AMD Radeon Pro 555X vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile Comparison

The AMD Radeon Pro 555X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile represent two very different generations of mobile graphics. The data shows a decisive performance gap, with the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile winning both head-to-head benchmark comparisons by a substantial margin. The Radeon Pro 555X, an older GCN 4.0 part, holds a 54th percentile ranking among all GPUs, while the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile sits just below at the 53rd percentile, yet their average benchmark scores tell a more nuanced story of where each part excels.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head results are unequivocal. In Geekbench OpenCL, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile scores 57,915 points against the AMD Radeon Pro 555X's 12,628 points. This represents a delta of -78.2% for the AMD part, meaning the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile is approximately 3.6 times faster in this compute workload. The results are similarly one-sided in Geekbench Vulkan, where the NVIDIA GPU scores 55,812 versus the Radeon's 12,855, a -77% delta.

These aren't marginal wins. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile's OpenCL score is more than four times higher than the Radeon Pro 555X's. In Vulkan, the gap is nearly the same magnitude. The Radeon Pro 555X manages no benchmark victories in the head-to-head comparisons, losing both available tests.

Looking at the broader benchmark picture, the NVIDIA part also shows strength in other suites. In PassMark G3D, it scores 10,093 points, while its PassMark GPU Compute score is 4,305. The Radeon Pro 555X's best showing comes from Geekbench Metal, where it scores 14,479 points, a test the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile does not have a comparable result for in the data. This Metal score is actually higher than the Radeon's own OpenCL and Vulkan results, suggesting the AMD part has a particular affinity for Apple's graphics API.

The average benchmark scores are closer than the head-to-head results might suggest. The Radeon Pro 555X averages 13,321 points across its tested workloads, while the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile averages 12,940 points. This is because the averages include different test suites. The Radeon's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 at 13,300 (0.2% delta), the AMD FirePro M6100 at 13,354 (-0.2% delta), and the AMD Radeon RX 5500M at 13,356 (-0.3% delta). The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile's nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX 580 at 12,928 (0.1% delta), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER at 12,986 (-0.4% delta), and the AMD Radeon 740M at 12,870 (0.5% delta).

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher raw compute throughput?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile, with FP32 performance of 5.299 TFLOPS compared to the AMD Radeon Pro 555X's 1,393.2 GFLOPS. The NVIDIA part also delivers 82.80 GTexel/s texture rate versus 43.54 GTexel/s, and 33.12 GPixel/s pixel rate versus 14.51 GPixel/s.

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in memory bandwidth?

A: The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile has exactly double the memory bandwidth at 192.0 GB/s, using GDDR6 memory, versus the Radeon Pro 555X's 94.08 GB/s with GDDR5. Both have 4 GB memory on a 128-bit bus, but the NVIDIA part's memory runs at 12 Gbps effective versus the AMD's 5.9 Gbps effective.

Q: Which GPU supports newer graphics APIs?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the AMD Radeon Pro 555X is limited to DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3. Both support OpenGL 4.6.

Q: What is the transistor and die size difference?

A: The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile uses 12,000 million transistors on a 276 mm² die, while the Radeon Pro 555X has 3,000 million transistors on a 123 mm² die. This gives the NVIDIA part a higher transistor density of 43.5M / mm² versus 24.4M / mm².

Q: Are both GPUs still in production?

A: No. Both are listed as end-of-life production status. The Radeon Pro 555X was released on 2018-07-15, and the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile on 2021-05-10.

Q: Do both GPUs support real-time ray tracing?

A: The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile does, with 20 dedicated RT cores. The Radeon Pro 555X has no RT cores listed in its specifications.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile is the clear winner for any modern, compute-heavy workload. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 57,915 is over 4.5 times the Radeon's 12,628, making it the obvious choice for GPU-accelerated rendering, machine learning inference, and general-purpose compute tasks. The Vulkan advantage of 55,812 versus 12,855 similarly positions it as the stronger part for cross-platform graphics APIs and modern game engines that leverage Vulkan. Its 20 RT cores and 80 tensor cores provide hardware acceleration for ray tracing and AI features that the Radeon Pro 555X simply cannot offer.

The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile also wins on raw specification strength across the board. Its 2,560 shading units dwarf the Radeon's 768, and its 80 TMUs versus 48 give it a substantial advantage in texture-heavy scenes. The 32 ROPs versus 16 means it can drive higher resolutions and more complex framebuffer operations. The doubled memory bandwidth of 192.0 GB/s ensures that the GPU is less likely to be bottlenecked by memory access.

The AMD Radeon Pro 555X's wins are more situational. Its Geekbench Metal score of 14,479 points is its strongest benchmark result and suggests it is optimized for Apple's ecosystem, given its "Radeon Pro Mac" generation designation. For users working exclusively within macOS applications that leverage Metal, the Radeon Pro 555X may deliver more consistent performance than its raw numbers imply. Its lower power draw is also notable: both GPUs are rated at 75 W TDP, but the Radeon achieves its performance with far fewer transistors and a smaller die, suggesting it may be more efficient in certain legacy workloads.

The Radeon Pro 555X also wins in the average benchmark score comparison, 13,321 versus 12,940, though this is largely due to the different test suites used. Its nearest rival comparison shows it performs similarly to the GTX 480 and RX 5500M, whereas the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile trades blows with the RX 580 and GTX 1660 SUPER. For older DirectX 9 and DirectX 10 workloads, the Radeon's architecture may be more mature, though the data does not include direct head-to-head results for those tests.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every core specification. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile has 2,560 shading units versus 768, 80 TMUs versus 48, and 32 ROPs versus 16. The NVIDIA part has 20 RT cores and 80 tensor cores; the AMD part has neither. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile's base clock is 735 MHz with a boost of 1035 MHz, while the Radeon Pro 555X has no listed base or boost clocks.

Memory specifications differ in type and speed. Both use a 128-bit bus with 4 GB, but the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile uses GDDR6 at 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective), giving 192.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Radeon Pro 555X uses GDDR5 at 1470 MHz (5.9 Gbps effective), yielding 94.08 GB/s. The NVIDIA part's pixel rate is 33.12 GPixel/s versus 14.51 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 82.80 GTexel/s versus 43.54 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 5.299 TFLOPS versus 1,393.2 GFLOPS, with both offering 1:1 FP16.

The bus interface differs significantly: the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while the Radeon Pro 555X uses PCIe 3.0 x8. Both are IGP slot width with no power connectors and portable device dependent display outputs. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the Radeon supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3. Both support OpenGL 4.6. TDP is identical at 75 W.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is generational. The AMD Radeon Pro 555X uses the Polaris 21 chip based on GCN 4.0 architecture, built on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. It belongs to the "Radeon Pro Mac (500X Series)" generation and was released in 2018. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile uses the GA106 chip based on Ampere architecture, built on an 8 nm process at Samsung. It belongs to the "GeForce 30 Mobile" generation and was released in 2021.

The transistor counts reflect the architectural leap. The GA106 chip contains 12,000 million transistors on a 276 mm² die, giving a density of 43.5M / mm². The Polaris 21 chip contains 3,000 million transistors on a 123 mm² die, with a density of 24.4M / mm². The NVIDIA part is built on a newer, denser process and packs significantly more compute resources.

The feature sets differ fundamentally. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile includes dedicated RT cores for ray tracing and tensor cores for AI acceleration, features entirely absent from the Radeon Pro 555X. The NVIDIA part's support for DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4 positions it for modern gaming and compute workloads, while the Radeon's DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3 support reflects its older GCN heritage. The Radeon Pro 555X's "Radeon Pro Mac" generation designation indicates it was designed for Apple's Mac lineup, with the 500X series representing a refresh of the 500 series. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile's predecessor is listed as "GeForce 20 Mobile," showing its lineage in the consumer GeForce lineup. Both GPUs are end-of-life, but the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile is significantly newer and architecturally superior in almost every measurable way.