GPU Comparison

The Verdict

The data presents a near-perfect split between the Intel Arc A550M and the NVIDIA CMP 50HX. Each card claims exactly one benchmark victory, with the Intel part taking the Geekbench Vulkan test decisively and the NVIDIA part winning the Geekbench OpenCL test by a smaller margin. For users prioritizing Vulkan-based workloads, the Arc A550M is the clear choice, delivering a 10.8% advantage over the CMP 50HX. Conversely, for OpenCL-dependent applications, the CMP 50HX offers a 6.6% lead over the Intel competitor.

The aggregate scores tell a similar story. The Arc A550M posts an average benchmark score of 49737, while the CMP 50HX sits at 49071, a difference of 1.4% in favor of Intel. Both cards occupy the 87th percentile among all GPUs, indicating they are statistically equivalent in overall performance classification. The nearest-rival data reinforces this parity: the Arc A550M trails the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT by just 0.5% and leads the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER by 2.1%, while the CMP 50HX sits 1.8% behind the RX 6800 XT and 0.8% ahead of the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER.

The choice between these two ultimately hinges on the software environment. The Arc A550M is the stronger pick for Vulkan-centric workloads, which includes many modern games and compute frameworks. The CMP 50HX, despite being a mining-oriented product with no display outputs, holds an edge in OpenCL scenarios. Neither card offers a decisive overall advantage, so the decision rests on which API the user's target applications employ.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs represent fundamentally different design philosophies and technological generations. The Intel Arc A550M is built on the Xe-HPG architecture, specifically the DG2-512 chip, and belongs to the Alchemist generation of Arc 5 Mobile parts. It is fabricated on a 6 nm process at TSMC, packing 21,700 million transistors into a 406 mm² die. The resulting transistor density is 53.4 million transistors per square millimeter, reflecting a modern, dense design. The CMP 50HX, by contrast, uses NVIDIA's Turing architecture with the TU102 chip, a 12 nm TSMC part with 18,600 million transistors spread across a much larger 754 mm² die. Its transistor density is just 24.7 million per square millimeter, highlighting the generational gap in manufacturing technology.

Memory configurations diverge sharply. The Arc A550M comes with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The CMP 50HX packs 10 GB of GDDR6 on a 320-bit bus, yielding 560.0 GB/s — more than double the bandwidth of the Intel part. Both run their memory at 1750 MHz with 14 Gbps effective data rate, but the wider bus gives NVIDIA the clear advantage in raw memory throughput.

Compute resources also differ substantially. The Arc A550M has 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation units, along with 16 ray tracing cores. The CMP 50HX fields 3584 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 80 ROPs, with 56 RT cores and 448 tensor cores. Despite having fewer shading units, the Arc A550M achieves higher pixel rate at 131.2 GPixel/s versus 123.6 GPixel/s for the CMP 50HX, while the NVIDIA part leads in texture rate at 296.6 GTexel/s versus 262.4 GTexel/s. Floating-point performance favors NVIDIA: the CMP 50HX delivers 11.07 TFLOPS FP32 and 22.15 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1), while the Arc A550M manages 8.397 TFLOPS FP32 and 16.79 TFLOPS FP16.

Clock speeds tell another story of generational efficiency. The Arc A550M runs at a 900 MHz base clock and boosts to 2050 MHz, while the CMP 50HX has a higher 1350 MHz base but a lower 1545 MHz boost. The power envelope is dramatically different: the Intel part draws just 60 W, whereas the CMP 50HX is rated at 250 W with a suggested 600 W power supply and dual 8-pin connectors. The Arc A550M is an integrated graphics product (IGP) with portable-device-dependent display outputs, while the CMP 50HX is a dual-slot card measuring 267 mm in length, 116 mm in height, and 35 mm in width, with no display outputs at all.

Both cards support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The Arc A550M connects via PCIe 4.0 x16, while the CMP 50HX uses a legacy PCIe 1.0 x4 interface.

Where Each One Wins

The Arc A550M wins decisively in the Vulkan benchmark, scoring 49580 against the CMP 50HX's 44731, a 10.8% advantage. This indicates the Intel architecture handles Vulkan workloads more efficiently, likely benefiting from its newer Xe-HPG design and more modern driver stack. For users running Vulkan-based games, compute shaders, or ray tracing workloads that use this API, the Arc A550M is the stronger performer.

The CMP 50HX takes the OpenCL benchmark with a score of 53411 versus 49894 for the Arc A550M, a 6.6% margin. This suggests NVIDIA's Turing architecture, despite being older and less dense, remains competitive in OpenCL environments. The CMP 50HX also benefits from its higher shading unit count and memory bandwidth, which may contribute to its OpenCL advantage.

In terms of aggregate performance, the Arc A550M edges ahead with an average score of 49737 versus 49071, a 1.4% difference. Both cards occupy the same 87th percentile, meaning they are roughly equivalent in the broader GPU landscape. The Arc A550M's nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT, sits just 0.5% higher, while the CMP 50HX is 1.8% below that same rival. Against the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER, the Arc A550M leads by 2.1%, while the CMP 50HX leads by 0.8%.

The CMP 50HX also offers more memory capacity (10 GB versus 8 GB) and substantially higher bandwidth (560.0 GB/s versus 224.0 GB/s), which could benefit memory-intensive workloads even if the average scores are similar. However, the Arc A550M's dramatically lower power draw of 60 W versus 250 W makes it far more efficient, a meaningful consideration for mobile or thermally constrained environments.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The Intel Arc A550M has a higher average benchmark score at 49737, compared to 49071 for the NVIDIA CMP 50HX, a difference of 1.4%. Both cards occupy the 87th percentile among all GPUs.

Q: How do the two cards compare in Vulkan performance?

A: The Arc A550M wins the Geekbench Vulkan test with a score of 49580, beating the CMP 50HX's 44731 by 10.8%. This is the Intel card's single largest margin of victory.

Q: Which GPU wins in OpenCL performance?

A: The NVIDIA CMP 50HX wins the Geekbench OpenCL test with a score of 53411, surpassing the Arc A550M's 49894 by 6.6%. This is the NVIDIA card's only benchmark victory in the head-to-head data.

Q: What are the memory specifications of each card?

A: The Arc A550M has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth. The CMP 50HX has 10 GB of GDDR6 on a 320-bit bus with 560.0 GB/s bandwidth. Both run at 1750 MHz with 14 Gbps effective data rate.

Q: How do their power requirements differ?

A: The Arc A550M is rated at 60 W and is an integrated graphics product, while the CMP 50HX is rated at 250 W and requires a 600 W suggested power supply with dual 8-pin connectors.

Q: Which card has more shading units and tensor cores?

A: The CMP 50HX has 3584 shading units and 448 tensor cores, while the Arc A550M has 2048 shading units and no tensor cores. The NVIDIA card also has more RT cores (56 versus 16) and more TMUs (192 versus 128).

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head results show a clean split, with each card winning one benchmark and the margins revealing distinct performance characteristics. The largest victory belongs to the Intel Arc A550M in the Geekbench Vulkan test, where it scores 49580 against the CMP 50HX's 44731. That 10.8% delta is substantial and indicates a significant architectural advantage for Intel in Vulkan environments. The Xe-HPG architecture, despite having fewer shading units (2048 versus 3584) and lower FP32 throughput (8.397 TFLOPS versus 11.07 TFLOPS), manages to outperform the Turing-based CMP 50HX in this API. This suggests that the Arc A550M's newer design and driver optimizations more than compensate for its raw compute disadvantage in Vulkan workloads.

The NVIDIA CMP 50HX counters in the Geekbench OpenCL test, posting 53411 against the Arc A550M's 49894, a 6.6% advantage. This win aligns with the CMP 50HX's hardware strengths: its 3584 shading units, 448 tensor cores, and 560.0 GB/s memory bandwidth provide a solid foundation for OpenCL compute tasks. The card's higher FP32 and FP16 throughput (11.07 and 22.15 TFLOPS respectively) likely contribute to its OpenCL success. Notably, the CMP 50HX's OpenCL score of 53411 is its stronger benchmark result, while its Vulkan score of 44731 is comparatively weak — a 16.3% gap between its own two results. The Arc A550M, by contrast, shows remarkable consistency with scores of 49894 and 49580, a variance of less than 1%.

The aggregate averages reflect this split. The Arc A550M's average score of 49737 is almost identical to its individual benchmark results, underscoring its balanced performance across APIs. The CMP 50HX's average of 49071 is pulled down by its weaker Vulkan showing. When placed against the nearest rivals, the Arc A550M sits within 2.1% of the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (which averages 49982) and 2.1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER (48704). The CMP 50HX trails the RX 6800 XT by 1.8% and leads the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER by 0.8%, while also sitting 2.4% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX A2000 (47915).

The data shows that neither card is a universal winner. The Arc A550M is the better choice for Vulkan-centric applications, while the CMP 50HX dominates OpenCL. In aggregate, the Intel part holds a narrow 1.4% advantage, but the CMP 50HX's superior memory bandwidth and compute resources make it competitive in the right workloads. Both cards are end-of-life products, and their respective strengths are tied to the API ecosystems they serve.