AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT vs AMD Radeon Pro Duo Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a single shared benchmark between these two cards, and the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT takes it decisively. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the 5500 XT scores 41,772, while the Radeon Pro Duo scores 35,860. That is a delta of 16.5% in favor of the newer Navi-based card. This is not a marginal victory; it is a substantial gap that places the 5500 XT clearly ahead in raw compute workloads as measured by OpenCL.

For context, the 5500 XT’s average benchmark score across all recorded tests is 45,384, placing it at the 84th percentile of all GPUs in the database. The Radeon Pro Duo’s average is 35,860, which lands at the 80th percentile. The percentile difference is only four points, but the actual score gap is significant. The 5500 XT’s nearest rivals include the Intel Arc A730M (average 45,592, a 0.5% delta) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile (average 45,152, a 0.5% delta). The Radeon Pro Duo sits near the NVIDIA Quadro GV100 (average 35,520, a 1% delta) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile (average 35,435, a 1.2% delta). These comparisons show that the 5500 XT competes in a higher performance tier entirely.

The Radeon Pro Duo does not win a single head-to-head benchmark in the database. The 5500 XT wins the only comparison available, and it does so with a double-digit percentage margin. This is a clear, unambiguous result: in the measured workload, the 5500 XT outperforms the older dual-GPU card by a wide margin.

Where Each One Wins

The data splits cleanly along workload types. The AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT wins in OpenCL compute, which is a general-purpose GPU compute API used across many professional applications. Its score of 41,772 in Geekbench OpenCL is 16.5% higher than the Radeon Pro Duo’s 35,860. Beyond that, the 5500 XT also has recorded scores in Geekbench Metal (54,779) and Geekbench Vulkan (39,601), though the Radeon Pro Duo has no recorded results in those tests. This means the 5500 XT demonstrates versatility across multiple APIs, while the Radeon Pro Duo only has a single data point.

The Radeon Pro Duo’s advantage, based on the specification data, lies in raw throughput numbers that do not translate into a benchmark win. It has a higher FP32 rating (8.192 TFLOPS vs. 5.398 TFLOPS), a higher texture rate (256.0 GTexel/s vs. 168.7 GTexel/s), and a higher pixel rate (64.00 GPixel/s vs. 56.22 GPixel/s). It also has more shading units (4,096 vs. 1,536), more TMUs (256 vs. 96), and more ROPs (64 vs. 32). Yet in the actual OpenCL test, it loses. This suggests that the Pro Duo’s theoretical compute capacity is not realized in this particular benchmark, possibly due to driver maturity, dual-GPU scaling overhead, or the older architecture’s inefficiencies. The 5500 XT, despite lower theoretical numbers, delivers the better real-world result.

For users who rely on OpenCL compute, the 5500 XT is the clear choice. For those who need Metal or Vulkan performance, the 5500 XT is the only option with recorded data. The Radeon Pro Duo has no recorded wins in any category.

Architecture Differences

The architecture gap between these two cards is generational. The AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT uses the Navi 14 chip built on RDNA 1.0 architecture, fabricated on a 7 nm process at TSMC. The Radeon Pro Duo uses the Capsaicin chip based on GCN 3.0, fabricated on a 28 nm process, also at TSMC. The process node difference is massive: 7 nm versus 28 nm. This explains the transistor density disparity. The Navi 14 packs 6,400 million transistors into a 158 mm² die, yielding a density of 40.5M transistors per mm². The Capsaicin chip has 8,900 million transistors spread across a 596 mm² die, for a density of 14.9M per mm². The newer process allows the 5500 XT to be far more efficient in terms of transistor packing, which contributes to its lower power draw and higher clock speeds.

Clock behavior also differs. The 5500 XT has a base clock of 1187 MHz and a boost clock of 1757 MHz. The Radeon Pro Duo has no recorded base or boost clock values in the database. Memory clocks differ as well: the 5500 XT runs its memory at 1750 MHz with 14 Gbps effective, while the Pro Duo runs at 500 MHz with 1000 Mbps effective. This is a stark contrast, though the memory types are different (GDDR6 vs. HBM), so raw clock comparisons are not directly meaningful.

The Radeon Pro Duo is a dual-GPU card, as its name implies, and the "Capsaicin" chip reflects that design. The 5500 XT is a single-GPU part. The architecture generations are separated by several revisions: RDNA 1.0 is a modern design, while GCN 3.0 is an older one. The API support reflects this. The 5500 XT supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The Pro Duo supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The Vulkan version difference is notable: 1.4 versus 1.2.170, indicating newer feature support on the 5500 XT.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every major specification field. The 5500 XT has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Radeon Pro Duo has 4 GB of HBM memory on a 4096-bit bus, delivering 512.0 GB/s. The Pro Duo has significantly more bandwidth, but half the capacity. The bus width difference is extreme: 4096-bit versus 128-bit, which is a hallmark of HBM versus GDDR6 designs.

The shading units and texture units differ by a factor of roughly 2.5 to 2.7. The 5500 XT has 1,536 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The Pro Duo has 4,096 shading units, 256 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The pixel rate is 56.22 GPixel/s for the 5500 XT versus 64.00 GPixel/s for the Pro Duo. The texture rate is 168.7 GTexel/s versus 256.0 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 5.398 TFLOPS versus 8.192 TFLOPS. FP16 is 10.80 TFLOPS (2:1) for the 5500 XT versus 8.192 TFLOPS (1:1) for the Pro Duo. Notably, the 5500 XT has a higher FP16 rating despite a lower FP32 rating, due to the 2:1 ratio.

Power and physical specifications are also very different. The 5500 XT has a TDP of 125 W, is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) slot width, and requires no power connectors, with a suggested PSU of 300 W. The Pro Duo has a TDP of 350 W, is dual-slot, requires 3x 8-pin power connectors, and needs a 750 W PSU. The 5500 XT has no display outputs, while the Pro Duo has 1x HDMI 1.4a and 3x DisplayPort 1.2. The bus interface differs: PCIe 4.0 x8 for the 5500 XT versus PCIe 3.0 x16 for the Pro Duo.

The Pro Duo is physically larger: 277 mm in length (10.9 inches) and 111 mm in height (4.4 inches), while the 5500 XT has no recorded dimensions. The release dates are far apart: the Pro Duo launched on 2016-04-25, and the 5500 XT launched on 2020-08-03. The Pro Duo has a predecessor (FirePro GCN) and a successor (Radeon Pro Polaris), while the 5500 XT has neither recorded. The Pro Duo has a launch MSRP of 1,499 USD.

FAQ

Q: Which card wins the only shared benchmark?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT wins the Geekbench OpenCL test with a score of 41,772 versus the Radeon Pro Duo’s 35,860, a 16.5% advantage.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference?

A: The 5500 XT has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Pro Duo has 4 GB of HBM on a 4096-bit bus with 512.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: How do the power requirements compare?

A: The 5500 XT has a 125 W TDP with no power connectors and a 300 W suggested PSU. The Pro Duo has a 350 W TDP, requires 3x 8-pin connectors, and needs a 750 W PSU.

Q: Which card supports newer APIs?

A: The 5500 XT supports Vulkan 1.4 and DirectX 12 (12_1). The Pro Duo supports Vulkan 1.2.170 and DirectX 12 (12_0). Both support OpenGL 4.6.

Q: What is the transistor density difference?

A: The 5500 XT, on a 7 nm process, has a density of 40.5M transistors per mm². The Pro Duo, on a 28 nm process, has a density of 14.9M per mm².

Q: Does the Radeon Pro Duo have any benchmark wins?

A: No. The database records zero wins for the Radeon Pro Duo. The 5500 XT wins the only head-to-head benchmark.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT is the superior card in measured performance. It wins the only shared benchmark by 16.5%, and it holds a higher average benchmark score (45,384 vs. 35,860) and a higher percentile ranking (84th vs. 80th). The 5500 XT also offers a more modern feature set, including a smaller 7 nm process, higher clock speeds, newer API support, and a dramatically lower power draw (125 W vs. 350 W). It requires no external power connectors and fits as an IGP, while the Pro Duo is a dual-slot card with 3x 8-pin connectors.

The Radeon Pro Duo does have advantages in raw specifications: more shading units, more TMUs, more ROPs, higher FP32, higher texture and pixel rates, and much higher memory bandwidth (512.0 GB/s vs. 224.0 GB/s). But none of these advantages translate into a benchmark win. The only recorded test shows it losing by a wide margin. Its 4 GB memory capacity is also half the 5500 XT’s 8 GB, which limits its utility in memory-heavy workloads.

For users who need OpenCL compute performance, the 5500 XT is the clear choice. For those who need Metal or Vulkan performance, the 5500 XT is the only card with recorded data. The Pro Duo’s only distinguishing factor is its launch MSRP of 1,499 USD, but the data shows that the 5500 XT outperforms it despite the Pro Duo’s higher price point at launch. The 5500 XT is the better investment based on every measurable metric in the database. The Radeon Pro Duo is an older, less efficient, and slower card in real-world testing. Anyone choosing between these two should select the 5500 XT without hesitation, unless the Pro Duo’s specific dual-GPU design or higher memory bandwidth is an absolute requirement, and even then, the benchmark data does not support that choice.