AMD Radeon 780M vs AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data reveals a split personality between these two AMD parts. In the three shared tests, the Radeon RX 5700 XT takes two wins, while the Radeon 780M claims one decisive victory. The most lopsided result comes in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, where the RX 5700 XT scores 2134 against the 780M’s 480, a massive 77.5% advantage. That performance gap is consistent with a dedicated discrete GPU facing an integrated graphics processor in a modern DirectX 12 workload.

The Geekbench Vulkan test tells a similar story, though less extreme. The RX 5700 XT posts 68310, which is 50.7% higher than the 780M’s 33683. This indicates that in GPU-bound compute and rendering tasks that use Vulkan’s low-level API, the older discrete card maintains a substantial edge despite its architectural age.

However, the Geekbench OpenCL result flips the script entirely. The 780M scores 18602, which is 95.3% higher than the RX 5700 XT’s 9524. This near-doubling of performance in OpenCL is striking, given how much slower the integrated part is in the other two tests. The data suggests the 780M’s architecture handles OpenCL workloads with unusual efficiency, or that the RX 5700 XT’s OpenCL drivers are not extracting comparable performance from its hardware.

Aggregating these results, the 780M wins one benchmark while the RX 5700 XT wins two. The average benchmark score across all listed tests puts the 780M at 17588, which is 7.5% higher than the RX 5700 XT’s 16361. This average is heavily influenced by the 780M’s OpenCL outlier, though it also reflects the fact that the RX 5700 XT has more benchmark entries dragging its average down, including several sub-100 Passmark scores.

For context, the 780M sits at the 61st percentile of all GPUs, while the RX 5700 XT sits at the 59th percentile. Both are mid-pack performers in the broader GPU landscape, but the 780M’s nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 (deltaPct -0.3) and the AMD Radeon Pro 560 (deltaPct 0.2). The RX 5700 XT’s nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M (deltaPct 0.1) and the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell (deltaPct -0.3). The 780M actually edges out the RTX 4060 by 0.3% in average score, while the RX 5700 XT trails the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell by the same margin.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins more head-to-head benchmarks?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT wins two of the three shared tests (3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 and Geekbench Vulkan), while the AMD Radeon 780M wins one (Geekbench OpenCL).

Q: How large is the biggest performance difference between them?

A: In Geekbench OpenCL, the 780M outperforms the RX 5700 XT by 95.3%. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the RX 5700 XT leads by 77.5% in the opposite direction.

Q: What is the average benchmark score for each GPU?

A: The 780M has an average benchmark score of 17588, while the RX 5700 XT has an average of 16361. This makes the 780M 7.5% higher on average.

Q: How do these GPUs compare to their nearest rivals?

A: The 780M is within 0.5% of the AMD Radeon Pro 460 (deltaPct 0.5) and 0.4% of the AMD Radeon HD 7790 (deltaPct -0.4). The RX 5700 XT is within 0.9% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D V2 (deltaPct -0.9) and 0.3% of the AMD Radeon PRO W7500 (deltaPct -0.3).

Q: What is the production status of each GPU?

A: The 780M is listed as Active, while the RX 5700 XT is listed as End-of-life.

Q: Which GPU has a higher percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The 780M ranks at the 61st percentile, while the RX 5700 XT ranks at the 59th percentile.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations. The 780M uses RDNA 3.0 on a 4 nm TSMC process with the Phoenix chip, while the RX 5700 XT uses RDNA 1.0 on a 7 nm TSMC process with the Navi 10 chip. The fabrication node difference is significant: 4 nm versus 7 nm, which translates to a dramatic difference in transistor density. The 780M packs 25,390 million transistors into a 178 mm² die, yielding a density of 142.6 million transistors per square millimeter. The RX 5700 XT contains 10,300 million transistors on a 251 mm² die, for a density of 41.0 million per square millimeter. This means the 780M fits more than three times as many transistors per area, a direct consequence of the newer process.

The 780M also features 12 ray tracing cores, whereas the RX 5700 XT has none listed. This gives the integrated part a hardware capability for ray-traced workloads that the older discrete GPU lacks entirely. The 780M’s DirectX support is 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the RX 5700 XT only reaches DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4, so those API levels are identical.

The 780M’s FP16 throughput is 8.909 TFLOPS at a 1:1 ratio with FP32, while the RX 5700 XT achieves 19.51 TFLOPS at a 2:1 ratio. This indicates the RX 5700 XT has dedicated hardware for half-precision compute, whereas the 780M likely runs FP16 at the same rate as FP32. The 780M is part of the Navi III IGP (Phoenix) generation, succeeding Navi II IGP, while the RX 5700 XT belongs to the Navi (RX 5000) generation, succeeding Vega and followed by Navi II.

Specification Differences

The most fundamental difference is memory configuration. The 780M uses system shared memory with a bus width and bandwidth that are system dependent. The RX 5700 XT has 8 GB of dedicated GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This dedicated memory pool is a major reason for the RX 5700 XT’s superiority in bandwidth-intensive workloads.

Clock speeds also differ substantially. The 780M has a base clock of 800 MHz and a boost clock of 2900 MHz. The RX 5700 XT runs at a base of 1605 MHz, a game clock of 1755 MHz, and boosts to 1905 MHz. While the 780M’s boost is much higher, its base is far lower, and the effective sustained performance depends on thermal and power constraints.

The compute units are heavily skewed toward the RX 5700 XT. It has 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation units. The 780M has 768 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The RX 5700 XT’s pixel rate is 121.9 GPixel/s versus 92.80 GPixel/s for the 780M, and its texture rate is 304.8 GTexel/s versus 139.2 GTexel/s. FP32 throughput is closer: 9.754 TFLOPS for the RX 5700 XT versus 8.909 TFLOPS for the 780M, a difference of only 9.5%.

Power and physical specifications diverge sharply. The 780M has a 15 W TDP, is an IGP with no power connectors, and requires no suggested PSU. The RX 5700 XT has a 225 W TDP, is a dual-slot card with 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin power connectors, and requires a 550 W PSU. The RX 5700 XT measures 272 mm in length, 111 mm in height, and 36 mm in width. The 780M’s dimensions are not specified, as it is motherboard dependent. The RX 5700 XT’s display outputs are 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the 780M’s are motherboard dependent. The RX 5700 XT connects via PCIe 4.0 x16, whereas the 780M uses PCIe 4.0 x8.

Release dates show the generational gap: the RX 5700 XT launched on 2019-07-06, while the 780M launched on 2024-01-30. The RX 5700 XT has a launch MSRP of 399 USD, while the 780M has no listed launch MSRP.

The Verdict

The data paints a clear picture of two GPUs optimized for different contexts. The RX 5700 XT is the stronger raw performer in traditional GPU benchmarks, winning 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 by 77.5% and Geekbench Vulkan by 50.7%. Its dedicated 8 GB GDDR6 memory with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth and 2560 shading units give it a decisive edge in rendering and compute tasks that stress memory bandwidth and parallel throughput. For users needing a discrete GPU with sustained high performance, the RX 5700 XT is the choice, provided the 225 W TDP and 550 W PSU requirement are acceptable.

The 780M, despite being an integrated part, wins Geekbench OpenCL by 95.3% and has a higher average benchmark score (17588 versus 16361) and a higher percentile rank (61st versus 59th). Its 15 W TDP and lack of power connectors make it suitable for systems where power draw is a primary constraint. The 780M also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate and 12 ray tracing cores, features the RX 5700 XT lacks. The 780M’s RDNA 3.0 architecture on a 4 nm process with 25,390 million transistors is materially more modern, even if its absolute performance in most tests trails the older discrete card.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 5700 XT wins in scenarios that demand high sustained throughput: DirectX 12 gaming benchmarks like 3DMark Steel Nomad, where it leads by 77.5%, and Vulkan-based workloads, where it leads by 50.7%. Its 8 GB of dedicated GDDR6 memory and 256-bit bus make it suited for large textures and high-resolution rendering. The 225 W TDP and dual-slot cooler indicate a card designed for desktop systems with adequate power delivery and airflow.

The 780M wins in OpenCL compute, where its 95.3% advantage is substantial. Its 15 W TDP and IGP form factor make it appropriate for thin-and-light laptops or compact systems where the RX 5700 XT’s physical size and power draw are prohibitive. The 780M’s support for DirectX 12 Ultimate and ray tracing cores gives it an edge in modern API features, even if raw performance is lower. Its higher average benchmark score and percentile ranking suggest that in mixed workloads, the 780M is more consistent despite its hardware limitations. The 780M also has a higher boost clock at 2900 MHz, which may help in bursty workloads that do not sustain high utilization.