AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 vs Intel Arc A550M Comparison

The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 and Intel Arc A550M represent two very different answers to the question of what a mobile GPU should be. The database shows a clear overall winner in raw compute, but the comparison is more nuanced than a simple score check. The Radeon Pro Vega 64 is a high-power, high-throughput part from 2017, while the Arc A550M is a modern, efficiency-focused design from Intel. The benchmark results show the AMD part leading in every recorded test, but the architectural and specification differences tell a story about what each chip was designed to do.

Where Each One Wins

The recorded data gives the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 a decisive victory in every single benchmark category. It wins both head-to-head tests, with a 42.5% lead in Geekbench OpenCL and a 49.6% lead in Geekbench Vulkan. The Arc A550M has zero wins in the head-to-head comparison. However, the use case for each card is different once you look past raw scores.

The Radeon Pro Vega 64 is the clear choice for compute-heavy workloads that maximize its massive FP32 throughput and 16 GB of HBM2 memory. Its 91st percentile ranking against all GPUs places it in the upper tier of the database, and its average benchmark score of 72,379 is nearly 50% higher than the Arc A550M's 49,737. This is a chip for users who need maximum throughput in OpenCL and Vulkan compute tasks.

The Arc A550M wins in a different category: efficiency. Its 60 W TDP is dramatically lower than the Vega 64's 250 W, making it the better option for thin-and-light laptops where power draw and thermal output are primary concerns. The Arc A550M also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4, which means it has access to modern graphics features like ray tracing and mesh shaders, something the older Vega architecture lacks. For gaming and content creation that leverages these newer APIs, the Arc A550M is the more future-proof option despite its lower raw compute numbers.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from completely different architectural schools. The Radeon Pro Vega 64 uses GCN 5.0, built on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. It packs 12,500 million transistors into a 495 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 25.3 million per square millimeter. The Intel Arc A550M uses Xe-HPG architecture, built on TSMC's 6 nm node. It contains 21,700 million transistors on a smaller 406 mm² die, achieving a much higher transistor density of 53.4 million per square millimeter.

The Vega 10 chip in the Radeon Pro Vega 64 is a monolithic design with 4096 shading units, 256 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output units. It has no dedicated ray tracing or tensor cores. The DG2-512 chip in the Arc A550M has 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, but it includes 16 dedicated ray tracing cores. This makes the Arc part capable of hardware-accelerated ray tracing, a feature the AMD card simply cannot offer.

Memory architecture also differs fundamentally. The Radeon Pro Vega 64 uses 16 GB of HBM2 on a 2048-bit bus, delivering 402.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The Arc A550M uses 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 224.0 GB/s. The Vega card has nearly double the memory bandwidth and double the capacity, which explains its dominance in memory-heavy compute tasks.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The largest win for the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 comes in the Geekbench Vulkan test. The AMD card scores 74,174, while the Intel Arc A550M scores 49,580. That gives AMD a 49.6% advantage, the largest delta in the head-to-head data. The Vulkan result is particularly notable because it shows the Vega 64's raw compute throughput is not limited by its older GCN architecture in this particular workload.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 scores 71,094 against 49,894 for the Intel Arc A550M. This is a 42.5% lead for AMD. OpenCL is a general-purpose compute API, and the Vega 64's 11.06 TFLOPS of FP32 performance versus the Arc A550M's 8.397 TFLOPS explains why the AMD part pulls ahead so decisively.

The average benchmark score tells the same story. The Radeon Pro Vega 64 averages 72,379 across all recorded tests, while the Arc A550M averages 49,737. The AMD card sits at the 91st percentile of all GPUs in the database, while the Intel part sits at the 86th percentile. For context, the Radeon Pro Vega 64's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA TITAN X Pascal at 72,098 (only 0.4% behind) and the AMD Radeon RX 6650M at 71,768 (0.9% behind). The Arc A550M's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti at 49,957 (0.4% ahead) and the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT at 50,951 (2.4% ahead).

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in almost every measurable specification. The Radeon Pro Vega 64 has a base clock of 1250 MHz and a boost clock of 1350 MHz, while the Arc A550M runs at a 900 MHz base and boosts to 2050 MHz. The Intel part has a much higher boost ceiling, but the AMD card's higher base clock and larger shader count give it the compute advantage.

Memory is a major differentiator. The AMD card has 16 GB of HBM2 with a 2048-bit bus and 402.4 GB/s bandwidth. The Intel card has 8 GB of GDDR6 with a 128-bit bus and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Vega 64's memory clock is 786 MHz (1572 Mbps effective), while the Arc A550M's memory runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). The Arc's memory is faster per-pin, but the Vega's much wider bus wins on total bandwidth.

Compute throughput is also lopsided. The Radeon Pro Vega 64 delivers 11.06 TFLOPS FP32 and 22.12 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1 ratio). The Arc A550M delivers 8.397 TFLOPS FP32 and 16.79 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1 ratio). The Vega 64 also has higher texture rate at 345.6 GTexel/s versus 262.4 GTexel/s, but the Arc A550M has a higher pixel rate at 131.2 GPixel/s versus 86.40 GPixel/s.

Power and connectivity differ significantly. The Vega 64 has a 250 W TDP with no power connectors and an IGP slot width. The Arc A550M has a 60 W TDP and also uses an IGP slot width. The bus interface differs: the Vega 64 uses PCIe 3.0 x16, while the Arc A550M uses PCIe 4.0 x16.

API support favors Intel. The Arc A550M supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The Radeon Pro Vega 64 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The Arc part has access to DirectX 12 Ultimate features and a newer Vulkan version.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute performance?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 has significantly higher raw compute performance. Its FP32 throughput is 11.06 TFLOPS versus 8.397 TFLOPS for the Intel Arc A550M, and it wins both head-to-head benchmarks by margins of 42.5% and 49.6%.

Q: Does the Intel Arc A550M support ray tracing?

A: Yes, the Intel Arc A550M has 16 dedicated ray tracing cores. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 does not have any ray tracing cores.

Q: How do the memory bandwidths compare?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 has 402.4 GB/s of bandwidth from its 16 GB HBM2 memory on a 2048-bit bus. The Intel Arc A550M has 224.0 GB/s from its 8 GB GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus.

Q: Which GPU is more power efficient?

A: The Intel Arc A550M has a 60 W TDP, while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 has a 250 W TDP. The Arc A550M uses significantly less power.

Q: Which GPU has better API support?

A: The Intel Arc A550M supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.3. The Intel part has access to newer graphics features.

Q: How does the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Radeon Pro Vega 64's average benchmark score of 72,379 puts it 0.4% ahead of the NVIDIA TITAN X Pascal (72,098) and 0.9% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6650M (71,768). It trails the AMD Radeon Vega Frontier Edition by 1.4%.

The Verdict

The data makes the choice straightforward for users who prioritize raw compute performance. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 wins every benchmark in the database, with a 49.6% lead in Vulkan and a 42.5% lead in OpenCL over the Intel Arc A550M. Its 16 GB of HBM2 memory and 402.4 GB/s bandwidth make it a formidable workhorse for compute-heavy applications, and its 91st percentile ranking places it among the top tier of all GPUs.

The Intel Arc A550M is the better choice for users who need modern graphics features and efficiency over raw throughput. Its 60 W TDP makes it suitable for thinner laptops, and its DirectX 12 Ultimate support and Vulkan 1.4 compatibility give it access to ray tracing and other contemporary rendering techniques. The Arc A550M also has a much higher boost clock at 2050 MHz versus the Vega 64's 1350 MHz, and its smaller die with higher transistor density (53.4M per mm² versus 25.3M) shows a more modern manufacturing approach.

For a desktop replacement or workstation laptop where performance is the only metric that matters, the Radeon Pro Vega 64 is the clear winner. For a portable system that must balance performance with battery life and thermals, the Arc A550M offers a more practical trade-off. The benchmarks show one thing clearly: the AMD part is in a different performance class, but the Intel part is in a different efficiency class. Choose accordingly based on your workload priorities.