Comeback: AMD reaches NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q levels of performance with the Radeon RX 5500M
After a successful return to the processor market with its Ryzen processors, AMD has now set its sights on GPUs with its Navi architecture. We have already seen what the desktop variants offer in our RX 5700 and RX 5700 XT reviews, but now it is the turn of the Radeon RX 5500M to show what AMD can do on laptops. The MSI Alpha 15 will be one of the first gaming laptops that includes the new GPU, while the Ryzen 7 3750H equipped device will also be equally rare for its all-AMD CPU and GPU offering.
MSI kindly provided us with a pre-production model for our hands-on review, during which we had the opportunity to put the Alpha 15 and Radeon RX 5500M through its paces. Initial results are promising, although AMD and MSI need to improvements in some games. In short, the Alpha 15 and Radeon RX 5500M come close to the performance that GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q equipped laptops offer. However, the Radeon RX 5500M also fluctuates between matching the GTX 1650 and nearing GTX 1660 Ti levels in some games. The Alpha 15 scores well in the older 3DMark 11 too, while straddling the gap between the GTX 1650 and GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q in the newer Fire Strike benchmark.
Meanwhile, the sophisticated Time Spy Graphics benchmark sees the combination of the Ryzen 7 3750H CPU and Radeon RX 5500M GPU 12% ahead of the fastest GTX 1650 laptop. The Alpha 15 also scores 18% less than the best GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q laptop of our hands-on review comparison devices.
| F1 2019 - 1920x1080 Ultra High Preset AA:T AF:16x | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile (91 - 99, n=4) | |
| HP Pavilion Gaming 15-ec0017ng | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q (71 - 77, n=2) | |
| HP Gaming Pavilion 15-dk0009ng | |
| MSI Alpha 15 A3DDK | |
| HP Omen 15-dc1020ng | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile (59 - 65, n=5) | |
| HP Omen 15-dc1020ng | |
| Dell G5 15 5590-PCNJJ | |
| Rage 2 - 1920x1080 Ultra Preset (Resolution Scale Off) | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile (67.9 - 68.8, n=2) | |
| HP Pavilion Gaming 15-ec0017ng | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q (58.2 - 64.8, n=2) | |
| HP Omen 15-dc1020ng | |
| HP Gaming Pavilion 15-dk0009ng | |
| MSI Alpha 15 A3DDK | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile (45.1 - 60, n=3) | |
| HP Omen 15-dc1020ng | |
| Dell G5 15 5590-PCNJJ | |
Synthetic benchmarks are all well and good, but games are the true test of a consumer GPU. The Radeon RX 5500M performs admirably here too, with it keeping the GTX 1650 at bay by 18% in The Witcher 3, while trailing the GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q by around 12%. The Alpha 15 fares even better in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, averaging just 2% lower framerates than the average of GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q equipped devices that we have tested. Our pre-production model even overtakes some of our GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q comparison devices too. A similar picture emerges in Bioshock Infinite, an older title that we have added to our comparisons because of the numerous GPUs we have benchmarked with it. The Ryzen 7 3750H and Radeon RX 5500M outperform laptops with a GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q here, while it is closer to the GTX 1650 in F1 2019 and Rage 2. Meanwhile, the Alpha 15 has the GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q in its sights in Dirt Rally 2.0.
Please note: We conducted all our benchmarks with a pre-production model. This device does not necessarily represent final production units, as we expect MSI to improve the BIOS, firmware and software before releasing the Alpha 15. Past experience tells us that the performance of some games depends heavily on GPU drivers, so our results will probably change when we test a retail unit.
Please see our accompanying MSI Alpha 15 hands-on review for our full thoughts on the device and the Radeon RX 5500M.
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