Radeon 8040S vs Radeon RX 6550M

AMD

Radeon 8040S

2025Core: 1295 MHzBoost: 2800 MHz
VS
AMD

Radeon RX 6550M

2023Core: 2000 MHzBoost: 2840 MHz

Radeon 8040S vs Radeon RX 6550M Performance Spectrum

About G3D Mark

G3D Mark is a standard benchmark that measures graphics performance in real-world gaming scenarios. It simplifies comparing cards from different brands, where higher scores directly correlate with better fps and smoother gaming experiences.

Radeon 8040S vs Radeon RX 6550M FPS Benchmarks

Predicted gaming performance across popular games. Tested paired with Ryzen 7 9800X3D to isolate GPU performance.

Search any supported game below to compare 1080p FPS for both components.

Radeon 8040S vs Radeon RX 6550M: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict

See where each GPU makes more sense in practice: raw FPS, VRAM, features, power draw, pricing, and long-term headroom.

Radeon 8040S

2025

Why buy it

  • Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 24.4 vs 0 G3D/$ ($400 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).
  • Draws 55W instead of 80W, a 25W reduction.
  • More future proof: RDNA 3.5 (2024−2025) on 4nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

  • Lower average FPS than Radeon RX 6550M across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • No equivalent frame-generation stack like FSR Frame Generation + AFMF (2023).

Radeon RX 6550M

2023

Why buy it

  • 12.2% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • Access to a newer frame-generation stack with FSR Frame Generation + AFMF (2023).

Trade-offs

  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 24.4 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $400 MSRP).
  • 45.5% higher power demand at 80W vs 55W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Radeon RX 6550M is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 12.2% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. PassMark G3D leans toward Radeon 8040S instead at 9,756 vs 9,705, so for this question the real-game FPS result matters more than the synthetic split.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
Radeon 8040S is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: the newer upscaling stack, FSR Upscaling / FSR 4 (2025) instead of FSR 3 (2023), a 4nm process instead of 6nm, and a newer 2025 generation instead of 2023. That makes it the less risky pick as game demands keep moving.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
Radeon 8040S makes the most sense today based on the pricing and value data we have for this matchup. Radeon RX 6550M still makes more sense if max raw gaming performance matters more than value.

Radeon 8040S vs Radeon RX 6550M Technical Specifications

Side-by-side specs, architecture details, clocks, memory, power, and platform differences.

AMD

Radeon 8040S

The Radeon 8040S is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 6 2025. It features the RDNA 3.5 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1295 MHz to 2800 MHz. It has 1024 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 55W. Manufactured using 4 nm process technology. It features 16 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 9,756 points.

AMD

Radeon RX 6550M

The Radeon RX 6550M is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 4 2023. It features the RDNA 2.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 2000 MHz to 2840 MHz. It has 1024 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 80W. Manufactured using 6 nm process technology. It features 16 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 9,705 points.

Graphics Performance

The Radeon 8040S scores 9,756 and the Radeon RX 6550M reaches 9,705 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.5% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon 8040S is built on RDNA 3.5 while the Radeon RX 6550M uses RDNA 2.0, both on 4 nm vs 6 nm. Shader units: 1,024 (Radeon 8040S) vs 1,024 (Radeon RX 6550M). Raw compute: 5.734 TFLOPS (Radeon 8040S) vs 5.816 TFLOPS (Radeon RX 6550M). Boost clocks: 2800 MHz vs 2840 MHz. Ray tracing: 16 RT cores (Radeon 8040S) vs 16 (Radeon RX 6550M).

FeatureRadeon 8040SRadeon RX 6550M
G3D Mark Score
9,756
9,705
Architecture
RDNA 3.5
RDNA 2.0
Process Node
4 nm
6 nm
Shading Units
1024
1024
Compute (TFLOPS)
5.734 TFLOPS
5.816 TFLOPS+1%
Boost Clock
2800 MHz
2840 MHz+1%
ROPs
32
32
TMUs
64
64
L2 Cache
8 MB+700%
1 MB
Frame Generation
FSR upscaling + RSR
FSR 3 + AFMF
Ray Tracing Cores
16
16

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The clearest feature edge for the Radeon RX 6550M is support for FSR Frame Generation + AFMF. In games that support it, that can smooth out motion and lift perceived FPS. The Radeon 8040S does not have comparable native support in the same tier.

FeatureRadeon 8040SRadeon RX 6550M
Upscaling Tech
FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
FSR 3
Frame Generation
Not Supported
FSR Frame Generation + AFMF
Ray Reconstruction
No
No
Low Latency
AMD Anti-Lag
AMD Anti-Lag
💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards ship with 4 GB of video memory. Memory bus width is System on the Radeon 8040S and 64-bit on the Radeon RX 6550M. L2 Cache: 8 MB (Radeon 8040S) vs 1 MB (Radeon RX 6550M) — the Radeon 8040S has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureRadeon 8040SRadeon RX 6550M
VRAM Capacity
4 GB
4 GB
Memory Type
Shared
GDDR6
Memory Bandwidth
System
144 GB/s
Bus Width
System
64-bit
L2 Cache
8 MB+700%
1 MB
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12.2 (Radeon 8040S) vs 12.2 (Radeon RX 6550M). Vulkan: 1.4 vs 1.3. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 4.

FeatureRadeon 8040SRadeon RX 6550M
DirectX
12.2
12.2
Vulkan
1.4+8%
1.3
OpenGL
4.6
4.6
Max Displays
4
4
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: VCN 4.5 (Radeon 8040S) vs VCN 3.0 (Radeon RX 6550M). Decoder: VCN 4.5 vs VCN 3.0. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9,AV1 (Radeon 8040S) vs MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9,AV1 (Decode) (Radeon RX 6550M).

FeatureRadeon 8040SRadeon RX 6550M
Encoder
VCN 4.5
VCN 3.0
Decoder
VCN 4.5
VCN 3.0
Codecs
MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9,AV1
MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9,AV1 (Decode)
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon 8040S draws 55W versus the Radeon RX 6550M's 80W — a 37% difference. The Radeon 8040S is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 500W (Radeon 8040S) vs 500W (Radeon RX 6550M). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs Mobile. Card length: 0mm vs 0mm, occupying 0 vs 0 slots. Typical load temperature: 85°C vs 80°C.

FeatureRadeon 8040SRadeon RX 6550M
TDP
55W-31%
80W
Recommended PSU
500W
500W
Power Connector
PCIe-powered
Mobile
Length
0mm
0mm
Height
0mm
0mm
Slots
0
0
Temp (Load)
85°C
80°C-6%
Perf/Watt
177.4+46%
121.3
💰

Value Analysis

The newer card here is Radeon 8040S (2025 vs 2023).

FeatureRadeon 8040SRadeon RX 6550M
MSRP
$400
Codename
Strix Halo
Navi 24
Release
January 6 2025
January 4 2023
Ranking
#265
#267

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