AMD Radeon 8050S vs AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The recorded benchmark data splits cleanly between these two AMD parts, with the AMD Radeon 8050S taking every head-to-head victory. In the two shared tests, Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan, the 8050S wins both. Its OpenCL score of 65818 beats the Pro 5500 XT's 41772 by 57.6%, while the Vulkan result of 58398 versus 39601 represents a 47.5% advantage. There is no test in the database where the Radeon Pro 5500 XT comes out ahead of the 8050S.

The Pro 5500 XT does have one exclusive benchmark that the 8050S lacks: Geekbench Metal, where it scores 54779. That result is higher than its own OpenCL and Vulkan scores, suggesting the older card has a particular strength in Apple's Metal API, but it cannot be compared directly to the 8050S because that test was not run on the newer part. Across the tests both GPUs share, the 8050S is the clear winner.

Looking at average scores, the 8050S posts 62108 across its two benchmarks, while the Pro 5500 XT averages 45384 across its three. The delta is substantial, roughly 37% higher for the 8050S. This places the 8050S in the 89th percentile of all GPUs in the database, versus the 84th percentile for the Pro 5500 XT. The newer part is not just faster in raw numbers, it also sits higher in the overall distribution of recorded GPU performance.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different eras of AMD's RDNA family. The Radeon 8050S uses the Strix Halo chip built on RDNA 3.5, fabricated at TSMC on a 4 nm process. Its die measures 308 mm². The Radeon Pro 5500 XT uses the Navi 14 chip on the original RDNA 1.0 architecture, built on TSMC's 7 nm node with a 158 mm² die and 6,400 million transistors, giving a transistor density of 40.5M per mm². The 8050S does not list a transistor count in the database, so a direct density comparison is not possible.

The 8050S is a much larger and more complex chip. It carries 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units. It also includes 32 ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent from the Pro 5500 XT, which lists no RT cores at all. The Pro 5500 XT has 1536 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. In raw throughput, the 8050S delivers 11.47 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and the same 11.47 TFLOPS for FP16 with a 1:1 ratio. The Pro 5500 XT manages 5.398 TFLOPS FP32 and 10.80 TFLOPS FP16 at a 2:1 ratio.

Memory handling differs fundamentally. The Pro 5500 XT has 8 GB of dedicated GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, with 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth and a 1750 MHz memory clock (14 Gbps effective). The 8050S uses system shared memory, with its size, type, bus width, and bandwidth all listed as "System Shared" or "System Dependent". This is a major architectural divergence: one card relies on a fixed local frame buffer, the other dynamically uses system RAM.

Clock speeds also tell the story of two different designs. The 8050S has a base clock of 1295 MHz and a boost of 2800 MHz. The Pro 5500 XT runs at 1187 MHz base and 1757 MHz boost. The 8050S also has a much higher pixel rate at 179.2 GPixel/s versus 56.22 GPixel/s, and a texture rate of 358.4 GTexel/s versus 168.7 GTexel/s.

Power and interface details separate them further. The 8050S has a 55 W TDP, while the Pro 5500 XT draws 125 W and suggests a 300 W power supply. The 8050S uses a PCIe 5.0 x16 interface; the Pro 5500 XT uses PCIe 4.0 x8. Both are listed as integrated graphics products (IGP) with no power connectors and no display outputs, though the 8050S's outputs are described as "Portable Device Dependent" while the Pro 5500 XT lists "No outputs" outright. The 8050S supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), whereas the Pro 5500 XT only reaches DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4.

The production status differs as well. The 8050S is Active and was released in early 2025, with its predecessor listed as Polaris Mobile. The Pro 5500 XT is End-of-life, released in mid-2020, and belongs to the Radeon Pro Mac (Navi Series) generation.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The Geekbench OpenCL test shows the largest gap between the two. The 8050S scores 65818, while the Pro 5500 XT scores 41772. The 57.6% delta is the biggest win in the shared test set. This result aligns with the raw compute differences: the 8050S has more shading units, higher clocks, and a newer architecture, so a large OpenCL lead is expected.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the 8050S scores 58398 against the Pro 5500 XT's 39601, a 47.5% advantage. While still a decisive win, the margin is narrower than in OpenCL. This could reflect Vulkan's ability to scale differently across hardware, or the Pro 5500 XT's 2:1 FP16 ratio providing some relative benefit in certain workloads. Regardless, the 8050S remains firmly ahead.

The Pro 5500 XT's Metal score of 54779 is worth noting in context. It is higher than its Vulkan result by roughly 38% and higher than its OpenCL result by roughly 31%. This suggests that on Apple platforms, where Metal is the primary API, the Pro 5500 XT performs notably better than it does in cross-platform tests. However, since the 8050S has no Metal score in the database, this does not change the head-to-head outcome.

The average benchmark scores reinforce the pattern. The 8050S averages 62108, placing it just 0.3% above the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (61896) and 2.5% below the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 (63693). The Pro 5500 XT averages 45384, which is 0.5% below the Intel Arc A730M (45592) and 0.5% above the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile (45152). Notably, the 8050S's nearest rivals are all AMD parts, while the Pro 5500 XT's nearest rivals are a mix of Intel and NVIDIA, reflecting their different performance tiers in the database.

The Verdict

The data points to a straightforward conclusion: the AMD Radeon 8050S is the stronger GPU in every shared benchmark. It wins OpenCL by 57.6% and Vulkan by 47.5%, and its average score of 62108 sits 37% above the Pro 5500 XT's 45384. The 8050S also holds a higher percentile ranking, 89th versus 84th, meaning it outperforms a larger share of the GPUs in the database.

For users choosing between these two, the decision depends on platform and workload. The 8050S, with its RDNA 3.5 architecture, 32 ray tracing cores, DirectX 12 Ultimate support, and 55 W TDP, is clearly designed for modern portable devices. It offers ray tracing capability that the Pro 5500 XT simply lacks, and it does so at less than half the power draw. Its system shared memory design makes it flexible for integrated use cases where a dedicated frame buffer is not necessary.

The Pro 5500 XT, despite being end-of-life and slower in the shared tests, still has a role. Its 8 GB of dedicated GDDR6 memory with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth provides a fixed, predictable memory pool that some applications may prefer. Its Metal score of 54779 is strong, and for Mac-oriented workflows where Metal is the standard API, it may perform more competitively than its OpenCL and Vulkan numbers suggest. However, it cannot match the 8050S in raw compute, and its 125 W TDP makes it less efficient.

The verdict is clear for general use: the Radeon 8050S is the better performer across the board. For Mac-specific environments where Metal dominates and a dedicated 8 GB frame buffer is valued, the Pro 5500 XT remains a viable, if older, option. But on raw speed, feature set, and efficiency, the 8050S is the pick.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon 8050S averages 62108 across its benchmarks, while the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT averages 45384.

Q: Does the Radeon Pro 5500 XT support ray tracing?

A: No. The Pro 5500 XT lists no ray tracing cores, while the Radeon 8050S includes 32 RT cores.

Q: What is the largest benchmark margin between the two cards?

A: In Geekbench OpenCL, the 8050S scores 65818 versus 41772 for the Pro 5500 XT, a 57.6% difference.

Q: How do their memory configurations differ?

A: The Pro 5500 XT has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth. The 8050S uses system shared memory with bandwidth listed as system dependent.

Q: Which card has a higher power draw?

A: The Radeon Pro 5500 XT has a 125 W TDP, while the Radeon 8050S has a 55 W TDP.

Q: Are both cards still in production?

A: No. The 8050S is listed as Active, while the Pro 5500 XT is End-of-life.