AMD Radeon Pro W5500X vs NVIDIA T550 Mobile Comparison

The Verdict

The NVIDIA T550 Mobile and AMD Radeon Pro W5500X are both end-of-life professional GPUs, but they serve very different use cases. Based on the recorded data, the T550 Mobile is a low-power, mobile-first solution with a 23 W TDP and IGP slot width, built for compact or portable workstation systems where power draw and physical space are the primary constraints. The Radeon Pro W5500X, with a 125 W TDP and dual-slot footprint, is a desktop Mac-oriented card that trades efficiency for substantially higher raw compute and memory resources.

From the benchmark data, the T550 Mobile posts an average benchmark score of 33161, which places it at the 77th percentile of all GPUs in the database. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile, scores 33170, a delta of 0%, meaning the T550 Mobile is effectively performance-neutral against that part. The Radeon Pro W5500X, by contrast, records an average score of 27973, sitting at the 73rd percentile, with its closest competitor being the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti at 28020, a delta of -0.2%. That means the W5500X is slightly behind the GTX 980 Ti. Notably, the two cards are not directly benchmarked against each other, as the head-to-head section is empty, so all comparisons must be inferred from their respective nearest rivals and specifications.

If you need a low-profile, energy-efficient GPU for a thin-and-light mobile workstation, the T550 Mobile is the clear choice. If you need maximum compute throughput, double the memory, and a much wider memory bus for desktop workloads, the Radeon Pro W5500X is the pick. The data also shows the W5500X launched at an MSRP of 599 USD, though this should not be interpreted as a value statement. Neither card is suitable for modern high-end gaming or ray tracing, as neither has ray tracing or tensor cores.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations and process nodes. The NVIDIA T550 Mobile uses the TU117 chip, built on the Turing architecture, fabricated by TSMC on a 12 nm process. The die measures 200 mm² and contains 4,700 million transistors, giving a transistor density of 23.5 million per mm². The AMD Radeon Pro W5500X uses the Navi 14 chip, built on RDNA 1.0, also fabricated by TSMC but on a 7 nm process. Its die is smaller at 158 mm², yet it packs 6,400 million transistors, resulting in a much higher density of 40.5 million per mm². The smaller, denser process node gives AMD a clear manufacturing advantage.

Core configurations differ significantly. The T550 Mobile has 1024 shading units, 64 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 32 raster operations units (ROPs). The W5500X has 1536 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. That is a 50% increase in shading units and TMUs for the AMD part, though ROP count is identical. Neither card has dedicated ray tracing cores or tensor cores, so both rely purely on rasterization and compute.

Clock speeds also favor the AMD card. The T550 Mobile has a base clock of 1065 MHz and a boost clock of 1665 MHz. The W5500X runs at 1187 MHz base and 1757 MHz boost. Memory clocks are higher on the AMD part as well: the T550 Mobile runs GDDR6 at 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective), while the W5500X runs GDDR6 at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). The combination of more cores and higher clocks translates directly into the compute throughput differences seen later.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

There are no direct head-to-head benchmark results recorded between the NVIDIA T550 Mobile and the AMD Radeon Pro W5500X. The database shows zero wins for either card in this pairing. However, the available individual benchmark scores and nearest-rival comparisons allow for useful inference.

The T550 Mobile scores 35521 in Geekbench OpenCL and 30801 in Geekbench Vulkan. Its average benchmark score of 33161 places it alongside the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile, which scores 33170 (a delta of 0%), and slightly above the NVIDIA P104-100, which scores 32982 (a delta of 0.5%). It is also about 1% faster than the NVIDIA T600 Mobile, which scores 32849. This indicates the T550 Mobile is a solid performer for its power class, competitive with entry-level discrete mobile GPUs.

The Radeon Pro W5500X scores 27973 in Geekbench Metal, which is its only recorded benchmark. That score puts it just below the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti, which scores 28020 (a delta of -0.2%), and just above the AMD Radeon RX 7800M, which scores 27883 (a delta of 0.3%). It also edges out the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20, which scores 27839 (a delta of 0.5%). The fact that the W5500X uses Metal for its benchmark, rather than OpenCL or Vulkan, reflects its intended Mac environment, but the score suggests it is roughly comparable to a high-end desktop GPU from several generations ago.

If we compare the two cards indirectly via their raw specifications, the W5500X has a clear compute lead. Its FP32 throughput is 5.398 TFLOPS versus 3.410 TFLOPS for the T550 Mobile, a difference of roughly 58%. Texture rate is 168.7 GTexel/s versus 106.6 GTexel/s, again favoring the AMD card by about 58%. Pixel rate is closer: 56.22 GPixel/s versus 53.28 GPixel/s, a margin of about 5.5%. Memory bandwidth is where the gap is largest: the W5500X offers 224.0 GB/s versus 96.00 GB/s for the T550 Mobile, a 133% advantage. These numbers indicate that the W5500X will dominate in memory-intensive and compute-heavy workloads, while the T550 Mobile is competitive only in pixel fill rate and power efficiency.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher average benchmark scores?

A: The NVIDIA T550 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 33161, which puts it at the 77th percentile of all GPUs. The AMD Radeon Pro W5500X has an average score of 27973, at the 73rd percentile. The T550 Mobile's score is about 18.5% higher, but this is based on different benchmark suites (OpenCL and Vulkan for NVIDIA, Metal for AMD).

Q: How do the two cards compare to their nearest rivals?

A: The T550 Mobile is essentially tied with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile (delta 0%), slightly faster than the NVIDIA P104-100 (delta 0.5%), and about 1% faster than the NVIDIA T600 Mobile. The W5500X is about 0.2% slower than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti, 0.3% faster than the AMD Radeon RX 7800M, and 0.5% faster than the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20.

Q: Which card has more memory and bandwidth?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro W5500X has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, yielding 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The NVIDIA T550 Mobile has 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus, yielding 96.00 GB/s. The AMD card has double the memory capacity and over twice the bandwidth.

Q: Why is the T550 Mobile's TDP so much lower?

A: The T550 Mobile has a TDP of 23 W and an IGP slot width with no power connectors, making it suitable for compact mobile systems. The W5500X has a 125 W TDP, a dual-slot footprint, and a suggested PSU of 300 W. The data shows the T550 Mobile is designed for efficiency, while the W5500X is designed for desktop performance.

Q: Do either of these cards support ray tracing?

A: No. Neither the NVIDIA T550 Mobile nor the AMD Radeon Pro W5500X has ray tracing cores or tensor cores listed in the specifications. Both cards rely on standard rasterization and compute capabilities.

Q: What is the production status and release date for each?

A: Both cards are end-of-life. The AMD Radeon Pro W5500X has a release date of December 10, 2019, and a launch MSRP of 599 USD. No release date or launch MSRP is recorded for the NVIDIA T550 Mobile.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA T550 Mobile wins in power efficiency and portability. With a 23 W TDP, an IGP slot width, and no power connectors, it is designed for thin-and-light mobile workstations where thermal and power limits are strict. Its benchmark scores, particularly the 35521 in Geekbench OpenCL and 30801 in Geekbench Vulkan, show that it delivers respectable performance despite the low power draw. It also has a higher percentile rank (77th vs 73rd), which reflects its stronger standing in the overall GPU database. If the workload fits within 4 GB of memory and a 64-bit bus, the T550 Mobile is the more balanced choice for mobile use.

The AMD Radeon Pro W5500X wins in raw compute and memory capacity. Its 1536 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 5.398 TFLOPS of FP32 throughput are all substantially higher than the T550 Mobile's figures. The 8 GB memory pool and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth are double or more than what NVIDIA offers, which matters for large datasets, high-resolution textures, and memory-hungry compute tasks. Its pixel rate of 56.22 GPixel/s is also slightly higher. The W5500X is clearly the better choice for desktop Mac environments where power consumption is less of a concern and the dual-slot cooler can be accommodated.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA T550 Mobile | AMD Radeon Pro W5500X |

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

| Architecture | Turing | RDNA 1.0 |

| Process Node | 12 nm | 7 nm |

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

| Die Size | 200 mm² | 158 mm² |

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

| Base Clock | 1065 MHz | 1187 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1665 MHz | 1757 MHz |

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

| Memory Size | 4 GB | 8 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus Width | 64 bit | 128 bit |

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

| Shading Units | 1024 | 1536 |

| TMUs | 64 | 96 |

| ROPs | 32 | 32 |

| Pixel Rate | 53.28 GPixel/s | 56.22 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 106.6 GTexel/s | 168.7 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 3.410 TFLOPS | 5.398 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 6.820 TFLOPS (2:1) | 10.80 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 23 W | 125 W |

| Slot Width | IGP | Dual-slot |

| Power Connectors | None | Not specified |

| Suggested PSU | Not specified | 300 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | Apple MPX |

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

| DirectX Support | 12 (12_1) | 12 (12_1) |

| OpenGL Support | 4.6 | 4.6 |

| Vulkan Support | 1.4 | 1.4 |

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

| Release Date | Not specified | 2019-12-10 |

| Launch MSRP | Not specified | 599 USD |

| Predecessor | Quadro Pascal-M | Not specified |

| Successor | Ampere-MW | Not specified |

| Average Benchmark Score | 33161 | 27973 |

| Percentile vs All GPUs | 77 | 73 |