AMD Radeon Pro 5700 XT vs AMD Radeon Pro W5500 Comparison

The AMD Radeon Pro 5700 XT and the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 are both RDNA 1.0 workstation graphics cards built on TSMC's 7 nm process, yet the recorded benchmark data shows they occupy clearly separated performance tiers. The 5700 XT wins 9 of the 10 head-to-head tests in the database, while the W5500 takes a single, notable win in Geekbench Metal. Both cards are end-of-life products, released in 2020, the W5500 in February and the 5700 XT in August. What follows is a detailed breakdown of where each card wins, why the architecture explains those results, and which workload profile suits each part.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The headline story is dominance by the Radeon Pro 5700 XT across nearly the entire test suite. The single anomaly is Geekbench Metal, where the W5500 scores 54302 against the 5700 XT's 51272, a 5.6 percent advantage for the smaller card. That result stands out precisely because it is the only one: everywhere else, the larger Navi 10-based part leads.

The compute-oriented Geekbench tests favor the 5700 XT heavily. In Geekbench OpenCL it posts 59467 versus 45615, a 30.4 percent margin, and in Geekbench Vulkan it scores 56593 against 42021, a 34.7 percent gap. These results track closely with the raw specification differences: the 5700 XT delivers 7.675 TFLOPS of FP32 throughput against 5.224 TFLOPS for the W5500, roughly 47 percent more raw shader capability, and the benchmark scores translate most of that hardware advantage into measured performance.

The Passmark DirectX results show the widest gaps of the comparison. In the DirectX 9 test the 5700 XT records 153 against 126, a 21.4 percent lead. The DirectX 10 test is the most lopsided contest in the entire dataset: 76 versus 47, a 61.7 percent advantage. DirectX 11 lands at 85 versus 56, a 51.8 percent margin, and DirectX 12 records 59 versus 39, a 51.3 percent gap. The consistency of roughly 50 percent advantages in the middle DirectX tiers suggests the W5500's narrower memory subsystem becomes a hard ceiling once geometry and pixel throughput demands rise.

The composite Passmark G3D score confirms the pattern at scale: 12547 for the 5700 XT versus 8978 for the W5500, a 39.8 percent difference. Passmark GPU Compute also goes to the larger card, 5787 versus 4804, a 20.5 percent lead, a smaller margin than the graphics tests but still decisive. Passmark G2D is effectively a tie: 810 versus 806, a 0.5 percent difference that amounts to noise for 2D workstation output.

Context from the database rankings reinforces the gap. The 5700 XT's average benchmark score of 18685 places it in the 63rd percentile of all recorded GPUs, while the W5500's 15679 puts it in the 58th percentile. The 5700 XT's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 (average score 18789, 0.6 percent ahead of it) and the NVIDIA Tesla K80 (18866, 1 percent ahead), while the W5500 keeps company with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (15548, 0.8 percent behind it) and the AMD Radeon RX 7700 (15852, 1.1 percent ahead of it). In short, the two cards sit in adjacent but distinct performance neighborhoods.

Architecture Differences

Both cards share the same foundation: the RDNA 1.0 architecture, fabricated at TSMC on a 7 nm process. Neither card has dedicated ray tracing cores or tensor cores, which is consistent with RDNA 1.0's positioning before hardware-accelerated ray tracing arrived in AMD's lineup. Both support DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, and both use the PCIe 4.0 interface, though the 5700 XT connects over a full x16 link while the W5500 is limited to x8 lanes.

The divergence begins with the silicon itself. The 5700 XT uses the Navi 10 chip, a 251 mm² die packing 10,300 million transistors at a density of 41.0M per mm². The W5500 uses the smaller Navi 14, a 158 mm² die with 6,400 million transistors at 40.5M per mm². Density is nearly identical, so the difference is purely how much silicon each card brings.

That die difference cascades through every compute metric. The 5700 XT has 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units, against 1408, 88, and 32 respectively on the W5500. Pixel fill rate lands at 95.94 GPixel/s versus 59.36 GPixel/s, and texture fill rate at 239.8 GTexel/s versus 163.2 GTexel/s. FP16 throughput, which runs at a 2:1 ratio on both cards, is 15.35 TFLOPS versus 10.45 TFLOPS.

Clock strategies run in opposite directions. The W5500 clocks higher to compensate for its smaller engine: 1744 MHz base and 1855 MHz boost, versus 1243 MHz base and 1499 MHz boost on the 5700 XT. Memory also differs sharply. The 5700 XT carries 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus running at an effective 12 Gbps, delivering 384.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The W5500 has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus at an effective 14 Gbps, for 224.0 GB/s. Faster memory chips cannot overcome half the bus width and half the capacity, and the bandwidth shortfall is a major contributor to the roughly 50 percent gaps seen in the DirectX tests. The 16 GB frame buffer also gives the 5700 XT materially more headroom for large professional datasets and textures.

Power and form factor present an interesting trade-off. The 5700 XT is listed with a 130 W TDP and no external power connectors, designated as an IGP-class slot configuration with no display outputs, consistent with its Mac-oriented generation. The W5500 has a slightly lower 125 W TDP, a single-slot width, one 6-pin power connector, four DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, and physical dimensions of 241 mm in length and 111 mm in height. Both cards list a 300 W suggested power supply. The W5500 also carries a recorded launch MSRP of 399 USD; no launch MSRP is recorded for the 5700 XT.

The Verdict

The data supports a straightforward recommendation. For any compute or rendering workload measured here, the Radeon Pro 5700 XT is the stronger card, winning 9 of 10 tests with margins ranging from 20.5 percent in GPU Compute to 61.7 percent in DirectX 10. OpenCL and Vulkan workloads favor it by roughly 30 to 35 percent, and its 16 GB frame buffer plus 384.0 GB/s of bandwidth make it the correct choice when datasets exceed what 8 GB can hold or when memory pressure is expected.

The W5500's case rests on its single benchmark win and its physical attributes. It is the only card to win Geekbench Metal (54302 versus 51272, a 5.6 percent edge), which matters specifically for Metal-based macOS workflows. It is also a single-slot card with documented dimensions and four DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, making it the practical option where slot space is limited or where multi-monitor professional display output is the priority and the workload sits below the 5700 XT's performance tier. Its 58th percentile ranking against 63rd for the 5700 XT frames the difference fairly: capable, but a class below.

Users who need maximum throughput per test should take the 5700 XT. Users constrained by slot width, needing DisplayPort outputs, or working in Metal should consider the W5500.

Specification Differences

• Chip: Navi 10 (5700 XT) versus Navi 14 (W5500)
• Transistors: 10,300 million versus 6,400 million
• Die size: 251 mm² versus 158 mm²
• Transistor density: 41.0M/mm² versus 40.5M/mm²
• Base clock: 1243 MHz versus 1744 MHz
• Boost clock: 1499 MHz versus 1855 MHz
• Memory size: 16 GB versus 8 GB GDDR6
• Bus width: 256 bit versus 128 bit
• Effective memory speed: 12 Gbps versus 14 Gbps
• Memory bandwidth: 384.0 GB/s versus 224.0 GB/s
• Shading units: 2560 versus 1408
• TMUs: 160 versus 88
• ROPs: 64 versus 32
• Pixel rate: 95.94 GPixel/s versus 59.36 GPixel/s
• Texture rate: 239.8 GTexel/s versus 163.2 GTexel/s
• FP32: 7.675 TFLOPS versus 5.224 TFLOPS
• FP16: 15.35 TFLOPS versus 10.45 TFLOPS (both 2:1)
• TDP: 130 W versus 125 W
• Slot width: IGP versus single-slot
• Power connectors: none versus 1x 6-pin
• Bus interface: PCIe 4.0 x16 versus PCIe 4.0 x8
• Display outputs: none versus 4x DisplayPort 1.4a
• Dimensions: unlisted versus 241 mm length, 111 mm height
• Predecessor: unlisted versus Radeon Pro Vega
• Release timing: August 2020 versus February 2020

Shared specifications include the 7 nm TSMC node, RDNA 1.0 architecture, DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, Vulkan 1.4, a 300 W suggested power supply, and end-of-life production status for both.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster overall? A: The Radeon Pro 5700 XT. It wins 9 of the 10 head-to-head tests, with leads of 20.5 percent (GPU Compute) up to 61.7 percent (DirectX 10), and holds a higher database percentile (63rd versus 58th).

Q: Does the W5500 win anything? A: Yes. It wins Geekbench Metal with 54302 versus 51272, a 5.6 percent advantage, the only test in the dataset where it beats the 5700 XT.

Q: How large is the compute performance gap? A: In Geekbench OpenCL the 5700 XT leads 59467 to 45615 (30.4 percent) and in Geekbench Vulkan 56593 to 42021 (34.7 percent). Passmark GPU Compute shows a 20.5 percent gap.

Q: How do their memory configurations compare? A: The 5700 XT has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus at an effective 12 Gbps, giving 384.0 GB/s. The W5500 has 8 GB on a 128-bit bus at an effective 14 Gbps, giving 224.0 GB/s.

Q: Which card has higher clocks? A: The W5500: 1744 MHz base and 1855 MHz boost, versus 1243 MHz base and 1499 MHz boost for the 5700 XT. Despite the higher clocks, its smaller engine loses most tests.

Q: Which GPUs are their closest rivals in the database? A: The 5700 XT's average score of 18685 sits within about 1 percent of the GeForce RTX 2070, Tesla K80, Radeon RX 560X, and FirePro D500. The W5500's 15679 is similarly close to the GTX 1080 Ti, Radeon RX 7700, R9 370X, and R9 M380.