AMD Radeon Pro 5500M vs AMD Radeon Pro 555 Comparison

# Where Each One Wins

The benchmark record is unambiguous in its overall verdict, but the two mobile Radeon Pro parts occupy clearly different performance tiers. The AMD Radeon Pro 555 does not win a single head-to-head benchmark against the AMD Radeon Pro 5500M. The database records three direct comparisons, and the Radeon Pro 5500M takes all three. That is a 3 to 0 sweep in favor of the newer part.

The Radeon Pro 555, built on the Polaris 21 chip with GCN 4.0 architecture, is positioned as an entry-level discrete GPU for portable Mac systems. Its recorded average benchmark score sits at 13,407, which places it at the 54th percentile of all GPUs in the database. The Radeon Pro 5500M, powered by the Navi 14 chip with RDNA 1.0 architecture, delivers an average benchmark score of 11,528, placing it at the 51st percentile. The apparent contradiction, where the older part holds a higher percentile despite losing every direct comparison, stems from the fact that the Pro 5500M's average includes a wider set of tests, including several Passmark DirectX results that are not recorded for the Pro 555.

In terms of where each part wins, the Pro 555 is the more conservative option. It delivers a 1,305.6 GFLOPS FP32 throughput, 13.60 GPixel/s pixel rate, and 40.80 GTexel/s texture rate. These figures support modest 1080p-class workloads and light compute tasks. The Pro 5500M, meanwhile, is the clear winner for any task that stresses raw graphics throughput. Its FP32 rate is 4.454 TFLOPS, its pixel rate is 46.40 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 139.2 GTexel/s. The Pro 5500M also doubles the shading units, texture mapping units, and render output units relative to the Pro 555, which translates directly into higher fill rates and parallel compute capability.

# Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations and different fabrication processes. The Radeon Pro 555 uses the Polaris 21 chip built on GCN 4.0, manufactured by GlobalFoundries on a 14 nm node. The die measures 123 mm² and contains 3,000 million transistors, yielding a transistor density of 24.4 million per square millimeter. The Radeon Pro 5500M uses the Navi 14 chip built on RDNA 1.0, manufactured by TSMC on a 7 nm node. Its die is larger at 158 mm², but it packs 6,400 million transistors, more than double the Pro 555, resulting in a density of 40.5 million per square millimeter. The newer process node and denser transistor layout are central to the performance gap.

Memory architecture differs substantially. The Pro 555 pairs 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, with a memory clock of 1275 MHz, translating to 5.1 Gbps effective and a bandwidth of 81.60 GB/s. The Pro 5500M offers 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on the same 128-bit bus width, but runs at 1500 MHz, or 12 Gbps effective, delivering 192.0 GB/s of bandwidth. That is more than double the memory bandwidth, which matters for texture-heavy workloads and larger datasets.

Compute resources scale accordingly. The Pro 555 has 768 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 16 render output units. The Pro 5500M has 1536 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 32 render output units. Both are exactly double. The FP16 throughput also differs: the Pro 555 offers 1,305.6 GFLOPS FP16 with a 1:1 ratio to FP32, while the Pro 5500M offers 8.909 TFLOPS FP16 with a 2:1 ratio, indicating a more efficient half-precision path.

Additional differences include the bus interface. The Pro 555 uses PCIe 3.0 x8, while the Pro 5500M uses PCIe 4.0 x8. The newer part also supports DirectX 12 (12_1) versus 12 (12_0) on the older part, and Vulkan 1.4 versus 1.3. Both support OpenGL 4.6. The Pro 5500M has a specified base clock of 1000 MHz and boost clock of 1450 MHz, while the Pro 555 lacks recorded base and boost clock figures. Thermal design power differs as well: the Pro 555 is rated at 75 W, the Pro 5500M at 85 W. Both are integrated into portable devices with no power connectors and portable-device-dependent display outputs.

# Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The three recorded comparisons show a consistent and large margin for the Radeon Pro 5500M. In Geekbench Metal, the Pro 555 scores 16,236 while the Pro 5500M scores 38,235. That is a 57.5% deficit for the Pro 555, meaning the Pro 5500M delivers roughly 2.4 times the Metal score. This is the narrowest gap of the three tests, but still a dominant win.

Geekbench OpenCL shows an even larger discrepancy. The Pro 555 records 11,682, while the Pro 5500M records 31,088. The delta is 62.4% in favor of the Pro 5500M. That score nearly triples the older part's result. OpenCL workloads tend to scale heavily with shading unit count and memory bandwidth, both of which favor the Navi 14 chip.

Geekbench Vulkan produces the widest margin. The Pro 555 posts 12,303, while the Pro 5500M posts 35,134. The delta is 65%, meaning the Pro 555 trails by nearly two-thirds. The Vulkan result reflects not only the raw compute advantage but also the newer architecture's improved draw call handling and driver efficiency. The Pro 5500M's score here is higher than its OpenCL result, while the Pro 555's Vulkan score sits between its Metal and OpenCL numbers.

The Pro 5500M also has recorded Passmark results, which the Pro 555 lacks entirely. These include DirectX 9 at 96, DirectX 10 at 36, DirectX 11 at 42, DirectX 12 at 29, G2D at 648, G3D at 6,732, and GPU compute at 3,240. These scores are not comparable to the Pro 555 because no corresponding data exists, but they indicate the Pro 5500M's legacy API performance profile.

# FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro 555 has a higher average benchmark score of 13,407, compared to 11,528 for the AMD Radeon Pro 5500M. However, this is influenced by the Pro 5500M having additional recorded tests, including Passmark DirectX results, which pull its average down.

Q: How much faster is the Radeon Pro 5500M in Geekbench Metal?

A: The Radeon Pro 5500M scores 38,235 in Geekbench Metal, while the Radeon Pro 555 scores 16,236. The Pro 5500M leads by 57.5%, meaning the Pro 555 trails by that percentage.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference between the two GPUs?

A: The Radeon Pro 555 has 81.60 GB/s of bandwidth using 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus. The Radeon Pro 5500M has 192.0 GB/s of bandwidth using 8 GB of GDDR6 on the same 128-bit bus width.

Q: Do both GPUs support the same DirectX feature level?

A: No. The Radeon Pro 555 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), while the Radeon Pro 5500M supports DirectX 12 (12_1). The Pro 5500M also supports Vulkan 1.4, versus Vulkan 1.3 on the Pro 555.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The Radeon Pro 5500M has 1,536 shading units, exactly double the 768 shading units on the Radeon Pro 555. The Pro 5500M also doubles the texture mapping units and render output units.

Q: What is the transistor count for each chip?

A: The Polaris 21 chip in the Radeon Pro 555 contains 3,000 million transistors on a 123 mm² die. The Navi 14 chip in the Radeon Pro 5500M contains 6,400 million transistors on a 158 mm² die.

# The Verdict

The data points to a straightforward conclusion. The AMD Radeon Pro 5500M is the superior performer in every direct benchmark comparison. The three Geekbench tests, Metal, OpenCL, and Vulkan, all show the Pro 5500M leading by margins between 57.5% and 65%. The architectural advantages, including double the shading units, double the texture units, double the ROPs, more than double the memory bandwidth, and a newer 7 nm process, all contribute to this outcome.

The Radeon Pro 555, however, is not without its place. Its lower thermal design power of 75 W, compared to 85 W for the Pro 5500M, makes it a lighter option for systems where power draw is a constraint. Its 14 nm process and GCN 4.0 architecture are older, but the recorded data shows it holds a 54th percentile ranking versus the Pro 5500M's 51st percentile. That percentile difference is a statistical artifact of the test set, not a performance endorsement.

Users who need maximum compute throughput, larger memory capacity, or modern API features should choose the Radeon Pro 5500M. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 4.454 TFLOPS FP32 performance make it suitable for heavier graphics workloads. Users who prioritize lower power consumption and are working within the constraints of an older platform may find the Radeon Pro 555 adequate for basic tasks. The benchmark record, though, is clear: the Pro 5500M wins decisively across the board.

# Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in the following recorded specifications. The Radeon Pro 555 uses the Polaris 21 chip on GCN 4.0 architecture, fabricated by GlobalFoundries on a 14 nm process. The Radeon Pro 5500M uses the Navi 14 chip on RDNA 1.0 architecture, fabricated by TSMC on a 7 nm process. The Pro 555 has 3,000 million transistors on a 123 mm² die, while the Pro 5500M has 6,400 million transistors on a 158 mm² die. Transistor density is 24.4M per mm² for the Pro 555 and 40.5M per mm² for the Pro 5500M.

The Pro 555 has no recorded base or boost clock; its memory clock is 1275 MHz, or 5.1 Gbps effective. The Pro 5500M has a base clock of 1000 MHz, a boost clock of 1450 MHz, and a memory clock of 1500 MHz, or 12 Gbps effective. Memory configuration differs: 2 GB GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus for the Pro 555, versus 8 GB GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus for the Pro 5500M. Bandwidth is 81.60 GB/s versus 192.0 GB/s.

The Pro 555 has 768 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. The Pro 5500M has 1,536 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. Pixel rate is 13.60 GPixel/s versus 46.40 GPixel/s. Texture rate is 40.80 GTexel/s versus 139.2 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 1,305.6 GFLOPS versus 4.454 TFLOPS. FP16 performance is 1,305.6 GFLOPS (1:1) versus 8.909 TFLOPS (2:1). Thermal design power is 75 W versus 85 W. The bus interface is PCIe 3.0 x8 versus PCIe 4.0 x8. DirectX support is 12 (12_0) versus 12 (12_1), and Vulkan support is 1.3 versus 1.4. Both support OpenGL 4.6. The Pro 555 has a slot width of IGP, while the Pro 5500M has no recorded slot width.