AMD Radeon RX 6550S vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile Comparison

FAQ

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in raw compute performance?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile delivers 13.13 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, while the AMD Radeon RX 6550S delivers 4.915 TFLOPS. This gives the RTX 5070 Mobile a 167% advantage in single-precision floating-point throughput.

Q: What are the memory specifications of each GPU?

A: The AMD RX 6550S has 4 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 64-bit bus with 128.0 GB/s bandwidth. The NVIDIA RTX 5070 Mobile has 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus with 384.0 GB/s bandwidth, which is three times the bandwidth of the AMD part.

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

A: The AMD RX 6550S sits at the 50th percentile among all GPUs, while the NVIDIA RTX 5070 Mobile ranks at the 75th percentile. This places the RTX 5070 Mobile in a significantly higher performance tier.

Q: What is the process node and transistor count for each chip?

A: The AMD RX 6550S uses a 6 nm process at TSMC with 5,400 million transistors on a 107 mm² die. The NVIDIA RTX 5070 Mobile uses a 5 nm process at TSMC with 21,900 million transistors on a 181 mm² die, which is over four times the transistor count.

Q: How do the shading unit counts compare?

A: The NVIDIA RTX 5070 Mobile has 4,608 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 48 render output units. The AMD RX 6550S has 1,024 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The RTX 5070 Mobile has 4.5 times more shading units and 2.25 times more TMUs.

Q: What is the power consumption of each GPU?

A: Both GPUs have a TDP of 50 W and use no external power connectors, making them suitable for integrated portable devices. Both are listed as IGP slot width.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Radeon RX 6550S is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture using the Navi 24 chip, fabricated on a 6 nm process at TSMC. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile uses the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with the GB206 chip, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. The process node difference gives NVIDIA a density advantage: the RTX 5070 Mobile packs 121.0M transistors per mm² versus 50.5M per mm² for the AMD chip.

The transistor counts differ dramatically. AMD's chip contains 5,400 million transistors on a 107 mm² die, while NVIDIA's GB206 contains 21,900 million transistors on a 181 mm² die. This represents a 4.06x transistor advantage for NVIDIA, enabling significantly more complex compute units.

Core configuration differences are substantial. The RX 6550S has 1,024 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, along with 16 ray tracing cores. The RTX 5070 Mobile has 4,608 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 48 ROPs, with 36 ray tracing cores and 144 tensor cores. The NVIDIA GPU also has dedicated tensor cores, which the AMD part lacks entirely.

Clock speeds follow opposite strategies. The AMD RX 6550S runs at a 2000 MHz base clock and 2400 MHz boost clock, with a game clock of 2170 MHz. The NVIDIA RTX 5070 Mobile runs at a much lower 907 MHz base and 1425 MHz boost. The AMD part compensates for fewer cores with higher clocks, while NVIDIA relies on massive parallel throughput at lower frequencies.

Memory architecture differs fundamentally. The RX 6550S uses 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus, delivering 128.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 5070 Mobile uses 8 GB of GDDR7 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 384.0 GB/s bandwidth, which is exactly three times the AMD memory bandwidth. The bus interface also differs: AMD uses PCIe 4.0 x4, while NVIDIA uses PCIe 5.0 x16.

Both GPUs support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The pixel rate favors AMD at 76.80 GPixel/s versus 68.40 GPixel/s for NVIDIA, despite NVIDIA's higher ROP count. The texture rate favors NVIDIA at 205.2 GTexel/s versus 153.6 GTexel/s for AMD. FP16 performance also differs: AMD achieves 9.830 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio, while NVIDIA achieves 13.13 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio.

The release dates place the AMD part in January 2023, with the NVIDIA part arriving in April 2025. The AMD GPU's predecessor is Polaris Mobile, while NVIDIA's predecessor is the GeForce 40 Mobile series.

The Verdict

The data clearly indicates that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile is the superior GPU for raw performance. The RTX 5070 Mobile scores 29,928 average benchmark score, placing it at the 75th percentile, while the RX 6550S has an average benchmark score of 0 and sits at the 50th percentile. The RTX 5070 Mobile's 13.13 TFLOPS FP32 throughput is 2.67 times that of the RX 6550S.

For users prioritizing compute performance, ray tracing capability, and memory bandwidth, the RTX 5070 Mobile is the clear choice. It has 36 ray tracing cores versus 16, 144 tensor cores versus none, and 8 GB of GDDR7 memory versus 4 GB of GDDR6. The 384.0 GB/s bandwidth enables high-resolution texture streaming that the 128.0 GB/s AMD part cannot match.

The RX 6550S does have advantages in specific areas. Its 2400 MHz boost clock is substantially higher than the RTX 5070 Mobile's 1425 MHz boost, and its pixel rate of 76.80 GPixel/s exceeds the NVIDIA part's 68.40 GPixel/s. For workloads that depend on fill rate rather than shader throughput, the AMD GPU may hold its own.

However, the benchmark data from the database shows that the RTX 5070 Mobile is competitive with desktop-class GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti (average score 29,945, delta of -0.1%), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti (average score 29,783, delta of 0.5%), the AMD Radeon RX 6800 (average score 30,095, delta of -0.6%), and the AMD Radeon RX 6700 (average score 30,433, delta of -1.7%). These comparisons show that the RTX 5070 Mobile performs within 1.7% of these established desktop parts.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon RX 6550S | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile |

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

| Architecture | RDNA 2.0 | Blackwell 2.0 |

| Chip | Navi 24 | GB206 |

| Process Node | 6 nm | 5 nm |

| Transistors | 5,400 million | 21,900 million |

| Die Size | 107 mm² | 181 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 50.5M / mm² | 121.0M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 2000 MHz | 907 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2400 MHz | 1425 MHz |

| Memory Size | 4 GB | 8 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR7 |

| Memory Bus | 64 bit | 128 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 128.0 GB/s | 384.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 1024 | 4608 |

| TMUs | 64 | 144 |

| ROPs | 32 | 48 |

| RT Cores | 16 | 36 |

| Tensor Cores | None | 144 |

| Pixel Rate | 76.80 GPixel/s | 68.40 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 153.6 GTexel/s | 205.2 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 4.915 TFLOPS | 13.13 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 9.830 TFLOPS (2:1) | 13.13 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x4 | PCIe 5.0 x16 |

| Release Date | January 2023 | April 2025 |

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains no head-to-head benchmark results between these two GPUs, but the recorded data for the NVIDIA RTX 5070 Mobile provides a comprehensive picture of its performance. The AMD RX 6550S has no recorded benchmark scores in the database, so the comparison relies on architectural specifications and the RTX 5070 Mobile's standalone results.

The RTX 5070 Mobile achieves a Geekbench OpenCL score of 122,238 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 116,960. These results place it firmly in desktop-replacement territory. The Passmark G3D score of 20,355 confirms strong DirectX gaming performance. The GPU compute score of 8,279 indicates solid compute workloads.

The most significant wins for the NVIDIA GPU come from its raw compute resources. With 4,608 shading units versus 1,024, the RTX 5070 Mobile has 4.5 times the shader throughput capacity. The FP32 performance of 13.13 TFLOPS versus 4.915 TFLOPS translates to a 167% advantage. Memory bandwidth of 384.0 GB/s versus 128.0 GB/s gives a 200% advantage in data movement capability.

The AMD GPU's wins are narrower. Its 2400 MHz boost clock is 68% higher than the NVIDIA part's 1425 MHz. The pixel rate of 76.80 GPixel/s exceeds the RTX 5070 Mobile's 68.40 GPixel/s by 12.3%. These advantages matter for fill-rate-bound scenarios but do not compensate for the massive core count and memory bandwidth differences.

The RTX 5070 Mobile's nearest rival data provides context for its performance tier. Its average benchmark score of 29,928 is nearly identical to the RTX 3070 Ti at 29,945 (delta of -0.1%), slightly ahead of the RTX 2080 Ti at 29,783 (delta of 0.5%), and slightly behind the RX 6800 at 30,095 (delta of -0.6%) and the RX 6700 at 30,433 (delta of -1.7%). This places the mobile GPU within 1.7% of four established desktop GPUs.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile wins in virtually every compute-heavy scenario. Its 13.13 TFLOPS FP32 throughput, 36 ray tracing cores, and 144 tensor cores make it the clear choice for modern gaming with ray tracing enabled, AI workloads, and general GPU compute. The 8 GB GDDR7 memory with 384.0 GB/s bandwidth supports high-resolution textures and large datasets. The 144 TMUs provide a texture rate of 205.2 GTexel/s, which is 34% higher than the AMD part.

The RTX 5070 Mobile also wins in memory-intensive applications. The 200% bandwidth advantage means data-heavy workloads, such as video editing, 3D rendering, and machine learning inference, will complete substantially faster. The PCIe 5.0 x16 interface provides significantly more host bandwidth than the AMD GPU's PCIe 4.0 x4 connection.

The AMD Radeon RX 6550S wins in scenarios where clock speed and fill rate dominate. The 2400 MHz boost clock is the highest in this comparison, and the 76.80 GPixel/s pixel rate exceeds the NVIDIA GPU. For lightweight workloads, legacy DirectX 9 and 10 titles, or situations where power efficiency per clock cycle matters, the AMD part can be competitive. The 6 nm process node and lower transistor count may also translate to simpler thermal management in thin portable devices.

The RX 6550S also holds an advantage in pure rasterization throughput per watt at high clocks, though the database does not provide direct efficiency measurements. Its 50 W TDP matches the RTX 5070 Mobile, but it achieves this with far fewer transistors and a smaller die, potentially leaving more thermal headroom in constrained chassis designs.

For users who prioritize modern features, the RTX 5070 Mobile is the only option with tensor cores, which enable DLSS-style upscaling and AI acceleration. The AMD part has no equivalent hardware. The Blackwell 2.0 architecture also brings newer feature support compared to RDNA 2.0, though both support DirectX 12 Ultimate.

The database percentile data reinforces this split. The RTX 5070 Mobile at the 75th percentile is positioned for high-end gaming and professional workloads. The RX 6550S at the 50th percentile targets mainstream and entry-level use cases. Users needing maximum performance should choose the RTX 5070 Mobile, while the RX 6550S serves lighter workloads where its higher clocks and fill rate can be leveraged.