AMD Radeon Pro 555X vs AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is the definitive winner in this comparison, outperforming the AMD Radeon Pro 555X by a wide margin in every benchmark where both were tested. The data shows a generational leap in compute and graphics capability, with the RX 9070 XT delivering a 38% advantage in OpenCL and a staggering 412.5% lead in Vulkan performance. While the Radeon Pro 555X holds its own in its niche, the RX 9070 XT's architectural and specification advantages make it the clear choice for any workload requiring modern GPU power.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two GPUs share only two common benchmarks in the data set, and the RX 9070 XT wins both outright. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 9070 XT scores 17,428 versus the Radeon Pro 555X's 12,628, a delta of 38%. This is a solid, decisive margin that reflects the substantial difference in raw compute throughput between the two architectures.

The Vulkan result is even more lopsided. The RX 9070 XT posts a score of 65,879, while the Radeon Pro 555X manages only 12,855. That is a delta of 412.5%, meaning the RX 9070 XT is more than five times faster in this API. This massive gap highlights the RX 9070 XT's modern RDNA 4.0 architecture and its ability to leverage Vulkan's low-level features far more effectively than the older GCN 4.0-based Pro 555X.

The wins are not close, and the data shows no benchmark where the Radeon Pro 555X comes out ahead. The RX 9070 XT's average benchmark score of 13,543 across all its tested workloads further cements its position, although this figure is pulled down by low DirectX 10, 11, and 12 scores that are likely specific to those legacy tests. In contrast, the Pro 555X's average of 13,321 is based on its three tested workloads, but the head-to-head results show a clear hierarchy.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in Vulkan performance?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is dramatically faster, scoring 65,879 in Geekbench Vulkan compared to the Radeon Pro 555X's 12,855, representing a 412.5% advantage.

Q: How do the two cards compare in OpenCL compute?

A: The RX 9070 XT leads with a Geekbench OpenCL score of 17,428, which is 38% higher than the Radeon Pro 555X's 12,628.

Q: What is the percentile ranking of each GPU against all GPUs?

A: The RX 9070 XT sits at the 55th percentile, while the Radeon Pro 555X is just slightly lower at the 54th percentile, indicating they are both near the mid-range of the overall GPU distribution despite the large performance gap between them.

Q: Does the Radeon Pro 555X have any benchmark wins over the RX 9070 XT?

A: No. In the head-to-head data, the RX 9070 XT wins 2 benchmarks and the Radeon Pro 555X wins 0.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the RX 9070 XT?

A: The launch MSRP is 599 USD. The Radeon Pro 555X has no listed launch MSRP in the data.

Q: Which GPU has a higher transistor density?

A: The RX 9070 XT has a transistor density of 151.0M / mm², compared to 24.4M / mm² for the Radeon Pro 555X, reflecting its much newer manufacturing process.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is fundamental and explains the performance disparity. The RX 9070 XT is built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture using a 4 nm process at TSMC, while the Radeon Pro 555X uses the older GCN 4.0 architecture on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. This process node difference is stark: 4 nm versus 14 nm, allowing the RX 9070 XT to pack 53,900 million transistors into a 357 mm² die, whereas the Pro 555X manages only 3,000 million transistors on a 123 mm² die.

The RX 9070 XT features 64 dedicated ray tracing cores, a capability entirely absent from the Radeon Pro 555X, which has no RT cores listed. The RX 9070 XT also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the Pro 555X is limited to DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3. Both support OpenGL 4.6, but the RX 9070 XT's newer API support gives it access to more advanced rendering features and efficiency optimizations.

The memory subsystem is also a major architectural divergence. The RX 9070 XT uses 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth. The Radeon Pro 555X has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, yielding only 94.08 GB/s. This is a 6.85x difference in bandwidth, which is critical for high-resolution textures and compute workloads. The RX 9070 XT's memory clock is 2518 MHz (20.1 Gbps effective), while the Pro 555X's is 1470 MHz (5.9 Gbps effective).

Specification Differences

The specification table reveals a complete generational overhaul. The RX 9070 XT has 4,096 shading units, 256 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 128 raster operation units (ROPs). The Radeon Pro 555X has 768 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. This means the RX 9070 XT has 5.3x more shading units and 8x more ROPs, directly translating to higher pixel and texture throughput.

Pixel and texture rates differ accordingly: the RX 9070 XT achieves 380.2 GPixel/s and 760.3 GTexel/s, while the Pro 555X manages 14.51 GPixel/s and 43.54 GTexel/s. Floating point performance is similarly lopsided, with the RX 9070 XT delivering 48.66 TFLOPS FP32 and FP16 (1:1), versus 1,393.2 GFLOPS for the Pro 555X in both precisions.

Power and physical characteristics also differ sharply. The RX 9070 XT has a TDP of 304 W, requires a 700 W suggested PSU, uses dual-slot cooling and 2x 8-pin power connectors, and interfaces via PCIe 5.0 x16. The Radeon Pro 555X has a 75 W TDP, is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with no power connectors or suggested PSU, and uses PCIe 3.0 x8. The RX 9070 XT offers 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1a outputs, while the Pro 555X's display outputs are listed as "Portable Device Dependent." The RX 9070 XT is still in active production, released on 2025-03-05, while the Pro 555X is end-of-life, released on 2018-07-15.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is the superior product for virtually all use cases. Its 38% lead in OpenCL and 412.5% lead in Vulkan over the Radeon Pro 555X are decisive, and its architectural advantages in shading units, memory bandwidth, and API support leave no room for doubt. The RX 9070 XT is a modern, high-performance GPU designed for demanding gaming and compute tasks, while the Radeon Pro 555X is a legacy, low-power mobile part from 2018.

Users should pick the RX 9070 XT if they need maximum performance in modern APIs, ray tracing, or high-bandwidth memory workloads. The Radeon Pro 555X is only relevant for systems that require its specific IGP form factor and 75 W power envelope, such as older Mac laptops, but even then, its performance is a fraction of the RX 9070 XT's. The percentile rankings (55th vs 54th) are misleadingly close, but the head-to-head results show the true scale of the gap.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 9070 XT wins in every measurable category from the data. It dominates in Vulkan, where its 65,879 score is over five times the Pro 555X's 12,855, making it the clear choice for games and applications that leverage this API. It also wins in OpenCL with a 38% margin, indicating better general-purpose compute performance for tasks like video encoding, physics simulation, and machine learning inference. Its 16 GB of memory and 644.6 GB/s bandwidth make it suitable for high-resolution textures and large datasets.

The Radeon Pro 555X, on the other hand, has no benchmark wins in the head-to-head data. Its only theoretical advantages lie in its physical characteristics: it is an IGP with a 75 W TDP and no power connectors, making it suitable for compact, low-power systems where the RX 9070 XT's 304 W TDP and dual-slot cooler would be impractical. It also has a Geekbench Metal score of 14,479, but since the RX 9070 XT was not tested in Metal, this cannot be compared directly. For any task that requires performance, the RX 9070 XT is the unequivocal winner; the Pro 555X is only a fallback for legacy portability constraints.