AMD Radeon RX 6550S vs AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded database contains no head-to-head benchmark entries for this pairing. Both GPUs show zero benchmark scores, zero wins each, and no nearest rival data. The absence of measured results means every comparison below is derived strictly from the specification fields present in the database, not from executed tests.

The AMD Radeon RX 6550S delivers a peak FP32 compute figure of 4.915 TFLOPS, while the AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU reaches 8.294 TFLOPS. That is a 68.8% advantage for the Ryzen Z2 GPU in raw shader throughput, a substantial margin that typically translates to faster fill-rate-bound workloads and higher sustained frame rates in compute-heavy scenes. The RX 6550S counters with a higher base clock of 2000 MHz versus 800 MHz, and a game clock of 2170 MHz, but the Ryzen Z2 GPU boosts to 2700 MHz, which exceeds the RX 6550S boost of 2400 MHz by 300 MHz.

Texture rate favors the RX 6550S at 153.6 GTexel/s against 129.6 GTexel/s for the Ryzen Z2 GPU, a difference of 18.5%. Pixel rate, however, goes the other way: the Ryzen Z2 GPU posts 86.40 GPixel/s versus 76.80 GPixel/s for the RX 6550S, a 12.5% lead. These two rates point to different workload strengths. The RX 6550S has more texture mapping units (64 versus 48) and more shading units (1024 versus 768), yet the Ryzen Z2 GPU compensates with higher boost clocks and a newer architecture generation.

Memory capacity is a decisive differentiator. The RX 6550S ships with 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus, yielding 128.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Ryzen Z2 GPU features 16 GB of LPDDR5X on a 128-bit bus, but its bandwidth is 119.9 GB/s, slightly lower than the RX 6550S. The Ryzen Z2 GPU therefore holds a 4x capacity advantage while giving up 6.3% in raw bandwidth. For modern game assets and large working sets, that capacity gap is likely to matter more than the modest bandwidth difference.

Ray tracing hardware also differs. The RX 6550S includes 16 ray accelerators, while the Ryzen Z2 GPU has 12. That is a 33.3% higher RT core count for the RX 6550S, though the Ryzen Z2 GPU’s RDNA 3.0 architecture may implement ray tracing more efficiently per core. No benchmark data exists to quantify that architectural efficiency, so the comparison rests on core counts alone.

FP16 throughput shows a notable divergence. The RX 6550S achieves 9.830 TFLOPS at a 2:1 ratio, meaning it can double its FP32 rate for half-precision work. The Ryzen Z2 GPU delivers 8.294 TFLOPS at a 1:1 ratio, so its FP16 rate equals its FP32 rate. For applications that leverage packed FP16 math, the RX 6550S has a 18.5% advantage in peak half-precision throughput.

Power consumption is heavily skewed. The RX 6550S carries a TDP of 50 W, while the Ryzen Z2 GPU operates at 28 W. That means the Ryzen Z2 GPU delivers 68.8% more FP32 compute while drawing 44% less power. The efficiency ratio is stark: 0.296 TFLOPS per watt for the Ryzen Z2 GPU versus 0.098 TFLOPS per watt for the RX 6550S, a 3x efficiency gap. The RX 6550S does offer higher texture throughput per watt (3.072 GTexel/s per watt versus 4.629 GTexel/s per watt for the Ryzen Z2 GPU, so the Ryzen Z2 GPU wins that ratio too), and higher pixel rate per watt (1.536 GPixel/s per watt versus 3.086 GPixel/s per watt for the Ryzen Z2 GPU). Every throughput-per-watt metric favors the Ryzen Z2 GPU.

Process technology reinforces that efficiency story. The RX 6550S uses a 6 nm TSMC node with 5,400 million transistors on a 107 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 50.5M per mm². The Ryzen Z2 GPU uses a 4 nm TSMC node with 25,390 million transistors on a 178 mm² die, yielding 142.6M per mm². The Ryzen Z2 GPU packs 4.7x more transistors into a die that is only 66.4% larger, and its density is 2.82x higher. This newer, denser process is the foundation for the Ryzen Z2 GPU’s efficiency lead.

Release timing also differs. The RX 6550S appeared on 2023-01-03, while the Ryzen Z2 GPU is dated 2024-12-31, nearly two years later. Both remain listed as Active in production status.

The Verdict

The data supports a clear split by use case. The AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU is the stronger compute and efficiency option. It leads by 68.8% in FP32 TFLOPS, by 12.5% in pixel rate, offers 4x the memory capacity, runs on a denser 4 nm process, and consumes 22 W less power. Any workload that is shader-bound, memory-capacity-bound, or power-constrained will benefit from the Ryzen Z2 GPU.

The AMD Radeon RX 6550S holds advantages in texture rate (18.5% higher), FP16 throughput (18.5% higher at 2:1 ratio), ray accelerator count (33.3% higher), and memory bandwidth (6.8% higher). It also has a higher base clock and a higher game clock, which could translate to better responsiveness in lightly threaded or clock-sensitive scenarios. For tasks that stress texture sampling, packed half-precision math, or ray traversal hardware, the RX 6550S is the better fit on paper.

The Ryzen Z2 GPU’s FP32 advantage is large enough to dominate most general rendering workloads. Its 8.294 TFLOPS versus 4.915 TFLOPS is a 68.8% gap that no combination of texture units or RT cores on the RX 6550S can close in typical rasterization. The 16 GB memory pool also positions the Ryzen Z2 GPU for large datasets, modern game installs, and multi-application contexts, whereas 4 GB on the RX 6550S is a hard ceiling for high-resolution texture sets.

Efficiency is not close. The Ryzen Z2 GPU delivers 3x more FP32 throughput per watt and 2x more pixel throughput per watt than the RX 6550S. In a portable or console-class device where thermal and battery budgets are tight, the Ryzen Z2 GPU is the only rational choice based on the recorded specifications.

The RX 6550S remains viable for workloads that specifically exploit its texture rate, FP16 capabilities, or higher ray accelerator count. Its 153.6 GTexel/s texture rate exceeds the Ryzen Z2 GPU by 24.0 GTexel/s, and its 128.0 GB/s bandwidth edges out the Ryzen Z2 GPU by 8.1 GB/s. Those are real, measurable advantages, but they serve narrower application profiles.

Neither GPU has benchmark scores in the database, so the percentileVsAllGpus field shows 50 for both, and avgBenchmarkScore is 0 for both. The verdict rests entirely on specification analysis. Based on that, the Ryzen Z2 GPU is the superior all-round performer, while the RX 6550S is a specialized alternative for texture-heavy or FP16-heavy pipelines.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher FP32 compute performance?

A: The AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU leads with 8.294 TFLOPS, which is 68.8% higher than the 4.915 TFLOPS of the AMD Radeon RX 6550S.

Q: How do the memory configurations compare?

A: The RX 6550S has 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus with 128.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Ryzen Z2 GPU has 16 GB of LPDDR5X on a 128-bit bus with 119.9 GB/s bandwidth. The Ryzen Z2 GPU offers 4x the capacity but 6.3% less bandwidth.

Q: What are the power consumption figures?

A: The RX 6550S has a TDP of 50 W, while the Ryzen Z2 GPU has a TDP of 28 W. The Ryzen Z2 GPU draws 44% less power while delivering higher FP32 compute.

Q: Which GPU has more ray tracing hardware?

A: The RX 6550S includes 16 ray accelerators, while the Ryzen Z2 GPU has 12. That is a 33.3% higher RT core count for the RX 6550S.

Q: How do the process nodes differ?

A: The RX 6550S uses a 6 nm TSMC process with 5,400 million transistors on a 107 mm² die. The Ryzen Z2 GPU uses a 4 nm TSMC process with 25,390 million transistors on a 178 mm² die.

Q: What is the FP16 performance for each GPU?

A: The RX 6550S achieves 9.830 TFLOPS FP16 at a 2:1 ratio, while the Ryzen Z2 GPU achieves 8.294 TFLOPS FP16 at a 1:1 ratio. The RX 6550S has an 18.5% advantage in FP16 throughput.

Specification Differences

| Field | AMD Radeon RX 6550S | AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU |

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

| Architecture | RDNA 2.0 | RDNA 3.0 |

| Process Node | 6 nm | 4 nm |

| Transistors | 5,400 million | 25,390 million |

| Die Size | 107 mm² | 178 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 50.5M / mm² | 142.6M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 2000 MHz | 800 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2400 MHz | 2700 MHz |

| Game Clock | 2170 MHz | None |

| Memory Clock | 2000 MHz, 16 Gbps effective | 937 MHz, 7.5 Gbps effective |

| Memory Size | 4 GB | 16 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | LPDDR5X |

| Memory Bus Width | 64 bit | 128 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 128.0 GB/s | 119.9 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 1024 | 768 |

| TMUs | 64 | 48 |

| ROPs | 32 | 32 |

| RT Cores | 16 | 12 |

| Pixel Rate | 76.80 GPixel/s | 86.40 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 153.6 GTexel/s | 129.6 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 4.915 TFLOPS | 8.294 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 9.830 TFLOPS (2:1) | 8.294 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 50 W | 28 W |

| Slot Width | IGP | None listed |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x4 | None listed |

| Display Outputs | Portable Device Dependent | 1x USB Type-C |

| Release Date | 2023-01-03 | 2024-12-31 |

| Generation | Navi Mobile (RX 6000M) | Console GPU (AMD) |

| Chip | Navi 24 | Hawk Point |

Architecture Differences

The RX 6550S is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture and belongs to the Navi Mobile generation of the RX 6000M family. Its chip, Navi 24, is fabricated on a 6 nm TSMC process. The Ryzen Z2 GPU uses the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Hawk Point chip, fabricated on a 4 nm TSMC process. The newer generation brings a higher transistor density: 142.6M per mm² versus 50.5M per mm² for the RX 6550S, despite the Ryzen Z2 GPU’s larger die at 178 mm² versus 107 mm².

The RX 6550S allocates its transistor budget across 1024 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, 32 ROPs, and 16 ray accelerators. The Ryzen Z2 GPU uses 768 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, 32 ROPs, and 12 ray accelerators. The RX 6550S therefore has 33.3% more shading units, 33.3% more texture units, and 33.3% more RT cores, while both share the same ROP count of 32.

Clock behavior differs fundamentally. The RX 6550S has a base clock of 2000 MHz, a game clock of 2170 MHz, and a boost clock of 2400 MHz. The Ryzen Z2 GPU starts at a lower 800 MHz base but boosts to 2700 MHz, which is 12.5% higher than the RX 6550S boost. The Ryzen Z2 GPU has no recorded game clock.

Memory architecture diverges in both type and configuration. The RX 6550S uses 4 GB of GDDR6 with a 64-bit bus and 128.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Ryzen Z2 GPU uses 16 GB of LPDDR5X with a 128-bit bus and 119.9 GB/s bandwidth. The RX 6550S has higher memory bandwidth but far less capacity, and its memory clock is 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) versus 937 MHz (7.5 Gbps effective) for the Ryzen Z2 GPU.

The Ryzen Z2 GPU’s FP16 implementation is 1:1 with FP32, meaning both run at 8.294 TFLOPS. The RX 6550S uses a 2:1 FP16 ratio, doubling its FP32 rate to 9.830 TFLOPS. This architectural choice makes the RX 6550S better suited for half-precision compute tasks despite its lower FP32 ceiling.

Display output is another difference. The RX 6550S lists its display outputs as Portable Device Dependent, reflecting its IGP slot width and integration into mobile devices. The Ryzen Z2 GPU specifies a single USB Type-C output, consistent with its console GPU generation. The RX 6550S uses a PCIe 4.0 x4 bus interface, while the Ryzen Z2 GPU has no bus interface listed.

Power delivery also differs. The RX 6550S has a 50 W TDP and no power connectors, while the Ryzen Z2 GPU has a 28 W TDP and no power connectors. The Ryzen Z2 GPU’s lower power envelope, combined with its higher FP32 output, makes it the more efficient architecture per the recorded data. Both GPUs support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.