AMD Radeon Pro 5600M vs AMD Radeon RX 560X Comparison

The Verdict

The recorded data presents a decisive outcome: the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M wins both head-to-head benchmark comparisons, taking 2 out of 2 tests against the AMD Radeon RX 560X. The Pro 5600M is the superior choice for anyone prioritizing compute performance, particularly in OpenCL and Vulkan workloads. The RX 560X, while older and less capable in these direct comparisons, remains a functional option for systems requiring a discrete dual-slot card with no external power connectors. However, the benchmark gap is substantial, with the Pro 5600M leading by 64.4% in Geekbench OpenCL and 56.4% in Geekbench Vulkan. Users should select the Pro 5600M for maximum throughput, but the RX 560X may suit legacy builds or scenarios where its specific physical form factor and power requirements are mandatory.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations and manufacturing processes. The RX 560X uses the Polaris 21 chip based on GCN 4.0 architecture, built on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. It integrates 3,000 million transistors on a 123 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 24.4M per mm². In contrast, the Pro 5600M employs the Navi 12 chip with RDNA 1.0 architecture, fabricated on a 7 nm process at TSMC. The database does not record transistor count or die size for the Navi 12, but the process node shift from 14 nm to 7 nm represents a significant generational advancement.

Core configurations differ substantially. The RX 560X features 1,024 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, and 16 raster output units. The Pro 5600M scales this up to 2,560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. This represents a 2.5x increase in shading units, a 2.5x increase in TMUs, and a 4x increase in ROPs. Neither GPU includes ray tracing cores or tensor cores, as both predate or omit those specialized hardware blocks.

Memory architecture is another major divergence. The RX 560X uses 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 112.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Pro 5600M uses 8 GB of HBM2 on a 2048-bit bus, delivering 394.2 GB/s. The memory bus width difference is 16x, and bandwidth is 3.5x higher on the Pro 5600M. Clock speeds tell a different story: the RX 560X runs at a base of 1175 MHz and boost of 1275 MHz, while the Pro 5600M runs at 822 MHz base and 1144 MHz boost. The RX 560X has higher raw clocks, but the Pro 5600M compensates with far more compute units and wider memory.

Power targets are inverted relative to performance. The RX 560X has a TDP of 75 W, while the Pro 5600M is rated at 50 W despite delivering higher performance. The RX 560X requires a suggested power supply of 250 W, while the database does not list a suggested PSU for the Pro 5600M. The RX 560X is dual-slot with no power connectors, whereas the Pro 5600M is an integrated graphics processor (IGP), meaning it is designed for direct integration into a system rather than as a discrete add-in card.

Bus interfaces differ: the RX 560X uses PCIe 3.0 x8, while the Pro 5600M uses PCIe 4.0 x16. Display outputs also vary: the RX 560X provides 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, and 1x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the Pro 5600M is listed as "Portable Device Dependent," indicating its outputs depend on the host device.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher benchmark scores in the recorded tests?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro 5600M wins both head-to-head tests. It scores 47,783 in Geekbench OpenCL versus 17,020 for the RX 560X, and 46,425 in Geekbench Vulkan versus 20,231.

Q: How do the architectures differ between the two GPUs?

A: The RX 560X uses GCN 4.0 on a 14 nm GlobalFoundries process with the Polaris 21 chip. The Pro 5600M uses RDNA 1.0 on a 7 nm TSMC process with the Navi 12 chip.

Q: What are the memory specifications for each card?

A: The RX 560X has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus with 112.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Pro 5600M has 8 GB of HBM2 on a 2048-bit bus with 394.2 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The Pro 5600M has 2,560 shading units, which is 2.5 times the 1,024 shading units found in the RX 560X.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The RX 560X has a TDP of 75 W and requires a 250 W suggested power supply. The Pro 5600M has a lower TDP of 50 W, and the database does not list a suggested PSU for it.

Q: Which GPU supports which DirectX versions?

A: The RX 560X supports DirectX 12 (12_0), while the Pro 5600M supports DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.3.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every recorded specification field. The process node shifts from 14 nm to 7 nm. The RX 560X uses GlobalFoundries as foundry, while the Pro 5600M uses TSMC. Transistor count is 3,000 million for the RX 560X, not recorded for the Pro 5600M. Die size is 123 mm² for the RX 560X, not recorded for the Pro 5600M. Transistor density is 24.4M per mm² for the RX 560X, not recorded for the Pro 5600M.

Clock speeds: base clock is 1175 MHz versus 822 MHz, boost is 1275 MHz versus 1144 MHz, memory clock is 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective) versus 770 MHz (1540 Mbps effective). Memory size is 4 GB versus 8 GB, type is GDDR5 versus HBM2, bus width is 128-bit versus 2048-bit, bandwidth is 112.0 GB/s versus 394.2 GB/s.

Compute resources: shading units 1,024 versus 2,560, TMUs 64 versus 160, ROPs 16 versus 64. Pixel rate is 20.40 GPixel/s versus 73.22 GPixel/s. Texture rate is 81.60 GTexel/s versus 183.0 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 2.611 TFLOPS versus 5.857 TFLOPS. FP16 performance is 2.611 TFLOPS (1:1) versus 11.71 TFLOPS (2:1).

Power and physical: TDP is 75 W versus 50 W, slot width is dual-slot versus IGP, both have no power connectors, suggested PSU is 250 W versus not recorded. Bus interface is PCIe 3.0 x8 versus PCIe 4.0 x16. Display outputs are 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, 1x DisplayPort 1.4a versus "Portable Device Dependent." DirectX support is 12 (12_0) versus 12 (12_1).

Release dates: the RX 560X launched on 2018-04-10, while the Pro 5600M launched on 2020-06-14. Production status for both is end-of-life. The RX 560X lists Polaris as predecessor and Vega as successor; the Pro 5600M has no recorded predecessor or successor. The RX 560X has dimensions of 170 mm or 6.7 inches in length, while the Pro 5600M has no recorded dimensions.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The Geekbench OpenCL test shows the largest performance gap. The RX 560X scores 17,020, while the Pro 5600M scores 47,783. This results in a delta percentage of -64.4% for the RX 560X, meaning the Pro 5600M is approximately 2.8 times faster in this workload. The absolute difference is 30,763 points. This benchmark reflects general-purpose compute performance across the GPU, and the Pro 5600M's advantage comes from its 2.5x shading unit count, wider memory bus, and higher FP32 throughput of 5.857 TFLOPS versus 2.611 TFLOPS.

The Geekbench Vulkan test narrows the gap slightly but still favors the Pro 5600M decisively. The RX 560X scores 20,231, while the Pro 5600M scores 46,425. The delta percentage is -56.4% for the RX 560X. The absolute difference is 26,194 points. Vulkan performance benefits from the RDNA architecture's improved scheduling and the higher memory bandwidth available to the Pro 5600M.

In the broader database context, the RX 560X has an average benchmark score of 18,626 across all recorded tests, while the Pro 5600M has an average of 16,351. This is counterintuitive given the head-to-head results, but it reflects the different test suites recorded for each GPU. The RX 560X has only two recorded benchmarks (Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan), while the Pro 5600M has ten recorded benchmarks including multiple Passmark tests. The Pro 5600M's Passmark scores include 9,279 in G3D, 4,031 in GPU compute, 679 in G2D, 118 in DirectX 9, 62 in DirectX 10, 59 in DirectX 11, and 39 in DirectX 12. These varied tests pull its average down relative to the RX 560X, which lacks such low-scoring entries in its limited benchmark set.

Percentile rankings place the RX 560X at the 62nd percentile against all GPUs, while the Pro 5600M sits at the 59th percentile. This means the RX 560X ranks slightly higher in the overall distribution, despite losing the head-to-head tests. The nearest rivals for the RX 560X include the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 XT (average score 18,685, delta -0.3%), AMD FirePro D500 (18,533, delta +0.5%), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 (18,789, delta -0.9%), and NVIDIA Tesla K80 (18,866, delta -1.3%). The Pro 5600M's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT (16,361, delta -0.1%), NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell (16,408, delta -0.3%), AMD Radeon PRO W7500 (16,415, delta -0.4%), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D V2 (16,504, delta -0.9%).

Where Each One Wins

The Pro 5600M wins decisively in both recorded head-to-head benchmarks. Its strongest advantage is in Geekbench OpenCL, where it leads by 64.4%, and in Geekbench Vulkan, where it leads by 56.4%. This GPU is the clear choice for compute-heavy applications, including machine learning inference, scientific simulations, and any workload that leverages OpenCL or Vulkan APIs. Its 8 GB of HBM2 memory with 394.2 GB/s bandwidth provides ample headroom for large datasets, and its 5.857 TFLOPS FP32 performance is more than double the RX 560X. The 2:1 FP16 ratio of 11.71 TFLOPS also offers accelerated half-precision compute for AI workloads. Its lower TDP of 50 W makes it suitable for power-constrained mobile or integrated designs, and its PCIe 4.0 x16 interface provides higher host bandwidth.

The RX 560X has no head-to-head wins in the recorded data. However, its profile includes attributes that may matter in specific use cases. It has higher base and boost clocks (1175 MHz and 1275 MHz versus 822 MHz and 1144 MHz), which can benefit lightly threaded or latency-sensitive tasks that do not scale with core count. Its dual-slot form factor with no power connectors makes it easy to install in standard desktop systems without PSU upgrades, given the 250 W suggested power supply. It also offers dedicated display outputs (DVI, HDMI 2.0b, DisplayPort 1.4a) rather than relying on host-dependent outputs. The RX 560X scores at the 62nd percentile versus the Pro 5600M's 59th percentile, indicating it sits higher in the overall GPU distribution when considering all recorded benchmarks for each card. Its 170 mm length (6.7 inches) makes it a compact option for smaller cases.

For users choosing between these two, the decision hinges on workload and system constraints. The Pro 5600M delivers superior compute performance across the board, with 2.5x shading units, 4x ROPs, 3.5x memory bandwidth, and 2.24x FP32 throughput. It wins both head-to-head tests by margins exceeding 56%. The RX 560X offers a simpler discrete card form factor, higher clock speeds, and a slightly better percentile rank, but it cannot match the Pro 5600M in raw performance. The data is unambiguous: for any benchmark where both GPUs were tested, the Pro 5600M wins by a wide margin.