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.
Manufacturer | NVIDIA |
GeForce GTX 900M Series | |
Codename | N16P-GT |
Architecture | Maxwell |
Pipelines | 640 - unified |
Core Speed | 914 - 993 - 1124 (Boost) MHz |
Memory Speed | 1800 - 5000 MHz |
Memory Bus Width | 128 Bit |
Memory Type | DDR3, GDDR5 |
Max. Amount of Memory | 4096 MB |
Shared Memory | no |
DirectX | DirectX 12 (FL 11_0), Shader 5.0 |
Transistor Count | 1870 Million |
technology | 28 nm |
Features | Battery Boost, GameStream, ShadowPlay, GPU Boost 2.0, Optimus, PhysX, CUDA, SLI, GeForce Experience, GameWorks, Adaptive VSync, DSR, Ansel |
Notebook Size | medium sized |
Date of Announcement | 12.03.2015 |
Link to Manufacturer Page | http://www.geforce.com/hardware/notebook... |
Benchmarks
Performance Rating - 3DMark 11 + Fire Strike + Time Spy
9.8 pt (10%)
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NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 4%
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AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (Desktop) 892%
3DMark - 3DMark Time Spy Score
1094 Points (6%)
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3DMark - 3DMark Time Spy Graphics
971 Points (5%)
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3DMark - 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited Graphics
min: 139393 avg: 187457 median: 198867 (31%) max: 204769 Points
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3DMark - 3DMark Ice Storm Extreme Graphics
min: 45989 avg: 75149 median: 73448 (10%) max: 120877 Points
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AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (Desktop) 462%
3DMark - 3DMark Cloud Gate Score
min: 1262 avg: 12004 median: 13966 (19%) max: 16389 Points
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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 768MB 1%
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AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (Desktop) 497%
3DMark - 3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
min: 18547 avg: 21484 median: 21355.5 (11%) max: 25900 Points
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3DMark - 3DMark Fire Strike Standard Score
min: 2304 avg: 2899 median: 2837.5 (7%) max: 3448 Points
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AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (Desktop) 1234%
3DMark - 3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
min: 2931 avg: 3253 median: 3200 (6%) max: 3638 Points
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AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (Desktop) 1429%
3DMark - 3DMark Ice Storm Graphics
min: 40625 avg: 81849 median: 69209 (9%) max: 162860 Points
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AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (Desktop) 454%
3DMark 11 - 3DM11 Performance Score
min: 3276 avg: 4393 median: 4574.5 (12%) max: 4892 Points
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AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (Desktop) 766%
3DMark 11 - 3DM11 Performance GPU
min: 4046 avg: 4348 median: 4367 (7%) max: 4678 Points
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3DMark Vantage
3DM Vant. Perf. total +3DMark Vantage - 3DM Vant. Perf. total
min: 12497 avg: 15590 median: 15710 (15%) max: 18206 Points
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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti -1%
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AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (Desktop) 519%
3DM Vant. Perf. GPU no PhysX +3DMark Vantage - 3DM Vant. Perf. GPU no PhysX
min: 12952 avg: 14938 median: 14660.5 (13%) max: 16697 Points
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ATI Radeon HD 5850 -6%
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3DMark 03 - 3DMark 03 - Standard
min: 43262 avg: 46127 median: 43517 (23%) max: 51603 Points
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NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 -13%
ATI Radeon HD 5770 8%
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3DMark 05 - 3DMark 05 - Standard
min: 19685 avg: 22798 median: 23810 (35%) max: 24898 Points
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3DMark 06 3DMark 06 - Standard 1280x1024 +min: 16216 avg: 20762 median: 21645 (40%) max: 24148 Points
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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 1%
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AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (Desktop) 127%
Unigine Valley 1.0 - Unigine Valley 1.0 DX
17.8 fps (9%)
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AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (Desktop) 973%
Unigine Heaven 3.0 - Unigine Heaven 3.0 DX 11
42.1 fps (14%)
...
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Unigine Heaven 3.0 - Unigine Heaven 3.0 OpenGL
33.9 fps (15%)
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Unigine Heaven 2.1 - Heaven 2.1 high
56.1 fps (11%)
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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti -10%
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SPECviewperf 11
specvp11 snx-01 +SPECviewperf 11 - specvp11 snx-01
min: 5.9 avg: 6.3 median: 6.3 (4%) max: 6.63 fps
Asus R510JX-DM149H | 4720HQ | 8192 MB | 993 / MHz | 4096MB | 5.9 |
Acer Aspire V5-591G-50NC | 6300HQ | 8192 MB | 993-1124 / MHz | 4096MB | 6.63 |
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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 -9%
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specvp11 tcvis-02 +SPECviewperf 11 - specvp11 tcvis-02
min: 1.67 avg: 1.8 median: 1.8 (3%) max: 2 fps
Asus R510JX-DM149H | 4720HQ | 8192 MB | 993 / MHz | 4096MB | 1.67 |
Acer Aspire V5-591G-50NC | 6300HQ | 8192 MB | 993-1124 / MHz | 4096MB | 2 |
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specvp11 sw-02 +SPECviewperf 11 - specvp11 sw-02
min: 15.07 avg: 15.3 median: 15.3 (19%) max: 15.57 fps
Asus R510JX-DM149H | 4720HQ | 8192 MB | 993 / MHz | 4096MB | 15.07 |
Acer Aspire V5-591G-50NC | 6300HQ | 8192 MB | 993-1124 / MHz | 4096MB | 15.57 |
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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 -1%
ATI Radeon HD 5850 8%
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specvp11 proe-05 +SPECviewperf 11 - specvp11 proe-05
min: 2.32 avg: 2.3 median: 2.3 (10%) max: 2.33 fps
Acer Aspire V5-591G-50NC | 6300HQ | 8192 MB | 993-1124 / MHz | 4096MB | 2.32 |
Asus R510JX-DM149H | 4720HQ | 8192 MB | 993 / MHz | 4096MB | 2.33 |
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ATI Radeon HD 5770 12%
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specvp11 maya-03 +SPECviewperf 11 - specvp11 maya-03
min: 16.28 avg: 16.4 median: 16.4 (12%) max: 16.46 fps
Asus R510JX-DM149H | 4720HQ | 8192 MB | 993 / MHz | 4096MB | 16.28 |
Acer Aspire V5-591G-50NC | 6300HQ | 8192 MB | 993-1124 / MHz | 4096MB | 16.46 |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 -91%
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specvp11 lightwave-01 +SPECviewperf 11 - specvp11 lightwave-01
min: 16.76 avg: 18.9 median: 18.9 (20%) max: 20.97 fps
Acer Aspire V5-591G-50NC | 6300HQ | 8192 MB | 993-1124 / MHz | 4096MB | 16.76 |
Asus R510JX-DM149H | 4720HQ | 8192 MB | 993 / MHz | 4096MB | 20.97 |
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ATI Radeon HD 5850 -3%
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specvp11 ensight-04 +SPECviewperf 11 - specvp11 ensight-04
min: 31.81 avg: 32.1 median: 32.1 (15%) max: 32.45 fps
Asus R510JX-DM149H | 4720HQ | 8192 MB | 993 / MHz | 4096MB | 31.81 |
Acer Aspire V5-591G-50NC | 6300HQ | 8192 MB | 993-1124 / MHz | 4096MB | 32.45 |
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specvp11 catia-03 +SPECviewperf 11 - specvp11 catia-03
min: 15.77 avg: 16 median: 16 (19%) max: 16.26 fps
Asus R510JX-DM149H | 4720HQ | 8192 MB | 993 / MHz | 4096MB | 15.77 |
Acer Aspire V5-591G-50NC | 6300HQ | 8192 MB | 993-1124 / MHz | 4096MB | 16.26 |
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SPECviewperf 12
specvp12 sw-03 +SPECviewperf 12 - specvp12 sw-03
19.5 fps (8%)
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specvp12 snx-02 +SPECviewperf 12 - specvp12 snx-02
2 fps (1%)
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specvp12 showcase-01 +SPECviewperf 12 - specvp12 showcase-01
19 fps (8%)
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specvp12 mediacal-01 +SPECviewperf 12 - specvp12 mediacal-01
11.8 fps (11%)
...
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specvp12 maya-04 +SPECviewperf 12 - specvp12 maya-04
22.2 fps (9%)
...
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specvp12 energy-01 +SPECviewperf 12 - specvp12 energy-01
0.7 fps (2%)
...
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AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (Desktop) 4016%
specvp12 creo-01 +SPECviewperf 12 - specvp12 creo-01
9.6 fps (5%)
...
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specvp12 catia-04 +SPECviewperf 12 - specvp12 catia-04
13.8 fps (5%)
...
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AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (Desktop) 1625%
Cinebench R10 Cinebench R10 Shading (32bit) +Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Shading (32bit)
min: 3483 avg: 5840 median: 6029 (28%) max: 6830 points
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Cinebench R11.5 Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64 Bit +Cinebench R11.5 - Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64 Bit
min: 0.95 avg: 44.3 median: 41.3 (18%) max: 65.78 fps
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AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (Desktop) 284%
Cinebench R15
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit +Cinebench R15 - Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit
min: 29.5 avg: 59.9 median: 50.4 (14%) max: 90.55 fps
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AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (Desktop) 347%
Cinebench R15 OpenGL Ref. Match 64 Bit +Cinebench R15 - Cinebench R15 OpenGL Ref. Match 64 Bit
99.6 % (100%)
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GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7
GLBench 2.7 T-Rex HD Offscreen C24Z16 +GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7 - GLBench 2.7 T-Rex HD Offscreen C24Z16
min: 237.4 avg: 245 median: 244.7 (2%) max: 252 fps
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GLBench 2.7 T-Rex HD Onscreen C24Z16 +GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7 - GLBench 2.7 T-Rex HD Onscreen C24Z16
min: 59.9 avg: 60 median: 60 (2%) max: 60 fps
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GFXBench 3.0 - GFXBench 3.0 Manhattan Offscreen
min: 123.62 avg: 132 median: 132.3 (14%) max: 141 fps
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GFXBench 3.0 - GFXBench 3.0 Manhattan
min: 59.9 avg: 60 median: 60 (16%) max: 60 fps
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GFXBench - GFXBench Car Chase Offscreen
69 fps (16%)
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GFXBench - GFXBench Car Chase Onscreen
58.5 fps (22%)
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LuxMark v2.0 64Bit - LuxMark v2.0 Room GPU
min: 642 avg: 733 median: 743.5 (8%) max: 803 Samples/s
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LuxMark v2.0 64Bit - LuxMark v2.0 Sala GPU
min: 1118 avg: 1234 median: 1242.5 (4%) max: 1334 Samples/s
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AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (Desktop) 2171%
ComputeMark v2.1 - ComputeMark v2.1 Result
min: 2702 avg: 2777 median: 2747 (6%) max: 2853 points
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Power Consumption - Furmark Stress Test Power Consumption - external Monitor *
75.7 Watt (14%)
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Power Consumption - The Witcher 3 Power Consumption - external Monitor *
60.7 Watt (10%)
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Power Consumption - Witcher 3 Power Consumption *
33 Watt (7%)
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- 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.
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AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (Desktop) 525%
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AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (Desktop) 1025%
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AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (Desktop) 1244%
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AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (Desktop) 1408%
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AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (Desktop) 1606%
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings med..
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» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings med..
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