RTX 3090 Mobile vs RX 550
Head-to-head specifications
| Metric | RTX 3090 Mobile | RX 550 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3DMark Time Spy | 12,998 | 423 | +2,972.8% |
| Avg FPS @ 1080p | 106 | 22 | +381.8% |
| Avg FPS @ 1440p | 66 | 11 | +500.0% |
| Avg FPS @ 4K | 37 | 6 | +516.7% |
| FP32 compute (TFLOPS) | 30.2 | 1.2 | +2,398.3% |
| VRAM | 16 GB GDDR6X | 2 GB GDDR5 | — |
| Memory bandwidth (GB/s) | 1,008 | 112 | +800.0% |
| TDP (W) | 210 | 50 | — |
- RTX 3090 Mobile averages 66 fps at 1440p versus 11 fps — about 500% faster.
- RX 550 draws less power (50W vs 210W).
Verdict: RTX 3090 Mobile or RX 550?
RTX 3090 Mobile advantages
- 1440p gaming (+83%)
- 4K gaming (+84%)
- Synthetic benchmark performance (+97%)
- Video memory (+88%)
- Memory bandwidth (+89%)
RX 550 advantages
- Power efficiency (+76%)
Which should you choose?
- Choose the RTX 3090 Mobile if you game at 1440p.
- Choose the RX 550 if you want lower power draw, heat and noise.
- Choose the RTX 3090 Mobile if you game at 4K or drive a high-resolution display.
RTX 3090 Mobile vs RX 550: which should you choose?
RTX 3090 Mobile — NVIDIA laptop graphics card (2020, Ampere) with 16 GB of GDDR6X, averaging 66 fps at 1440p.
RX 550 — AMD desktop graphics card (2017, Polaris) with 2 GB of GDDR5, averaging 11 fps at 1440p; launched at $79.
RTX 3090 Mobile vs RX 550: RTX 3090 Mobile is faster for gaming. RTX 3090 Mobile averages 66 fps at 1440p versus 11 fps — about 500% faster. RX 550 draws less power (50W vs 210W).
1080p, 1440p and 4K
At 1440p — the most common enthusiast resolution — the RTX 3090 Mobile averages 66 fps against 11. At 4K (37 vs 6 fps) VRAM (16GB vs 2GB) and memory bandwidth matter more.
Power and value
Board power is 210 W versus 50 W, which affects PSU headroom, case cooling and noise.
The verdict
Both are credible choices in the graphics card comparison space; the specification table above lays out every metric so you can weigh the trade-offs that matter to you. Pick the one whose strengths line up with how you will actually use it.
Frequently asked questions
Is the RTX 3090 Mobile better than the RX 550?
RTX 3090 Mobile is the clearly stronger overall choice, winning most of the dimensions that matter. RTX 3090 Mobile averages 66 fps at 1440p versus 11 fps — about 500% faster.
What is the main difference between the RTX 3090 Mobile and the RX 550?
RTX 3090 Mobile averages 66 fps at 1440p versus 11 fps — about 500% faster. RX 550 draws less power (50W vs 210W).
Which should I choose?
Choose the RTX 3090 Mobile if you game at 1440p. Choose the RX 550 if you want lower power draw, heat and noise.
Methodology
Graphics cards are compared on 3DMark Time Spy scores, average gaming frame rates at 1080p/1440p/4K, FP32 compute throughput, VRAM capacity and type, memory bandwidth, board power (TDP) and launch MSRP — plus AI workload throughput (Stable Diffusion iterations/s and local LLM tokens/s) where measured. Vintage and server GPUs without modern benchmark results are compared on specifications only, clearly labelled. Frame rates are averages across a game suite at high settings; specific titles vary.