AMD FirePro S7150 vs NVIDIA T550 Mobile Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA T550 Mobile has a higher average benchmark score of 33161, compared to the AMD FirePro S7150's 28117. The T550 Mobile sits at the 77th percentile among all GPUs, while the FirePro S7150 sits at the 73rd percentile.

Q: How large is the performance gap in OpenCL workloads?

A: In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the NVIDIA T550 Mobile scores 35521 against the AMD FirePro S7150's 26543, a 33.8% advantage for the T550 Mobile.

Q: Is the Vulkan performance difference significant?

A: The Vulkan gap is much smaller. The T550 Mobile scores 30801, while the FirePro S7150 scores 29690, a 3.7% lead for the NVIDIA part. Both are close in this API.

Q: What memory configurations do these cards use?

A: The NVIDIA T550 Mobile uses 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus with 96.00 GB/s bandwidth. The AMD FirePro S7150 uses 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 160.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU has a higher transistor count and die size?

A: The AMD FirePro S7150 has 5,000 million transistors on a 366 mm² die. The NVIDIA T550 Mobile has 4,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die. Despite fewer transistors, the T550 Mobile achieves a much higher transistor density of 23.5M / mm² versus 13.7M / mm².

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The NVIDIA T550 Mobile has a TDP of 23 W and uses no power connectors. The AMD FirePro S7150 has a TDP of 150 W, requires a single 6-pin power connector, and has a suggested PSU of 450 W.

Architecture Differences

The NVIDIA T550 Mobile is built on the Turing architecture using the TU117 chip, fabricated on a 12 nm process by TSMC. It belongs to the Quadro Turing-M (Tx000) generation. In contrast, the AMD FirePro S7150 uses the GCN 3.0 architecture with the Tonga chip, fabricated on a 28 nm process, also by TSMC, and belongs to the FirePro Server (Sx100) generation.

The process node difference is substantial: 12 nm versus 28 nm. This directly impacts transistor density. The T550 Mobile packs 4,700 million transistors into a 200 mm² die, yielding a density of 23.5M / mm². The FirePro S7150 has 5,000 million transistors spread over a much larger 366 mm² die, resulting in a lower density of 13.7M / mm². The newer node allows NVIDIA to fit nearly as many transistors into a much smaller area.

The compute architectures differ fundamentally. Turing is a modern graphics architecture with dedicated hardware for shading, texturing, and rasterization, while GCN 3.0 is AMD's third-generation Graphics Core Next design, optimized for parallel compute workloads. The T550 Mobile has 1024 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The FirePro S7150 has 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. AMD's part has twice the shading units and twice the TMUs, but the same ROP count.

The memory subsystems also differ. The T550 Mobile uses GDDR6 memory clocked at 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective) on a 64-bit bus, resulting in 96.00 GB/s bandwidth. The FirePro S7150 uses GDDR5 memory clocked at 1250 MHz (5 Gbps effective) on a 256-bit bus, resulting in 160.0 GB/s bandwidth. The AMD card has double the capacity (8 GB versus 4 GB) and nearly 67% more bandwidth.

API support shows a split. Both support DirectX 12, but the T550 Mobile supports 12_1 while the FirePro S7150 supports 12_0. Both support OpenGL 4.6. Vulkan support differs: the T550 Mobile supports Vulkan 1.4, while the FirePro S7150 supports Vulkan 1.2.170. The NVIDIA card has a newer Vulkan version, which may matter for compatibility with recent applications.

The form factors are entirely different. The T550 Mobile is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with no slot width, no power connectors, and display outputs described as "Portable Device Dependent." The FirePro S7150 is a single-slot server card with a 1x 6-pin power connector, no display outputs at all, and physical dimensions of 241 mm length and 111 mm height.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA T550 Mobile wins both recorded head-to-head benchmarks. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 35521 against 26543, a 33.8% lead. In Geekbench Vulkan, it scores 30801 against 29690, a 3.7% lead. The database records 2 wins for the T550 Mobile and 0 wins for the FirePro S7150.

The T550 Mobile's wins are most pronounced in OpenCL, where the gap is over a third. This suggests the Turing architecture's compute scheduling and the newer 12 nm process provide a significant advantage in general-purpose compute. The Vulkan win is narrower, indicating that the FirePro S7150's higher shading unit count (2048 versus 1024) and higher texture rate (117.8 GTexel/s versus 106.6 GTexel/s) help close the gap in graphics-oriented workloads.

The FirePro S7150, despite losing both benchmarks, has structural advantages that could benefit specific workloads. Its 8 GB memory capacity is double the T550 Mobile's 4 GB, which matters for large datasets that exceed 4 GB. Its 160.0 GB/s bandwidth is 67% higher, which benefits memory-bound operations. Its 3.768 TFLOPS FP32 throughput is higher than the T550 Mobile's 3.410 TFLOPS, and its FP16 throughput of 7.537 TFLOPS exceeds the T550 Mobile's 6.820 TFLOPS. These raw throughput figures suggest the FirePro S7150 could win in synthetic compute tests that are not represented in the recorded benchmarks.

The T550 Mobile wins on efficiency. Its 23 W TDP is dramatically lower than the FirePro S7150's 150 W. The average benchmark score per watt is far better for the NVIDIA part. The T550 Mobile also has a higher pixel rate (53.28 GPixel/s versus 29.44 GPixel/s), which benefits fill-rate-limited scenarios.

For mobile and embedded applications, the T550 Mobile is the clear choice due to its IGP form factor, no power connectors, and low power draw. For server deployments where power is less constrained and memory capacity is critical, the FirePro S7150's 8 GB and single-slot design may be preferable, despite its lower benchmark scores.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA T550 Mobile | AMD FirePro S7150 |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | Turing | GCN 3.0 |

| Process Node | 12 nm | 28 nm |

| Transistors | 4,700 million | 5,000 million |

| Die Size | 200 mm² | 366 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 23.5M / mm² | 13.7M / mm² |

| Memory Size | 4 GB | 8 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR5 |

| Memory Bus Width | 64 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 96.00 GB/s | 160.0 GB/s |

| Memory Clock | 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective) | 1250 MHz (5 Gbps effective) |

| Shading Units | 1024 | 2048 |

| TMUs | 64 | 128 |

| ROPs | 32 | 32 |

| Pixel Rate | 53.28 GPixel/s | 29.44 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 106.6 GTexel/s | 117.8 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 3.410 TFLOPS | 3.768 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 6.820 TFLOPS (2:1) | 7.537 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 23 W | 150 W |

| Slot Width | IGP | Single-slot |

| Power Connectors | None | 1x 6-pin |

| Suggested PSU | Not specified | 450 W |

| Display Outputs | Portable Device Dependent | No outputs |

| DirectX | 12 (12_1) | 12 (12_0) |

| Vulkan | 1.4 | 1.2.170 |

| Release Date | Not specified | 2016-01-31 |

| Launch MSRP | Not specified | 2,399 USD |

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows two direct comparisons between these GPUs, both from Geekbench. The results favor the NVIDIA T550 Mobile in both cases, but the magnitude of the victories differs sharply.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the T550 Mobile scores 35521, while the FirePro S7150 scores 26543. This represents a 33.8% advantage for the NVIDIA part. This is a substantial margin. For context, the T550 Mobile's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile (avg score 33170, delta 0%), the AMD Radeon Pro 570 (avg score 33207, delta -0.1%), the NVIDIA P104-100 (avg score 32982, delta 0.5%), and the NVIDIA T600 Mobile (avg score 32849, delta 1%). The T550 Mobile's average benchmark score of 33161 places it squarely among these competitors, slightly above the RTX 3050 Mobile and the P104-100, and marginally below the Radeon Pro 570.

The FirePro S7150's nearest rivals paint a different picture. Its average score of 28117 sits near the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti (avg score 28020, delta 0.3%), the AMD Radeon Pro W5500X (avg score 27973, delta 0.5%), the AMD Radeon RX 7800M (avg score 27883, delta 0.8%), and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 (avg score 27839, delta 1%). The FirePro S7150 leads all four of these rivals by 0.3% to 1%, but the entire cluster is more than 3,000 points below the T550 Mobile's average.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the T550 Mobile scores 30801, and the FirePro S7150 scores 29690. The delta is 3.7%. This is a much closer contest. The Vulkan result suggests that when both GPUs are exercised through a modern graphics API, the architectural differences narrow. The FirePro S7150's higher shading unit count and texture rate help it compete, but the T550 Mobile still edges ahead.

The average benchmark scores reinforce the head-to-head results. The T550 Mobile's average is 33161, while the FirePro S7150's average is 28117. The difference is 5,044 points, or approximately 18% relative to the FirePro's average. This aligns with the OpenCL result being the dominant factor, given that OpenCL has a much larger score magnitude than Vulkan in both cases.

The win count is unambiguous: the T550 Mobile wins 2 benchmarks, and the FirePro S7150 wins 0. The data does not record a single test where the AMD card outperforms the NVIDIA card. However, the Vulkan result at 3.7% indicates that the FirePro S7150 is not entirely outclassed. In scenarios where memory capacity (8 GB versus 4 GB) or bandwidth (160.0 GB/s versus 96.00 GB/s) is the limiting factor, the AMD part may hold an advantage that these particular benchmarks do not capture.

The percentile rankings place the T550 Mobile at the 77th percentile among all GPUs, versus the 73rd percentile for the FirePro S7150. This four-percentile gap is modest, reflecting that both cards are mid-range performers in the broader GPU landscape. The T550 Mobile's higher percentile is consistent with its higher average score, but neither card is near the top of the database.