AMD Radeon RX 590 GME vs NVIDIA T550 Mobile Comparison

The data presents a clear split between two very different graphics solutions from different eras and purposes. The NVIDIA T550 Mobile is a low-power, end-of-life professional mobile chip built on Turing, while the AMD Radeon RX 590 GME is a high-power, end-of-life desktop card built on GCN 4.0. The benchmark results included in the FACT PACK show a decisive overall victory for the AMD card, winning 2 out of 2 head-to-head tests, but the nature of those wins and the physical constraints of each card tell a more nuanced story for potential buyers.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most striking result comes from the Geekbench Vulkan test, where the AMD Radeon RX 590 GME delivers a score of 60,508, which is 49.1% higher than the NVIDIA T550 Mobile’s 30,801. This is not a marginal difference; it represents a doubling of performance in this particular API workload. The AMD card’s advantage here is substantial and indicates that for applications leveraging Vulkan, the RX 590 GME is in a different performance class entirely. The T550 Mobile’s score of 30,801 places it well behind, and the deltaPct of -49.1% confirms that the NVIDIA solution is operating at roughly half the performance level in this test.

The Geekbench OpenCL results are much closer, but still favor the AMD card. The RX 590 GME scores 36,294, while the T550 Mobile scores 35,521. The deltaPct here is only -2.1%, meaning the NVIDIA card is nearly competitive in OpenCL, trailing by a small margin. This suggests that while the AMD card has the raw compute advantage, the gap is not insurmountable in OpenCL workloads. For context, the T550 Mobile’s average benchmark score of 33,161 puts it in the 77th percentile of all GPUs, while the RX 590 GME’s average of 32,601 also lands in the 77th percentile. This tells us that despite the massive Vulkan win, the AMD card’s average score is slightly lower overall, likely because the NVIDIA card performs better in other benchmark suites not included here. The head-to-head data, however, is unambiguous: AMD wins both tests, with the Vulkan victory being the headline result.

The nearest rival data for each card provides additional context. The T550 Mobile’s closest competitor is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile, with a deltaPct of 0, meaning they perform at parity. It also sits just 0.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 570 and 1% ahead of the NVIDIA T600 Mobile. This indicates the T550 Mobile is a solid mid-pack performer in its own segment. The RX 590 GME, on the other hand, sits 0.2% ahead of the AMD FirePro S9300 X2 and 0.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE, but is 0.8% behind the NVIDIA T600 Mobile. This is interesting because it shows the RX 590 GME, despite its age, is competitive with much newer cards in average scores, even though it loses badly to the T550 Mobile in Vulkan specifically.

The Verdict

The data is clear: the AMD Radeon RX 590 GME is the superior performer in the two benchmark tests provided. If your primary concern is raw benchmark scores, particularly in Vulkan-based applications, the RX 590 GME is the definitive choice, delivering a 49.1% advantage. There is no scenario in the included data where the NVIDIA T550 Mobile wins a head-to-head test. The only caveat is the OpenCL test, where the T550 Mobile is within 2.1% of the AMD card, but it still loses.

However, the verdict must also consider the physical and power realities. The T550 Mobile has a TDP of 23 W and is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with a slot width of IGP, meaning it is designed for portable devices with no power connectors. The RX 590 GME, by contrast, has a TDP of 175 W, is a dual-slot card, requires a single 8-pin power connector, and has a suggested PSU of 450 W. The RX 590 GME is also 241 mm (9.5 inches) long. These are not comparable installation scenarios. The T550 Mobile is for thin-and-light laptops, while the RX 590 GME is for a desktop tower with adequate power and cooling.

Therefore, the verdict is not simply "AMD wins." It is: if you can physically accommodate the RX 590 GME, it offers significantly better benchmark performance, especially in Vulkan. If you are constrained to a portable form factor, the T550 Mobile is the only option here, and its performance is respectable, sitting in the 77th percentile of all GPUs. The data does not support choosing the T550 Mobile on performance grounds alone, but it does support it as a viable option for mobile workloads where the RX 590 GME cannot be installed.

Where Each One Wins

Based strictly on the benchmark data, the AMD Radeon RX 590 GME wins in every head-to-head category. Its biggest win is in Geekbench Vulkan, where it is 49.1% ahead. This makes it the clear choice for any workload that heavily utilizes the Vulkan API, such as modern cross-platform games or compute applications that support it. The RX 590 GME also wins in Geekbench OpenCL, albeit narrowly, with a 2.1% advantage. This means for OpenCL-based tasks like video encoding, physics simulation, or scientific computing, the AMD card still has the edge, but it is not a decisive one.

The NVIDIA T550 Mobile does not win any head-to-head benchmark. However, its performance profile is not without merit. Its average benchmark score of 33,161 is actually higher than the RX 590 GME’s average of 32,601, according to the percentileVsAllGpus data. This suggests that in benchmark tests not included in the head-to-head section, the T550 Mobile may outperform the RX 590 GME. The T550 Mobile also has a much lower TDP, making it the only viable choice for battery-powered systems. In terms of use cases, the T550 Mobile is for professionals who need a dedicated GPU in a portable workstation, while the RX 590 GME is for desktop users who prioritize raw compute performance and have the power budget to support it.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA T550 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 33,161, while the AMD Radeon RX 590 GME has an average score of 32,601. Both cards are in the 77th percentile of all GPUs.

Q: How much faster is the AMD Radeon RX 590 GME in Geekbench Vulkan?

A: The RX 590 GME scores 60,508 in Geekbench Vulkan, which is 49.1% higher than the NVIDIA T550 Mobile’s score of 30,801.

Q: Is the NVIDIA T550 Mobile competitive in OpenCL?

A: Yes, it is close. The T550 Mobile scores 35,521 in Geekbench OpenCL, trailing the RX 590 GME’s 36,294 by only 2.1%.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The NVIDIA T550 Mobile has a TDP of 23 W, while the AMD Radeon RX 590 GME has a TDP of 175 W. The RX 590 GME also requires a single 8-pin power connector and a 450 W suggested PSU.

Q: Which card is better for a portable device?

A: The NVIDIA T550 Mobile is the only option for portable devices, as it is an IGP with no power connectors and a 23 W TDP. The RX 590 GME is a dual-slot desktop card that requires external power.

Q: How do these cards compare to their nearest rivals?

A: The T550 Mobile is at parity with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile (0% delta), while the RX 590 GME is 0.8% behind the NVIDIA T600 Mobile and 0.2% ahead of the AMD FirePro S9300 X2.

Architecture Differences

The NVIDIA T550 Mobile is built on the Turing architecture, using the TU117 chip manufactured on a 12 nm process at TSMC. It integrates 4,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 23.5M per mm². The AMD Radeon RX 590 GME uses the GCN 4.0 architecture, with the Polaris 20 chip manufactured on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. It contains 5,700 million transistors on a 232 mm² die, for a density of 24.6M per mm². The AMD card has more transistors and a larger die, but the NVIDIA card achieves a similar density on a smaller process node.

The compute architectures differ significantly. The T550 Mobile has 1,024 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The RX 590 GME has 2,304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. This gives the AMD card more than double the shading units and TMUs, which explains its higher texture rate of 204.5 GTexel/s versus the T550 Mobile’s 106.6 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance follows the same pattern: the RX 590 GME delivers 6.543 TFLOPS, while the T550 Mobile delivers 3.410 TFLOPS. Interestingly, the FP16 performance differs: the T550 Mobile achieves 6.820 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio, while the RX 590 GME achieves 6.543 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio, meaning the NVIDIA card has a faster FP16 rate despite lower FP32. Neither card has ray tracing cores or tensor cores.

The API support also differs. The T550 Mobile supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The RX 590 GME supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The NVIDIA card has a higher DirectX feature level and a newer Vulkan version. The production status for both is end-of-life, but the RX 590 GME has a release date of March 8, 2020, while the T550 Mobile’s release date is not listed. The T550 Mobile’s predecessor is Quadro Pascal-M and its successor is Ampere-MW, while the RX 590 GME’s predecessor is Arctic Islands and its successor is Vega.

Specification Differences

The most obvious specification difference is memory. The NVIDIA T550 Mobile has 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus, providing 96.00 GB/s of bandwidth. The AMD Radeon RX 590 GME has 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, providing 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This gives the AMD card double the memory capacity and nearly triple the bandwidth. The memory clocks also differ: the T550 Mobile runs at 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective), while the RX 590 GME runs at 2000 MHz (8 Gbps effective).

The clock speeds are also distinct. The T550 Mobile has a base clock of 1065 MHz and a boost clock of 1665 MHz. The RX 590 GME has a base clock of 1257 MHz and a boost clock of 1420 MHz. The NVIDIA card has a higher boost clock, but the AMD card has a higher base clock. The pixel rate favors the NVIDIA card at 53.28 GPixel/s versus the RX 590 GME’s 45.44 GPixel/s, despite the AMD card’s higher texture rate.

The physical specifications could not be more different. The T550 Mobile is an IGP with no power connectors and a 23 W TDP. The RX 590 GME is a dual-slot card with a 1x 8-pin power connector, a 175 W TDP, and a suggested PSU of 450 W. The RX 590 GME is 241 mm (9.5 inches) long. The T550 Mobile’s dimensions are not listed, and it does not have a suggested PSU. The display outputs also differ: the T550 Mobile’s outputs are listed as "Portable Device Dependent," while the RX 590 GME has 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. Both use a PCIe 3.0 x16 bus interface.