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

The Verdict

The database comparison between the AMD Radeon RX 6550S and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile shows two mobile GPUs with fundamentally different design priorities. The AMD part uses a smaller, denser chip with higher clocks, while the NVIDIA part uses a larger, older-process chip with more shading units but lower frequencies. The recorded data indicates the RTX 3050 A Mobile is the only one with benchmark scores in the database, giving it a clear practical edge for anyone looking at measured performance.

The RX 6550S targets ultra-thin, low-power laptops with its 50 W TDP and integrated form factor, making it suitable for systems where space and cooling are extremely limited. The RTX 3050 A Mobile, with a 45 W TDP, is also an integrated part but carries a larger chip and more memory bandwidth. For users who prioritize raw compute results, the RTX 3050 A Mobile delivers a measurable advantage. The AMD card has a higher percentile ranking at 50 versus 44, but that ranking is based on specifications, not actual test scores, since the RX 6550S has no recorded benchmarks. The practical verdict is clear: pick the RTX 3050 A Mobile for verified performance in the database, pick the RX 6550S only if the specific platform requires AMD's smaller die and higher clock design.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile has an average benchmark score of 8746, while the AMD Radeon RX 6550S has no recorded benchmark scores in the database.

Q: What is the difference in memory bandwidth?

A: The RTX 3050 A Mobile provides 192.0 GB/s over a 128-bit bus, while the RX 6550S provides 128.0 GB/s over a 64-bit bus. The NVIDIA part has 50% more bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU has a larger die and more transistors?

A: The RTX 3050 A Mobile uses a 276 mm² die with 12,000 million transistors, while the RX 6550S uses a 107 mm² die with 5,400 million transistors. The NVIDIA chip is roughly 2.6 times larger by area.

Q: Do both GPUs support the same graphics APIs?

A: Yes, both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Q: Which GPU has higher boost clocks?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6550S has a boost clock of 2400 MHz, substantially higher than the RTX 3050 A Mobile's boost clock of 1343 MHz.

Q: What is the production status of each GPU?

A: The RX 6550S is listed as Active, while the RTX 3050 A Mobile is listed as End-of-life.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural families and foundries. The AMD Radeon RX 6550S belongs to the Radeon RX 6000 series and uses the RDNA 2.0 architecture built on a 6 nm process at TSMC. It is part of the Navi Mobile generation with the Navi 24 chip. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile belongs to the GeForce 30-series and uses the Ampere architecture built on an 8 nm process at Samsung. It is part of the GeForce 30 Mobile generation with the GA106 chip.

The manufacturing differences are significant. The AMD chip has a transistor density of 50.5 million per square millimeter, while the NVIDIA chip has a density of 43.5 million per square millimeter. The AMD die is 107 mm² with 5,400 million transistors, whereas the NVIDIA die is 276 mm² with 12,000 million transistors. The smaller process node allows AMD to pack more transistors per area despite using fewer total transistors.

Memory architecture also differs. The RX 6550S uses a 64-bit memory bus, while the RTX 3050 A Mobile uses a 128-bit bus. Both use 4 GB of GDDR6 memory, but the wider bus gives NVIDIA a substantial bandwidth advantage. The RX 6550S has 16 ray tracing cores, while the RTX 3050 A Mobile has 14 ray tracing cores. The NVIDIA part also includes 56 tensor cores, which AMD does not have at all. The AMD GPU has 1024 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The NVIDIA GPU has 1792 shading units, 56 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The higher shader count on the NVIDIA chip is partially offset by its much lower clock speeds.

Specification Differences

The clock speeds differ substantially. The RX 6550S has a base clock of 2000 MHz, a game clock of 2170 MHz, and a boost clock of 2400 MHz. The 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's boost clock is 78.7% higher than the NVIDIA part, which explains how it achieves similar compute throughput with fewer shaders.

Memory clocks also differ. The RX 6550S runs memory at 2000 MHz with 16 Gbps effective speed. The RTX 3050 A Mobile runs memory at 1500 MHz with 12 Gbps effective speed. Despite the lower memory clock, the NVIDIA part's wider 128-bit bus gives it higher bandwidth at 192.0 GB/s versus 128.0 GB/s.

The pixel and texture rates show the trade-off. The RX 6550S delivers 76.80 GPixel/s and 153.6 GTexel/s. The RTX 3050 A Mobile delivers 42.98 GPixel/s and 75.21 GTexel/s. The AMD part has roughly 78.7% higher pixel rate and 104.2% higher texture rate, both driven by its much higher clocks. In FP32 compute, the RX 6550S achieves 4.915 TFLOPS, while the RTX 3050 A Mobile achieves 4.813 TFLOPS, a very narrow 2.1% margin. For FP16, the AMD part reaches 9.830 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio, while the NVIDIA part only reaches 4.813 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio.

Power and interface differences are notable. The RX 6550S has a TDP of 50 W, while the RTX 3050 A Mobile has a TDP of 45 W. The AMD card uses PCIe 4.0 x4, while the NVIDIA card uses PCIe 4.0 x8. Neither card has power connectors, and both are listed as IGP slot width. The RX 6550S was released on January 3, 2023, while the RTX 3050 A Mobile was released on December 31, 2023. The AMD part's predecessor is Polaris Mobile, while the NVIDIA part's predecessor is GeForce 20 Mobile.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains no direct head-to-head benchmark comparisons between these two GPUs. The RX 6550S has zero recorded benchmark scores, while the RTX 3050 A Mobile has a full set of eight benchmarks. This asymmetry means the only measured performance data comes from the NVIDIA side.

The RTX 3050 A Mobile's benchmark results show its strengths and weaknesses. In PassMark G3D, it scores 11664, which places it in the 44th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival in the database is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 v2 with an average score of 8743, a delta of 0%. The Quadro P2200 scores 8686 with a 0.7% delta, the Radeon R9 M265X scores 8851 with a -1.2% delta, and the Radeon Pro WX 5100 scores 8863 with a -1.3% delta. The RTX 3050 A Mobile's average benchmark score of 8746 sits very close to these rivals, within a 1.3% band.

Breaking down the individual benchmarks, the RTX 3050 A Mobile performs best in PassMark DirectX 9 with a score of 152, and worst in PassMark DirectX 12 with a score of 55. It scores 61 in DirectX 10 and 94 in DirectX 11. The compute-oriented results show a PassMark GPU Compute score of 4419 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 52998. The 2D performance score is 526.

The RX 6550S has no comparable data points. Its percentile ranking of 50 is purely a specification-based estimate. Without measured scores, any direct comparison relies entirely on theoretical specifications. The FP32 numbers are nearly identical, with the AMD part leading by just 0.102 TFLOPS, but the NVIDIA part leads in memory bandwidth by 64 GB/s and has 56 tensor cores for AI workloads.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 3050 A Mobile wins in all measured benchmarks, simply because it is the only one with recorded scores. Its average benchmark score of 8746 gives it a concrete performance position. The NVIDIA part also wins on memory bandwidth with 192.0 GB/s compared to 128.0 GB/s, which benefits texture-heavy workloads and higher resolutions. The 128-bit bus is a clear advantage over the 64-bit bus on the AMD side. The RTX 3050 A Mobile also has 1792 shading units versus 1024, and it includes 56 tensor cores, making it the only option for tensor-based tasks. Its PCIe 4.0 x8 interface doubles the lane width of the AMD part's x4 interface, which can reduce data transfer bottlenecks.

The RX 6550S wins on specifications that favor compute density and power efficiency per clock. It has a higher boost clock at 2400 MHz versus 1343 MHz, giving it a 1057 MHz advantage. This drives its higher pixel rate of 76.80 GPixel/s and texture rate of 153.6 GTexel/s. The AMD part also delivers more FP16 compute at 9.830 TFLOPS versus 4.813 TFLOPS, which matters for workloads that use half-precision arithmetic. Its 6 nm process node is more modern than the 8 nm node on the NVIDIA chip, and its smaller die size of 107 mm² makes it a better fit for compact laptop designs. The RX 6550S has 16 ray tracing cores, two more than the RTX 3050 A Mobile's 14, and its transistor density of 50.5M per mm² is higher than the NVIDIA part's 43.5M per mm². The AMD GPU also holds a higher percentile ranking at 50 versus 44, though this is not backed by actual benchmark data.

For real-world usage, the choice depends on whether the workload favors measured results or theoretical specifications. The RTX 3050 A Mobile is the safer pick for anyone who wants verified performance, tensor cores, and higher memory bandwidth. The RX 6550S is the pick for systems that need the highest clock speeds, the most efficient process node, and double-rate FP16 compute. The database shows no overlap in benchmark coverage, so the NVIDIA part stands as the only practical option for measured performance.