AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT vs AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 Comparison

The Verdict

The benchmark data presents a clear but nuanced picture. The AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT is the overall performance leader, winning two of the three head-to-head benchmark comparisons and posting a significantly higher average benchmark score of 45,384 versus 40,063 for the AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100. That 13.3% gap in average score is substantial, and the Radeon Pro 5500 XT also holds a higher percentile ranking at 84 versus 82 for the older card.

However, the decision is not simply about raw speed. The Radeon Pro WX 7100 remains a viable option for specific workflows, particularly those that rely on the Vulkan API, where it edges out the newer card by a hair. It also offers physical display outputs, which the Radeon Pro 5500 XT completely lacks. The Radeon Pro 5500 XT is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) with no outputs, meaning it is designed for systems with dedicated display handling. Therefore, the verdict hinges on the user's platform: those building or upgrading a Mac system leveraging the Radeon Pro Mac generation will find the 5500 XT the superior performer; those needing a standalone, single-slot card with direct display connectivity for a Polaris-era workstation should consider the WX 7100, which launched at an MSRP of 799 USD.

Where Each One Wins

The performance split between these two GPUs is not uniform across all workloads, and the data reveals distinct areas of strength.

The AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT dominates in the Metal API, a critical metric for Apple ecosystem applications. Its Geekbench Metal score of 54,779 is a massive 35.7% higher than the WX 7100's 40,357. This is the single largest performance differential between the two cards and signals a decisive advantage in Metal-accelerated tasks like video editing, 3D rendering, and compute in macOS environments. It also wins in OpenCL, posting a score of 41,772 compared to the WX 7100's 40,148, a more modest but still clear 4% advantage. This suggests the 5500 XT is generally better for cross-platform compute workloads.

The AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100, conversely, claims victory in the Vulkan API, albeit by the slimmest of margins. Its Geekbench Vulkan score of 39,683 is just 0.2% higher than the 5500 XT's 39,601. While it is a win, the delta is so small it is effectively a tie, indicating that Vulkan performance is a wash between the architectures. The WX 7100's real, tangible advantage lies in its physical form factor and connectivity. As a single-slot card with four DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, it is a functional, standalone workstation GPU. The 5500 XT, with no display outputs and an IGP slot width, cannot serve as a primary display adapter.

Architecture Differences

The two cards represent different eras of AMD GPU design, and the architectural gap explains many of the benchmark disparities.

The Radeon Pro 5500 XT is built on the Navi 14 chip using the modern RDNA 1.0 architecture, fabricated on TSMC's 7 nm process node. This allows for a remarkably dense design, packing 6,400 million transistors into a die size of just 158 mm², yielding a transistor density of 40.5M / mm². Its memory subsystem is equally modern, using 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, achieving 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU operates with a base clock of 1187 MHz and a boost clock of 1757 MHz, and its 1,536 shading units deliver 5.398 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 10.80 TFLOPS of FP16 compute, leveraging a 2:1 ratio for accelerated half-precision workloads.

In contrast, the Radeon Pro WX 7100 is a product of the older GCN 4.0 architecture, built on the Ellesmere chip and manufactured by GlobalFoundries on a 14 nm process. This is a physically larger and less dense design, with 5,700 million transistors spread across 232 mm² for a density of 24.6M / mm². It uses 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a wider 256-bit bus, but critically, the memory runs at a lower effective speed of 7 Gbps, resulting in the same 224.0 GB/s bandwidth as the newer card. The WX 7100 has a higher shading unit count at 2,304, but its clocks are much lower, with a base of 1188 MHz and a boost of just 1243 MHz. This results in 5.728 TFLOPS of FP32 and an equal 5.728 TFLOPS of FP16, as the GCN architecture processes both at a 1:1 rate.

The interface and feature support also diverge. The 5500 XT uses the newer PCIe 4.0 x8 interface, while the WX 7100 uses PCIe 3.0 x16. In terms of API support, the 5500 XT supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.4, while the WX 7100 is limited to DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3. Both cards support OpenGL 4.6. The power characteristics are similar, with the 5500 XT rated at 125 W TDP and the WX 7100 at 130 W, both suggesting a 300 W PSU.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in the Geekbench Metal benchmark?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT is significantly faster, scoring 54,779 compared to the Radeon Pro WX 7100's 40,357, a 35.7% difference.

Q: Is the AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 better at anything?

A: Yes, it has a marginal 0.2% lead in the Geekbench Vulkan benchmark (39,683 vs 39,601). More importantly, it is a single-slot card with 4x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, while the 5500 XT is an IGP with no display outputs.

Q: How do their memory systems compare?

A: Both cards have 8 GB of memory and the same 224.0 GB/s bandwidth. However, the 5500 XT uses GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, while the WX 7100 uses GDDR5 on a wider 256-bit bus.

Q: What are the key architectural differences?

A: The 5500 XT uses the Navi 14 chip on a 7 nm process with RDNA 1.0 architecture. The WX 7100 uses the Ellesmere chip on a 14 nm process with GCN 4.0 architecture. The 5500 XT has a smaller die (158 mm² vs 232 mm²) but a higher transistor density (40.5M / mm² vs 24.6M / mm²).

Q: How do their compute capabilities compare?

A: The WX 7100 has slightly higher FP32 performance at 5.728 TFLOPS versus 5.398 TFLOPS for the 5500 XT. However, the 5500 XT has a major advantage in FP16, delivering 10.80 TFLOPS compared to the WX 7100's 5.728 TFLOPS.

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT has a higher average benchmark score of 45,384, compared to 40,063 for the AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head data shows a clear winner in overall performance, but with a notable exception that prevents a total shutout.

The most decisive result is in the Geekbench Metal test. The AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT scores 54,779, absolutely crushing the WX 7100's 40,357. This 35.7% delta is the largest margin in any test and highlights the 5500 XT's architectural efficiency. The RDNA 1.0 architecture's ability to deliver superior Metal performance, despite having fewer shading units (1,536 vs 2,304) and a narrower memory bus, confirms its design. This score alone places the 5500 XT in a higher performance tier, as its average score of 45,384 puts it within 1.3% of the NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation and just 0.5% behind the Intel Arc A730M.

The Geekbench OpenCL test shows a closer contest, but the result is the same. The 5500 XT wins with a score of 41,772 against the WX 7100's 40,148, a 4% advantage. This is a more modest win, suggesting that in raw, cross-vendor compute workloads, the WX 7100's higher shading unit count and slightly higher FP32 peak (5.728 TFLOPS vs 5.398 TFLOPS) help it stay competitive. However, the 5500 XT's higher boost clock and newer architecture still give it the edge.

The one benchmark where the WX 7100 takes the crown is Geekbench Vulkan. It scores 39,683, narrowly edging out the 5500 XT's 39,601. The 0.2% delta is within the margin of noise, effectively making this a tie. This result is significant because it shows that for Vulkan-based games or applications, users will not experience a meaningful performance difference between the two cards, despite the significant architectural divergence. It also means the WX 7100, with its 82nd percentile ranking, is a more competitive option in this specific API than its overall average score might suggest. The 5500 XT's win count of 2 out of 3 benchmarks confirms its status as the superior performer, but the WX 7100's single Vulkan win, however narrow, prevents a complete sweep.