AMD Radeon 740M vs AMD Radeon RX 5500M Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 5500M and AMD Radeon 740M occupy different segments of the mobile graphics market, yet their average benchmark scores place them within 4% of each other. The RX 5500M, a discrete part from the Radeon RX 5000 series built on RDNA 1.0, posts an average benchmark score of 13356, while the Radeon 740M, an integrated graphics processor (IGP) from the Navi III generation using RDNA 3.0, averages 12870. This narrow gap in overall scores belies significant differences in raw compute capability, API support, and architectural approach, which the head-to-head benchmark data reveals in stark contrast.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head comparison is limited to two tests, but the results are decisive. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 5500M scores 38725 against the 740M's 10172, yielding a delta of 280.7% in favor of the discrete card. This is not a marginal victory; the RX 5500M delivers nearly four times the raw compute throughput in this workload. The RX 5500M's FP32 rate of 4.632 TFLOPS compared to the 740M's 2.867 TFLOPS explains a large portion of this gap, though the OpenCL test likely also benefits from the RX 5500M's dedicated 4 GB of GDDR6 memory with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth, whereas the 740M relies on system shared memory with system-dependent bandwidth.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the margin narrows but remains substantial. The RX 5500M scores 35693, while the 740M scores 15568, a delta of 129.3%. Vulkan is a lower-level API that can better exploit the 740M's modern RDNA 3.0 architecture, but the RX 5500M's hardware advantages—more shading units (1408 vs 256), higher texture rate (144.8 GTexel/s vs 44.80 GTexel/s), and higher pixel rate (52.64 GPixel/s vs 22.40 GPixel/s)—are too large to overcome. The 740M does have 4 ray tracing cores, a feature the RX 5500M lacks entirely, but this does not translate into a Vulkan score advantage in the provided data.

Across both head-to-head tests, the RX 5500M wins 2, and the 740M wins 0. The average benchmark score gap is small—only 486 points, or roughly 3.6%—but that average is skewed by the fact that the 740M has only two benchmark entries, both of which are the same tests used in the head-to-head. The RX 5500M's broader benchmark suite, which includes PassMark tests across DirectX 9 through 12 and GPU compute, contributes to its higher average. In PassMark G3D, the RX 5500M scores 5848, and in PassMark GPU Compute it scores 2316, figures that have no direct counterpart for the 740M.

Where Each One Wins

The data paints a clear picture of workload-specific strengths. The RX 5500M wins decisively in both compute-oriented and graphics-API-specific tests. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 38725 is 280.7% ahead of the 740M, making it the clear choice for GPU-accelerated compute tasks that leverage OpenCL, such as video encoding, scientific simulation, or machine learning inference. Its Vulkan score of 35693 is 129.3% ahead, indicating strong performance in modern game engines and applications that use Vulkan for rendering.

The 740M, despite losing both head-to-head tests, has its own niche. Its architecture is RDNA 3.0, which supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), whereas the RX 5500M is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1). This means the 740M supports hardware ray tracing via its 4 RT cores, a feature the RX 5500M cannot offer. For applications that specifically require DirectX 12 Ultimate features or ray-traced effects, the 740M is the only one of the two that can comply, even if its raw rasterization throughput is lower. Additionally, the 740M's FP16 performance is rated at 2.867 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio to FP32, while the RX 5500M's FP16 is 9.265 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio; the 740M's symmetric FP16/FP32 rate may be preferable for workloads that require consistent precision scaling, though the RX 5500M's absolute FP16 number is far higher.

The 740M also wins on efficiency in a narrow sense: its TDP is 45 W versus the RX 5500M's 85 W. This makes the 740M a better fit for thin-and-light laptops where thermal and power budgets are constrained, even if the RX 5500M offers more raw performance per watt in absolute terms.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 5500M has an average benchmark score of 13356, which is 486 points higher than the AMD Radeon 740M's 12870, a difference of approximately 3.6%.

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in Geekbench Vulkan?

A: The RX 5500M scores 35693 in Geekbench Vulkan, which is 129.3% higher than the 740M's score of 15568.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon 740M support ray tracing?

A: Yes, the AMD Radeon 740M includes 4 ray tracing cores, while the AMD Radeon RX 5500M has no RT cores.

Q: What is the transistor density difference between the two GPUs?

A: The RX 5500M has a transistor density of 40.5M per mm² on a 7 nm process, while the 740M has a density of 152.6M per mm² on a 4 nm process, making the 740M over 3.7 times denser.

Q: Which GPU has a higher memory bandwidth?

A: The RX 5500M has dedicated GDDR6 memory with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth, whereas the 740M uses system shared memory with bandwidth listed as system dependent.

Q: What are the DirectX version support differences?

A: The RX 5500M supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the 740M supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2).

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every core specification. The RX 5500M has 1408 shading units, 88 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 32 raster operations pipelines (ROPs). The 740M has 256 shading units, 16 TMUs, and 8 ROPs. The RX 5500M's clock speeds are a base of 1375 MHz, a boost of 1645 MHz, and a game clock of 1448 MHz; the 740M's base clock is 800 MHz with a boost clock of 2800 MHz. Memory configurations are fundamentally different: the RX 5500M has 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the 740M uses system shared memory with no dedicated VRAM. Pixel rate for the RX 5500M is 52.64 GPixel/s versus 22.40 GPixel/s for the 740M. Texture rates are 144.8 GTexel/s and 44.80 GTexel/s, respectively. FP32 compute is 4.632 TFLOPS for the RX 5500M and 2.867 TFLOPS for the 740M. FP16 is 9.265 TFLOPS (2:1) for the RX 5500M and 2.867 TFLOPS (1:1) for the 740M. TDP is 85 W for the RX 5500M and 45 W for the 740M. The RX 5500M has no RT cores, while the 740M has 4. The RX 5500M is listed as end-of-life with a release date of October 6, 2019; the 740M is active with a release date of January 30, 2024.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide is generational. The RX 5500M is built on RDNA 1.0, uses the Navi 14 chip, and is fabricated on a 7 nm process by TSMC. It contains 6,400 million transistors on a die size of 158 mm², yielding a transistor density of 40.5M per mm². The 740M is built on RDNA 3.0, uses the Phoenix2 chip, and is fabricated on a 4 nm process by TSMC. It contains 20,900 million transistors on a die size of 137 mm², yielding a transistor density of 152.6M per mm². The 740M's transistor count is over three times higher despite a smaller die, reflecting the advanced process node. The RX 5500M belongs to the Navi Mobile (RX 5000M) generation, while the 740M belongs to the Navi III IGP (Phoenix) generation. The RX 5500M's predecessor is Polaris Mobile, and the 740M's predecessor is Navi II IGP, with its successor listed as Navi III IGP. The 740M supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), a feature set that includes ray tracing, while the RX 5500M is capped at DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support PCIe 4.0 x8, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The RX 5500M's display outputs are portable device dependent, while the 740M's are motherboard dependent, reflecting its IGP status.

The Verdict

The benchmark data is unambiguous for compute and graphics throughput: the AMD Radeon RX 5500M is the faster GPU in every head-to-head test. Its Geekbench OpenCL score is 280.7% higher, and its Vulkan score is 129.3% higher. For users running OpenCL-accelerated applications or Vulkan-based games, the RX 5500M is the clear choice, provided the system can accommodate its 85 W TDP. Its dedicated 4 GB GDDR6 memory with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth also makes it more predictable in performance, as it is not dependent on system memory bandwidth.

The AMD Radeon 740M, however, is the only option for systems that require DirectX 12 Ultimate support or hardware ray tracing, as it is the only one of the two with 4 RT cores. Its 45 W TDP also makes it suitable for ultra-portable designs where the RX 5500M's 85 W power draw would be prohibitive. The 740M's higher transistor density (152.6M per mm²) and newer RDNA 3.0 architecture suggest it is a more modern design, but the data shows that architectural modernity does not overcome the RX 5500M's massive advantage in shading units, TMUs, and ROPs. In terms of average benchmark score, the RX 5500M leads with 13356 versus 12870, but the 740M's percentile rank of 53 versus the RX 5500M's 54 indicates they sit at nearly the same level in the global GPU distribution. Ultimately, the RX 5500M wins on raw performance, while the 740M wins on feature completeness and power efficiency. The choice hinges on whether the user prioritizes peak compute and rendering speed or modern API support and low power draw.