Arc A550M vs GeForce GTS 450

Place in the ranking	733	228
Place by popularity	100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	0.65	no data
Power efficiency	2.22	28.14
Architecture	Fermi (2010−2014)	Generation 12.7 (2022−2023)
GPU code name	GF106	DG2-512
Market segment	Desktop	Laptop
Release date	13 September 2010 (14 years ago)	2022 (3 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$129	no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

no data

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	192	2048
Core clock speed	783 MHz	900 MHz
Boost clock speed	no data	2050 MHz
Number of transistors	1,170 million	21,700 million
Manufacturing process technology	40 nm	6 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	106 Watt	60 Watt
Maximum GPU temperature	100 °C	no data
Texture fill rate	25.06	262.4
Floating-point processing power	0.6013 TFLOPS	8.397 TFLOPS
ROPs	16	64
TMUs	32	128
Tensor Cores	no data	256
Ray Tracing Cores	no data	16

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	PCI-E 2.0 x 16	no data
Interface	PCIe 2.0 x16	PCIe 4.0 x16
Length	210 mm	no data
Height	4.376" (111 mm) (11.1 cm)	no data
Width	2-slot	no data
Supplementary power connectors	1x 6-pin	no data
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	GDDR5	GDDR6
Maximum RAM amount	1 GB	8 GB
Memory bus width	128 Bit	128 Bit
Memory clock speed	1804 (3608 data rate) MHz	1750 MHz
Memory bandwidth	57.7 GB/s	224.0 GB/s
Shared memory	-	-

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	Mini HDMITwo Dual Link DVI	Portable Device Dependent
HDMI	+	-
Maximum VGA resolution	2048x1536	no data
Audio input for HDMI	Internal	no data

API compatibility

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

DirectX	12 (11_0)	12 Ultimate (12_2)
Shader Model	5.1	6.6
OpenGL	4.2	4.6
OpenCL	1.1	3.0
Vulkan	N/A	1.3
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.

GTS 450 3.42

Arc A550M 24.56
+618%

3DMark Fire Strike Graphics

Fire Strike is a DirectX 11 benchmark for gaming PCs. It features two separate tests displaying a fight between a humanoid and a fiery creature made of lava. Using 1920x1080 resolution, Fire Strike shows off some realistic graphics and is quite taxing on hardware.

GTS 450 1545

Arc A550M 14350
+829%

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	30 −600%	210−220 +600%
Full HD	37 −603%	260−270 +603%
1200p	27 −604%	190−200 +604%

Cost per frame, $

1080p

3.49

no data

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2	9−10 −400%	45−50 +400%
Cyberpunk 2077	8−9 −525%	50−55 +525%
Elden Ring	9−10 −789%	80−85 +789%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5	9−10 −733%	75−80 +733%
Counter-Strike 2	9−10 −400%	45−50 +400%
Cyberpunk 2077	8−9 −525%	50−55 +525%
Forza Horizon 4	16−18 −569%	100−110 +569%
Metro Exodus	7−8 −829%	65−70 +829%
Red Dead Redemption 2	12−14 −350%	50−55 +350%
Valorant	6−7 −1533%	95−100 +1533%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5	9−10 −733%	75−80 +733%
Counter-Strike 2	9−10 −400%	45−50 +400%
Cyberpunk 2077	8−9 −525%	50−55 +525%
Dota 2	10−11 −750%	85−90 +750%
Elden Ring	9−10 −789%	80−85 +789%
Far Cry 5	18−20 −300%	75−80 +300%
Fortnite	18−20 −553%	120−130 +553%
Forza Horizon 4	16−18 −569%	100−110 +569%
Grand Theft Auto V	10−11 −740%	80−85 +740%
Metro Exodus	7−8 −829%	65−70 +829%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	30−35 −400%	150−160 +400%
Red Dead Redemption 2	12−14 −350%	50−55 +350%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	12−14 −558%	75−80 +558%
Valorant	6−7 −1533%	95−100 +1533%
World of Tanks	86 −198%	250−260 +198%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	9−10 −733%	75−80 +733%
Counter-Strike 2	9−10 −400%	45−50 +400%
Cyberpunk 2077	8−9 −525%	50−55 +525%
Dota 2	10−11 −750%	85−90 +750%
Far Cry 5	18−20 −300%	75−80 +300%
Forza Horizon 4	16−18 −569%	100−110 +569%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	30−35 −400%	150−160 +400%
Valorant	6−7 −1533%	95−100 +1533%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2	2−3 −1950%	40−45 +1950%
Elden Ring	3−4 −1333%	40−45 +1333%
Grand Theft Auto V	2−3 −1950%	40−45 +1950%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	24−27 −629%	170−180 +629%
Red Dead Redemption 2	2−3 −1050%	21−24 +1050%
World of Tanks	24−27 −579%	160−170 +579%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	4−5 −1125%	45−50 +1125%
Counter-Strike 2	30−35 +0%	30−35 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	4−5 −425%	21−24 +425%
Far Cry 5	8−9 −788%	70−75 +788%
Forza Horizon 4	3−4 −2067%	65−70 +2067%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	6−7 −500%	35−40 +500%
Valorant	10−12 −500%	65−70 +500%

4K
High Preset

Dota 2	16−18 −169%	40−45 +169%
Elden Ring	1−2 −1800%	18−20 +1800%
Grand Theft Auto V	16−18 −169%	40−45 +169%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	10−11 −650%	75−80 +650%
Red Dead Redemption 2	2−3 −650%	14−16 +650%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	16−18 −163%	40−45 +163%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	3−4 −767%	24−27 +767%
Cyberpunk 2077	2−3 −300%	8−9 +300%
Dota 2	16−18 −169%	40−45 +169%
Far Cry 5	3−4 −967%	30−35 +967%
Fortnite	2−3 −1400%	30−33 +1400%
Forza Horizon 4	2−3 −1800%	35−40 +1800%
Valorant	3−4 −967%	30−35 +967%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Metro Exodus

55−60

+0%

55−60

+0%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Metro Exodus	18−20 +0%	18−20 +0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Counter-Strike 2

21−24

+0%

21−24

+0%

This is how GTS 450 and Arc A550M compete in popular games:

Arc A550M is 600% faster in 900p
Arc A550M is 603% faster in 1080p
Arc A550M is 604% faster in 1200p

Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:

in Forza Horizon 4, with 1440p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the Arc A550M is 2067% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

Arc A550M is ahead in 58 tests (92%)
there's a draw in 5 tests (8%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	3.42	24.56
Maximum RAM amount	1 GB	8 GB
Chip lithography	40 nm	6 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	106 Watt	60 Watt

Arc A550M has a 618.1% higher aggregate performance score, a 700% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 566.7% more advanced lithography process, and 76.7% lower power consumption.

The Arc A550M is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTS 450 in performance tests.

Be aware that GeForce GTS 450 is a desktop card while Arc A550M is a notebook one.

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