NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M Comparison

The Verdict

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M represent two very different approaches to graphics hardware, and the recorded data makes their separation clear. The GTX 560 Ti is a desktop card from the GeForce 500 generation, built on the Fermi 2.0 architecture with the GF114 chip. The GTX 850M is a mobile part from the GeForce 800M generation, using the Maxwell architecture with the GM107 chip. They are not direct replacements for one another, but they do compete in the same performance neighborhood in the database, and the choice between them comes down to platform and workload priorities.

The GTX 560 Ti wins the only head-to-head benchmark recorded in the database. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the GTX 560 Ti scores 10690 against the GTX 850M’s 9821, a delta of 8.8 percent. That is a meaningful lead in raw compute throughput, and it places the GTX 560 Ti at the 49th percentile of all GPUs while the GTX 850M sits at the 46th percentile. If pure compute performance is the only factor, the GTX 560 Ti is the stronger part.

However, the GTX 850M has its own advantages that are not captured by a single benchmark. It is a mobile GPU with a 45 W TDP, while the GTX 560 Ti draws 170 W. It also has a much smaller die, 148 mm² versus 332 mm², and supports PCIe 3.0 x16 and Vulkan 1.4, neither of which the GTX 560 Ti offers. For a laptop user, the GTX 850M is the only practical choice. For a desktop builder with power budget and slot space to spare, the GTX 560 Ti delivers more compute performance per the data.

Pick the GTX 560 Ti if you need the higher OpenCL score, the wider 256-bit memory bus, and the higher memory bandwidth. Pick the GTX 850M if you need a low-power, portable solution with modern API support and double the memory capacity (2 GB versus 1 GB). The GTX 850M is also the more transistor-dense chip, packing 12.6M transistors per mm² versus 5.9M on the GTX 560 Ti, which indicates a more modern design despite its lower absolute performance.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher benchmark score?

A: The GTX 560 Ti. Its Geekbench OpenCL score is 10690, while the GTX 850M scores 9821. That is an 8.8 percent difference in favor of the GTX 560 Ti.

Q: Which GPU is better for a laptop?

A: The GTX 850M. It is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with a 45 W TDP and no power connectors, designed for portable devices. The GTX 560 Ti is a dual-slot desktop card with a 170 W TDP and two 6-pin power connectors.

Q: Do these GPUs support the same APIs?

A: No. Both support DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, but the GTX 850M also supports Vulkan 1.4 while the GTX 560 Ti does not list Vulkan support in the database.

Q: Which GPU has more memory bandwidth?

A: The GTX 560 Ti. It has a 256-bit bus with GDDR5 memory and 128.3 GB/s bandwidth. The GTX 850M has a 128-bit bus with DDR3 memory and 32.03 GB/s bandwidth. That is a large gap in memory throughput.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The GTX 850M has 640 shading units, while the GTX 560 Ti has 384. Despite having more shading units, the GTX 850M still produces lower FP32 performance: 1,154.6 GFLOPS versus 1,263.4 GFLOPS for the GTX 560 Ti.

Q: Which GPU is older?

A: The GTX 560 Ti was released on 2011-01-24, and the GTX 850M was released on 2014-03-11. The GTX 850M is the newer part by roughly three years.

Architecture Differences

The architectural split between these two GPUs is substantial. The GTX 560 Ti uses the Fermi 2.0 architecture, built on a 40 nm process at TSMC. The chip, GF114, contains 1,950 million transistors on a 332 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 5.9M per mm². The GTX 850M uses the Maxwell architecture, built on a 28 nm process, also at TSMC. Its GM107 chip contains 1,870 million transistors on a much smaller 148 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 12.6M per mm².

The Maxwell design is clearly more efficient in terms of die area. It packs nearly the same transistor count (1,870 million versus 1,950 million) into less than half the die size. That efficiency shows up in the TDP: the GTX 850M draws 45 W, while the GTX 560 Ti draws 170 W. The Maxwell GPU also supports newer interfaces and APIs. It uses PCIe 3.0 x16 and Vulkan 1.4, while the GTX 560 Ti is limited to PCIe 2.0 x16 and has no Vulkan support listed.

The memory subsystems are also fundamentally different. The GTX 560 Ti uses GDDR5 memory with a 256-bit bus, delivering 128.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX 850M uses DDR3 memory with a 128-bit bus, delivering only 32.03 GB/s. However, the GTX 850M has 2 GB of memory, double the 1 GB of the GTX 560 Ti. This is a classic trade-off: the desktop card has far more bandwidth, while the mobile card has more capacity.

The compute resources are arranged differently as well. The GTX 850M has 640 shading units and 40 texture mapping units, but only 16 ROPs. The GTX 560 Ti has 384 shading units and 64 TMUs, with 32 ROPs. The GTX 560 Ti’s texture rate is 52.67 GTexel/s, well ahead of the GTX 850M’s 36.08 GTexel/s. The pixel rates are closer: 13.17 GPixel/s for the GTX 560 Ti versus 14.43 GPixel/s for the GTX 850M, a slight win for the mobile part. FP32 performance favors the GTX 560 Ti at 1,263.4 GFLOPS versus 1,154.6 GFLOPS.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every major specification category. The GTX 560 Ti is a desktop card released on 2011-01-24, while the GTX 850M is a mobile part released on 2014-03-11. The GTX 560 Ti launched with an MSRP of 249 USD, but the GTX 850M has no recorded launch MSRP in the database.

Process node: 40 nm for the GTX 560 Ti, 28 nm for the GTX 850M. Transistor count: 1,950 million versus 1,870 million. Die size: 332 mm² versus 148 mm². Transistor density: 5.9M per mm² versus 12.6M per mm². Memory: 1024 MB GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus versus 2 GB DDR3 on a 128-bit bus. Bandwidth: 128.3 GB/s versus 32.03 GB/s. Memory clock: 1002 MHz (4 Gbps effective) versus 1001 MHz (2 Gbps effective).

Shading units: 384 versus 640. TMUs: 64 versus 40. ROPs: 32 versus 16. Pixel rate: 13.17 GPixel/s versus 14.43 GPixel/s. Texture rate: 52.67 GTexel/s versus 36.08 GTexel/s. FP32: 1,263.4 GFLOPS versus 1,154.6 GFLOPS.

TDP: 170 W versus 45 W. Slot width: dual-slot versus IGP. Power connectors: 2x 6-pin versus none. Suggested PSU: 450 W for the GTX 560 Ti, none listed for the GTX 850M. Bus interface: PCIe 2.0 x16 versus PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs: 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a versus portable device dependent.

APIs: both have DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, but only the GTX 850M lists Vulkan 1.4. The GTX 560 Ti has a length of 229 mm (9 inches), while the GTX 850M has no listed dimensions. The GTX 560 Ti’s predecessor is GeForce 400 and its successor is GeForce 600. The GTX 850M’s predecessor is GeForce 700M and its successor is GeForce 900M.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

There is only one recorded head-to-head benchmark in the database: Geekbench OpenCL. The GTX 560 Ti scores 10690, and the GTX 850M scores 9821. The winner is the GTX 560 Ti with an 8.8 percent delta. This aligns with the overall average benchmark scores: the GTX 560 Ti has an average of 10690, while the GTX 850M has an average of 9302, which includes its additional Vulkan score of 8782.

The GTX 560 Ti’s nearest rivals in the database give context to its performance. It sits within 1.1 percent of the AMD Radeon Pro 450 (10804), within 0.7 percent of the NVIDIA Quadro K2200 (10761), within 0.6 percent of the AMD Radeon RX 6600S (10629), and within 1 percent of the AMD Radeon R9 M275X (10582). That cluster shows the GTX 560 Ti is competitive with a range of later mobile and workstation parts.

The GTX 850M’s nearest rivals are similarly tight. It is within 0.1 percent of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 465 (9294), within 0.1 percent of the AMD Radeon R7 M380 (9313), within 0.3 percent of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 (9273), and within 0.9 percent of the AMD Radeon Vega 8 (9221). The GTX 850M’s average score of 9302 places it in a lower performance tier than the GTX 560 Ti, but the differences among its rivals are small enough to call it a tightly contested group.

The GTX 850M’s Vulkan score of 8782 is notably lower than its OpenCL score of 9821. That gap suggests the Maxwell GPU performs better in OpenCL workloads than in Vulkan, at least in this database’s measurements. The GTX 560 Ti has no Vulkan score recorded, so no direct comparison is possible for that API.

Where Each One Wins

The GTX 560 Ti wins in raw compute performance. Its OpenCL score is 8.8 percent higher, its FP32 output is higher at 1,263.4 GFLOPS, its texture rate is 52.67 GTexel/s versus 36.08 GTexel/s, and its memory bandwidth is 128.3 GB/s versus 32.03 GB/s. The 256-bit bus and GDDR5 memory give it a massive advantage in any bandwidth-sensitive workload. It also has double the ROPs (32 versus 16) and a higher transistor count (1,950 million versus 1,870 million). The GTX 560 Ti is the stronger choice for desktop compute tasks, older game titles that favor texture throughput, or any scenario where power draw is not a concern.

The GTX 850M wins in efficiency and portability. It draws 45 W versus 170 W, requires no power connectors, and is an IGP, meaning it is designed to be integrated into a laptop. It has double the memory capacity at 2 GB, which matters for modern workloads that exceed 1 GB of usage. It supports PCIe 3.0 x16 and Vulkan 1.4, giving it access to newer APIs and faster bus communication. Its pixel rate is slightly higher at 14.43 GPixel/s versus 13.17 GPixel/s, and it has more shading units (640 versus 384). The GTX 850M also has a higher transistor density, 12.6M per mm² versus 5.9M per mm², reflecting a more modern manufacturing process.

The database shows a clear split: the GTX 560 Ti for compute and bandwidth, the GTX 850M for mobility and modern feature support. Neither part is a clean winner across all categories. The GTX 560 Ti’s single benchmark victory is decisive, but the GTX 850M’s feature set and power profile make it the sensible choice for a laptop build. The GTX 560 Ti, with its 249 USD launch MSRP and dual-slot design, belongs in a desktop system where its power draw and size are acceptable. The GTX 850M, with no launch MSRP recorded and an IGP form factor, belongs in a portable system where efficiency is paramount.