AMD Radeon Pro 560X vs AMD Radeon Pro W5500 Comparison

The AMD Radeon Pro W5500 and the AMD Radeon Pro 560X represent two distinct eras of professional graphics, separated by a generational leap in architecture and manufacturing. The data shows a decisive performance hierarchy, with the W5500 leading in every shared benchmark metric. The W5500 achieves an average benchmark score of 15,679, placing it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs, while the 560X, with an average of 15,082, sits just behind in the 57th percentile. This page analyzes their head-to-head performance, architectural differences, and specification gaps to determine which card is appropriate for which workload.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark results are unambiguous: the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 outperforms the AMD Radeon Pro 560X in every single test where both have data. The most dramatic disparity appears in the Geekbench OpenCL test, where the W5500 scores 45,615 against the 560X’s 9,663. This represents a 372.1% advantage for the W5500, a massive lead that highlights the compute-oriented strengths of its architecture. For general-purpose GPU compute tasks, the W5500 is in a completely different performance class.

The Geekbench Metal test shows a similarly lopsided result, with the W5500 scoring 54,302 compared to the 560X’s 18,763. The delta here is 189.4%, meaning the W5500 delivers nearly three times the Metal performance of the older card. This is particularly relevant for macOS users running Metal-accelerated creative applications, as the W5500 offers a substantial upgrade path for professional workflows like video editing or 3D rendering. The 560X, while functional, appears severely constrained in this API.

The Vulkan results are less extreme but still show a clear winner. The W5500 posts 42,021 points, while the 560X manages only 16,819. This 149.8% difference indicates that even in cross-platform graphics APIs, the W5500 maintains a commanding lead. For users relying on Vulkan for gaming or compute, the W5500 offers more than double the raw throughput. Across all three shared benchmarks, the W5500 wins 3 out of 3 comparisons, with no counterbalancing victories for the 560X.

Contextualizing these scores against their nearest rivals further illustrates the gap. The W5500’s average score of 15,679 is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti’s 15,548 (a 0.8% delta) and the AMD Radeon RX 7700’s 15,852 (a -1.1% delta). This places the W5500 in upper-mainstream territory, competing with high-end consumer cards from its era. In contrast, the 560X’s average of 15,082 places it alongside the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti (0.1% delta) and the AMD Radeon 680M (-1.2% delta), indicating a much lower performance tier. The W5500 is not just faster; it is categorically positioned several hardware generations ahead.

Architecture Differences

The fundamental architectural split between these two cards explains their performance disparity. The Radeon Pro W5500 is built on the Navi 14 chip using the RDNA 1.0 architecture, manufactured on a 7 nm process at TSMC. This node advantage allows for a transistor count of 6,400 million packed into a 158 mm² die, yielding a density of 40.5 million transistors per square millimeter. The RDNA architecture is designed for higher instruction-level parallelism and improved clock scaling, which directly contributes to its benchmark dominance.

The Radeon Pro 560X, in contrast, relies on the older Polaris 21 chip with a GCN 4.0 architecture, produced on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. This larger node houses just 3,000 million transistors across a 123 mm² die, resulting in a lower density of 24.4M transistors per mm². GCN 4.0 is a mature but less efficient design, particularly in compute-heavy workloads. The shift from GCN to RDNA represents a significant redesign in how shader work is scheduled and executed, explaining why the W5500 achieves such higher throughput despite having fewer physical resources in some metrics.

The memory subsystems also diverge sharply. The W5500 utilizes 8 GB of GDDR6 memory with a 128-bit bus, achieving a bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s. The 560X is limited to 4 GB of GDDR5 on the same 128-bit bus, yielding only 94.08 GB/s. This memory bandwidth difference of over 2.3x is critical for texture-heavy workloads and large datasets. Additionally, the W5500 supports PCIe 4.0 x8, doubling the per-lane bandwidth of the 560X’s PCIe 3.0 x8 interface, which reduces data transfer bottlenecks for GPU-resident workloads.

Feature support also varies: the W5500 exposes Vulkan 1.4 and DirectX 12_1, while the 560X is capped at Vulkan 1.3 and DirectX 12_0. The newer API versions on the W5500 allow for more advanced rendering features and better driver optimization paths. The W5500’s display outputs are four DisplayPort 1.4a connectors, whereas the 560X’s outputs are labeled as “Portable Device Dependent,” reflecting its primary use in laptop form factors.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in Geekbench Metal?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro W5500 scores 54,302 in Geekbench Metal, which is 189.4% higher than the Radeon Pro 560X’s score of 18,763. This indicates a nearly threefold performance advantage for the W5500 in Metal-based applications.

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

A: The W5500 achieves 45,615 points in Geekbench OpenCL, a 372.1% advantage over the 560X’s 9,663 points. This is the largest performance gap across all shared benchmarks, highlighting the W5500’s superior compute architecture.

Q: What is the difference in memory bandwidth?

A: The W5500 provides 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth using 8 GB of GDDR6, while the 560X offers 94.08 GB/s with 4 GB of GDDR5. The W5500 delivers more than double the memory throughput, which is crucial for tasks like large texture sets or scientific computing.

Q: Are these cards still in production?

A: Both the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 and the AMD Radeon Pro 560X have a production status of “End-of-life,” meaning neither is currently manufactured. However, they may still be available on the secondary market.

Q: Which card has a higher transistor density?

A: The W5500, built on a 7 nm process, has a transistor density of 40.5 million per mm² with 6,400 million transistors total. The 560X, on a 14 nm process, has a density of 24.4 million per mm² with 3,000 million transistors. The W5500’s denser packing enables more compute units per area.

Q: Does the 560X have any benchmark where it wins?

A: No. In the head-to-head benchmarks (Geekbench Metal, OpenCL, and Vulkan), the W5500 wins all three comparisons. The 560X fails to secure a single victory in any shared test.

Specification Differences

The following table lists the key specifications where the two cards differ. Identical fields (such as manufacturer, 128-bit bus width, and OpenGL 4.6 support) are omitted.

| Specification | AMD Radeon Pro W5500 | AMD Radeon Pro 560X |

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

| Chip | Navi 14 | Polaris 21 |

| Architecture | RDNA 1.0 | GCN 4.0 |

| Generation | Radeon Pro Navi (Navi Series) | Radeon Pro Mac (500X Series) |

| Process Node | 7 nm | 14 nm |

| Foundry | TSMC | GlobalFoundries |

| Transistors | 6,400 million | 3,000 million |

| Die Size | 158 mm² | 123 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 40.5M / mm² | 24.4M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1744 MHz | N/A |

| Boost Clock | 1855 MHz | N/A |

| Memory Clock | 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) | 1470 MHz (5.9 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 8 GB | 4 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR5 |

| Memory Bandwidth | 224.0 GB/s | 94.08 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 1408 | 1024 |

| TMUs | 88 | 64 |

| ROPs | 32 | 16 |

| Pixel Rate | 59.36 GPixel/s | 16.06 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 163.2 GTexel/s | 64.26 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 5.224 TFLOPS | 2.056 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 10.45 TFLOPS (2:1) | 2.056 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 125 W | 75 W |

| Slot Width | Single-slot | IGP |

| Power Connectors | 1x 6-pin | None |

| Suggested PSU | 300 W | N/A |

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

| Display Outputs | 4x DisplayPort 1.4a | Portable Device Dependent |

| DirectX | 12 (12_1) | 12 (12_0) |

| Vulkan | 1.4 | 1.3 |

| Release Date | 2020-02-09 | 2018-07-15 |

| Launch MSRP | 399 USD | N/A |

The Verdict

The data is unequivocal: the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 is the superior performer in every measurable way. Its 5.224 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is over 2.5 times the 2.056 TFLOPS of the 560X, and its pixel rate of 59.36 GPixel/s dwarfs the 560X’s 16.06 GPixel/s. For professionals seeking maximum compute throughput, rendering speed, or memory bandwidth, the W5500 is the only rational choice. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory at 224.0 GB/s provides ample headroom for large datasets, while the 560X’s 4 GB and 94.08 GB/s will bottleneck modern workloads.

The Radeon Pro 560X, however, has one clear advantage: power efficiency and form factor. Its 75 W TDP and IGP (integrated graphics processor) slot classification make it suitable for thin-and-light laptops where space and thermal limits are paramount. The W5500, with a 125 W TDP and a single-slot design requiring a 6-pin power connector, is a desktop-only solution. For users with a portable workstation, the 560X is the only viable option here, despite its lower scores. Its performance still places it in the 57th percentile of all GPUs, roughly on par with a GTX 660 Ti, which is adequate for basic CAD or light creative work.

From a pure performance-per-dollar standpoint, the W5500’s launch MSRP of 399 USD is justifiable given its proximity to the GTX 1080 Ti in average score. However, the 560X has no launch MSRP and is typically embedded in pre-built systems, making direct price comparison impossible. Benchmark results indicate that the W5500 is the appropriate choice for any user who values raw speed, modern API support, and higher memory capacity. The 560X should only be selected when its integrated form factor is a hard requirement. In short, the W5500 wins on performance; the 560X wins on portability.