NVIDIA GeForce MX550 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce MX550 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile represent two extreme poles of the mobile GPU market, separated by architecture, memory configuration, and raw compute capability. The MX550 is a slim, low-power Turing-based part designed for basic acceleration in ultraportables, while the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile is a flagship Ampere solution for high-performance gaming laptops. Benchmark data shows the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile dominates in every shared test, but the MX550 holds a slightly higher percentile ranking, a quirk explained by the different benchmark suites used for each GPU. This analysis quantifies those differences using the provided specification and performance data.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile than the MX550 in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile scores 117,866 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the MX550 scores 20,372. This represents a delta of -82.7% for the MX550, meaning the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile is approximately 478% faster in this compute test.

Q: What is the average benchmark score for each GPU, and how does that compare to their nearest rivals?

A: The MX550 has an average benchmark score of 26,421, placing it 0.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon 860M (26,401) and 0.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 (26,331). The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile averages 25,740, which is 0.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W5700 (25,726) and 0.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6700M (25,633).

Q: Which GPU has a higher percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The MX550 ranks in the 72nd percentile, while the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile ranks in the 71st percentile. Despite the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile’s massive lead in raw scores, the MX550’s percentile is one point higher, likely due to different benchmark distributions and the fact that the MX550’s scores come from only two Geekbench tests.

Q: What are the memory specifications of the two GPUs?

A: The MX550 features 2 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 64-bit bus, providing 96.00 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is over five times the MX550’s bandwidth.

Q: Do both GPUs support the same DirectX version?

A: No. The MX550 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2). The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile also includes dedicated ray tracing cores (58) and tensor cores (232), which the MX550 lacks entirely.

Q: What is the production status and release timeline for these GPUs?

A: Both GPUs are marked as end-of-life. The MX550 was released on 2021-12-16, while the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile was released later on 2022-01-24, making it roughly one month newer.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two NVIDIA GPUs is fundamental. The MX550 is built on the Turing architecture (chip TU117SB) using a 12 nm process at TSMC, while the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile uses the Ampere architecture (chip GA103) on an 8 nm process at Samsung. This process difference contributes to a massive transistor count disparity: the MX550 packs 4,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die, yielding a density of 23.5M / mm², whereas the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile contains 22,000 million transistors on a 496 mm² die, achieving a higher density of 44.4M / mm². The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile’s die is nearly two and a half times larger in area but holds over four times as many transistors.

The compute layout diverges sharply as well. The MX550 has 1,024 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs, with no ray tracing or tensor cores. The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile scales this up dramatically: 7,424 shading units, 232 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, plus 58 RT cores and 232 tensor cores. This architectural addition of dedicated RT and tensor hardware is exclusive to the Ampere part, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI features that the Turing-based MX550 cannot perform. The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), which includes features like mesh shaders and variable rate shading, while the MX550 is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1).

Clock speeds tell a nuanced story. The MX550 has a higher base clock of 1065 MHz and a boost clock of 1320 MHz, compared to the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile’s 810 MHz base and 1260 MHz boost. However, the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile’s much larger core count more than compensates for its lower clocks, resulting in FP32 performance of 18.71 TFLOPS versus the MX550’s 2.703 TFLOPS — a nearly 7x advantage. Pixel and texture rates follow the same pattern: the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile hits 121.0 GPixel/s and 292.3 GTexel/s, versus 21.12 GPixel/s and 42.24 GTexel/s for the MX550. The MX550 draws only 25 W TDP and uses an IGP slot width with no power connectors, while the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile has a 115 W TDP, reflecting its far higher compute ceiling. The bus interface also differs, with the MX550 using PCIe 4.0 x8 and the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile using PCIe 4.0 x16, doubling the available bandwidth to the CPU.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile is the superior GPU for any performance-intensive workload. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 117,866 versus 20,372 for the MX550, a delta of -82.7% from the MX550’s perspective. In Geekbench Vulkan, the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile scores 107,502 versus 32,469, a delta of -69.8%. The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile also offers 16 GB of VRAM versus 2 GB, and 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth versus 96.00 GB/s, making it suitable for large textures and high-resolution workloads that the MX550 cannot accommodate. Its 7424 shading units and 232 TMUs provide the raw throughput for modern gaming, while its 58 RT cores and 232 tensor cores enable ray tracing and DLSS features that the MX550 lacks entirely.

However, the MX550 is not without its niche. Its 25 W TDP and IGP form factor make it ideal for thin-and-light laptops where power efficiency is paramount. Its 72nd percentile ranking, while only one point higher than the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile’s 71st, suggests that within its own benchmark pool (Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan), the MX550 performs respectably relative to other low-power GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon 860M (0.1% behind) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 (0.3% behind), indicating it holds its own in its class. For users who need basic acceleration, 1080p media, or light productivity, the MX550’s lower power draw and simpler design are clear advantages. For anyone requiring gaming performance, content creation, or compute-heavy tasks, the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile is the only choice, despite its higher power consumption and larger physical footprint.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every specification field. The MX550 uses a 12 nm Turing chip (TU117SB) with 4,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die, while the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile uses an 8 nm Ampere chip (GA103) with 22,000 million transistors on a 496 mm² die. Transistor density is 23.5M / mm² for the MX550 versus 44.4M / mm² for the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile. Memory configurations are starkly different: the MX550 has 2 GB of GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus, while the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus. Memory bandwidth is 96.00 GB/s versus 512.0 GB/s, and the memory clock is 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective) versus 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective).

Core counts diverge significantly: the MX550 has 1024 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs, while the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile has 7424 shading units, 232 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile uniquely includes 58 RT cores and 232 tensor cores, which the MX550 does not have. Pixel rate is 21.12 GPixel/s versus 121.0 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 42.24 GTexel/s versus 292.3 GTexel/s. FP32 and FP16 performance are both 2.703 TFLOPS for the MX550, versus 18.71 TFLOPS for the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile in both precisions. The MX550 has a base clock of 1065 MHz and boost of 1320 MHz, while the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile has a base of 810 MHz and boost of 1260 MHz. TDP is 25 W for the MX550 versus 115 W for the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile. The MX550 uses an IGP slot width with no power connectors, while the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile has no listed slot width but also no power connectors. The bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x8 for the MX550 and PCIe 4.0 x16 for the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile. DirectX support is 12 (12_1) for the MX550 and 12 Ultimate (12_2) for the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile; both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4. The MX550 was released on 2021-12-16, while the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile was released on 2022-01-24, and its predecessor is listed as GeForce 20 Mobile.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head data contains only two shared benchmark tests, both of which are decisive wins for the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile scores 117,866, while the MX550 scores 20,372. The delta is -82.7% from the MX550’s perspective, meaning the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile delivers over five times the compute throughput in this OpenCL workload. This is the largest relative gap in the dataset, reflecting the massive difference in shading units (7424 vs 1024) and FP32 throughput (18.71 vs 2.703 TFLOPS). In Geekbench Vulkan, the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile scores 107,502 versus the MX550’s 32,469, a delta of -69.8%. The smaller gap in Vulkan suggests the MX550’s architecture handles this API relatively better, but the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile still holds a 3.3x advantage. The overall wins tally is 2-0 in favor of the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile, with zero wins for the MX550.

Breaking down the numbers further, the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile’s OpenCL score of 117,866 is more than five times the MX550’s OpenCL score, and its Vulkan score of 107,502 is more than three times the MX550’s Vulkan score. These results align with the theoretical peak rates: the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile’s 18.71 TFLOPS FP32 is 6.9x the MX550’s 2.703 TFLOPS, and its 512.0 GB/s bandwidth is 5.3x the MX550’s 96.00 GB/s. The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile also benefits from a 256-bit bus versus 64-bit, which directly impacts memory-bound workloads. While the MX550’s higher boost clock (1320 MHz vs 1260 MHz) helps it in lightly threaded scenarios, the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile’s sheer core count overwhelms any clock advantage. The benchmark results confirm that for any GPU compute task, the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile is the definitive performer, with the MX550 suitable only for the most power-constrained environments where its 25 W TDP is a critical asset.