AMD Radeon RX 6550M vs AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6550M records an average benchmark score of 46,702, while the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 sits at 37,507. That places the RX 6550M about 24.5% higher in overall measured performance.

Q: How do the two compare in their percentile rankings among all GPUs?

A: The RX 6550M sits at the 85th percentile of all GPUs, while the RX Vega 56 sits at the 81st percentile. Both are high-ranking parts, but the newer mobile chip edges out the older desktop card in relative standing.

Q: What are the nearest rivals to each card according to the database?

A: The RX 6550M is closely matched with the Intel Arc A530M (0.2% ahead), AMD Radeon RX 5600M (0.2% ahead), NVIDIA RTX A2000 (1.4% ahead), and NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation (1.6% ahead). The RX Vega 56 sits near the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (0.3% behind), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 (0.4% behind), AMD Radeon PRO W6400 (0.9% ahead), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (1.6% behind).

Q: What are the memory configurations of each GPU?

A: The RX 6550M has 4 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 64-bit bus with 144.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RX Vega 56 has 8 GB of HBM2 memory on a 2048-bit bus with 409.6 GB/s bandwidth. The Vega 56 offers substantially more capacity and over 2.8 times the bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU has a higher boost clock?

A: The RX 6550M boosts to 2840 MHz, while the RX Vega 56 boosts to 1471 MHz. The RX 6550M runs at nearly double the boost frequency.

Q: What is the production status of each card?

A: The RX 6550M is listed as Active, while the RX Vega 56 is End-of-life. The RX 6550M was released in January 2023, whereas the RX Vega 56 came out in August 2017.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from fundamentally different architectural generations. The RX 6550M uses RDNA 2.0 architecture on the Navi 24 chip, built at TSMC on a 6 nm process. The RX Vega 56 uses GCN 5.0 architecture on the Vega 10 chip, manufactured by GlobalFoundries on a 14 nm process. This node difference is stark: 6 nm versus 14 nm translates into very different density and efficiency profiles.

The transistor counts tell the story of design philosophy. The RX 6550M packs 5,400 million transistors on a 107 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 50.5M per mm². The RX Vega 56 has 12,500 million transistors on a much larger 495 mm² die, with a density of just 25.3M per mm². The older chip uses more than twice the die area but achieves less than half the density.

Memory architecture differs completely. The RX 6550M uses 4 GB of GDDR6 over a 64-bit bus. The RX Vega 56 uses 8 GB of HBM2 over a 2048-bit bus. The Vega 56's bandwidth of 409.6 GB/s dwarfs the 144.0 GB/s of the RX 6550M. HBM2's wide interface was an ambitious design in 2017, while the Navi 24 chip takes a minimal-bus approach.

Feature support also diverges. The RX 6550M supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), Vulkan 1.4, and includes 16 ray tracing cores. The RX Vega 56 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), Vulkan 1.3, and has no ray tracing cores. The newer card also uses PCIe 4.0 x4, while the Vega 56 uses PCIe 3.0 x16.

Power and physical design reflect their intended markets. The RX 6550M is an IGP (integrated graphics package) with no power connectors and an 80 W TDP. The RX Vega 56 is a dual-slot card requiring two 8-pin power connectors, a 210 W TDP, and a suggested 550 W power supply. The Vega 56 measures 280 mm in length, 111 mm in height, and 40 mm in width.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear split by use case. The RX 6550M wins on overall benchmark average, newer architecture, far higher clocks, and dramatically better efficiency. It is an active product in the RX 6000 series, built for mobile systems where power and space are constrained. The RX Vega 56, meanwhile, retains advantages in raw memory capacity, bandwidth, shading units, texture units, and pixel rate.

For users prioritizing modern features like ray tracing, DX12 Ultimate support, and lower power draw, the RX 6550M is the logical choice. Its 85th percentile ranking and average score of 46,702 show it performs near the top of the database. For users who need more VRAM and memory bandwidth for large textures or compute workloads, the RX Vega 56's 8 GB HBM2 and 409.6 GB/s bandwidth remain relevant, but its 81st percentile and lower average score suggest it trails overall.

The RX Vega 56 is end-of-life and predates the RX 6550M by over five years. The newer chip achieves higher benchmark scores with less than half the power envelope. The verdict favors the RX 6550M for most modern workloads, though the Vega 56's memory subsystem is a genuine advantage in bandwidth-sensitive scenarios.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon RX 6550M | AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 |

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

| Architecture | RDNA 2.0 | GCN 5.0 |

| Process Node | 6 nm | 14 nm |

| Foundry | TSMC | GlobalFoundries |

| Transistors | 5,400 million | 12,500 million |

| Die Size | 107 mm² | 495 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 50.5M / mm² | 25.3M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 2000 MHz | 1156 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2840 MHz | 1471 MHz |

| Memory Size | 4 GB | 8 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | HBM2 |

| Memory Bus Width | 64 bit | 2048 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 144.0 GB/s | 409.6 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 1024 | 3584 |

| TMUs | 64 | 224 |

| ROPs | 32 | 64 |

| RT Cores | 16 | None |

| Pixel Rate | 90.88 GPixel/s | 94.14 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 181.8 GTexel/s | 329.5 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 5.816 TFLOPS | 10.54 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 11.63 TFLOPS (2:1) | 21.09 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 80 W | 210 W |

| Slot Width | IGP | Dual-slot |

| Power Connectors | None | 2x 8-pin |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x4 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

| DirectX | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | 12 (12_1) |

| Vulkan | 1.4 | 1.3 |

| Release Date | 2023-01-03 | 2017-08-13 |

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

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database has no direct head-to-head benchmark entries between these two cards, but the individual recorded scores provide a clear picture. The RX 6550M shows two benchmark results: a Geekbench OpenCL score of 42,536 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 50,867. The RX Vega 56 shows a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1,501 and a Geekbench Metal score of 73,512.

The average benchmark score is the most direct comparison. The RX 6550M averages 46,702 across its measured tests, versus 37,507 for the RX Vega 56. That is a difference of roughly 24.5% in favor of the RX 6550M. In percentile terms, the RX 6550M ranks 85th among all GPUs while the RX Vega 56 ranks 81st.

Looking at the nearest rivals, the RX 6550M's closest competitor is the Intel Arc A530M at 46,614, just 0.2% behind. The RX Vega 56's closest rival is the NVIDIA Tesla P4 at 37,628, which is 0.3% ahead. The margin between each card and its nearest rival is tight, suggesting both sit in well-populated performance tiers.

The RX Vega 56's Geekbench Metal score of 73,512 is far higher than any single score recorded for the RX 6550M, but Metal is an Apple-specific API and does not reflect cross-platform performance. The RX 6550M's Vulkan score of 50,867 exceeds the Vega 56's overall average, indicating strong compute performance in a cross-platform context.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 6550M wins in overall average benchmark score, percentile ranking, and every efficiency metric. Its 80 W TDP versus 210 W means it delivers superior performance per watt by a wide margin. The newer RDNA 2.0 architecture brings ray tracing support, DX12 Ultimate, and a smaller footprint. The 6 nm process allows nearly double the boost clock at 2840 MHz versus 1471 MHz. For mobile systems, integrated graphics packages, and modern API support, the RX 6550M is the clear winner.

The RX Vega 56 wins in raw resource counts and memory bandwidth. Its 3,584 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 64 ROPs far exceed the RX 6550M's 1,024 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. Its 8 GB memory capacity is double the RX 6550M's 4 GB, and its 409.6 GB/s bandwidth is 2.8 times higher. FP32 compute of 10.54 TFLOPS versus 5.816 TFLOPS shows the older card has nearly double the raw floating-point throughput. Texture rate of 329.5 GTexel/s versus 181.8 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 94.14 GPixel/s versus 90.88 GPixel/s both favor the Vega 56.

Workloads that depend on memory capacity and bandwidth, such as large dataset compute or high-resolution texture streaming, would benefit from the RX Vega 56. Workloads that depend on modern architecture features, efficiency, or raw benchmark average would benefit from the RX 6550M. The data shows a trade-off between architectural modernity and raw resource allocation, with the newer card winning the aggregate performance race.