RX 550 vs R9 270

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Combined performance score

R9 270
11.11
+58.5%

R9 270 outperforms RX 550 by 58% in our combined benchmark results.

General info

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

Place in performance ranking386518
Place by popularitynot in top-10017
Value for money2.033.40
ArchitectureGCN 1.0 (2012−2020)GCN 4.0 (2016−2020)
GPU code nameCuracaoLexa
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Designreferenceno data
Release date13 November 2013 (10 years old)20 April 2017 (6 years old)
Launch price (MSRP)$179 $79
Current price$229 (1.3x MSRP)$121 (1.5x MSRP)
Value for money

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

RX 550 has 67% better value for money than R9 270.

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 cores1280512
Core clock speedno data1100 MHz
Boost clock speed925 MHz1183 MHz
Number of transistors2,800 million2,200 million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm14 nm
Power consumption (TDP)150 Watt50 Watt
Texture fill rate74.0037.86
Floating-point performance2,368 gflops1,211 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 supportPCIe 3.0no data
InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x8
Length210 mm145 mm
Width2-slot2-slot
Supplementary power connectors1 x 6-pinNone

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 GB4 GB
Memory bus width256 Bit128 Bit
Memory clock speedno data7000 MHz
Memory bandwidth179.2 GB/s112.0 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 Connectors2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
Eyefinity1no data
HDMI++
DisplayPort support+no data

Technologies

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

AppAcceleration-no data
CrossFire1no data
Enduro-no data
FreeSync1no data
HD3D+no data
LiquidVR1no data
PowerTune-no data
TressFX1no data
TrueAudio+no data
ZeroCore-no data
UVD+no data
DDMA audio+no data

API support

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

DirectXDirectX® 1212 (12_0)
Shader Model5.16.4
OpenGL4.64.6
OpenCL1.22.0
Vulkan+1.2.131
Mantle-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.

R9 270 11.11
+58.5%
RX 550 7.01

R9 270 outperforms RX 550 by 58% 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%

R9 270 4306
+58.5%
RX 550 2717

R9 270 outperforms RX 550 by 58% in Passmark.

Gaming performance

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

Advantages and disadvantages


Performance score 11.11 7.01
Recency 13 November 2013 20 April 2017
Cost $179 $79
Maximum RAM amount 2 GB 4 GB
Chip lithography 28 nm 14 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 150 Watt 50 Watt

The Radeon R9 270 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon RX 550 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.


AMD Radeon R9 270
Radeon R9 270
AMD Radeon RX 550
Radeon RX 550

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User ratings: view and submit

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


4 542 votes

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Questions and comments

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