Radeon RX 6550M vs R9 290X

Place in the ranking	292	218
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	4.86	no data
Power efficiency	4.58	21.57
Architecture	GCN 2.0 (2013−2017)	RDNA 2.0 (2020−2024)
GPU code name	Hawaii	Navi 24
Market segment	Desktop	Laptop
Design	reference	no data
Release date	24 October 2013 (11 years ago)	4 January 2023 (2 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$549	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 cores	2816	1024
Core clock speed	no data	2000 MHz
Boost clock speed	947 MHz	2840 MHz
Number of transistors	6,200 million	5,400 million
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	6 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	250 Watt	80 Watt
Texture fill rate	176.0	181.8
Floating-point processing power	5.632 TFLOPS	5.816 TFLOPS
ROPs	64	32
TMUs	176	64
Ray Tracing Cores	no data	16

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).

Laptop size	no data	medium sized
Bus support	PCIe 3.0	no data
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	PCIe 4.0 x4
Length	275 mm	no data
Width	2-slot	no data
Supplementary power connectors	1 x 6-pin + 1 x 8-pin	None

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 type	GDDR5	GDDR6
Maximum RAM amount	4 GB	4 GB
Memory bus width	512 Bit	64 Bit
Memory clock speed	1250 MHz	2250 MHz
Memory bandwidth	320 GB/s	144.0 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 Connectors	2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort	Portable Device Dependent
Eyefinity	+	-
HDMI	+	-
DisplayPort support	+	-

Supported technologies

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

AppAcceleration	+	-
CrossFire	+	-
FreeSync	+	-
HD3D	+	-
LiquidVR	+	-
TressFX	+	-
TrueAudio	+	-
UVD	+	-
DDMA audio	+	no data

API compatibility

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

DirectX	DirectX® 12	12 Ultimate (12_2)
Shader Model	6.3	6.7
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
OpenCL	2.0	2.2
Vulkan	+	1.3

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.

R9 290X 19.31

RX 6550M 25.07
+29.8%

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.

R9 290X 7425

RX 6550M 9638
+29.8%

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.

R9 290X 16168

RX 6550M 20506
+26.8%

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.

R9 290X 11717

RX 6550M 14696
+25.4%

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 HD	85 +25%	68 −25%
1440p	18−20 −33.3%	24 +33.3%
4K	52 −25%	65−70 +25%

Cost per frame, $

1080p	6.46	no data
1440p	30.50	no data
4K	10.56	no data

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2	30−35 −55.9%	53 +55.9%
Cyberpunk 2077	35−40 −34.2%	50−55 +34.2%
Elden Ring	60−65 −34.4%	80−85 +34.4%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5	60−65 −26.2%	75−80 +26.2%
Counter-Strike 2	30−35 −32.4%	45 +32.4%
Cyberpunk 2077	35−40 −34.2%	50−55 +34.2%
Forza Horizon 4	80−85 −51.9%	123 +51.9%
Metro Exodus	50−55 −26.9%	65−70 +26.9%
Red Dead Redemption 2	45−50 −22.2%	55−60 +22.2%
Valorant	75−80 −29.5%	100−110 +29.5%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5	60−65 −26.2%	75−80 +26.2%
Counter-Strike 2	30−35 −2.9%	35 +2.9%
Cyberpunk 2077	35−40 −34.2%	50−55 +34.2%
Dota 2	45 −91.1%	85−90 +91.1%
Elden Ring	60−65 −34.4%	80−85 +34.4%
Far Cry 5	65−70 +97%	33 −97%
Fortnite	100−110 −22.3%	120−130 +22.3%
Forza Horizon 4	80−85 −24.7%	101 +24.7%
Grand Theft Auto V	67 −28.4%	85−90 +28.4%
Metro Exodus	50−55 −26.9%	65−70 +26.9%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	130−140 −19.8%	150−160 +19.8%
Red Dead Redemption 2	45−50 −22.2%	55−60 +22.2%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	60−65 −35%	80−85 +35%
Valorant	75−80 −29.5%	100−110 +29.5%
World of Tanks	280 +8.5%	250−260 −8.5%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	60−65 −26.2%	75−80 +26.2%
Counter-Strike 2	30−35 +17.2%	29 −17.2%
Cyberpunk 2077	35−40 −34.2%	50−55 +34.2%
Dota 2	136 +58.1%	85−90 −58.1%
Far Cry 5	65−70 −18.5%	75−80 +18.5%
Forza Horizon 4	80−85 −8.6%	88 +8.6%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	130−140 −19.8%	150−160 +19.8%
Valorant	75−80 −29.5%	100−110 +29.5%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2	30−33 −40%	40−45 +40%
Elden Ring	30−35 −37.5%	40−45 +37.5%
Grand Theft Auto V	30−35 −35.5%	40−45 +35.5%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	160−170 −3.6%	170−180 +3.6%
Red Dead Redemption 2	16−18 −35.3%	21−24 +35.3%
World of Tanks	130−140 −25.8%	160−170 +25.8%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	35−40 −28.2%	50−55 +28.2%
Counter-Strike 2	16−18 −31.3%	21−24 +31.3%
Cyberpunk 2077	14−16 −40%	21−24 +40%
Far Cry 5	50−55 −43.1%	70−75 +43.1%
Forza Horizon 4	45−50 −36.7%	65−70 +36.7%
Metro Exodus	40−45 −29.5%	55−60 +29.5%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	24−27 −42.3%	35−40 +42.3%
Valorant	50−55 −36%	65−70 +36%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2	16−18 −43.8%	21−24 +43.8%
Dota 2	52 +18.2%	40−45 −18.2%
Elden Ring	14−16 −42.9%	20−22 +42.9%
Grand Theft Auto V	52 +18.2%	40−45 −18.2%
Metro Exodus	14−16 −35.7%	18−20 +35.7%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	55−60 −32.8%	75−80 +32.8%
Red Dead Redemption 2	12−14 −33.3%	16−18 +33.3%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	52 +20.9%	40−45 −20.9%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	18−20 −36.8%	24−27 +36.8%
Counter-Strike 2	16−18 −43.8%	21−24 +43.8%
Cyberpunk 2077	6−7 −33.3%	8−9 +33.3%
Dota 2	84 +90.9%	40−45 −90.9%
Far Cry 5	24−27 −32%	30−35 +32%
Fortnite	21−24 −34.8%	30−35 +34.8%
Forza Horizon 4	27−30 −35.7%	35−40 +35.7%
Valorant	21−24 −43.5%	30−35 +43.5%

This is how R9 290X and RX 6550M compete in popular games:

R9 290X is 25% faster in 1080p
RX 6550M is 33% faster in 1440p
RX 6550M is 25% faster in 4K

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

in Far Cry 5, with 1080p resolution and the High Preset, the R9 290X is 97% faster.
in Dota 2, with 1080p resolution and the High Preset, the RX 6550M is 91% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

R9 290X is ahead in 8 tests (13%)
RX 6550M is ahead in 55 tests (87%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	19.31	25.07
Recency	24 October 2013	4 January 2023
Chip lithography	28 nm	6 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	250 Watt	80 Watt

RX 6550M has a 29.8% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 9 years, a 366.7% more advanced lithography process, and 212.5% lower power consumption.

The Radeon RX 6550M is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon R9 290X in performance tests.

Be aware that Radeon R9 290X is a desktop card while Radeon RX 6550M is a notebook one.

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