xps GT550 GPU has more cores than it should

[sunshinewelly]

I bought a xps laptop with a GT550m GPU - this card is meant to have 96 cuda cores (shaders) as standard as the next model up the GT555 has 144 cores etc.

however when i ran diagnostics the card in my system which is still called the GT550 has 144 cores and runs at a similar core speed as the GT555. the GT550 runs a lot faster but has less cores.

looking online it seems that lots of people who have this card also have the same 144 cores.

so what is going on here, have nvidea simply renamed the GT555 as the GT550 for dell which allows dell to sell the same GPU at both a lower price as the GT550 or as an upgrade and an increased price as the GT555

 

[mattjd]

You should not worry you should be happy that you got more CUDA cores

 

[DTWD]

It might just a glitch with the card misreporting the cores.

Windows (and all the applications in it: cpu z, task manager etc) said my Quad Core processor had 3 cores. After I reset the bios back to defaults and set everything back up again it went back to 4.

 

[sunshinewelly]

You should not worry you should be happy that you got more CUDA cores

i assume that more cuda cores is a benefit rather than just having a speedier core.

for example the GT550 has less cuda cores but has a higher core speed than the GT555 whilst the GT555 has more cuda cores but runs at a slower core speed.

 

[mmj_uk]

It could be a bug with GPU-Z or whatever you're using.

 

[sunshinewelly]

It might just a glitch with the card misreporting the cores.

Windows (and all the applications in it: cpu z, task manager etc) said my Quad Core processor had 3 cores. After I reset the bios back to defaults and set everything back up again it went back to 4.

it seems odd that everyone reports the same issue though ie those who ordered the dell xps with the GT550 all report that the recent shipped models have 144 cores.

i have run a number of various diagnostics including nvidea inspector and that all shows 144 cores.

it also seems consistent with the reduced core speed scores, also the 3dmark06 scores but it just a few hundred points short of the GT555.

for example people are getting 11500 to 12500 with their dell GT550 and those with a GT555 are getting around 12750 to 13250 with the gt555 (scores are different obviously as people have different CPU's etc).

 

[mattjd]

I believe less heat is made when there is more CUDA cores and a lower clock speed. So they might of done what they have done to reduce temperatures because laptop's are not exactly amazing at keeping things cool in it's cramped environment.

If you get MSI Afterburner you could overclock it if you want I would not mess with the voltages though because laptop's skimp on the quality of VRM's and more voltage = more heat.