AMD Radeon RX 7800M vs NVIDIA GeForce MX550 Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 7800M and NVIDIA GeForce MX550 sit at opposite ends of the mobile graphics spectrum. The data shows a massive performance gulf between the two, with the RX 7800M winning both head-to-head benchmark comparisons by a staggering margin. While the MX550 is an end-of-life entry-level part, the RX 7800M is an active, high-end offering that performs like a desktop-class GPU from several generations ago. This analysis breaks down the exact numbers, architectural differences, and use cases that separate these two processors.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark results are not close. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the AMD Radeon RX 7800M scores 120,778, while the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 manages just 20,372. That is a 492.9% advantage for the AMD part. In other words, the RX 7800M is roughly six times faster in raw compute throughput. The Vulkan results tell a similar story: the RX 7800M posts 126,668 against the MX550's 32,469, a 290.1% lead. These are not incremental gains; they represent a completely different performance class.

Looking at the broader benchmark picture, the RX 7800M's average benchmark score is 27,883, placing it in the 73rd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 (28,039, only 0.2% ahead) and the AMD Radeon Pro W5500X (27,973, 0.3% behind). This means the RX 7800M trades blows with professional workstation cards and even the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti, which sits just 0.5% higher. For a mobile part, that is remarkable company. The MX550, by contrast, has an average score of 26,421 and sits in the 72nd percentile. Its closest competitor is the AMD Radeon 860M (26,401, 0.1% behind), followed by the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 (26,331, 0.3% behind). The MX550 is essentially at parity with an integrated GPU and a modern entry-level discrete card.

The delta between the two parts is even more pronounced in specific sub-tests. The RX 7800M's Passmark G3D score is 17,613, and its GPU compute score is 9,342. The MX550 has no comparable Passmark scores in the data, but the Geekbench results alone are decisive. In OpenCL, the RX 7800M is 492.9% faster; in Vulkan, it is 290.1% faster. No amount of driver optimization or overclocking on the MX550 could close that gap.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 7800M wins every benchmark category where both parts have data. It dominates in both OpenCL and Vulkan compute workloads, which are representative of modern gaming and GPU-accelerated applications. The RX 7800M also holds a 73rd percentile ranking across all GPUs, meaning it outperforms roughly three-quarters of the graphics cards in the database. Its 35.87 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 432.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth make it suitable for high-resolution gaming, content creation, and machine learning inference. The 60 ray tracing cores and DirectX 12 Ultimate support further cement its position as a future-proof choice for AAA titles.

The NVIDIA GeForce MX550, on the other hand, wins in the categories that matter for its intended use case: low power and portability. With a 25 W TDP, it draws a fraction of the RX 7800M's 180 W. It is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with no power connectors, making it ideal for thin-and-light laptops where battery life and thermals are priorities. Its 2.703 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 96.00 GB/s of bandwidth are enough for light 1080p gaming at reduced settings, basic photo editing, and hardware video decoding. The MX550 is also end-of-life, meaning it is likely found in budget laptops at clearance prices, but its 72nd percentile ranking shows it still outperforms many older and integrated solutions.

The use-case split is clear: the RX 7800M is for users who need real performance and are willing to accept a larger, hotter, more power-hungry machine. The MX550 is for users who prioritize mobility and battery life above all else, accepting that gaming and compute performance will be modest.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different eras and philosophies. The AMD Radeon RX 7800M is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture, codenamed "Wheat Nas," and uses the Navi 32 chip. It is fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC, packing 28,100 million transistors into a 346 mm² die. That works out to a transistor density of 81.2 million per square millimeter. The RX 7800M is part of the Navi Mobile (RX 7000M) generation and was released on September 10, 2024. Its predecessor is Polaris Mobile, and it remains in active production.

The NVIDIA GeForce MX550 uses the Turing architecture with the TU117SB chip. It is fabricated on a 12 nm process at TSMC, with 4,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 23.5 million per square millimeter. The MX550 belongs to the GeForce MX (5xx) generation and was released on December 16, 2021. It is now end-of-life, with no listed successor. The process node difference is significant: 5 nm versus 12 nm means the AMD part is over twice as dense and far more power-efficient per transistor.

Architecturally, the RX 7800M is the more advanced part. It features 3,840 shading units, 240 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 96 raster output units (ROPs). It also includes 60 dedicated ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent from the MX550, which has no RT cores and no tensor cores. The RX 7800M supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the MX550 is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4, but the RX 7800M's feature set is clearly aimed at next-generation titles.

Memory configurations are also worlds apart. The RX 7800M has 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, delivering 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The MX550 has just 2 GB of GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus, yielding 96.00 GB/s. That is a 4.5x difference in bandwidth and a 6x difference in capacity. In modern games that routinely use 6-8 GB of VRAM at 1080p, the MX550's 2 GB is a severe bottleneck, causing texture pop-in and stuttering in many titles.

The RX 7800M also has a much higher clock speed: base 1295 MHz, boost 2335 MHz, and game clock 2145 MHz. The MX550 runs at a base of 1065 MHz and a boost of 1320 MHz. While clock speeds alone do not tell the whole story, the combination of higher clocks, more cores, and wider memory bus gives the RX 7800M its massive lead.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous. The AMD Radeon RX 7800M is in a completely different league than the NVIDIA GeForce MX550. It wins both head-to-head benchmarks by 290-493%, has a higher average benchmark score (27,883 vs. 26,421), and offers features the MX550 simply lacks, such as ray tracing and DirectX 12 Ultimate. The RX 7800M is also newer (2024 vs. 2021), built on a more advanced process node (5 nm vs. 12 nm), and remains in active production.

Who should pick the RX 7800M? Anyone who needs serious graphics performance in a laptop. The data shows it is competitive with the GTX 980 Ti, a desktop card that was a high-end option in its day. It can handle 1440p gaming, VR, and GPU-accelerated creative workloads. The 12 GB VRAM is future-proof for several years, and the 60 RT cores make it capable of hardware ray tracing, albeit not at the level of top-tier desktop cards.

Who should pick the MX550? Users who absolutely need the lowest power draw (25 W vs. 180 W) and do not plan to play demanding games. It is fine for office productivity, streaming video, and light photo editing. Its 72nd percentile ranking shows it is not a slouch among all GPUs, but it is a poor choice for gaming. The 2 GB VRAM is a hard limitation that will cause problems even in older titles at medium settings. If you are choosing between these two for a gaming laptop, the RX 7800M is the only rational option. If you are choosing for an ultraportable where battery life is king, the MX550 may suffice, but be prepared for its limitations.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7800M scores 120,778, which is 492.9% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce MX550's 20,372.

Q: Does the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 support ray tracing?

A: No. The MX550 has no RT cores, while the AMD Radeon RX 7800M has 60 dedicated ray tracing cores.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference between the two?

A: The RX 7800M has 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth, while the MX550 has 96.00 GB/s. The AMD part is 4.5 times faster in this regard.

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The RX 7800M has an average benchmark score of 27,883, compared to 26,421 for the MX550. The RX 7800M also sits at the 73rd percentile of all GPUs, versus the 72nd for the MX550.

Q: What are the power consumption figures?

A: The RX 7800M has a TDP of 180 W, while the MX550 has a TDP of 25 W. The MX550 draws 155 W less.

Q: Which GPU is built on a smaller manufacturing process?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7800M uses a 5 nm process, while the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 uses a 12 nm process. Both are fabricated by TSMC.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon RX 7800M | NVIDIA GeForce MX550 |

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

| Architecture | RDNA 3.0 | Turing |

| Chip | Navi 32 | TU117SB |

| Process Node | 5 nm | 12 nm |

| Transistors | 28,100 million | 4,700 million |

| Die Size | 346 mm² | 200 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 81.2M / mm² | 23.5M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1295 MHz | 1065 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2335 MHz | 1320 MHz |

| Memory Size | 12 GB | 2 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus Width | 192 bit | 64 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 432.0 GB/s | 96.00 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 3840 | 1024 |

| TMUs | 240 | 32 |

| ROPs | 96 | 16 |

| RT Cores | 60 | None |

| FP32 Performance | 35.87 TFLOPS | 2.703 TFLOPS |

| Pixel Rate | 224.2 GPixel/s | 21.12 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 560.4 GTexel/s | 42.24 GTexel/s |

| TDP | 180 W | 25 W |

| DirectX Support | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | 12 (12_1) |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x8 |

| Production Status | Active | End-of-life |

| Release Date | 2024-09-10 | 2021-12-16 |