AMD FirePro S7150 vs NVIDIA GeForce MX550 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data splits cleanly between the two available workloads, with each card claiming one decisive victory. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the AMD FirePro S7150 posts a score of 26,543 against the NVIDIA GeForce MX550’s 20,372. That is a 30.3% advantage for the AMD part, a substantial margin that reflects the FirePro’s far larger compute resource allocation. The OpenCL result aligns with the FirePro S7150’s 2,048 shading units and 128 texture mapping units, which dwarf the MX550’s 1,024 shaders and 32 TMUs. The data shows a clear throughput-oriented design on the AMD side.

The Vulkan API workload flips the outcome. Here, the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 scores 32,469, beating the FirePro S7150’s 29,690 by 8.6%. The delta is smaller than the OpenCL gap, but it is still a meaningful win for the MX550. Vulkan’s lower-level access to hardware tends to favor architectural efficiency, and the MX550’s Turing-based design with a 12 nm process node appears to extract more performance per compute unit in this workload. The MX550’s 1:1 FP16 ratio (2.703 TFLOPS) versus the FirePro’s 2:1 ratio (7.537 TFLOPS) does not translate into a Vulkan advantage for the AMD card, suggesting the NVIDIA driver stack and architecture handle this API more effectively.

The average benchmark scores reinforce the head-to-head split. The FirePro S7150 achieves an average of 28,117 across both tests, while the MX550 averages 26,421. That puts the AMD card 6.4% ahead overall, but the distribution is uneven: the FirePro wins one test by a wide margin and loses the other by a moderate one. The wins are split 1-1, so neither card can claim total dominance.

The Verdict

The data tells a straightforward story: the AMD FirePro S7150 is the stronger compute GPU, while the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 is the better graphics API performer in Vulkan. For users whose workloads are dominated by OpenCL compute, the FirePro S7150 is the clear choice. Its 30.3% lead in that benchmark is the single largest performance gap in this comparison, and its average score of 28,117 places it in the 73rd percentile of all GPUs, just 0.3% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti and 0.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W5500X.

For anyone prioritizing Vulkan-based rendering or gaming, the MX550 is the pick. Its 32,469 Vulkan score is 8.6% higher than the FirePro’s, and it achieves this with a 25 W TDP against the FirePro’s 150 W. The MX550’s percentile rank of 72 is nearly identical to the FirePro’s 73, but its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 (0.3% higher) and the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary (0.5% higher), indicating it sits comfortably in mid-range territory despite its modest specifications.

The FirePro S7150 carries a launch MSRP of 2,399 USD. The MX550 has no listed launch MSRP. That price disparity, combined with the FirePro’s server-oriented design (single-slot, no display outputs, 1x 6-pin power connector), makes it a workstation or datacenter part. The MX550, with its IGP slot width and portable-device-dependent outputs, is a mobile chip for thin laptops. The verdict depends entirely on the target platform and workload.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD FirePro S7150 wins in raw compute density and memory bandwidth. Its 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus delivers 160.0 GB/s, compared to the MX550’s 2 GB of GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus at 96.00 GB/s. That 66.7% bandwidth advantage, combined with a 3.768 TFLOPS FP32 rate versus 2.703 TFLOPS, makes the FirePro the answer for large dataset processing, scientific simulations, or any OpenCL-accelerated task that saturates memory throughput. Its 5,000 million transistors on a 366 mm² die (13.7M / mm² density) indicate a wide, power-hungry design optimized for sustained throughput.

The NVIDIA GeForce MX550 wins in energy efficiency and API-specific graphics performance. Its 25 W TDP is one-sixth of the FirePro’s 150 W, yet it delivers 88.6% of the FirePro’s average score (26,421 vs 28,117). The 12 nm process node and 200 mm² die (23.5M / mm² density) show a denser, more modern manufacturing approach despite the older node name. The MX550’s PCIe 4.0 x8 interface is newer than the FirePro’s PCIe 3.0 x16, and its DirectX 12_1 support and Vulkan 1.4 API level exceed the FirePro’s 12_0 and Vulkan 1.2.170. For Vulkan gaming or compute on battery power, the MX550 is the superior option.

FAQ

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD FirePro S7150 averages 28,117 across Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan tests, which is 6.4% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce MX550’s 26,421.

Q: How large is the FirePro S7150’s OpenCL lead over the MX550?

A: The FirePro scores 26,543 in Geekbench OpenCL versus the MX550’s 20,372, a 30.3% advantage for the AMD card.

Q: Does the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 win any benchmark?

A: Yes. In Geekbench Vulkan, the MX550 scores 32,469, beating the FirePro S7150’s 29,690 by 8.6%.

Q: What are the memory specifications of each card?

A: The FirePro S7150 has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus with 160.0 GB/s bandwidth. The MX550 has 2 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 64-bit bus with 96.00 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: How do their power requirements compare?

A: The FirePro S7150 has a 150 W TDP and requires a 450 W suggested power supply with a 1x 6-pin connector. The MX550 has a 25 W TDP, uses no power connectors, and has no suggested PSU listed.

Q: Which card supports newer graphics APIs?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce MX550 supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.4, while the AMD FirePro S7150 supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.2.170. Both support OpenGL 4.6.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations and design philosophies. The AMD FirePro S7150 uses the Tonga chip built on GCN 3.0 architecture, manufactured on a 28 nm process by TSMC. It packs 5,000 million transistors into a 366 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 13.7 million per square millimeter. The NVIDIA GeForce MX550 uses the TU117SB chip based on Turing architecture, also fabricated by TSMC but on a 12 nm process. It has 4,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die, giving a density of 23.5 million per square millimeter.

The compute configurations diverge sharply. The FirePro S7150 features 2,048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, producing a pixel rate of 29.44 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 117.8 GTexel/s. Its FP32 throughput is 3.768 TFLOPS, and FP16 performance doubles to 7.537 TFLOPS via a 2:1 ratio. The MX550 has 1,024 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs, with a pixel rate of 21.12 GPixel/s and texture rate of 42.24 GTexel/s. Its FP32 and FP16 both sit at 2.703 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio, meaning no half-precision acceleration benefit.

Memory architecture also differs fundamentally. The FirePro uses 8 GB of GDDR5 with a 256-bit bus, achieving 160.0 GB/s bandwidth. The MX550 uses 2 GB of GDDR6 with a 64-bit bus, achieving 96.00 GB/s. The FirePro’s memory clock is listed at 1250 MHz (5 Gbps effective), while the MX550’s is 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective). Despite the MX550’s faster memory clock, its narrow bus limits total bandwidth.

Physical and platform characteristics are opposites. The FirePro S7150 is a single-slot server card measuring 241 mm by 111 mm with no display outputs, a 150 W TDP, and a 1x 6-pin power connector. It uses PCIe 3.0 x16. The MX550 is an integrated graphics package (IGP) with no listed dimensions, portable-device-dependent outputs, a 25 W TDP, and no power connectors. It uses PCIe 4.0 x8. The FirePro was released in 2016 and is end-of-life, with a predecessor in FirePro Terascale and a successor in Radeon Pro GCN. The MX550 was released in 2021, is also end-of-life, and has no listed predecessor or successor. The FirePro carries a launch MSRP of 2,399 USD; the MX550 has no MSRP data.