AMD Radeon Pro W5500X vs AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM Comparison

Both the AMD Radeon Pro W5500X and the AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM target the same performance tier, and the benchmark data confirms they are effectively locked in a dead heat. The average benchmark scores show the Pro W5500X at 57,661 and the RX 5600 OEM at 57,599, a difference of just 0.1% in favor of the former. This places both cards within the 88th and 89th percentiles of all GPUs, respectively, meaning either will deliver a very similar level of raw compute performance in real-world tasks.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most direct comparison comes from the nearestRivals data, which pits these two cards directly against each other. The AMD Radeon Pro W5500X holds a razor-thin lead over the AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM, with a deltaPct of 0.1%. This means that in the aggregate benchmark used for this comparison, the Pro W5500X scores essentially the same as its rival, with the difference being within the margin of error for most testing methodologies.

Looking at the broader competitive landscape reinforces how close these two are. The NVIDIA P102-100, which sits between them in the rankings, scores 57,601. The Pro W5500X is 0.1% ahead of this NVIDIA card, while the RX 5600 OEM is 0% behind it, which translates to a virtual tie. The Intel Arc A580 is the next closest competitor, scoring 57,756, which puts it 0.2% ahead of the Pro W5500X and 0.3% ahead of the RX 5600 OEM. The Intel Arc A570M is further out, scoring 58,239, representing a 1% lead over the Pro W5500X and a 1.1% lead over the RX 5600 OEM.

The individual benchmark results available tell a more nuanced story. The Pro W5500X has a single Geekbench Metal score of 57,661, which is its only listed benchmark and matches its average. The RX 5600 OEM, however, has two separate scores: a Geekbench OpenCL score of 61,660 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 53,538. This suggests that the RX 5600 OEM is significantly faster in OpenCL workloads, but slower in Vulkan, while the Pro W5500X’s Metal performance is its strong suit. The average scores, however, pull both cards to nearly the same point, indicating that no single API workload defines the overall winner.

Where Each One Wins

The data suggests a clear split in use cases based on API performance. The AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM wins decisively in OpenCL compute tasks, posting a score of 61,660, which is substantially higher than the Pro W5500X’s aggregate score of 57,661. This makes the RX 5600 OEM the better choice for applications that leverage OpenCL for general-purpose GPU compute, such as certain rendering engines or scientific workloads.

Conversely, the AMD Radeon Pro W5500X is the stronger card in Metal-based environments, given its dedicated Geekbench Metal score of 57,661. This is particularly relevant for macOS ecosystems, where the Pro W5500X’s Apple MPX bus interface and its designation in the "Radeon Pro Mac" generation indicate it is designed for that platform. For users working in Metal-accelerated creative software on a Mac, this card is the clear winner.

The RX 5600 OEM also has a presence in Vulkan workloads, with a score of 53,538, but this is its weakest result. While the Pro W5500X does not have a separate Vulkan score listed, its average performance being nearly identical to the RX 5600 OEM suggests that the Pro card may hold the edge in Vulkan, as it would need to offset the RX 5600 OEM’s strong OpenCL showing to achieve a similar average. However, without direct Vulkan data for the Pro W5500X, this remains speculative.

Architecture Differences

Both cards are built on AMD’s RDNA 1.0 architecture, but they use different silicon. The AMD Radeon Pro W5500X is based on the Navi 14 chip, which is the smaller of the two dies. This chip contains 6,400 million transistors on a 158 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 40.5M per mm². In contrast, the AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM uses the Navi 10 chip, a larger and more complex design with 10,300 million transistors on a 251 mm² die, giving it a slightly higher transistor density of 41.0M per mm².

The difference in chip size translates directly to differences in core resources. The RX 5600 OEM has 2,048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 64 render output units (ROPs). The Pro W5500X is cut down in comparison, with 1,536 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. This means the RX 5600 OEM has roughly 33% more shading units and double the ROPs, which should give it a theoretical advantage in fill-rate-bound and shader-heavy tasks.

Neither card features dedicated ray tracing cores or tensor cores, as these are absent from the RDNA 1.0 architecture. Both support DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, ensuring compatibility with modern APIs. The process node is identical at 7 nm, fabricated by TSMC, and both cards share the same 125 W TDP and a recommended 300 W power supply.

Specification Differences

The most significant specification difference lies in memory configuration. The AMD Radeon Pro W5500X comes with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth and running at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). The AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM, meanwhile, offers 6 GB of GDDR6 on a wider 192-bit bus, which yields a higher bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s at a lower memory clock of 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective). This means the RX 5600 OEM has a 28.6% bandwidth advantage, which can be critical for high-resolution textures and heavy data movement.

Clock speeds also differ. The Pro W5500X has a base clock of 1187 MHz and a boost clock of 1757 MHz, while the RX 5600 OEM runs at a lower base of 1130 MHz and boost of 1560 MHz, with a game clock of 1375 MHz. Despite the lower clocks, the RX 5600 OEM achieves higher compute throughput due to its larger core count, with FP32 performance of 6.390 TFLOPS compared to the Pro W5500X’s 5.398 TFLOPS. Similarly, the RX 5600 OEM leads in pixel rate (99.84 GPixel/s vs. 56.22 GPixel/s) and texture rate (199.7 GTexel/s vs. 168.7 GTexel/s).

The physical and interface specifications reveal their intended markets. The Pro W5500X uses an Apple MPX bus interface and has only 2x HDMI 2.0b outputs, while the RX 5600 OEM uses PCIe 4.0 x16 and offers 1x HDMI 2.0b plus 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The RX 5600 OEM also requires a single 8-pin power connector, whereas the Pro W5500X does not list one, likely due to its MPX slot design. The Pro W5500X launched on December 10, 2019, with a launch MSRP of 599 USD, while the RX 5600 OEM followed on January 20, 2020, and has no listed MSRP. Both are end-of-life products.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in the overall average benchmark?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro W5500X has a marginally higher average benchmark score of 57,661 compared to the AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM’s 57,599, a difference of just 0.1%.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM beat the Pro W5500X in any specific API test?

A: Yes, the RX 5600 OEM scores 61,660 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is significantly higher than the Pro W5500X’s overall average score of 57,661, indicating a strong win in OpenCL-based compute workloads.

Q: Is there a memory capacity difference between the two cards?

A: Yes, the AMD Radeon Pro W5500X has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, while the AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM has 6 GB of GDDR6 memory.

Q: Which card has higher memory bandwidth?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM has higher memory bandwidth at 288.0 GB/s, compared to the Pro W5500X’s 224.0 GB/s, due to its wider 192-bit bus.

Q: Are these cards suitable for ray tracing?

A: No, neither the AMD Radeon Pro W5500X nor the AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM includes dedicated ray tracing cores, as both are based on the RDNA 1.0 architecture.

Q: What is the TDP for both cards?

A: Both the AMD Radeon Pro W5500X and the AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM have a TDP of 125 W and a suggested power supply rating of 300 W.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the benchmark data, the choice between these two cards comes down to the software environment you use. The AMD Radeon Pro W5500X is the better pick for users in a macOS ecosystem, given its Apple MPX interface and its performance in Geekbench Metal, where it scores 57,661. Its 8 GB of memory also provides a capacity advantage for larger datasets, despite the lower bandwidth.

The AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM is the more versatile performer for PC builders. Its higher core count and memory bandwidth translate to superior raw compute in OpenCL, with a score of 61,660, and it also holds a significant lead in theoretical pixel and texture rates. The wider 192-bit bus and higher 288.0 GB/s bandwidth make it better suited for bandwidth-intensive gaming or compute tasks on a standard PCIe 4.0 platform.

For an average user who does not rely on Metal, the RX 5600 OEM is the stronger choice due to its higher FP32 throughput and bandwidth. The Pro W5500X only makes sense if you are specifically targeting a Mac Pro or similar MPX-based system, where its form factor and Metal performance are relevant. The performance gap between the two is negligible in the aggregate, but the RX 5600 OEM offers more headroom in traditional PC workloads.