AMD Radeon 880M vs AMD Radeon RX 5600M Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 5600M and the AMD Radeon 880M represent two very different approaches to mobile graphics, separated by four years of architectural evolution. The RX 5600M is a discrete, end-of-life part from the RDNA 1.0 era, while the 880M is an active integrated graphics processor (IGP) built on RDNA 3.5. Despite this, their average benchmark scores land within 1.1% of each other, placing both at the 79th percentile among all GPUs. The data reveals a fascinating contest where raw compute throughput battles architectural efficiency, with each card winning in distinct scenarios.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 5600M is the clear winner in raw computational throughput, taking both head-to-head benchmark victories. Its advantage is most pronounced in the Geekbench OpenCL test, where it scores 55,628 against the 880M's 31,285 — a commanding 77.8% lead. This reflects the discrete card's dedicated resources: 2,304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output pipelines, all operating with a 288.0 GB/s memory bandwidth from its 6 GB GDDR6 frame buffer. The RX 5600M also wins the Geekbench Vulkan test, scoring 48,843 versus 40,006, a 22.1% margin. For workloads that scale with shading unit count and memory bandwidth — such as traditional rasterization and compute-heavy tasks — the RX 5600M is decisively faster.

The AMD Radeon 880M wins in efficiency and architectural features, though not in raw benchmark scores. It operates at a 15 W TDP compared to the RX 5600M's 150 W, a tenfold reduction in power draw. The 880M achieves this with far fewer resources: 768 shading units, 48 TMUs, and just 16 ROPs. Its advantage lies in the RDNA 3.5 architecture, which brings 12 dedicated ray tracing cores and DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2), features entirely absent from the older RX 5600M's DirectX 12 (12_1) feature set. The 880M also boosts to 2900 MHz, more than double the RX 5600M's 1265 MHz boost clock, partially compensating for its smaller execution engine. For ray-traced content or workloads leveraging newer API features, the 880M is the only viable option of the two.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is substantial. The RX 5600M uses the Navi 10 chip on RDNA 1.0 architecture, fabricated on TSMC's 7 nm process. It packs 10,300 million transistors across a 251 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 41.0M per mm². The 880M, by contrast, uses the Strix Point chip on RDNA 3.5, built on a denser 4 nm process. This newer chip contains 34,000 million transistors on a slightly smaller 233 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 145.9M per mm² — over three and a half times denser than the older part.

Memory architecture differs fundamentally. The RX 5600M has a dedicated 6 GB GDDR6 frame buffer on a 192-bit bus, delivering 288.0 GB/s of dedicated bandwidth. The 880M uses system-shared memory, with its size, bus width, and bandwidth all listed as "System Shared" or "System Dependent." This means the 880M's memory performance varies based on the host system's RAM configuration, a critical variable that the discrete RX 5600M does not face.

Clock speeds tell a story of architectural efficiency. The RX 5600M runs at a 1035 MHz base and 1265 MHz boost, with a 1190 MHz game clock. The 880M starts at just 400 MHz base but boosts to 2900 MHz — the higher boost suggesting a design tuned for short bursts of performance within its 15 W envelope. The RX 5600M's memory runs at 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective), while the 880M's memory clock is tied to the system.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two available head-to-head benchmarks both favor the RX 5600M, but the margins reveal different aspects of performance. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 5600M scores 55,628 against the 880M's 31,285, a 77.8% delta. This massive gap likely stems from the RX 5600M's 288.0 GB/s dedicated memory bandwidth and 2,304 shading units — OpenCL workloads often saturate both. The 880M, with 768 shading units and system-shared memory, simply cannot feed its execution units at the same rate.

The Geekbench Vulkan result narrows the gap considerably. The RX 5600M scores 48,843 versus the 880M's 40,006, a 22.1% delta. Vulkan's lower overhead and better utilization of modern hardware likely benefits the 880M's RDNA 3.5 architecture, which features newer instruction scheduling and the 12 RT cores. While the RX 5600M still wins, the smaller margin in Vulkan suggests the 880M's architectural advantages partially offset its hardware deficit. Notably, the 880M's average benchmark score of 35,646 actually exceeds the RX 5600M's 35,264, driven by the 880M lacking a 3DMark Steel Nomad result while the RX 5600M posts 1,320 in that test.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon 880M has a slightly higher average benchmark score at 35,646, compared to the RX 5600M's 35,264. The RX 5600M's nearest rival list includes the 880M at a -1.1% delta, while the 880M's list includes the RX 5600M indirectly through similar rivals.

Q: Does the RX 5600M support ray tracing?

A: No. The RX 5600M lists no ray tracing cores (rtCores: null) and supports DirectX 12 (12_1). The 880M, by contrast, has 12 ray tracing cores and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), making it the only one of the two capable of hardware-accelerated ray tracing.

Q: How much faster is the RX 5600M in OpenCL?

A: The RX 5600M scores 55,628 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 77.8% higher than the 880M's 31,285. This is the largest performance gap between the two across all shared benchmarks.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The RX 5600M has a TDP of 150 W, while the 880M has a TDP of 15 W — a tenfold difference. Both are listed as IGP slot width with no power connectors, but the RX 5600M's higher TDP suggests it draws power through a motherboard slot or dedicated circuit.

Q: Which GPU is currently in production?

A: The AMD Radeon 880M is marked as "Active" production status, released on 2024-07-14. The AMD Radeon RX 5600M is "End-of-life," having been released on 2020-07-06.

Q: How do their transistor counts compare?

A: The 880M's Strix Point chip contains 34,000 million transistors, over three times the RX 5600M's 10,300 million. The 880M achieves this on a slightly smaller die (233 mm² vs 251 mm²) thanks to its denser 4 nm process.

The Verdict

The data supports a clear split based on workload type and system constraints. The AMD Radeon RX 5600M is the performance pick for compute-heavy and traditionally rasterized workloads. Its 77.8% OpenCL lead and 22.1% Vulkan lead over the 880M, combined with 288.0 GB/s of dedicated memory bandwidth and 2,304 shading units, make it the superior choice for tasks that stress raw throughput. The RX 5600M's nearest rivals include the RX 6750 XT at -0.2% and the RTX 5070 Ti Mobile at -0.5%, placing it in established discrete-class territory. However, its 150 W TDP and end-of-life status limit its appeal to systems with adequate cooling and power delivery.

The AMD Radeon 880M is the pick for modern feature support and efficiency. Its 15 W TDP, 12 ray tracing cores, DirectX 12 Ultimate support, and 2900 MHz boost clock make it the forward-looking choice, despite trailing in raw scores. The 880M's nearest rivals include the RTX 3080 at -0.4% and the RX 6750 XT at 0.9%, showing it competes with much larger discrete cards on average benchmarks. Its system-shared memory is a double-edged sword: it can benefit from fast system RAM but suffers when paired with slower memory. For users prioritizing ray tracing, API support, and power efficiency, the 880M is the logical selection. For users needing maximum compute throughput in legacy applications, the RX 5600M remains the stronger performer.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon RX 5600M | AMD Radeon 880M |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | RDNA 1.0 | RDNA 3.5 |

| Process Node | 7 nm | 4 nm |

| Transistors | 10,300 million | 34,000 million |

| Die Size | 251 mm² | 233 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 41.0M / mm² | 145.9M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1035 MHz | 400 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1265 MHz | 2900 MHz |

| Game Clock | 1190 MHz | — |

| Memory | 6 GB GDDR6 | System Shared |

| Memory Bus | 192 bit | System Shared |

| Memory Bandwidth | 288.0 GB/s | System Dependent |

| Shading Units | 2304 | 768 |

| TMUs | 144 | 48 |

| ROPs | 64 | 16 |

| RT Cores | — | 12 |

| Pixel Rate | 80.96 GPixel/s | 46.40 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 182.2 GTexel/s | 139.2 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 5.829 TFLOPS | 4.454 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 11.66 TFLOPS (2:1) | 8.909 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 150 W | 15 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x8 |

| DirectX | 12 (12_1) | 12 Ultimate (12_2) |

| Production Status | End-of-life | Active |

| Release Date | 2020-07-06 | 2024-07-14 |