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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 MHz2x 256 Bit @ 5000 MHz
GeForce GTX 970M SLI compare 2560 @ 924 - 1038 MHz2x 192 Bit @ 5000 MHz
GeForce GTX 965M SLI compare 2048 @ 924 - 950 MHz128 Bit @ 5000 MHz
GeForce GTX 980M compare 1536 @ 1038 - 1127 MHz256 Bit @ 5000 MHz
GeForce GTX 970M compare 1280 @ 924 - 1038 MHz192 Bit @ 5000 MHz
GeForce GTX 965M compare 1024 @ 924 / 935 - 950 / 1151 MHz128 Bit @ 5000 MHz
GeForce GTX 960M compare 640 @ 1096 - 1202 MHz128 Bit @ 5000 MHz
GeForce GTX 950M 640 @ 914 - 993 - 1124 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

Performance Rating - 3DMark 11 + Fire Strike + Time Spy
10.8 pt (11%)
Intel HD Graphics (Bay Trail) -86%
...
AMD FirePro M4000 -8%
Intel Iris Pro Graphics 5200 -8%
AMD FirePro W5130M -7%
AMD FirePro W4170M -6%
AMD Radeon R9 M265X -5%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 6 (Ryzen 2000) -3%
NVIDIA GeForce GT 755M -2%
NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 -1%
NVIDIA GeForce MX230 -1%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M
AMD Radeon RX 550X (Laptop) 0%
NVIDIA Quadro P520 0%
Intel Iris Plus Graphics G7 (Ice Lake 64 EU) 1%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 10 3%
NVIDIA GeForce 945M 3%
NVIDIA GeForce MX150 3%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 3%
AMD Radeon RX 640 4%
AMD Radeon Pro WX 3200 6%
...
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 SLI (Laptop) 802%
0%
100%
3DMark - Time Spy Score 2560x1440
1094 Points (7%)
+ 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
3DMark - Time Spy Graphics 2560x1440
971 Points (6%)
+ 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
3DMark - Ice Storm Unlimited Graphics Score 1280x720 offscreen
min: 139393     avg: 187457     median: 198867 (36%)     max: 204769 Points
+ 5 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
3DMark - Ice Storm Extreme Graphics 1920x1080
min: 45989     avg: 75149     median: 73448 (10%)     max: 120877 Points
+ 5 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
3DMark - Cloud Gate Standard Score 1280x720
min: 1262     avg: 12004     median: 13966 (21%)     max: 16389 Points
+ 28 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
3DMark - Cloud Gate Standard Graphics 1280x720
min: 18547     avg: 21484     median: 21355.5 (11%)     max: 25900 Points
+ 28 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
3DMark - Fire Strike Score 1920x1080
min: 2304     avg: 2899     median: 2837.5 (10%)     max: 3448 Points
+ 28 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
3DMark - Fire Strike Graphics 1920x1080
min: 2931     avg: 3253     median: 3200 (8%)     max: 3638 Points
+ 28 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
3DMark - Ice Storm Standard Graphics 1280x720
min: 40625     avg: 81849     median: 69209 (9%)     max: 162860 Points
+ 20 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
3DMark 11 - Performance 1280x720
min: 3276     avg: 4393     median: 4574.5 (12%)     max: 4892 points
+ 28 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
3DMark 11 - Performance GPU 1280x720
min: 4046     avg: 4348     median: 4367 (9%)     max: 4678 points
+ 28 benchmarks and specifications   - Hide comparison chart
3DMark Vantage
P Result 1280x1024 +
P GPU no PhysX 1280x1024 +
3DMark 03 - Standard 1024x768
min: 43262     avg: 46127     median: 43517 (23%)     max: 51603 Points
+ 3 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
3DMark 05 - Standard 1024x768
min: 19685     avg: 22798     median: 23810 (45%)     max: 24898 Points
+ 3 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
3DMark 06 Standard 1280x1024 +
Unigine Valley 1.0 - Extreme HD DirectX 1920x1080
17.8 fps (11%)
+ 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
Unigine Heaven 3.0 - DX 11, Normal Tessellation, High Shaders 1920x1080
42.1 fps (14%)
+ 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
Unigine Heaven 3.0 - OpenGL, Normal Tessellation, High Shaders 1920x1080
33.9 fps (15%)
+ 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
Unigine Heaven 2.1 - high, Tesselation (normal), DirectX11 1280x1024
56.1 fps (11%)
+ 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
min: 123.62     avg: 132     median: 132.3 (21%)     max: 141 fps
+ 2 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
GFXBench 3.0 - Manhattan Onscreen OGL on screen
min: 59.9     avg: 60     median: 60 (16%)     max: 60 fps
+ 2 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
GFXBench - Car Chase Offscreen off screen
69 fps (16%)
+ 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
GFXBench - Car Chase Onscreen on screen
58.5 fps (22%)
+ 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
LuxMark v2.0 64Bit - Room GPUs-only
min: 642     avg: 733     median: 743.5 (8%)     max: 803 Samples/s
+ 4 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
LuxMark v2.0 64Bit - Sala GPUs-only
min: 1118     avg: 1234     median: 1242.5 (11%)     max: 1334 Samples/s
+ 4 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
ComputeMark v2.1 - Normal, Score 1024x600
min: 2702     avg: 2777     median: 2747 (10%)     max: 2853 Points
+ 5 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
Power Consumption - FurMark 1.19 GPU Stress Test - Power Consumption (external Monitor) 1280x720 *
75.7 Watt (17%)
+ 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
Power Consumption - The Witcher 3 Power Consumption (external Monitor) ultra 1920x1080 *
60.7 Watt (13%)
+ 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
Power Consumption - Witcher 3 ultra - Power Consumption *
33 Watt (7%)
+ 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.

Gears Tactics

Gears Tactics

2020
low 1280x720
98.1  fps    + Compare
med. 1920x1080
37.5  fps    + Compare
high 1920x1080
20.5  fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
14.8  fps    + Compare
QHD 2560x1440
10  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings med..
Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order

Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order

2019
med. 1920x1080
48  fps    + Compare
high 1920x1080
37.7  fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
33.2  fps    + Compare
QHD 2560x1440
18.6  fps    + Compare
4K 3840x2160
18.4  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.
Borderlands 3

Borderlands 3

2019
low 1280x720
48.9  fps    + Compare
med. 1920x1080
47.4  fps    + Compare
high 1920x1080
13.9  fps    + Compare