark scores of the AMD Radeon RX 570X and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950 compare?

A: The RX 570X has an average benchmark score of 13,871, while the GTX 950 scores 13,189. This places the RX 570X roughly 5.2% higher in overall average performance, and it sits at the 55th percentile of all GPUs versus the GTX 950's 53rd percentile.

Q: Which card wins in the OpenCL benchmark, and by how much?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 570X dominates the Geekbench OpenCL test, scoring 38,939 against the GTX 950's 15,662. That is a 148.6% advantage for the RX 570X, representing the only head-to-head benchmark available in the data.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference between these two cards?

A: The RX 570X ships with 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX 950 has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, providing 105.8 GB/s. The RX 570X offers four times the capacity and more than double the bandwidth.

Q: How do their transistor counts and process nodes differ?

A: The RX 570X uses a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries with 5,700 million transistors on a 232 mm² die. The GTX 950 uses TSMC's 28 nm process with 2,940 million transistors on a 228 mm² die. This gives the RX 570X a transistor density of 24.6M per mm² versus 12.9M per mm² for the GTX 950.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The RX 570X has a TDP of 150 W and a suggested PSU of 450 W, while the GTX 950 has a TDP of 90 W and a suggested PSU of 250 W. Both cards require a single 6-pin power connector and are dual-slot designs.

Q: Which card supports newer API versions?

A: The RX 570X supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3, while the GTX 950 supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.4. Both support OpenGL 4.6. The GTX 950 has a slightly higher DirectX feature level and a newer Vulkan version.

# The Verdict

The data presents a clear performance hierarchy, but the choice depends entirely on the workload. The AMD Radeon RX 570X is the outright winner in compute-oriented tasks, as evidenced by its 148.6% lead in the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark. For users prioritizing raw compute throughput, OpenCL acceleration, or large framebuffer requirements, the RX 570X is the definitive pick.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950, despite its lower overall average score, should not be dismissed. It has a higher DirectX feature level (12_1 versus 12_0) and supports Vulkan 1.4 compared to the RX 570X's Vulkan 1.3. For users targeting specific DirectX 12_1 features or requiring newer Vulkan extensions, the GTX 950 holds a technical advantage. Its 90 W TDP and 250 W suggested PSU also make it far easier to integrate into low-power or legacy systems.

The average benchmark scores are close — 13,871 versus 13,189 — a delta of roughly 5%. Neither card is dramatically ahead in aggregate performance. However, the RX 570X's 8 GB memory versus 2 GB is a decisive factor for modern workloads that exceed 2 GB of VRAM. The GTX 950's 105.8 GB/s bandwidth will bottleneck texture-heavy scenarios, whereas the RX 570X's 224.0 GB/s provides headroom.

For a buyer choosing between these two end-of-life products, the RX 570X is the better all-rounder for compute and memory-intensive tasks. The GTX 950 is the sensible choice only when power constraints, API feature requirements, or specific software compatibility favor NVIDIA's Maxwell architecture.

# Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct head-to-head benchmark in the data is Geekbench OpenCL, and it is a landslide. The AMD Radeon RX 570X scores 38,939, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950 scores 15,662. This represents a 148.6% delta — the RX 570X more than doubles the GTX 950's OpenCL output.

To contextualize this within their respective rival pools: the RX 570X's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile (13,821, 0.4% lower), the AMD Radeon 660M (13,812, 0.4% lower), and the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT (13,745, 0.9% lower). The RX 570X's average score of 13,871 is remarkably consistent with these comparisons, sitting just above all three. Its OpenCL score of 38,939, however, far exceeds what its average score would suggest.

The GTX 950's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 (13,300, 0.8% higher), the NVIDIA Tesla M2090 (13,075, 0.9% lower), the AMD Radeon Pro 555X (13,321, 1% higher), and the AMD FirePro M6100 (13,354, 1.2% higher). The GTX 950's average score of 13,189 slots neatly within this range, but its OpenCL result of 15,662 is notably weaker than its overall average would predict — a sign that its compute performance lags behind its rasterization capabilities.

The RX 570X's OpenCL dominance is consistent with its hardware: 2,048 shading units versus 768, 128 TMUs versus 48, and 5.095 TFLOPS FP32 versus 1.825 TFLOPS. The GTX 950 does not even list an FP16 figure, while the RX 570X offers 5.095 TFLOPS FP16 (1:1). This is not a close contest in compute.

# Specification Differences

The two cards diverge on nearly every measurable specification. The RX 570X has 2,048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The GTX 950 has 768 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 32 ROPs — the ROP count is the only identical compute unit figure.

Clock speeds differ significantly. The RX 570X runs a base clock of 1168 MHz and a boost of 1244 MHz. The GTX 950 runs a base of 1024 MHz and a boost of 1188 MHz. The RX 570X is faster at both ends, but the gap is modest in clock terms — the real difference lies in the sheer number of execution units.

Memory is a major differentiator. The RX 570X has 8 GB of GDDR5 at 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective) on a 256-bit bus, yielding 224.0 GB/s. The GTX 950 has 2 GB of GDDR5 at 1653 MHz (6.6 Gbps effective) on a 128-bit bus, yielding 105.8 GB/s. The RX 570X has four times the capacity, twice the bus width, and more than double the bandwidth.

Pixel and texture rates follow suit. The RX 570X achieves 39.81 GPixel/s and 159.2 GTexel/s. The GTX 950 achieves 38.02 GPixel/s and 57.02 GTexel/s. Pixel rates are nearly identical — the 32 ROPs on both cards at similar clocks explain this — but texture rate is 2.8 times higher on the RX 570X.

Physical and power characteristics also differ. The RX 570X is 241 mm (9.5 inches) long, while the GTX 950 is 202 mm (8 inches). The RX 570X draws 150 W TDP with a 450 W suggested PSU; the GTX 950 draws 90 W TDP with a 250 W suggested PSU. Both use PCIe 3.0 x16 and a single 6-pin connector.

Display outputs differ as well. The RX 570X offers 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The GTX 950 offers 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, and 3x DisplayPort 1.2. The RX 570X supports newer display standards.

# Architecture Differences

The RX 570X is built on AMD's GCN 4.0 architecture, using the Polaris 20 chip, and belongs to the Polaris (RX 500X) generation. It is fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries, packing 5,700 million transistors into a 232 mm² die with a density of 24.6M transistors per mm².

The GTX 950 is built on NVIDIA's Maxwell 2.0 architecture, using the GM206 chip, and belongs to the GeForce 900 generation. It uses TSMC's 28 nm process, containing 2,940 million transistors on a 228 mm² die with a density of 12.9M per mm².

The architectural gap is generational. The RX 570X's GCN 4.0 is a mature asynchronous compute design with 1:1 FP16/FP32 throughput — both are 5.095 TFLOPS. The GTX 950's Maxwell 2.0 has no listed FP16 capability, reflecting its focus on FP32 performance only.

Cache hierarchies are not specified in the data, but the transistor count difference — 5,700 million versus 2,940 million — indicates a substantially more complex design in the RX 570X. The RX 570X has 2,048 shading units versus 768, a 2.67x difference, and 128 TMUs versus 48, a 2.67x difference as well.

The RX 570X was released on 2018-04-10, while the GTX 950 was released on 2015-08-19 — a gap of roughly two and a half years. The RX 570X's predecessor is Polaris and its successor is Vega. The GTX 950's predecessor is GeForce 700 and its successor is GeForce 10.

API support shows a split: the GTX 950 supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.4, while the RX 570X supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3. Both support OpenGL 4.6. The RX 570X's newer process node and higher transistor density give it a theoretical efficiency advantage, but the GTX 950's lower TDP (90 W versus 150 W) shows NVIDIA achieved respectable performance per watt with a less advanced node.

# Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 570X wins decisively in compute-heavy workloads. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 38,939 versus 15,662 — a 148.6% advantage — makes it the clear choice for OpenCL-accelerated applications, GPU compute, or any task that leverages FP32 throughput. With 5.095 TFLOPS FP32 and FP16, it has nearly three times the raw compute of the GTX 950's 1.825 TFLOPS.

The RX 570X also wins in memory-intensive scenarios. Its 8 GB VRAM capacity is four times the GTX 950's 2 GB, and its 224.0 GB/s bandwidth is more than double the GTX 950's 105.8 GB/s. For modern games or applications that exceed 2 GB of video memory, the GTX 950 will hit a hard wall, while the RX 570X has ample headroom. The 256-bit bus versus 128-bit also gives the RX 570X a structural advantage in high-resolution texture streaming.

The RX 570X wins in texture-heavy rendering, with 159.2 GTexel/s versus 57.02 GTexel/s. Its 128 TMUs versus 48 provide a 2.67x fill rate advantage. Pixel rate is nearly tied (39.81 versus 38.02 GPixel/s), so ROP-bound workloads are a wash.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950 wins in power-constrained environments. Its 90 W TDP and 250 W suggested PSU versus 150 W and 450 W make it far easier to drop into pre-existing systems without upgrading the power supply. Its 202 mm length versus 241 mm also fits smaller cases.

The GTX 950 wins on API feature levels. DirectX 12 (12_1) versus 12_0 means it supports additional optional features in DX12. Vulkan 1.4 versus 1.3 provides newer API capabilities. For software that specifically requires these newer features, the GTX 950 is the only option.

The GTX 950 also has a narrower edge in aggregate benchmark positioning. Its average score of 13,189 places it within 1% of rivals like the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 (13,300) and AMD Radeon Pro 555X (13,321), showing it is competitive in its peer group. The RX 570X's average of 13,871 similarly sits within 1% of its nearest rivals, so neither card is an outlier in overall performance.

For a user prioritizing raw compute, memory capacity, or bandwidth, the RX 570X is the unambiguous winner. For a user with power constraints, smaller case dimensions, or a need for the latest API features, the GTX 950 has specific advantages. The data shows a clear performance hierarchy, but the correct pick depends on the use case.