AMD Radeon RX 550 vs NVIDIA TITAN V CEO Edition Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data presents an unusual comparison. The AMD Radeon RX 550 and the NVIDIA TITAN V CEO Edition occupy different performance tiers, yet the recorded database scores reveal a surprising convergence in some metrics while showing dramatic divergence in others.

The RX 550 delivers a Geekbench Metal score of 20,838, which far exceeds the TITAN V CEO Edition's Passmark G3D score of 16,988. However, these are different benchmark suites measuring different workloads, so direct cross-comparison is limited. What the data does show is that the RX 550 achieves an average benchmark score of 11,075 across its four recorded tests, while the TITAN V CEO Edition averages 9,037 across its two tests. This places the RX 550 in the 50th percentile of all GPUs, while the TITAN V CEO Edition sits at the 45th percentile.

The nearest rival data for each card tells a revealing story. The RX 550's closest competitor is the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000D Blackwell Max-Q, with a delta of negative 0.1 percent, meaning the RX 550 trails that card by a negligible margin. It also sits within 0.3 percent of the GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER and 1.3 percent behind the AMD FirePro W4300. These deltas are all within a narrow band, indicating the RX 550's average score is tightly clustered among cards that are far more expensive and powerful in raw specifications.

The TITAN V CEO Edition's nearest rivals include the GeForce GTX 660 at a positive 0.2 percent delta, meaning the TITAN V trails the GTX 660 by that amount. It is also 0.2 percent behind the GeForce GTX 560, 1.3 percent ahead of the AMD Radeon 550X, and 1.9 percent behind the AMD Radeon 890M. The fact that a flagship-class GPU with 5120 shading units lands near cards from a much older generation in average benchmark scores is striking. This suggests the TITAN V CEO Edition's recorded benchmark results may not reflect its theoretical compute capacity, or that the benchmark workloads favor the architecture of older or differently designed cards.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 550 wins decisively in compute-oriented benchmark suites. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 11,063 and Geekbench Vulkan score of 12,270 demonstrate consistent performance across both compute APIs. The Geekbench Metal score of 20,838 is particularly notable, as it represents the highest single recorded result for either card. The RX 550 also has a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 127, which is modest but present in the database.

The TITAN V CEO Edition wins in raw rasterization throughput based on the specification data, though its benchmark scores do not fully reflect this. Its Passmark G3D score of 16,988 is nearly 16 times higher than the RX 550's 3DMark result, but again, these are different tests. The TITAN V's Passmark G2D score of 1,086 provides a 2D performance data point that the RX 550 lacks entirely.

For users focused on compute workloads that leverage OpenCL or Vulkan, the RX 550's recorded scores suggest it handles these APIs surprisingly well relative to its class. For those who need massive memory capacity, the TITAN V CEO Edition offers 32 GB of HBM2 memory, which is 16 times the RX 550's 2 GB GDDR5 allocation, making it the clear choice for memory-bound tasks like large model inference or high-resolution texture workloads.

FAQ

Q: Which card has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 550 has an average benchmark score of 11,075, while the NVIDIA TITAN V CEO Edition averages 9,037, making the RX 550 approximately 22.5 percent higher on average across their respective recorded tests.

Q: How does the RX 550 compare to its closest rival?

A: The RX 550 trails the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000D Blackwell Max-Q by only 0.1 percent in average score, and sits 0.3 percent ahead of the GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER, placing it in a very competitive position within its performance neighborhood.

Q: What is the TITAN V CEO Edition's standing among its nearest rivals?

A: The TITAN V CEO Edition is 0.2 percent behind the GeForce GTX 660, 0.2 percent behind the GeForce GTX 560, 1.3 percent ahead of the AMD Radeon 550X, and 1.9 percent behind the AMD Radeon 890M in average benchmark score.

Q: Which card has better compute API support?

A: The RX 550 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3, while the TITAN V CEO Edition supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, giving the TITAN V a more recent Vulkan version.

Q: What are the memory specifications of each card?

A: The RX 550 has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus with 112.0 GB/s bandwidth. The TITAN V CEO Edition has 32 GB of HBM2 memory on a 4096-bit bus with 868.4 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card was released later?

A: The RX 550 was released on April 19, 2017, while the TITAN V CEO Edition was released on June 20, 2018, making the TITAN V the later release by just over a year.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ dramatically across nearly every specification category. The RX 550 uses 2,200 million transistors on a 103 mm² die, while the TITAN V CEO Edition packs 21,100 million transistors on an 815 mm² die. This results in a transistor density of 21.4 million per mm² for the RX 550 versus 25.9 million per mm² for the TITAN V.

Clock speeds differ significantly. The RX 550 has a base clock of 1100 MHz and a boost clock of 1183 MHz, while the TITAN V CEO Edition runs at 1200 MHz base and 1455 MHz boost. Memory clocks also diverge: the RX 550's memory runs at 1750 MHz with 7 Gbps effective speed, whereas the TITAN V's memory operates at 848 MHz with 1696 Mbps effective speed.

Shading unit counts show the scale of difference: the RX 550 has 512 shading units, 32 texture mapping units, and 16 render output units. The TITAN V CEO Edition has 5,120 shading units, 320 TMUs, and 128 ROPs. Pixel rate is 18.93 GPixel/s for the RX 550 versus 186.2 GPixel/s for the TITAN V. Texture rate is 37.86 GTexel/s versus 465.6 GTexel/s.

Power requirements differ substantially. The RX 550 has a 50 W TDP and requires no power connectors, with a suggested power supply of 250 W. The TITAN V CEO Edition has a 250 W TDP, requires one 6-pin and one 8-pin power connector, and needs a 600 W power supply. The RX 550 uses a PCIe 3.0 x8 interface, while the TITAN V uses PCIe 3.0 x16.

Physical dimensions vary: the RX 550 is 145 mm (5.7 inches) long, while the TITAN V CEO Edition is 267 mm (10.5 inches) long, 112 mm (4.4 inches) high, and 40 mm (1.6 inches) wide. Both are dual-slot cards. Display outputs differ: the RX 550 offers one DVI, one HDMI 2.0b, and one DisplayPort 1.4a, while the TITAN V offers one HDMI 2.0 and three DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. The RX 550 has a launch MSRP of 79 USD.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two cards is fundamental. The RX 550 is built on AMD's GCN 4.0 architecture with the Lexa chip, part of the Polaris generation (RX 500 series). It is fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. The TITAN V CEO Edition uses NVIDIA's Volta architecture with the GV100 chip, listed under the GeForce 10 generation, and is manufactured on a 12 nm process at TSMC.

The RX 550's predecessor is Arctic Islands, and its successor is Vega. The TITAN V CEO Edition's predecessor is GeForce 900, and its successor is GeForce 20. Both cards are end-of-life in production status.

Compute capabilities differ in interesting ways. The RX 550 delivers 1,211.4 GFLOPS of FP32 performance and the same 1,211.4 GFLOPS for FP16, indicating a 1:1 ratio. The TITAN V CEO Edition delivers 14.90 TFLOPS of FP32 and 29.80 TFLOPS of FP16, a 2:1 ratio, meaning it has dedicated FP16 throughput that doubles its FP32 capability. The TITAN V also includes 640 tensor cores, a feature entirely absent from the RX 550, which has no tensor cores or ray tracing cores listed.

Memory architecture reflects different design philosophies. The RX 550 uses 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, while the TITAN V uses 32 GB of HBM2 on a 4096-bit bus. The memory bandwidth difference is stark: 112.0 GB/s versus 868.4 GB/s, a nearly eightfold advantage for the TITAN V. The API support also shows generational differences, with the TITAN V supporting DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.4, while the RX 550 supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3.

The Verdict

The data presents a paradox. The RX 550, a low-power entry-level card with 512 shading units and 2 GB of memory, records a higher average benchmark score (11,075) than the TITAN V CEO Edition (9,037), which has 5,120 shading units and 32 GB of HBM2. The percentile rankings reinforce this: the RX 550 sits at the 50th percentile of all GPUs, while the TITAN V CEO Edition sits at the 45th percentile.

For users prioritizing compute API performance in OpenCL and Vulkan workloads, the RX 550's recorded scores of 11,063 and 12,270 respectively, along with its strong Metal score of 20,838, make it a surprisingly capable option despite its modest specifications. Its 50 W power draw, lack of external power connectors, and 145 mm length make it suitable for compact, low-power systems.

For users who need massive memory capacity, high FP16 throughput, or tensor core acceleration, the TITAN V CEO Edition is the only choice between these two. Its 32 GB HBM2 memory, 640 tensor cores, and 29.80 TFLOPS of FP16 performance are capabilities the RX 550 cannot approach. The TITAN V also offers superior raw pixel and texture rates, with 186.2 GPixel/s and 465.6 GTexel/s respectively.

The benchmark data suggests that for general-purpose compute tasks as measured by the database's average scores, the RX 550 is the more consistent performer. For specialized workloads that leverage the TITAN V's unique architectural features, the specification data indicates the TITAN V would be the appropriate pick, despite its lower recorded average benchmark score. Users should weigh the specific workload requirements against these recorded results, as the two cards are optimized for fundamentally different use cases.