AMD Radeon RX 550 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Comparison

The benchmark data presents a stark generational and performance-class divide. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 is decisively the superior performer, winning every head-to-head benchmark by a wide margin, while the AMD Radeon RX 550 occupies a fundamentally different, much lower-performance tier. The data shows no ambiguity: the GTX 1080 is a high-end enthusiast part from 2016, while the RX 550 is an entry-level card from 2017, and their scores reflect this chasm.

The Verdict

The choice between these two is not a matter of preference but of necessity. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 is the clear winner for any user requiring serious computational power, as its average benchmark score of 11960 places it in the 51st percentile of all GPUs, competitive with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960A (deltaPct -0.3) and the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT (deltaPct 1). Conversely, the AMD Radeon RX 550, with an average score of 11075 and a 50th percentile ranking, is positioned near the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER (deltaPct 0.3), indicating a vastly lower performance envelope. The GTX 1080 is for gaming at high resolutions and demanding workloads; the RX 550 is for basic display output and light, legacy gaming. The data suggests that the GTX 1080 is the only rational choice for performance-oriented tasks, while the RX 550 would only be selected for its minimal power draw and compact size, not its benchmark results.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is vast, reflecting their different design goals and release periods. The GTX 1080 is built on NVIDIA’s Pascal architecture using a 16 nm process at TSMC, with a die size of 314 mm² containing 7,200 million transistors. In contrast, the RX 550 uses AMD’s GCN 4.0 architecture on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries, with a much smaller die of 103 mm² and 2,200 million transistors. This results in a transistor density of 22.9M / mm² for the GTX 1080 versus 21.4M / mm² for the RX 550, showing the GTX 1080 packs more logic into a given area.

The compute resources differ by an order of magnitude. The GTX 1080 features 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 64 raster operation units (ROPs), while the RX 550 has only 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. This explains the massive difference in raw throughput, with the GTX 1080 delivering 8.873 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and the RX 550 delivering 1,211.4 GFLOPS. A notable architectural difference is in FP16 performance: the GTX 1080 has a crippled FP16 rate of 138.6 GFLOPS (1:64), while the RX 550 offers full-rate FP16 at 1,211.4 GFLOPS (1:1). This means the RX 550 is relatively stronger in compute tasks that can leverage half-precision, though its absolute performance is still far lower.

Memory architecture also sets them apart. The GTX 1080 uses 8 GB of GDDR5X on a 256-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 320.3 GB/s, while the RX 550 uses 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, providing 112.0 GB/s. The GTX 1080’s memory clock is listed as 1251 MHz with 10 Gbps effective, while the RX 550’s is 1750 MHz with 7 Gbps effective. The API support also differs, with the GTX 1080 supporting DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.4, whereas the RX 550 supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3, indicating the GTX 1080 has a slightly more modern feature set.

Where Each One Wins

Based on the head-to-head benchmarks, the GTX 1080 wins in every single test, leaving no category where the RX 550 is superior. The most significant win for the GTX 1080 is in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, where it scores 1560 against the RX 550’s 127, a deltaPct of 1128.3%. This indicates the GTX 1080 is over twelve times faster in this modern DirectX 12 workload, making it the definitive choice for contemporary gaming. The GTX 1080 also dominates in Geekbench OpenCL with a score of 51204 versus 11063 (deltaPct 362.8%), showing a massive advantage in general-purpose GPU compute.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the GTX 1080 scores 30398 against 12270 (deltaPct 147.7%), reinforcing its strength in cross-platform graphics APIs. The smallest margin of victory is in Geekbench Metal, where the GTX 1080 scores 23824 versus 20838 (deltaPct 14.3%). Even here, the RX 550 cannot claim a win, but this narrower gap suggests that in Metal-based workloads on Apple platforms, the performance difference is less pronounced, though still favoring the GTX 1080. For any use case—gaming, compute, or general graphics—the GTX 1080 is the unequivocal winner. The RX 550’s only potential advantage is qualitative, such as its lack of power connectors and a suggested PSU of only 250 W, making it suitable for low-power systems, but this is not reflected in any benchmark victory.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 is vastly faster, scoring 1560 compared to the AMD Radeon RX 550’s 127, a deltaPct of 1128.3%.

Q: How do the two cards compare in Geekbench OpenCL compute performance?

A: The GTX 1080 wins decisively with a score of 51204, which is 362.8% higher than the RX 550’s score of 11063.

Q: Is there any benchmark where the AMD Radeon RX 550 wins?

A: No. The head-to-head data shows the GTX 1080 wins all four tests: 3DMark Steel Nomad, Geekbench Metal, Geekbench OpenCL, and Geekbench Vulkan.

Q: What is the difference in average benchmark scores between the two?

A: The GTX 1080 has an average benchmark score of 11960, while the RX 550 has an average of 11075, a difference of 885 points in favor of the GTX 1080.

Q: How does the GTX 1080's memory bandwidth compare to the RX 550's?

A: The GTX 1080 has a bandwidth of 320.3 GB/s, which is nearly three times the RX 550's 112.0 GB/s.

Q: What is the transistor count difference between the two chips?

A: The GTX 1080's GP104 chip contains 7,200 million transistors, while the RX 550's Lexa chip contains 2,200 million transistors.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data reveals a consistent and overwhelming pattern of dominance by the GTX 1080. The largest margin is in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, a modern test that stresses the GPU heavily. Here, the GTX 1080 achieves a score of 1560, while the RX 550 manages only 127. This deltaPct of 1128.3% means the GTX 1080 is roughly 12.3 times faster, a gap that makes the RX 550 unsuitable for any serious DirectX 12 gaming. The GTX 1080’s advantage stems from its 2560 shading units and 8 GB of high-bandwidth GDDR5X memory, which allows it to handle complex geometry and textures that overwhelm the RX 550’s 512 shading units and 2 GB of GDDR5.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the GTX 1080 scores 51204 versus the RX 550’s 11063, a deltaPct of 362.8%. This test measures raw compute throughput, where the GTX 1080’s 8.873 TFLOPS of FP32 performance dwarfs the RX 550’s 1,211.4 GFLOPS. The result is a 4.6x advantage for the GTX 1080, making it the clear choice for compute-intensive applications like video encoding or scientific simulations. The Geekbench Vulkan test shows a similar story, with the GTX 1080 scoring 30398 against the RX 550’s 12270, a deltaPct of 147.7%. This 2.5x advantage indicates the GTX 1080 is also far better suited for cross-platform graphics workloads that use the Vulkan API.

The closest contest is in Geekbench Metal, where the GTX 1080 scores 23824 and the RX 550 scores 20838, a deltaPct of 14.3%. While still a win for the GTX 1080, this smaller gap suggests that in Metal-optimized applications, the architectural differences matter less. The RX 550’s full-rate FP16 performance (1,211.4 GFLOPS at 1:1) may help it in certain Metal compute tasks, but the GTX 1080’s higher absolute throughput still secures the victory. Overall, the GTX 1080’s wins are not marginal; they are decisive, with three of the four benchmarks showing a deltaPct over 100%.

Specification Differences

The specification sheets for the two cards highlight their divergent positioning. The GTX 1080 is built on a 16 nm process at TSMC, while the RX 550 uses a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. The GTX 1080’s die is 314 mm², versus the RX 550’s 103 mm², and it contains 7,200 million transistors compared to the RX 550’s 2,200 million. The GTX 1080 has a base clock of 1607 MHz and a boost clock of 1733 MHz, while the RX 550 operates at 1100 MHz base and 1183 MHz boost. Memory configurations are starkly different: the GTX 1080 has 8 GB of GDDR5X on a 256-bit bus, and the RX 550 has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus.

The compute units scale accordingly, with the GTX 1080 featuring 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, against the RX 550’s 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. This leads to pixel rates of 110.9 GPixel/s for the GTX 1080 versus 18.93 GPixel/s for the RX 550, and texture rates of 277.3 GTexel/s versus 37.86 GTexel/s. Power requirements differ immensely: the GTX 1080 has a TDP of 180 W and needs a 1x 8-pin power connector with a suggested PSU of 450 W, whereas the RX 550 has a 50 W TDP, requires no power connectors, and runs on a suggested 250 W PSU. The physical dimensions also differ, with the GTX 1080 measuring 267 mm in length, 112 mm in height, and 40 mm in width, while the RX 550 is just 145 mm long. The GTX 1080 uses a PCIe 3.0 x16 interface, while the RX 550 uses PCIe 3.0 x8. Display outputs are similar, with both offering a DVI, an HDMI, and a DisplayPort, though the GTX 1080 adds two extra DisplayPort 1.4a outputs and uses HDMI 2.0, while the RX 550 uses HDMI 2.0b.