AMD Radeon 550X vs NVIDIA GeForce MX330 Comparison

The Verdict

The data splits these two mobile GPUs almost perfectly down the middle. The AMD Radeon 550X wins the OpenCL benchmark decisively, while the NVIDIA GeForce MX330 takes a narrow Vulkan victory. For compute workloads that leverage OpenCL, the AMD Radeon 550X is the clear choice, sitting 12.3% ahead of the MX330 in that specific test. For Vulkan-based applications, the MX330 edges ahead, though by a margin of only 0.5% — essentially a statistical tie. The average benchmark score favors the AMD part: 8918 versus 8458, a gap of roughly 5.4%. The percentile ranks reflect this: the Radeon 550X sits at the 45th percentile of all GPUs, the MX330 at the 43rd. Neither card is a powerhouse; both are entry-level mobile parts. The Radeon 550X is the better all-rounder for raw compute throughput, while the MX330 offers a more efficient package with a dramatically lower power draw. Users who prioritize OpenCL performance or already work in an AMD-friendly software stack should pick the Radeon 550X. Users who need Vulkan performance and minimal power consumption should pick the MX330.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations and foundries. The AMD Radeon 550X is built on GCN 4.0 architecture, using the Lexa chip, and belongs to the Polaris (RX 500X) generation. It is fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. The NVIDIA GeForce MX330 uses the Pascal architecture, with the GP108B chip, from the GeForce MX (3xx) generation. It is also on a 14 nm process, but at Samsung. The transistor counts differ notably: the AMD chip packs 2,200 million transistors on a 103 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 21.4M per mm². The NVIDIA chip has 1,800 million transistors on a smaller 74 mm² die, giving a higher density of 24.3M per mm². The AMD part uses a PCIe 3.0 x8 bus interface, while the MX330 uses PCIe 3.0 x4 — half the lane width. The AMD card is a dual-slot discrete component with display outputs (1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, 1x DisplayPort 1.4a), while the MX330 is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with no fixed display outputs, described as "Portable Device Dependent." The AMD card is 145 mm long (5.7 inches); the MX330 has no listed dimensions. The Radeon 550X has a 50 W TDP and requires a 250 W suggested PSU, whereas the MX330 draws only 10 W and has no suggested PSU listed. Neither card has dedicated ray tracing or tensor cores, and both use GDDR5 memory.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon 550X wins in OpenCL compute workloads. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 8866 eclipses the MX330's 7896 by 12.3%. This is the larger margin in either direction between the two cards. The AMD card also has a higher average benchmark score (8918 vs 8458). Its memory subsystem is wider: a 128-bit bus versus 64-bit, delivering 112.0 GB/s of bandwidth compared to 56.06 GB/s — exactly double. The AMD card has more shading units (512 vs 384), more texture mapping units (32 vs 24), and the same number of ROPs (16 vs 16). Its FP32 throughput is slightly higher at 1,247.2 GFLOPS versus 1,224.2 GFLOPS. The AMD card also offers FP16 at a 1:1 ratio (1,247.2 GFLOPS), while the MX330's FP16 is a mere 19.13 GFLOPS at a 1:64 ratio — a massive difference for any half-precision workload. The NVIDIA GeForce MX330 wins in Vulkan. Its Geekbench Vulkan score of 9019 narrowly beats the Radeon's 8970. The MX330 also has higher clock speeds: 1531 MHz base and 1594 MHz boost, versus 1082 MHz base and 1218 MHz boost on the AMD part. Its pixel rate is higher at 25.50 GPixel/s versus 19.49 GPixel/s. The texture rates are nearly identical (38.26 GTexel/s for NVIDIA, 38.98 GTexel/s for AMD). The MX330 supports DirectX 12 (12_1) versus the Radeon's 12 (12_0), and Vulkan 1.4 versus 1.3, indicating a slightly newer API feature set. The power efficiency is overwhelmingly in NVIDIA's favor: 10 W TDP versus 50 W.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon 550X has an average benchmark score of 8918, while the NVIDIA GeForce MX330 scores 8458. The Radeon 550X is approximately 5.4% higher.

Q: How large is the OpenCL performance gap between the two?

A: The AMD Radeon 550X scores 8866 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the MX330 scores 7896. The AMD card leads by 12.3%.

Q: Does the NVIDIA GPU win any benchmark?

A: Yes, the MX330 wins the Geekbench Vulkan test with a score of 9019, versus 8970 for the Radeon 550X. The margin is 0.5% in NVIDIA's favor.

Q: Which card has more memory bandwidth?

A: The AMD Radeon 550X has 112.0 GB/s of bandwidth from a 128-bit bus, exactly double the MX330's 56.06 GB/s from a 64-bit bus. Both have 2 GB of GDDR5.

Q: What is the TDP difference?

A: The AMD Radeon 550X has a 50 W TDP, while the NVIDIA GeForce MX330 has a 10 W TDP. The MX330 draws one-fifth the power of the AMD card.

Q: Which GPU supports a higher DirectX feature level?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce MX330 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the AMD Radeon 550X supports DirectX 12 (12_0). The MX330's feature level is one tier higher.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two benchmark results tell a clear story of specialization. In Geekbench OpenCL, the AMD Radeon 550X scores 8866 against the MX330's 7896. That is a 12.3% advantage for AMD — the largest performance gap between the two cards in either direction. The AMD card's wider memory bus and higher shader count likely drive this result. Its 512 shading units and 112.0 GB/s bandwidth give it a substantial edge in compute-heavy OpenCL workloads. The MX330 counters with 384 shading units and half the bandwidth, which explains the deficit.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the tables turn, but narrowly. The NVIDIA GeForce MX330 scores 9019, while the Radeon 550X scores 8970. The delta is only 0.5%, meaning the AMD card is within striking distance. The MX330's higher boost clock of 1594 MHz (versus 1218 MHz) and its newer Vulkan 1.4 API support (versus 1.3) may contribute to this win. However, the margin is so small that it could be considered noise in real-world usage. The Vulkan result shows that despite the MX330's lower compute resources, its architectural efficiency and clock speed advantage allow it to keep pace in API-level benchmarks.

Across both tests, the AMD card's average score of 8918 versus 8458 for NVIDIA reflects a 5.4% overall lead. The AMD card wins one benchmark (OpenCL) and the NVIDIA card wins one (Vulkan), but the magnitude of the AMD win (12.3%) is far larger than the NVIDIA win (0.5%). The benchmark results indicate that the Radeon 550X is the stronger compute part overall, while the MX330 holds a slight edge in Vulkan-specific workloads.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every major specification category. The AMD Radeon 550X uses the Lexa chip with GCN 4.0 architecture, while the MX330 uses the GP108B chip with Pascal architecture. The process nodes are both 14 nm, but the foundries differ: GlobalFoundries for AMD, Samsung for NVIDIA. The AMD die is larger at 103 mm² versus 74 mm², with more transistors (2,200 million vs 1,800 million). The AMD card has a higher transistor density? No — actually the MX330 has a higher density at 24.3M / mm² versus 21.4M / mm².

Clock speeds favor NVIDIA: the MX330 runs at 1531 MHz base and 1594 MHz boost, while the Radeon 550X runs at 1082 MHz base and 1218 MHz boost. Memory clocks are nearly identical (1750 MHz vs 1752 MHz, both 7 Gbps effective), but the bus widths differ: 128-bit for AMD, 64-bit for NVIDIA. This gives AMD 112.0 GB/s bandwidth versus 56.06 GB/s.

The compute units favor AMD: 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs versus 384 shading units, 24 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. Pixel rates favor NVIDIA (25.50 GPixel/s vs 19.49 GPixel/s), while texture rates are nearly equal (38.98 GTexel/s vs 38.26 GTexel/s). FP32 performance is close (1,247.2 GFLOPS for AMD, 1,224.2 GFLOPS for NVIDIA), but FP16 is drastically different: AMD offers 1,247.2 GFLOPS at 1:1 ratio, while NVIDIA offers only 19.13 GFLOPS at 1:64 ratio.

The TDP is the most dramatic difference: 50 W for AMD versus 10 W for NVIDIA. The AMD card is dual-slot with a 250 W suggested PSU, while the MX330 is an IGP with no PSU requirement. The AMD card has dedicated display outputs; the MX330 is portable-device dependent. The PCIe interface differs: x8 for AMD, x4 for NVIDIA. API support favors NVIDIA for DirectX (12_1 vs 12_0) and Vulkan (1.4 vs 1.3), while both support OpenGL 4.6. The AMD Radeon 550X was released on 2019-03-26, while the MX330 came later on 2020-02-09. Both are end-of-life products. Neither has a launch MSRP listed.