GeForce GT 550M vs Quadro 500M

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 GT 550M vs Quadro 500M FPS Benchmarks

Predicted gaming performance across popular games. Tested paired with Ryzen 7 9800X3D to isolate GPU performance.

Search any supported game below to compare 1080p FPS for both components.

GeForce GT 550M vs Quadro 500M: 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 GT 550M

2013

Why buy it

✅Draws 50W instead of 100W, a 50W reduction.
✅More future proof: Kepler (2012−2018) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Quadro 500M across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌2013 hardware with 1 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.

Quadro 500M

2010

Why buy it

✅66.3% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.

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.
❌100% higher power demand at 100W vs 50W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

Quadro 500M is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 66.3% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 1.8% in PassMark G3D (571 vs 561), so the answer here is pretty clean.

Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?

GeForce GT 550M is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a 28nm process instead of 40nm and a newer 2013 generation instead of 2010. That makes it the less risky pick as game demands keep moving.

Which GPU is the better buy today?

Quadro 500M makes the most sense today based on the pricing and value data we have for this matchup. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, Quadro 500M is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, GeForce GT 550M has the stronger long-term case.

GeForce GT 550M vs Quadro 500M Technical Specifications

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

GeForce GT 550M

The GeForce GT 550M is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in June 25 2013. It features the Kepler architecture. The core clock speed is 980 MHz. It has 384 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 50W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 561 points.

Quadro 500M

The Quadro 500M is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in July 27 2010. It features the Fermi architecture. The core clock speed is 405 MHz. It has 320 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 100W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 571 points.

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Graphics Performance

The GeForce GT 550M scores 561 and the Quadro 500M reaches 571 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.8% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GT 550M is built on Kepler while the Quadro 500M uses Fermi, both on 28 nm vs 40 nm. Shader units: 384 (GeForce GT 550M) vs 320 (Quadro 500M). Raw compute: 0.7526 TFLOPS (GeForce GT 550M) vs 0.5184 TFLOPS (Quadro 500M).

Feature	GeForce GT 550M	Quadro 500M
G3D Mark Score	561	571+2%
Architecture	Kepler	Fermi
Process Node	28 nm	40 nm
Shading Units	384+20%	320
Compute (TFLOPS)	0.7526 TFLOPS+45%	0.5184 TFLOPS
ROPs	16	32+100%
TMUs	32	40+25%
L1 Cache	32 KB	640 KB+1900%
L2 Cache	256 KB	512 KB+100%

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GT 550M gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Quadro 500M leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

Feature	GeForce GT 550M	Quadro 500M
Upscaling Tech	Upscaling support	Upscaling support
Frame Generation	Not Supported	Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	NVIDIA Reflex	Standard

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Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards ship with 1 GB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the GeForce GT 550M and 64-bit on the Quadro 500M. L2 Cache: 256 KB (GeForce GT 550M) vs 512 KB (Quadro 500M) — the Quadro 500M has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce GT 550M	Quadro 500M
VRAM Capacity	1 GB	1 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Bus Width	128-bit+100%	64-bit
L2 Cache	256 KB	512 KB+100%

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Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GT 550M draws 50W versus the Quadro 500M's 100W — a 66.7% difference. The GeForce GT 550M is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce GT 550M) vs 350W (Quadro 500M). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs PCIe-powered.