Radeon R9 280 vs Radeon RX 550 mobile

When choosing between Radeon R9 280 and Radeon RX 550 mobile, it is worth examining the specifications of the models in detail. Do they meet the recommended requirements of modern games and software? Storage capacity, form factor, TDP, available ports, warranty and manufacturer support are all important. For example, the size of a PC case can limit the maximum thickness and length of the card. Often, instead of the factory overclocked card and RGB backlight, it is better to choose a reference model with a more efficient GPU. And make sure that your current power supply unit has the correct connection pins (using adapters is not recommended). This GPUs compare tool is meant to help you to choose the best graphics card for your build. Let's find out the difference between Radeon R9 280 and Radeon RX 550 mobile.

Radeon RX 550 mobile is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: Radeon RX 550 mobile 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 RX 550 mobile here:

Main Specs

  Radeon R9 280 Radeon RX 550 mobile
Power consumption (TDP) 200 Watt 50 Watt
Interface PCIe 3.0 x16 PCIe 3.0 x8
Supplementary power connectors 1 x 6-pin + 1 x 8-pin
Memory type GDDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 3 GB 4 GB
Display Connectors 2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort No outputs
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  • Radeon R9 280 has 300% more power consumption, than Radeon RX 550 mobile.
  • Radeon R9 280 is connected by PCIe 3.0 x16, and Radeon RX 550 mobile uses PCIe 3.0 x8 interface.
  • Radeon RX 550 mobile has 1 GB more memory, than Radeon R9 280.
  • Radeon R9 280 is used in Desktops, and Radeon RX 550 mobile - in Laptops.
  • Radeon R9 280 is build with GCN 1.0 architecture, and Radeon RX 550 mobile - with Polaris.
  • Radeon R9 280 is manufactured by 28 nm process technology, and Radeon RX 550 mobile - by 14 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of Radeon RX 550 mobile is 4750 MHz higher, than Radeon R9 280.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 35−40 18−20
ultra / 1080p 21−24 10−12
QHD / 1440p 16−18 5−6
4K / 2160p 10−11 4−5
low / 720p 60−65 35−40
medium / 1080p 40−45 24−27
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 280 in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 88% more, than Radeon RX 550 mobile.

Full Specs

  Radeon R9 280 Radeon RX 550 mobile
Architecture GCN 1.0 Polaris
Code name Tahiti Polaris 12
Type Desktop Laptop
Release date 4 March 2014 21 March 2017
Pipelines 1792 640
Core clock speed 1287 MHz
Boost Clock 933 MHz 1476 MHz
Transistor count 4,313 million 2,200 million
Manufacturing process technology 28 nm 14 nm
Texture fill rate 104.5 51.48
Floating-point performance 3,344 gflops 1,647 gflops
Length 275 mm
Memory bus width 384 Bit 128 Bit
Memory clock speed 1250 MHz 6000 MHz
Memory bandwidth 240 GB/s 96 GB/s
Shared memory -
DirectX 12 (12_0)
Shader Model 5.1 6.4
OpenGL 4.6 4.6
OpenCL 1.2 2.0
Vulkan + 1.2.131
FreeSync + +
Bus support PCIe 3.0
HDMI +
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 408 Mh/s
Laptop size large
Eyefinity +
HD3D +
TrueAudio +
Design reference
CrossFire +
DDMA audio +
Ethereum / ETH (DaggerHashimoto) 21.5 Mh/s
LiquidVR +
TressFX +
UVD +
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