NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only recorded benchmark comparison in the database is the Geekbench OpenCL test, and it produces a clear winner. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M scores 6,493 points, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti scores 5,731 points. That is a delta of 13.3%, with the GT 555M taking the single head-to-head win. The database records one win for the GT 555M and zero for the GTX 550 Ti.

This result may seem counterintuitive given the desktop-oriented positioning of the GTX 550 Ti, but the underlying specifications in the database explain why the mobile part comes out ahead in this particular workload. The GT 555M carries 144 shading units, 24 texture mapping units, and 16 ROPs, while the GTX 550 Ti carries 192 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 24 ROPs. The GTX 550 Ti has more execution hardware on paper, yet the OpenCL score favors the GT 555M by a substantial margin.

The memory subsystems differ significantly. The GT 555M uses 1,024 MB of DDR3 on a 128-bit bus, yielding 28.80 GB/s of bandwidth and a memory clock of 900 MHz (1,800 Mbps effective). The GTX 550 Ti uses 1,024 MB of GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus, yielding 98.50 GB/s of bandwidth and a memory clock of 1,026 MHz (4.1 Gbps effective). The GTX 550 Ti has more than three times the raw memory bandwidth, yet the OpenCL score does not reflect that advantage.

The compute rates tell a similar story of hardware disparity. The GT 555M delivers a pixel rate of 3.540 GPixel/s, a texture rate of 14.16 GTexel/s, and 339.8 GFLOPS of FP32 compute. The GTX 550 Ti delivers 7.200 GPixel/s, 28.80 GTexel/s, and 691.2 GFLOPS of FP32 compute. The GTX 550 Ti is roughly double the GT 555M in every measured throughput category, yet the benchmark result still lands in favor of the mobile chip.

This suggests the Geekbench OpenCL workload is sensitive to factors other than raw shading throughput, or that the GT 555M benefits from different driver behavior, memory latency characteristics, or thermal management in the recorded test environment. The database does not include per-run details, so the cause cannot be isolated with certainty. What the data shows is a 13.3% lead for the GT 555M in the only head-to-head measurement available.

Looking at the nearest rivals for each card provides additional context. The GT 555M sits at the 37th percentile of all GPUs in the database. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA Quadro M5000M at 6,481 points (0.2% behind), the AMD Radeon Vega 10 Mobile at 6,476 points (0.3% behind), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M at 6,513 points (0.3% ahead), and the Intel UHD Graphics P750 at 6,554 points (0.9% ahead). The GT 555M is effectively in a tight cluster, with all four rivals within roughly one percentage point. The GTX 670M and Intel UHD Graphics P750 edge it out, but only marginally, while the Quadro M5000M and Radeon Vega 10 Mobile trail by fractions of a point.

The GTX 550 Ti sits at the 33rd percentile of all GPUs, four points lower than the GT 555M. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670MX at 5,721 points (0.2% behind), the Intel Iris Pro Graphics P6300 at 5,712 points (0.3% behind), the AMD Radeon HD 8790M at 5,691 points (0.7% behind), and the AMD Radeon R7 M465 at 5,841 points (1.9% ahead). The GTX 550 Ti beats three of its four closest rivals, losing only to the R7 M465 by a 1.9% margin. The gap between the two cards in question, 13.3%, is much larger than any of the deltas within either card's nearest-rival grouping, which reinforces that the GT 555M and GTX 550 Ti are not closely matched in this benchmark despite their shared architectural lineage.

The Verdict

The data points to a straightforward conclusion: the NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M is the faster part in OpenCL compute performance. Its 6,493 score versus 5,731 for the GTX 550 Ti represents a 13.3% advantage, and it holds the only recorded head-to-head win. Buyers or system builders choosing strictly on benchmark performance should select the GT 555M.

However, the verdict is not without nuance. The GTX 550 Ti has a dramatically different hardware profile. It uses GDDR5 memory instead of DDR3, a 192-bit bus instead of 128-bit, and roughly double the FP32 throughput, pixel rate, and texture rate. The GTX 550 Ti also requires a 116 W TDP, a dual-slot cooler, a 6-pin power connector, and a 300 W suggested PSU. The GT 555M draws only 35 W, uses no auxiliary power connector, and is described as portable-device dependent for display outputs. If the workload were heavily bandwidth-bound or shader-bound in a way that matched the GTX 550 Ti's hardware strengths, the result could plausibly reverse. But the recorded data does not show that.

The percentile ranking reinforces the gap. The GT 555M sits at the 37th percentile of all GPUs, while the GTX 550 Ti sits at the 33rd. That four-point percentile difference, combined with the 13.3% head-to-head delta, places the GT 555M in a higher performance tier within the database. The GTX 550 Ti's nearest rivals cluster around 5,700 to 5,800 points, while the GT 555M's nearest rivals cluster around 6,480 to 6,550 points. The two cards occupy different neighborhoods in the performance distribution.

For a desktop system where power consumption is not a concern, the GTX 550 Ti's higher TDP and larger memory bandwidth remain notable features, but the benchmark data does not translate those into a higher score. For a mobile or low-power system, the GT 555M offers better measured performance at a fraction of the power draw, 35 W versus 116 W. The GT 555M is the better choice in every category the database measures.

Architecture Differences

Both cards are built by NVIDIA using the same 40 nm process node at TSMC, with the same transistor count of 1,170 million and the same die size of 238 mm². The transistor density is identical at 4.9 million transistors per square millimeter. The foundational silicon is effectively the same, but the chip designs diverge.

The GT 555M uses the GF106 chip, while the GTX 550 Ti uses the GF116 chip. The GT 555M belongs to the GeForce 500M generation under the Fermi architecture, while the GTX 550 Ti belongs to the GeForce 500 generation under the Fermi 2.0 architecture. The naming is similar, and both trace back to Fermi, but the GTX 550 Ti's chip is a later refinement labeled Fermi 2.0.

The compute resources are substantially different. The GT 555M has 144 shading units, 24 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. The GTX 550 Ti has 192 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 24 ROPs. The GTX 550 Ti has 33% more shading units, 33% more TMUs, and 50% more ROPs. This explains the GTX 550 Ti's higher pixel rate of 7.200 GPixel/s versus 3.540 GPixel/s, its higher texture rate of 28.80 GTexel/s versus 14.16 GTexel/s, and its higher FP32 output of 691.2 GFLOPS versus 339.8 GFLOPS.

Memory architecture also diverges sharply. The GT 555M uses 1,024 MB of DDR3 with a 128-bit bus and a memory clock of 900 MHz (1,800 Mbps effective), producing 28.80 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX 550 Ti uses 1,024 MB of GDDR5 with a 192-bit bus and a memory clock of 1,026 MHz (4.1 Gbps effective), producing 98.50 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX 550 Ti's bandwidth advantage is approximately 3.4 times that of the GT 555M, a massive difference driven by both the faster memory type and the wider bus.

Power and physical design differ even more. The GT 555M has a TDP of 35 W, no listed slot width, no power connectors, and portable-device-dependent display outputs. The GTX 550 Ti has a TDP of 116 W, a dual-slot cooler, one 6-pin power connector, a 300 W suggested PSU, and display outputs of 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a. The GTX 550 Ti is a 210 mm (8.3 inches) desktop card, while the GT 555M is designed for integration into portable devices.

Both cards support DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, and both lack Vulkan support in the database. Both use a PCIe 2.0 x16 bus interface. Neither has listed RT cores or tensor cores. The GT 555M was released on 2011-07-01, while the GTX 550 Ti was released earlier on 2011-03-14. The GT 555M's predecessor is the GeForce 400M and its successor is the GeForce 600M. The GTX 550 Ti's predecessor is the GeForce 400 and its successor is the GeForce 600. Both cards are end-of-life. The GTX 550 Ti has a launch MSRP of 149 USD; the GT 555M has no listed launch MSRP.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher OpenCL benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M scores 6,493 points, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti scores 5,731 points. The GT 555M leads by 13.3%.

Q: How much memory bandwidth does each card have?

A: The GT 555M has 28.80 GB/s of bandwidth from 1,024 MB of DDR3 on a 128-bit bus. The GTX 550 Ti has 98.50 GB/s of bandwidth from 1,024 MB of GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus.

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: The GTX 550 Ti has 192 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 24 ROPs. The GT 555M has 144 shading units, 24 TMUs, and 16 ROPs.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The GT 555M has a TDP of 35 W and no power connectors. The GTX 550 Ti has a TDP of 116 W, requires one 6-pin power connector, and has a suggested PSU of 300 W.

Q: Are these cards based on the same architecture?

A: Both use the 40 nm process at TSMC with 1,170 million transistors on a 238 mm² die. The GT 555M uses the GF106 chip under the Fermi architecture, while the GTX 550 Ti uses the GF116 chip under the Fermi 2.0 architecture.

Q: Which card has a higher percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The GT 555M is at the 37th percentile, while the GTX 550 Ti is at the 33rd percentile.

Where Each One Wins

The GT 555M wins in the only direct benchmark comparison, the Geekbench OpenCL test, with a 13.3% lead. It also wins in power efficiency, consuming 35 W versus 116 W, and it requires no auxiliary power connector. For portable devices, low-power systems, or any scenario where thermal and power budgets are tight, the GT 555M is the clear choice based on the recorded data.

The GTX 550 Ti wins in raw hardware specifications that are not reflected in the benchmark score. It has 48 more shading units, 8 more TMUs, 8 more ROPs, and more than three times the memory bandwidth. Its FP32 compute of 691.2 GFLOPS is more than double the GT 555M's 339.8 GFLOPS. Its pixel rate of 7.200 GPixel/s is double the GT 555M's 3.540 GPixel/s, and its texture rate of 28.80 GTexel/s is double the GT 555M's 14.16 GTexel/s. For workloads that are heavily bandwidth-bound or shader-bound in a way that the OpenCL test does not capture, the GTX 550 Ti's hardware profile could be advantageous, but the database does not contain a benchmark that demonstrates this.

The GTX 550 Ti also wins in desktop integration. It has defined display outputs (2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a), a dual-slot cooler, a 210 mm board length, and a 300 W suggested PSU. The GT 555M's display outputs are listed as portable-device dependent, meaning it is not a standalone desktop card.

In terms of nearest-rival positioning, the GT 555M holds its own against a tighter cluster of competitors. It trails the GTX 670M by only 0.3% and the Intel UHD Graphics P750 by 0.9%, while leading the Quadro M5000M by 0.2% and the Radeon Vega 10 Mobile by 0.3%. The GTX 550 Ti leads three of its four nearest rivals, with deltas of 0.2%, 0.3%, and 0.7%, but trails the Radeon R7 M465 by 1.9%. Neither card dominates its immediate competitive set, but the GT 555M's cluster sits at a higher absolute score level.

The final use-case split is simple. Choose the GT 555M for OpenCL compute performance, lower power draw, and mobile integration. Choose the GTX 550 Ti for desktop builds where its higher TDP, dual-slot cooling, and auxiliary power are acceptable, and where the larger memory bandwidth or doubled shader throughput might matter in applications not covered by the recorded benchmark. The recorded data, however, favors the GT 555M in the one test that matters.