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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M is an (upper) mid-range, DirectX 11-compatible graphics card for laptops unveiled in March 2015. It is based on Nvidia's Maxwell architecture (GM107 chip) and manufactured in 28 nm. The GTX 950M offers 640 shader units clocked at 914 MHz (+ Boost) as well as fast GDDR5 memory (128 bit, 5000 MHz effective, 80 GB/s). Compared to the previous and technically very similar GTX 850M, the GTX 950M is clocked slightly higher. A detailed performance comparison of the GTX 950M with GDDR5 and DDR3 can be found here.

Some GTX 950M may be equipped with cheaper 900 - 1000 MHz DDR3 memory (1800 - 2000 MHz effective, 28.8 - 32 GB/s), which leads to a 10 - 20 percent lower performance despite the slightly higher core clock of 993 MHz.

Architecture

Compared to Kepler, Maxwell has been optimized in several details to increase power efficiency. Smaller Streaming Multiprocessors (SMM) with only 128 ALUs (Kepler: 192) and an optimized scheduler should lead to better utilization of the shaders. Nvidia promises that a Maxwell SMM with 128 ALUs can offer 90 percent of the performance of a Kepler SMX with 192 ALUs. GM107 features 5 SMMs and thus 640 shader cores, 40 TMUs and 16 ROPs (128-bit interface).

Another optimization is the massively enlarged L2 cache (GM107: 2 MB). The increased size can handle some of the memory traffic to allow for a relatively narrow memory interface without significantly reducing the performance.

GM107 supports DirectX 12 with feature level 11_0 only.

Performance

Although the GTX 950M has the same memory bandwidth as the previous GTX 850M, its higher core clock leads to a slightly better performance. Overall, the 950M (GDDR5 version) is about 15 percent slower than the GTX 960M and just slightly behind the old GTX 860M.

Many games of 2014/2015 can be played fluently in FullHD resolution and high detail settings. However, very demanding games such as Assassin's Creed Unity will require lower resolutions and/or details.

Features

GM107 integrates the sixth generation of the PureVideo HD video engine (VP6), offering a better decoding performance for H.264 and MPEG-2 videos. Of course, VP6 supports all features of previous generations (4K support, PIP, video encoding via NVENC API). Unfortunately, HDMI 2.0 is still not supported.

Power Consumption

The power consumption of the GeForce GTX 950M should be similar to (or slightly above) the previous GTX 850M at about 50 watts. Therefore, the GPU is best suited for 15-inch laptops or larger. The 900M series also supports Optimus to automatically switch between an integrated graphics card and the Nvidia GPU.

ManufacturerNVIDIA
GeForce GTX 900M Series
GeForce GTX 980M SLI (compare) 3072 @ 1038 - 1127 (Boost) MHz2x 256 Bit @ 5000 MHz
GeForce GTX 970M SLI (compare) 2560 @ 924 - 1038 (Boost) MHz2x 192 Bit @ 5000 MHz
GeForce GTX 965M SLI (compare) 2048 @ 924 - 950 (Boost) MHz2x 128 Bit @ 5000 MHz
GeForce GTX 980M (compare) 1536 @ 1038 - 1127 (Boost) MHz256 Bit @ 5000 MHz
GeForce GTX 970M (compare) 1280 @ 924 - 1038 (Boost) MHz192 Bit @ 5000 MHz
GeForce GTX 965M (compare) 1024 @ 924 / 935 - 950 / 1151 (Boost) MHz128 Bit @ 5000 MHz
GeForce GTX 960M (compare) 640 @ 1096 - 1202 (Boost) MHz128 Bit @ 5000 MHz
GeForce GTX 950M 640 @ 914 - 993 - 1124 (Boost) MHz128 Bit @ 1800 - 5000 MHz
CodenameN16P-GT
ArchitectureMaxwell
Pipelines640 - unified
Core Speed914 - 993 - 1124 (Boost) MHz
Memory Speed1800 - 5000 MHz
Memory Bus Width128 Bit
Memory TypeDDR3/GDDR5
Max. Amount of Memory4096 MB
Shared Memoryno
DirectXDirectX 12 (FL 11_0), Shader 5.0
Transistor Count1870 Million
technology28 nm
FeaturesBattery Boost, GameStream, ShadowPlay, GPU Boost 2.0, Optimus, PhysX, CUDA, SLI, GeForce Experience, GameWorks, Adaptive VSync, DSR, Ansel
Notebook Sizemedium sized
Date of Announcement12.03.2015
Link to Manufacturer Pagehttp://www.geforce.com/hardware/notebook...

Benchmarks

3DMark - Time Spy Score 2560x1440
0 Points (0%)
+ 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
3DMark - Time Spy Graphics 2560x1440
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+ 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
3DMark - Ice Storm Unlimited Graphics Score 1280x720 offscreen
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+ 5 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
3DMark - Ice Storm Extreme Graphics 1920x1080
0 Points (0%)
+ 5 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
3DMark - Cloud Gate Standard Score 1280x720
0 Points (0%)
+ 28 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
3DMark - Cloud Gate Standard Graphics 1280x720
0 Points (0%)
+ 28 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
3DMark - Fire Strike Score 1920x1080
0 Points (0%)
+ 28 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
3DMark - Fire Strike Graphics 1920x1080
0 Points (0%)
+ 28 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
3DMark - Ice Storm Standard Graphics 1280x720
0 Points (0%)
+ 20 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
3DMark 11 - Performance 1280x720
0 points (0%)
+ 28 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
3DMark 11 - Performance GPU 1280x720
0 points (0%)
+ 28 benchmarks and specifications   - Hide comparison chart
3DMark Vantage
P Result 1280x1024 +
P GPU no PhysX 1280x1024 +
3DMark 03 - Standard 1024x768
0 Points (0%)
+ 3 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
3DMark 05 - Standard 1024x768
0 Points (0%)
+ 3 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
3DMark 06 Standard 1280x1024 +
Unigine Valley 1.0 - Extreme HD DirectX 1920x1080
0 fps (0%)
+ 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
Unigine Heaven 3.0 - DX 11, Normal Tessellation, High Shaders 1920x1080
0 fps (0%)
+ 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
Unigine Heaven 3.0 - OpenGL, Normal Tessellation, High Shaders 1920x1080
0 fps (0%)
+ 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
Unigine Heaven 2.1 - high, Tesselation (normal), DirectX11 1280x1024
0 fps (0%)
+ 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
SPECviewperf 11
Siemens NX 1920x1080 +
Tcvis 1920x1080 +
SolidWorks 1920x1080 +
Pro/ENGINEER 1920x1080 +
Maya 1920x1080 +
Lightwave 1920x1080 +
Ensight 1920x1080 +
Catia 1920x1080 +
SPECviewperf 12
Solidworks (sw-03) 1900x1060 +
Siemens NX (snx-02) 1900x1060 +
Showcase (showcase-01) 1900x1060 +
Medical (medical-01) 1900x1060 +
Maya (maya-04) 1900x1060 +
Energy (energy-01) 1900x1060 +
Creo (creo-01) 1900x1060 +
Catia (catia-04) 1900x1060 +
Cinebench R10 Shading 32Bit +
Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64Bit +
Cinebench R15
OpenGL 64Bit +
Ref. Match 64Bit +
GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7
T-Rex HD Offscreen C24Z16 1920x1080 +
T-Rex HD Onscreen C24Z16 +
GFXBench 3.0 - Manhattan Offscreen OGL off screen
0 fps (0%)
+ 2 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
GFXBench 3.0 - Manhattan Onscreen OGL on screen
0 fps (0%)
+ 2 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
GFXBench - Car Chase Offscreen off screen
0 fps (0%)
+ 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
GFXBench - Car Chase Onscreen on screen
0 fps (0%)
+ 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
LuxMark v2.0 64Bit - Room GPUs-only
0 Samples/s (0%)
+ 4 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
LuxMark v2.0 64Bit - Sala GPUs-only
0 Samples/s (0%)
+ 4 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
ComputeMark v2.1 - Normal, Score 1024x600
0 Points (0%)
+ 5 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
Power Consumption - FurMark 1.19 GPU Stress Test - Power Consumption (external Monitor) 1280x720 *
0 Watt (0%)
+ 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
Power Consumption - The Witcher 3 Power Consumption (external Monitor) ultra 1920x1080 *
0 Watt (0%)
+ 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
Power Consumption - Witcher 3 ultra - Power Consumption *
0 Watt (0%)
+ 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
- Range of benchmark values for this graphics card
- Average benchmark values for this graphics card
* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance

Game Benchmarks

The following benchmarks stem from our benchmarks of review laptops. The performance depends on the used graphics memory, clock rate, processor, system settings, drivers, and operating systems. So the results don't have to be representative for all laptops with this GPU. For detailed information on the benchmark results, click on the fps number.

F1 2019

F1 2019

2019
low 1280x720
84  fps    + Compare
med. 1920x1080
38.8  fps    + Compare
high 1920x1080
34.3  fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
19  fps    + Compare
QHD 2560x1440
14.5  fps    + Compare
4K 3840x2160
7.5  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings med..
League of Legends

League of Legends

2019
low 1280x720
110.3  fps    + Compare
med. 1920x1080
81  fps    + Compare
high 1920x1080
75.5  fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
75.9  fps    + Compare
QHD 2560x1440
60.9  fps    + Compare
4K 3840x2160
40.4  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
Total War: Three Kingdoms

Total War: Three Kingdoms

2019
low 1280x720
101.4  fps    + Compare
med. 1920x1080
31.2  fps    + Compare
high 1920x1080
19.1  fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
13.2  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings low.
Rage 2

Rage 2

2019
low 1280x720
22.4  fps    + Compare
med. 1920x1080
13.1  fps    + Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
Anno 1800

Anno 1800

2019
low 1280x720
52.8  fps    + Compare
med. 1920x1080
26.7  fps    + Compare
high 1920x1080
15.9  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings low.
The Division 2

The Division 2

2019
low 1280x720
49  fps    + Compare
med. 1920x1080
24  fps    + Compare
high 1920x1080
17  fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
12  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings low.
Dirt Rally 2.0

Dirt Rally 2.0

2019
low 1280x720
67.9  fps    + Compare
med. 1920x1080
37.3  fps    + Compare
high 1920x1080
32.5  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings med..
Far Cry New Dawn

Far Cry New Dawn

2019
low 1280x720
26  fps    + Compare
med. 1920x1080
22  fps    + Compare
high 1920x1080
20  fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
19  fps    + Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
Metro Exodus

Metro Exodus

2019
low 1280x720
29.7  fps    + Compare
med. 1920x1080
13.9  fps    + Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
Just Cause 4

Just Cause 4

2018
low 1280x720
39.8  fps    + Compare
med. 1920x1080
24.4  fps    + Compare
high 1920x1080
19.4  fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
18.8  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings low.
Darksiders III

Darksiders III

2018
low 1280x720
124  fps    + Compare
med. 1920x1080
51  fps    + Compare
high 1920x1080
43  fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
29  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.
Battlefield V

Battlefield V

2018
low 1280x720
68.1  fps    + Compare
med. 1920x1080
31  fps    + Compare
high 1920x1080
25.7  fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
19.8  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings low.
Farming Simulator 19

Farming Simulator 19

2018
low 1280x720
122.1  fps    + Compare
med. 1920x1080
58.5  fps    + Compare
high 1920x1080
35.9  fps    + Compare