AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT vs AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a decisive sweep for the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 across all three Geekbench tests, with the largest margin appearing in the Vulkan workload. In Geekbench Vulkan, the Vega 56 scores 66,004 against the Pro 5500 XT's 39,601, a 66.7% advantage. This is the single biggest gap in the comparison and indicates a substantial difference in compute throughput under this API.

The OpenCL results follow a similar pattern, though with a slightly smaller spread. The Vega 56 posts 61,930 while the Pro 5500 XT manages 41,772, giving the older card a 48.3% lead. This suggests that the Vega 56's raw shader and texture resources translate into a major performance edge in general-purpose GPU compute tasks, which OpenCL benchmarks typically stress.

The Metal test is the closest of the three, but the outcome remains unchanged. The Vega 56 scores 63,145 versus the Pro 5500 XT's 54,779, a 15.3% difference. While this is the narrowest margin, it still represents a clear win for the Vega 56. The smaller delta in Metal relative to the other APIs could reflect the Pro 5500 XT's more modern architecture being better optimized for Apple's graphics framework, but the Vega 56's higher absolute score keeps it ahead.

Looking at the average benchmark score, the Vega 56 sits at 63,693, placing it in the 89th percentile of all GPUs in the database. The Pro 5500 XT averages 45,384, which lands in the 84th percentile. The gap between the two cards in average score is about 18,309 points, or roughly 40%. The nearest rivals for the Vega 56 include the AMD Radeon RX 7600M at 63,775 (a -0.1% delta) and the AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT LP at 63,830 (-0.2%), showing the Vega 56 is essentially at parity with those newer parts. For the Pro 5500 XT, the closest competitor is the Intel Arc A730M at 45,592 (-0.5%), which puts the two within a rounding error of each other.

Architecture Differences

The fundamental design philosophies of these two GPUs could not be more different. The Vega 56 uses the Vega 10 chip built on GCN 5.0 architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. It packs 12,500 million transistors into a 495 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 25.3 million per square millimeter. The Pro 5500 XT, by contrast, uses the Navi 14 chip based on RDNA 1.0, produced by TSMC on a 7 nm node. It contains 6,400 million transistors on a much smaller 158 mm² die, achieving a higher density of 40.5 million per square millimeter. This process advantage explains how the newer card fits nearly half the transistor count into roughly one-third the silicon area.

The compute resources tell a similar story of scale versus efficiency. The Vega 56 fields 3,584 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. The Pro 5500 XT has 1,536 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. Despite having fewer than half the shading units, the Pro 5500 XT boosts to 1,757 MHz versus the Vega 56's 1,250 MHz boost clock, which narrows the theoretical throughput gap but does not close it. The Vega 56 delivers 8.960 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 17.92 TFLOPS of FP16 (2:1), while the Pro 5500 XT offers 5.398 TFLOPS FP32 and 10.80 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1). The Vega 56 leads by roughly 66% in FP32 and FP16 throughput.

Memory architecture diverges sharply as well. The Vega 56 uses 8 GB of HBM2 on a 2048-bit bus, yielding 402.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The Pro 5500 XT has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, providing 224.0 GB/s. That is a 79.6% bandwidth advantage for the Vega 56, which is critical for memory-intensive workloads. The Pro 5500 XT compensates with a faster memory clock: 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) versus 786 MHz (1572 Mbps effective) on the Vega 56, but the narrow bus limits its overall transfer rate.

Other notable differences include the bus interface. The Vega 56 runs on PCIe 3.0 x16, while the Pro 5500 XT uses PCIe 4.0 x8. The newer standard offers higher per-lane bandwidth, but the x8 width halves the total link capacity compared to a full x16 slot. Both cards support DirectX 12 (12_1) and OpenGL 4.6, but the Pro 5500 XT supports Vulkan 1.4 while the Vega 56 is limited to Vulkan 1.3. The Vega 56 provides display outputs (1x HDMI 2.0b, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a), whereas the Pro 5500 XT has no outputs, indicating it is intended as a compute-only or auxiliary card in Mac systems.

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data paints a one-sided picture: the Vega 56 wins all three recorded tests. There is no test in the database where the Pro 5500 XT comes out ahead. For users prioritizing raw compute performance across Metal, OpenCL, and Vulkan, the Vega 56 is the superior choice by every measured metric.

However, the Pro 5500 XT has strengths that are not captured in these specific benchmarks. Its 7 nm process and RDNA 1.0 architecture deliver higher clock speeds at a lower power draw. The TDP figures show the Pro 5500 XT at 125 W versus the Vega 56 at 210 W, a 40.5% reduction in power requirement. For systems with thermal or power constraints, the Pro 5500 XT may be the more practical option despite its lower scores.

The Vega 56 also benefits from higher pixel and texture rates: 80.00 GPixel/s and 280.0 GTexel/s, respectively, against the Pro 5500 XT's 56.22 GPixel/s and 168.7 GTexel/s. These figures matter for rasterization-heavy tasks, though neither card is designed primarily for gaming. The Vega 56's superior bandwidth and TMU count make it better suited for large data sets and high-resolution texture work, while the Pro 5500 XT's smaller footprint and lower power envelope could appeal to compact or passively cooled Mac configurations.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every major specification category. The process node moves from 14 nm (Vega 56) to 7 nm (Pro 5500 XT), with foundry shifting from GlobalFoundries to TSMC. Transistor count drops from 12,500 million to 6,400 million, and die size shrinks from 495 mm² to 158 mm². Transistor density rises from 25.3M/mm² to 40.5M/mm².

Clock speeds: base clock increases from 1138 MHz to 1187 MHz, while boost clock jumps from 1250 MHz to 1757 MHz. Memory clock rises from 786 MHz (1572 Mbps effective) to 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). Memory type changes from HBM2 to GDDR6, bus width narrows from 2048-bit to 128-bit, and bandwidth falls from 402.4 GB/s to 224.0 GB/s.

Compute units: shading units drop from 3584 to 1536, TMUs from 224 to 96, and ROPs from 64 to 32. Pixel rate falls from 80.00 GPixel/s to 56.22 GPixel/s, texture rate from 280.0 GTexel/s to 168.7 GTexel/s, and FP32 from 8.960 TFLOPS to 5.398 TFLOPS. FP16 drops from 17.92 TFLOPS to 10.80 TFLOPS. TDP falls from 210 W to 125 W. The Pro 5500 XT lists a suggested PSU of 300 W, while the Vega 56 has no such figure. Bus interface changes from PCIe 3.0 x16 to PCIe 4.0 x8. Display outputs differ: the Vega 56 has 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the Pro 5500 XT has no outputs. Vulkan support advances from 1.3 to 1.4. Release dates differ, with the Vega 56 launching in August 2017 and the Pro 5500 XT in August 2020.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 has an average benchmark score of 63,693, compared to the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT's 45,384.

Q: What is the largest performance gap between the two cards?

A: In Geekbench Vulkan, the Vega 56 scores 66,004 against the Pro 5500 XT's 39,601, a 66.7% difference.

Q: Does the Pro 5500 XT win any benchmark tests?

A: No, the database records zero wins for the Pro 5500 XT. The Vega 56 wins all three head-to-head tests (Metal, OpenCL, and Vulkan).

Q: How do their memory bandwidth figures compare?

A: The Vega 56 provides 402.4 GB/s over a 2048-bit HBM2 interface, while the Pro 5500 XT offers 224.0 GB/s over a 128-bit GDDR6 bus.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The Vega 56 has a TDP of 210 W, while the Pro 5500 XT draws 125 W, a reduction of 85 W for the newer card.

Q: Which GPU supports a newer Vulkan version?

A: The Pro 5500 XT supports Vulkan 1.4, while the Vega 56 is limited to Vulkan 1.3.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 outperforms the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT in every recorded benchmark. Its 89th percentile ranking versus the Pro 5500 XT's 84th percentile reflects a consistent margin across all three APIs. Users who need maximum compute throughput, particularly in Vulkan or OpenCL workloads, should choose the Vega 56. Its advantages in memory bandwidth, shading units, and texture rate are decisive.

The Pro 5500 XT is not without merit, but its strengths lie outside the benchmark suite. It consumes 40.5% less power, runs on a more advanced 7 nm process, and supports Vulkan 1.4. For systems where thermal limits or power budgets are the primary constraint, the Pro 5500 XT could be the better fit, but it will deliver noticeably lower performance in compute tasks. The Vega 56 is the clear choice for performance-focused configurations, while the Pro 5500 XT serves scenarios where efficiency and a smaller silicon footprint take precedence.