AMD Radeon RX 6500M vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950A Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 6500M and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950A occupy the same performance tier according to average benchmark scores, yet the data reveals a stark generation gap. The RX 6500M leads the GTX 950A by a razor-thin 0.9% in average benchmark score (10362 vs 10273), placing both cards at the 48th percentile of all GPUs. However, this near-parity in overall score masks a decisive victory for the AMD part in the only directly comparable compute test, where it delivers a 275.6% advantage. The GTX 950A is an older, smaller solution that competes on legacy API performance, while the RX 6500M is a modern architecture that dominates in raw compute throughput.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct head-to-head benchmark available is Geekbench OpenCL, and it is not close. The AMD Radeon RX 6500M scores 38586, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950A scores 10273. This represents a 275.6% win for AMD, a massive margin that dwarfs the 0.9% overall average score difference between the two cards. This single result indicates that in compute-heavy workloads—those that leverage OpenCL—the RX 6500M is in a completely different league, offering well over three and a half times the performance of the GTX 950A.

Looking at the broader benchmark suite, the RX 6500M shows a mixed profile across different DirectX versions. In Passmark DirectX 9, it scores 92, and in DirectX 11 it scores 70. However, its performance drops in more modern APIs, scoring 52 in DirectX 10 and only 34 in DirectX 12. The GTX 950A has no corresponding scores in these tests, but its Geekbench OpenCL result of 10273 is nearly identical to its average score of 10273, suggesting that its compute performance is its primary strength. For the RX 6500M, the Geekbench Vulkan score of 43837 is even higher than its OpenCL score, indicating strong performance in cross-platform graphics APIs.

The average benchmark score for the RX 6500M is 10362, which places it just 0.4% behind the NVIDIA Tesla C2075 (10400) and 1.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 550X (10481). For the GTX 950A, its average score of 10273 puts it 1.2% behind the Tesla C2075 and 2% ahead of the AMD Radeon R9 M375. In essence, both cards are clustered within a narrow performance band, yet the RX 6500M’s 275.6% lead in OpenCL shows that aggregate scores can hide extreme variance in specific workloads.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is generational. The AMD Radeon RX 6500M uses the Navi 24 chip on the RDNA 2.0 architecture, built on a 6 nm TSMC process. It packs 5,400 million transistors into a 107 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 50.5 million per mm². In contrast, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950A is based on the GM107 chip with the Maxwell architecture, fabricated on a 28 nm TSMC process. This older node houses 1,870 million transistors across a larger 148 mm² die, yielding a much lower density of 12.6 million per mm².

The RX 6500M features 1024 shading units, 64 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 32 render output units (ROPs). It also includes 16 dedicated ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent from the GTX 950A, which lacks any RT cores. The GTX 950A has 640 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. This difference in core counts directly translates to processing power: the RX 6500M achieves 4.915 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 9.830 TFLOPS of FP16 (at a 2:1 ratio), while the GTX 950A is limited to 1,438.7 GFLOPS of FP32 with no FP16 capability listed.

Memory configurations also differ sharply. The RX 6500M uses 4 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 64-bit bus, delivering 144.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX 950A ships with 2 GB of DDR3 memory on a wider 128-bit bus, but only achieves 32.03 GB/s of bandwidth. Clock speeds tell a similar story: the RX 6500M runs at a 2000 MHz base and 2400 MHz boost, while the GTX 950A operates at 993 MHz base and 1124 MHz boost. The RX 6500M also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), whereas the GTX 950A is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0).

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6500M has an average benchmark score of 10362, which is 0.9% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950A’s score of 10273.

Q: How much faster is the RX 6500M in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The RX 6500M scores 38586 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 275.6% higher than the GTX 950A’s score of 10273.

Q: Do both GPUs support ray tracing?

A: No. The AMD Radeon RX 6500M includes 16 ray tracing cores, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950A has no ray tracing cores listed.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The RX 6500M offers 144.0 GB/s of bandwidth with 4 GB of GDDR6 memory, while the GTX 950A provides only 32.03 GB/s with 2 GB of DDR3 memory.

Q: Which GPU has a higher transistor density?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6500M has a transistor density of 50.5 million per mm², compared to the GTX 950A’s 12.6 million per mm².

Q: What are the TDP ratings for each card?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6500M has a TDP of 50 W, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950A has a higher TDP of 75 W.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon RX 6500M | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950A |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | RDNA 2.0 | Maxwell |

| Process Node | 6 nm | 28 nm |

| Transistors | 5,400 million | 1,870 million |

| Die Size | 107 mm² | 148 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 50.5M / mm² | 12.6M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 2000 MHz | 993 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2400 MHz | 1124 MHz |

| Memory Size | 4 GB | 2 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | DDR3 |

| Memory Bus Width | 64 bit | 128 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 144.0 GB/s | 32.03 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 1024 | 640 |

| TMUs | 64 | 40 |

| ROPs | 32 | 16 |

| RT Cores | 16 | 0 |

| Pixel Rate | 76.80 GPixel/s | 17.98 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 153.6 GTexel/s | 44.96 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 4.915 TFLOPS | 1,438.7 GFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 9.830 TFLOPS (2:1) | N/A |

| TDP | 50 W | 75 W |

| DirectX Support | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | 12 (11_0) |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x4 | MXM-B (3.0) |

| Release Date | 2022-01-03 | 2015-03-12 |

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 6500M wins decisively in compute performance, as evidenced by its 275.6% lead in Geekbench OpenCL. It also wins on every specification that matters for modern gaming and productivity: it has double the memory capacity (4 GB vs 2 GB), higher bandwidth (144.0 GB/s vs 32.03 GB/s), more shading units (1024 vs 640), and support for ray tracing. Its texture rate of 153.6 GTexel/s versus 44.96 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 76.80 GPixel/s versus 17.98 GPixel/s show that it can handle higher resolutions and more complex scenes.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950A has no benchmark wins in the head-to-head data, with a 0-win record. However, its lower TDP of 75 W compared to 50 W for the RX 6500M is not a win but a disadvantage. The GTX 950A does offer a wider memory bus (128 bit vs 64 bit), which in theory could benefit certain memory-bound workloads, but its DDR3 memory and overall lower bandwidth negate this advantage. The GTX 950A also uses the MXM-B (3.0) interface, which may be relevant for specific portable devices, but the RX 6500M’s IGP slot width and PCIe 4.0 x4 interface are more modern.

The Verdict

The data clearly favors the AMD Radeon RX 6500M for virtually any use case. Its 275.6% advantage in Geekbench OpenCL is the single largest performance gap in the head-to-head data, and it carries that momentum across every architectural metric. The RX 6500M offers 4.915 TFLOPS of FP32 performance versus 1,438.7 GFLOPS, a 4 GB GDDR6 memory pool versus 2 GB DDR3, and ray tracing support that the GTX 950A lacks entirely. For users who prioritize compute workloads, modern API support (DirectX 12 Ultimate), or any form of future-proofing, the RX 6500M is the only logical choice.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950A is a legacy part from 2015, and its only comparable metric is the average benchmark score, where it trails by 0.9%. Its 640 shading units and 16 ROPs are insufficient for demanding tasks, and its 32.03 GB/s bandwidth is a severe bottleneck. The GTX 950A might still function in older systems that require an MXM-B (3.0) module, but even there, its 75 W TDP is higher than the RX 6500M’s 50 W. The verdict is unambiguous: the AMD Radeon RX 6500M is the superior GPU in every measurable way, and the GTX 950A should only be considered for legacy hardware compatibility, not performance.