NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti vs NVIDIA Quadro K620M Comparison

The NVIDIA Quadro K620M and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti represent two very different approaches to graphics hardware from the same manufacturer. One is a low-power mobile workstation part built on modern architecture, while the other is a legacy desktop gaming card with a much older design. Based on the benchmark data, the K620M edges out the GTX 550 Ti, but the story is more complex than a single score suggests.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison available is the Geekbench OpenCL test, and it shows a narrow victory for the Quadro K620M. The K620M scores 5957 points, while the GTX 550 Ti scores 5731 points. That is a delta of 3.9% in favor of the Quadro. In practical terms, this is a slim margin—not the kind of gap that would decisively change a purchasing decision based on raw compute alone. The K620M wins this comparison, but the performance difference is modest.

Looking at the percentile rankings, the K620M sits at the 34th percentile of all GPUs, while the GTX 550 Ti sits at the 33rd percentile. This means both cards are in the lower-middle range of the overall GPU landscape, and the 3.9% benchmark lead translates to just a one-percentile difference in the broader rankings. The data suggests these are closely matched parts in terms of raw compute capability.

The nearest rivals for each card reinforce this picture. The K620M’s closest competitor is the AMD Radeon HD 8730M, which scores 5955 points—a 0% delta. The HD 8750M scores 5970 points, putting it 0.2% ahead of the K620M. The Quadro K4000 scores 5982 points, 0.4% ahead. On the other side, the GTX 550 Ti’s nearest rival is the GTX 670MX at 5721 points (0.2% ahead of the 550 Ti), and the Intel Iris Pro Graphics P6300 at 5712 points (0.3% ahead). The AMD Radeon HD 8790M scores 5691 points, which is 0.7% ahead of the GTX 550 Ti. The AMD Radeon R7 M465 is the only rival that beats the 550 Ti by a meaningful margin, at 5841 points, which is 1.9% ahead.

The win tally is straightforward: the K620M has 1 win, and the GTX 550 Ti has 0 wins. But with only one benchmark in the dataset, that win is a single data point. The margin of 3.9% is real, but it is not a landslide. For a builder looking at these two cards, the benchmark difference alone would not be the deciding factor—other specifications and use cases would likely carry more weight.

Where Each One Wins

The Quadro K620M wins on raw compute in the OpenCL benchmark, scoring 5957 versus 5731. This is a 3.9% advantage. But the K620M also wins decisively on power efficiency and physical footprint. Its thermal design power is 30 watts, compared to 116 watts for the GTX 550 Ti. That is a massive difference—the GTX 550 Ti draws nearly four times the power of the K620M. The K620M is an MXM module, which means it is designed for laptops and compact systems, while the GTX 550 Ti is a dual-slot desktop card requiring a 6-pin power connector and a 300-watt power supply.

The GTX 550 Ti wins on memory bandwidth and texture throughput. Its memory bandwidth is 98.50 GB/s, while the K620M offers only 16.02 GB/s. That is a 6-fold difference in favor of the GTX 550 Ti. The GTX 550 Ti also has 32 texture mapping units (TMUs) versus 16 on the K620M, resulting in a texture rate of 28.80 GTexel/s compared to 17.98 GTexel/s. The GTX 550 Ti also has 24 ROPs versus 8 on the K620M, though its pixel rate is actually lower at 7.200 GPixel/s versus 8.992 GPixel/s for the K620M.

Memory capacity favors the K620M, which has 2 GB of DDR3 versus 1 GB of GDDR5 on the GTX 550 Ti. However, the memory type and bus width tell a different story. The GTX 550 Ti uses GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus, while the K620M uses DDR3 on a 64-bit bus. The GTX 550 Ti’s memory architecture is far more capable for bandwidth-heavy workloads, even with less capacity.

In terms of compute, the K620M has 384 shading units versus 192 on the GTX 550 Ti, and its FP32 throughput is 863.2 GFLOPS versus 691.2 GFLOPS. This explains the K620M’s OpenCL advantage. The K620M also has a higher base clock at 1029 MHz (with a boost of 1124 MHz), while the GTX 550 Ti has no listed base or boost clock.

The Verdict

The data points to two distinct use cases. The Quadro K620M is the better choice for compact, power-constrained systems where raw compute per watt matters. It delivers 3.9% higher OpenCL performance while using only about a quarter of the power. Its 2 GB memory capacity is double that of the GTX 550 Ti, which helps with larger datasets even if bandwidth is limited. The K620M is end-of-life, but so is the GTX 550 Ti.

The GTX 550 Ti is the better choice for bandwidth-sensitive workloads. Its 98.50 GB/s memory bandwidth is over six times that of the K620M, and its texture rate is 60% higher. If the workload involves heavy texture sampling or large data transfers, the GTX 550 Ti will likely perform better despite its lower OpenCL score. However, it requires a desktop chassis, a dual-slot cooler, a 6-pin power connector, and a 300-watt power supply. The K620M has no power connectors and fits in an MXM slot.

For a builder choosing between these two, the decision hinges on the system form factor and the workload. If the goal is a compact, low-power workstation or laptop upgrade, the K620M is the clear winner. If the goal is a desktop build where power and space are not concerns, and the workload favors memory bandwidth, the GTX 550 Ti has advantages that the benchmark score does not capture. The launch MSRP of the GTX 550 Ti was 149 USD, but that is historical context; both cards are end-of-life.

FAQ

Q: Which card has a higher Geekbench OpenCL score?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro K620M scores 5957, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti scores 5731. The K620M leads by 3.9%.

Q: How much memory does each card have?

A: The Quadro K620M has 2 GB of DDR3 memory, while the GeForce GTX 550 Ti has 1024 MB of GDDR5 memory.

Q: Which card has higher memory bandwidth?

A: The GeForce GTX 550 Ti has significantly higher memory bandwidth at 98.50 GB/s, compared to 16.02 GB/s for the Quadro K620M.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The Quadro K620M has a TDP of 30 watts and uses no power connectors. The GeForce GTX 550 Ti has a TDP of 116 watts, requires a 6-pin power connector, and needs a 300-watt power supply.

Q: What is the physical form factor of each card?

A: The Quadro K620M is an MXM module, while the GeForce GTX 550 Ti is a dual-slot desktop card with a length of 210 mm (8.3 inches).

Q: Which architecture does each card use?

A: The Quadro K620M uses the Maxwell architecture on a 28 nm process (GM108S chip), while the GeForce GTX 550 Ti uses the Fermi 2.0 architecture on a 40 nm process (GF116 chip).

Architecture Differences

The two cards are built on fundamentally different architectures. The Quadro K620M uses the Maxwell architecture with the GM108S chip, fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. The GeForce GTX 550 Ti uses the Fermi 2.0 architecture with the GF116 chip, also fabricated at TSMC but on a 40 nm process. This node difference is significant: the 28 nm process allows for higher transistor density. The K620M packs 1,020 million transistors into a 77 mm² die, giving a density of 13.2 million transistors per square millimeter. The GTX 550 Ti has 1,170 million transistors on a much larger 238 mm² die, with a density of just 4.9 million per square millimeter.

The K620M has 384 shading units, 16 TMUs, and 8 ROPs. The GTX 550 Ti has 192 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 24 ROPs. This means the K620M has twice the shading units, while the GTX 550 Ti has twice the TMUs and three times the ROPs. The K620M compensates with a higher clock speed (1029 MHz base, 1124 MHz boost), while the GTX 550 Ti has no listed clocks. Neither card has ray tracing or tensor cores.

In terms of API support, both cards support DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6. The K620M also supports Vulkan 1.4, while the GTX 550 Ti has no Vulkan support listed. The K620M’s generation is listed as "Quadro Kepler-M (Kx200M)" despite using Maxwell architecture, while the GTX 550 Ti is from the "GeForce 500" generation. The K620M’s predecessor is the Quadro Fermi-M and its successor is the Quadro Maxwell-M. The GTX 550 Ti’s predecessor is the GeForce 400 series and its successor is the GeForce 600 series.

The GTX 550 Ti connects via PCIe 2.0 x16, while the K620M uses an MXM-A (3.0) bus interface. The K620M’s display outputs are portable device dependent, while the GTX 550 Ti has 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a outputs.

Specification Differences

The most obvious differences are in power and form factor. The K620M has a TDP of 30 watts and is an MXM module with no power connectors. The GTX 550 Ti has a TDP of 116 watts, is dual-slot, requires one 6-pin power connector, and suggests a 300-watt power supply. The K620M is built for portability, while the GTX 550 Ti is a desktop card.

Memory is another major differentiator. The K620M has 2 GB of DDR3 on a 64-bit bus, with 16.02 GB/s bandwidth and an effective memory clock of 2 Gbps. The GTX 550 Ti has 1024 MB of GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus, with 98.50 GB/s bandwidth and an effective memory clock of 4.1 Gbps. The GTX 550 Ti’s memory bus is three times wider, and its bandwidth is over six times higher.

Compute resources differ as well. The K620M has 384 shading units, 16 TMUs, and 8 ROPs, producing 863.2 GFLOPS of FP32 performance, 17.98 GTexel/s texture rate, and 8.992 GPixel/s pixel rate. The GTX 550 Ti has 192 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 24 ROPs, producing 691.2 GFLOPS of FP32 performance, 28.80 GTexel/s texture rate, and 7.200 GPixel/s pixel rate. The K620M wins on shading units and FP32, while the GTX 550 Ti wins on TMUs, ROPs, and texture rate.

The process node differs: 28 nm for the K620M versus 40 nm for the GTX 550 Ti. The die size is 77 mm² for the K620M and 238 mm² for the GTX 550 Ti. Transistor counts are 1,020 million and 1,170 million, respectively. The K620M has a higher transistor density at 13.2M per mm² versus 4.9M per mm². The K620M supports Vulkan 1.4, while the GTX 550 Ti lists no Vulkan support. The GTX 550 Ti has a launch MSRP of 149 USD, while the K620M has no listed launch MSRP. The GTX 550 Ti is 210 mm long; the K620M has no listed dimensions.