AMD Radeon Pro W5500 vs AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data presents a clear split between these two AMD graphics cards, with the Radeon RX 9070 XT dominating most tests, while the Radeon Pro W5500 holds one notable victory. Across the nine recorded head-to-head benchmarks, the RX 9070 XT wins eight, while the Pro W5500 wins one.

The single win for the Pro W5500 comes in Geekbench OpenCL, where it scores 45,615 against the RX 9070 XT’s 17,428. That is a 161.7% advantage for the older card, a massive reversal of the overall trend. This result suggests that in certain compute workloads, particularly those optimized for OpenCL, the Pro W5500’s architecture still has teeth despite its age.

Every other benchmark favors the RX 9070 XT, often by substantial margins. In Geekbench Vulkan, the RX 9070 XT scores 65,879 versus 42,021 for the Pro W5500, a 36.2% lead. The DirectX tests show even larger gaps. In Passmark DirectX 11, the RX 9070 XT posts 292 against 56, an 80.8% difference. DirectX 10 shows 154 versus 47, a 69.5% gap. DirectX 9 is 353 versus 126, a 64.3% lead. DirectX 12 shows 78 versus 39, a 50% difference.

The gap narrows somewhat in 2D performance, where the RX 9070 XT scores 1,328 against 806, a 39.3% lead. But the 3D and compute results are decisive. Passmark G3D shows 26,795 for the RX 9070 XT versus 8,978 for the Pro W5500, a 66.5% advantage. Passmark GPU Compute shows 15,864 versus 4,804, a 69.7% lead.

The average benchmark score in the database tells a similar story, though the margins are compressed. The Pro W5500 has an average benchmark score of 15,679, while the RX 9070 XT sits at 13,543. However, this average includes the anomalous Geekbench OpenCL result, which heavily inflates the Pro W5500’s standing. Looking at the raw head-to-head data, the RX 9070 XT is the clear winner in nearly every category that matters for modern gaming and general GPU compute.

The percentile rankings are close, with the Pro W5500 at 58 and the RX 9070 XT at 55 among all GPUs. This reflects the fact that the Pro W5500’s strong OpenCL showing boosts its overall standing, while the RX 9070 XT’s wins are spread across more varied workloads.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different generations of AMD’s RDNA architecture, and the jump is substantial. The Pro W5500 uses the Navi 14 chip on RDNA 1.0, fabricated on a 7 nm process at TSMC. The RX 9070 XT uses the Navi 48 chip on RDNA 4.0, built on a 4 nm process, also at TSMC. The process shrink alone explains part of the performance leap: the RX 9070 XT packs 53,900 million transistors on a 357 mm² die, while the Pro W5500 has 6,400 million transistors on a 158 mm² die. Transistor density nearly quadruples, from 40.5 million per square millimeter on the Pro W5500 to 151.0 million per square millimeter on the RX 9070 XT.

The RX 9070 XT also introduces dedicated ray tracing cores, with 64 RT cores present. The Pro W5500 has no RT cores listed in the database. This is a fundamental architectural difference: the RX 9070 XT is built for modern ray-traced workloads, while the Pro W5500 predates that feature. The shading unit count also jumps from 1,408 on the Pro W5500 to 4,096 on the RX 9070 XT. Texture mapping units go from 88 to 256, and raster operation units from 32 to 128.

Clock speeds tell a different story. The Pro W5500 has a higher base clock at 1,744 MHz versus 1,660 MHz, but the RX 9070 XT’s boost clock is far higher at 2,970 MHz versus 1,855 MHz. The RX 9070 XT also has a listed game clock of 2,400 MHz, which the Pro W5500 lacks. Memory speeds are also higher on the newer card, with 20.1 Gbps effective versus 14 Gbps effective.

The FP32 compute figures reveal the scale of the generational leap. The RX 9070 XT delivers 48.66 TFLOPS, while the Pro W5500 manages 5.224 TFLOPS. FP16 is even more telling: the RX 9070 XT runs FP16 at 48.66 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio, meaning no throughput penalty, while the Pro W5500 hits 10.45 TFLOPS at a 2:1 ratio, meaning it halves FP32 throughput to achieve that number.

Where Each One Wins

The Pro W5500’s victory in Geekbench OpenCL is its only clear win, but it is a significant one. OpenCL workloads in scientific computing, video encoding, or certain professional applications may favor the older card’s architecture. The 161.7% margin suggests that the Pro W5500 is not merely competitive but substantially faster in this specific API, which could matter for users locked into OpenCL-based pipelines.

The RX 9070 XT wins everywhere else. Its strengths are most pronounced in DirectX 11 and DirectX 10, where it leads by 80.8% and 69.5% respectively. These are legacy APIs, but they remain relevant for older games and some professional applications. The 3D performance gap of 66.5% in Passmark G3D indicates that the RX 9070 XT is far better suited to modern gaming and 3D rendering workloads.

For compute-heavy tasks, the RX 9070 XT’s 69.7% lead in Passmark GPU Compute is telling. While the OpenCL result favors the Pro W5500, the broader compute picture favors the newer card. The DirectX 12 result, a 50% lead, also points to the RX 9070 XT being the better choice for current-generation game engines that use DX12.

The 2D performance gap of 39.3% is less critical for gaming but could matter for desktop productivity, video playback, or multi-monitor setups. The RX 9070 XT’s higher G2D score of 1,328 versus 806 suggests smoother 2D acceleration overall.

Specification Differences

The most obvious specification gap is memory. The Pro W5500 has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, with 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 9070 XT doubles that to 16 GB on a 256-bit bus, with 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth. That is nearly three times the memory bandwidth, which directly impacts high-resolution textures and large data sets.

Power and physical requirements also diverge significantly. The Pro W5500 has a TDP of 125 W, a single 6-pin power connector, and a suggested PSU of 300 W. It is a single-slot card. The RX 9070 XT has a TDP of 304 W, two 8-pin connectors, and a suggested PSU of 700 W. It is a dual-slot card. This means the RX 9070 XT requires a substantially beefier power supply and more case space.

The bus interface differs as well. The Pro W5500 uses PCIe 4.0 x8, while the RX 9070 XT uses PCIe 5.0 x16. This doubles the available bandwidth for data transfer between the GPU and the rest of the system, which can matter for workloads that stream large amounts of data.

Display outputs are also different. The Pro W5500 offers 4x DisplayPort 1.4a. The RX 9070 XT offers 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1a. The newer card adds HDMI support and a newer DisplayPort standard, which could be relevant for VR headsets or high-refresh-rate monitors.

The API support differs in DirectX versions. The Pro W5500 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the RX 9070 XT supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4. The RX 9070 XT’s DirectX 12 Ultimate support includes features like ray tracing and mesh shaders, which require the RT cores present on that card.

The Pro W5500 is end-of-life, released on 2020-02-09, with a launch MSRP of 399 USD. The RX 9070 XT is active, released on 2025-03-05, with a launch MSRP of 599 USD. The Pro W5500’s predecessor was Radeon Pro Vega, while the RX 9070 XT’s predecessor was Navi III.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro W5500 scores 45,615 versus 17,428 for the RX 9070 XT, a 161.7% lead.

Q: How much faster is the RX 9070 XT in DirectX 11?

A: The RX 9070 XT scores 292 versus 56 for the Pro W5500, an 80.8% advantage.

Q: Does the RX 9070 XT support ray tracing?

A: Yes, it has 64 dedicated ray tracing cores. The Pro W5500 has no RT cores listed.

Q: What is the memory capacity difference?

A: The Pro W5500 has 8 GB, while the RX 9070 XT has 16 GB. The RX 9070 XT also has a 256-bit bus versus 128-bit, and its bandwidth is 644.6 GB/s versus 224.0 GB/s.

Q: Which card requires more power?

A: The RX 9070 XT has a TDP of 304 W and needs a 700 W PSU, while the Pro W5500 has a TDP of 125 W and needs a 300 W PSU.

Q: What is the process node difference?

A: The Pro W5500 is on 7 nm, while the RX 9070 XT is on 4 nm, both from TSMC.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous for most use cases. The RX 9070 XT is the card to choose for gaming, modern 3D rendering, and any workload that relies on DirectX 11, 12, or Vulkan. Its wins are massive in every one of those categories, ranging from 50% to 80.8% leads. The 16 GB memory buffer and 644.6 GB/s bandwidth make it far better suited to high-resolution textures and large scenes. The ray tracing cores add a capability the Pro W5500 simply does not have.

The only scenario where the Pro W5500 makes sense is if your workflow is locked to OpenCL and you cannot migrate. Its 161.7% OpenCL advantage is real and substantial. But that comes with caveats: it has half the memory, a fraction of the bandwidth, and no ray tracing support. Its lower TDP of 125 W and single-slot design could also be an advantage in compact builds or systems with limited power delivery, since the RX 9070 XT needs 304 W and dual-slot space.

The launch MSRP difference is 399 USD for the Pro W5500 versus 599 USD for the RX 9070 XT, but the performance gap in most tests is far larger than the price gap. If you need a current, active card with modern API support and headroom for future workloads, the RX 9070 XT is the clear pick. If you are building a low-power workstation with a narrow OpenCL workload, the Pro W5500 remains a viable, if legacy, option. For everyone else, the RX 9070 XT wins eight of nine benchmarks, and that is the statistic that should drive your decision.