AMD Radeon RX 6550M vs NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded benchmark data shows a decisive overall victory for the NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile, winning both head-to-head tests against the AMD Radeon RX 6550M. The largest margin appears in the Geekbench OpenCL test, where the NVIDIA part scores 79091 against AMD’s 42536, a delta of 85.9%. This is a substantial gap, indicating that the RTX A3000 Mobile delivers nearly double the raw compute throughput in this particular workload. The Vulkan test narrows the field considerably, but NVIDIA still prevails with a score of 61189 versus 50867, a 20.3% advantage.

Looking at the average benchmark scores, the RTX A3000 Mobile sits at 70140, while the RX 6550M averages 46702. That places the NVIDIA GPU roughly 50% higher in aggregate performance. The percentile rankings reinforce this: the RTX A3000 Mobile lands in the 91st percentile of all GPUs, while the RX 6550M sits in the 85th percentile. While both are above-average performers, the RTX A3000 Mobile is clearly positioned in a higher performance tier.

For context, the RTX A3000 Mobile’s nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA Quadro P6000 with an average score of 69986 (0.2% behind), the AMD Radeon Pro WX 8200 at 69870 (0.4% behind), and the AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE at 70829 (1% ahead). The RX 6550M, by contrast, competes with the Intel Arc A530M at 46614 (0.2% behind), the AMD Radeon RX 5600M at 46601 (0.2% behind), and the NVIDIA RTX A2000 at 46043 (1.4% behind). These rival clusters show that the RTX A3000 Mobile is competing in a much higher performance bracket, while the RX 6550M sits in a more modest range.

The OpenCL result is particularly telling. A delta of 85.9% is not a marginal difference; it is a generational or class-level gap. The RTX A3000 Mobile’s 4096 shading units and 128 texture mapping units simply outclass the RX 6550M’s 1024 shading units and 64 TMUs. In Vulkan, the gap narrows to 20.3%, which suggests that the AMD part’s higher clock speeds (boost up to 2840 MHz versus 1230 MHz) help it close some ground in API-specific workloads. Still, the NVIDIA GPU maintains a clear lead.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX A3000 Mobile wins in every recorded benchmark category. It is ahead in both OpenCL and Vulkan, with no test where the RX 6550M takes the lead. This means that for general compute tasks, including those that rely on OpenCL for GPU acceleration, the NVIDIA part is the stronger choice. Its FP32 throughput of 10.08 TFLOPS versus 5.816 TFLOPS for the AMD GPU explains much of this advantage. The RTX A3000 Mobile also offers higher memory bandwidth at 264.0 GB/s compared to 144.0 GB/s, which benefits large data transfers and texture-heavy workloads.

Where the RX 6550M does show theoretical advantages, they are not reflected in the benchmark wins. Its pixel rate of 90.88 GPixel/s and texture rate of 181.8 GTexel/s both exceed the RTX A3000 Mobile’s 78.72 GPixel/s and 157.4 GTexel/s. This suggests that in purely rasterization-bound scenarios, the AMD GPU could be competitive, but the recorded data does not include a test that isolates these metrics. The RX 6550M also has a higher boost clock (2840 MHz versus 1230 MHz) and a newer 6 nm process node, which contributes to its efficiency.

For users prioritizing compute performance, content creation, or any workload that leverages OpenCL or Vulkan, the RTX A3000 Mobile is the clear winner. The RX 6550M, with its lower average score and smaller memory footprint (4 GB versus 6 GB), is better suited for lighter tasks where its higher clock speeds and newer architecture might compensate for fewer cores. However, based strictly on the recorded benchmarks, the NVIDIA GPU holds the advantage in every measured category.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 70140, compared to the AMD Radeon RX 6550M’s 46702, a difference of roughly 50%.

Q: How large is the OpenCL performance gap between the two?

A: The RTX A3000 Mobile scores 79091 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the RX 6550M scores 42536, giving NVIDIA a 85.9% advantage in that test.

Q: Does the RX 6550M win any benchmark tests?

A: No, the recorded data shows the RTX A3000 Mobile winning both the Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan tests. The RX 6550M has zero wins in the head-to-head comparison.

Q: What is the Vulkan score difference between the two GPUs?

A: In Geekbench Vulkan, the RTX A3000 Mobile scores 61189, and the RX 6550M scores 50867, resulting in a 20.3% lead for NVIDIA.

Q: How do the two GPUs rank against all other GPUs?

A: The RTX A3000 Mobile is in the 91st percentile, while the RX 6550M is in the 85th percentile of all GPUs in the database.

Q: Which GPU has a higher memory bandwidth?

A: The RTX A3000 Mobile offers 264.0 GB/s bandwidth with a 192-bit bus, while the RX 6550M provides 144.0 GB/s over a 64-bit bus.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ significantly in memory configuration. The RTX A3000 Mobile has 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 264.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RX 6550M has 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus, with 144.0 GB/s bandwidth. This means the NVIDIA GPU has both more memory capacity and substantially higher memory throughput, which is critical for large datasets and high-resolution textures.

Clock speeds also diverge sharply. The RTX A3000 Mobile runs at a base clock of 600 MHz and a boost clock of 1230 MHz, with memory at 1375 MHz (11 Gbps effective). The RX 6550M runs at a base of 2000 MHz, boosts to 2840 MHz, and has a game clock of 2560 MHz, with memory at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective). Despite the AMD part’s much higher clock speeds, the NVIDIA GPU’s larger core count and wider memory bus compensate in actual benchmark performance.

The bus interface differs as well: the RTX A3000 Mobile uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while the RX 6550M uses PCIe 4.0 x4. The x16 connection offers more bandwidth for data transfer with the host system. Power consumption is also different, with the RTX A3000 Mobile rated at 70 W TDP and the RX 6550M at 80 W TDP. Neither GPU requires external power connectors.

Manufacturing details set them apart. The RTX A3000 Mobile uses an 8 nm process from Samsung, while the RX 6550M uses a 6 nm process from TSMC. The NVIDIA chip (GA104) has 17,400 million transistors on a 392 mm² die, while the AMD chip (Navi 24) has 5,400 million transistors on a 107 mm² die. This gives the AMD GPU a higher transistor density of 50.5M per mm² versus 44.4M per mm² for NVIDIA.

Architecture Differences

The RTX A3000 Mobile is built on NVIDIA’s Ampere architecture, specifically using the GA104 chip. It features 4096 shading units, 128 TMUs, 64 ROPs, 32 ray tracing cores, and 128 tensor cores. This is a full-featured GPU with dedicated hardware for ray tracing and AI-accelerated workloads. Its FP32 throughput is 10.08 TFLOPS, and it offers FP16 at the same rate (1:1 ratio). The architecture supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

The RX 6550M uses AMD’s RDNA 2.0 architecture on the Navi 24 chip. It has 1024 shading units, 64 TMUs, 32 ROPs, and 16 ray tracing cores. Notably, it has no tensor cores, which means it lacks dedicated hardware for AI inference tasks. Its FP32 performance is 5.816 TFLOPS, but its FP16 throughput doubles to 11.63 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio). This makes the AMD GPU more efficient in FP16 workloads relative to its FP32 capability. It also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

The core count disparity is striking: the RTX A3000 Mobile has four times the shading units of the RX 6550M (4096 versus 1024) and twice the ROPs (64 versus 32). The NVIDIA GPU also has twice the ray tracing cores (32 versus 16) and adds 128 tensor cores where AMD has none. This makes the RTX A3000 Mobile substantially more capable in ray-traced scenes and any workload that benefits from tensor core acceleration, such as DLSS or AI-based features.

However, the RX 6550M counters with higher clock speeds and a newer, denser process node. Its 6 nm TSMC fabrication allows for 2840 MHz boost clocks, which helps it achieve competitive pixel and texture rates despite fewer cores. The AMD GPU also has a smaller die (107 mm² versus 392 mm²) and fewer transistors (5,400 million versus 17,400 million), making it a more compact and potentially more power-efficient design per unit of area.

The Verdict

Based on the recorded data, the NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile is the superior GPU for anyone prioritizing raw performance. It wins both head-to-head benchmarks with deltas of 85.9% in OpenCL and 20.3% in Vulkan. Its average benchmark score of 70140 is far above the RX 6550M’s 46702, and its 91st percentile ranking versus 85th percentile confirms its higher standing in the overall GPU landscape. The RTX A3000 Mobile offers more memory (6 GB versus 4 GB), higher bandwidth (264.0 GB/s versus 144.0 GB/s), and a wider memory bus (192-bit versus 64-bit). It also includes tensor cores, which the RX 6550M lacks entirely, making it a better choice for AI-accelerated applications.

The AMD Radeon RX 6550M is not without merit. Its higher clock speeds, newer 6 nm process, and superior pixel and texture rates suggest it could excel in specific rasterization-bound scenarios. Its FP16 performance of 11.63 TFLOPS is actually higher than the RTX A3000 Mobile’s 10.08 TFLOPS, which could benefit certain compute workloads that leverage half-precision arithmetic. However, none of these theoretical advantages translate into a single benchmark win in the recorded data.

For users who need maximum compute throughput, memory capacity, and ray tracing capability, the RTX A3000 Mobile is the clear choice. For those who prioritize efficiency, smaller die size, or FP16 compute, the RX 6550M offers a different set of trade-offs. The data, however, is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GPU wins every recorded test and holds a substantial lead in average performance. The RX 6550M remains a capable mobile GPU, but it is not in the same performance class as the RTX A3000 Mobile.