NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data paints a clear picture of two very different products. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti, a desktop card from the GeForce 500 generation, holds no benchmark wins in the recorded head-to-head results. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M, a mobile part from the GeForce 900M generation, wins the only shared test decisively. That single shared test, Geekbench OpenCL, shows the GTX 980M scoring 23,832 against the GTX 550 Ti's 5,731, a delta of 76% in favor of the newer mobile chip.

The GTX 550 Ti's only recorded benchmark is that same Geekbench OpenCL run, so its capabilities in other workloads are not represented in the database. The GTX 980M, by contrast, has a much broader benchmark footprint. It records scores in Passmark DirectX 9, 10, 11, and 12, plus Passmark G2D, G3D, GPU Compute, Geekbench Vulkan, and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. This wider coverage means the GTX 980M's strengths can be assessed across legacy and modern graphics APIs, while the GTX 550 Ti's profile remains limited to a single compute-oriented test.

Looking at the GTX 980M's individual results, it shows a clear split between older and newer API performance. In Passmark DirectX 9 it scores 125, which is the highest of its four DirectX results. DirectX 11 comes next at 57, followed by DirectX 10 at 35 and DirectX 12 at 31. This pattern suggests the card is strongest in legacy DirectX 9 workloads, a common trait for a mobile GPU of its era. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 649 and the Geekbench Vulkan score of 17,703 indicate that the GTX 980M can still handle modern APIs, but its Passmark DirectX 12 result of 31 is notably lower than its DirectX 9 result.

The GTX 550 Ti, with no other benchmark entries, cannot be compared in these additional workloads. Its percentile rank among all GPUs is 33, while the GTX 980M sits at 31. These percentile figures place both cards in the lower-middle range of the database, but the GTX 550 Ti's single score may not fully represent its gaming capabilities, especially given its desktop orientation and dedicated power connector.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different architectural eras and serve different form factors. The GTX 550 Ti uses the GF116 chip based on Fermi 2.0 architecture, built on a 40 nm process at TSMC. It contains 1,170 million transistors on a 238 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 4.9 million per square millimeter. The GTX 980M uses the GM204 chip based on Maxwell 2.0 architecture, also from TSMC but on a 28 nm process. Its transistor count is 5,200 million on a 398 mm² die, giving a density of 13.1 million per square millimeter. The newer process node and larger die allow the GTX 980M to pack more than four times the transistors into less than twice the area.

Memory configurations differ substantially. The GTX 550 Ti ships with 1,024 MB of GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus, delivering 98.50 GB/s of bandwidth. Its memory clock is listed at 1,026 MHz, or 4.1 Gbps effective. The GTX 980M offers 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, with bandwidth of 160.4 GB/s and a memory clock of 1,253 MHz, or 5 Gbps effective. The GTX 980M has eight times the memory capacity and roughly 63% more bandwidth.

Compute resources scale accordingly. The GTX 550 Ti has 192 shading units, 32 texture mapping units, and 24 raster operation units. Its pixel rate is 7.200 GPixel/s, texture rate is 28.80 GTexel/s, and FP32 throughput is 691.2 GFLOPS. The GTX 980M has 1,536 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. Its pixel rate reaches 72.13 GPixel/s, texture rate is 108.2 GTexel/s, and FP32 performance is 3.462 TFLOPS. The GTX 980M delivers roughly 10 times the pixel throughput, 3.8 times the texture throughput, and 5 times the FP32 compute.

The GTX 980M also has explicit clock specifications, with a base clock of 1,038 MHz and a boost clock of 1,127 MHz. The GTX 550 Ti has no base or boost clock listed in the database, only its memory clock. Power and physical specifications differ as well. The GTX 550 Ti is a dual-slot desktop card, 210 mm long or 8.3 inches, with a 1x 6-pin power connector and a suggested PSU of 300 W. Its TDP is listed at 116 W. The GTX 980M is an MXM module with no power connector listed, no suggested PSU, and no TDP figure in the database. It uses an MXM-B (3.0) bus interface, while the GTX 550 Ti uses PCIe 2.0 x16.

API support shows a generation gap. The GTX 550 Ti supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, but has no Vulkan entry. The GTX 980M supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Display outputs also differ: the GTX 550 Ti has 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a, while the GTX 980M's outputs are listed as portable device dependent, reflecting its laptop-oriented MXM form factor.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct comparison in the database is the Geekbench OpenCL test. The GTX 550 Ti scores 5,731, while the GTX 980M scores 23,832. The delta is 76% in favor of the GTX 980M. This is a massive margin, roughly four times the raw score. The result reflects the architectural gap between Fermi 2.0 and Maxwell 2.0, as well as the difference in shading units, memory bandwidth, and FP32 throughput.

The GTX 980M's advantage in this test is consistent with its hardware specifications. It has 8 times the shading units, 3 times the TMUs, and over 2.6 times the ROPs. Its FP32 throughput of 3.462 TFLOPS is five times the GTX 550 Ti's 691.2 GFLOPS. Memory bandwidth is 63% higher. These factors combine to produce the observed OpenCL dominance.

For context, the GTX 550 Ti's nearest rivals in the database are the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670MX at 5,721 with a delta of 0.2%, the Intel Iris Pro Graphics P6300 at 5,712 with a delta of 0.3%, and the AMD Radeon HD 8790M at 5,691 with a delta of 0.7%. The AMD Radeon R7 M465 scores 5,841, which is 1.9% ahead of the GTX 550 Ti. These rivals are all within roughly 2% of the GTX 550 Ti's score, indicating that it sits in a tightly clustered performance band.

The GTX 980M's nearest rivals are quite different. The NVIDIA GeForce 930A scores 5,317, which is 0.2% behind the GTX 980M's average of 5,308. The NVIDIA GeForce 840M scores 5,322, 0.3% behind. The NVIDIA GeForce 940M scores 5,284, 0.5% ahead. The AMD Radeon R7 M445 scores 5,358, 0.9% ahead. Note that these rival scores are averages across multiple benchmarks, not the Geekbench OpenCL result. The GTX 980M's average benchmark score is 5,308, which is much lower than its 23,832 OpenCL score, because it also includes lower scores from Passmark DirectX tests and other workloads.

The GTX 980M's Passmark results show a wide spread. Its G3D score is 7,338, which is its strongest Passmark result. GPU Compute scores 2,816. G2D scores 490. The DirectX API scores are much lower: DirectX 9 at 125, DirectX 11 at 57, DirectX 10 at 35, and DirectX 12 at 31. This pattern indicates that the card's raw compute and graphics power are substantial, but its legacy API performance is mixed, and its DirectX 12 result is surprisingly low relative to its G3D score.

The Verdict

The data clearly favors the GTX 980M in the single head-to-head benchmark available. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 23,832 is 76% higher than the GTX 550 Ti's 5,731. Anyone looking for compute performance, modern API support, or higher memory capacity should choose the GTX 980M. It offers 8 GB of memory versus 1 GB, Vulkan 1.4 support versus none, and DirectX 12 (12_1) versus DirectX 12 (11_0).

The GTX 550 Ti's only advantage is not visible in the benchmark data, because it has no wins in the recorded tests. Its smaller die, lower power draw, and simpler power requirements may appeal to users with older systems or limited power budgets, but the database does not provide evidence of any performance advantage. Its 116 W TDP and 300 W suggested PSU are notable, but without a TDP figure for the GTX 980M, a direct power comparison is not possible.

For gaming, the GTX 980M's Passmark G3D score of 7,338 suggests strong rasterization performance for its era, while the GTX 550 Ti has no comparable score in the database. For compute workloads, the GTX 980M's OpenCL and Vulkan results are far ahead. For legacy DirectX 9 games, the GTX 980M's score of 125 is its best DirectX result, though the GTX 550 Ti has no equivalent score to compare.

The percentile ranks are close, 33 for the GTX 550 Ti and 31 for the GTX 980M, but these ranks are computed from different benchmark sets. The GTX 550 Ti's rank is based on a single OpenCL score, while the GTX 980M's rank incorporates ten different tests. The GTX 980M's average score of 5,308 is lower than its OpenCL score because of the inclusion of low DirectX scores, which pulls its average down relative to its peak capability.

In practical terms, the GTX 980M is the better choice for any workload represented in the database. Its memory capacity, compute throughput, API support, and raw benchmark scores all point in the same direction. The GTX 550 Ti remains a functional entry-level desktop card from 2011, but the recorded data offers no reason to prefer it over the GTX 980M except for physical form factor or power constraints.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher Geekbench OpenCL score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M scores 23,832, which is 76% higher than the GTX 550 Ti's 5,731.

Q: How much memory does each card have?

A: The GTX 550 Ti has 1,024 MB of GDDR5, while the GTX 980M has 8 GB of GDDR5.

Q: What architecture does each card use?

A: The GTX 550 Ti uses Fermi 2.0 with the GF116 chip, while the GTX 980M uses Maxwell 2.0 with the GM204 chip.

Q: Does the GTX 980M support Vulkan?

A: Yes, the GTX 980M supports Vulkan 1.4. The GTX 550 Ti has no Vulkan support listed in the database.

Q: What is the GTX 980M's best Passmark DirectX score?

A: Its DirectX 9 score of 125 is the highest, followed by DirectX 11 at 57, DirectX 10 at 35, and DirectX 12 at 31.

Q: How do the two cards compare in FP32 compute?

A: The GTX 980M delivers 3.462 TFLOPS, while the GTX 550 Ti delivers 691.2 GFLOPS, making the GTX 980M roughly five times faster.