AMD Radeon RX 6650M vs NVIDIA RTX A4500 Mobile Comparison

The NVIDIA RTX A4500 Mobile and AMD Radeon RX 6650M represent two distinct philosophies in mobile graphics, targeting different performance envelopes. The benchmark data shows a clear split: the RTX A4500 Mobile dominates in compute-heavy OpenCL workloads, while the RX 6650M edges ahead in Vulkan performance. With an average benchmark score of 91,134, the RTX A4500 Mobile sits at the 93rd percentile of all GPUs, whereas the RX 6650M, with an average of 71,768, holds the 91st percentile. This gap of roughly 27% in aggregate scores underscores their different positioning, yet the head-to-head results reveal that the AMD part is not merely an also-ran.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most striking result comes from the Geekbench OpenCL test, where the RTX A4500 Mobile achieves a score of 105,307 against the RX 6650M’s 65,800. This represents a 60% advantage for the NVIDIA part, a massive margin that highlights its raw compute throughput. The RTX A4500 Mobile’s FP32 performance of 17.66 TFLOPS, combined with 5,888 shading units, drives this result. In contrast, the RX 6650M’s FP32 output of 8.659 TFLOPS, with 1,792 shading units, is less than half, which directly explains the OpenCL deficit. For any workload leveraging general-purpose GPU compute—simulation, rendering, or data processing—the RTX A4500 Mobile is categorically superior.

However, the Vulkan benchmark tells a different story. Here, the RX 6650M scores 77,735, narrowly beating the RTX A4500 Mobile’s 76,960—a 1% difference. This is a near-tie, but it is a meaningful result for the AMD part. Vulkan’s lower-level API overhead favors architectures with higher clock speeds and efficient draw-call handling. The RX 6650M’s boost clock of 2,416 MHz, significantly higher than the RTX A4500 Mobile’s 1,500 MHz, likely contributes to this win. In gaming or other real-time graphics workloads that leverage Vulkan, the RX 6650M demonstrates that it can keep pace with, and marginally outperform, a workstation-class GPU.

The overall win count is even at one win each, but the margin of victory is not. The RTX A4500 Mobile’s OpenCL lead is 60%, while the RX 6650M’s Vulkan lead is just 1%. This asymmetry suggests that the NVIDIA part’s advantage is structural, while the AMD part’s is situational. The average benchmark scores reflect this: the RTX A4500 Mobile’s 91,134 is 27% higher than the RX 6650M’s 71,768, indicating that outside of the specific Vulkan test, the NVIDIA GPU is the stronger overall performer.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX A4500 Mobile wins decisively in OpenCL compute. This is the domain of professional applications like 3D rendering, scientific simulation, and machine learning inference. Its 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores provide dedicated hardware for ray tracing and AI acceleration, features the RX 6650M lacks entirely—the AMD part has no tensor core equivalent. For users running CUDA-accelerated or OpenCL-based professional software, the RTX A4500 Mobile’s 60% lead in OpenCL is the single most important metric. The 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, offering 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth, further cements this as a data-heavy compute solution.

The RX 6650M wins in Vulkan, which is primarily a gaming and real-time graphics API. Its 1% lead, while narrow, is consistent with its higher pixel rate of 154.6 GPixel/s compared to the RTX A4500 Mobile’s 144.0 GPixel/s. The RX 6650M also has a faster texture rate of 270.6 GTexel/s versus 276.0 GTexel/s—a negligible difference, but the pixel rate advantage suggests better fill-rate performance in certain rendering scenarios. With 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus (224.0 GB/s), the RX 6650M is more modestly provisioned, yet its 2,416 MHz boost clock allows it to punch above its weight in latency-sensitive workloads. The RTX A4500 Mobile’s 1,500 MHz boost clock is a significant handicap in such scenarios.

Beyond the head-to-head, the percentile rankings contextualize each GPU. The RTX A4500 Mobile, at the 93rd percentile, is within 0.6% of the desktop RTX A4500 (average score 91,671) and 1.4% of the AMD Radeon Instinct MI60 (92,466). This places it in the upper echelon of mobile GPUs, nearly matching desktop workstation parts. The RX 6650M, at the 91st percentile, is 0.5% behind the NVIDIA TITAN X Pascal (72,098) and 0.8% behind the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 (72,379), indicating it performs like a high-end desktop GPU from a previous generation. These comparisons show that while the RX 6650M is a strong mobile part, the RTX A4500 Mobile operates in a higher performance tier.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide is stark. The RTX A4500 Mobile is built on NVIDIA’s Ampere architecture, using the GA104 chip fabricated on Samsung’s 8 nm process. This chip contains 17,400 million transistors on a 392 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 44.4 million per mm². The RX 6650M uses AMD’s RDNA 2.0 architecture, with the Navi 23 chip on TSMC’s 7 nm process. It packs 11,060 million transistors on a 237 mm² die, achieving a higher density of 46.7 million per mm². The smaller, denser AMD chip is more efficient in terms of transistor packing, but the NVIDIA chip has 58% more transistors overall.

Clock speeds differ dramatically. The RX 6650M has a base clock of 2,068 MHz and a boost of 2,416 MHz, with a game clock of 2,222 MHz. The RTX A4500 Mobile, by contrast, runs at a 930 MHz base and 1,500 MHz boost. This 61% higher boost clock on the AMD part is a key reason for its Vulkan performance. However, the RTX A4500 Mobile compensates with sheer scale: 5,888 shading units, 184 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, versus the RX 6650M’s 1,792 shading units, 112 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The NVIDIA part has more than three times the shading units, which is why its FP32 throughput is double.

Memory subsystems diverge as well. The RTX A4500 Mobile offers 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth—more than double the RX 6650M’s 224.0 GB/s from 8 GB on a 128-bit bus. The NVIDIA part also has faster effective memory at 16 Gbps versus 14 Gbps. In terms of special-purpose hardware, the RTX A4500 Mobile includes 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores, while the RX 6650M has 28 RT cores and no tensor cores. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The RX 6650M uses a PCIe 4.0 x8 interface, while the RTX A4500 Mobile uses x16, which can affect bandwidth in some workloads.

The power envelopes are similar but not identical: the RTX A4500 Mobile has a TDP of 140 W, while the RX 6650M is rated at 120 W. The RTX A4500 Mobile was released on 2022-03-21, while the RX 6650M came earlier on 2022-01-03. Both are end-of-life products, with the RTX A4500 Mobile succeeding the Quadro Turing-M and preceding Ada-MW, while the RX 6650M follows Polaris Mobile.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute performance?

A: The RTX A4500 Mobile. Its FP32 throughput is 17.66 TFLOPS, exactly double the RX 6650M’s 8.659 TFLOPS. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, this translates to a 60% higher score (105,307 vs. 65,800).

Q: Is the RX 6650M better for Vulkan gaming?

A: Marginally. The RX 6650M scores 77,735 in Geekbench Vulkan, 1% higher than the RTX A4500 Mobile’s 76,960. This is a small but consistent lead, likely due to its 2,416 MHz boost clock versus the NVIDIA’s 1,500 MHz.

Q: How much memory bandwidth does each GPU offer?

A: The RTX A4500 Mobile provides 512.0 GB/s from 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus. The RX 6650M offers 224.0 GB/s from 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus. The NVIDIA part has over twice the bandwidth.

Q: Do both GPUs support ray tracing?

A: Yes. The RTX A4500 Mobile has 46 RT cores, while the RX 6650M has 28 RT cores. However, only the NVIDIA part includes 184 tensor cores for AI acceleration.

Q: What are the transistor and die size differences?

A: The RTX A4500 Mobile has 17,400 million transistors on a 392 mm² die (8 nm Samsung process). The RX 6650M has 11,060 million transistors on a 237 mm² die (7 nm TSMC process). The AMD chip has a slightly higher density at 46.7M/mm² vs. 44.4M/mm².

Q: Which GPU has a higher overall benchmark average?

A: The RTX A4500 Mobile, with an average score of 91,134, is 27% higher than the RX 6650M’s 71,768. The NVIDIA part also ranks higher, at the 93rd percentile versus the 91st.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear split by use case. For professional compute, rendering, and AI-adjacent workloads, the RTX A4500 Mobile is the superior choice. Its 60% lead in OpenCL, double the FP32 throughput, and dedicated tensor cores make it a workstation-class part. The 16 GB memory capacity and 512.0 GB/s bandwidth further support large datasets. Users in this segment should pick the RTX A4500 Mobile without hesitation.

For gaming or real-time graphics where Vulkan is the primary API, the RX 6650M offers a slight edge—1% in the head-to-head—and does so at a lower TDP of 120 W. Its higher clock speeds and competitive pixel rate make it a viable option for lighter, more power-conscious mobile devices. However, the 8 GB memory limit and lack of tensor cores restrict its utility outside gaming.

The overall average benchmark score, 91,134 vs. 71,768, is the decisive metric. It shows that the RTX A4500 Mobile is the more powerful GPU in aggregate, and its 93rd percentile ranking places it among the top GPUs ever tested. The RX 6650M’s 91st percentile is respectable but not comparable. If the workload is compute-heavy, the RTX A4500 Mobile wins outright. If the workload is Vulkan-specific gaming, the RX 6650M’s 1% advantage is real but narrow. The choice is not about which is better, but which is better for the task at hand.