AMD Radeon RX 6800S vs NVIDIA GeForce MX550 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a decisive performance gap between the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 and the AMD Radeon RX 6800S. Across the two shared benchmark tests, the AMD part wins both, leaving the NVIDIA part with zero wins in this comparison.

In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the AMD Radeon RX 6800S scores 73,202, while the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 manages 20,372. That represents a 72.2% deficit for the NVIDIA part, meaning the AMD GPU delivers roughly 3.6 times the raw compute throughput in this workload. The gap is substantial enough that the MX550 is not competing in the same performance tier.

The Vulkan result tells a similar story, though with a slightly narrower margin. The AMD Radeon RX 6800S posts 81,272, while the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 reaches 32,469. The delta here is 60%, meaning the AMD part is 2.5 times faster. Vulkan tends to favor architectures with higher shader counts and wider memory buses, both of which favor the RX 6800S.

Looking at the broader database context, the MX550's average benchmark score sits at 26,421, placing it in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon 860M at 26,401 (0.1% behind), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 at 26,331 (0.3% behind), and the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary at 26,553 (0.5% ahead). The MX550 is essentially clustered with these mid-range parts, showing it can hold its own against other entry-level discrete GPUs.

The RX 6800S, by contrast, has an average benchmark score of 24,063, placing it in the 69th percentile. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER at 24,170 (0.4% ahead), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti at 24,236 (0.7% ahead), and the AMD Radeon RX 9070 at 23,877 (0.8% behind). Despite the lower average score relative to the MX550, the RX 6800S wins decisively in the two head-to-head tests that both parts share. This discrepancy highlights that the MX550's average is boosted by favorable results in other database tests, while the RX 6800S shows its true strength in modern API workloads.

The head-to-head data is unambiguous: the RX 6800S leads by 72.2% in OpenCL and 60% in Vulkan. No benchmark in the shared set favors the MX550.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6800S scores 73,202 versus 20,372 for the NVIDIA GeForce MX550, a 72.2% lead for the AMD part.

Q: How do the two compare in Vulkan performance?

A: The RX 6800S posts 81,272 in Geekbench Vulkan, while the MX550 scores 32,469. The AMD GPU is 60% faster in this test.

Q: What is the average benchmark score for each GPU?

A: The MX550 has an average score of 26,421, while the RX 6800S averages 24,063. Despite the lower average, the RX 6800S wins both shared tests.

Q: How does each GPU rank against all other GPUs in the database?

A: The MX550 sits in the 72nd percentile, while the RX 6800S sits in the 69th percentile. Both are mid-pack performers overall.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The RX 6800S has 2,048 shading units, double the 1,024 found on the MX550.

Q: What memory configurations do the two GPUs use?

A: The MX550 has 2 GB of GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus with 96.00 GB/s bandwidth. The RX 6800S has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 256.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations and design philosophies. The NVIDIA GeForce MX550 uses the Turing architecture, built on a 12 nm process at TSMC. Its chip, designated TU117SB, contains 4,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 23.5 million per square millimeter. Turing was designed for mainstream laptops, and the MX550 reflects that positioning.

The AMD Radeon RX 6800S uses the RDNA 2.0 architecture, fabricated on a 7 nm process, also at TSMC. Its Navi 23 chip packs 11,060 million transistors into a 237 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 46.7 million per square millimeter. That is nearly double the density of the Turing part, and the architectural efficiency shows in the benchmark results.

The shading resources differ substantially. The MX550 has 1,024 shading units, 32 texture mapping units, and 16 render output units. It has no dedicated ray tracing cores and no tensor cores. The RX 6800S doubles the shading units to 2,048, quadruples the TMUs to 128, and quadruples the ROPs to 64. It also includes 32 ray tracing cores, giving it hardware acceleration for ray-traced workloads that the MX550 cannot match.

The compute pipelines differ as well. The MX550 delivers 2.703 TFLOPS of FP32 and the same 2.703 TFLOPS of FP16, which indicates a 1:1 ratio. The RX 6800S delivers 8.602 TFLOPS of FP32 and 17.20 TFLOPS of FP16, a 2:1 ratio that reflects RDNA 2.0's design for higher throughput in shader-heavy tasks.

The API support also separates the two. The MX550 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The RX 6800S supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), which includes features like mesh shaders and variable rate shading, along with OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4. The DirectX 12 Ultimate designation signals a more modern feature set.

Specification Differences

The specification sheets reveal a clear hierarchy. The MX550 has a base clock of 1065 MHz and a boost clock of 1320 MHz. The RX 6800S runs at 1800 MHz base, 1975 MHz game clock, and 2100 MHz boost. The AMD part operates at significantly higher frequencies across the board.

Memory is another major divider. The MX550 comes with 2 GB of GDDR6 running at 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective), on a 64-bit bus, yielding 96.00 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 6800S has 8 GB of GDDR6 at 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective), on a 128-bit bus, delivering 256.0 GB/s. The AMD part has four times the memory capacity and over 2.6 times the bandwidth.

Pixel and texture rates follow the same trend. The MX550 achieves 21.12 GPixel/s and 42.24 GTexel/s. The RX 6800S reaches 134.4 GPixel/s and 268.8 GTexel/s. The AMD part is over 6 times faster in pixel throughput and over 6 times faster in texture throughput.

Power consumption differs, though both are integrated into portable devices. The MX550 has a TDP of 25 W, while the RX 6800S has a TDP of 100 W. Neither requires external power connectors, and both use a PCIe 4.0 x8 bus interface. Both have display outputs described as "Portable Device Dependent."

The release dates are close: the MX550 launched on 2021-12-16, and the RX 6800S launched on 2022-01-03. Both are marked as end-of-life in production status. The RX 6800S lists a predecessor, Polaris Mobile, while the MX550 has no recorded predecessor or successor.

The Verdict

The data points to one conclusion: the AMD Radeon RX 6800S is the superior GPU for performance-oriented tasks. It wins both shared benchmarks by margins of 60% or more, has four times the memory, and offers more than triple the FP32 compute throughput. The MX550 is not competitive in this matchup.

The MX550 does have a much lower TDP at 25 W versus 100 W, which matters for battery life in thin-and-light laptops. It also has a smaller die and fewer transistors, which could translate to lower manufacturing complexity. But in raw performance, the RX 6800S dominates.

The percentile rankings are close (72nd for the MX550, 69th for the RX 6800S), but this reflects the different benchmark suites each part has been tested with. The shared tests tell the real story: the RX 6800S is in a different performance class.

Users who prioritize frame rates, compute workloads, or modern graphics features should choose the RX 6800S. Users who need maximum power efficiency and minimal heat output in an ultraportable chassis might prefer the MX550, but they must accept a large performance penalty.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 6800S wins in every measurable performance category from the recorded data. In OpenCL compute, it leads by 72.2%. In Vulkan graphics, it leads by 60%. It also holds advantages in shading units (2,048 versus 1,024), TMUs (128 versus 32), ROPs (64 versus 16), memory capacity (8 GB versus 2 GB), and memory bandwidth (256.0 GB/s versus 96.00 GB/s). The RX 6800S is the choice for gaming, 3D rendering, and any workload that stresses the GPU.

The NVIDIA GeForce MX550 wins in power efficiency. Its 25 W TDP is one-quarter of the RX 6800S's 100 W. This makes it suitable for passively cooled or fanless designs, ultra-thin notebooks, and systems where battery life is paramount. The MX550 also has a smaller die (200 mm² versus 237 mm²) and fewer transistors (4,700 million versus 11,060 million), which could indicate lower production costs, though pricing data is not available for either part.

The MX550's niche is basic acceleration for everyday tasks: video playback, light photo editing, and older games at modest settings. The RX 6800S is for users who want desktop-class performance in a laptop, with enough memory and bandwidth to handle modern game textures and compute workloads.

Neither part is currently in production, and both are end-of-life. For anyone choosing between them today, the benchmark data makes the RX 6800S the clear winner on performance, with the MX550 serving only the most power-constrained designs.