Intel Arc A370M vs NVIDIA GeForce MX550 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data splits this comparison cleanly down the middle. The Intel Arc A370M wins one benchmark decisively, while the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 wins the other by a substantial margin. The result is a 1:1 split in head-to-head wins, with each card claiming a different workload category.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the Intel Arc A370M delivers a score of 29,676 against the MX550's 20,372. That represents a 45.7% advantage for Intel. This is not a narrow victory; it is a commanding lead in a compute-oriented test that stresses raw parallel throughput. The Arc A370M's average benchmark score of 29,175 places it in the 74th percentile of all GPUs in the database, while the MX550's average of 26,421 lands in the 72nd percentile. The OpenCL result alone explains most of that gap.

However, the Vulkan test tells a different story. Here, the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 scores 32,469 against the Arc A370M's 28,673. That is an 11.7% deficit for Intel. Vulkan workloads tend to favor driver efficiency and lower overhead, and the data suggests NVIDIA has an edge in that API. The MX550's Vulkan score is its stronger benchmark, while the Arc A370M's OpenCL result is its stronger one. Each card wins where the other is comparatively weaker.

Looking at the nearest rivals in the database provides additional context. The Arc A370M's average score sits within 1% of the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GH (29,197), the AMD FirePro W8000 (29,211), the AMD Radeon RX 470 (28,996), and the AMD Radeon RX 6800M (28,874). The MX550's average is similarly close to the AMD Radeon 860M (26,401), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 (26,331), the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary (26,553), and the NVIDIA RTX A4000 (26,683). In both cases, the delta percentages are under 1.1%, meaning these cards are tightly clustered with their immediate peers.

The OpenCL delta of 45.7% is the largest single difference in any head-to-head metric. It is more than enough to offset the Vulkan loss in terms of average score, but the database records both wins separately. The Arc A370M's average benchmark score of 29,175 is 10.4% higher than the MX550's 26,421, which reflects the OpenCL dominance pulling the Intel card's overall average upward.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins in OpenCL compute performance?

A: The Intel Arc A370M wins decisively. It scores 29,676 in Geekbench OpenCL against the NVIDIA GeForce MX550's 20,372, a 45.7% advantage. This is the larger of the two head-to-head deltas recorded.

Q: Which GPU wins in Vulkan graphics performance?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce MX550 wins. It scores 32,469 in Geekbench Vulkan versus the Arc A370M's 28,673, an 11.7% lead. This victory narrows the overall comparison to a 1:1 split.

Q: How do the average benchmark scores compare?

A: The Arc A370M has an average benchmark score of 29,175, while the MX550 averages 26,421. The Intel card holds a 10.4% advantage on average, which places it in the 74th percentile of all GPUs versus the MX550's 72nd percentile.

Q: What are the closest rivals for each card in the database?

A: For the Arc A370M, the nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GH (29,197, 0.1% higher) and the AMD Radeon RX 470 (28,996, 0.6% lower). For the MX550, the closest peers are the AMD Radeon 860M (26,401, 0.1% higher) and the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary (26,553, 0.5% higher).

Q: Which card has the higher OpenCL score relative to its Vulkan score?

A: The Arc A370M is far more consistent. Its OpenCL score of 29,676 and Vulkan score of 28,673 differ by only 3.5%. The MX550 shows a larger spread: its Vulkan score of 32,469 is 59.4% higher than its OpenCL score of 20,372.

Q: Do both cards support the same graphics APIs?

A: No. The Arc A370M supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the MX550 supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.4. OpenGL 4.6 is supported by both.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from fundamentally different design philosophies. Intel's Arc A370M uses the DG2-128 chip built on the Xe-HPG architecture, belonging to the Alchemist generation (Arc 3 Mobile). NVIDIA's MX550 uses the TU117SB chip on the Turing architecture, part of the GeForce MX (5xx) generation. These are not iterative rivals; they are separate architectural lineages.

The manufacturing process separates them clearly. Intel fabricates the DG2-128 on a 6 nm node at TSMC, while NVIDIA uses a 12 nm node, also at TSMC. The smaller process node allows Intel to pack 7,200 million transistors into a 157 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 45.9 million per square millimeter. NVIDIA's chip contains 4,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die, for a density of 23.5 million per square millimeter. The Intel chip is physically smaller but electrically denser.

Ray tracing support highlights a major feature gap. The Arc A370M includes 8 dedicated ray tracing cores. The MX550 has no ray tracing cores listed in the database. This makes the Intel card the only one of the two with hardware-accelerated ray tracing capability. For any workload that leverages RT cores, the Arc A370M has a structural advantage that software cannot compensate for on the MX550.

The DirectX feature level also differs. The Arc A370M supports DirectX 12 Ultimate with feature level 12_2, while the MX550 supports DirectX 12 with feature level 12_1. The 12_2 feature level includes additional capabilities such as mesh shaders and variable rate shading, which are absent from the 12_1 specification. Both cards support Vulkan 1.4 and OpenGL 4.6, so API support is otherwise aligned.

The FP16 compute ratio reveals another architectural split. The Arc A370M delivers 8.397 TFLOPS of FP16 performance, exactly double its FP32 rate of 4.198 TFLOPS, indicating a 2:1 ratio. The MX550 delivers 2.703 TFLOPS of FP16, identical to its FP32 rate, indicating a 1:1 ratio. This means Intel's architecture can accelerate half-precision workloads at twice the rate of full precision, while NVIDIA's Turing implementation in this chip does not provide that benefit.

Specification Differences

The memory subsystem separates the two cards sharply. The Arc A370M comes with 4 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 64-bit bus, delivering 112.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The MX550 has 2 GB of GDDR6 memory on the same 64-bit bus, but only achieves 96.00 GB/s. The Intel card offers double the capacity and 16.7% more bandwidth. The memory clock differs accordingly: the Arc runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective), while the MX550 runs at 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective).

Compute unit counts diverge despite identical shading unit totals. Both GPUs have 1,024 shading units. However, the Arc A370M includes 64 texture mapping units and 32 ROPs, while the MX550 has 32 TMUs and 16 ROPs. The Intel card doubles the texture and pixel processing hardware. This directly explains the fill rate gap: the Arc A370M delivers 65.60 GPixel/s and 131.2 GTexel/s, versus 21.12 GPixel/s and 42.24 GTexel/s for the MX550.

Clock speeds favor Intel as well. The Arc A370M has a base clock of 1550 MHz and a boost clock of 2050 MHz. The MX550 runs at 1065 MHz base and 1320 MHz boost. The Intel card's boost clock is 55.3% higher. Combined with the doubled TMU and ROP counts, this yields the FP32 throughput of 4.198 TFLOPS for Intel versus 2.703 TFLOPS for NVIDIA, a 55.3% advantage.

Power draw and physical requirements show the MX550 as the more modest card. The Arc A370M has a TDP of 35 W, while the MX550 has a TDP of 25 W. Both are integrated into laptops (IGP slot width) with portable device dependent display outputs. The MX550 lists no power connectors, while the Arc A370M has no power connector information recorded. Both use a PCIe 4.0 x8 interface. Neither card has a launch MSRP recorded in the database.

The release timeline shows the MX550 arrived earlier. NVIDIA's card was released on December 16, 2021, while Intel's Arc A370M followed on March 29, 2022. Both are now marked as end-of-life in the database. The MX550 launched nearly three months before the Arc A370M, but both have since exited production.

The Verdict

The data presents a clear trade-off rather than a single winner. The Intel Arc A370M is the stronger compute and fill-rate card. Its OpenCL score of 29,676 beats the MX550 by 45.7%, its FP32 throughput of 4.198 TFLOPS is 55.3% higher, and its pixel rate of 65.60 GPixel/s is more than triple the MX550's 21.12 GPixel/s. It also brings ray tracing cores, DirectX 12 Ultimate support, and double the VRAM. For anyone prioritizing raw compute, modern API features, or ray tracing, the Arc A370M is the clear choice from this data.

The NVIDIA GeForce MX550 is the Vulkan performance leader. Its 32,469 score in Geekbench Vulkan beats the Arc A370M by 11.7%, and it does so while drawing 10 W less power (25 W versus 35 W). For applications or games that rely heavily on Vulkan, the MX550 has the measured advantage. Its lower TDP also makes it the more power-efficient option in that specific workload.

The average benchmark scores favor Intel overall. The Arc A370M averages 29,175 across both tests, which is 10.4% higher than the MX550's 26,421. The Intel card also sits in a higher percentile (74th versus 72nd). However, the MX550's Vulkan win shows that API-specific performance cannot be ignored. A user whose workload is Vulkan-heavy would see better results from the NVIDIA card despite its lower average.

Where Each One Wins

Intel Arc A370M wins in compute-heavy and fill-rate-bound scenarios. The OpenCL benchmark is the strongest evidence: a 45.7% lead over the MX550. The doubled TMU and ROP counts, combined with higher clocks, produce 131.2 GTexel/s and 65.60 GPixel/s, both far ahead of the MX550's 42.24 GTexel/s and 21.12 GPixel/s. The 4 GB VRAM capacity is double that of the MX550, which matters for larger textures or datasets. The 8 ray tracing cores provide a feature the MX550 lacks entirely. DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) support gives access to the latest DirectX features.

NVIDIA GeForce MX550 wins in Vulkan-oriented workloads. The 32,469 Vulkan score is 11.7% higher than the Arc A370M's 28,673. This is the only head-to-head benchmark where the MX550 leads, but it is a meaningful lead. The lower TDP of 25 W versus 35 W makes it the more power-efficient option in Vulkan tasks. Its 1:1 FP16 ratio means half-precision operations run at the same rate as FP32, which can be simpler for certain workloads. The MX550 also launched earlier, in December 2021 versus March 2022 for the Arc A370M.

The split is even in terms of benchmark wins, but not in terms of magnitude. The Arc A370M's OpenCL victory is 45.7%, while the MX550's Vulkan victory is 11.7%. The Intel card wins by a larger margin in its strong test than NVIDIA wins in its strong test. This asymmetry, combined with the higher average score and percentile, makes the Arc A370M the more balanced pick for mixed workloads. The MX550 remains the specialist choice for Vulkan-specific applications where its performance lead and lower power draw are the deciding factors.