AMD Radeon Pro 555X

Launched in mid-2018 for Apple’s MacBook Pro lineup, the AMD Radeon Pro 555X is a 14 nm Polaris 21 part built on GCN 4.0, offering 768 shading units, 48 texture units, and 16 ROPs. As an integrated GPU (IGP) with no power connectors and a 75 W TDP, it targets professional mobility rather than desktop performance, yet its benchmark data shows it lands in the 56th percentile of all GPUs, making it a solid mid-range option for its era. The average benchmark score of 14,500 places it in a tightly contested cluster, where it trades blows with several desktop and mobile rivals within a 1% margin.

Benchmark Performance

The Radeon Pro 555X’s benchmark results reveal a consistent but unspectacular performer, with its strongest showing in Geekbench Metal at 17,638 points, while OpenCL and Vulkan scores trail at 12,661 and 13,201 respectively. This Metal advantage is notable because it reflects the GPU’s primary design target: macOS applications that leverage Apple’s Metal API. The average benchmark score of 14,500 puts the card in a dead heat with its nearest rivals; the NVIDIA Quadro M2000 scores 14,532 (0.2% ahead), and the GeForce GTX 770 scores 14,536 (also 0.2% ahead). These deltas are negligible, indicating that in raw compute terms, the 555X is functionally equivalent to those older desktop cards.

The 555X performs slightly better against more modern competition. The AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT averages 14,389, which means the 555X is 0.8% faster, a surprising result given the RX 5500 XT’s newer architecture and higher memory bandwidth. Similarly, the AMD Radeon Vega 11 integrated solution scores 14,352, placing the 555X 1% ahead. These margins are within run-to-run variance, but the data consistently shows the 555X holding its own against a diverse set of rivals spanning different generations and market segments.

Interpreting the FP32 throughput of 1,393.2 GFLOPS alongside the pixel rate of 14.51 GPixel/s and texture rate of 43.54 GTexel/s, the 555X delivers balanced compute for its class. The 1:1 FP16 to FP32 ratio (both at 1,393.2 GFLOPS) is a GCN 4.0 trait, meaning there is no half-precision acceleration, which limits its appeal for AI inference workloads that benefit from FP16. The 56th percentile ranking across all GPUs tells the story: this is a card that outperforms the majority of historical hardware but sits far from enthusiast-tier performance, making it a competent entry-level professional solution rather than a powerhouse.

Who Should Consider It

Based on the benchmark scores, the Radeon Pro 555X is best suited for users running macOS applications that leverage Metal, given its 17,638 Metal score versus 12,661 OpenCL and 13,201 Vulkan results. For creative professionals working in Metal-optimized software like video editors or 3D modellers, the card provides a meaningful boost over integrated Intel graphics, but for users on Windows or Linux where OpenCL and Vulkan dominate, the performance gap narrows significantly. The 4 GB GDDR5 memory and 94.08 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 1080p content creation and light 3D rendering, but at 1440p or 4K, the 128-bit bus will become a bottleneck for texture-heavy workloads.

Gamers should look elsewhere; the 555X’s 14,500 average score places it near the GeForce GTX 770, a 2013 desktop card, meaning modern titles at high settings will strain the GPU. The card is a capable air-cooled IGP for productivity, with the 56th percentile ranking indicating it beats roughly half of all GPUs ever tested, but the lack of dedicated power connectors and 75 W TDP suggest it was designed for thin-and-light laptops where thermal headroom is limited. For users whose primary workflow is Metal-based and who accept 1080p as their resolution ceiling, the 555X delivers consistent frame rates in professional applications, but those requiring Vulkan performance will find the 13,201 score less compelling.

How It Compares

NVIDIA Quadro M2000: The data shows the Radeon Pro 555X trails the Quadro M2000 by a razor-thin 0.2% (14,500 vs 14,532 average score). Both are professional-grade GPUs with similar compute capabilities, but the M2000’s desktop form factor allows for better sustained performance in workstation tasks. The 555X counters with a higher Metal score, making it the better choice for macOS ecosystems, while the M2000’s advantage, though marginal, is consistent across the benchmark suite.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770: The 555X also sits 0.2% behind the GTX 770 (14,500 vs 14,536), a desktop card from 2013. This equivalence is striking because the GTX 770 has a 256-bit memory bus and higher bandwidth, yet the 555X’s newer architecture and higher clock efficiency close the gap. For users upgrading from an older MacBook Pro, the 555X offers comparable compute to a desktop GTX 770, which is respectable for a 75 W IGP.

AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT: The 555X pulls ahead of the RX 5500 XT by 0.8% (14,500 vs 14,389), which is unexpected given the RX 5500 XT’s RDNA architecture and higher memory bandwidth. This suggests that the 555X’s GCN 4.0 design, with its 1:1 FP16 ratio and mature drivers, still competes effectively in synthetic benchmarks. However, the RX 5500 XT’s newer feature set and higher power envelope would likely win in real-world gaming, but the data here shows the 555X holding a slight edge.

AMD Radeon Vega 11: The 555X leads the Vega 11 integrated GPU by 1% (14,500 vs 14,352), a small but consistent advantage. The Vega 11 relies on shared system memory, while the 555X has dedicated 4 GB GDDR5, which explains the performance gap in memory-sensitive workloads. For users comparing laptop options, the 555X’s discrete memory gives it a clear edge over integrated Vega solutions, even though both are 75 W-class parts.

FAQ

Q: How does the Radeon Pro 555X perform in Geekbench Metal compared to OpenCL?

A: The Metal score is 17,638, which is 39.3% higher than the OpenCL score of 12,661. This indicates strong optimization for Apple’s Metal API, making the card significantly more effective in macOS applications that use Metal.

Q: What is the average benchmark score and percentile ranking?

A: The average benchmark score across all tests is 14,500, placing the card in the 56th percentile of all GPUs. This means it outperforms 56% of the GPUs in the database, a solid mid-range standing.

Q: How does the 555X compare to the RX 5500 XT?

A: The 555X is 0.8% faster than the RX 5500 XT based on average scores (14,500 vs 14,389). While the margin is small, it shows the older GCN architecture holding its own against a newer RDNA competitor.

Q: What is the memory configuration and its impact?

A: The card features 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus with 94.08 GB/s bandwidth. This configuration is adequate for 1080p workloads but will limit performance at higher resolutions where memory bandwidth becomes critical.

Q: Does the 555X support Vulkan?

A: Yes, it supports Vulkan 1.3, with a Geekbench Vulkan score of 13,201. This is higher than its OpenCL score but lower than Metal, indicating that Vulkan performance is decent but not the card’s primary strength.

Q: Is the 555X suitable for FP16 compute tasks?

A: The FP16 throughput is 1,393.2 GFLOPS, identical to its FP32 rate (1:1 ratio). This means there is no half-precision acceleration, so tasks relying on FP16 will not see a performance boost over FP32.

Ray Tracing and Feature Set

The Radeon Pro 555X does not include dedicated ray tracing cores or tensor cores, as these are absent from the fact pack. Its feature set is defined by the GCN 4.0 architecture, which provides support for DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The DirectX 12 feature level 12_0 is the baseline for modern games, but without hardware ray tracing, the card relies on traditional rasterization techniques. The 1:1 FP16 to FP32 ratio (1,393.2 GFLOPS) is a notable limitation for machine learning workloads that benefit from FP16 tensor operations, which are unavailable here. The card’s API support is solid for its generation, but the lack of RT and tensor cores means it is not future-proofed for ray-traced titles or AI accelerations tasks.

For professional use, the Vulkan 1.3 support ensures compatibility with modern cross-platform engines, while OpenGL 4.6 covers legacy applications. The Metal performance, as evidenced by the 17,638 Geekbench score, is the standout feature, suggesting that Apple’s ecosystem receives the best optimization. The pixel rate of 14.51 GPixel/s and texture rate of 43.54 GTexel/s provide adequate fill rates for 1080p content creation, but the absence of hardware RT means any ray-traced effects will be software-emulated, which is impractical at this performance level.

Memory Subsystem

The memory subsystem is a 4 GB GDDR5 configuration with a 128-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 94.08 GB/s. This is a modest setup by modern standards, but the data shows it is sufficient for the card’s target workloads. The memory clock runs at 1470 MHz with 5.9 Gbps effective data rate, which is typical for GDDR5 of this era. For 1080p gaming and professional applications, 4 GB is adequate, but at 1440p or higher, the capacity and bandwidth will become limiting factors. The 128-bit bus is narrower than competing desktop cards like the GTX 770, which likely has a wider bus, yet the benchmark scores remain equivalent, indicating that the 555X’s memory efficiency and caching are well-tuned.

The 94.08 GB/s bandwidth is roughly one-third of what modern mid-range GPUs offer, which explains why the card’s performance drops off in memory-intensive scenarios. However, for the intended use case of a laptop IGP, the dedicated VRAM is a significant advantage over integrated solutions that share system memory, as seen in the 1% lead over the Vega 11. The pixel rate of 14.51 GPixel/s aligns with the memory bandwidth, suggesting balanced design, but users should expect texture pop-in or reduced quality settings in VRAM-hungry applications beyond 1080p.

Power and Cooling

The Radeon Pro 555X has a TDP of 75 W and requires no power connectors, drawing all power from the PCIe slot. It is an integrated GPU (IGP) in terms of slot width, meaning it is soldered onto the motherboard rather than a removable card. The thermal solution is portable device dependent, which means cooling varies by laptop model, but the 75 W TDP is low enough for standard laptop cooling systems. No suggested PSU is listed, and since it is an IGP, external power supply recommendations are not applicable.

The absence of power connectors simplifies installation in laptops, but it also caps the card’s overclocking potential and sustained performance. The 75 W power draw is identical to the Vega 11, another 75 W part, yet the 555X delivers 1% higher average scores, indicating better efficiency per watt. The PCIe 3.0 x8 bus interface is a limiting factor compared to x16 slots, but for a laptop GPU, this is a common trade-off to save space and power. The end-of-life production status and 2018 release date mean this card is now legacy hardware, but its power efficiency and Metal performance keep it relevant for older MacBook Pro users seeking a capable integrated solution.