NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti vs AMD Radeon HD 6990M

#ad
Buy
VS
#ad
Buy

Combined performance score

HD 6990M
5.22
+31.2%

Radeon HD 6990M outperforms GeForce GTX 550 Ti by 31% in our combined benchmark results.

General info

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

Place in performance ranking577650
Place by popularitynot in top-10063
Value for money2.010.28
ArchitectureTerascale 2 (2009−2015)Fermi (2010−2014)
GPU code nameBlackcomb XTXGF116
Market segmentLaptopDesktop
Release date12 July 2011 (12 years old)15 March 2011 (13 years old)
Launch price (MSRP)no data$149
Current price$190 $197 (1.3x MSRP)
Value for money

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

HD 6990M has 618% 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 cores1120192
CUDA coresno data192
Core clock speed715 MHz900 MHz
Number of transistors1,700 million1,170 million
Manufacturing process technology40 nm40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)100 Watt116 Watt
Maximum GPU temperatureno data100 °C
Texture fill rate40.0428.8 billion/sec
Floating-point performance1,601.6 gflops691.2 gflops

Size and compatibility

Information on Radeon HD 6990M and GeForce GTX 550 Ti compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop video cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility). 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 sizelargeno data
Bus supportno data16x PCI-E 2.0
InterfaceMXM-B (3.0)PCIe 2.0 x16
Lengthno data8.25" (21 cm)
Heightno data4.376" (11.1 cm)
Widthno data2-slot
Supplementary power connectorsNoneOne 6-pin
SLI optionsno 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 typeGDDR5GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount2 GB2 GB
Memory bus width256 Bit192 Bit
Memory clock speed900 MHz4.1 GB/s
Memory bandwidth115.2 GB/s98.4 GB/s
Shared memory-no data

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 outputsTwo Dual Link DVI-IMini HDMI
Multi monitor supportno data+
HDMIno data+
Maximum VGA resolutionno data2048x1536
Audio input for HDMIno dataInternal

API support

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

DirectX11.2 (11_0)12 (11_0)
Shader Model5.05.1
OpenGL4.44.2
OpenCL1.21.1
VulkanN/AN/A
CUDAno 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.

HD 6990M 5.22
+31.2%
GTX 550 Ti 3.98

Radeon HD 6990M outperforms GeForce GTX 550 Ti by 31% 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%

HD 6990M 15113
+47.7%
GTX 550 Ti 10229

Radeon HD 6990M outperforms GeForce GTX 550 Ti by 48% 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%

HD 6990M 3227
+42%
GTX 550 Ti 2272

Radeon HD 6990M outperforms GeForce GTX 550 Ti by 42% 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:

900p54
+42.1%
38
−42.1%
Full HD60
+62.2%
37
−62.2%

Performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 9−10
+28.6%
7−8
−28.6%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 10−11
+42.9%
7−8
−42.9%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 5−6
+150%
2−3
−150%
Battlefield 5 16−18
+45.5%
10−12
−45.5%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 16−18
+21.4%
14−16
−21.4%
Cyberpunk 2077 9−10
+28.6%
7−8
−28.6%
Far Cry 5 10−12
+57.1%
7−8
−57.1%
Far Cry New Dawn 12−14
+50%
8−9
−50%
Forza Horizon 4 16−18
+41.7%
12−14
−41.7%
Hitman 3 12−14
+50%
8−9
−50%
Horizon Zero Dawn 10−11
+42.9%
7−8
−42.9%
Red Dead Redemption 2 10−11
+25%
8−9
−25%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 12−14
+18.2%
10−12
−18.2%
Watch Dogs: Legion 7−8
+75%
4−5
−75%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 10−11
+42.9%
7−8
−42.9%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 5−6
+150%
2−3
−150%
Battlefield 5 16−18
+45.5%
10−12
−45.5%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 16−18
+21.4%
14−16
−21.4%
Cyberpunk 2077 9−10
+28.6%
7−8
−28.6%
Far Cry 5 10−12
+57.1%
7−8
−57.1%
Far Cry New Dawn 12−14
+50%
8−9
−50%
Forza Horizon 4 16−18
+41.7%
12−14
−41.7%
Hitman 3 12−14
+50%
8−9
−50%
Horizon Zero Dawn 10−11
+42.9%
7−8
−42.9%
Metro Exodus 7−8
+16.7%
6−7
−16.7%
Red Dead Redemption 2 10−11
+25%
8−9
−25%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 12−14
+18.2%
10−12
−18.2%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 10−12
+22.2%
9−10
−22.2%
Watch Dogs: Legion 7−8
+75%
4−5
−75%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 10−11
+42.9%
7−8
−42.9%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 5−6
+150%
2−3
−150%
Battlefield 5 16−18
+45.5%
10−12
−45.5%
Cyberpunk 2077 9−10
+28.6%
7−8
−28.6%
Far Cry 5 10−12
+57.1%
7−8
−57.1%
Far Cry New Dawn 12−14
+50%
8−9
−50%
Forza Horizon 4 16−18
+41.7%
12−14
−41.7%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 10−12
+22.2%
9−10
−22.2%
Watch Dogs: Legion 7−8
+75%
4−5
−75%

1440p
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 8−9
+14.3%
7−8
−14.3%
Hitman 3 9−10
+28.6%
7−8
−28.6%
Horizon Zero Dawn 12−14
+9.1%
10−12
−9.1%
Metro Exodus 3−4
+50%
2−3
−50%
Red Dead Redemption 2 3−4
+50%
2−3
−50%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 8−9
+14.3%
7−8
−14.3%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 3−4
+50%
2−3
−50%
Battlefield 5 1−2 0−1
Cyberpunk 2077 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Far Cry 5 8−9
+33.3%
6−7
−33.3%
Far Cry New Dawn 5−6
+150%
2−3
−150%
Forza Horizon 4 7−8
+75%
4−5
−75%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 5−6
+25%
4−5
−25%
Watch Dogs: Legion 1−2 0−1

4K
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4−5
+33.3%
3−4
−33.3%
Hitman 3 5−6
+25%
4−5
−25%
Horizon Zero Dawn 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 3−4
+50%
2−3
−50%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 2−3
+100%
1−2
−100%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 2−3
+100%
1−2
−100%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 3−4
+50%
2−3
−50%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 2−3
+100%
1−2
−100%
Battlefield 5 0−1 0−1
Cyberpunk 2077 0−1 0−1
Far Cry 5 5−6
+25%
4−5
−25%
Far Cry New Dawn 7−8
+0%
7−8
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 4−5
+300%
1−2
−300%
Watch Dogs: Legion 0−1 0−1

This is how HD 6990M and GTX 550 Ti compete in popular games:

900p resolution:

  • HD 6990M is 42.1% faster than GTX 550 Ti

1080p resolution:

  • HD 6990M is 62.2% faster than GTX 550 Ti

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

  • in Forza Horizon 4, with 4K resolution and the Ultra Preset, the HD 6990M is 300% faster than the GTX 550 Ti.

All in all, in popular games:

  • HD 6990M is ahead in 57 tests (95%)
  • there's a draw in 3 tests (5%)

Advantages and disadvantages


Performance score 5.22 3.98
Recency 12 July 2011 15 March 2011
Power consumption (TDP) 100 Watt 116 Watt

The Radeon HD 6990M is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTX 550 Ti in performance tests.

Be aware that Radeon HD 6990M is a notebook card while GeForce GTX 550 Ti is a desktop one.


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.


AMD Radeon HD 6990M
Radeon HD 6990M
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti
GeForce GTX 550 Ti

Similar GPU comparisons

We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.

User ratings: view and submit

Here you can see the user rating of the graphics cards, as well as rate them yourself.


3.4 12 votes

Rate AMD Radeon HD 6990M on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
4.9 59023 votes

Rate NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Questions and comments

Here you can ask a question about this comparison, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.