AMD Radeon RX 6550M vs NVIDIA CMP 90HX Comparison

The NVIDIA CMP 90HX and AMD Radeon RX 6550M occupy different corners of the hardware landscape, one a desktop mining card and the other a mobile gaming GPU. Benchmark data from the database shows a clear performance hierarchy, but the differences extend far beyond raw scores into architecture, memory configuration, and intended use. The CMP 90HX leads in compute performance with a 62.2% higher OpenCL score, while the RX 6550M counters with modern connectivity and efficiency. Below is a detailed breakdown of what the recorded measurements reveal.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher benchmark score in the database?

A: The NVIDIA CMP 90HX scores 69,000 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the AMD Radeon RX 6550M scores 42,536 in the same test. That places the CMP 90HX 62.2% ahead of the RX 6550M in this specific workload.

Q: How do these GPUs rank against all other GPUs in the database?

A: The CMP 90HX sits at the 90th percentile, while the RX 6550M ranks at the 85th percentile. The CMP 90HX also has a higher average benchmark score of 69,000 compared to 46,702 for the RX 6550M.

Q: What are the closest rivals for each card based on average scores?

A: For the CMP 90HX, the nearest rivals are the Intel Arc A770 (68,809, 0.3% lower), AMD Radeon Instinct MI25 (68,562, 0.6% lower), AMD Radeon Pro WX 8200 (69,870, 1.2% higher), and NVIDIA Quadro P6000 (69,986, 1.4% higher). For the RX 6550M, the nearest rivals are the Intel Arc A530M (46,614, 0.2% higher), AMD Radeon RX 5600M (46,601, 0.2% higher), NVIDIA RTX A2000 (46,043, 1.4% lower), and NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation (45,972, 1.6% lower).

Q: Which GPU has more memory bandwidth?

A: The NVIDIA CMP 90HX offers 760.3 GB/s of bandwidth from 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus. The AMD Radeon RX 6550M delivers 144.0 GB/s from 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus, meaning the CMP 90HX has over five times the memory bandwidth.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The CMP 90HX has a TDP of 320 W and requires a 700 W power supply with two 8-pin connectors. The RX 6550M has a TDP of 80 W, uses no external power connectors, and is designed for portable devices.

Q: Which GPU supports newer PCIe standards?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6550M uses PCIe 4.0 x4, while the NVIDIA CMP 90HX uses PCIe 1.0 x4. The RX 6550M also has display outputs (portable device dependent), whereas the CMP 90HX has no display outputs at all.

Architecture Differences

The NVIDIA CMP 90HX is built on the GA102 chip using the Ampere architecture, fabricated on Samsung's 8 nm process. It packs 28,300 million transistors into a 628 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 45.1M per mm². The chip includes 6,400 shading units, 200 texture mapping units, 80 raster output units, 50 ray tracing cores, and 200 tensor cores. Its memory subsystem consists of 10 GB of GDDR6X on a 320-bit bus, with clocks running at 1500 MHz base and 1710 MHz boost, and memory at 1188 MHz (19 Gbps effective). The card supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, though it has no display outputs, reflecting its mining-focused design.

The AMD Radeon RX 6550M is built on the Navi 24 chip using the RDNA 2.0 architecture, fabricated on TSMC's 6 nm process. It contains 5,400 million transistors on a 107 mm² die, giving it a transistor density of 50.5M per mm², which is higher than the CMP 90HX despite having far fewer total transistors. The RX 6550M features 1,024 shading units, 64 TMUs, 32 ROPs, and 16 ray tracing cores, with no tensor cores listed. Its memory configuration includes 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus, with base clocks at 2000 MHz, boost at 2840 MHz, game clock at 2560 MHz, and memory at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective). The GPU supports the same API set (DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, Vulkan 1.4) but is designed for mobile integration with display outputs dependent on the portable device.

The process node difference is significant: the RX 6550M uses a smaller 6 nm node compared to the CMP 90HX's 8 nm node, which partly explains the RX 6550M's higher transistor density. The CMP 90HX compensates with a much larger die and more than five times the transistor count, giving it substantially more compute resources. The RX 6550M also has a higher boost clock (2840 MHz vs 1710 MHz), but the CMP 90HX's sheer number of shading units (6,400 vs 1,024) overwhelms the clock advantage in raw throughput.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains a single direct comparison: Geekbench OpenCL. In this test, the NVIDIA CMP 90HX scores 69,000 against the AMD Radeon RX 6550M's 42,536, a delta of 62.2% in favor of the CMP 90HX. This is a decisive margin, indicating that the CMP 90HX delivers roughly two-thirds more compute performance in this workload.

The OpenCL result aligns with the architectural disparity. The CMP 90HX has 6,400 shading units compared to 1,024, and its FP32 throughput is 21.89 TFLOPS versus 5.816 TFLOPS for the RX 6550M. The CMP 90HX also leads in texture rate (342.0 GTexel/s vs 181.8 GTexel/s) and pixel rate (136.8 GPixel/s vs 90.88 GPixel/s), though the gap is smaller in those areas than in raw compute. Memory bandwidth shows the largest proportional difference: 760.3 GB/s versus 144.0 GB/s, a factor of about 5.3.

The RX 6550M has its own benchmark entries in the database, including a Geekbench Vulkan score of 50,867, which is notably higher than its OpenCL score. However, no Vulkan score is recorded for the CMP 90HX, so a direct comparison in that API is not possible from the available data. The RX 6550M's average benchmark score of 46,702 places it near rivals like the Intel Arc A530M (46,614) and AMD Radeon RX 5600M (46,601), with margins under 0.3%. The CMP 90HX's average of 69,000 sits in a higher tier, close to the Intel Arc A770 (68,809) and AMD Radeon Pro WX 8200 (69,870), with deltas within 1.4%.

The recorded data indicates that the CMP 90HX wins the only direct head-to-head test, and its average score is 47.7% higher than the RX 6550M's average. The RX 6550M's Vulkan advantage suggests it may perform relatively better in gaming-oriented APIs, but without a CMP 90HX Vulkan score, that remains speculative.

The Verdict

Based solely on the database measurements, the NVIDIA CMP 90HX is the superior compute performer. Its 69,000 OpenCL score versus 42,536 for the RX 6550M represents a 62.2% lead, and its 90th percentile ranking versus 85th confirms its higher standing among all GPUs. The CMP 90HX also offers far more memory (10 GB vs 4 GB) and bandwidth (760.3 GB/s vs 144.0 GB/s), which matters for memory-intensive workloads.

However, the RX 6550M is not without merits. It is an active production card designed for mobile devices, with a TDP of just 80 W compared to 320 W for the CMP 90HX. It uses PCIe 4.0 x4, a modern interface, whereas the CMP 90HX is limited to PCIe 1.0 x4. The RX 6550M also has display outputs (portable device dependent), making it usable for gaming or general graphics, while the CMP 90HX has no outputs and cannot drive a monitor.

The CMP 90HX is end-of-life, released in July 2021, while the RX 6550M was released in January 2023 and remains active. The CMP 90HX is a dual-slot desktop card requiring a 700 W power supply, while the RX 6550M is an integrated GPU (IGP) with no power connectors. For anyone needing a display output or a mobile solution, the RX 6550M is the only viable choice. For raw compute performance in a desktop mining or compute context, the CMP 90HX dominates.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every measurable specification, with only the API support (DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, Vulkan 1.4) being identical.

• Process node: CMP 90HX uses 8 nm (Samsung), RX 6550M uses 6 nm (TSMC)
• Transistors: CMP 90HX has 28,300 million, RX 6550M has 5,400 million
• Die size: CMP 90HX is 628 mm², RX 6550M is 107 mm²
• Transistor density: CMP 90HX has 45.1M per mm², RX 6550M has 50.5M per mm²
• Base clock: CMP 90HX at 1500 MHz, RX 6550M at 2000 MHz
• Boost clock: CMP 90HX at 1710 MHz, RX 6550M at 2840 MHz
• Memory: CMP 90HX has 10 GB GDDR6X, RX 6550M has 4 GB GDDR6
• Memory bus: CMP 90HX at 320-bit, RX 6550M at 64-bit
• Memory bandwidth: CMP 90HX at 760.3 GB/s, RX 6550M at 144.0 GB/s
• Shading units: CMP 90HX has 6,400, RX 6550M has 1,024
• TMUs: CMP 90HX has 200, RX 6550M has 64
• ROPs: CMP 90HX has 80, RX 6550M has 32
• Ray tracing cores: CMP 90HX has 50, RX 6550M has 16
• Tensor cores: CMP 90HX has 200, RX 6550M has none
• Pixel rate: CMP 90HX at 136.8 GPixel/s, RX 6550M at 90.88 GPixel/s
• Texture rate: CMP 90HX at 342.0 GTexel/s, RX 6550M at 181.8 GTexel/s
• FP32 performance: CMP 90HX at 21.89 TFLOPS, RX 6550M at 5.816 TFLOPS
• FP16 performance: CMP 90HX at 21.89 TFLOPS (1:1), RX 6550M at 11.63 TFLOPS (2:1)
• TDP: CMP 90HX at 320 W, RX 6550M at 80 W
• Slot width: CMP 90HX is dual-slot, RX 6550M is IGP
• Power connectors: CMP 90HX uses 2x 8-pin, RX 6550M uses none
• Suggested PSU: CMP 90HX at 700 W, RX 6550M has none listed
• Bus interface: CMP 90HX at PCIe 1.0 x4, RX 6550M at PCIe 4.0 x4
• Display outputs: CMP 90HX has none, RX 6550M is portable device dependent
• Dimensions: CMP 90HX is 285 mm long and 112 mm tall, RX 6550M has no listed dimensions
• Production status: CMP 90HX is end-of-life, RX 6550M is active
• Release date: CMP 90HX on July 27, 2021, RX 6550M on January 3, 2023

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA CMP 90HX wins in compute-heavy scenarios. Its OpenCL score of 69,000 is 62.2% higher than the RX 6550M, and its FP32 throughput of 21.89 TFLOPS is nearly four times higher. The 10 GB memory capacity and 760.3 GB/s bandwidth make it suitable for large datasets or workloads requiring substantial memory bandwidth. The 200 tensor cores provide additional acceleration for AI-related tasks, a feature entirely absent from the RX 6550M. The CMP 90HX also leads in pixel rate (136.8 GPixel/s vs 90.88 GPixel/s) and texture rate (342.0 GTexel/s vs 181.8 GTexel/s), making it stronger for rendering workloads that stress those units.

The AMD Radeon RX 6550M wins in efficiency and mobility. Its 80 W TDP is a quarter of the CMP 90HX's 320 W, and it requires no external power connectors, making it feasible for laptops and compact devices. The 6 nm process node and higher transistor density (50.5M per mm² vs 45.1M per mm²) reflect a more modern design. The RX 6550M's PCIe 4.0 x4 interface is a major upgrade over the CMP 90HX's PCIe 1.0 x4, offering more bandwidth for data transfer. Its Vulkan score of 50,867 suggests strong performance in Vulkan-based applications, which could favor gaming workloads. The RX 6550M also has display outputs, enabling video output, while the CMP 90HX cannot output to a screen at all.

The database shows the RX 6550M's average score of 46,702 places it just 0.2% above the Intel Arc A530M and AMD Radeon RX 5600M, indicating it is competitive within its mobile class. The CMP 90HX, by contrast, sits within 1.4% of higher-end cards like the AMD Radeon Pro WX 8200 and NVIDIA Quadro P6000, confirming its position in a more powerful desktop tier.

For users who need maximum compute performance in a desktop chassis with adequate power delivery, the CMP 90HX is the clear choice. For portable systems, energy efficiency, or any use requiring a display output, the RX 6550M is the only option that fits. The data does not support a single "best" card; it supports two different tools for two different jobs.