AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary vs NVIDIA GeForce MX550 Comparison

The benchmark data places the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary and the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 in the same performance tier by average score, yet the head-to-head results reveal a complete mismatch in raw compute capability. The AMD card leads the NVIDIA part by 0.5% in average benchmark score (26553 vs 26421), but this statistical tie dissolves entirely when examining specific workloads. In the two shared tests, the RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary dominates with a 278.8% lead in Geekbench OpenCL and a 128.8% lead in Geekbench Vulkan. The MX550’s inclusion in the same percentile bracket (both sit at the 72nd percentile of all GPUs) reflects the aggregate scoring methodology, not real-world equivalence. The RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary wins both head-to-head tests, while the MX550 wins none.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most decisive gap appears in Geekbench OpenCL, where the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary scores 77161 against the NVIDIA GeForce MX550’s 20372. That is a 278.8% advantage, meaning the AMD card delivers nearly four times the compute throughput in this API. Such a margin is not a marginal win; it indicates a fundamentally different performance class, despite the near-identical average scores. The MX550’s OpenCL result is closer to the AMD card’s Vulkan score (32469 vs 74281) than to the AMD card’s OpenCL score, which underscores how far apart the two are in this metric.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the gap narrows but remains overwhelming. The RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary posts 74281, while the MX550 manages 32469, a 128.8% lead for the AMD part. This still represents more than double the performance, confirming that the MX550 cannot compete in any compute-oriented task. The Vulkan result is particularly relevant for modern game engines and cross-platform workloads, where the AMD card’s lead would translate directly into higher frame rates or faster rendering times.

The aggregate scores tell a misleading story. The RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary’s average of 26553 comes from ten benchmarks, including legacy DirectX tests where it scores low (e.g., 66 in Passmark DirectX 12, 98 in DirectX 10). The MX550’s average of 26421 derives from only two benchmarks, both Geekbench tests. This data asymmetry means the average comparison is not apples-to-apples; the head-to-head results are the only valid direct comparison, and they show a 2-0 sweep for the AMD card. The nearest rival data confirms the AMD card’s position: it sits 0.5% above the MX550 in average score, but that delta is dwarfed by the 278.8% and 128.8% deltas in the shared tests.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins the direct benchmark comparison?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary wins both shared tests. It leads by 278.8% in Geekbench OpenCL (77161 vs 20372) and by 128.8% in Geekbench Vulkan (74281 vs 32469). The NVIDIA GeForce MX550 has zero wins in the head-to-head data.

Q: How do their average benchmark scores compare?

A: The AMD card averages 26553, which is 0.5% higher than the MX550’s 26421. However, the AMD average is computed from ten benchmarks, while the NVIDIA average comes from only two, so the averages are not directly comparable.

Q: What is the performance percentile for each GPU?

A: Both the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary and the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 sit at the 72nd percentile of all GPUs. This places them in the same overall tier despite their vastly different head-to-head results.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary has 2560 shading units, compared to 1024 on the NVIDIA GeForce MX550. The AMD card also has 160 texture mapping units and 64 ROPs, versus 32 TMUs and 16 ROPs on the NVIDIA part.

Q: What are the memory specifications for each card?

A: The AMD card features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. The NVIDIA card has 2 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 64-bit bus with 96.00 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: What is the TDP difference between the two?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary has a TDP of 225 W and requires a 550 W suggested power supply with 1x 6-pin and 1x 8-pin connectors. The NVIDIA GeForce MX550 has a TDP of 25 W, no power connectors, and no suggested PSU, as it is an integrated graphics processor (IGP).

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations and process nodes. The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary uses the Navi 10 chip built on RDNA 1.0 architecture, fabricated on a 7 nm process at TSMC. The NVIDIA GeForce MX550 uses the TU117SB chip based on Turing architecture, fabricated on a 12 nm process, also at TSMC. This process node difference is significant: the 7 nm node allows AMD to pack 10,300 million transistors onto a 251 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 41.0M per mm². The NVIDIA chip contains 4,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die, with a density of 23.5M per mm². AMD’s transistor count is more than double NVIDIA’s, and its density is 74% higher, which explains the large compute advantage despite both being from the same foundry.

The memory subsystem architecture also differs substantially. The AMD card uses a 256-bit memory bus with 8 GB of GDDR6, while the NVIDIA card uses a 64-bit bus with 2 GB of GDDR6. This yields bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s for the AMD part versus 96.00 GB/s for the NVIDIA part. The AMD card’s memory clock is listed as 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective), while the NVIDIA card runs at 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective). Neither card features dedicated ray tracing cores or tensor cores, as both architectures predate the widespread adoption of those units in their respective lineups. The AMD card supports FP16 at 20.28 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio), while the NVIDIA card supports FP16 at 2.703 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio), indicating different compute precision strategies.

Specification Differences

The most glaring specification gap is in compute throughput. The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary delivers 10.14 TFLOPS FP32, while the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 delivers 2.703 TFLOPS FP32. This is a 3.75x difference in raw shader performance. The pixel rate follows the same pattern: 126.7 GPixel/s for the AMD card versus 21.12 GPixel/s for the NVIDIA card. Texture rate is similarly lopsided, with the AMD card achieving 316.8 GTexel/s against the NVIDIA card’s 42.24 GTexel/s. These figures reflect the core configuration: 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs on the AMD card, versus 1024 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs on the NVIDIA card.

Clock speeds differ in both base and boost. The AMD card runs at 1680 MHz base and 1980 MHz boost, with a game clock of 1830 MHz. The NVIDIA card runs at 1065 MHz base and 1320 MHz boost, with no game clock listed. The power envelope is the starkest contrast: the AMD card has a TDP of 225 W, while the NVIDIA card has a TDP of 25 W. The AMD card is a dual-slot solution measuring 272 mm in length, 111 mm in height, and 40 mm in width, requiring 1x 6-pin and 1x 8-pin power connectors. The NVIDIA card is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) with no power connectors, no listed dimensions, and a PCIe 4.0 x8 interface compared to the AMD card’s PCIe 4.0 x16 interface. Display outputs also differ: the AMD card offers 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the NVIDIA card’s outputs are listed as "Portable Device Dependent." Both support DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary wins every measurable compute benchmark in the head-to-head data. Its 278.8% lead in Geekbench OpenCL makes it the clear choice for any workload that leverages OpenCL, such as scientific computing, video encoding, or GPU-accelerated analytics. Its 128.8% lead in Geekbench Vulkan extends this advantage to Vulkan-based applications, which include many modern games and cross-platform rendering engines. With 8 GB of memory and 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, the AMD card can handle large textures and datasets that would exceed the MX550’s 2 GB frame buffer. The AMD card’s 10.14 TFLOPS FP32 and 20.28 TFLOPS FP16 make it suited for compute-heavy tasks, while its 64 ROPs and 316.8 GTexel/s texture rate support high-resolution rasterization.

The NVIDIA GeForce MX550 has no benchmark wins in this comparison. Its advantages are purely practical: a 25 W TDP allows it to function without external power connectors, making it suitable for portable devices where the AMD card’s 225 W requirement is impossible. The MX550’s IGP form factor and "Portable Device Dependent" display outputs indicate it is designed for laptops or compact systems, not desktop towers. Its 2 GB memory and 96.00 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for light tasks like basic video playback or 2D productivity, but the data shows no scenario where it outperforms the AMD card in raw performance. The MX550’s 1:1 FP16 ratio (2.703 TFLOPS) is a minor efficiency point, but it does not translate into any benchmark victory.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary is the superior performer in every shared test, with leads of 278.8% in OpenCL and 128.8% in Vulkan. Any user prioritizing compute performance, gaming frame rates, or memory capacity should choose the AMD card. Its 8 GB memory, 256-bit bus, and 10.14 TFLOPS FP32 position it as a discrete desktop GPU capable of demanding workloads, and its 72nd percentile ranking places it among the top quarter of all GPUs. The AMD card’s higher TDP (225 W vs 25 W) and larger physical size are the trade-offs for this performance, but these are expected for a dual-slot desktop card with external power connectors.

The NVIDIA GeForce MX550 should only be selected when the AMD card cannot physically fit or function. Its 25 W TDP and IGP form factor make it the only viable option for power-constrained portable systems, but this comes at the cost of a 3.75x reduction in FP32 throughput and a 4.67x reduction in memory bandwidth. The MX550’s 72nd percentile ranking matches the AMD card, but this is an artifact of limited benchmark data (two tests vs ten). The head-to-head results are the definitive evidence: the AMD card wins both tests by margins that are impossible to ignore. For anyone building a desktop system or using a device that can accommodate a 225 W GPU, the RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary is the clear winner from this data. The MX550 exists for a different use case entirely — ultra-portable computing where performance is secondary to power efficiency.