AMD Radeon Pro W5500X vs NVIDIA GeForce MX550 Comparison

AMD Radeon Pro W5500X and NVIDIA GeForce MX550 are two very different GPUs that happen to share a similar percentile standing in the database. The W5500X sits at the 73rd percentile among all GPUs, while the MX550 sits just one point lower at the 72nd. This near-parity in overall ranking masks a wide gulf in their capabilities, power envelopes, and intended use cases. The data shows that the W5500X is a workstation-class card designed for sustained compute and high-resolution output, while the MX550 is a low-power mobile chip meant for thin-and-light laptops. One is a dual-slot desktop card with an Apple MPX bus interface; the other is an integrated-class IGP with no power connectors at all.

Where Each One Wins

The Radeon Pro W5500X wins decisively on raw compute and memory throughput. Its FP32 performance is 5.398 TFLOPS, which is almost exactly double the MX550's 2.703 TFLOPS. Texture rate follows the same pattern: the W5500X delivers 168.7 GTexel/s versus the MX550's 42.24 GTexel/s, a four-fold advantage. Pixel rate is similarly lopsided at 56.22 GPixel/s versus 21.12 GPixel/s. The W5500X also has a massive memory bandwidth advantage at 224.0 GB/s compared to the MX550's 96.00 GB/s, and it carries 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus versus 2 GB on a 64-bit bus. For any workload that involves large textures, high resolutions, or compute-heavy tasks, the W5500X is the clear winner.

The MX550 wins on efficiency and integration. Its TDP is just 25 W, compared to the W5500X's 125 W. It requires no power connectors, uses a PCIe 4.0 x8 interface, and has a form factor listed as IGP (integrated graphics processor). This is a chip designed to drop into a laptop motherboard with minimal thermal and power overhead. The MX550 also has a higher transistor density in a different way: it packs 4,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die, though at a lower density of 23.5M / mm² versus the W5500X's 40.5M / mm². The MX550's benchmark profile is also more versatile, with scores for both OpenCL and Vulkan, while the W5500X only lists a Geekbench Metal score.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap is generational and philosophical. The W5500X uses the Navi 14 chip built on RDNA 1.0 architecture, fabricated on TSMC's 7 nm process. It features 6,400 million transistors on a 158 mm² die, which gives it the higher transistor density of 40.5M / mm². The MX550 uses the TU117SB chip on Turing architecture, built on a 12 nm process. It has 4,700 million transistors on a larger 200 mm² die, resulting in a lower density of 23.5M / mm². The W5500X belongs to the Radeon Pro Mac generation (Navi Series), while the MX550 is part of the GeForce MX 5xx generation.

Core counts tell the story of compute capability. The W5500X has 1,536 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The MX550 has 1,024 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. Neither card has dedicated ray tracing or tensor cores, so any RT or AI workloads fall back to general-purpose compute. The W5500X's FP16 performance is 10.80 TFLOPS at a 2:1 ratio, meaning it can double throughput on half-precision workloads. The MX550's FP16 is 2.703 TFLOPS at a 1:1 ratio, so it gains nothing from FP16. Memory clocks also differ: the W5500X runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective), while the MX550 runs at 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective).

The bus interfaces are a major differentiator. The W5500X uses Apple MPX, a proprietary connector for Mac Pro systems, and its display outputs are limited to 2x HDMI 2.0b. The MX550 uses standard PCIe 4.0 x8 and has display outputs described as "Portable Device Dependent," reflecting its laptop-only design. Both support DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so API compatibility is not a point of separation.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

There are no direct head-to-head benchmark entries in the data, so the comparison must rely on each card's individual benchmark scores and their nearest rivals. The W5500X's only listed benchmark is Geekbench Metal, where it scores 27,973. Its nearest rivals in the database are the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti at 28,020 (a 0.2% difference), the AMD Radeon RX 7800M at 27,883 (0.3% ahead), the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 at 27,839 (0.5% ahead), and the AMD FirePro S7150 at 28,117 (0.5% behind). This clustering suggests the W5500X performs in the same bracket as a high-end desktop GPU from a previous generation and modern midrange mobile parts.

The MX550 has two listed benchmarks: Geekbench OpenCL at 20,372 and Geekbench Vulkan at 32,469. Its average benchmark score is 26,421, which lands it near the AMD Radeon 860M at 26,401 (0.1% difference), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 at 26,331 (0.3% ahead), the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary at 26,553 (0.5% behind), and the NVIDIA RTX A4000 at 26,683 (1% behind). The Vulkan score of 32,469 is notably higher than the OpenCL score, indicating that the MX550 responds well to Vulkan's lower-overhead API.

Comparing the two cards directly, the W5500X's Metal score of 27,973 is 5.9% higher than the MX550's average of 26,421. However, the MX550's Vulkan score of 32,469 exceeds the W5500X's Metal score by 16.1%. This is not an apples-to-apples comparison because they are different APIs, but it does show that the MX550 can outperform the W5500X in certain API-specific workloads. The W5500X has no Vulkan or OpenCL scores listed, and the MX550 has no Metal score, so a true cross-API comparison is impossible from the data.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear split by use case. If the workload is compute-heavy, memory-bandwidth-bound, or requires large frame buffers, the Radeon Pro W5500X is the only sensible choice. Its 8 GB of VRAM is four times the MX550's 2 GB, its bandwidth is more than double, and its FP32 throughput is roughly twice as high. The W5500X also has a 73rd percentile standing versus the MX550's 72nd, and its average benchmark score of 27,973 is higher than the MX550's 26,421. For a Mac Pro workstation handling rendering, simulation, or video output to multiple HDMI displays, the W5500X is the appropriate tool.

The MX550 is for a completely different buyer. Its 25 W TDP, lack of power connectors, and IGP form factor make it suitable for ultraportable laptops where battery life and thermals are paramount. Its Vulkan score of 32,469 is genuinely strong, suggesting it can handle modern games and Vulkan-based applications better than its modest FP32 number might imply. The MX550's OpenCL score of 20,372 is weaker, so compute-heavy OpenCL workloads would struggle. Anyone choosing between these two cards is really choosing between a desktop workstation and a mobile laptop, and the data reflects that the desktop card is far more capable per unit of performance, while the mobile card is far more efficient per watt.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has more VRAM?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro W5500X has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, while the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 has 2 GB of GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus.

Q: How do their benchmark scores compare?

A: The W5500X scores 27,973 on Geekbench Metal. The MX550 scores 20,372 on Geekbench OpenCL and 32,469 on Geekbench Vulkan, with an average of 26,421.

Q: Which card is more power-efficient?

A: The MX550 has a TDP of 25 W and requires no power connectors, while the W5500X has a TDP of 125 W and uses a dual-slot design with an Apple MPX interface.

Q: Do either of these cards support ray tracing?

A: No. Both the W5500X and the MX550 have null entries for RT cores and tensor cores, so neither card has dedicated ray tracing or AI acceleration hardware.

Q: What is the performance difference between their FP32 compute?

A: The W5500X delivers 5.398 TFLOPS of FP32, which is approximately double the MX550's 2.703 TFLOPS. The W5500X also has a 2:1 FP16 ratio at 10.80 TFLOPS, while the MX550 has a 1:1 ratio at 2.703 TFLOPS.

Q: Which card is better for Vulkan-based applications?

A: Based on available data, the MX550 has a Geekbench Vulkan score of 32,469, which is higher than the W5500X's only listed score of 27,973 on Geekbench Metal. The W5500X has no Vulkan score listed, so a direct comparison is not possible.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon Pro W5500X | NVIDIA GeForce MX550 |

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

| Architecture | RDNA 1.0 | Turing |

| Process Node | 7 nm | 12 nm |

| Transistors | 6,400 million | 4,700 million |

| Die Size | 158 mm² | 200 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 40.5M / mm² | 23.5M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1187 MHz | 1065 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1757 MHz | 1320 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) | 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 8 GB | 2 GB |

| Memory Bus Width | 128 bit | 64 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 224.0 GB/s | 96.00 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 1536 | 1024 |

| TMUs | 96 | 32 |

| ROPs | 32 | 16 |

| Pixel Rate | 56.22 GPixel/s | 21.12 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 168.7 GTexel/s | 42.24 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 5.398 TFLOPS | 2.703 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 10.80 TFLOPS (2:1) | 2.703 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 125 W | 25 W |

| Slot Width | Dual-slot | IGP |

| Power Connectors | None (implied by null) | None |

| Suggested PSU | 300 W | (not specified) |

| Bus Interface | Apple MPX | PCIe 4.0 x8 |

| Display Outputs | 2x HDMI 2.0b | Portable Device Dependent |

| Release Date | 2019-12-10 | 2021-12-16 |

| Launch MSRP | 599 USD | (not specified) |

| Production Status | End-of-life | End-of-life |