480M SLI vs 950M

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Combined performance score

GTX 950M
6.67
+3.6%

950M outperforms 480M SLI by 4% in our combined benchmark results.

General info

GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.

Place in performance ranking527536
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Value for money0.803.99
ArchitectureMaxwell (2014−2018)Fermi (2010−2014)
GPU code nameN16P-GTN11E-GTX-A3
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
Release date12 March 2015 (9 years old)25 May 2010 (13 years old)
Current price$797 $149
Value for money

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

GTX 480M SLI has 399% better value for money than GTX 950M.

Technical specs

General performance parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. These parameters indirectly speak of performance, but for precise assessment you have to consider their benchmark and gaming test results. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores640704
CUDA cores640no data
Core clock speed914 MHz425 MHz
Boost clock speed1124 MHzno data
Number of transistors1,870 million6000 Million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)75 Watt100 Watt
Texture fill rate44.96no data
Floating-point performance1,439 gflopsno data

Size and compatibility

Information on GeForce GTX 950M and GeForce GTX 480M SLI compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For notebook video cards it's notebook size, connection slot and bus, if the video card is inserted into a slot instead of being soldered to the notebook motherboard.

Laptop sizemedium sizedlarge
Bus supportPCI Express 3.0no data
InterfacePCIe 3.0 x8no data
SLI options+no data

Memory

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory typeDDR3 or GDDR5GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount4 GB4 GB
Memory bus width128 Bit256 Bit
Memory clock speed1000 or 2500 MHz1200 MHz
Memory bandwidth32 or 80 GB/sno data
Shared memory--

Video outputs and ports

Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.

Display ConnectorsNo outputsno data
VGA аnalog display support+no data
DisplayPort Multimode (DP++) support+no data
HDMI+no data

Technologies

Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.

GameStream+no data
GeForce ShadowPlay+no data
GPU Boost2.0no data
GameWorks+no data
H.264, VC1, MPEG2 1080p video decoder+no data
Optimus+no data
BatteryBoost+no data
Ansel+no data

API support

List of supported graphics and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX12 (11_0)11
Shader Model5.1no data
OpenGL4.5no data
OpenCL1.2no data
Vulkan1.1.126no data
CUDA+no data

Synthetic benchmark performance

Non-gaming benchmark performance comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.


Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark performance score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

GTX 950M 6.67
+3.6%
GTX 480M SLI 6.44

950M outperforms 480M SLI by 4% in our combined benchmark results.


3DMark Vantage Performance

3DMark Vantage is an outdated DirectX 10 benchmark using 1280x1024 screen resolution. It taxes the graphics card with two scenes, one depicting a girl escaping some militarized base located within a sea cave, the other displaying a space fleet attack on a defenseless planet. It was discontinued in April 2017, and Time Spy benchmark is now recommended to be used instead.

Benchmark coverage: 17%

GTX 950M 15710
GTX 480M SLI 16500
+5%

480M SLI outperforms 950M by 5% in 3DMark Vantage Performance.

3DMark 11 Performance GPU

3DMark 11 is an obsolete DirectX 11 benchmark by Futuremark. It used four tests based on two scenes, one being few submarines exploring the submerged wreck of a sunken ship, the other is an abandoned temple deep in the jungle. All the tests are heavy with volumetric lighting and tessellation, and despite being done in 1280x720 resolution, are relatively taxing. Discontinued in January 2020, 3DMark 11 is now superseded by Time Spy.

Benchmark coverage: 17%

GTX 950M 4367
+3.3%
GTX 480M SLI 4229

950M outperforms 480M SLI by 3% in 3DMark 11 Performance GPU.

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

Average FPS across all PC games

Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:

900p60−65
−1.7%
61
+1.7%
Full HD30
−130%
69
+130%
1440p21
+16.7%
18−21
−16.7%
4K16
+14.3%
14−16
−14.3%

Performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 10−12
+10%
10−11
−10%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 23
+76.9%
12−14
−76.9%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%
Battlefield 5 31
+47.6%
21−24
−47.6%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 18−20
+0%
18−20
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−12
+10%
10−11
−10%
Far Cry 5 23
+53.3%
14−16
−53.3%
Far Cry New Dawn 22
+37.5%
16−18
−37.5%
Forza Horizon 4 21−24
+4.5%
21−24
−4.5%
Hitman 3 16−18
+6.7%
14−16
−6.7%
Horizon Zero Dawn 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 19
+26.7%
14−16
−26.7%
Watch Dogs: Legion 10−11
+0%
10−11
+0%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 19
+46.2%
12−14
−46.2%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%
Battlefield 5 26
+23.8%
21−24
−23.8%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 18−20
+0%
18−20
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−12
+10%
10−11
−10%
Far Cry 5 21
+40%
14−16
−40%
Far Cry New Dawn 20
+25%
16−18
−25%
Forza Horizon 4 21−24
+4.5%
21−24
−4.5%
Hitman 3 16−18
+6.7%
14−16
−6.7%
Horizon Zero Dawn 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Metro Exodus 5
−80%
9−10
+80%
Red Dead Redemption 2 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 15
+0%
14−16
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 19
+46.2%
12−14
−46.2%
Watch Dogs: Legion 10−11
+0%
10−11
+0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 11
−18.2%
12−14
+18.2%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%
Battlefield 5 20
−5%
21−24
+5%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−12
+10%
10−11
−10%
Far Cry 5 19
+26.7%
14−16
−26.7%
Far Cry New Dawn 19
+18.8%
16−18
−18.8%
Forza Horizon 4 21−24
+4.5%
21−24
−4.5%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 11
−18.2%
12−14
+18.2%
Watch Dogs: Legion 10−11
+0%
10−11
+0%

1440p
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 10−11
+0%
10−11
+0%
Hitman 3 10−12
+10%
10−11
−10%
Horizon Zero Dawn 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Metro Exodus 5−6
+0%
5−6
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 10−11
+11.1%
9−10
−11.1%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 5−6
+0%
5−6
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 2−3
+100%
1−2
−100%
Battlefield 5 6−7
+20%
5−6
−20%
Cyberpunk 2077 3−4
+0%
3−4
+0%
Far Cry 5 12
+20%
10−11
−20%
Far Cry New Dawn 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 10−11
+0%
10−11
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 6−7
+0%
6−7
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%

4K
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%
Hitman 3 6−7
+0%
6−7
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%
Metro Exodus 1−2
+0%
1−2
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 3−4
+0%
3−4
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 3−4
+50%
2−3
−50%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 3−4
+0%
3−4
+0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 4−5
+33.3%
3−4
−33.3%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 3−4
+0%
3−4
+0%
Battlefield 5 3−4
+50%
2−3
−50%
Cyberpunk 2077 1−2
+0%
1−2
+0%
Far Cry 5 6
+0%
6−7
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 7−8
+16.7%
6−7
−16.7%
Watch Dogs: Legion 1−2
+0%
1−2
+0%

This is how GTX 950M and GTX 480M SLI compete in popular games:

900p resolution:

  • GTX 480M SLI is 1.7% faster than GTX 950M

1080p resolution:

  • GTX 480M SLI is 130% faster than GTX 950M

1440p resolution:

  • GTX 950M is 16.7% faster than GTX 480M SLI

4K resolution:

  • GTX 950M is 14.3% faster than GTX 480M SLI

Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:

  • in Assassin's Creed Valhalla, with 1440p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the GTX 950M is 100% faster than the GTX 480M SLI.
  • in Metro Exodus, with 1080p resolution and the High Preset, the GTX 480M SLI is 80% faster than the GTX 950M.

All in all, in popular games:

  • GTX 950M is ahead in 30 tests (44%)
  • GTX 480M SLI is ahead in 4 tests (6%)
  • there's a draw in 34 tests (50%)

Advantages and disadvantages


Performance score 6.67 6.44
Recency 12 March 2015 25 May 2010
Chip lithography 28 nm 40 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 75 Watt 100 Watt

We couldn't decide between GeForce GTX 950M and GeForce GTX 480M SLI. The differences in performance seem too small.


Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

User ratings

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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M
GeForce GTX 950M
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480M SLI
GeForce GTX 480M SLI

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