AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT vs AMD Radeon VII Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data shows a decisive sweep for the AMD Radeon VII, winning all three recorded head-to-head comparisons against the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT. The margin of victory expands dramatically depending on the workload, revealing the fundamental performance gap between these two GPUs.

In the Geekbench Metal test, the Radeon VII scores 77,975 against the Pro 5500 XT's 54,779. That is a 42.3% advantage, a substantial lead that shows the Radeon VII's raw compute power dominates even in Apple's optimized Metal API. For context, the Radeon VII's average benchmark score across all tests sits at 66,004, placing it in the 90th percentile of all GPUs in the database, while the Pro 5500 XT averages 45,384 and lands in the 84th percentile.

The gap widens considerably in the OpenCL test. Here, the Radeon VII posts 91,947, more than double the Pro 5500 XT's 41,772. That represents a 120.1% delta, meaning the Radeon VII delivers over twice the compute throughput in this cross-platform API. This is the kind of result that matters for compute-heavy tasks like rendering and scientific simulation, where OpenCL remains a common language.

The most lopsided result comes from the Vulkan test. The Radeon VII scores 91,788, while the Pro 5500 XT manages just 39,601. The 131.8% delta is the largest of any benchmark in this comparison. Vulkan is increasingly the API of choice for modern games and GPU compute, and this result suggests the Radeon VII holds a commanding lead in those scenarios.

It is importantly the Pro 5500 XT has no recorded result in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, while the Radeon VII scores 2,304 there. The absence of a comparable score limits direct comparison in that specific DirectX 12 workload, but the existing data already paints a clear picture.

The Radeon VII's nearest rivals in the database provide additional context for its standing. Its average score of 66,004 sits 1.1% below the NVIDIA Tesla T4 (66,733), 1.4% above the Tesla P40 (65,095), 2.8% above the AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100 (64,212), and 3.4% above the NVIDIA CMP 30HX (63,842). These are tight margins, showing the Radeon VII competes in a dense performance cluster.

The Pro 5500 XT's nearest rivals tell a different story. Its 45,384 average is 0.5% below the Intel Arc A730M (45,592), 0.5% above the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile (45,152), 1.3% below the NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation (45,972), and 1.3% above the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti (44,795). The Pro 5500 XT sits in a much lower performance tier, surrounded by mobile and workstation parts that offer similar throughput.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins more benchmark comparisons?

A: The AMD Radeon VII wins all three head-to-head benchmarks against the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT. The recorded data shows 3 wins for the Radeon VII and 0 wins for the Pro 5500 XT.

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

A: The largest gap appears in the Geekbench Vulkan test, where the Radeon VII scores 91,788 versus the Pro 5500 XT's 39,601, a delta of 131.8%. The OpenCL test shows a 120.1% delta, and the Metal test shows a 42.3% delta.

Q: How do these cards rank among all GPUs in the database?

A: The Radeon VII sits in the 90th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 66,004. The Radeon Pro 5500 XT sits in the 84th percentile, with an average score of 45,384.

Q: What are the closest competitors to each card in the database?

A: The Radeon VII's nearest rival is the NVIDIA Tesla T4, which trails by 1.1%. The Pro 5500 XT's closest rival is the Intel Arc A730M, which leads by 0.5%, followed by the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile at 0.5% behind.

Q: Is there any benchmark where the Pro 5500 XT comes close to the Radeon VII?

A: The closest result is in Geekbench Metal, where the Radeon VII leads by 42.3%. In OpenCL and Vulkan, the Radeon VII's leads are 120.1% and 131.8% respectively. No recorded benchmark shows the Pro 5500 XT within a competitive distance.

Q: Does the Pro 5500 XT have a DirectX 12 benchmark result?

A: No. The database only records Geekbench Metal, OpenCL, and Vulkan results for the Pro 5500 XT. The Radeon VII has an additional 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2,304, which has no counterpart for comparison.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from completely different architectural generations, and the data reflects that divide clearly. The Radeon VII uses the Vega 20 chip built on GCN 5.1 architecture, part of the Vega II generation. The Radeon Pro 5500 XT uses the Navi 14 chip built on RDNA 1.0 architecture, part of the Radeon Pro Mac Navi Series generation.

Both chips are manufactured by TSMC on a 7 nm process, but the similarities end there. The Radeon VII packs 13,230 million transistors onto a 331 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 40.0 million per square millimeter. The Pro 5500 XT uses 6,400 million transistors on a 158 mm² die, with a density of 40.5 million per square millimeter. The Radeon VII's die is more than twice the size and contains more than twice the transistor count.

The compute resources differ massively. The Radeon VII has 3,840 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output units. The Pro 5500 XT has 1,536 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. This means the Radeon VII has 2.5 times the shader count, 2.5 times the TMU count, and double the ROP count. Neither card has dedicated ray tracing cores or tensor cores.

Memory architecture reflects the generational shift. The Radeon VII uses 16 GB of HBM2 on a 4096-bit bus, delivering 1.02 TB/s of bandwidth. The Pro 5500 XT uses 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 224.0 GB/s. That is a 4.5 times bandwidth advantage for the Radeon VII, a difference that heavily influences compute workloads.

The API support shows one notable divergence. Both cards support DirectX 12 (12_1) and OpenGL 4.6, but the Pro 5500 XT supports Vulkan 1.4 while the Radeon VII supports Vulkan 1.3. The newer RDNA part has the newer Vulkan specification, even though the older card delivers far higher raw performance in that API.

Pixel and texture rates follow the expected pattern. The Radeon VII produces 112.0 GPixel/s and 420.0 GTexel/s, against the Pro 5500 XT's 56.22 GPixel/s and 168.7 GTexel/s. Floating point performance shows the Radeon VII at 13.44 TFLOPS FP32 and 26.88 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1), while the Pro 5500 XT manages 5.398 TFLOPS FP32 and 10.80 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1).

Specification Differences

The most striking difference is power consumption. The Radeon VII has a 295 W TDP and requires two 8-pin power connectors, with a suggested 600 W power supply. The Pro 5500 XT has a 125 W TDP, requires no power connectors, and suggests a 300 W power supply. The Radeon VII draws more than double the power, which explains its performance lead but also its physical requirements.

Physical design reflects their intended environments. The Radeon VII is a dual-slot card measuring 280 mm in length, 125 mm in height, and 40 mm in width. It provides display outputs of 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The Pro 5500 XT is listed as an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with no recorded dimensions and no display outputs. This is a card designed for embedded or Mac-specific use, not as a standalone retail GPU.

Clock speeds differ in interesting ways. The Radeon VII has a base clock of 1400 MHz and a boost clock of 1750 MHz. The Pro 5500 XT has a lower base clock of 1187 MHz but a slightly higher boost clock of 1757 MHz. Memory clocks also differ: the Radeon VII runs at 1000 MHz (2 Gbps effective), while the Pro 5500 XT runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). The Radeon VII's HBM2 compensates with its massive bus width.

The bus interface shows a generational change. The Radeon VII uses PCIe 3.0 x16, while the Pro 5500 XT uses PCIe 4.0 x8. The newer standard offers higher bandwidth per lane, but the Radeon VII's additional lanes and memory bandwidth make this difference largely academic for most workloads.

Release dates are 18 months apart. The Radeon VII launched on February 6, 2019, and the Pro 5500 XT on August 3, 2020. Both are now marked as end-of-life in the database. The Radeon VII has a recorded launch MSRP of 699 USD, while the Pro 5500 XT has no recorded launch price.

The Radeon VII has a predecessor listed as Vega and a successor listed as Navi. The Pro 5500 XT has neither a predecessor nor a successor recorded in the database.

The Verdict

The data supports only one conclusion for raw performance: the AMD Radeon VII is dramatically faster than the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT in every recorded benchmark. The smallest lead is 42.3% in Metal, and the largest is 131.8% in Vulkan. If the goal is maximum compute throughput, the Radeon VII is the clear choice.

The Radeon VII's 90th percentile ranking versus the Pro 5500 XT's 84th percentile shows these are not close in the broader GPU landscape. The Radeon VII competes with workstation cards like the NVIDIA Tesla T4 and Tesla P40, while the Pro 5500 XT competes with mobile parts like the Intel Arc A730M and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile.

However, context matters. The Pro 5500 XT draws 125 W with no power connectors and has no display outputs, fitting into systems where the Radeon VII's 295 W TDP, dual-slot footprint, and two 8-pin connectors would be impossible. The Radeon VII is a full-size add-in card; the Pro 5500 XT is an IGP solution. Users constrained by power, space, or integration requirements may have no option but the Pro 5500 XT despite its lower scores.

The Radeon VII also offers 16 GB of HBM2 memory with 1.02 TB/s bandwidth, versus 8 GB of GDDR6 with 224.0 GB/s. For large datasets or high-resolution textures, that memory capacity and bandwidth advantage is decisive. The Pro 5500 XT's 8 GB may suffice for lighter workloads but will bottleneck in memory-intensive tasks.

For compute professionals who need maximum FP32 throughput, the Radeon VII's 13.44 TFLOPS against 5.398 TFLOPS is a 2.5 times advantage. The Vulkan result of 91,788 versus 39,601 reinforces that this is not a close contest in modern APIs.

The Pro 5500 XT's only technical advantages are its lower power draw, newer Vulkan 1.4 support, PCIe 4.0 interface, and higher boost clock by 7 MHz. None of these close the performance gap in recorded benchmarks.

The verdict from the data is straightforward. Choose the Radeon VII for performance, memory bandwidth, and compute capability. Choose the Pro 5500 XT only when system constraints such as power budget, physical space, or the lack of display outputs and power connectors make the Radeon VII impractical. The performance difference is too large to justify the Pro 5500 XT on any other basis.