GeForce GTX 980M vs Radeon RX 550

In this comparison between GeForce GTX 980M and Radeon RX 550 you will find out which graphics card performs better in today's games. Bear in mind that third-party versions may have more efficient cooling and higher clock speeds. This will increase cards' performance, though not by much. In addition to raw power you should also take into account the dimensions. Thicker models simply will not fit into a small mini-ITX case. The resolution of your monitor also affects the choice, since 4K gameplay requires a more powerful GPU. And don't overspend on the graphics card. Other parts of your build may also need to be upgraded, save some money for the CPU or power supply. For some people GeForce GTX 980M will be the best choice, for others Radeon RX 550 will be their preference. Study the comparison tables below and make your choice.

GeForce GTX 980M is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: GeForce GTX 980M is only used in laptop graphics. It has lower GPU clock speed compared to the desktop variant, which results in lower power consumption, but also 10-30% lower gaming performance. Check available laptop models with GeForce GTX 980M here:

Main Specs

  GeForce GTX 980M Radeon RX 550
Power consumption (TDP) 50 Watt
Interface MXM-B (3.0) PCIe 3.0 x8
Supplementary power connectors None None
Memory type GDDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 8 GB 4 GB
Display Connectors No outputs 1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
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  • GeForce GTX 980M is connected by MXM-B (3.0), and Radeon RX 550 uses PCIe 3.0 x8 interface.
  • GeForce GTX 980M has 4 GB more memory, than Radeon RX 550.
  • GeForce GTX 980M is used in Laptops, and Radeon RX 550 - in Desktops.
  • GeForce GTX 980M is build with Maxwell architecture, and Radeon RX 550 - with GCN 4.0.
  • Core clock speed of Radeon RX 550 is 62 MHz higher, than GeForce GTX 980M.
  • GeForce GTX 980M is manufactured by 28 nm process technology, and Radeon RX 550 - by 14 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of Radeon RX 550 is 4500 MHz higher, than GeForce GTX 980M.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 35−40 14−16
ultra / 1080p 24−27 8−9
QHD / 1440p 18−20 3−4
4K / 2160p 10−11
low / 720p 60−65 30−33
medium / 1080p 45−50 18−20
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 980M in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 153% more, than Radeon RX 550.

Full Specs

  GeForce GTX 980M Radeon RX 550
Architecture Maxwell GCN 4.0
Code name GM204 Lexa
Type Laptop Desktop
Release date 7 October 2014 20 April 2017
Pipelines 1536 512
Core clock speed 1038 MHz 1100 MHz
Boost Clock 1127 MHz 1183 MHz
Transistor count 5,200 million 2,200 million
Manufacturing process technology 28 nm 14 nm
Texture fill rate 51.84 37.86
Floating-point performance 3,462 gflops 1,211 gflops
Length 145 mm
Memory bus width 256 Bit 128 Bit
Memory clock speed 2500 MHz 7000 MHz
Memory bandwidth 160 GB/s 112.0 GB/s
Shared memory -
G-SYNC support +
DirectX 12 (12_1) 12 (12_0)
Shader Model 6.4 6.4
OpenGL 4.5 4.6
OpenCL 1.1 2.0
Vulkan 1.1.126 1.2.131
CUDA +
CUDA cores 1536
Bus support PCI Express 3.0
SLI options +
HDMI +
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 383 Mh/s
Laptop size large
DisplayPort Multimode (DP++) support +
H.264, VC1, MPEG2 1080p video decoder +
Optimus +
GameStream +
GeForce ShadowPlay +
GPU Boost 2.0
GameWorks +
BatteryBoost +
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