NVIDIA GeForce MX550 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Mobile Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a decisive victory for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Mobile in the two shared benchmark tests. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile scores 106,022 against the MX550's 20,372. That is an 80.8% higher score, and this gap represents the largest performance differential between the two parts in the database. The Geekbench Vulkan test tells a similar story, with the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile scoring 100,027 versus 32,469 for the MX550, a 67.5% advantage.

The MX550 does not win either of the two head-to-head tests. Its average benchmark score across all recorded tests is 26,421, while the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile averages 23,518. The apparent contradiction, where the MX550 has a higher average despite losing both direct comparisons, is explained by the different test sets recorded for each GPU. The MX550's average is built from only two Geekbench results, both strong for its class, while the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile's average includes a wider range of Passmark tests, including some low DirectX scores that pull its mean down.

Looking at percentile placement, the MX550 sits at the 72nd percentile of all GPUs in the database, while the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile sits at the 69th percentile. These percentile figures reflect the broader benchmark pool, not just the head-to-head results. The MX550's nearest rival is the AMD Radeon 860M with an average score of 26,401, a delta of just 0.1%. The RTX 3070 Ti Mobile's closest competitor is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile at 23,628, a delta of -0.5%. The RTX 3070 Ti Mobile also edges out the AMD Radeon AI PRO R9700 by 0.9% and the AMD Radeon R9 M290X by 1%, while trailing the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z by 0.9%.

The single-test performance gap is enormous. In OpenCL, the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile delivers roughly five times the raw compute score of the MX550. This is not a marginal generational improvement; it is a different performance class entirely. The Vulkan delta, while smaller proportionally, still represents a threefold advantage.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different NVIDIA architectures and different manufacturing processes. The MX550 uses the TU117SB chip, built on Turing architecture, fabricated by TSMC on a 12 nm process. The RTX 3070 Ti Mobile uses the GA104 chip, built on Ampere architecture, fabricated by Samsung on an 8 nm process. The transistor counts reflect the scale difference: the MX550 packs 4,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 23.5 million per mm². The RTX 3070 Ti Mobile integrates 17,400 million transistors on a 392 mm² die, with a density of 44.4 million per mm².

The RTX 3070 Ti Mobile includes hardware features that the MX550 lacks entirely. It has 46 ray tracing cores and 184 tensor cores. The MX550 lists no RT cores and no tensor cores. This is a fundamental architectural split: the MX550 is a raster-focused, low-power part, while the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile is a full-featured Ampere GPU with dedicated ray tracing and AI acceleration hardware.

Memory architecture also differs sharply. The MX550 uses 2 GB of GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus, producing 96.00 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 3070 Ti Mobile uses 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, producing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Memory clock rates differ as well: the MX550 runs at 1500 MHz with 12 Gbps effective, while the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile runs at 1750 MHz with 14 Gbps effective.

The API support reflects the newer architecture. The MX550 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4. The DirectX 12 Ultimate designation on the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile aligns with its ray tracing and mesh shader capabilities.

Shading resources are dramatically different. The MX550 has 1,024 shading units, 32 texture mapping units, and 16 ROPs. The RTX 3070 Ti Mobile has 5,888 shading units, 184 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. Pixel rate is 21.12 GPixel/s for the MX550 versus 135.4 GPixel/s for the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile. Texture rate is 42.24 GTexel/s versus 259.4 GTexel/s. FP32 throughput is 2.703 TFLOPS versus 16.60 TFLOPS. Both GPUs list FP16 at 1:1 with FP32.

The bus interface differs as well. The MX550 connects via PCIe 4.0 x8, while the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile uses PCIe 4.0 x16. Both are end-of-life products. The MX550 launched on 2021-12-16, and the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile launched on 2022-01-03. The RTX 3070 Ti Mobile lists its predecessor as GeForce 20 Mobile; the MX550 lists no predecessor.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 3070 Ti Mobile wins every recorded head-to-head benchmark and every meaningful performance category. In OpenCL compute, it leads by 80.8%. In Vulkan, it leads by 67.5%. Its FP32 throughput of 16.60 TFLOPS is more than six times the MX550's 2.703 TFLOPS. Its memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s is nearly five times the MX550's 96.00 GB/s. Its texture rate of 259.4 GTexel/s is more than six times higher. Its pixel rate of 135.4 GPixel/s is more than six times higher.

The MX550's wins are not performance-based. Its advantages lie in power consumption and form factor. The MX550 has a TDP of 25 W and an IGP slot width, meaning it is designed for thin-and-light laptops where the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile at 115 W would be impractical. The MX550 also carries a smaller transistor count and die size, which correlates with lower manufacturing cost and simpler cooling requirements, though the database does not record price data.

For users who need ray tracing, the choice is obvious: the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile has 46 RT cores, and the MX550 has none. For users who need tensor core acceleration, the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile has 184 tensor cores, and the MX550 has none. For users who need more than 2 GB of VRAM, the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile's 8 GB is the only option.

The MX550's realistic use case is limited to light productivity, basic media playback, and older or less demanding games at low settings. Its 2 GB VRAM and 64-bit bus constrain its ability to handle modern game assets. The RTX 3070 Ti Mobile, by contrast, is suitable for high-refresh 1080p gaming, 1440p gaming, content creation, and any workload that can exploit its ray tracing or tensor cores.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in almost every measured specification. The MX550 uses the TU117SB chip on 12 nm TSMC process with 4,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die. The RTX 3070 Ti Mobile uses the GA104 chip on 8 nm Samsung process with 17,400 million transistors on a 392 mm² die. Transistor density is 23.5M per mm² for the MX550 and 44.4M per mm² for the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile.

Clock speeds differ in both directions. The MX550 has a higher base clock at 1065 MHz versus 915 MHz, but a lower boost clock at 1320 MHz versus 1410 MHz. Memory clocks are 1500 MHz with 12 Gbps effective for the MX550, and 1750 MHz with 14 Gbps effective for the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile.

Memory configuration is a major differentiator. The MX550 has 2 GB GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus with 96.00 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 3070 Ti Mobile has 8 GB GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Compute resources are substantially different. The MX550 has 1,024 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. The RTX 3070 Ti Mobile has 5,888 shading units, 184 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The RTX 3070 Ti Mobile also has 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores; the MX550 has neither.

Rates and throughput scale accordingly. Pixel rate is 21.12 GPixel/s versus 135.4 GPixel/s. Texture rate is 42.24 GTexel/s versus 259.4 GTexel/s. FP32 is 2.703 TFLOPS versus 16.60 TFLOPS. FP16 matches FP32 on both at 1:1.

Power and physical specs differ. The MX550 has a TDP of 25 W and an IGP slot width. The RTX 3070 Ti Mobile has a TDP of 115 W and no listed slot width. Both have no power connectors listed and both are portable-device dependent for display outputs. The MX550 uses PCIe 4.0 x8; the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile uses PCIe 4.0 x16. DirectX support is 12 (12_1) for the MX550 and 12 Ultimate (12_2) for the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile. Both use OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4. Release dates are 2021-12-16 for the MX550 and 2022-01-03 for the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile. Both are end-of-life.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Mobile scores 106,022 versus 20,372 for the MX550, an 80.8% advantage.

Q: Does the MX550 support ray tracing?

A: No. The MX550 lists no RT cores, while the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile has 46 RT cores.

Q: How much VRAM does each GPU have?

A: The MX550 has 2 GB of GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus. The RTX 3070 Ti Mobile has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The MX550 has a TDP of 25 W. The RTX 3070 Ti Mobile has a TDP of 115 W.

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The MX550 has an average benchmark score of 26,421, while the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile has an average of 23,518. This is due to different test sets, not because the MX550 is faster.

Q: Are both GPUs still in production?

A: No. Both are listed as end-of-life products. The MX550 launched on 2021-12-16, and the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile launched on 2022-01-03.

The Verdict

The data leaves no ambiguity for raw performance. The RTX 3070 Ti Mobile is the superior GPU in every recorded benchmark, every compute metric, and every memory characteristic. Its 80.8% lead in OpenCL and 67.5% lead in Vulkan are overwhelming. Its 16.60 TFLOPS FP32 throughput, 448.0 GB/s memory bandwidth, and support for DirectX 12 Ultimate place it in a completely different performance tier than the MX550.

The MX550 is a low-power part with a 25 W TDP and IGP form factor, designed for ultraportable laptops where the 115 W RTX 3070 Ti Mobile cannot fit or be cooled. Its 2 GB VRAM, 64-bit memory bus, and lack of RT and tensor cores limit it to light workloads. The RTX 3070 Ti Mobile, with 8 GB VRAM, 46 RT cores, and 184 tensor cores, is suitable for demanding gaming, ray-traced titles, and GPU-accelerated compute.

Choose the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile if you need performance, VRAM capacity, or modern features like ray tracing and tensor core acceleration. Choose the MX550 only if your system constraints require a 25 W GPU with an IGP slot width. The benchmark data does not support any other reason to prefer the MX550.