AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile vs NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M Comparison

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M in the available benchmark?

A: In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile scores 7435 versus 6493 for the NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M, giving AMD a 14.5% lead.

Q: Which GPU has the higher transistor density?

A: The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile packs 23.5M transistors per mm², while the NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M has a density of just 4.9M / mm². This is a massive difference driven by the process node and die size.

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

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M has 1024 MB of dedicated DDR3 memory on a 128-bit bus with 28.80 GB/s bandwidth. The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile uses System Shared memory, meaning its bandwidth is "System Dependent" and cannot be quantified in isolation.

Q: Do both GPUs support the same DirectX version?

A: No. The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M only supports DirectX 12 (11_0). Both support OpenGL 4.6, but Vulkan 1.3 is only listed for the AMD part.

Q: Which GPU has a higher pixel fill rate?

A: The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile achieves 8.808 GPixel/s, which is more than double the NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M's 3.540 GPixel/s. This suggests a significant advantage in rasterization-heavy workloads.

Q: How do their percentile ranks compare across all GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile sits at the 39th percentile, while the NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M is at the 37th percentile. Both are near the middle of the pack, but AMD edges ahead.

Where Each One Wins

The data presents a clear single benchmark result, but the underlying specifications reveal distinct strengths. The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile wins the only head-to-head benchmark, the Geekbench OpenCL test, by 14.5%. This is the sole direct comparison available, and AMD takes it decisively.

However, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M has one structural advantage: dedicated memory. With 1024 MB of DDR3 on a 128-bit bus, it does not depend on system memory performance. The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile, by contrast, relies on System Shared memory with bandwidth described as "System Dependent." In a laptop where the system memory is slow or shared with the CPU, the NVIDIA part could potentially hold its own in memory-intensive scenarios, even though the raw compute benchmark favors AMD.

The AMD part also wins on architectural modernity. It is built on a 14 nm process from GlobalFoundries, while the NVIDIA chip uses TSMC's 40 nm node. This translates to a far higher transistor density: 23.5M / mm² versus 4.9M / mm². The AMD GPU packs 4,940 million transistors onto a 210 mm² die, whereas the NVIDIA chip has 1,170 million on a 238 mm² die. The AMD die is smaller yet has over four times the transistor count.

In terms of shading throughput, the AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile has 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 8 ROPs, producing 1,127.4 GFLOPS of FP32 compute. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M has 144 shading units, 24 TMUs, and 16 ROPs, yielding only 339.8 GFLOPS. The AMD part is over 3.3 times faster in raw FP32. The NVIDIA part does have double the ROP count (16 versus 8), which could help in specific fill-rate-limited scenarios, though its lower pixel rate (3.540 GPixel/s versus 8.808 GPixel/s) suggests the AMD part still wins there.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile is built on GCN 5.0 architecture, specifically the Raven-M chip, and belongs to the Vega IGP generation (Raven Ridge-M). It is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) with a 25 W TDP and no power connectors. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M uses the Fermi architecture with the GF106 chip, part of the GeForce 500M generation. It is a discrete mobile GPU with a 35 W TDP.

The process technology gap is stark: AMD uses 14 nm at GlobalFoundries, while NVIDIA uses 40 nm at TSMC. This explains the transistor density difference — 23.5M / mm² versus 4.9M / mm². The AMD chip has 4,940 million transistors on a 210 mm² die, while the NVIDIA chip has 1,170 million on a 238 mm² die. Despite the AMD die being smaller, it holds over four times the transistors, a signal of the newer manufacturing process.

The AMD part supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The NVIDIA part supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, but has no Vulkan entry in the fact pack. This makes the AMD GPU more future-proof for modern APIs, particularly Vulkan titles. The NVIDIA part predates the AMD one by about eight years — released in 2011 versus 2019 — and its predecessor/successor lineage (GeForce 400M to GeForce 600M) reflects an older era of mobile graphics.

The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile has a boost clock of 1101 MHz with a base of 300 MHz, while the NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M has no listed base or boost clock. Instead, its memory clock is 900 MHz (1800 Mbps effective). This means the NVIDIA part's core clock cannot be compared directly, but its memory clock is explicitly defined, unlike the AMD part's System Shared memory.

Specification Differences

The table below highlights the key specification differences:

| Specification | AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile | NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M |

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

| Architecture | GCN 5.0 | Fermi |

| Process Node | 14 nm | 40 nm |

| Transistors | 4,940 million | 1,170 million |

| Die Size | 210 mm² | 238 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 23.5M / mm² | 4.9M / mm² |

| Shading Units | 512 | 144 |

| TMUs | 32 | 24 |

| ROPs | 8 | 16 |

| FP32 | 1,127.4 GFLOPS | 339.8 GFLOPS |

| Pixel Rate | 8.808 GPixel/s | 3.540 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 35.23 GTexel/s | 14.16 GTexel/s |

| Memory Size | System Shared | 1024 MB |

| Memory Type | System Shared | DDR3 |

| Memory Bus Width | System Shared | 128 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | System Dependent | 28.80 GB/s |

| TDP | 25 W | 35 W |

| Bus Interface | IGP | PCIe 2.0 x16 |

| DirectX | 12 (12_1) | 12 (11_0) |

| Vulkan | 1.3 | None |

| Release Date | 2019-01-07 | 2011-07-01 |

These differences paint a picture of two very different design philosophies: a modern integrated GPU with massive compute resources versus an older discrete GPU with dedicated memory but far fewer shaders.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark available is Geekbench OpenCL. The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile scores 7435, while the NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M scores 6493. This yields a 14.5% delta in favor of AMD. This is a substantial margin, especially considering the NVIDIA part has dedicated memory while the AMD part relies on system memory.

Looking at the nearest rivals for context, the AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile sits at an average benchmark score of 7203, which is effectively tied with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 (7222, deltaPct -0.3) and slightly ahead of the GTX 560 SE (7171, 0.4). Its percentile rank is 39. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M has an average score of 6493, placing it just above the NVIDIA Quadro M5000M (6481, 0.2) and just below the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M (6513, -0.3). Its percentile rank is 37.

The 14.5% win for AMD in OpenCL is consistent with the massive compute advantage: FP32 throughput is 1,127.4 GFLOPS versus 339.8 GFLOPS, a 3.3x difference. However, the benchmark delta is much smaller than the theoretical compute gap, suggesting that memory bandwidth or other bottlenecks (likely the System Shared memory) limit the AMD part's real-world performance. The NVIDIA GT 555M's dedicated 28.80 GB/s bandwidth may partially compensate for its lower shader count.

The AMD part also has a notable advantage in texture rate: 35.23 GTexel/s versus 14.16 GTexel/s, which is 2.5x higher. The pixel rate advantage is even larger: 8.808 GPixel/s versus 3.540 GPixel/s, a 2.5x gap. Yet the benchmark only shows a 14.5% difference, indicating that the benchmark workload is not purely fill-rate or compute bound.

The Verdict

The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile is the clear winner in the only available benchmark, posting a 14.5% higher score in Geekbench OpenCL. Its architectural advantages — 512 shading units, 1,127.4 GFLOPS, and 8.808 GPixel/s — are overwhelming on paper. For anyone running OpenCL compute workloads, the AMD part is the obvious choice based on this data.

The NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M, however, has one redeeming feature: dedicated memory. With 1024 MB of DDR3 on a 128-bit bus, it does not suffer from the "System Dependent" bandwidth issue that plagues the AMD part. In a system with slow or heavily contended shared memory, the NVIDIA GPU could potentially match or exceed the AMD part in memory-bound tasks, even though the compute benchmark favors AMD.

The percentile ranks are close (39 versus 37), and the AMD part's nearest rivals are all within 0.6% of its average score, indicating a crowded mid-range field. The NVIDIA part's nearest rivals are similarly tight, within 0.9%. Neither GPU is a standout in the broader market, but the AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile is the stronger of the two.

For gamers or users of Vulkan-based applications, the AMD part's support for Vulkan 1.3 is a significant advantage, as the NVIDIA part has no Vulkan support listed. The AMD part also has a higher DirectX support level (12_1 versus 11_0), which could matter for newer titles.

The release dates tell a story of generational gap: the AMD part launched in 2019, the NVIDIA part in 2011. The AMD part's successor is Navi II IGP, while the NVIDIA part's successor is GeForce 600M. This is a matchup of a modern integrated GPU against a legacy discrete GPU, and the data shows the modern part wins on compute, while the legacy part retains a memory bandwidth advantage that may be relevant in specific scenarios.

If the workload is compute-heavy and the system has adequate shared memory, the AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile is clearly superior. If the workload is memory-bound and the system's shared memory is slow, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M's dedicated 28.80 GB/s could narrow the gap. The benchmark data, however, only shows one test — and AMD wins it.