AMD Radeon 880M vs AMD Radeon RX 6500M Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head data presents a fascinating split, with the AMD Radeon RX 6500M claiming victory in four tests while the AMD Radeon 880M takes five. The most dramatic win for the RX 6500M comes in PassMark DirectX 10, where it scores 52 against the 880M's 31, a 67.7% advantage. This is a legacy API test, but the margin is the largest recorded between the two parts. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 6500M posts 38,586 versus 31,285, a 23.3% lead, suggesting its dedicated graphics pipeline handles general compute workloads with more authority. The Geekbench Vulkan result is closer, 43,837 to 40,006, a 9.6% edge for the RX 6500M, and the PassMark DirectX 12 test also goes its way, 34 to 32, a 6.3% margin.

The 880M fires back in several areas. Its most emphatic win is in PassMark G2D, the 2D graphics test, where it scores 969 against the RX 6500M's 385, a 60.3% difference. That is a massive gulf and points to a fundamentally different approach to memory and display handling. In PassMark GPU Compute, the 880M scores 3,719 versus 2,669, a 28.2% lead, which is curious given the RX 6500M's OpenCL advantage. The PassMark DirectX 11 test goes to the 880M, 73 to 70, a 4.1% edge, and PassMark DirectX 9 also favors the 880M, 97 to 92, a 5.2% margin. The aggregate PassMark G3D score is nearly a dead heat: 7,615 for the 880M against 7,531 for the RX 6500M, a 1.1% difference. Across the nine tests, the average benchmark score in the database tells a different story than the head-to-head wins: the RX 6500M averages 10,362 while the 880M averages 8,436. This discrepancy suggests the 880M's wins are concentrated in specific workloads, while the RX 6500M is more consistently strong across the broader benchmark suite.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins more head-to-head benchmark tests?

A: The AMD Radeon 880M wins five tests (PassMark DirectX 11, DirectX 9, G2D, G3D, and GPU Compute), while the AMD Radeon RX 6500M wins four (Geekbench OpenCL, Geekbench Vulkan, PassMark DirectX 10, and DirectX 12).

Q: How large is the RX 6500M's lead in OpenCL performance?

A: The RX 6500M scores 38,586 in Geekbench OpenCL against the 880M's 31,285, a 23.3% advantage.

Q: Where does the 880M show its biggest strength?

A: In the PassMark G2D test, the 880M scores 969 versus 385 for the RX 6500M, a 60.3% lead. It also shows a 28.2% advantage in PassMark GPU Compute, scoring 3,719 to 2,669.

Q: What do the average benchmark scores indicate?

A: The RX 6500M has a higher average benchmark score at 10,362, while the 880M sits at 8,436. The RX 6500M also holds a higher percentile rank among all GPUs, at 48 compared to 43 for the 880M.

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in DirectX 12 performance?

A: The RX 6500M takes the PassMark DirectX 12 test with a score of 34 against 32 for the 880M, a 6.3% difference.

Q: Are the two GPUs close in overall 3D performance?

A: Yes, the PassMark G3D scores are very close, with the 880M at 7,615 and the RX 6500M at 7,531, a margin of only 1.1%.

Architecture Differences

The two AMD parts come from different architectural generations. The RX 6500M is built on RDNA 2.0, using the Navi 24 chip, and belongs to the Navi Mobile (RX 6000M) generation. The 880M is based on RDNA 3.5, using the Strix Point chip, and is part of the Navi III IGP (Strix Point Mobile) generation. The process node differs significantly: the RX 6500M uses a 6 nm process from TSMC, while the 880M uses a more advanced 4 nm process from the same foundry. Transistor counts reflect this gap, with the RX 6500M packing 5,400 million transistors on a 107 mm² die, while the 880M integrates 34,000 million transistors on a 233 mm² die. Transistor density tells the story of the process advantage: the 880M reaches 145.9M transistors per mm², versus 50.5M per mm² for the RX 6500M.

The execution resources are configured differently. The RX 6500M has 1,024 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, and 32 raster output pipelines. The 880M has fewer of each: 768 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. Ray tracing cores follow the same pattern, 16 for the RX 6500M and 12 for the 880M. Clock behavior is also distinctive. The RX 6500M has a base clock of 2000 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz, with a game clock listed at 2191 MHz. The 880M has a much lower base clock of 400 MHz but a higher boost clock of 2900 MHz. The RX 6500M's memory runs at 2250 MHz with 18 Gbps effective speed, while the 880M uses system shared memory.

The bus interface differs: the RX 6500M uses PCIe 4.0 x4, while the 880M uses PCIe 4.0 x8. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The RX 6500M is end-of-life, released on 2022-01-03, while the 880M is active, released on 2024-07-14. The RX 6500M's predecessor is Polaris Mobile, and the 880M's predecessor is Navi II IGP.

Specification Differences

The recorded specification fields show clear divergence. The RX 6500M has 4 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 64-bit bus, delivering 144.0 GB/s bandwidth. The 880M uses system shared memory, with the bus width and bandwidth listed as system dependent. The RX 6500M has a 50 W TDP, while the 880M is rated at 15 W. The RX 6500M's pixel rate is 76.80 GPixel/s and its texture rate is 153.6 GTexel/s, while the 880M achieves 46.40 GPixel/s and 139.2 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is close, 4.915 TFLOPS for the RX 6500M versus 4.454 TFLOPS for the 880M. FP16 performance shows a notable difference in ratio: the RX 6500M reaches 9.830 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio, while the 880M stays at 4.454 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio. Both are IGP slot width with no power connectors, and both have portable device dependent display outputs.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 6500M is the pick for compute-heavy workloads that rely on OpenCL or Vulkan. Its 23.3% OpenCL lead and 9.6% Vulkan lead suggest it handles general purpose GPU compute and modern graphics APIs with more headroom. It also wins in DirectX 12, a relevant metric for current games, and in DirectX 10, where its 67.7% margin is the largest of any test. The higher average benchmark score of 10,362, along with a 48th percentile ranking, indicates it is the more well-rounded performer across the database's full test suite. Its dedicated 4 GB GDDR6 memory with 144.0 GB/s bandwidth provides fixed, predictable memory performance rather than relying on system shared memory.

The 880M wins in scenarios that stress 2D throughput and compute dispatch. Its 60.3% G2D advantage is enormous and suggests it is better suited for desktop-style workloads, UI rendering, and tasks that depend on quick memory access patterns without heavy 3D geometry. The 28.2% lead in PassMark GPU Compute is also notable, showing that in some compute benchmarks it outperforms the RX 6500M despite having fewer shading units. Its wins in DirectX 9 and DirectX 11 indicate it handles older API workloads efficiently. The 880M's 15 W TDP versus 50 W for the RX 6500M makes it the lower-power option, which matters for thin-and-light laptops where thermals and battery life are priorities. The near-parity in PassMark G3D, just 1.1% apart, means that for general 3D rendering the two are effectively interchangeable.

The Verdict

The data shows two GPUs with different philosophies. The AMD Radeon RX 6500M is the stronger pick for users who prioritize raw compute in modern APIs and need consistent dedicated memory. Its wins in OpenCL, Vulkan, and DirectX 12, combined with a higher average score and better percentile ranking, make it the safer choice for gaming and GPU-accelerated applications that leverage current graphics interfaces. The 67.7% DirectX 10 lead is a reminder that it also handles legacy paths competently.

The AMD Radeon 880M is the choice for efficiency and 2D-heavy workloads. Its 15 W TDP makes it far more suitable for ultraportable devices, and its 60.3% G2D lead shows it excels at the kind of display and UI work that dominates everyday use. The 28.2% GPU Compute win and the G3D near-tie mean it loses little in practical 3D performance despite the architectural differences. For a user who wants a single integrated solution with strong modern API support and low power draw, the 880M is the data-backed choice. For a user who needs maximum compute throughput and dedicated VRAM, the RX 6500M is the one to select. The numbers do not crown a single winner; they describe a trade-off between compute density and power efficiency.