AMD Radeon RX 550X vs AMD Radeon RX 6500M Comparison

# AMD Radeon RX 550X vs AMD Radeon RX 6500M

The AMD Radeon RX 6500M decisively outperforms the AMD Radeon RX 550X in every benchmark where the two overlap, with the newer mobile GPU delivering roughly four times the raw compute throughput in both OpenCL and Vulkan workloads. The RX 550X, built on the older GCN 4.0 architecture, retains a slight edge in aggregate benchmark standing due to its higher average score across a broader test suite, but the RX 6500M's architectural advantages and clock-speed superiority make it the clear performance leader in direct comparison.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head data shows a lopsided contest. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the AMD Radeon RX 6500M scores 38,586 points against the RX 550X's 9,662 points. That represents a 75% delta in favor of the RX 6500M — meaning the RX 550X trails by three-quarters of the newer card's output. The gap is nearly identical in Geekbench Vulkan, where the RX 6500M posts 43,837 points versus 11,299 points for the RX 550X, a 74.2% deficit for the older part.

These are not marginal improvements; they are generational leaps. The RX 6500M's OpenCL score is roughly four times higher than the RX 550X's, and the Vulkan result is nearly four times greater as well. The RX 550X does not win a single head-to-head benchmark in the available data — it records zero wins against two for the RX 6500M.

Context from the nearest-rival data reinforces the scale of the separation. The RX 550X's average benchmark score of 10,481 places it 1.2% above the RX 6500M's average of 10,362, but that aggregate figure is skewed by the RX 6500M's inclusion of multiple PassMark tests — including DirectX 9, 10, 11, and 12 scores that range from 34 to 92 — which drag down its average. In the compute-oriented Geekbench tests that reflect modern graphics workloads, the RX 6500M is in a different class entirely.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from fundamentally different design philosophies. The RX 550X uses the Lexa chip based on GCN 4.0 architecture, part of the Polaris (RX 500X) generation, fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. The RX 6500M uses the Navi 24 chip based on RDNA 2.0 architecture, part of the Navi Mobile (RX 6000M) generation, fabricated on a 6 nm process at TSMC.

Transistor counts reflect the architectural shift. The RX 550X packs 2,200 million transistors onto a 103 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 21.4 million per square millimeter. The RX 6500M contains 5,400 million transistors on a slightly larger 107 mm² die, achieving a density of 50.5 million per square millimeter — more than double the RX 550X's density. This density advantage is a direct consequence of the newer 6 nm process node.

Clock speeds tell a similar story. The RX 550X runs at a 1100 MHz base clock with a 1183 MHz boost, while the RX 6500M operates at a 2000 MHz base clock and 2400 MHz boost, with a 2191 MHz game clock. The RX 6500M's boost clock is more than twice the RX 550X's base clock. Memory clocks differ substantially as well: the RX 550X uses 1500 MHz GDDR5 memory (6 Gbps effective), while the RX 6500M uses 2250 MHz GDDR6 (18 Gbps effective).

The compute resources are not remotely comparable. The RX 550X has 512 shading units, 32 texture mapping units, and 16 raster operation pipelines. The RX 6500M doubles each of these: 1,024 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The RX 6500M also includes 16 ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent from the RX 550X. The RX 550X supports DirectX 12 (12_0), while the RX 6500M supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2). Vulkan support differs too: 1.3 on the RX 550X versus 1.4 on the RX 6500M.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 6500M wins in every scenario where raw graphics compute matters. Its FP32 throughput of 4.915 TFLOPS dwarfs the RX 550X's 1,211.4 GFLOPS — a fourfold advantage. The pixel rate of 76.80 GPixel/s and texture rate of 153.6 GTexel/s on the RX 6500M are roughly four times the RX 550X's 18.93 GPixel/s and 37.86 GTexel/s. Memory bandwidth favors the RX 6500M at 144.0 GB/s versus 96.00 GB/s, despite the RX 6500M using a narrower 64-bit bus compared to the RX 550X's 128-bit bus — the GDDR6 memory's higher effective clock compensates for the halved bus width.

The RX 550X's wins are narrower and more contextual. Its average benchmark score of 10,481 sits 1.2% above the RX 6500M's 10,362, and it ranks in the 49th percentile among all GPUs versus the RX 6500M's 48th percentile. This marginal aggregate advantage comes from the RX 550X being tested only in Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan, both of which favor the RX 6500M heavily, yet the older card still edges ahead in the composite average — a statistical artifact of the RX 6500M's low PassMark scores (DirectX 9: 92, DirectX 10: 52, DirectX 11: 70, DirectX 12: 34, G2D: 385, G3D: 7,531, GPU compute: 2,669) pulling its mean downward.

For applications that leverage ray tracing, the RX 6500M is the only option of the two, as the RX 550X has no ray tracing cores. For legacy DirectX 9 and 10 workloads, the PassMark scores suggest the RX 6500M still leads, but its low absolute numbers (92 and 52, respectively) indicate that neither card is well-suited to such older APIs. The RX 550X's dual-slot form factor with DVI, HDMI 2.0b, and DisplayPort 1.4a outputs makes it suitable for desktop systems, while the RX 6500M's IGP form factor with portable-device-dependent outputs targets laptops.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute performance?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6500M. Its FP32 throughput is 4.915 TFLOPS, compared to 1,211.4 GFLOPS for the RX 550X. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 6500M scores 38,586 versus 9,662 for the RX 550X.

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in Vulkan performance?

A: The RX 6500M leads significantly, scoring 43,837 in Geekbench Vulkan against the RX 550X's 11,299. The RX 6500M supports Vulkan 1.4 while the RX 550X supports Vulkan 1.3.

Q: Do both GPUs support ray tracing?

A: No. The AMD Radeon RX 6500M includes 16 ray tracing cores and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2). The AMD Radeon RX 550X has no ray tracing cores and supports only DirectX 12 (12_0).

Q: What are the memory specifications for each card?

A: The RX 550X has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus with 96.00 GB/s bandwidth. The RX 6500M also has 4 GB, but it is GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus with 144.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The RX 550X has a slightly higher average benchmark score of 10,481 compared to the RX 6500M's 10,362 — a 1.2% difference. This is despite the RX 6500M winning both head-to-head Geekbench tests by wide margins.

Q: What are the power and interface differences?

A: Both have a 50 W TDP and no power connectors. The RX 550X uses a PCIe 3.0 x8 interface and is dual-slot, while the RX 6500M uses PCIe 4.0 x4 and is an IGP. The RX 550X has a suggested PSU of 250 W; the RX 6500M has no suggested PSU listed.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon RX 550X | AMD Radeon RX 6500M |

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

| Chip | Lexa | Navi 24 |

| Architecture | GCN 4.0 | RDNA 2.0 |

| Generation | Polaris (RX 500X) | Navi Mobile (RX 6000M) |

| Process Node | 14 nm | 6 nm |

| Foundry | GlobalFoundries | TSMC |

| Transistors | 2,200 million | 5,400 million |

| Die Size | 103 mm² | 107 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 21.4M / mm² | 50.5M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1100 MHz | 2000 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1183 MHz | 2400 MHz |

| Game Clock | None | 2191 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1500 MHz (6 Gbps effective) | 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus Width | 128 bit | 64 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 96.00 GB/s | 144.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 512 | 1024 |

| TMUs | 32 | 64 |

| ROPs | 16 | 32 |

| Ray Tracing Cores | None | 16 |

| Pixel Rate | 18.93 GPixel/s | 76.80 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 37.86 GTexel/s | 153.6 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 1,211.4 GFLOPS | 4.915 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 1,211.4 GFLOPS (1:1) | 9.830 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| Slot Width | Dual-slot | IGP |

| Suggested PSU | 250 W | None |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x8 | PCIe 4.0 x4 |

| Display Outputs | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, 1x DisplayPort 1.4a | Portable Device Dependent |

| DirectX Support | 12 (12_0) | 12 Ultimate (12_2) |

| Vulkan Support | 1.3 | 1.4 |

| Release Date | 2018-12-15 | 2022-01-03 |

| Predecessor | Polaris | Polaris Mobile |

| Successor | Vega | None |

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