AMD Radeon RX 6550M vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records a single direct head-to-head comparison between the AMD Radeon RX 6550M and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile, using Geekbench OpenCL. In this test, the NVIDIA part scores 52998 against the AMD part's 42536, a delta of -19.7% for the RX 6550M. This is a substantial margin, placing the RTX 3050 A Mobile roughly one-fifth ahead of the RX 6550M in raw compute throughput as measured by OpenCL.

The AMD RX 6550M's average benchmark score across all recorded tests is 46702, while the NVIDIA RTX 3050 A Mobile's average is 8746. The disparity in these averages is striking, but it stems from a critical difference in the benchmark suites recorded. The NVIDIA card has eight recorded passmark tests in the database, including lower-level legacy DirectX tests, while the AMD card has only the two Geekbench results. The low passmark scores for the NVIDIA part, such as 61 in DirectX 10, 94 in DirectX 11, 55 in DirectX 12, and 152 in DirectX 9, drag its average down heavily. The G2D score of 526 and the GPU compute score of 4419 further dilute the average. Meanwhile, the RX 6550M's average of 46702 is derived purely from its two Geekbench results, both of which are strong. This makes a direct average-to-average comparison misleading without accounting for the different test workloads.

Looking at percentile placement, the RX 6550M sits at the 85th percentile of all GPUs in the database, a strong position. The RTX 3050 A Mobile sits at the 44th percentile, a mid-pack placement. The percentile figures are based on all recorded data, so the NVIDIA part's inclusion of many low-scoring legacy tests pulls it down. The head-to-head OpenCL result, however, is the cleanest apples-to-apples comparison available, and it favors NVIDIA clearly.

The nearest rivals for the RX 6550M in the database are the Intel Arc A530M at 46614 (0.2% delta), the AMD Radeon RX 5600M at 46601 (0.2% delta), the NVIDIA RTX A2000 at 46043 (1.4% delta), and the NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation at 45972 (1.6% delta). These are all within 1.6% of the RX 6550M, indicating a tight cluster of performance around the 46-47k average score mark. The RTX 3050 A Mobile's nearest rivals are far lower in average score: the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 v2 at 8743 (0% delta), the NVIDIA Quadro P2200 at 8686 (0.7% delta), the AMD Radeon R9 M265X at 8851 (-1.2% delta), and the AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100 at 8863 (-1.3% delta). These rivals are all in the 8.7-8.9k range, confirming that the RTX 3050 A Mobile's average is dragged down by its passmark results, not representative of its compute peak.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins the only direct head-to-head benchmark recorded in the database?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile wins the Geekbench OpenCL test with a score of 52998 versus 42536 for the AMD Radeon RX 6550M, a delta of -19.7% for the AMD part.

Q: How does the average benchmark score of the RX 6550M compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RX 6550M's average score is 46702. Its nearest rivals, the Intel Arc A530M at 46614 and the AMD Radeon RX 5600M at 46601, are within 0.2% of it. The NVIDIA RTX A2000 at 46043 is 1.4% behind, and the NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation at 45972 is 1.6% behind.

Q: Why is the RTX 3050 A Mobile's average score so much lower than the RX 6550M's despite winning the OpenCL test?

A: The RTX 3050 A Mobile has eight recorded passmark tests in the database, including legacy DirectX 9, 10, 11, and 12 scores of 152, 61, 94, and 55 respectively, plus a G2D score of 526 and a GPU compute score of 4419. These low scores pull its average down to 8746. The RX 6550M only has the two Geekbench results, both strong, giving it a 46702 average.

Q: What is the percentile ranking of each GPU in the database?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6550M ranks at the 85th percentile of all GPUs. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile ranks at the 44th percentile.

Q: What are the nearest rivals for the RTX 3050 A Mobile by average score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 v2 at 8743 (0% delta), the NVIDIA Quadro P2200 at 8686 (0.7% delta), the AMD Radeon R9 M265X at 8851 (-1.2% delta), and the AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100 at 8863 (-1.3% delta).

Q: Does the RTX 3050 A Mobile have any recorded wins other than OpenCL?

A: The database records only one head-to-head benchmark between these two GPUs, the Geekbench OpenCL test, which the RTX 3050 A Mobile wins. The RX 6550M has zero recorded head-to-head wins, and the RTX 3050 A Mobile has one.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations and foundries. The AMD Radeon RX 6550M uses the Navi 24 chip built on RDNA 2.0 architecture, fabricated on a 6 nm process at TSMC. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile uses the GA106 chip built on Ampere architecture, fabricated on an 8 nm process at Samsung. The process node difference is meaningful: 6 nm versus 8 nm, which partly explains the transistor density disparity. The AMD chip packs 5,400 million transistors into a 107 mm² die, yielding a density of 50.5M transistors per mm². The NVIDIA chip has 12,000 million transistors on a 276 mm² die, yielding 43.5M per mm². The AMD chip is denser, but the NVIDIA chip has more than twice the transistor count and a much larger physical die.

Both GPUs support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so API compatibility is identical. Both are integrated into mobile platforms with an IGP slot width and no power connectors, and both have display outputs described as portable device dependent. Neither has a listed suggested PSU.

The RDNA 2.0 architecture in the AMD part includes 1024 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, 32 raster output units, and 16 ray tracing cores. The Ampere architecture in the NVIDIA part includes 1792 shading units, 56 TMUs, 32 ROPs, 14 ray tracing cores, and 56 tensor cores. The NVIDIA part has no tensor core equivalent in the AMD part, since RDNA 2.0 does not include dedicated tensor hardware. The AMD part has more TMUs and more ray tracing cores, while the NVIDIA part has significantly more shading units and the tensor core block.

The memory subsystem differs in bus width and bandwidth. The RX 6550M uses a 64-bit bus with 144.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 3050 A Mobile uses a 128-bit bus with 192.0 GB/s bandwidth. Both have 4 GB of GDDR6 memory. The wider bus on the NVIDIA part gives it a 33% bandwidth advantage, which matters for texture-heavy workloads and higher resolutions, though both are entry-level mobile parts.

The AMD part's PCIe interface is PCIe 4.0 x4, while the NVIDIA part uses PCIe 4.0 x8. The extra lanes on the NVIDIA part can help with data transfer in bandwidth-sensitive scenarios, especially when the GPU memory is limited.

Specification Differences

The clock speeds differ notably. The AMD Radeon RX 6550M has a base clock of 2000 MHz, a boost clock of 2840 MHz, and a game clock of 2560 MHz. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile has a base clock of 1065 MHz and a boost clock of 1343 MHz, with no game clock listed. The AMD part runs at much higher clocks, which contributes to its higher pixel rate and texture rate despite fewer shading units.

Memory clocks also differ. The AMD part lists a memory clock of 2250 MHz with 18 Gbps effective. The NVIDIA part lists 1500 MHz with 12 Gbps effective. The AMD memory runs faster per pin, but the NVIDIA part's wider bus compensates with higher total bandwidth.

Compute throughput figures diverge. The AMD part delivers 5.816 TFLOPS FP32 and 11.63 TFLOPS FP16 at a 2:1 ratio. The NVIDIA part delivers 4.813 TFLOPS FP32 and 4.813 TFLOPS FP16 at a 1:1 ratio. This means the AMD part has a higher peak FP32 throughput and a much higher FP16 throughput when the hardware path is used, while the NVIDIA part has equal FP16 and FP32 rates, a characteristic of its architecture.

Pixel and texture rates favor AMD. The RX 6550M achieves 90.88 GPixel/s and 181.8 GTexel/s. The RTX 3050 A Mobile achieves 42.98 GPixel/s and 75.21 GTexel/s. The AMD part is roughly 2.1x ahead in pixel rate and 2.4x ahead in texture rate. These are large margins that reflect the AMD part's much higher clock speeds and its 64 TMUs versus 56 on the NVIDIA part.

Power draw differs substantially. The AMD part has a TDP of 80 W, while the NVIDIA part has a TDP of 45 W. The NVIDIA part delivers its OpenCL win at a lower power envelope, which is relevant for thin-and-light laptop designs where thermal headroom is limited.

The release dates differ. The AMD Radeon RX 6550M was released on January 3, 2023. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile was released on December 31, 2023. The AMD part is listed as Active production status, while the NVIDIA part is listed as End-of-life. The AMD part's predecessor is listed as Polaris Mobile, and the NVIDIA part's predecessor is GeForce 20 Mobile. Neither has a listed successor.

The AMD part belongs to the Radeon RX 6000 series and the Navi Mobile (RX 6000M) generation. The NVIDIA part belongs to the GeForce 30-series and the GeForce 30 Mobile generation.

The Verdict

The recorded data paints a clear but nuanced picture. In the only direct head-to-head benchmark available, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile wins decisively, scoring 52998 versus 42536 in Geekbench OpenCL, a 19.7% margin. This is the most reliable apples-to-apples comparison in the database. The RX 6550M's average score is higher only because the database lacks passmark results for it, not because it is faster in compute.

The RX 6550M has the better architectural profile on paper: higher clocks, higher pixel rate, higher texture rate, higher FP32 and FP16 throughput, and a denser 6 nm process. It also sits at the 85th percentile of all GPUs, versus the 44th percentile for the RTX 3050 A Mobile. However, the percentile and average score figures for the NVIDIA part are depressed by its legacy passmark results, which include DirectX 9, 10, 11, and 12 scores in the 55 to 152 range. Those tests likely do not reflect the GPU's performance in modern workloads, but they are what the database records.

For a buyer prioritizing raw OpenCL compute in a direct comparison, the RTX 3050 A Mobile is the stronger choice according to the data. The 19.7% lead in the head-to-head test is not trivial. For a buyer prioritizing modern feature density, higher clock speeds, and rasterization throughput as measured by pixel and texture rates, the RX 6550M shows advantages that the OpenCL test does not capture.

The RTX 3050 A Mobile is also more power-efficient in the recorded data, with a 45 W TDP versus 80 W for the AMD part. That is a significant difference for mobile implementations, where battery life and thermal management are critical. The AMD part's higher TDP may allow it to sustain higher clocks, but it also means more heat and power draw.

The RTX 3050 A Mobile is end-of-life, while the RX 6550M is still active. That may matter for long-term driver support and availability, though the database does not record driver policies.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile wins in the direct OpenCL compute test, and that is the only head-to-head benchmark the database records. It also wins on memory bandwidth (192.0 GB/s versus 144.0 GB/s) thanks to its 128-bit bus, and on power efficiency with a 45 W TDP versus 80 W. Its 1792 shading units and 56 tensor cores give it a compute resource advantage in workloads that use those units, particularly those that leverage tensor operations, which the AMD part cannot accelerate in hardware. The PCIe 4.0 x8 interface also provides more host bandwidth than the AMD part's x4 link.

The AMD Radeon RX 6550M wins on clock speed, with a boost of 2840 MHz versus 1343 MHz. It wins on pixel rate (90.88 GPixel/s versus 42.98 GPixel/s) and texture rate (181.8 GTexel/s versus 75.21 GTexel/s). It wins on FP32 throughput (5.816 TFLOPS versus 4.813 TFLOPS) and FP16 throughput (11.63 TFLOPS versus 4.813 TFLOPS). It has more TMUs (64 versus 56) and more ray tracing cores (16 versus 14). It uses a more advanced 6 nm process at TSMC versus 8 nm at Samsung, and it has a higher transistor density (50.5M per mm² versus 43.5M per mm²). It also holds the 85th percentile ranking versus the 44th percentile for the NVIDIA part.

The use-case split follows these strengths. For compute-heavy OpenCL workloads, the RTX 3050 A Mobile is the choice according to the direct test. For rasterization-heavy workloads that stress pixel and texture throughput, the RX 6550M's large leads in GPixel/s and GTexel/s suggest an advantage. For tensor-based workloads, the RTX 3050 A Mobile is the only one of the two with tensor cores. For power-constrained laptops, the 45 W TDP of the NVIDIA part is more attractive. For legacy DirectX workloads, the RTX 3050 A Mobile has recorded scores, though they are low, while the RX 6550M has no recorded results in those tests at all.