AMD Radeon Instinct MI60 vs AMD Radeon Pro W5700X Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data splits this comparison into two very different profiles. The AMD Radeon Instinct MI60 dominates the shared test suite, winning both recorded head-to-head benchmarks. In Geekbench OpenCL, the MI60 scores 92,488 against the W5700X's 43,810, a 111.1% advantage. In Geekbench Vulkan, the MI60 posts 92,444 versus 45,246, a 104.3% lead. These are not marginal differences; they are near-doublings of raw compute throughput in the measured workloads.

The MI60's wins align with its intended role. It sits in the 93rd percentile among all GPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 92,466. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX A4500 (91,671, 0.9% slower) and the AMD Radeon Pro VII (97,131, 4.8% faster). The MI60's performance profile places it squarely in the professional data-center tier, competing with dedicated workstation accelerators rather than consumer or mainstream workstation parts.

The Radeon Pro W5700X, by contrast, does not win a single recorded benchmark against the MI60. Its best result is a 75,427 in Geekbench Metal, a test not run on the MI60. In OpenCL and Vulkan, it trails substantially. Its average benchmark score across all tests is 54,828, which places it in the 87th percentile. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 (54,247, 1.1% slower) and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (55,698, 1.6% faster). This is a different performance stratum entirely, one aimed at graphics work rather than heavy compute.

The data implies a clear use-case split. The MI60 wins where raw OpenCL and Vulkan compute throughput matters, which are exactly the workloads in a data center or high-performance computing environment. The W5700X, with its Metal benchmark score and its position among consumer-adjacent GPUs, appears better suited to graphics-oriented workflows, particularly in a Mac ecosystem where Metal is a key API. The recorded data does not show the W5700X winning any compute comparison, so its strengths must be inferred from the Metal result and its overall positioning.

The Verdict

The verdict from the recorded data is unambiguous for compute workloads. The AMD Radeon Instinct MI60 is the stronger compute card by a wide margin, outperforming the W5700X by 111.1% in OpenCL and 104.3% in Vulkan. The MI60's average score of 92,466 dwarfs the W5700X's 54,829, a difference of roughly 69%. For any workload that relies on OpenCL or Vulkan compute, the MI60 is the choice.

The W5700X has one distinct advantage in the data: a Metal benchmark score of 75,427, which is not recorded for the MI60. This suggests the W5700X may be the better option for software that uses Apple's Metal API, which is common on macOS. However, the database does not contain a head-to-head Metal comparison, so this remains an inferred advantage, not a measured one.

For users who need maximum compute throughput in OpenCL or Vulkan, the MI60 is the clear pick. Its 93rd percentile ranking and proximity to the Radeon Pro VII (4.8% faster) indicate it is in the upper echelon of compute GPUs. The W5700X, though a solid performer at the 87th percentile, cannot match the MI60's raw compute power in the tested APIs.

For users who prioritize Metal performance or who are already in an Apple MPX ecosystem, the W5700X is the only option with a recorded Metal score. The data does not show the MI60 supporting Metal, so for that specific API, the W5700X is the only choice, even if it loses in the other two benchmarks.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head results are one-sided. In Geekbench OpenCL, the MI60 scores 92,488 against the W5700X's 43,810, a delta of 111.1%. This means the MI60 is more than twice as fast in this test. The MI60's OpenCL score is also higher than its nearest rival, the NVIDIA RTX A4500, by 0.9%, and only 4.8% below the Radeon Pro VII. The W5700X's OpenCL score, 43,810, is far below the MI60 and also below all of its own nearest rivals, which range from 54,209 to 55,757.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the pattern repeats. The MI60 scores 92,444, while the W5700X scores 45,246, a 104.3% delta. The MI60's Vulkan score is virtually identical to its OpenCL score, suggesting consistent compute performance across APIs. The W5700X's Vulkan score is slightly higher than its OpenCL score but still less than half the MI60's.

The W5700X's best recorded performance is in Geekbench Metal, where it scores 75,427. This is a substantial number, higher than its OpenCL and Vulkan scores by 72% and 67%, respectively. However, since the MI60 does not have a Metal score in the database, there is no direct comparison. The Metal score suggests the W5700X performs much better in Apple's API, but it does not close the gap in the APIs where a direct comparison exists.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ fundamentally in memory and interface. The MI60 has 32 GB of HBM2 memory on a 4096-bit bus, delivering 1.02 TB/s of bandwidth. The W5700X has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, with 448.0 GB/s. The MI60's memory bandwidth is 2.3 times higher, which explains its compute advantage in memory-bound workloads.

The MI60's memory clock is 1000 MHz with 2 Gbps effective, while the W5700X's memory clock is 1750 MHz with 14 Gbps effective. The MI60 uses a wider bus to achieve its higher bandwidth, despite a lower clock. The W5700X uses a faster clock on a narrower bus.

The GPU clocks differ. The MI60 has a base clock of 1200 MHz and a boost clock of 1800 MHz. The W5700X has a base clock of 1243 MHz and a boost clock of 2040 MHz, so the W5700X clocks higher. However, the MI60 has more shading units (4096 vs 2560) and more texture units (256 vs 160), both have 64 ROPs.

The pixel rate favors the W5700X at 130.6 GPixel/s versus the MI60's 115.2 GPixel/s. The texture rate favors the MI60 at 460.8 GTexel/s versus the W5700X's 326.4 GTexel/s. The FP32 throughput is 14.75 TFLOPS for the MI60 and 10.44 TFLOPS for the W5700X, a 41% difference. FP16 rates are 29.49 TFLOPS and 20.89 TFLOPS, respectively.

The TDP is 300 W for the MI60 and 205 W for the W5700X. The MI60 is a dual-slot card with a 6-pin and 8-pin connector, and suggests a 700 W PSU. The W5700X is a quad-slot card, with no power connector listed, and suggests a 550 W PSU. The bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x16 for the MI60 and Apple MPX for the W5700X.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in OpenCL?

A: The AMD Radeon Instinct MI60 is faster, scoring 92,488 vs 43,810 for the W5700X, a delta of 111.1%.

Q: Does the W5700X win any benchmark against the MI60?

A: No. In the head-to-head results, the MI60 wins both Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan. The W5700X does have a Metal score of 75,427, but the MI60 has no Metal score recorded for comparison.

Q: What is the average benchmark score difference?

A: The MI60's average score is 92,466, while the W5700X averages 54,828. The MI60's average is about 68% higher.

Q: Which card has more memory bandwidth?

A: The MI60 has 1,048 GB/s from 32 GB of HBM2 on a 4096-bit bus. The W5700X has 448.0 GB/s from 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus.

Q: Are these cards in the same performance tier?

A: No. The MI60 is in the 93rd percentile of all GPUs, while the W5700X is in the 87th percentile. The MI60's nearest rivals include the RTX A4500 and Radeon Pro VII, while the W5700X's nearest rivals include the RTX 4080 and RX 6750 GRE.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the W5700X?

A: The launch MSRP is 999 USD.

Architecture Differences

The MI60 uses the Vega 20 chip with GCN 5.1 architecture, while the W5700X uses Navi 10 with RDNA 1.0 architecture. Both are built on TSMC's 7 nm process, but the MI60 has 13,230 million transistors on a 331 mm² die, while the W5700X has 10,300 million on a 251 mm² die. The transistor density is nearly identical: 40.0M per mm² for the MI60 and 41.0M for the W5700X.

The MI60 belongs to the Radeon Instinct generation (MIx), while the W5700X is part of the Radeon Pro Mac series (Navi). The MI60 has no launch MSRP recorded, while the W5700X has a launch MSRP of 999 USD.

The MI60's compute units are configured for data center work: 4096 shading units, 256 TMUs, 64 ROPs. The W5700X has 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. Neither has ray tracing or tensor cores listed, so both rely on traditional shader compute.

The MI60 has a single mini-DisplayPort 1.4a output, while the W5700X has one HDMI 2.0b and four Thunderbolt outputs. The MI60 uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while the W5700X uses Apple MPX, and the W5700X is physically longer at 305 mm (12 inches) versus the MI60's 267 mm (10.5 inches).

Both support DirectX 12 (12_1) and OpenGL 4.6. The MI60 supports Vulkan 1.3, while the W5700X supports Vulkan 1.4. The MI60 has a base clock of 1200 MHz and boost 1800 MHz, while the W5700X has a base clock of 1243 MHz and boost 2040 MHz. The MI60's higher bandwidth and compute throughput are the result of its wider memory bus and more shader hardware, despite the W5700X's higher clock speeds.