AMD Radeon 550X vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data paints an extremely lopsided picture. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER dominates the AMD Radeon 550X in every recorded test, and the margins are not close. In Geekbench OpenCL, the GTX 1650 SUPER scores 43,875 points against 8,866 for the Radeon 550X. That is a 394.9% advantage, meaning the NVIDIA card delivers nearly five times the compute performance in this workload.

The Vulkan results are even more decisive. The GTX 1650 SUPER posts 50,519 points, while the Radeon 550X manages only 8,970. The delta here is 463.2%, the largest gap recorded across all shared benchmarks. Vulkan is a modern low-level API, and this result suggests the NVIDIA card is in a completely different performance tier. The Radeon 550X cannot keep pace in either API, and the data shows no workload category where it turns the tables.

Looking at the overall averages, the GTX 1650 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 11,047, placing it at the 50th percentile of all GPUs in the database. The Radeon 550X averages 8,918, which puts it at the 45th percentile. While the percentile gap appears modest, the raw score difference is substantial. The nearest rivals for the GTX 1650 SUPER include the AMD Radeon RX 550 at 11,075 (0.2% higher) and the NVIDIA GeForce MX350 at 10,883 (1.5% lower). This places the GTX 1650 SUPER in a competitive mid-range bracket. The Radeon 550X, by contrast, sits near the AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100 at 8,863 (0.6% higher) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 at 9,022 (1.2% lower), showing it belongs to a much lower performance class.

Where Each One Wins

The GTX 1650 SUPER wins every head-to-head benchmark in the database, so the use-case split is straightforward. For compute-heavy tasks such as OpenCL workloads, the 394.9% lead in Geekbench OpenCL makes it the only sensible choice. For gaming or any Vulkan-based application, the 463.2% advantage in Geekbench Vulkan cements its position further. The Radeon 550X has no recorded wins, no benchmark category where it pulls ahead, and no measurable advantage in the data. The GTX 1650 SUPER also has a broader benchmark profile: the database records results for 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, Passmark DirectX 9/10/11/12, Passmark G2D, Passmark G3D, and Passmark GPU Compute, while the Radeon 550X only has Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan entries. This means the NVIDIA card has been validated across more test scenarios, while the AMD card lacks coverage in rasterization and compute suites. For any builder choosing between these two, the data points exclusively to the GTX 1650 SUPER.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different architectural generations and foundries. The GTX 1650 SUPER uses the TU116 chip built on Turing architecture at TSMC's 12 nm process. It packs 6,600 million transistors into a 284 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 23.2 million per square millimeter. The Radeon 550X uses the Lexa chip based on GCN 4.0 architecture, fabricated by GlobalFoundries on a 14 nm node. It contains 2,200 million transistors on a 103 mm² die, for a density of 21.4 million per square millimeter. The NVIDIA chip is roughly three times larger in transistor count and almost three times the die area, which explains much of the performance gap.

Memory configurations differ sharply. The GTX 1650 SUPER has 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, with memory clocked at 1500 MHz or 12 Gbps effective, producing 192.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Radeon 550X has 2 GB of GDDR5 on the same 128-bit bus, but memory runs at 1750 MHz or 7 Gbps effective, yielding just 112.0 GB/s. That is a 71.4% bandwidth deficit for the AMD card, which directly impacts fill-rate-bound scenarios.

Compute resources also favor NVIDIA heavily. The GTX 1650 SUPER has 1,280 shading units, 80 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The Radeon 550X has 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. Pixel rate is 55.20 GPixel/s versus 19.49 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 138.0 GTexel/s versus 38.98 GTexel/s. FP32 throughput is 4.416 TFLOPS against 1,247.2 GFLOPS. The FP16 story is interesting: the GTX 1650 SUPER delivers 8.832 TFLOPS at a 2:1 ratio, while the Radeon 550X offers only 1,247.2 GFLOPS at a 1:1 ratio, meaning it gains nothing from FP16 workloads.

API support differs slightly. The GTX 1650 SUPER supports DirectX 12_1, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The Radeon 550X supports DirectX 12_0, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. Neither card has ray tracing or tensor cores, so those features are absent from both. Power requirements are notable: the GTX 1650 SUPER has a 100 W TDP with a 1x 6-pin power connector and a suggested 300 W PSU, while the Radeon 550X has a 50 W TDP with no power connector and a suggested 250 W PSU. The AMD card is far more power-efficient in absolute terms, but that efficiency comes with a massive performance penalty.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The GTX 1650 SUPER scores 43,875 versus 8,866 for the Radeon 550X, a 394.9% advantage.

Q: How do the two cards compare in Vulkan performance?

A: The GTX 1650 SUPER scores 50,519 in Geekbench Vulkan, while the Radeon 550X scores 8,970, giving the NVIDIA card a 463.2% lead.

Q: Do both cards support modern APIs like Vulkan and DirectX 12?

A: Yes. The GTX 1650 SUPER supports DirectX 12_1, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The Radeon 550X supports DirectX 12_0, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The GTX 1650 SUPER has 192.0 GB/s from 4 GB of GDDR6, while the Radeon 550X has 112.0 GB/s from 2 GB of GDDR5.

Q: Which card needs a power connector?

A: The GTX 1650 SUPER requires a 1x 6-pin connector with a 100 W TDP and a suggested 300 W PSU. The Radeon 550X uses no power connector, has a 50 W TDP, and a suggested 250 W PSU.

Q: What is the average benchmark score for each card?

A: The GTX 1650 SUPER averages 11,047 across all recorded benchmarks, placing it at the 50th percentile. The Radeon 550X averages 8,918, placing it at the 45th percentile.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER | AMD Radeon 550X |

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

| Architecture | Turing | GCN 4.0 |

| Process node | 12 nm (TSMC) | 14 nm (GlobalFoundries) |

| Transistors | 6,600 million | 2,200 million |

| Die size | 284 mm² | 103 mm² |

| Transistor density | 23.2M / mm² | 21.4M / mm² |

| Base clock | 1530 MHz | 1082 MHz |

| Boost clock | 1725 MHz | 1218 MHz |

| Memory size | 4 GB GDDR6 | 2 GB GDDR5 |

| Memory clock | 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective) | 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective) |

| Memory bandwidth | 192.0 GB/s | 112.0 GB/s |

| Shading units | 1280 | 512 |

| TMUs | 80 | 32 |

| ROPs | 32 | 16 |

| Pixel rate | 55.20 GPixel/s | 19.49 GPixel/s |

| Texture rate | 138.0 GTexel/s | 38.98 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 4.416 TFLOPS | 1,247.2 GFLOPS |

| FP16 | 8.832 TFLOPS (2:1) | 1,247.2 GFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 100 W | 50 W |

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

| Suggested PSU | 300 W | 250 W |

| Bus interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x8 |

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

| Vulkan | 1.4 | 1.3 |

| Length | 229 mm (9 inches) | 145 mm (5.7 inches) |

| Width | 35 mm (1.4 inches) | Not recorded |

| Release date | 2019-11-21 | 2019-03-26 |

The Verdict

The data leaves no room for ambiguity. The GTX 1650 SUPER outperforms the Radeon 550X by 394.9% in OpenCL and 463.2% in Vulkan, the only two benchmarks they share. Its average score of 11,047 sits at the 50th percentile of all GPUs, while the Radeon 550X averages 8,918 at the 45th percentile. The NVIDIA card has more memory, faster memory, more shading units, higher clocks, and a newer architecture. Its nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 550 at only 0.2% higher average score, meaning it trades blows with that card, but the Radeon 550X is nowhere near that class.

The Radeon 550X does have one practical advantage: it draws 50 W with no power connector and fits in a 145 mm length, versus the GTX 1650 SUPER's 100 W TDP, 1x 6-pin connector, and 229 mm length. For a low-profile or power-constrained system, the AMD card is easier to install. But the performance cost is enormous. The GTX 1650 SUPER launched with an MSRP of 159 USD, and while the Radeon 550X has no recorded launch price, the benchmark results justify the difference in every measurable way. Builders who need any level of gaming or compute performance should choose the GTX 1650 SUPER. The Radeon 550X is only defensible when power draw and physical size are the absolute priorities, and even then, the performance gap makes it a hard sell.