AMD Radeon Pro W5500 vs AMD Radeon RX 7600 Comparison

The AMD Radeon Pro W5500 and AMD Radeon RX 7600 are two very different GPUs separated by three years of architecture evolution, yet both occupy the 8 GB GDDR6 market segment. The benchmark data reveals a decisive generational victory for the RX 7600, which wins 8 of the 9 direct head-to-head comparisons, but the older Pro card manages a surprising and significant win in one key API workload. This analysis breaks down exactly where each card dominates, what the architectural differences mean, and which workflows favor which GPU.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most lopsided result in the comparison comes from Geekbench OpenCL, where the RX 7600 scores 88,051 versus the Pro W5500’s 45,615. That is a 48.2% gap in favor of the newer card, representing the single largest performance delta in the entire comparison. This result signals that the RX 7600's compute throughput is in a completely different class, a theme that repeats across most other tests.

The Passmark suite shows a similar pattern of RX 7600 dominance. In DirectX 11, the RX 7600 scores 172 against the Pro W5500’s 56, a massive 67.4% advantage. DirectX 9 shows the RX 7600 at 226 versus 126, a 44.2% lead. The 3D rendering performance follows suit: Passmark G3D gives the RX 7600 a score of 16,634 versus 8,978 for the Pro W5500, a 46% difference. GPU compute performance in Passmark also favors the RX 7600 by 45.3%, with scores of 8,790 and 4,804 respectively.

The RX 7600 also wins the more modern API tests. In DirectX 12, it scores 58 versus the Pro W5500’s 39, a 32.8% margin. Even in 2D graphics performance, the RX 7600 leads with a Passmark G2D score of 984 versus 806, an 18.1% advantage. The DirectX 10 test shows the RX 7600 at 84 versus 47, a 44% lead for the newer architecture.

However, the Pro W5500 takes one notable victory. In Geekbench Vulkan, the Pro card scores 42,021 against the RX 7600’s 34,401, a 22.2% win for the older GPU. This is the only head-to-head test where the Pro W5500 comes out ahead, and it is a substantial margin. This suggests that in Vulkan-based workloads, the RDNA 1.0 architecture in the Pro W5500 has a specific optimization or driver advantage that the newer RDNA 3.0 card does not match.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on fundamentally different architectures and process nodes. The Pro W5500 uses the Navi 14 chip, based on RDNA 1.0, fabricated on TSMC’s 7 nm process. The RX 7600 uses the Navi 33 chip, based on RDNA 3.0, manufactured on TSMC’s 6 nm node. This process shrink allows the RX 7600 to pack significantly more transistors into a relatively compact die: 13,300 million transistors on a 204 mm² die, versus 6,400 million on a 158 mm² die for the Pro W5500. The transistor density tells the story clearly — the RX 7600 achieves 65.2M transistors per mm², while the Pro W5500 manages 40.5M per mm².

The compute resources are substantially expanded on the RX 7600. It features 2,048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 64 raster operations pipelines (ROPs). The Pro W5500, by contrast, has 1,408 shading units, 88 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. This means the RX 7600 has roughly 45% more shading units, 45% more TMUs, and double the ROP count. The RX 7600 also introduces 32 ray tracing cores, a feature completely absent from the Pro W5500.

Clock speeds tell a dramatic story of architectural efficiency. Both cards have similar base clocks — 1,744 MHz for the Pro W5500 and 1,720 MHz for the RX 7600 — but the boost clocks diverge sharply. The RX 7600 boosts to 2,655 MHz, while the Pro W5500 tops out at 1,855 MHz. The RX 7600 also has a defined game clock of 2,250 MHz, a metric the Pro W5500 does not specify. This 800 MHz boost clock advantage directly translates to the RX 7600’s massive compute throughput: 21.75 TFLOPS FP32 versus 5.224 TFLOPS for the Pro W5500, a fourfold increase.

Memory technology is identical in type — both use 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus — but the speeds differ. The Pro W5500 runs memory at 1,750 MHz (14 Gbps effective), yielding 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 7600 runs memory at 2,250 MHz (18 Gbps effective), providing 288.0 GB/s. This 64 GB/s bandwidth advantage helps the RX 7600 feed its much larger shader array.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 7600 is the clear winner for nearly all modern workloads. Its dominance in OpenCL compute (48.2% ahead) and Passmark GPU compute (45.3% ahead) makes it the obvious choice for general-purpose GPU computing, rendering, and any task that leverages raw shader throughput. The DirectX 11 and DirectX 12 results, where it leads by 67.4% and 32.8% respectively, indicate strong performance in contemporary Windows gaming and DirectX-based applications. The 46% lead in Passmark G3D reinforces that the RX 7600 is the better card for rasterization-heavy 3D workloads. Its 32 ray tracing cores also give it hardware acceleration for ray-traced effects, which the Pro W5500 cannot handle in hardware at all.

The Pro W5500’s single win is in Vulkan, where it beats the RX 7600 by 22.2%. This is a meaningful result for users running Vulkan-based applications, which include many modern game engines, emulators, and professional 3D tools that have adopted Vulkan as a cross-platform API. The Pro W5500’s superior Vulkan score suggests that in this specific API environment, the older RDNA 1.0 architecture has a performance characteristic that the newer card does not replicate. For a professional workstation card, this could be relevant for specific Linux-based or Vulkan-centric workflows.

For legacy API support, the RX 7600 wins across the board. It leads DirectX 9 by 44.2%, DirectX 10 by 44%, and DirectX 11 by 67.4%. This means the RX 7600 is better suited for older software titles and compatibility scenarios. The Pro W5500’s 32 ROPs versus the RX 7600’s 64 ROPs also means the newer card has double the pixel fill rate potential, though the specific pixel rate numbers confirm this: 169.9 GPixel/s for the RX 7600 versus 59.36 GPixel/s for the Pro W5500.

Specification Differences

The most significant specification gap is in FP32 compute throughput. The RX 7600 delivers 21.75 TFLOPS, while the Pro W5500 manages only 5.224 TFLOPS. This is a 4.2x difference and explains the OpenCL and compute benchmark results. FP16 performance also differs: the RX 7600 achieves 21.75 TFLOPS at a 1:1 ratio, while the Pro W5500 reaches 10.45 TFLOPS at a 2:1 ratio, meaning the RX 7600 has both higher peak FP16 and does not sacrifice half the rate to achieve it.

Texture and pixel rates heavily favor the RX 7600. The texture rate is 339.8 GTexel/s versus 163.2 GTexel/s, a 2.1x advantage. The pixel rate is 169.9 GPixel/s versus 59.36 GPixel/s, a 2.9x advantage. These figures reflect the RX 7600’s doubled TMU and ROP counts combined with its much higher boost clock.

Power consumption is higher on the RX 7600, rated at 165 W TDP versus 125 W for the Pro W5500. The RX 7600 requires a 450 W suggested power supply and a single 8-pin connector, while the Pro W5500 asks for a 300 W PSU and a single 6-pin connector. The RX 7600 is also a dual-slot card, whereas the Pro W5500 is single-slot.

Physical dimensions differ slightly. The RX 7600 is shorter but taller: 204 mm (8 inches) long and 115 mm (4.5 inches) high. The Pro W5500 is longer at 241 mm (9.5 inches) but slightly shorter at 111 mm (4.4 inches). Display outputs also differ: the Pro W5500 offers 4x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the RX 7600 provides 1x HDMI 2.1a and 3x DisplayPort 2.1.

DirectX support differentiates the two. The RX 7600 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the Pro W5500 only supports DirectX 12 (12_1). Both cards support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4. The RX 7600’s production status is Active, while the Pro W5500 is End-of-life. The RX 7600 was released on 2023-05-24, and the Pro W5500 on 2020-02-09. The launch MSRP for the Pro W5500 was 399 USD, and the RX 7600 launched at 269 USD.

FAQ

Q: Which card has higher raw compute performance?

A: The RX 7600 dominates with 21.75 TFLOPS FP32, versus 5.224 TFLOPS for the Pro W5500. This translates to a 48.2% lead in Geekbench OpenCL and a 45.3% lead in Passmark GPU compute.

Q: Is the Pro W5500 better in any benchmark?

A: Yes, the Pro W5500 wins Geekbench Vulkan with a score of 42,021 versus 34,401 for the RX 7600, a 22.2% advantage.

Q: How do the memory systems compare?

A: Both cards have 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, but the RX 7600 runs at 18 Gbps effective providing 288.0 GB/s, while the Pro W5500 runs at 14 Gbps effective for 224.0 GB/s.

Q: What is the biggest architectural difference?

A: The RX 7600 uses RDNA 3.0 on a 6 nm process with 13,300 million transistors and 32 ray tracing cores. The Pro W5500 uses RDNA 1.0 on a 7 nm process with 6,400 million transistors and no ray tracing hardware.

Q: Which card has better DirectX 12 support?

A: The RX 7600 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the Pro W5500 only supports DirectX 12 (12_1). The RX 7600 also scores 58 versus 39 in Passmark DirectX 12, a 32.8% lead.

Q: Are there differences in power requirements?

A: The RX 7600 has a higher TDP of 165 W and recommends a 450 W PSU with a single 8-pin connector. The Pro W5500 has a 125 W TDP, recommends a 300 W PSU, and uses a single 6-pin connector.