AMD Radeon Pro 555 vs AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT Comparison

Head-to-Head-to-Head Benchmark Results

The two GPUs share only two common benchmark results in the database, both from the Geekbench suite. The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT dominates both entries. In geekbench_opencl, the RX 7800 XT scores 18,290 against the Pro 555's 11,682, a margin of 36.1% in favor of the newer card. The gap widens dramatically in geekbench_vulkan, where the RX 7800 XT posts 54,228 versus the Pro 555's 12,303, a 77.3% advantage. The head-to-head record is decisive: two wins for the RX 7800 XT, zero for the Radeon Pro 555.

These deltas are not marginal. The Vulkan result, in particular, shows the RX 7800 XT delivering more than four times the raw score of the Pro 555. Even the OpenCL gap, which is comparatively modest, represents a substantial performance chasm. The data indicates that in any workload that leverages either OpenCL or Vulkan, the RX 7800 XT is in a different performance class entirely. The Pro 555's scores, while respectable for its era, are simply not competitive against the modern architecture in these specific tests.

It is notably the average benchmark score for the Pro 555 is 13,407, while the RX 7800 XT averages 11,627 across its broader benchmark set. This apparent inversion is explained by the different test suites each card was subjected to. The Pro 555's average is drawn from three Geekbench tests, which tend to reward its compute capabilities. The RX 7800 XT's average includes PassMark tests with varying workloads, some of which yield lower scores (e.g., PassMark DirectX 12 at 93), dragging its mean down despite its clear dominance in the head-to-head tests. The head-to-head comparisons are the more reliable indicator of relative performance, and they are unambiguous.

Where Each One Wins

The Radeon Pro 555 does not win any benchmark in the head-to-head comparison. However, its recorded scores show it is not without merit in specific contexts. Its geekbench_metal score of 16,236 is the highest of its three benchmarks, suggesting that Metal-accelerated tasks on macOS were a relative strength for this GPU. Its geekbench_vulkan score of 12,303 and geekbench_opencl score of 11,682 are closely grouped, indicating balanced compute performance across those APIs. For a 2 GB mobile GPU from 2017, these numbers are competitive with its immediate peers: it sits 0.2% above the AMD Radeon HD 8950M, 0.4% above the RX 5500M, and 0.4% above the FirePro M6100 in average score, while trailing the NVIDIA P106-090 by 0.5%.

The RX 7800 XT wins in every scenario where the two overlap. Beyond the head-to-head wins, its benchmark profile reveals strengths in DirectX 9 (PassMark score 304), DirectX 11 (249), and DirectX 10 (121), with a particularly strong PassMark G3D score of 24,176. Its PassMark GPU compute score of 13,473 is also notable, being almost identical to the Pro 555's average benchmark score of 13,407. The RX 7800 XT's PassMark G2D score of 1,177 indicates solid 2D rendering performance as well. In practical terms, the RX 7800 XT is the clear choice for any modern workload, from gaming to compute, while the Pro 555's niche is limited to legacy Mac systems where its Metal support and 75 W power envelope are relevant.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gulf between these two GPUs is vast. The Radeon Pro 555 uses the Polaris 21 chip, built on GCN 4.0 architecture, fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. It contains 3,000 million transistors on a 123 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 24.4 million per square millimeter. The RX 7800 XT, by contrast, uses the Navi 32 chip with RDNA 3.0 architecture, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It packs 28,100 million transistors onto a 346 mm² die, achieving a density of 81.2 million per square millimeter. The Pro 555 is part of the Radeon Pro Mac (500 Series) generation, while the RX 7800 XT belongs to the Navi III (RX 7000) generation.

Core counts differ dramatically. The Pro 555 has 768 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 16 ROPs. The RX 7800 XT has 3,840 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The RX 7800 XT also features 60 ray tracing cores, a capability entirely absent from the Pro 555. Both GPUs offer FP32 and FP16 performance at a 1:1 ratio, but the scale is different: the Pro 555 delivers 1,305.6 GFLOPS FP32, while the RX 7800 XT delivers 37.32 TFLOPS, a roughly 28-fold increase.

Memory subsystems are equally divergent. The Pro 555 uses 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, providing 81.60 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 7800 XT uses 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, with 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth. Clock speeds reflect the process node advantage: the Pro 555 has no listed base or boost clock, but its memory runs at 1275 MHz (5.1 Gbps effective), while the RX 7800 XT's base clock is 1295 MHz, game clock is 2124 MHz, boost clock is 2430 MHz, and memory runs at 2438 MHz (19.5 Gbps effective).

The feature sets also differ. The Pro 555 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The RX 7800 XT supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The bus interface is PCIe 3.0 x8 for the Pro 555 versus PCIe 4.0 x16 for the RX 7800 XT. Power consumption scales accordingly: the Pro 555 has a TDP of 75 W and no power connectors, while the RX 7800 XT has a TDP of 263 W, requires two 8-pin connectors, and a 600 W suggested PSU. The Pro 555 is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with no dimensions listed, while the RX 7800 XT is a dual-slot card measuring 267 mm in length, 111 mm in height, and 50 mm in width.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro 555 has a higher average benchmark score of 13,407, compared to the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT's average of 11,627. This is due to differing test suites, not actual performance parity.

Q: What is the biggest performance gap in the head-to-head tests?

A: The largest delta is in geekbench_vulkan, where the RX 7800 XT scores 54,228 versus the Pro 555's 12,303, a 77.3% difference in favor of the RX 7800 XT.

Q: Does the Radeon Pro 555 support ray tracing?

A: No, the Radeon Pro 555 has no ray tracing cores. The RX 7800 XT features 60 ray tracing cores.

Q: What is the memory size difference between the two cards?

A: The Radeon Pro 555 has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory, while the RX 7800 XT has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory. The RX 7800 XT also has a wider 256-bit bus versus the Pro 555's 128-bit bus.

Q: Which card has a higher transistor density?

A: The RX 7800 XT has a transistor density of 81.2 million per mm², over three times higher than the Pro 555's 24.4 million per mm². This is due to the 5 nm process node versus the 14 nm node.

Q: What are the release dates for these two GPUs?

A: The Radeon Pro 555 was released on 2017-06-04, while the RX 7800 XT was released on 2023-09-05. The Pro 555 is marked as end-of-life, while the RX 7800 XT is active in production.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon Pro 555 | AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT |

|----------------|---------------------|------------------------|

| Chip | Polaris 21 | Navi 32 |

| Architecture | GCN 4.0 | RDNA 3.0 |

| Process Node | 14 nm | 5 nm |

| Foundry | GlobalFoundries | TSMC |

| Transistors | 3,000 million | 28,100 million |

| Die Size | 123 mm² | 346 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 24.4M / mm² | 81.2M / mm² |

| Base Clock | Not listed | 1295 MHz |

| Game Clock | Not listed | 2124 MHz |

| Boost Clock | Not listed | 2430 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1275 MHz, 5.1 Gbps effective | 2438 MHz, 19.5 Gbps effective |

| Memory Size | 2 GB | 16 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus | 128 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 81.60 GB/s | 624.1 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 768 | 3840 |

| TMUs | 48 | 240 |

| ROPs | 16 | 96 |

| RT Cores | None | 60 |

| Pixel Rate | 13.60 GPixel/s | 233.3 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 40.80 GTexel/s | 583.2 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 1,305.6 GFLOPS | 37.32 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 1,305.6 GFLOPS (1:1) | 37.32 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 75 W | 263 W |

| Slot Width | IGP | Dual-slot |

| Power Connectors | None | 2x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | Not listed | 600 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x8 | PCIe 4.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | Portable Device Dependent | 1x HDMI 2.1a, 3x DisplayPort 2.1 |

| DirectX Support | 12 (12_0) | 12 Ultimate (12_2) |

| Vulkan Support | 1.3 | 1.4 |

| OpenGL Support | 4.6 | 4.6 |

| Dimensions | Not listed | 267 mm x 111 mm x 50 mm |

| Production Status | End-of-life | Active |

| Release Date | 2017-06-04 | 2023-09-05 |

| Launch MSRP | Not listed | 499 USD |

The recorded data shows that the RX 7800 XT outperforms the Radeon Pro 555 in every shared benchmark, often by substantial margins. The architectural differences, from process node to memory subsystem to core count, explain this performance gap comprehensively. The Pro 555 remains a capable legacy part for its intended Mac platform, but the RX 7800 XT is the superior GPU by every measurable metric in the database.