GTS 450 vs GTX 550 Ti

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Combined performance score

GTX 550 Ti
3.98
+16.7%

GTX 550 Ti outperforms GTS 450 by 17% in our combined benchmark results.

General info

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

Place in performance ranking649688
Place by popularity6397
Value for money0.280.31
ArchitectureFermi (2010−2014)Fermi (2010−2014)
GPU code nameGF116GF106
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Release date15 March 2011 (13 years old)13 September 2010 (13 years old)
Launch price (MSRP)$149 $129
Current price$197 (1.3x MSRP)$127 (1x MSRP)
Value for money

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

GTS 450 has 11% better value for money than GTX 550 Ti.

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 cores192192
CUDA cores192192
Core clock speed900 MHz783 MHz
Number of transistors1,170 million1,170 million
Manufacturing process technology40 nm40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)116 Watt106 Watt
Maximum GPU temperature100 °C100 °C
Texture fill rate28.8 billion/sec25.1 billion/sec
Floating-point performance691.2 gflops601.3 gflops

Size and compatibility

Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).

Bus support16x PCI-E 2.0PCI-E 2.0 x 16
InterfacePCIe 2.0 x16PCIe 2.0 x16
Length8.25" (21 cm)8.25" (210 mm) (21 cm)
Height4.376" (11.1 cm)4.376" (111 mm) (11.1 cm)
Width2-slot2-slot
Supplementary power connectorsOne 6-pin6-pin
SLI options++

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 typeGDDR5GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount2 GB1 GB
Memory bus width192 Bit128 Bit
Memory clock speed4.1 GB/s1804 (3608 data rate) MHz
Memory bandwidth98.4 GB/s57.7 GB/s

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 ConnectorsTwo Dual Link DVI-IMini HDMIMini HDMITwo Dual Link DVI
Multi monitor support+no data
HDMI++
Maximum VGA resolution2048x15362048x1536
Audio input for HDMIInternalInternal

API support

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

DirectX12 (11_0)12 (11_0)
Shader Model5.15.1
OpenGL4.24.2
OpenCL1.11.1
VulkanN/AN/A
CUDA++

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 550 Ti 3.98
+16.7%
GTS 450 3.41

GTX 550 Ti outperforms GTS 450 by 17% in our combined benchmark results.


Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark, part of Passmark PerformanceTest suite. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.

Benchmark coverage: 25%

GTX 550 Ti 1544
+16.8%
GTS 450 1322

GTX 550 Ti outperforms GTS 450 by 17% in Passmark.

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 550 Ti 10229
+4.8%
GTS 450 9758

GTX 550 Ti outperforms GTS 450 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 550 Ti 2272
+20.4%
GTS 450 1888

GTX 550 Ti outperforms GTS 450 by 20% in 3DMark 11 Performance GPU.

GeekBench 5 OpenCL

Geekbench 5 is a widespread graphics card benchmark combined from 11 different test scenarios. All these scenarios rely on direct usage of GPU's processing power, no 3D rendering is involved. This variation uses OpenCL API by Khronos Group.

Benchmark coverage: 9%

GTX 550 Ti 5814
+17.9%
GTS 450 4931

GTX 550 Ti outperforms GTS 450 by 18% in GeekBench 5 OpenCL.

Octane Render OctaneBench

This is a special benchmark measuring graphics card performance in OctaneRender, which is a realistic GPU rendering engine by OTOY Inc., available either as a standalone program, or as a plugin for 3DS Max, Cinema 4D and many other apps. It renders four different static scenes, then compares render times with a reference GPU which is currently GeForce GTX 980. This benchmark has nothing to do with gaming and is aimed at professional 3D graphics artists.

Benchmark coverage: 4%

GTX 550 Ti 20
+33.3%
GTS 450 15

GTX 550 Ti outperforms GTS 450 by 33% in Octane Render OctaneBench.

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:

900p38
+35.7%
28
−35.7%
Full HD37
−2.7%
38
+2.7%
1200p30−35
+11.1%
27
−11.1%

Performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 7−8
+16.7%
6−7
−16.7%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 7−8
+40%
5−6
−40%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 2−3
+100%
1−2
−100%
Battlefield 5 10−12
+37.5%
8−9
−37.5%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 14−16
+7.7%
12−14
−7.7%
Cyberpunk 2077 7−8
+16.7%
6−7
−16.7%
Far Cry 5 7−8
+16.7%
6−7
−16.7%
Far Cry New Dawn 8−9
+33.3%
6−7
−33.3%
Forza Horizon 4 12−14
+20%
10−11
−20%
Hitman 3 8−9
+14.3%
7−8
−14.3%
Horizon Zero Dawn 7−8
+16.7%
6−7
−16.7%
Red Dead Redemption 2 8−9
+14.3%
7−8
−14.3%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 10−12
+10%
10−11
−10%
Watch Dogs: Legion 4−5
+33.3%
3−4
−33.3%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 7−8
+40%
5−6
−40%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 2−3
+100%
1−2
−100%
Battlefield 5 10−12
+37.5%
8−9
−37.5%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 14−16
+7.7%
12−14
−7.7%
Cyberpunk 2077 7−8
+16.7%
6−7
−16.7%
Far Cry 5 7−8
+16.7%
6−7
−16.7%
Far Cry New Dawn 8−9
+33.3%
6−7
−33.3%
Forza Horizon 4 12−14
+20%
10−11
−20%
Hitman 3 8−9
+14.3%
7−8
−14.3%
Horizon Zero Dawn 7−8
+16.7%
6−7
−16.7%
Metro Exodus 6−7
+20%
5−6
−20%
Red Dead Redemption 2 8−9
+14.3%
7−8
−14.3%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 10−12
+10%
10−11
−10%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 9−10
+12.5%
8−9
−12.5%
Watch Dogs: Legion 4−5
+33.3%
3−4
−33.3%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 7−8
+40%
5−6
−40%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 2−3
+100%
1−2
−100%
Battlefield 5 10−12
+37.5%
8−9
−37.5%
Cyberpunk 2077 7−8
+16.7%
6−7
−16.7%
Far Cry 5 7−8
+16.7%
6−7
−16.7%
Far Cry New Dawn 8−9
+33.3%
6−7
−33.3%
Forza Horizon 4 12−14
+20%
10−11
−20%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 9−10
+12.5%
8−9
−12.5%
Watch Dogs: Legion 4−5
+33.3%
3−4
−33.3%

1440p
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 7−8
+16.7%
6−7
−16.7%
Hitman 3 7−8
+16.7%
6−7
−16.7%
Horizon Zero Dawn 10−12
+10%
10−11
−10%
Metro Exodus 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 7−8
+0%
7−8
+0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 2−3
+100%
1−2
−100%
Cyberpunk 2077 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Far Cry 5 6−7
+20%
5−6
−20%
Far Cry New Dawn 2−3 0−1
Forza Horizon 4 4−5
+33.3%
3−4
−33.3%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 4−5
+33.3%
3−4
−33.3%

4K
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3−4
+0%
3−4
+0%
Hitman 3 4−5
+33.3%
3−4
−33.3%
Horizon Zero Dawn 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 1−2 0−1

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 1−2
+0%
1−2
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 0−1 0−1
Far Cry 5 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 7−8
+16.7%
6−7
−16.7%
Forza Horizon 4 1−2 0−1

This is how GTX 550 Ti and GTS 450 compete in popular games:

900p resolution:

  • GTX 550 Ti is 35.7% faster than GTS 450

1080p resolution:

  • GTS 450 is 2.7% faster than GTX 550 Ti

1200p resolution:

  • GTX 550 Ti is 11.1% faster than GTS 450

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

  • in Assassin's Creed Valhalla, with 1080p resolution and the Medium Preset, the GTX 550 Ti is 100% faster than the GTS 450.

All in all, in popular games:

  • GTX 550 Ti is ahead in 47 tests (82%)
  • there's a draw in 10 tests (18%)

Advantages and disadvantages


Performance score 3.98 3.41
Recency 15 March 2011 13 September 2010
Cost $149 $129
Maximum RAM amount 2 GB 1 GB
Power consumption (TDP) 116 Watt 106 Watt

The GeForce GTX 550 Ti is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTS 450 in performance tests.


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

User ratings

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite graphics card.


NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti
GeForce GTX 550 Ti
NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450
GeForce GTS 450

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4.9 59024 votes

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