GPU Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce MX550 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile present a curious case: their aggregate benchmark averages are statistically tied, yet their head-to-head compute results diverge sharply. The MX550 posts an average score of 33,209 against the RTX 3050 Mobile’s 33,170 (a 0.1% difference), but in the two shared Geekbench tests the RTX 3050 Mobile wins by 31.7% (OpenCL) and 34.3% (Vulkan). This page dissects the architectural and specification gaps that explain that split, and where each GPU legitimately holds an edge.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The MX550 averages 33,209, while the RTX 3050 Mobile averages 33,170, a difference of 0.1% in favor of the MX550. This is effectively a tie.

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in the shared Geekbench tests?

A: In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 3050 Mobile scores 50,038 versus the MX550’s 34,198, a 31.7% lead. In Geekbench Vulkan, the RTX 3050 Mobile scores 49,051 versus 32,220, a 34.3% lead.

Q: Does the MX550 support ray tracing or tensor operations?

A: No. The MX550 has zero RT cores and zero tensor cores. The RTX 3050 Mobile has 16 RT cores and 64 tensor cores.

Q: What are the memory configurations?

A: The MX550 has 2 GB of GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus with 96.00 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 3050 Mobile has 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 192.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU has a higher boost clock?

A: The RTX 3050 Mobile boosts to 1343 MHz, while the MX550 boosts to 1320 MHz. Their base clocks are identical at 1065 MHz.

Q: Are there any other benchmark results for the RTX 3050 Mobile?

A: Yes, the RTX 3050 Mobile also has a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 421. The MX550 has no comparable result in the data.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs belong to different NVIDIA architectures and process generations. The MX550 is built on Turing (chip TU117SB) using a 12 nm process at TSMC, packing 4,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die (23.5M / mm²). The RTX 3050 Mobile is Ampere (chip GA107) on Samsung’s 8 nm process, with 8,700 million transistors on the same 200 mm² die (43.5M / mm²). That yields a transistor density nearly double, 43.5M / mm² versus 23.5M / mm².

The compute pipelines diverge substantially. The MX550 has 1024 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs, with no dedicated RT or tensor cores. The RTX 3050 Mobile doubles those counts: 2048 shading units, 64 TMUs, 32 ROPs, plus 16 RT cores and 64 tensor cores. This is reflected in raw throughput: the MX550 reaches 2.703 TFLOPS FP32 and FP16 (1:1), while the RTX 3050 Mobile hits 5.501 TFLOPS on both.

Memory architecture also differs. The MX550 uses a 64-bit bus with 2 GB GDDR6 and 96.00 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 3050 Mobile uses a 128-bit bus with 4 GB GDDR6 and 192.0 GB/s bandwidth, exactly double the bus width and bandwidth. Both run memory at 1500 MHz with 12 Gbps effective speed. The RTX 3050 Mobile also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the MX550 is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1). Both share OpenGL 4.6, Vulkan 1.4, PCIe 4.0 x8, and portable-device-dependent display outputs.

Power and physical characteristics differ as well. The MX550 has a 25 W TDP; the RTX 3050 Mobile has a 45 W TDP. Both are listed as IGP slot width with no power connectors. The RTX 3050 Mobile’s predecessor is the GeForce 20 Mobile; the MX550 has no listed predecessor. Release dates also differ: the MX550 launched 2021-12-16, the RTX 3050 Mobile 2021-05-10. Both are end-of-life.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only directly comparable benchmarks in the data are Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan. In OpenCL, the RTX 3050 Mobile scores 50,038 against the MX550’s 34,198, a 31.7% advantage. In Vulkan, the RTX 3050 Mobile scores 49,051 against 32,220, a 34.3% advantage. Both are decisive wins for the RTX 3050 Mobile, with margins that exceed the tiny 0.1% aggregate average difference.

The RTX 3050 Mobile also has a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 421, but no equivalent MX550 result exists for a direct comparison. The MX550’s only benchmarks are the two Geekbench tests, so its aggregate average of 33,209 is derived from those two scores. The RTX 3050 Mobile’s average of 33,170 includes its three tests (OpenCL, Vulkan, and Steel Nomad), which pulls its average down relative to its strong Geekbench showings. This explains why the aggregate averages are nearly identical despite the RTX 3050 Mobile dominating the shared tests.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the measured data, the RTX 3050 Mobile is the clear winner in compute performance. It outperforms the MX550 by 31.7% in Geekbench OpenCL and 34.3% in Geekbench Vulkan, the only two tests where both GPUs have results. The MX550’s slightly higher average benchmark score (33,209 vs. 33,170, +0.1%) is within noise and driven by the RTX 3050 Mobile’s inclusion of a lower-scoring 3DMark test in its average. For any workload represented by Geekbench OpenCL or Vulkan, the RTX 3050 Mobile is unequivocally faster.

The MX550 does have a lower TDP (25 W vs. 45 W), which could matter in power-constrained designs, but the data provides no performance-per-watt metric. Its only other “win” is the aggregate average, which is statistically negligible. For users prioritizing raw compute performance in OpenCL and Vulkan, the RTX 3050 Mobile is the definitive choice.

Specification Differences

| Field | MX550 | RTX 3050 Mobile |

|-------|-------|-----------------|

| Architecture | Turing | Ampere |

| Process Node | 12 nm | 8 nm |

| Foundry | TSMC | Samsung |

| Transistors | 4,700 million | 8,700 million |

| Transistor Density | 23.5M / mm² | 43.5M / mm² |

| Boost Clock | 1320 MHz | 1343 MHz |

| Memory Size | 2 GB | 4 GB |

| Memory Bus Width | 64 bit | 128 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 96.00 GB/s | 192.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 1024 | 2048 |

| TMUs | 32 | 64 |

| ROPs | 16 | 32 |

| RT Cores | 0 | 16 |

| Tensor Cores | 0 | 64 |

| Pixel Rate | 21.12 GPixel/s | 42.98 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 42.24 GTexel/s | 85.95 GTexel/s |

| FP32 / FP16 | 2.703 TFLOPS | 5.501 TFLOPS |

| TDP | 25 W | 45 W |

| DirectX | 12 (12_1) | 12 Ultimate (12_2) |

| Release Date | 2021-12-16 | 2021-05-10 |

| Predecessor | None | GeForce 20 Mobile |

Identical fields include base clock (1065 MHz), memory clock (1500 MHz / 12 Gbps effective), memory type (GDDR6), slot width (IGP), power connectors (None), bus interface (PCIe 4.0 x8), display outputs (Portable Device Dependent), OpenGL (4.6), Vulkan (1.4), and production status (End-of-life).

Where Each One Wins

RTX 3050 Mobile wins decisively in compute benchmarks. It leads by 31.7% in Geekbench OpenCL (50,038 vs. 34,198) and by 34.3% in Geekbench Vulkan (49,051 vs. 32,220). It also has double the shading units, TMUs, ROPs, and memory bandwidth, plus dedicated RT and tensor cores. Its pixel rate (42.98 GPixel/s) and texture rate (85.95 GTexel/s) are roughly double the MX550’s (21.12 and 42.24, respectively). The RTX 3050 Mobile is the only one of the two with a DirectX 12 Ultimate feature level.

MX550 wins on power draw and aggregate average. Its TDP of 25 W is 20 W lower than the RTX 3050 Mobile’s 45 W. Its average benchmark score of 33,209 is 0.1% higher than the RTX 3050 Mobile’s 33,170, though that margin is negligible and driven by test set composition. The MX550 also has a later release date (2021-12-16 vs. 2021-05-10) and no predecessor, but neither affects performance.

For any application that relies on OpenCL or Vulkan compute, the only shared metrics, the RTX 3050 Mobile is the superior part. The MX550’s only substantive advantage is its lower TDP, which may suit ultra-portable designs, but the benchmark data offers no evidence that it compensates for the large performance deficit.