Radeon HD 6550A vs Radeon R9 M280X
If you are going to buy a new graphics card and are choosing between Radeon HD 6550A and Radeon R9 M280X, there are a couple of things to consider. Cards with more VRAM in general perform better and allow you to play on higher graphics settings. Size also makes a difference. A model with a large heatsink can occupy up to three expansion slots on a motherboard. Be sure you have enough room in your PC case. When comparing GPUs with different architectures, more processing cores and even higher TFLOPS will not always translate to better performance. To help you decide which GPU you need, we have measured frame rates in a number of popular games. For more on how the Radeon HD 6550A stacks up against Radeon R9 M280X, check out specs charts below.
Radeon HD 6550A
Radeon R9 M280X is a Laptop Graphics Card
Note: Radeon R9 M280X is only used in laptop graphics. It has lower GPU clock speed compared to the desktop variant, which results in lower power consumption, but also 10-30% lower gaming performance. Check available laptop models with Radeon R9 M280X here:
Main Specs
| Radeon HD 6550A | Radeon R9 M280X | |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 35 Watt | |
| Interface | MXM-A (3.0) | PCIe 3.0 x16 |
| Memory type | GDDR3 | Not Listed |
| Maximum RAM amount | 2 GB | |
| Display Connectors | No outputs | No outputs |
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- Radeon HD 6550A is connected by MXM-A (3.0), and Radeon R9 M280X uses PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.
- Radeon HD 6550A is used in Desktops, and Radeon R9 M280X - in Laptops.
- Radeon HD 6550A is build with TeraScale 2 architecture, and Radeon R9 M280X - with GCN.
- Core clock speed of Radeon R9 M280X is 350 MHz higher, than Radeon HD 6550A.
- Radeon HD 6550A is manufactured by 40 nm process technology, and Radeon R9 M280X - by 28 nm process technology.
Game benchmarks
| high / 1080p | 0−1 | 2−3 |
| ultra / 1080p | − | 1−2 |
| QHD / 1440p | 0−1 | 0−1 |
| low / 720p | 1−2 | 14−16 |
| medium / 1080p | 0−1 | 4−5 |
| The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 M280X in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 1400% more, than Radeon HD 6550A. | ||
| high / 1080p | − | 7−8 |
| ultra / 1080p | − | 5−6 |
| QHD / 1440p | 0−1 | 0−1 |
| low / 720p | 0−1 | 18−20 |
| medium / 1080p | − | 7−8 |
| low / 768p | 50−55 | 50−55 |
| high / 1080p | 45−50 | 30−35 |
| QHD / 1440p | 0−1 | 0−1 |
| The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 6550A in Call of Duty: Warzone is 19% more, than Radeon R9 M280X. | ||
| low / 768p | 60−65 | 110−120 |
| medium / 768p | 27−30 | 90−95 |
| ultra / 1080p | 7−8 | 40−45 |
| QHD / 1440p | − | 24−27 |
| 4K / 2160p | − | 18−20 |
| high / 768p | 16−18 | 65−70 |
| The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 M280X in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is 182% more, than Radeon HD 6550A. | ||
| low / 768p | 70−75 | 70−75 |
| ultra / 1080p | 0−1 | 21−24 |
| medium / 1080p | 45−50 | 45−50 |
| Radeon HD 6550A and Radeon R9 M280X have the same average FPS in Cyberpunk 2077. | ||
| low / 768p | 45−50 | 70−75 |
| medium / 768p | 10−11 | 50−55 |
| ultra / 1080p | 0−1 | 27−30 |
| The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 M280X in Dota 2 is 113% more, than Radeon HD 6550A. | ||
| high / 1080p | − | 3−4 |
| ultra / 1080p | − | 3−4 |
| 4K / 2160p | − | 2−3 |
| low / 720p | 0−1 | 14−16 |
| medium / 1080p | − | 4−5 |
| high / 1080p | − | 10−12 |
| ultra / 1080p | − | 5−6 |
| QHD / 1440p | − | 2−3 |
| low / 720p | 21−24 | 50−55 |
| medium / 1080p | 0−1 | 14−16 |
| The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 M280X in Fortnite is 136% more, than Radeon HD 6550A. | ||
| high / 1080p | 0−1 | 6−7 |
| QHD / 1440p | 0−1 | 4−5 |
| 4K / 2160p | − | 2−3 |
| low / 720p | 0−1 | 21−24 |
| medium / 1080p | 0−1 | 9−10 |
| low / 768p | 18−20 | 45−50 |
| medium / 768p | − | 40−45 |
| high / 1080p | 0−1 | 7−8 |
| ultra / 1080p | − | 3−4 |
| QHD / 1440p | 0−1 | 0−1 |
| medium / 720p | 12−14 | − |
| The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 M280X in Grand Theft Auto V is 147% more, than Radeon HD 6550A. | ||
| high / 1080p | − | 2−3 |
| ultra / 1080p | − | 0−1 |
| 4K / 2160p | − | 0−1 |
| low / 720p | 0−1 | 8−9 |
| medium / 1080p | − | 4−5 |
| low / 768p | 75−80 | 80−85 |
| high / 1080p | 27−30 | − |
| ultra / 1080p | − | 70−75 |
| The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 M280X in Minecraft is 6% more, than Radeon HD 6550A. | ||
| ultra / 1080p | − | 12−14 |
| low / 720p | 8−9 | 27−30 |
| medium / 1080p | − | 14−16 |
| The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 M280X in PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS is 250% more, than Radeon HD 6550A. | ||
| ultra / 1080p | − | 6−7 |
| low / 720p | 0−1 | 8−9 |
| medium / 1080p | − | 7−8 |
| low / 768p | 0−1 | 16−18 |
| medium / 768p | − | 10−12 |
| high / 1080p | − | 6−7 |
| ultra / 1080p | − | 4−5 |
| 4K / 2160p | − | 2−3 |
| low / 768p | 45−50 | 70−75 |
| medium / 768p | 14−16 | 35−40 |
| ultra / 1080p | 0−1 | 16−18 |
| high / 768p | 12−14 | 30−35 |
| The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 M280X in World of Tanks is 88% more, than Radeon HD 6550A. | ||
Full Specs
| Radeon HD 6550A | Radeon R9 M280X | |
| Architecture | TeraScale 2 | GCN |
| Code name | Pinewood | Saturn XT |
| Type | Desktop | Laptop |
| Release date | 7 February 2011 | 1 February 2015 |
| Pipelines | 480 | 896 |
| Core clock speed | 550 MHz | 900 MHz |
| Transistor count | 627 million | 2,080 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 40 nm | 28 nm |
| Texture fill rate | 13.20 | 61.60 |
| Floating-point performance | 624.0 gflops | 1,792 gflops |
| Memory bus width | 128 Bit | |
| Memory clock speed | 1600 MHz | |
| Memory bandwidth | 25.6 GB/s | 96 GB/s |
| Shared memory | - | |
| DirectX | 11.2 (11_0) | |
| Shader Model | 5.0 | 6.3 |
| OpenGL | 4.4 | 4.4 |
| OpenCL | 1.2 | Not Listed |
| Vulkan | N/A | |
| FreeSync | + | |
| Bus support | Not Listed | |
| Laptop size | large | |
| HD3D | + | |
| PowerTune | + | |
| DualGraphics | + | |
| ZeroCore | + | |
| Switchable graphics | + | |
| Mantle | + | |
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