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GeForce 9650M GS vs Mobility Radeon HD 550v

CPUCPUGPUGPU
NVIDIA

GeForce 9650M GS

2012Core: 790 MHzBoost: 835 MHz
Buy on Amazon
VS
AMD

Mobility Radeon HD 550v

2010Core: 700 MHz
Buy on Amazon

GeForce 9650M GS vs Mobility Radeon HD 550v Performance Spectrum

GeForce 9650M GS
0.5 GB 30
270
+1.5%
brand logoGeForce GT 120M
brand logoGeForce 8600 GS
brand logoGeForce Go 7800 GTX
brand logoGeForce GT 220
brand logoGeForce GTX 1630
brand logoGeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q Design
brand logoGeForce GTX 1070 Ti
brand logoGeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU
Mobility Radeon HD 550v
1 GB 50
266
0.0%
brand logoMobility Radeon HD 4350
brand logoMobility Radeon HD 530v
brand logoMobility Radeon HD 545v
brand logoMobility Radeon HD 5470
brand logoRadeon HD 7970M Crossfire
brand logoRadeon RX 6550M
brand logoRadeon RX 7600M XT
brand logoRadeon RX 6700 XT

About G3D Mark

G3D Mark is a standard benchmark that measures graphics performance in real-world gaming scenarios. It simplifies comparing cards from different brands, where higher scores directly correlate with better fps and smoother gaming experiences.

GeForce 9650M GS vs Mobility Radeon HD 550v: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict

See where each GPU makes more sense in practice: raw FPS, VRAM, features, power draw, pricing, and long-term headroom.

GeForce 9650M GS

2012

Why buy it

  • ✅Draws 30W instead of 50W, a 20W reduction.
  • ✅More future proof: Kepler (2012−2018) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

  • ❌Less VRAM, with 512 MB vs 1 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
  • ❌2012 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • ❌
    306.1% HIGHER MSRP
    $199 MSRPvs$49 MSRP
  • ❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 1.4 vs 5.4 G3D/$ ($199 MSRP vs $49 MSRP).

Mobility Radeon HD 550v

2010

Why buy it

  • ✅Costs $150 less on MSRP ($49 MSRP vs $199 MSRP).
  • ✅Delivers 300.1% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 5.4 vs 1.4 G3D/$ ($49 MSRP vs $199 MSRP).
  • ✅100% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (1 GB vs 512 MB).

Trade-offs

  • ❌2010 hardware with 1 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • ❌66.7% higher power demand at 50W vs 30W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
GeForce 9650M GS is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 1.5% in PassMark G3D (270 vs 266), which is the best performance signal available in this matchup.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
GeForce 9650M GS is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a 28nm process instead of 40nm and a newer 2012 generation instead of 2010. That makes it the less risky pick as game demands keep moving.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
Mobility Radeon HD 550v makes the most sense to buy today. It is $150 cheaper on MSRP at $49 vs $199, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 300.1% (5.4 vs 1.4), which is enough to swing the recommendation its way. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, Mobility Radeon HD 550v is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, GeForce 9650M GS has the stronger long-term case.

GeForce 9650M GS vs Mobility Radeon HD 550v Technical Specifications

Side-by-side specs, architecture details, clocks, memory, power, and platform differences.

NVIDIA

GeForce 9650M GS

The GeForce 9650M GS is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in March 22 2012. It features the Kepler architecture. The core clock ranges from 790 MHz to 835 MHz. It has 768 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 30W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 270 points.

AMD

Mobility Radeon HD 550v

The Mobility Radeon HD 550v is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 7 2010. It features the TeraScale 2 architecture. The core clock speed is 700 MHz. It has 800 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 50W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 266 points.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The GeForce 9650M GS scores 270 and the Mobility Radeon HD 550v reaches 266 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.5% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce 9650M GS is built on Kepler while the Mobility Radeon HD 550v uses TeraScale 2, both on 28 nm vs 40 nm. Shader units: 768 (GeForce 9650M GS) vs 800 (Mobility Radeon HD 550v).

FeatureGeForce 9650M GSMobility Radeon HD 550v
G3D Mark Score
270+2%
266
Architecture
Kepler
TeraScale 2
Process Node
28 nm
40 nm
Shading Units
768
800+4%
✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce 9650M GS gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Mobility Radeon HD 550v leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

FeatureGeForce 9650M GSMobility Radeon HD 550v
Upscaling Tech
Upscaling support
FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation
Not Supported
Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction
No
No
Low Latency
NVIDIA Reflex
AMD Anti-Lag
💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

The GeForce 9650M GS has 512 MB of VRAM, while the Mobility Radeon HD 550v carries 1 GB. Mobility Radeon HD 550v gives you 100% more memory capacity, which matters more once you move into heavier textures, mods, or higher resolutions. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the GeForce 9650M GS and 128-bit on the Mobility Radeon HD 550v.

FeatureGeForce 9650M GSMobility Radeon HD 550v
VRAM Capacity
0.5 GB
1 GB+100%
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth
Unknown
Unknown
Bus Width
128-bit
128-bit
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 11.1 (10_0) (GeForce 9650M GS) vs 10.1 (Mobility Radeon HD 550v). OpenGL: 3.3 vs 3.3. Maximum simultaneous displays: 2 vs 2.

FeatureGeForce 9650M GSMobility Radeon HD 550v
DirectX
11.1 (10_0)+10%
10.1
OpenGL
3.3
3.3
Max Displays
2
2
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: No NVENC (G84) (GeForce 9650M GS) vs None (Mobility Radeon HD 550v). Decoder: PureVideo HD VP2 vs UVD 2.2. Supported codecs: H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,WMV9 (GeForce 9650M GS) vs H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1 (Mobility Radeon HD 550v).

FeatureGeForce 9650M GSMobility Radeon HD 550v
Encoder
No NVENC (G84)
None
Decoder
PureVideo HD VP2
UVD 2.2
Codecs
H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,WMV9
H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce 9650M GS draws 30W versus the Mobility Radeon HD 550v's 50W — a 50% difference. The GeForce 9650M GS is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce 9650M GS) vs 350W (Mobility Radeon HD 550v). Power connectors: Legacy vs PCIe-powered. Typical load temperature: 85°C vs 80.

FeatureGeForce 9650M GSMobility Radeon HD 550v
TDP
30W-40%
50W
Recommended PSU
350W
350W
Power Connector
Legacy
PCIe-powered
Length
—
0mm
Height
—
0mm
Slots
0
0
Temp (Load)
85°C
80-6%
Perf/Watt
9.0+70%
5.3
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GeForce 9650M GS came in at $199, while the Mobility Radeon HD 550v launched at $49. On MSRP, Mobility Radeon HD 550v was 75.4% cheaper ($150 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 1.4 (GeForce 9650M GS) vs 5.4 (Mobility Radeon HD 550v) — the Mobility Radeon HD 550v offers 285.7% better value. The newer card here is GeForce 9650M GS (2012 vs 2010).

FeatureGeForce 9650M GSMobility Radeon HD 550v
MSRP
$199
$49-75%
Performance per Dollar
1.4
5.4+286%
Codename
N13E-GE
Broadway
Release
March 22 2012
January 7 2010
Ranking
#690
#846
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