NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M Comparison

The GeForce GTX 560M and the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti represent two very different eras of NVIDIA mobile graphics, separated by five years of architectural evolution. The benchmark data shows a decisive shift in performance, but the comparison reveals more than just a raw speed difference. It shows how NVIDIA’s approach to power, memory, and feature support changed between the Fermi and Pascal generations. The recorded measurements place the GTX 560M in the 28th percentile of all GPUs, while the GTX 1050 Ti sits in the 25th percentile, a curious inversion that suggests the older card’s single OpenCL score may not tell the full story.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct head-to-head benchmark recorded in the database is the Geekbench OpenCL test, and the result is lopsided. The GTX 560M scores 4,855 points, while the GTX 1050 Ti scores 18,129 points. That is a delta of 73.2% in favor of the newer card. In practical terms, the GTX 1050 Ti delivers roughly 3.7 times the OpenCL compute throughput of the GTX 560M. This is not a marginal improvement; it is a generational leap that aligns with the shift from a 40 nm Fermi chip to a 14 nm Pascal chip.

The nearest rival data provides additional context. The GTX 560M’s closest competitors in the database are the GeForce 940MX (average score 4,844, delta 0.2%), the AMD Radeon R6 M255DX (4,867, delta -0.2%), and the GeForce GTS 450 (4,893, delta -0.8%). These deltas are tiny, meaning the GTX 560M is essentially tied with those cards in compute performance. The GTX 1050 Ti, on the other hand, sits near the AMD Radeon R5 M330 (4,170, delta 0.6%) and the Quadro K2100M (4,151, delta 1%). The GTX 1050 Ti’s average benchmark score is 4,193, which is lower than its OpenCL score because the database includes several other tests where it scores lower, such as Passmark DirectX 12 (26 points) and Passmark DirectX 10 (31 points). Still, in the OpenCL test, the GTX 1050 Ti is in a different class entirely.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is stark. The GTX 560M uses the GF116 chip, built on a 40 nm process at TSMC, with 1,170 million transistors on a 238 mm² die. The GTX 1050 Ti uses the GP107 chip, built on a 14 nm process at Samsung, with 3,300 million transistors on a much smaller 132 mm² die. The transistor density tells the story: the GTX 560M has 4.9 million transistors per square millimeter, while the GTX 1050 Ti has 25.0 million per square millimeter. That is a 5x density increase, which is exactly what allowed NVIDIA to pack nearly three times as many transistors into half the silicon area.

The compute resources differ accordingly. The GTX 560M has 192 shading units, 32 texture mapping units, and 24 ROPs. The GTX 1050 Ti has 768 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The shading unit count is 4x higher on the newer card, which directly explains the OpenCL score gap. The pixel rate and texture rate also favor the GTX 1050 Ti dramatically: 44.54 GPixel/s versus 6.20 GPixel/s, and 66.82 GTexel/s versus 24.80 GTexel/s. The FP32 compute is 2.138 TFLOPS versus 595.2 GFLOPS, a 3.6x difference that mirrors the OpenCL result.

Memory architecture also diverges. The GTX 560M uses 1,536 MB of GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus, yielding 60.00 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX 1050 Ti uses 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, but the memory clock is much higher: 1,752 MHz (7 Gbps effective) versus 625 MHz (2.5 Gbps effective). The result is 112.1 GB/s of bandwidth, nearly double the older card’s throughput despite the narrower bus. The GTX 1050 Ti also supports a broader API set, including DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.4, while the GTX 560M is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0) and has no Vulkan support. Both cards support OpenGL 4.6.

Where Each One Wins

Given the head-to-head data, the GTX 1050 Ti wins every recorded benchmark where both are measured. The OpenCL test is the only direct comparison, and the GTX 1050 Ti takes it by 73.2%. The GTX 560M’s wins in the database are zero, while the GTX 1050 Ti has one win. However, the GTX 560M’s single benchmark score of 4,855 places it in the 28th percentile, which is actually higher than the GTX 1050 Ti’s 25th percentile. This is because the GTX 1050 Ti’s average score of 4,193 is dragged down by its low scores in synthetic Passmark tests, particularly DirectX 9 (104 points) and DirectX 11 (45 points). Those tests likely reflect driver or API overhead in older workloads, not raw compute ability.

For use cases, the GTX 1050 Ti is the clear choice for any compute-heavy workload, such as OpenCL acceleration or modern DirectX 12 gaming. Its Vulkan 1.4 support means it can run current-generation titles that rely on Vulkan, while the GTX 560M cannot. The GTX 560M’s advantage is confined to legacy scenarios: it has a wider memory bus (192-bit vs 128-bit), which can be beneficial in older games that are bandwidth-sensitive, but the actual bandwidth is still lower. The GTX 560M also has a lower transistor count and smaller die, which historically meant lower power draw, but the TDP is identical at 75 W for both cards. In practice, the GTX 1050 Ti wins on every measurable performance axis in the database.

Specification Differences

The specification table shows several key differences beyond the architectural ones. The GTX 1050 Ti has a base clock of 1,291 MHz and a boost clock of 1,392 MHz, while the GTX 560M lists no base or boost clock, only a memory clock of 625 MHz. The memory size is 4 GB versus 1,536 MB, and the bus width is 128-bit versus 192-bit. The GTX 1050 Ti supports PCIe 3.0 x16, while the GTX 560M uses an MXM-B (3.0) interface, which is a laptop module format. The GTX 1050 Ti is a dual-slot card with display outputs (1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, 1x DisplayPort 1.4a), while the GTX 560M’s display outputs are listed as portable device dependent. The GTX 1050 Ti has a suggested PSU of 250 W, while the GTX 560M has none listed. The GTX 1050 Ti also has a physical length of 145 mm (5.7 inches) and height of 111 mm (4.4 inches), while the GTX 560M has no dimensions listed. The release dates are 2016-10-24 for the GTX 1050 Ti and 2011-05-29 for the GTX 560M. The GTX 1050 Ti has a launch MSRP of 139 USD, while the GTX 560M has none recorded.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the GTX 1050 Ti in OpenCL compute?

A: The GTX 1050 Ti scores 18,129 in Geekbench OpenCL versus 4,855 for the GTX 560M, a 73.2% delta in favor of the newer card.

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: The GTX 1050 Ti has 768 shading units, while the GTX 560M has 192. The newer card has 4x the shader count.

Q: Do both cards support DirectX 12?

A: Yes, both support DirectX 12, but the GTX 560M is limited to feature level 11_0, while the GTX 1050 Ti supports feature level 12_1.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The GTX 1050 Ti has 112.1 GB/s of bandwidth, while the GTX 560M has 60.00 GB/s. Despite the GTX 560M’s wider 192-bit bus, the GTX 1050 Ti’s faster memory clock gives it nearly double the bandwidth.

Q: Which card has a higher transistor density?

A: The GTX 1050 Ti has 25.0 million transistors per mm², versus 4.9 million per mm² for the GTX 560M. The GTX 1050 Ti is built on a 14 nm process, while the GTX 560M is on 40 nm.

Q: Is the GTX 560M better in any benchmark?

A: No. In the only head-to-head benchmark recorded, the GTX 1050 Ti wins. The GTX 560M has zero wins in the database, while the GTX 1050 Ti has one.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the GTX 1050 Ti outperforms the GTX 560M in every recorded metric. The 73.2% delta in OpenCL compute is the headline, but the supporting specifications confirm it. The GTX 1050 Ti has 4x the shading units, 3.6x the FP32 throughput, nearly double the memory bandwidth, and a far more modern feature set including Vulkan 1.4 and DirectX 12 (12_1). The GTX 560M’s only theoretical advantage is its wider memory bus, but that does not translate into a bandwidth win. The percentile rankings are misleading: the GTX 560M sits at 28th percentile, three points higher than the GTX 1050 Ti’s 25th, but that is an artifact of the GTX 1050 Ti’s low scores in legacy Passmark DirectX tests. For any workload involving OpenCL, modern gaming, or compute acceleration, the GTX 1050 Ti is the only rational choice. The GTX 560M belongs to an era where 1,170 million transistors and a 40 nm process were competitive, but against a Pascal card with 3,300 million transistors on 14 nm, it is decisively outclassed. The launch MSRP of 139 USD for the GTX 1050 Ti further underscores its position as the more capable part, though the GTX 560M’s MXM form factor means it was always a niche laptop component. In short, the GTX 1050 Ti wins this match-up on every measurable axis, and the database leaves no room for ambiguity.