AMD Radeon Pro 5500M vs AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data presents a clear hierarchy, with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT dominating in nearly every recorded test. Out of nine head-to-head comparisons, the RX 7900 XT wins eight, while the Radeon Pro 5500M takes a single victory. The most lopsided result comes in PassMark DirectX 11, where the RX 7900 XT scores 340 against 42 for the Pro 5500M, a delta of 709.5%. That is not a close contest; it is a generational gap made visible in a single metric.

The RX 7900 XT also shows massive leads in compute-oriented workloads. In PassMark GPU Compute, it scores 16828 versus 3240, a 419.4% advantage. For DirectX 10, the gap is 338.9% (158 vs 36), and for DirectX 9 it is 235.4% (322 vs 96). The DirectX 12 test shows a 279.3% lead (110 vs 29), and the overall PassMark G3D score puts the RX 7900 XT at 29009 versus 6732, a 330.9% difference. Even in 2D performance, the RX 7900 XT leads by 90.1% (1232 vs 648), though that is the smallest percentage gap outside the Pro 5500M's one win.

The Pro 5500M's sole victory comes in Geekbench OpenCL, where it scores 31088 against the RX 7900 XT's 12756, a delta of -59% from the RX 7900 XT's perspective. That is a notable outlier. The Pro 5500M is built for a different workload profile, and OpenCL appears to favor its architecture or driver stack in this specific test. However, the RX 7900 XT responds with a 102.3% win in Geekbench Vulkan (71068 vs 35134), showing that its advantage reasserts itself under a modern graphics API.

When looking at average benchmark scores across all tests, the RX 7900 XT sits at 13745, while the Pro 5500M averages 11528. The RX 7900 XT's nearest rivals in the database include the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT at 13543 (a 1.5% delta) and the AMD Radeon 660M at 13812 (a -0.5% delta). The Pro 5500M's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla K20c at 11479 (0.4% delta) and the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT at 11627 (-0.8% delta). This places the two cards in different performance neighborhoods, with the RX 7900 XT competing near the top of the database and the Pro 5500M sitting closer to mid-range mobile parts.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two GPUs is substantial. The RX 7900 XT uses the Navi 31 chip built on RDNA 3.0, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. The Pro 5500M uses Navi 14 on RDNA 1.0, also TSMC but on a 7 nm process. That process difference alone explains a significant portion of the performance gap: the RX 7900 XT packs 57,700 million transistors on a 529 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 109.1M per mm². The Pro 5500M has 6,400 million transistors on a 158 mm² die, with a density of 40.5M per mm². The RX 7900 XT has roughly nine times the transistor count and more than three times the die area.

The compute resources follow the same pattern. The RX 7900 XT has 5,376 shading units, 336 texture mapping units, and 192 ROPs. The Pro 5500M has 1,536 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The RX 7900 XT also includes 84 ray tracing cores, while the Pro 5500M has none recorded in the database. Clock speeds differ as well: the RX 7900 XT runs at a base of 1387 MHz and boosts to 2394 MHz, with a game clock of 2025 MHz. The Pro 5500M operates at 1000 MHz base and 1450 MHz boost, with no game clock listed.

Memory configs are not comparable. The RX 7900 XT offers 20 GB of GDDR6 on a 320-bit bus, delivering 800.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Pro 5500M has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, at 192.0 GB/s. The fill rates tell the story: the RX 7900 XT achieves 459.6 GPixel/s pixel rate and 804.4 GTexel/s texture rate, while the Pro 5500M manages 46.40 GPixel/s and 139.2 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 51.48 TFLOPS for the RX 7900 XT versus 4.454 TFLOPS for the Pro 5500M, and FP16 is 103.0 TFLOPS versus 8.909 TFLOPS, both with a 2:1 ratio.

The product positioning differs as well. The RX 7900 XT is a desktop part from the Radeon RX 7000 series, with a dual-slot cooler, 2x 8-pin power connectors, and a 300 W TDP. It uses a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface. The Pro 5500M is a mobile workstation GPU, with no slot width, no power connectors (it draws from the laptop), and no suggested PSU. Its bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x8. The RX 7900 XT supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the Pro 5500M tops out at DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the recorded data, the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT is the faster GPU in nearly every scenario. It wins eight of nine head-to-head tests, with leads ranging from 90.1% in 2D to 709.5% in DirectX 11. Its average benchmark score of 13745 sits 19.2% above the Pro 5500M's 11528, and its percentile rank of 55 versus 51 places it higher in the overall database distribution.

The Pro 5500M is not without merit, but its strengths are narrow. Its single win in Geekbench OpenCL (31088 vs 12756) suggests that in specific compute workloads, particularly those that favor OpenCL, it can outperform the larger card. That is a real result, not a rounding error. However, that 59% deficit for the RX 7900 XT in OpenCL is the only data point in the Pro 5500M's favor. Every other recorded metric, from DirectX 9 to Vulkan to compute, goes decisively to the RX 7900 XT.

For a builder choosing between these two, the decision comes down to workload. The RX 7900 XT is the clear pick for gaming, modern API workloads, and any task that benefits from massive compute throughput. The Pro 5500M is a mobile workstation part, designed for portability and modest power draw, and its OpenCL performance may be relevant for specific professional applications. But if the data is the only guide, the RX 7900 XT is the superior card in almost all measurable ways.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every specification category. Process node: 5 nm for the RX 7900 XT versus 7 nm for the Pro 5500M. Transistors: 57,700 million versus 6,400 million. Die size: 529 mm² versus 158 mm². Transistor density: 109.1M per mm² versus 40.5M per mm². Base clock: 1387 MHz versus 1000 MHz. Boost clock: 2394 MHz versus 1450 MHz. Memory clock: 2500 MHz (20 Gbps effective) versus 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective). Memory size: 20 GB versus 8 GB. Bus width: 320-bit versus 128-bit. Bandwidth: 800.0 GB/s versus 192.0 GB/s.

Compute units: shading units 5376 versus 1536, TMUs 336 versus 96, ROPs 192 versus 32. Ray tracing cores: 84 for the RX 7900 XT, none for the Pro 5500M. Pixel rate: 459.6 GPixel/s versus 46.40 GPixel/s. Texture rate: 804.4 GTexel/s versus 139.2 GTexel/s. FP32: 51.48 TFLOPS versus 4.454 TFLOPS. FP16: 103.0 TFLOPS versus 8.909 TFLOPS. TDP: 300 W versus 85 W. Bus interface: PCIe 4.0 x16 versus PCIe 4.0 x8. DirectX support: 12 Ultimate (12_2) versus 12 (12_1). Display outputs: the RX 7900 XT has 1x HDMI 2.1a, 2x DisplayPort 2.1, and 1x USB Type-C, while the Pro 5500M is listed as "Portable Device Dependent." The RX 7900 XT also has physical dimensions (276 mm length, 110 mm height, 51 mm width), while the Pro 5500M has none recorded.

FAQ

Q: Which card wins in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro 5500M wins, scoring 31088 against the RX 7900 XT's 12756, a 59% deficit for the RX 7900 XT.

Q: How large is the RX 7900 XT's lead in DirectX 11?

A: The RX 7900 XT scores 340 versus 42 for the Pro 5500M, a delta of 709.5%. This is the largest percentage gap in the head-to-head data.

Q: Does the RX 7900 XT support ray tracing?

A: Yes, it has 84 ray tracing cores. The Pro 5500M has no ray tracing cores recorded in the database.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The RX 7900 XT has 800.0 GB/s of bandwidth with 20 GB of GDDR6 on a 320-bit bus. The Pro 5500M has 192.0 GB/s with 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus.

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The RX 7900 XT averages 13745, while the Pro 5500M averages 11528. The RX 7900 XT's nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT at 13543, while the Pro 5500M's nearest rival is the NVIDIA Tesla K20c at 11479.

Q: How do their TDPs compare?

A: The RX 7900 XT has a TDP of 300 W and requires a 700 W suggested PSU, while the Pro 5500M has a TDP of 85 W and no suggested PSU listed.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 7900 XT wins in every DirectX test recorded: DirectX 9 (322 vs 96), DirectX 10 (158 vs 36), DirectX 11 (340 vs 42), and DirectX 12 (110 vs 29). It also wins in Vulkan (71068 vs 35134), PassMark G2D (1232 vs 648), PassMark G3D (29009 vs 6732), and PassMark GPU Compute (16828 vs 3240). If the workload involves a modern Windows API, a game engine, or general compute, the RX 7900 XT is the choice.

The Pro 5500M wins only in Geekbench OpenCL. That is a specific API with specific driver and hardware optimization paths. For users running OpenCL-based applications, particularly on a mobile platform where the 85 W TDP and lack of power connectors matter, the Pro 5500M has a measurable edge. It also comes with no physical dimensions, no slot width, and no PSU requirement, which reflects its intended integration into laptops.

In practical terms, the RX 7900 XT is a desktop GPU for high-performance gaming and content creation. It has the memory capacity, bandwidth, and compute resources to handle large workloads. The Pro 5500M is a mobile professional GPU, and its OpenCL win suggests that certain workstation tasks may not need the raw power of the RX 7900 XT. But the data does not support choosing the Pro 5500M for anything outside that OpenCL niche. The RX 7900 XT is the dominant performer across the recorded benchmark suite, with an average score 19.2% higher and percentile ranks that put it above 55% of all GPUs in the database versus 51% for the Pro 5500M.