AMD Radeon RX 550 vs NVIDIA Tesla M10 Comparison

The Verdict

The data presents a clear but nuanced picture. Across the two directly comparable benchmark tests, the AMD Radeon RX 550 wins both, making it the straightforward choice for raw compute performance in these specific workloads. The RX 550 leads by 7.2% in Geekbench OpenCL and by a substantial 34.4% in Geekbench Vulkan, indicating a significant advantage in modern graphics API performance.

However, the decision is not purely about speed. The NVIDIA Tesla M10 offers 8 GB of memory compared to the RX 550's 2 GB, a fourfold difference that matters for large datasets or multi-tenant virtualization workloads. The Tesla M10 also commands a much higher power envelope at 225 W versus 50 W, and it requires a 550 W power supply recommendation against the RX 550's 250 W suggestion. The RX 550 is the pick for users prioritizing efficiency, smaller physical footprint at 145 mm versus 267 mm, and superior compute scores in the recorded tests. The Tesla M10 is the pick for scenarios demanding high memory capacity, even if its compute scores trail behind.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different architectural generations and manufacturing philosophies. The AMD Radeon RX 550 is built on the GCN 4.0 architecture using a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries, featuring the Lexa chip. The NVIDIA Tesla M10 uses the older Maxwell architecture on a 28 nm process at TSMC, built around the GM107 chip. This node difference is stark: the RX 550 packs 2,200 million transistors into a 103 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 21.4 million per square millimeter. The Tesla M10 has 1,870 million transistors spread across a larger 148 mm² die, yielding a lower density of 12.6 million per square millimeter.

Clock speeds also differ in character. The RX 550 has a base clock of 1100 MHz and a boost of 1183 MHz. The Tesla M10 starts lower at 1033 MHz but boosts higher to 1306 MHz. Memory clocks show the RX 550 running at 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective) versus the Tesla M10's 1300 MHz (5.2 Gbps effective). Both use GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, but the RX 550 achieves 112.0 GB/s bandwidth while the Tesla M10 manages only 83.20 GB/s, a direct consequence of the lower memory clock.

The compute unit counts favor the Tesla M10 in raw hardware: it has 640 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 16 ROPs. The RX 550 has 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and the same 16 ROPs. Yet the RX 550's higher memory bandwidth and newer architecture help it win the benchmark comparisons. The Tesla M10 supports DirectX 12 (11_0) while the RX 550 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), a feature-level difference. Both support OpenGL 4.6, but the Tesla M10 lists Vulkan 1.4 support versus the RX 550's Vulkan 1.3.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded head-to-head data shows two tests, and the AMD Radeon RX 550 wins both. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 550 scores 11063 against the Tesla M10's 10318, a delta of 7.2%. This is a moderate win, suggesting the RX 550's architecture handles OpenCL compute tasks with greater efficiency despite having fewer shading units. The margin is meaningful but not overwhelming, indicating the Tesla M10's higher boost clock and additional shading units partially compensate for its older design.

The Geekbench Vulkan result is far more decisive. The RX 550 scores 12270 versus 9130 for the Tesla M10, a delta of 34.4%. This is a commanding lead that points to fundamental differences in how each card handles modern graphics APIs. The RX 550's GCN 4.0 architecture with DirectX 12 (12_0) feature level appears far better optimized for Vulkan's low-level access model. The Tesla M10, with its Maxwell architecture and DirectX 12 (11_0) support, lags significantly in this workload.

Notably, the RX 550's Vulkan score of 12270 is even higher than its OpenCL score of 11063, a 10.9% improvement. The Tesla M10 shows the opposite trend: its Vulkan score of 9130 is 11.5% lower than its OpenCL score of 10318. This inversion strongly suggests the RX 550 gains from Vulkan's explicit multi-threading and reduced driver overhead, while the Tesla M10 struggles with the same API.

The average benchmark scores reinforce this ordering. The RX 550 has an average benchmark score of 11075, placing it at the 50th percentile of all GPUs in the database. The Tesla M10 averages 9724, sitting at the 47th percentile. The RX 550's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000D Blackwell Max-Q at 11088 (0.1% higher) and the GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER at 11047 (0.3% lower), showing it sits in a tight cluster of mid-range performers. The Tesla M10's nearest rivals include the Tesla C2070 at 9716 (0.1% higher) and the Quadro P4000 at 9665 (0.6% lower), placing it in a slightly lower performance tier.

FAQ

Q: Which card has more memory, and why does that matter?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla M10 has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory, while the AMD Radeon RX 550 has 2 GB. This fourfold difference is critical for workloads that need to hold large datasets in VRAM, such as virtual desktop infrastructure or large compute buffers. The RX 550's 2 GB may be sufficient for lighter tasks but could become a bottleneck in memory-intensive scenarios.

Q: Does the Tesla M10's higher boost clock make up for its lower benchmark scores?

A: No. The Tesla M10 boosts to 1306 MHz, higher than the RX 550's 1183 MHz, and has more shading units (640 versus 512). However, the benchmark data shows the RX 550 still wins Geekbench OpenCL by 7.2% and Geekbench Vulkan by 34.4%. The newer GCN 4.0 architecture and higher memory bandwidth of 112.0 GB/s versus 83.20 GB/s appear to outweigh the raw clock and unit advantages.

Q: What is the power consumption difference between these two cards?

A: The RX 550 has a TDP of 50 W and requires no power connectors, with a suggested power supply of 250 W. The Tesla M10 has a TDP of 225 W, requires a single 8-pin power connector, and suggests a 550 W power supply. This is a 175 W difference in TDP, making the RX 550 dramatically more efficient for systems with limited power budgets.

Q: Why is the RX 550 so much faster in Vulkan than in OpenCL?

A: The RX 550 scores 12270 in Geekbench Vulkan versus 11063 in Geekbench OpenCL, a 10.9% improvement. The Tesla M10 scores 9130 in Vulkan versus 10318 in OpenCL, an 11.5% decline. This suggests the RX 550's GCN 4.0 architecture with DirectX 12 (12_0) support is better optimized for Vulkan's explicit API model, while the Tesla M10's Maxwell architecture with DirectX 12 (11_0) support does not translate its OpenCL performance into Vulkan.

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score in the database?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 550 has an average benchmark score of 11075, placing it at the 50th percentile of all GPUs. The NVIDIA Tesla M10 has an average score of 9724, placing it at the 47th percentile. The RX 550's nearest rival is the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000D Blackwell Max-Q at 11088, just 0.1% higher, while the Tesla M10's nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 at 9780, which is 0.6% higher.

Q: Can the Tesla M10 output video to a display?

A: No. The Tesla M10 has no display outputs, making it a compute-only card. The RX 550 includes 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, and 1x DisplayPort 1.4a, so it can drive monitors directly. This makes the RX 550 suitable for workstations needing both compute and display capabilities, while the Tesla M10 requires a separate display adapter.

Where Each One Wins

AMD Radeon RX 550 wins on: Compute performance in both recorded benchmarks, with a 7.2% lead in OpenCL and a 34.4% lead in Vulkan. It also wins on efficiency, consuming only 50 W versus 225 W, and on physical footprint at 145 mm versus 267 mm. The RX 550 offers display outputs for direct monitor connection, supports a newer DirectX feature level (12_0 versus 11_0), and has higher memory bandwidth at 112.0 GB/s. Its average benchmark score of 11075 exceeds the Tesla M10's 9724, and it sits at a higher percentile rank (50th versus 47th). The RX 550 also has a lower suggested power supply requirement at 250 W versus 550 W, and it does not need any power connectors.

NVIDIA Tesla M10 wins on: Memory capacity with 8 GB versus 2 GB, which is essential for workloads that exceed the RX 550's VRAM limit. It has more shading units (640 versus 512) and texture mapping units (40 versus 32), plus a higher boost clock at 1306 MHz. The Tesla M10 uses a PCIe 3.0 x16 interface versus the RX 550's x8, potentially offering more host bandwidth for data transfer. It also lists Vulkan 1.4 support versus the RX 550's 1.3, despite losing the Vulkan benchmark. The Tesla M10 has a higher pixel rate at 20.90 GPixel/s versus 18.93 GPixel/s, and a higher texture rate at 52.24 GTexel/s versus 37.86 GTexel/s, indicating better raw throughput in those specific operations.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon RX 550 | NVIDIA Tesla M10 |

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

| Architecture | GCN 4.0 | Maxwell |

| Process Node | 14 nm (GlobalFoundries) | 28 nm (TSMC) |

| Transistors | 2,200 million | 1,870 million |

| Die Size | 103 mm² | 148 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 21.4M / mm² | 12.6M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1100 MHz | 1033 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1183 MHz | 1306 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1750 MHz (7 Gbps) | 1300 MHz (5.2 Gbps) |

| Memory Size | 2 GB | 8 GB |

| Memory Bandwidth | 112.0 GB/s | 83.20 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 512 | 640 |

| TMUs | 32 | 40 |

| ROPs | 16 | 16 |

| Pixel Rate | 18.93 GPixel/s | 20.90 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 37.86 GTexel/s | 52.24 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 1,211.4 GFLOPS | 1.672 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 1,211.4 GFLOPS (1:1) | null |

| TDP | 50 W | 225 W |

| Power Connectors | None | 1x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 250 W | 550 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x8 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, 1x DisplayPort 1.4a | No outputs |

| DirectX | 12 (12_0) | 12 (11_0) |

| Vulkan | 1.3 | 1.4 |

| Length | 145 mm (5.7 inches) | 267 mm (10.5 inches) |

| Release Date | 2017-04-19 | 2016-05-17 |

| Predecessor | Arctic