AMD Radeon 550X vs AMD Radeon Pro WX 2100 Comparison

The AMD Radeon Pro WX 2100 and the AMD Radeon 550X share the same DNA, but the benchmark data reveals two distinctly different personalities. Both cards are built on the same Lexa chip and GCN 4.0 architecture, yet their performance profiles diverge sharply depending on the workload. The Radeon 550X takes the OpenCL crown with a score of 8,866 against the WX 2100’s 8,536, a 3.7% advantage. However, the WX 2100 delivers a decisive counterpunch in Vulkan, posting 10,770 versus 8,970, a commanding 20.1% lead. This split makes the choice between them a matter of which API dominates your workflow.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The Geekbench results paint a clear picture of two cards optimized for different tasks. In the OpenCL test, the AMD Radeon 550X edges ahead with 8,866 points, outpacing the AMD Radeon Pro WX 2100’s 8,536 by 3.7%. This is a modest but consistent win, suggesting the 550X has a slight edge in general-purpose compute workloads that leverage OpenCL. The 550X’s higher base clock of 1082 MHz, compared to the WX 2100’s 925 MHz, likely contributes to this advantage, even though both cards share identical shader counts of 512 and the same FP32 throughput of approximately 1,248 GFLOPS.

The Vulkan results tell a completely different story. The AMD Radeon Pro WX 2100 absolutely dominates, scoring 10,770 against the 550X’s 8,970. That is a 20.1% gap in favor of the professional card, a massive difference that cannot be explained by clock speeds alone. The WX 2100’s boost clock of 1219 MHz is nearly identical to the 550X’s 1218 MHz, so the discrepancy must stem from other architectural or driver-level optimizations. For any Vulkan-based application, the WX 2100 is the clear winner by a wide margin.

Looking at the broader competitive landscape, the WX 2100’s average benchmark score of 9,653 places it in the 46th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M at 9,645 (a 0.1% difference), the NVIDIA Quadro P4000 at 9,665 (a 0.1% deficit), and the NVIDIA Quadro K5000 at 9,637 (a 0.2% advantage). The WX 2100 effectively trades blows with these cards, sitting right in the middle of a tightly packed cluster. The 550X, by contrast, averages 8,918, landing in the 45th percentile. Its nearest rival is the AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100 at 8,863 (a 0.6% lead), followed by the AMD Radeon R9 M265X at 8,851 (a 0.8% lead). The 550X also trails the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 by 1.2% and the NVIDIA TITAN V CEO Edition by 1.3%.

Where Each One Wins

The split between OpenCL and Vulkan performance defines the use cases for each card. The AMD Radeon 550X is the better choice for OpenCL-centric workloads. Its 3.7% lead in that benchmark, combined with a higher base clock of 1082 MHz, makes it slightly more responsive in compute tasks that rely on OpenCL. This could include certain rendering pipelines, scientific simulations, or older game engines that still favor OpenCL over Vulkan. The 550X also benefits from a wider 128-bit memory bus and 112.0 GB/s of bandwidth, compared to the WX 2100’s 64-bit bus and 48.00 GB/s. For memory-intensive OpenCL tasks, that bandwidth advantage is significant.

The AMD Radeon Pro WX 2100, meanwhile, is the undisputed champion for Vulkan applications. Its 20.1% lead over the 550X in the Vulkan benchmark is the single biggest performance delta between the two cards. Vulkan is increasingly the API of choice for modern game engines and professional visualization tools, and the WX 2100’s dominance here makes it the superior option for anyone running Vulkan-based software. The WX 2100 also carries the "Pro" branding, which typically implies certification for professional applications, though the raw data does not explicitly confirm this. Its display output configuration of 1x DisplayPort 1.4a and 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.4a also suggests a workstation-oriented design, whereas the 550X offers 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, and 1x DisplayPort 1.4a, which leans more toward consumer display setups.

Architecture Differences

Both cards are built on the same Lexa chip using the GCN 4.0 architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. They each pack 2,200 million transistors on a 103 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 21.4M per mm². The core configurations are identical: 512 shading units, 32 texture mapping units, and 16 raster operation units. The pixel rates are virtually the same, with the WX 2100 at 19.50 GPixel/s and the 550X at 19.49 GPixel/s. Texture rates are similarly matched at 39.01 GTexel/s versus 38.98 GTexel/s. FP32 and FP16 performance are also nearly identical, with the WX 2100 delivering 1,248.3 GFLOPS and the 550X at 1,247.2 GFLOPS in both precision modes.

The most significant architectural differences lie in memory configuration and power characteristics. The WX 2100 uses a 64-bit memory bus with 2 GB of GDDR5 memory running at 1500 MHz (6 Gbps effective), yielding 48.00 GB/s of bandwidth. The 550X doubles the bus width to 128 bits and runs its 2 GB of GDDR5 at 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective), delivering 112.0 GB/s of bandwidth. That is a 133% increase in memory bandwidth, which explains the 550X’s edge in OpenCL workloads that are bandwidth-sensitive. The trade-off is power: the WX 2100 has a 35 W TDP and requires only a 200 W suggested power supply, while the 550X draws 50 W and needs a 250 W PSU. The WX 2100 is also a single-slot card, whereas the 550X occupies a dual-slot design. Both cards are PCIe 3.0 x8 and require no external power connectors.

Clock speeds differ in the base frequency. The WX 2100 starts at 925 MHz and boosts to 1219 MHz, while the 550X starts at 1082 MHz and boosts to 1218 MHz. The higher base clock on the 550X gives it a sustained compute advantage in scenarios where boost clocks are not sustained, but the nearly identical boost clocks mean peak performance is similar. The WX 2100 was released in June 2017, while the 550X arrived in March 2019. Both are end-of-life products. The WX 2100’s predecessor is listed as "Radeon Pro GCN" and its successor as "Radeon Pro Vega," while the 550X’s predecessor is "Polaris" and its successor is "Vega." The WX 2100 carries a launch MSRP of 149 USD.

The Verdict

The data does not point to a single winner; it points to two winners for two different audiences. The AMD Radeon Pro WX 2100 is the pick for anyone whose software stack leans on Vulkan. Its 20.1% lead in the Vulkan benchmark is overwhelming, and its lower 35 W TDP makes it a more power-efficient choice for compact workstations. The single-slot design and DisplayPort-centric output configuration further reinforce its professional pedigree. If your applications are Vulkan-native, the WX 2100 is the only rational choice between these two.

The AMD Radeon 550X, on the other hand, is the better option for OpenCL-heavy workflows. Its 3.7% advantage in OpenCL, coupled with 112.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth versus the WX 2100’s 48.00 GB/s, gives it a tangible edge in compute tasks that saturate memory throughput. The higher base clock of 1082 MHz also ensures more consistent performance in sustained workloads. However, the 20.1% Vulkan deficit is a serious caveat, and the 550X’s higher 50 W TDP and dual-slot footprint make it a less elegant fit for space-constrained systems. For general-purpose users who need a balance, the average benchmark scores suggest the WX 2100 at 9,653 is the stronger overall performer compared to the 550X at 8,918, but the specific API mix in your workflow matters more than the average.

FAQ

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro WX 2100 has an average benchmark score of 9,653, compared to the AMD Radeon 550X’s 8,918, putting the WX 2100 in the 46th percentile versus the 550X’s 45th percentile.

Q: What is the biggest performance difference between the two cards?

A: The largest gap is in the Geekbench Vulkan test, where the AMD Radeon Pro WX 2100 scores 10,770 against the AMD Radeon 550X’s 8,970, a 20.1% lead for the WX 2100.

Q: Do both cards have the same memory bandwidth?

A: No. The AMD Radeon 550X has a 128-bit memory bus with 112.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the AMD Radeon Pro WX 2100 has a 64-bit bus with 48.00 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: How do the power requirements differ?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro WX 2100 has a 35 W TDP and needs a 200 W suggested power supply, while the AMD Radeon 550X has a 50 W TDP and requires a 250 W suggested power supply.

Q: Which card performs better in OpenCL?

A: The AMD Radeon 550X wins the OpenCL benchmark with 8,866 points, beating the AMD Radeon Pro WX 2100’s 8,536 by 3.7%.

Q: Are the core configurations identical?

A: Yes, both cards feature 512 shading units, 32 texture mapping units, and 16 raster operations, with nearly identical FP32 performance of 1,248.3 GFLOPS for the WX 2100 and 1,247.2 GFLOPS for the 550X.