GeForce GTX 550 Ti vs 9800 GT

Place in the ranking	1046	701
Place by popularity	not in top-100	76
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	0.06	0.74
Power efficiency	0.68	2.40
Architecture	Tesla (2006−2010)	Fermi 2.0 (2010−2014)
GPU code name	G92	GF116
Market segment	Desktop	Desktop
Release date	21 July 2008 (16 years ago)	15 March 2011 (13 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$160	$149

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

The higher the performance-to-price ratio, the better. We use the manufacturer's recommended prices for comparison.

GTX 550 Ti has 1133% better value for money than 9800 GT.

Detailed specifications

General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores	112	192
Core clock speed	600 MHz	900 MHz
Number of transistors	754 million	1,170 million
Manufacturing process technology	65 nm	40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	105 Watt	116 Watt
Maximum GPU temperature	105 °C	100 °C
Texture fill rate	33.60	28.80
Floating-point processing power	0.336 TFLOPS	0.6912 TFLOPS
ROPs	16	24
TMUs	56	32

Form factor & compatibility

Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).

Bus support	no data	16x PCI-E 2.0
Interface	PCIe 2.0 x16	PCIe 2.0 x16
Length	229 mm	210 mm
Height	1-slot	4.376" (11.1 cm)
Width	1-slot	2-slot
Supplementary power connectors	1x 6-pin	1x 6-pin
SLI options	+	+

VRAM capacity and type

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory type	GDDR3	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	1 GB	2 GB
Memory bus width	256 Bit	192 Bit
Memory clock speed	900 MHz	4.1 GB/s
Memory bandwidth	57.6 GB/s	98.4 GB/s

Connectivity and outputs

Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.

Display Connectors	HDTVDual Link DVI	Two Dual Link DVI-IMini HDMI
Multi monitor support	+	+
HDMI	-	+
Maximum VGA resolution	2048x1536	2048x1536
Audio input for HDMI	S/PDIF	Internal

API and SDK compatibility

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX	11.1 (10_0)	12 (11_0)
Shader Model	4.0	5.1
OpenGL	2.1	4.2
OpenCL	1.1	1.1
Vulkan	N/A	N/A
CUDA	+	+

Synthetic benchmark performance

Non-gaming benchmark results comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.

Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

9800 GT 1.16

GTX 550 Ti 3.77
+225%

Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.

9800 GT 478

GTX 550 Ti 1553
+225%

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

Average FPS across all PC games

Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:

900p	10−12 −280%	38 +280%
Full HD	10−12 −260%	36 +260%

Cost per frame, $

1080p

16.00

−287%

4.14
+287%

GTX 550 Ti has 287% lower cost per frame in 1080p

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2	10−11 +0%	10−11 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	9−10 +0%	9−10 +0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5	10−12 +0%	10−12 +0%
Counter-Strike 2	10−11 +0%	10−11 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	9−10 +0%	9−10 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	18−20 +0%	18−20 +0%
Forza Horizon 5	6−7 +0%	6−7 +0%
Metro Exodus	9−10 +0%	9−10 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%
Valorant	9−10 +0%	9−10 +0%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5	10−12 +0%	10−12 +0%
Counter-Strike 2	10−11 +0%	10−11 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	9−10 +0%	9−10 +0%
Dota 2	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%
Far Cry 5	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Fortnite	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	18−20 +0%	18−20 +0%
Forza Horizon 5	6−7 +0%	6−7 +0%
Grand Theft Auto V	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%
Metro Exodus	9−10 +0%	9−10 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	35−40 +0%	35−40 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	14−16 +0%	14−16 +0%
Valorant	9−10 +0%	9−10 +0%
World of Tanks	65−70 +0%	65−70 +0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	10−12 +0%	10−12 +0%
Counter-Strike 2	10−11 +0%	10−11 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	9−10 +0%	9−10 +0%
Dota 2	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%
Far Cry 5	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	18−20 +0%	18−20 +0%
Forza Horizon 5	6−7 +0%	6−7 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	35−40 +0%	35−40 +0%
Valorant	9−10 +0%	9−10 +0%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2	3−4 +0%	3−4 +0%
Grand Theft Auto V	3−4 +0%	3−4 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	27−30 +0%	27−30 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	3−4 +0%	3−4 +0%
World of Tanks	27−30 +0%	27−30 +0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	5−6 +0%	5−6 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	4−5 +0%	4−5 +0%
Far Cry 5	9−10 +0%	9−10 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	5−6 +0%	5−6 +0%
Forza Horizon 5	5−6 +0%	5−6 +0%
Metro Exodus	1−2 +0%	1−2 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	7−8 +0%	7−8 +0%
Valorant	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2	2−3 +0%	2−3 +0%
Dota 2	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Grand Theft Auto V	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	10−12 +0%	10−12 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	2−3 +0%	2−3 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	3−4 +0%	3−4 +0%
Counter-Strike 2	2−3 +0%	2−3 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	2−3 +0%	2−3 +0%
Dota 2	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Far Cry 5	4−5 +0%	4−5 +0%
Fortnite	3−4 +0%	3−4 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	3−4 +0%	3−4 +0%
Forza Horizon 5	2−3 +0%	2−3 +0%
Valorant	4−5 +0%	4−5 +0%

This is how 9800 GT and GTX 550 Ti compete in popular games:

GTX 550 Ti is 280% faster in 900p
GTX 550 Ti is 260% faster in 1080p

All in all, in popular games:

there's a draw in 62 tests (100%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	1.16	3.77
Recency	21 July 2008	15 March 2011
Maximum RAM amount	1 GB	2 GB
Chip lithography	65 nm	40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	105 Watt	116 Watt

9800 GT has 10.5% lower power consumption.

GTX 550 Ti, on the other hand, has a 225% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 2 years, a 100% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 62.5% more advanced lithography process.

The GeForce GTX 550 Ti is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce 9800 GT in performance tests.

Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.