AMD Radeon Pro W5500 vs AMD Radeon RX 560X Comparison

The Verdict

The benchmark data presents a clear hierarchy between these two AMD workstation and consumer GPUs. The AMD Radeon Pro W5500 dominates the AMD Radeon RX 560X in every recorded head-to-head comparison, making it the unequivocal choice for compute-heavy workloads and modern graphics APIs. The RX 560X, while an older and less capable part, still holds relevance for legacy DirectX environments and basic 2D tasks, but its performance ceiling is far lower.

For professionals or users running OpenCL or Vulkan workloads, the Radeon Pro W5500 is the only rational pick from this data. Its OpenCL score is more than 2.6 times higher than the RX 560X, and its Vulkan score is roughly double. The RX 560X, by contrast, should be reserved for systems where power draw, physical size, or the absence of a power connector are absolute constraints, as it is a dual-slot card with a 75 W TDP and no external power connectors, whereas the W5500 is a single-slot card with a 125 W TDP and one 6-pin connector.

The average benchmark scores in the database further reinforce the gap. The RX 560X averages 18,626 points across its recorded tests, while the W5500 averages 15,679 points, but this number is misleading because the W5500’s average includes a much broader suite of tests, including several low-scoring DirectX and 2D benchmarks. In the two tests they share, OpenCL and Vulkan, the W5500 wins decisively. The verdict is straightforward: the W5500 for any serious GPU compute or modern API work, the RX 560X only for legacy or ultra-low-power scenarios.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different architectural generations and manufacturing processes, which explains their vast performance disparity. The RX 560X is built on the Polaris 21 chip, using the 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 W5500, in contrast, uses the Navi 14 chip with the RDNA 1.0 architecture, manufactured on a 7 nm process at TSMC. It packs 6,400 million transistors into a 158 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 40.5 million per square millimeter.

The compute resources differ sharply. The RX 560X has 1,024 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, and 16 ROPs. The W5500 nearly doubles the ROP count with 32, increases texture units to 88, and raises shading units to 1,408. Clock speeds also favor the W5500, with a base of 1,744 MHz and a boost of 1,855 MHz, compared to the RX 560X’s 1,175 MHz base and 1,275 MHz boost. Pixel rate and texture rate follow suit: the W5500 reaches 59.36 GPixel/s and 163.2 GTexel/s, while the RX 560X manages only 20.40 GPixel/s and 81.60 GTexel/s.

Memory is another major divider. The RX 560X comes with 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 112.0 GB/s of bandwidth at 7 Gbps effective. The W5500 doubles capacity to 8 GB of GDDR6, also on a 128-bit bus, but at 14 Gbps effective, its bandwidth reaches 224.0 GB/s. Floating-point performance is stark: the RX 560X delivers 2.611 TFLOPS in FP32 and the same in FP16 (1:1 ratio), while the W5500 hits 5.224 TFLOPS in FP32 and 10.45 TFLOPS in FP16 (2:1 ratio). The W5500 also supports a newer PCIe interface, PCIe 4.0 x8, versus PCIe 3.0 x8 on the RX 560X, and its API set includes DirectX 12_1 and Vulkan 1.4, whereas the RX 560X is limited to DirectX 12_0 and Vulkan 1.3. Display outputs differ too: the RX 560X has one DVI, one HDMI 2.0b, and one DisplayPort 1.4a, while the W5500 offers four DisplayPort 1.4a connections.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The shared benchmark suite consists of two tests: Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan. In both, the Radeon Pro W5500 is the winner, and the margins are substantial.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 560X scores 17,020, while the W5500 scores 45,615. The delta is -62.7%, meaning the W5500 is roughly 168% faster than the RX 560X in this compute test. This result aligns with the raw specifications: the W5500 has 37.5% more shading units, a 45% higher boost clock, and double the memory bandwidth, which collectively translate into a massive OpenCL advantage.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the RX 560X scores 20,231, and the W5500 scores 42,021. The delta is -51.9%, indicating the W5500 is about 108% faster. Vulkan performance benefits from the newer RDNA architecture and its improved asynchronous compute and draw call handling, which the GCN-based RX 560X cannot match. The W5500’s support for Vulkan 1.4, versus Vulkan 1.3 on the RX 560X, also reflects a newer driver and hardware stack.

The W5500’s broader benchmark suite shows additional strengths. In Passmark tests, it scores 126 in DirectX 9, 47 in DirectX 10, 56 in DirectX 11, and 39 in DirectX 12, while its G3D score is 8,978 and its GPU compute score is 4,804. The RX 560X has no recorded DirectX or Passmark results in the database, so direct comparisons are limited to the two Geekbench tests, but the W5500’s 8,978 G3D score and 4,804 compute score indicate a card that is solidly mid-range in the broader GPU landscape.

The nearest rivals for each card put their performance in context. The RX 560X’s average score of 18,626 places it within 0.3% of the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 XT (18,685), 0.5% above the AMD FirePro D500 (18,533), 0.9% below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 (18,789), and 1.3% below the NVIDIA Tesla K80 (18,866). The W5500’s average of 15,679 sits 0.8% above the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (15,548), 1% above the AMD Radeon R9 M380 (15,521), 1.1% below the AMD Radeon RX 7700 (15,852), and 1.2% below the AMD Radeon R9 370X (15,862). These deltas show that the RX 560X is competitive with much higher-tier cards in average score, but this is an artifact of its limited test set; the W5500’s average is dragged down by its low DirectX and 2D scores.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in OpenCL?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro W5500 is significantly faster. It scores 45,615 in Geekbench OpenCL versus 17,020 for the AMD Radeon RX 560X, a delta of -62.7% in favor of the W5500.

Q: How do the two cards compare in Vulkan performance?

A: The W5500 wins again, scoring 42,021 in Geekbench Vulkan against the RX 560X’s 20,231, a delta of -51.9%. The W5500 also supports a newer Vulkan version, 1.4, compared to 1.3 on the RX 560X.

Q: What are the memory differences?

A: The RX 560X has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus with 112.0 GB/s bandwidth. The W5500 has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth, doubling both capacity and bandwidth.

Q: Which card has a higher transistor density?

A: The W5500, built on TSMC’s 7 nm process, has a transistor density of 40.5 million per square millimeter, while the RX 560X, on GlobalFoundries’ 14 nm process, has 24.4 million per square millimeter.

Q: What is the power draw difference?

A: The RX 560X has a 75 W TDP and requires no power connectors, with a suggested PSU of 250 W. The W5500 has a 125 W TDP and needs one 6-pin connector, with a suggested PSU of 300 W.

Q: How do their average benchmark scores compare to rival GPUs?

A: The RX 560X averages 18,626 points, placing it within 0.3% of the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 XT and 0.9% below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070. The W5500 averages 15,679 points, sitting 0.8% above the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti and 1.1% below the AMD Radeon RX 7700.

Where Each One Wins

The Radeon Pro W5500 wins in every shared benchmark category, and its advantages extend across the entire compute and modern graphics spectrum. In OpenCL, its 45,615 score versus 17,020 for the RX 560X makes it the obvious choice for GPU compute tasks such as rendering, simulation, or data processing that leverage OpenCL. In Vulkan, its 42,021 score versus 20,231 gives it a massive edge in Vulkan-based games and applications, which rely on lower overhead and better multi-threading. The W5500’s 5.224 TFLOPS FP32 and 10.45 TFLOPS FP16 performance, combined with 8 GB of GDDR6 and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth, make it a capable workstation card for professional workloads, and its four DisplayPort 1.4a outputs support multi-monitor setups.

The RX 560X, despite losing every shared test, still has niches where it can be the preferred choice. Its 75 W TDP and lack of power connectors mean it can slot into systems without extra power cables, and its dual-slot, 170 mm length makes it a compact option for small form factor builds. Its 4 GB of GDDR5 memory is sufficient for lighter tasks, and its 2.611 TFLOPS FP32 performance, while low, is still usable for basic compute. The RX 560X also supports DVI output, which the W5500 lacks, making it useful for connecting to older displays. Its production status is end-of-life, as is the W5500’s, but the RX 560X’s lower power envelope and simpler installation requirements give it a role in legacy systems or low-power workstations where the W5500’s 125 W TDP and 6-pin connector would be problematic.

In terms of API support, the W5500 is ahead with DirectX 12_1 and Vulkan 1.4, while the RX 560X stops at DirectX 12_0 and Vulkan 1.3. For users targeting the latest graphics features, the W5500 is mandatory. For pure legacy compatibility, the RX 560X’s older GCN architecture may have more mature driver paths in some legacy applications, though the database does not record any tests where it wins. The launch MSRP of the W5500 was 399 USD, a figure that reflects its workstation positioning, but the RX 560X has no recorded launch MSRP in the database.

The percentile rankings tell a broader story: the RX 560X sits at the 62nd percentile among all GPUs, while the W5500 is at the 58th. This counterintuitive result stems from the RX 560X’s limited benchmark set, which includes only its two strongest tests, whereas the W5500’s average includes lower DirectX and 2D scores. In the tests they share, the W5500 is unequivocally superior. Users should trust the head-to-head results over the aggregate percentiles when deciding between these two specific cards.