AMD Radeon Pro W5500X vs AMD Radeon RX 570 Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 570 and AMD Radeon Pro W5500X represent two distinct generations of AMD graphics technology, separated by over two years of architectural evolution. The RX 570, built on the Polaris 20 chip with GCN 4.0 architecture, targets the mainstream consumer segment, while the Pro W5500X, using the Navi 14 chip with RDNA 1.0, serves professional Mac ecosystems. Despite their different market positions, both cards deliver comparable aggregate performance, with the RX 570 achieving an average benchmark score of 28,766 and the Pro W5500X scoring 27,973. This places them at the 74th and 73rd percentiles among all GPUs, respectively, making them near-neighbors in overall capability. However, their underlying designs, feature sets, and specific workload behaviors diverge significantly, as the data below illustrates.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The direct comparison between these two cards is limited to a single shared benchmark: Geekbench Metal. In this test, the AMD Radeon RX 570 delivers a score of 39,349, while the AMD Radeon Pro W5500X scores 27,973. This represents a decisive 40.7% advantage for the RX 570, making it the clear winner in the only head-to-head metric available. This substantial margin indicates that in Metal-accelerated applications—commonly found in macOS environments and creative software—the older GCN-based card significantly outperforms its newer RDNA-based counterpart. The delta is not marginal; it is a large gap that would translate into noticeably smoother frame rates or faster compute operations in Metal workloads.

Contextualizing these results through their nearest rivals provides additional insight. The RX 570’s average score of 28,766 places it just 0.4% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6800M (28,874) and 0.8% behind the AMD Radeon RX 470 (28,996), while edging out the AMD Radeon R9 M295X by 0.7% and the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 by 1.2%. This suggests the RX 570 sits in a tightly contested performance band where even high-end professional cards like the Quadro RTX 8000 cannot separate themselves meaningfully. On the Pro W5500X side, its 27,973 average score is virtually identical to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti (28,020, a 0.2% difference), and it trades blows with the AMD Radeon RX 7800M (0.3% ahead) and AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 (0.5% behind). The Pro W5500X’s closest rival, the AMD FirePro S7150, is 0.5% faster, showing that the card performs consistently within a narrow range of professional and consumer GPUs.

Notably, the RX 570’s Metal score of 39,349 is significantly higher than its own average score of 28,766, indicating that Metal is a particularly strong workload for this card. Conversely, the Pro W5500X’s Metal score matches its average exactly, suggesting no such specialization. This discrepancy explains why the head-to-head delta is so large: the RX 570 excels specifically in the test where both cards are measured, while the Pro W5500X delivers its typical performance without any workload-specific boost. The data shows that in other API contexts, such as OpenCL or Vulkan, the RX 570 also posts strong numbers—32,084 and 42,752, respectively—but no comparable data exists for the Pro W5500X in those tests, leaving their relative performance in those APIs unquantified.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the available benchmark data, the AMD Radeon RX 570 is the superior performer for anyone prioritizing raw compute and graphics throughput. It wins the sole head-to-head comparison by 40.7%, holds a higher average benchmark score (28,766 vs. 27,973), and ranks one percentile higher among all GPUs (74th vs. 73rd). Its Metal score of 39,349 is exceptional, suggesting it handles Apple’s graphics API with particular efficiency, which could make it a surprising choice for macOS-oriented workloads despite its consumer branding. The RX 570 also offers broader API support matching the Pro W5500X in OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan (1.3 vs. 1.4), though the Pro card has a slight edge in DirectX feature level (12_1 vs. 12_0).

The AMD Radeon Pro W5500X, however, is not without reason for selection. It consumes less power (125 W TDP vs. 150 W), requires a smaller power supply (300 W vs. 450 W), and draws power through an Apple MPX interface rather than a standard PCIe connector, making it purpose-built for specific Mac Pro configurations. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory doubles the RX 570’s 4 GB of GDDR5, which could matter for large datasets or high-resolution textures, even though both cards offer identical 224.0 GB/s memory bandwidth. The Pro W5500X also delivers higher pixel rates (56.22 GPixel/s vs. 39.81 GPixel/s) and texture rates (168.7 GTexel/s vs. 159.2 GTexel/s), along with greater FP32 throughput (5.398 TFLOPS vs. 5.095 TFLOPS). For users constrained by power delivery or needing the Apple MPX form factor, the Pro W5500X is the logical choice; for raw performance in shared benchmarks, the RX 570 wins outright.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two GPUs is generational. The RX 570 employs the Polaris 20 chip fabricated on GlobalFoundries’ 14 nm process, packing 5,700 million transistors into a 232 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 24.6 million per square millimeter. Its GCN 4.0 architecture operates with a base clock of 1168 MHz and a boost clock of 1244 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective). The Pro W5500X, by contrast, uses the Navi 14 chip built on TSMC’s 7 nm process, fitting 6,400 million transistors into a smaller 158 mm² die, achieving a much higher density of 40.5 million per square millimeter. Its RDNA 1.0 architecture runs at a higher base clock of 1187 MHz and a substantially higher boost clock of 1757 MHz, with memory at 1750 MHz but 14 Gbps effective—double the data rate.

These process and clock differences lead to divergent compute characteristics. The RX 570 features 2,048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 32 raster output pipelines, producing 5.095 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and an identical 5.095 TFLOPS in FP16 (1:1 ratio). The Pro W5500X, despite having fewer shading units (1,536) and TMUs (96), maintains the same 32 ROPs and achieves higher throughput: 5.398 TFLOPS in FP32 and 10.80 TFLOPS in FP16 (2:1 ratio). This means the Pro card is significantly faster in FP16 workloads, which are common in AI inference and some compute tasks, while the RX 570’s 1:1 FP16 ratio offers no such advantage. The Pro W5500X also wins on pixel fill rate (56.22 GPixel/s vs. 39.81 GPixel/s) and texture fill rate (168.7 GTexel/s vs. 159.2 GTexel/s).

Memory configurations differ in capacity and type but converge on bandwidth. The RX 570 uses 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, while the Pro W5500X uses 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus—both delivering exactly 224.0 GB/s. The wider bus of the RX 570 compensates for slower memory, while the Pro card’s faster GDDR6 makes up for its narrower interface. In terms of connectivity, the RX 570 offers 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, whereas the Pro W5500X provides only 2x HDMI 2.0b. The RX 570 uses a standard PCIe 3.0 x16 interface with a 1x 6-pin power connector, while the Pro W5500X relies on the proprietary Apple MPX bus with no additional power connectors. API support shows the Pro card ahead with DirectX 12_1 and Vulkan 1.4, versus the RX 570’s DirectX 12_0 and Vulkan 1.3; both support OpenGL 4.6.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 570 has a higher average benchmark score of 28,766, compared to the AMD Radeon Pro W5500X’s 27,973, a difference of 793 points.

Q: How much faster is the RX 570 in the Geekbench Metal test?

A: The RX 570 scores 39,349 in Geekbench Metal, which is 40.7% higher than the Pro W5500X’s score of 27,973 in the same test.

Q: What are the memory capacities and types of these two cards?

A: The RX 570 has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory, while the Pro W5500X has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory. Both provide identical memory bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s.

Q: Which card supports a higher DirectX feature level?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro W5500X supports DirectX 12 (12_1), whereas the AMD Radeon RX 570 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), giving the Pro card a slightly newer feature set.

Q: What are the TDP and power supply requirements for each card?

A: The RX 570 has a TDP of 150 W and requires a 450 W power supply, while the Pro W5500X has a TDP of 125 W and requires a 300 W power supply.

Q: Which card has more shading units and texture mapping units?

A: The RX 570 has 2,048 shading units and 128 TMUs, while the Pro W5500X has 1,536 shading units and 96 TMUs, despite the Pro card achieving higher FP32 throughput.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 570 wins decisively in the shared Geekbench Metal benchmark, posting a 40.7% higher score. This makes it the stronger choice for any Metal-accelerated application, which includes much of macOS software, creative suites, and game ports using Apple’s graphics API. Its higher average benchmark score (28,766 vs. 27,973) and superior percentile ranking (74th vs. 73rd) further reinforce its overall performance lead. The RX 570 also offers more display outputs (1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort) compared to the Pro W5500X’s 2x HDMI, making it more versatile for multi-monitor setups. Its standard PCIe 3.0 x16 interface and 1x 6-pin power connector mean it can be installed in typical desktop systems without proprietary hardware requirements.

The AMD Radeon Pro W5500X wins in power efficiency and memory capacity. Its 125 W TDP is 25 W lower than the RX 570’s 150 W, and it requires a 300 W power supply versus 450 W, making it easier to integrate into power-constrained systems. The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory doubles the RX 570’s 4 GB, which is advantageous for workloads with large memory footprints, such as high-resolution textures or complex compute datasets. The Pro W5500X also achieves higher pixel rates (56.22 GPixel/s vs. 39.81 GPixel/s), texture rates (168.7 GTexel/s vs. 159.2 GTexel/s), and FP32 throughput (5.398 TFLOPS vs. 5.095 TFLOPS), indicating faster raw processing in non-Metal workloads. Its FP16 performance of 10.80 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio) far exceeds the RX 570’s 5.095 TFLOPS (1:1), making it superior for half-precision compute tasks. The Apple MPX bus interface and dual HDMI outputs target Mac Pro systems specifically, where the RX 570’s standard interfaces would not be compatible.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every specification category. The RX 570 uses the Polaris 20 chip on a 14 nm GlobalFoundries process, while the Pro W5500X uses the Navi 14 chip on a 7 nm TSMC process. Transistor counts are 5,700 million vs. 6,400 million, with die sizes of 232 mm² vs. 158 mm², leading to transistor densities of 24.6M/mm² vs. 40.5M/mm². Clock speeds differ notably: the RX 570 runs at 1168 MHz base and 1244 MHz boost, while the Pro W5500X runs at 1187 MHz base and 1757 MHz boost. Memory speed is 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective) for the RX 570 versus 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) for the Pro W5500X.

Memory capacity and type differ (4 GB GDDR5 vs. 8 GB GDDR6), though bus width and bandwidth differ in configuration: 256-bit vs. 128-bit bus, both yielding 224.0 GB/s. Shading units (2,048 vs. 1,536), TMUs (128 vs. 96), and ROPs (32 vs. 32) show the RX 570 with more execution units, but the Pro W5500X wins on pixel rate (56.22 vs. 39.81 GPixel/s), texture rate (168.7 vs. 159.2 GTexel/s), FP32 (5.398 vs. 5.095 TFLOPS), and FP16 (10.80 vs. 5.095 TFLOPS). Power figures favor the Pro W5500X: 125 W TDP vs. 150 W, no power connectors vs. 1x 6-pin, and 300 W vs. 450 W suggested PSU. The bus interface is Apple MPX vs. PCIe 3.0 x16, and display outputs are 2x HDMI 2.0b vs. 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. API support differs in DirectX (12_1 vs. 12_0) and Vulkan (1.4 vs. 1.3), with both sharing OpenGL 4.6. Physical dimensions are specified only for the RX 570 (241 mm / 9.5 inches length), and release dates are 2017-04-17 for the RX 570 versus 2019-12-10 for the Pro W5500X.