GeForce MX550 vs RTX 3060

VS

Aggregate performance score

We've compared GeForce RTX 3060 with GeForce MX550, including specs and performance data.

RTX 3060
2021
12 GB GDDR6, 170 Watt
44.43
+277%

RTX 3060 outperforms MX550 by a whopping 277% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.

Place in the ranking82409
Place by popularity4not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation70.36no data
Power efficiency18.0332.48
ArchitectureAmpere (2020−2024)Turing (2018−2022)
GPU code nameGA106TU117S
Market segmentDesktopLaptop
Release date12 January 2021 (4 years ago)17 December 2021 (3 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$329 no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

no data

Detailed specifications

General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores35841024
Core clock speed1320 MHz1065 MHz
Boost clock speed1777 MHz1320 MHz
Number of transistors12,000 million4,700 million
Manufacturing process technology8 nm12 nm
Power consumption (TDP)170 Watt25 Watt
Texture fill rate199.042.24
Floating-point processing power12.74 TFLOPS2.703 TFLOPS
ROPs4816
TMUs11232
Tensor Cores112no data
Ray Tracing Cores28no data

Form factor & compatibility

Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).

InterfacePCIe 4.0 x16PCIe 4.0 x8
Length242 mmno data
Width2-slotno data
Supplementary power connectors1x 12-pinNone

VRAM capacity and type

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory typeGDDR6GDDR6
Maximum RAM amount12 GB2 GB
Memory bus width192 Bit64 Bit
Memory clock speed1875 MHz1500 MHz
Memory bandwidth360.0 GB/s96 GB/s
Shared memory--

Connectivity and outputs

Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.

Display Connectors1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4aPortable Device Dependent
HDMI+-

Supported technologies

Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.

Optimus-+

API compatibility

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX12 Ultimate (12_2)12 (12_1)
Shader Model6.76.7 (6.4)
OpenGL4.64.6
OpenCL3.03.0
Vulkan1.31.3
CUDA8.67.5

Synthetic benchmark performance

Non-gaming benchmark results comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.


Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

RTX 3060 44.43
+277%
GeForce MX550 11.77

Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.

RTX 3060 17085
+278%
GeForce MX550 4525

3DMark 11 Performance GPU

3DMark 11 is an obsolete DirectX 11 benchmark by Futuremark. It used four tests based on two scenes, one being few submarines exploring the submerged wreck of a sunken ship, the other is an abandoned temple deep in the jungle. All the tests are heavy with volumetric lighting and tessellation, and despite being done in 1280x720 resolution, are relatively taxing. Discontinued in January 2020, 3DMark 11 is now superseded by Time Spy.

RTX 3060 28375
+184%
GeForce MX550 10005

3DMark Vantage Performance

3DMark Vantage is an outdated DirectX 10 benchmark using 1280x1024 screen resolution. It taxes the graphics card with two scenes, one depicting a girl escaping some militarized base located within a sea cave, the other displaying a space fleet attack on a defenseless planet. It was discontinued in April 2017, and Time Spy benchmark is now recommended to be used instead.

RTX 3060 79706
+118%
GeForce MX550 36560

3DMark Fire Strike Graphics

Fire Strike is a DirectX 11 benchmark for gaming PCs. It features two separate tests displaying a fight between a humanoid and a fiery creature made of lava. Using 1920x1080 resolution, Fire Strike shows off some realistic graphics and is quite taxing on hardware.

RTX 3060 21379
+249%
GeForce MX550 6126

3DMark Cloud Gate GPU

Cloud Gate is an outdated DirectX 11 feature level 10 benchmark that was used for home PCs and basic notebooks. It displays a few scenes of some weird space teleportation device launching spaceships into unknown, using fixed resolution of 1280x720. Just like Ice Storm benchmark, it has been discontinued in January 2020 and replaced by 3DMark Night Raid.

RTX 3060 120745
+199%
GeForce MX550 40364

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

Average FPS across all PC games

Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:

Full HD122
+165%
46
−165%
1440p72
+300%
18−20
−300%
4K50
+78.6%
28
−78.6%

Cost per frame, $

1080p2.70no data
1440p4.57no data
4K6.58no data

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2 95−100
+357%
21−24
−357%
Cyberpunk 2077 79
+243%
21−24
−243%
Elden Ring 119
+231%
36
−231%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5 110−120
+192%
35−40
−192%
Counter-Strike 2 95−100
+357%
21−24
−357%
Cyberpunk 2077 77
+542%
12
−542%
Forza Horizon 4 226
+277%
60
−277%
Metro Exodus 120
+275%
30−35
−275%
Red Dead Redemption 2 85−90
+183%
30−33
−183%
Valorant 180−190
+293%
45−50
−293%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5 110−120
+192%
35−40
−192%
Counter-Strike 2 95−100
+357%
21−24
−357%
Cyberpunk 2077 72
+700%
9
−700%
Dota 2 146
+97.3%
74
−97.3%
Elden Ring 149
+326%
35−40
−326%
Far Cry 5 105
+50%
70
−50%
Fortnite 180−190
+175%
65−70
−175%
Forza Horizon 4 180
+246%
52
−246%
Grand Theft Auto V 141
+156%
55
−156%
Metro Exodus 87
+172%
30−35
−172%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 200−210
+135%
85−90
−135%
Red Dead Redemption 2 85−90
+183%
30−33
−183%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 160−170
+350%
35−40
−350%
Valorant 180−190
+293%
45−50
−293%
World of Tanks 270−280
+71.2%
160−170
−71.2%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 110−120
+192%
35−40
−192%
Counter-Strike 2 95−100
+357%
21−24
−357%
Cyberpunk 2077 60
+1400%
4
−1400%
Dota 2 147
+41.3%
104
−41.3%
Far Cry 5 100−110
+124%
45−50
−124%
Forza Horizon 4 154
+267%
42
−267%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 200−210
+135%
85−90
−135%
Valorant 180−190
+293%
45−50
−293%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2 81
+406%
16−18
−406%
Elden Ring 85
+400%
16−18
−400%
Grand Theft Auto V 81
+406%
16−18
−406%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 170−180
+169%
65−70
−169%
Red Dead Redemption 2 45−50
+360%
10−11
−360%
World of Tanks 280−290
+235%
80−85
−235%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 75−80
+239%
21−24
−239%
Counter-Strike 2 45−50
+327%
10−12
−327%
Cyberpunk 2077 37
+311%
9−10
−311%
Far Cry 5 140−150
+430%
27−30
−430%
Forza Horizon 4 115
+326%
27−30
−326%
Metro Exodus 89
+271%
24−27
−271%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 80−85
+479%
14−16
−479%
Valorant 140−150
+410%
27−30
−410%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2 45−50
+700%
6−7
−700%
Dota 2 82
+273%
21−24
−273%
Elden Ring 44
+529%
7−8
−529%
Grand Theft Auto V 82
+273%
21−24
−273%
Metro Exodus 32
+357%
7−8
−357%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 140−150
+332%
30−35
−332%
Red Dead Redemption 2 30−33
+275%
8−9
−275%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 82
+273%
21−24
−273%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 50−55
+382%
10−12
−382%
Counter-Strike 2 45−50
+700%
6−7
−700%
Cyberpunk 2077 17
+467%
3−4
−467%
Dota 2 115
+423%
21−24
−423%
Far Cry 5 65−70
+393%
14−16
−393%
Fortnite 65−70
+408%
12−14
−408%
Forza Horizon 4 67
+347%
14−16
−347%
Valorant 75−80
+558%
12−14
−558%

This is how RTX 3060 and GeForce MX550 compete in popular games:

  • RTX 3060 is 165% faster in 1080p
  • RTX 3060 is 300% faster in 1440p
  • RTX 3060 is 79% faster in 4K

Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:

  • in Cyberpunk 2077, with 1080p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the RTX 3060 is 1400% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

  • Without exception, RTX 3060 surpassed GeForce MX550 in all 63 of our tests.

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 44.43 11.77
Recency 12 January 2021 17 December 2021
Maximum RAM amount 12 GB 2 GB
Chip lithography 8 nm 12 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 170 Watt 25 Watt

RTX 3060 has a 277.5% higher aggregate performance score, a 500% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 50% more advanced lithography process.

GeForce MX550, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 11 months, and 580% lower power consumption.

The GeForce RTX 3060 is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce MX550 in performance tests.

Be aware that GeForce RTX 3060 is a desktop card while GeForce MX550 is a notebook one.


Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

Vote for your favorite

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NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060
GeForce RTX 3060
NVIDIA GeForce MX550
GeForce MX550

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Community ratings

Here you can see the user ratings of the compared graphics cards, as well as rate them yourself.


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Questions & comments

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