AMD Radeon Pro W5500 vs AMD Radeon RX 570X Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data splits cleanly in favor of the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 across every recorded head-to-head test. The Pro W5500 wins all three shared benchmarks: Geekbench OpenCL, Passmark G2D, and Passmark G3D. The Radeon RX 570X does not win a single test in the comparison.

The most dramatic separation appears in the Passmark G3D test. The Pro W5500 scores 8,978 points, while the RX 570X manages only 1,923 points. That is a delta of 366.9%, meaning the Pro W5500 delivers roughly four and a half times the raw graphics performance in this workload. This is not a marginal difference; it is a generational gap expressed in measurable terms.

In Geekbench OpenCL, a compute-oriented workload, the Pro W5500 posts 45,615 points versus 38,939 points for the RX 570X. The 17.1% advantage is substantial but far narrower than the G3D gap, suggesting that compute throughput is more evenly matched than rasterization performance. Both cards share the same 224.0 GB/s memory bandwidth, which helps explain why the compute delta is comparatively modest.

The Passmark G2D test, which measures 2D desktop and windowing operations, shows the Pro W5500 ahead by 7.5%, scoring 806 versus 750. This is the smallest margin of the three, indicating that 2D tasks are less demanding on the underlying architecture.

Looking at the broader database averages, the Pro W5500 carries an average benchmark score of 15,679 across all recorded tests, placing it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs. The RX 570X averages 13,871, sitting in the 55th percentile. The delta between their average scores is about 13%, which is consistent with the Geekbench OpenCL result, but the G3D outlier skews the picture heavily in favor of the Pro card.

The nearest rivals for the Pro W5500 include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti at 15,548 average score (0.8% behind the Pro), the AMD Radeon R9 M380 at 15,521 (1% behind), the AMD Radeon RX 7700 at 15,852 (1.1% ahead), and the AMD Radeon R9 370X at 15,862 (1.2% ahead). The Pro W5500 sits in a tight cluster where a 1-2% swing separates it from several competitors.

For the RX 570X, nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile at 13,821 (0.4% behind), the AMD Radeon 660M at 13,812 (0.4% behind), the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT at 13,745 (0.9% behind), and the NVIDIA Tesla K10 at 14,029 (1.1% ahead). The RX 570X likewise sits in a narrow band of comparable scores.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural lineages, which explains much of their behavioral divergence. The Pro W5500 uses the Navi 14 chip built on RDNA 1.0, fabricated at 7 nm by TSMC. The RX 570X uses the Polaris 20 chip on GCN 4.0, fabricated at 14 nm by GlobalFoundries. The process node gap is substantial: 7 nm versus 14 nm, allowing a much smaller die at 158 mm² versus 232 mm². The transistor count favors the Pro W5500 as well, with 6,400 million versus 5,700 million transistors. That translates to a transistor density of 40.5 million per mm² for the Pro versus only 24.6 million per mm² for the older Polaris design.

Clock speeds reflect the architectural and process differences. The Pro W5500 runs at a base of 1744 MHz and boosts to 1855 MHz. The RX 570X runs at a much lower base of 1168 MHz and boosts to 1244 MHz. The Pro's higher clocks are a direct result of the denser 7 nm process and RDNA design.

Memory configurations are similar in capacity but not in type. Both cards pack 8 GB, but the Pro W5500 uses GDDR6 at an effective 14 Gbps, while the RX 570X uses GDDR5 at 7 Gbps effective. Interestingly, both end up with the same bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s because the RX 570X has a wider 256-bit bus versus the Pro's 128-bit bus. The Pro compensates for the narrower bus with faster memory.

Shader and texture resources show a different balance. The RX 570X has more shading units (2048 versus 1408) and more texture mapping units (128 versus 88). Both have 32 ROPs. Despite having fewer shaders, the Pro W5500's higher clocks and newer architecture yield a higher pixel rate of 59.36 GPixel/s versus 39.81 GPixel/s for the RX 570X. The texture rates are close: 163.2 GTexel/s for the Pro versus 159.2 GTexel/s for the RX 570X.

Raw compute numbers are nearly identical. The Pro W5500 delivers 5.224 TFLOPS FP32, while the RX 570X delivers 5.095 TFLOPS. The Pro has a significant FP16 advantage at 10.45 TFLOPS (2:1) versus 5.095 TFLOPS (1:1). The RX 570X runs FP16 at half rate, meaning its FP16 output equals its FP32 output.

Power and physical requirements differ. The Pro W5500 draws 125 W with a suggested 300 W PSU, in a single-slot package. The RX 570X draws 150 W with a suggested 450 W PSU, in a dual-slot package. Both use a single 6-pin power connector. The Pro connects via PCIe 4.0 x8, while the RX 570X uses PCIe 3.0 x16.

API support is close but not identical. The Pro W5500 supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.4. The RX 570X supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3. Both support OpenGL 4.6. Display outputs differ: the Pro has four DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, while the RX 570X has one DVI, one HDMI 2.0b, and three DisplayPort 1.4a.

The Pro W5500 released in February 2020, the RX 570X in April 2018. The RX 570X lists its predecessor as Polaris and successor as Vega, while the Pro W5500 has a predecessor of Radeon Pro Vega and no successor recorded.

The Verdict

The recorded data points to the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 as the stronger card in every shared benchmark. Its wins are absolute, not partial. The Passmark G3D result alone is decisive: 8,978 versus 1,923, a 366.9% advantage. There is no workload in the shared set where the RX 570X pulls ahead.

The Pro W5500's higher percentile ranking (58th versus 55th) and higher average score (15,679 versus 13,871) reinforce this conclusion. The Pro also benefits from a more modern architecture (RDNA 1.0 versus GCN 4.0), a smaller process node (7 nm versus 14 nm), a higher boost clock (1855 MHz versus 1244 MHz), and equal memory bandwidth despite a narrower bus.

The RX 570X retains some merits. It offers 8 GB of memory, the same bandwidth as the Pro, and a higher shading unit count (2048 versus 1408). Its FP32 performance is close to the Pro's, and its texture rate is nearly identical. For users who rely on raw FP32 compute or need a 256-bit memory bus, the RX 570X is not obsolete.

But for any workload measured by the shared benchmarks, the Pro W5500 dominates. The database shows three wins for the Pro, zero for the RX 570X. The verdict is straightforward: the Pro W5500 is the stronger performer in every recorded metric.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins the most benchmarks in the direct comparison?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro W5500 wins all three shared benchmarks: Geekbench OpenCL, Passmark G2D, and Passmark G3D. The RX 570X has zero wins in the head-to-head set.

Q: How large is the biggest performance gap?

A: In Passmark G3D, the Pro W5500 scores 8,978 versus 1,923 for the RX 570X, a delta of 366.9% in favor of the Pro.

Q: Do the two cards have the same memory bandwidth?

A: Yes, both deliver 224.0 GB/s, but the Pro W5500 uses 8 GB GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus at 14 Gbps effective, while the RX 570X uses 8 GB GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus at 7 Gbps effective.

Q: Which card has higher FP32 compute?

A: The Pro W5500 is narrowly ahead at 5.224 TFLOPS versus 5.095 TFLOPS for the RX 570X. The Pro has a larger FP16 lead at 10.45 TFLOPS (2:1) versus 5.095 TFLOPS (1:1).

Q: Why is the RX 570X not winning any tests despite having more shaders?

A: The RX 570X has 2048 shading units versus 1408 for the Pro W5500, but the Pro's higher clocks, newer RDNA architecture, and similar texture rate of 163.2 GTexel/s versus 159.2 GTexel/s result in higher measured performance.

Q: What are the power consumption differences?

A: The Pro W5500 has a 125 W TDP and suggests a 300 W PSU, while the RX 570X has a 150 TDP and suggests a 450 W PSU. The Pro is also single-slot; the RX is dual-slot.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The largest delta in the shared test set is Passmark G3D. The Pro W5500 recorded 8,978 points, while the RX 570X recorded 1,923 points. That is a 366.9% lead for the Pro. This test likely stresses geometry, texturing, and pixel throughput, where the Pro's higher pixel rate (59.36 GPixel/s versus 39.81 GPixel/s) and texture rate (163.2 GTexel/s versus 159.2 GTexel/s) shine. The RX 570X's extra shading units do not compensate for its lower clocks and older architecture.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the Pro W5500 scores 45,615 versus 38,939 for the RX 570X, a 17.1% advantage. This workload is more compute-bound, and the two cards have similar FP32 output (5.224 versus 5.095 TFLOPS). The result suggests that the Pro's RDNA architecture extracts more useful work per clock from its 1,408 shaders than the GCN design does from 2,048 shaders.

The Passmark G2D test is the closest margin. The Pro W5500 scores 806, the RX 570X scores 750, a 7.5% lead. This is a low-level 2D test, and both cards handle it adequately. The delta is nearly the smallest of any comparison, indicating that for desktop composition and basic drawing, the two cards are effectively in the same tier.

The database also gives context through average benchmark scores. The Pro W5500 averages 15,679 across all its recorded tests, while the RX 570X averages 13,871. The Pro sits in the 58th percentile of all GPUs, the RX in the 55th. While these averages include different test suites, they confirm that the Pro generally outperforms the RX.

Nearest rival data adds further perspective. The Pro W5500's closest neighbor is the AMD Radeon RX 7700, which scores 15,852, only 1.1% above the Pro. The GTX 1080 Ti sits at 15,548, a mere 0.8% below. So the Pro W5500 is positioned within a tightly packed group where small score differences separate cards. The RX 570X's nearest rival is the NVIDIA Tesla K10 at 14,029, 1.1% above, with the RTX A2000 Mobile at 13,821, 0.4% below.

The Pro W5500 launch MSRP was 399 USD, which the database records, but the RX 570X has no recorded launch MSRP.

In summary, the head-to-head data shows a dominating performance for the Pro W5500, with the largest margin in G3D, a solid margin in OpenCL, and a modest edge in 2D. The RX 570X does not win a single recorded benchmark, making the overall comparison one-sided.