NVIDIA GeForce 930A vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti leads with an average benchmark score of 5731, which is 7.8% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce 930A's 5317 in the recorded Geekbench OpenCL test.

Q: How do the two compare in their nearest rival groups?

A: The GTX 550 Ti sits at the 33rd percentile among all GPUs, with its closest rival being the AMD Radeon R7 M465 (5841), which is 1.9% faster. The GeForce 930A sits at the 31st percentile, and its closest rival is the AMD Radeon R7 M445 (5358), which is 0.8% faster.

Q: What are the memory specifications of each card?

A: The GTX 550 Ti uses 1024 MB of GDDR5 memory on a 192-bit bus with 98.50 GB/s bandwidth. The GeForce 930A uses 2 GB of DDR3 memory on a 64-bit bus with 16.02 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card has the higher GPU clock speed?

A: The GeForce 930A has a base clock of 928 MHz and a boost clock of 941 MHz, while the GTX 550 Ti has no listed base or boost clocks in the database.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The GTX 550 Ti is rated at 116 W TDP and requires a 300 W suggested PSU with a 1x 6-pin power connector. The GeForce 930A is rated at 33 W TDP, uses no power connectors, and is classified as an IGP (integrated graphics processor).

Q: When were these GPUs released?

A: The GTX 550 Ti was released on 2011-03-14, and the GeForce 930A was released on 2015-03-12. Both are now end-of-life products.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different generations and architectures. The GTX 550 Ti is built on the Fermi 2.0 architecture with the GF116 chip, manufactured on a 40 nm process at TSMC. The GeForce 930A uses the Maxwell architecture with the GM108 chip, also from TSMC but on a 28 nm process. The process shrink is significant: the GTX 550 Ti packs 1,170 million transistors on a 238 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 4.9M / mm². The GeForce 930A integrates 1,020 million transistors on just 77 mm², achieving a density of 13.2M / mm². This means the Maxwell chip is far more efficient in area usage, packing nearly the same transistor count in less than one-third of the silicon area.

Shader and texture configurations differ sharply. The GTX 550 Ti has 192 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 24 ROPs. The GeForce 930A has 384 shading units (double), but only 24 TMUs and 8 ROPs. This gives the Fermi card a higher texture rate of 28.80 GTexel/s versus 22.58 GTexel/s for the Maxwell part, and a higher pixel rate of 7.200 GPixel/s versus 7.528 GPixel/s for the 930A. The Maxwell card actually edges out the Fermi card in pixel throughput, but the GTX 550 Ti holds the texture throughput advantage.

Raw compute output is close. The GTX 550 Ti delivers 691.2 GFLOPS of FP32, while the GeForce 930A delivers 722.7 GFLOPS. The 930A is slightly ahead in raw floating-point throughput despite its much lower power envelope. Neither card has ray tracing cores or tensor cores, and neither lists FP16 performance.

Memory architecture is a major differentiator. The GTX 550 Ti uses GDDR5 with a 192-bit bus, achieving 98.50 GB/s of bandwidth at 1026 MHz (4.1 Gbps effective). The GeForce 930A uses DDR3 with a 64-bit bus, achieving only 16.02 GB/s at 1001 MHz (2 Gbps effective). The older card has over six times the memory bandwidth, which heavily influences its benchmark performance. However, the 930A has double the capacity at 2 GB versus 1024 MB.

The API support differs slightly. Both support DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6. The GeForce 930A additionally supports Vulkan 1.4, while the GTX 550 Ti has no Vulkan support listed. The GTX 550 Ti uses a PCIe 2.0 x16 interface and is a dual-slot card at 210 mm length. The GeForce 930A uses PCIe 3.0 x8 and is an IGP form factor with display outputs described as portable device dependent.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains one head-to-head benchmark comparison: Geekbench OpenCL. In this test, the GTX 550 Ti scores 5731 against the GeForce 930A's 5317, a 7.8% advantage for the Fermi card. This is the only recorded head-to-head test, and the GTX 550 Ti wins it outright.

Context from the nearest rival groups helps interpret this result. The GTX 550 Ti's score of 5731 places it just ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670MX (5721, 0.2% faster than that rival) and the Intel Iris Pro Graphics P6300 (5712, 0.3% faster). It trails the AMD Radeon R7 M465 (5841) by 1.9%. The GeForce 930A's score of 5317 sits between the NVIDIA GeForce 840M (5322, which is 0.1% faster) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M (5308, which the 930A beats by 0.2%). It also beats the NVIDIA GeForce 940M (5284) by 0.6% but trails the AMD Radeon R7 M445 (5358) by 0.8%.

The percentile data reinforces this picture. The GTX 550 Ti lands at the 33rd percentile of all GPUs, while the GeForce 930A lands at the 31st. The 7.8% delta between them in the head-to-head test is consistent with the two-point percentile gap, though the rival groups show substantial overlap. The GTX 550 Ti's nearest rivals span a range from 5691 to 5841, while the 930A's rivals span 5284 to 5358. There is no overlap between these groups, which suggests the 7.8% head-to-head delta reflects a real performance tier separation.

The bandwidth difference likely explains much of the result. With 98.50 GB/s versus 16.02 GB/s, the GTX 550 Ti has a massive memory throughput advantage, which matters in OpenCL workloads that are often memory-bound. The 930A's higher FP32 output (722.7 GFLOPS versus 691.2 GFLOPS) is not enough to overcome the bandwidth deficit, and the Fermi card's higher texture rate (28.80 GTexel/s versus 22.58 GTexel/s) reinforces its lead in throughput-oriented tasks.

The GeForce 930A does have one clear win in the specification comparison: pixel rate. Its 7.528 GPixel/s edges out the GTX 550 Ti's 7.200 GPixel/s, a marginal 4.6% advantage. This is a small number, and it does not translate into benchmark superiority in the recorded test. The GTX 550 Ti wins the head-to-head, holds the higher percentile ranking, and has the superior memory bandwidth advantage. The 930A counters with double the memory capacity and a dramatically lower TDP.

The Verdict

The data points to the GTX 550 Ti as the faster GPU in the recorded benchmark. Its 5731 Geekbench OpenCL score beats the GeForce 930A's 5317 by 7.8%, and its 33rd percentile rank is two points higher than the 930A's 31st. For compute workloads represented by OpenCL, the Fermi card is the stronger choice.

The GeForce 930A is not without merit. It has double the memory capacity (2 GB versus 1024 MB), a much smaller physical footprint (IGP versus dual-slot), dramatically lower power draw (33 W versus 116 W), and a newer architecture on a smaller process node. It also supports Vulkan 1.4, which the GTX 550 Ti lacks. These are meaningful advantages for systems where power and space are constrained.

The verdict depends on the use case. For raw benchmark performance in the recorded test, the GTX 550 Ti wins. For efficiency and capacity, the GeForce 930A is the better fit. The 7.8% performance delta is significant, but it comes at a 83 W higher TDP cost and a much larger physical footprint. The GTX 550 Ti had a launch MSRP of 149 USD, while the GeForce 930A has no listed launch MSRP.

The GTX 550 Ti is the pick for anyone prioritizing compute performance in the measured workload. The GeForce 930A is the pick for compact, low-power systems where the 2 GB capacity and modern feature set matter more than the benchmark gap. The 930A's nearest rival group includes the GTX 980M, a high-end laptop GPU, which shows that despite its low TDP, it can hold its own in its performance tier.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti | NVIDIA GeForce 930A |

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

| Architecture | Fermi 2.0 | Maxwell |

| Chip | GF116 | GM108 |

| Process Node | 40 nm | 28 nm |

| Transistors | 1,170 million | 1,020 million |

| Die Size | 238 mm² | 77 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 4.9M / mm² | 13.2M / mm² |

| Base Clock | Not listed | 928 MHz |

| Boost Clock | Not listed | 941 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1026 MHz (4.1 Gbps effective) | 1001 MHz (2 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 1024 MB | 2 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR5 | DDR3 |

| Memory Bus Width | 192 bit | 64 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 98.50 GB/s | 16.02 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 192 | 384 |

| TMUs | 32 | 24 |

| ROPs | 24 | 8 |

| Pixel Rate | 7.200 GPixel/s | 7.528 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 28.80 GTexel/s | 22.58 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 691.2 GFLOPS | 722.7 GFLOPS |

| TDP | 116 W | 33 W |

| Slot Width | Dual-slot | IGP |

| Power Connectors | 1x 6-pin | None |

| Suggested PSU | 300 W | Not listed |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 2.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x8 |

| Vulkan Support | Not listed | 1.4 |

| Release Date | 2011-03-14 | 2015-03-12 |

| Launch MSRP | 149 USD | Not listed |

Where Each One Wins

The GTX 550 Ti wins in performance benchmarks. Its 7.8% head-to-head lead in Geekbench OpenCL is the clearest signal in the data. It also holds a higher percentile rank (33rd versus 31st) and has a massive memory bandwidth advantage at 98.50 GB/s versus 16.02 GB/s. The texture rate is also higher at 28.80 GTexel/s versus 22.58 GTexel/s, which favors workloads that stress texture fetching. Its nearest rival group scores between 5691 and 5841, placing it in a performance tier that the 930A's rivals (5284 to 5358) do not reach.

The GeForce 930A wins in efficiency and capacity. Its 33 W TDP is less than one-third of the GTX 550 Ti's 116 W, and it requires no power connectors or external PSU recommendation. It packs 2 GB of memory, double the 1024 MB of the GTX 550 Ti, which matters for workloads that need larger working sets even if bandwidth is lower. Its FP32 output is higher at 722.7 GFLOPS versus 691.2 GFLOPS, and its pixel rate is slightly higher at 7.528 GPixel/s versus 7.200 GPixel/s. The Maxwell architecture on 28 nm is also much denser at 13.2M / mm² versus 4.9M / mm², and it supports Vulkan 1.4, which the GTX 550 Ti does not.

The use-case split is straightforward. For raw compute performance in the recorded OpenCL test, choose the GTX 550 Ti. For a low-power, compact implementation with larger memory capacity and modern API support, choose the GeForce 930A. The 930A's 0.2% lead over the GTX 980M in its rival group is notable for a 33 W IGP, showing that efficiency does not always mean bottom-tier performance. The GTX 550 Ti's 0.2% lead over the GTX 670MX shows it remains competitive within its own generation's mobile and desktop landscape. Neither card has a clear advantage across all dimensions, but the benchmark data favors the Fermi card where it matters most in measured performance.