AMD Radeon RX 550 vs AMD Radeon RX 550X Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 550 and AMD Radeon RX 550X share the same Lexa chip and GCN 4.0 architecture, but benchmark data reveals a clear performance hierarchy between the two. In the two head-to-head tests available, the RX 550 wins both, with a 14.5% lead in Geekbench OpenCL and an 8.6% lead in Geekbench Vulkan. The average benchmark score reinforces this gap, with the RX 550 at 11,075 compared to the RX 550X at 10,481. This places the RX 550 in the 50th percentile of all GPUs, while the RX 550X sits just below at the 49th percentile.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most decisive victory for the RX 550 comes in the Geekbench OpenCL test, where it scores 11,063 against the RX 550X’s 9,662. That is a 14.5% advantage, a substantial margin for two cards built on the same silicon. The RX 550’s nearest rivals in this metric include the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000D Blackwell Max-Q at 11,088 (a -0.1% delta) and the AMD FirePro W4300 at 11,225 (-1.3%), showing it sits in an unusual performance tier where professional and consumer cards converge.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the RX 550 again takes the lead with 12,270 versus 11,299 for the RX 550X, an 8.6% gap. This second win confirms that the performance difference is consistent across different API workloads, not an artifact of a single test. The RX 550’s Vulkan score of 12,270 is notably higher than its OpenCL score, suggesting the architecture responds well to Vulkan’s lower-level overhead. The RX 550X, by contrast, shows a smaller improvement in Vulkan (11,299 vs 9,662), indicating it does not extract the same benefit from the API.

Looking at the broader benchmark picture, the RX 550 has two additional data points the RX 550X lacks: a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 127 and a Geekbench Metal score of 20,838. These are not directly comparable to the RX 550X, but they contribute to the RX 550’s higher average score and percentile ranking. The RX 550X’s nearest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla C2075, scores 10,400, which is 0.8% below the RX 550X’s average. On the other side, the AMD Radeon R9 M275X sits 1% above the RX 550X at 10,582, illustrating that the 550X occupies a narrow band where small score differences separate competing products. The RX 550’s rival set shows a tighter clustering, with the GTX 1650 SUPER just 0.3% behind at 11,047.

Architecture Differences

Both cards are built on the Lexa chip fabricated on GlobalFoundries’ 14 nm process, with 2,200 million transistors on a 103 mm² die. The transistor density of 21.4 million per square millimeter is identical for both, as are the fundamental compute resources: 512 shading units, 32 texture mapping units, and 16 raster operation pipelines. The architecture is GCN 4.0, part of the Polaris generation, with the RX 550 listed under the RX 500 family and the RX 550X under the RX 500X family. Neither card supports ray tracing or tensor cores, and both expose the same API feature set: DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3.

The GPU clocks are also identical: a base frequency of 1100 MHz and a boost frequency of 1183 MHz. This means the pixel rate and texture rate match at 18.93 GPixel/s and 37.86 GTexel/s respectively. The FP32 compute throughput is 1,211.4 GFLOPS for both, with FP16 running at a 1:1 ratio, also 1,211.4 GFLOPS. The similarity in core specifications makes the memory subsystem the primary point of differentiation. The RX 550 uses a 2 GB GDDR5 frame buffer operating at 1750 MHz with 7 Gbps effective speed, yielding 112.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 550X doubles the capacity to 4 GB but runs the memory at a lower 1500 MHz with 6 Gbps effective speed, cutting bandwidth to 96.00 GB/s. Both use a 128-bit memory bus, so the bandwidth difference stems entirely from the memory clock reduction in the RX 550X.

The RX 550 was released on 2017-04-19, while the RX 550X followed on 2018-12-15. The RX 550’s predecessor is listed as Arctic Islands and its successor as Vega, whereas the RX 550X’s predecessor is Polaris with the same Vega successor. Both are end-of-life products with the same board design: dual-slot, 145 mm length (5.7 inches), no power connectors, and a 50 W TDP with a 250 W suggested PSU. The display outputs are identical — 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, and 1x DisplayPort 1.4a — and both connect via PCIe 3.0 x8.

FAQ

Q: Which card has higher memory bandwidth?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 550, at 112.0 GB/s, compared to 96.00 GB/s for the RX 550X. The RX 550 achieves this with 1750 MHz memory (7 Gbps effective) versus 1500 MHz (6 Gbps effective) on the RX 550X, despite both using a 128-bit bus.

Q: Why does the RX 550 outperform the RX 550X in benchmarks if they have the same GPU core?

A: The core specifications are identical — 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, 16 ROPs, and the same 1100/1183 MHz clocks — but the memory configuration differs. The RX 550’s higher memory clock and bandwidth (112.0 GB/s vs 96.00 GB/s) likely explains its 14.5% lead in Geekbench OpenCL and 8.6% lead in Geekbench Vulkan.

Q: Do both cards support the same APIs?

A: Yes, both support DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. Neither card has ray tracing or tensor core support, as those are not present in the GCN 4.0 architecture.

Q: What is the performance percentile ranking for each card?

A: The RX 550 sits at the 50th percentile of all GPUs, while the RX 550X is at the 49th percentile. This places them adjacent in the overall performance distribution, but the RX 550’s average benchmark score of 11,075 is 594 points higher than the RX 550X’s 10,481.

Q: Is the RX 550X a successor to the RX 550?

A: No. The RX 550’s predecessor is Arctic Islands, while the RX 550X’s predecessor is Polaris. Both list Vega as their successor, and both are end-of-life products.

Q: How does the RX 550 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RX 550’s closest competitor is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER, which trails by only 0.3% (11,047 vs 11,075). The RX 550X’s nearest rival is the AMD Radeon R9 M275X, which leads by 1% (10,582 vs 10,481).

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon RX 550 | AMD Radeon RX 550X |

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

| Memory size | 2 GB | 4 GB |

| Memory clock | 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective) | 1500 MHz (6 Gbps effective) |

| Memory bandwidth | 112.0 GB/s | 96.00 GB/s |

| Release date | 2017-04-19 | 2018-12-15 |

| Generation | Polaris (RX 500) | Polaris (RX 500X) |

| Predecessor | Arctic Islands | Polaris |

| Launch MSRP | 79 USD | null |

| Average benchmark score | 11,075 | 10,481 |

| Percentile vs all GPUs | 50 | 49 |

All other specifications are identical: 14 nm process, 2,200 million transistors, 103 mm² die, 1100/1183 MHz clocks, 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, 16 ROPs, 1,211.4 GFLOPS FP32, 50 W TDP, dual-slot, no power connectors, 250 W suggested PSU, PCIe 3.0 x8, and the same display outputs and API support.

The Verdict

The data shows a clear winner: the AMD Radeon RX 550 outperforms the RX 550X in every benchmark where both were tested. The 14.5% OpenCL and 8.6% Vulkan advantages are consistent and substantial, driven by the RX 550’s superior memory bandwidth. The RX 550 also has a higher average benchmark score (11,075 vs 10,481), a higher percentile ranking (50th vs 49th), and a launch MSRP of 79 USD, while the RX 550X has no recorded launch MSRP. The only area where the RX 550X exceeds the RX 550 is memory capacity, offering 4 GB versus 2 GB. For buyers prioritizing raw compute performance, the RX 550 is the superior choice. For those who need more frame buffer for larger textures or datasets, the RX 550X provides double the capacity at the cost of 16.0 GB/s of bandwidth and measurable benchmark performance.

Where Each One Wins

AMD Radeon RX 550 — This card wins in raw compute performance across both available head-to-head tests. Its 112.0 GB/s memory bandwidth is 16.0 GB/s higher than the RX 550X, which translates directly into a 14.5% OpenCL advantage and an 8.6% Vulkan advantage. It also has a higher average benchmark score and a better percentile ranking. The RX 550 adds two benchmark data points not available for the RX 550X — a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 127 and a Geekbench Metal score of 20,838 — making it the better-documented card. It also carries the only launch MSRP in the comparison at 79 USD.

AMD Radeon RX 550X — The RX 550X wins solely on memory capacity, offering 4 GB of GDDR5 compared to the RX 550’s 2 GB. This doubled capacity could benefit workloads that exceed a 2 GB frame buffer, though the benchmark data does not include any tests that demonstrate this advantage. The RX 550X also has a later release date (2018-12-15 vs 2017-04-19), which may indicate a longer production window, but this does not translate into performance gains. In every measured metric except capacity, the RX 550X trails the RX 550, with its nearest rival being the NVIDIA Tesla C2075 at 0.8% below its average score.