AMD Radeon Pro W5500X vs AMD Radeon RX 6700 Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 6700 and AMD Radeon Pro W5500X are both end-of-life AMD graphics cards, but they serve fundamentally different purposes and performance tiers. The RX 6700 is a mainstream RDNA 2.0 gaming card from the RX 6000 series, while the Pro W5500X is a workstation-oriented RDNA 1.0 part designed for Apple MPX systems. Benchmark data shows a stark performance gap, with the RX 6700 delivering a Geekbench Metal score of 122,223 compared to the Pro W5500X’s 27,973, a 336.9% difference. This page breaks down where each card wins, their architectural differences, head-to-head results, and practical buying advice based strictly on the provided specifications and benchmark scores.

Where Each One Wins

The performance split between these two cards is one-sided in raw compute, but the Pro W5500X holds a niche advantage in specific workstation contexts. According to the data, the RX 6700 wins the only head-to-head benchmark test (Geekbench Metal) with a score of 122,223 versus 27,973, a delta of 336.9%. This means the RX 6700 is roughly 4.4 times faster in that specific API test, making it the clear winner for any workload that relies on Metal performance.

However, the Pro W5500X is not without its own territory. Its architecture and feature set point toward professional use cases. The card uses an Apple MPX bus interface, which is a proprietary Apple connection, and offers 2x HDMI 2.0b display outputs. This suggests it is designed for Mac Pro systems where driver certification and specific output configurations matter more than raw frame rates. The RX 6700, in contrast, uses a standard PCIe 4.0 x16 interface and offers 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, making it more flexible for general PC builds. In terms of benchmark wins, the data records 1 win for the RX 6700 and 0 for the Pro W5500X, but the Pro’s purpose is professional stability rather than raw speed. The RX 6700 also holds a higher percentile rank (75th) versus the Pro’s 73rd, indicating better overall standing among all GPUs.

Architecture Differences

The two cards are built on different generations of AMD’s RDNA architecture. The RX 6700 uses RDNA 2.0 with the Navi 22 chip, while the Pro W5500X uses the older RDNA 1.0 with the Navi 14 chip. This generational leap gives the RX 6700 several key features. It includes 36 ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent from the Pro W5500X which has no RT cores listed. The RX 6700 also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), whereas the Pro W5500X is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1). Both cards use the same 7 nm process from TSMC, but the RX 6700 packs significantly more hardware: 17,200 million transistors on a 335 mm² die, compared to the Pro’s 6,400 million transistors on a 158 mm² die. This results in a higher transistor density for the RX 6700 at 51.3M / mm² versus 40.5M / mm² for the Pro.

Memory configurations also differ. The RX 6700 has 10 GB of GDDR6 on a 160-bit bus with 320.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the Pro W5500X has 8 GB on a 128-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RX 6700’s memory clock is 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) versus the Pro’s 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). In terms of compute resources, the RX 6700 has 2304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, while the Pro W5500X has 1536 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The RX 6700 also has higher pixel and texture rates: 156.8 GPixel/s and 352.8 GTexel/s versus 56.22 GPixel/s and 168.7 GTexel/s for the Pro. Floating point performance is also nearly double: the RX 6700 delivers 11.29 TFLOPS FP32 and 22.58 TFLOPS FP16, while the Pro W5500X manages 5.398 TFLOPS FP32 and 10.80 TFLOPS FP16.

The power profiles reflect this performance gap. The RX 6700 has a TDP of 175 W and requires a 450 W suggested PSU, while the Pro W5500X has a 125 W TDP and a 300 W suggested PSU. The RX 6700 uses a single 8-pin power connector, while the Pro W5500X has no power connector listed, likely drawing power directly from the Apple MPX slot. Both are dual-slot cards, but only the RX 6700 has listed dimensions (267 mm length, 110 mm height, 40 mm width); the Pro W5500X has no dimensions provided.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison available is the Geekbench Metal test, and the results are decisively in favor of the RX 6700. The RX 6700 scores 122,223, while the Pro W5500X scores 27,973. This yields a delta of 336.9%, meaning the RX 6700 is more than four times faster in Metal compute workloads. This is a massive advantage for any application that leverages Apple’s Metal API, such as video editing or 3D rendering on macOS.

Looking at the broader benchmark context, the RX 6700’s average benchmark score is 30,433 across all tests, while the Pro W5500X’s average is 27,973 (which is its only score). The RX 6700’s nearest rivals include the NVIDIA CMP 70HX (average 30,476, delta -0.1%), NVIDIA Tesla M60 (average 30,490, delta -0.2%), AMD Radeon RX 6800 (average 30,095, delta 1.1%), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti (average 29,945, delta 1.6%). This places the RX 6700 slightly below the CMP 70HX and Tesla M60 but above the RX 6800 and RTX 3070 Ti in average score. The Pro W5500X’s nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti (average 28,020, delta -0.2%), AMD Radeon RX 7800M (average 27,883, delta 0.3%), AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 (average 27,839, delta 0.5%), and AMD FirePro S7150 (average 28,117, delta -0.5%). The Pro W5500X sits near the GTX 980 Ti and FirePro S7150 but slightly above the RX 7800M and Pro Vega 20.

The RX 6700 also shows a wider range of benchmark results, including Passmark scores for DirectX 9 (250), DirectX 10 (115), DirectX 11 (166), DirectX 12 (71), G2D (936), G3D (18,931), and GPU Compute (8,240). It also has 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2014, Geekbench OpenCL score of 97,841, and Geekbench Vulkan score of 83,974. The Pro W5500X has no such additional benchmarks in the data, limiting its comparison to the single Metal score.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in Geekbench Metal?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6700 is significantly faster, scoring 122,223 compared to the Pro W5500X’s 27,973, a 336.9% advantage.

Q: Does the Pro W5500X support ray tracing?

A: No. The Pro W5500X has no ray tracing cores listed, while the RX 6700 includes 36 RT cores.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The RX 6700 has 320.0 GB/s bandwidth on a 160-bit bus, while the Pro W5500X has 224.0 GB/s on a 128-bit bus.

Q: Which card has a higher transistor count?

A: The RX 6700 has 17,200 million transistors, compared to the Pro W5500X’s 6,400 million.

Q: Does the Pro W5500X use a standard PCIe interface?

A: No. It uses an Apple MPX bus interface, while the RX 6700 uses PCIe 4.0 x16.

Q: What is the TDP of each card?

A: The RX 6700 has a TDP of 175 W, while the Pro W5500X has a TDP of 125 W.

Specification Differences

The following specifications differ between the two cards. The RX 6700 has a chip of Navi 22 and RDNA 2.0 architecture, while the Pro W5500X uses Navi 14 and RDNA 1.0. The RX 6700 has a transistor count of 17,200 million on a 335 mm² die, versus 6,400 million on 158 mm² for the Pro. The RX 6700’s base clock is 1941 MHz, boost clock is 2450 MHz, and game clock is 2174 MHz, while the Pro W5500X has a base clock of 1187 MHz and boost clock of 1757 MHz with no game clock listed. Memory clocks are 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) for the RX 6700 and 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) for the Pro.

Memory size is 10 GB for the RX 6700 versus 8 GB for the Pro. Bus width is 160-bit versus 128-bit. Bandwidth is 320.0 GB/s versus 224.0 GB/s. Shading units are 2304 versus 1536. TMUs are 144 versus 96. ROPs are 64 versus 32. The RX 6700 has 36 RT cores; the Pro has none. Pixel rate is 156.8 GPixel/s versus 56.22 GPixel/s. Texture rate is 352.8 GTexel/s versus 168.7 GTexel/s. FP32 is 11.29 TFLOPS versus 5.398 TFLOPS. FP16 is 22.58 TFLOPS versus 10.80 TFLOPS. TDP is 175 W versus 125 W. The RX 6700 uses a 1x 8-pin power connector; the Pro has none listed. Suggested PSU is 450 W versus 300 W. Bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x16 versus Apple MPX. Display outputs are 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a versus 2x HDMI 2.0b. DirectX support is 12 Ultimate (12_2) versus 12 (12_1). The RX 6700 has dimensions of 267 mm x 110 mm x 40 mm; the Pro has no dimensions listed. Release dates are June 8, 2021, for the RX 6700 and December 10, 2019, for the Pro W5500X. The Pro W5500X has a launch MSRP of 599 USD; the RX 6700 has no launch MSRP listed.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous for raw performance: the AMD Radeon RX 6700 dominates the Pro W5500X in every measured compute metric, particularly in the Geekbench Metal test where it is 336.9% faster. With 10 GB of memory, higher clocks, more shading units, ray tracing support, and nearly double the FP32 throughput, the RX 6700 is the superior card for gaming, general 3D rendering, or any GPU-accelerated workload that does not require Apple-specific integration. Its percentile rank of 75 versus 73 also indicates better overall standing among all GPUs.

The Pro W5500X, however, has a specific purpose: it is built for Apple MPX systems. Its 125 W TDP, no power connector, and 2x HDMI 2.0b outputs indicate it is designed for Mac Pro environments where its 599 USD launch MSRP and certified drivers may be more important than speed. For users with such a system, the Pro W5500X is the only compatible choice between the two, as the RX 6700 cannot connect via Apple MPX. But for anyone building a standard PC, the RX 6700 is the clear pick—it offers 4.4 times the Metal performance, more memory bandwidth, and modern features like ray tracing and DirectX 12 Ultimate. The only reason to choose the Pro W5500X is if the Apple MPX bus interface is a hard requirement. Otherwise, the data shows no contest: the RX 6700 wins on every benchmark, every spec, and every practical measure of performance.