AMD Radeon Pro W5500X vs AMD Radeon RX 6800M Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 6800M and AMD Radeon Pro W5500X are both end-of-life AMD graphics solutions, but they target entirely different segments of the market. The RX 6800M is a high-performance mobile part from the Radeon RX 6000 series, designed for gaming laptops, while the Pro W5500X is a workstation card built specifically for Apple Mac Pro systems. The data shows a stark performance disparity, with the RX 6800M delivering a dominant 306.5% advantage over the Pro W5500X in their single shared benchmark. However, their architectural differences and intended use cases create a clear split between raw horsepower and professional platform integration.

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark results present a one-sided picture. In the only head-to-head test available, Geekbench Metal, the AMD Radeon RX 6800M scores 113,721 points, while the AMD Radeon Pro W5500X scores 27,973 points. This represents a 306.5% win for the RX 6800M, making it the clear victor in any scenario that leverages Apple’s Metal API. The RX 6800M’s 74th percentile ranking among all GPUs, compared to the Pro W5500X’s 73rd percentile, further underscores its superior standing in the broader performance hierarchy.

The Pro W5500X’s single benchmark score of 27,973 places it in a competitive bracket with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti, which scores 28,020, a delta of -0.2%. This suggests that while the Pro W5500X is not a top-tier performer, it holds its own against older high-end desktop cards. The RX 6800M, by contrast, sits near the AMD Radeon RX 570, which scores 28,766, a delta of 0.4%, and the AMD Radeon RX 470, which scores 28,996, a delta of -0.4%. This places the RX 6800M in a performance tier that is roughly 4x faster than the Pro W5500X in absolute terms, based on their average benchmark scores of 28,874 and 27,973, respectively.

For practical use, the RX 6800M wins on raw compute and graphics throughput, making it suitable for demanding gaming and content creation tasks. The Pro W5500X, despite its lower performance, wins on platform compatibility, as it is specifically designed for the Apple MPX bus interface and features dual HDMI 2.0b outputs, which are ideal for Mac Pro users needing multi-display workstation setups.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two GPUs is significant. The RX 6800M is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture using the Navi 22 chip, while the Pro W5500X uses the older RDNA 1.0 architecture with the Navi 14 chip. Both are fabricated on TSMC’s 7 nm process, but the RX 6800M’s die is substantially larger at 335 mm², housing 17,200 million transistors. The Pro W5500X’s die is only 158 mm² with 6,400 million transistors. This size difference translates directly into a transistor density of 51.3M per mm² for the RX 6800M versus 40.5M per mm² for the Pro W5500X.

The RX 6800M’s RDNA 2.0 architecture brings hardware ray tracing support, with 40 dedicated RT cores, a feature entirely absent from the Pro W5500X, which has no RT cores listed. This makes the RX 6800M future-proof for DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) titles that utilize ray tracing, while the Pro W5500X is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1). Both cards support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4, but the RX 6800M’s newer architecture provides a notable feature advantage in gaming and modern rendering workloads.

The memory subsystems also differ. The RX 6800M uses 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, yielding 384.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Pro W5500X is equipped with 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, resulting in 224.0 GB/s. This bandwidth deficit, combined with the lower core counts, heavily impacts the Pro W5500X’s ability to handle high-resolution textures and complex shaders.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The sole head-to-head benchmark is Geekbench Metal, which measures GPU compute performance under Apple’s Metal framework. The AMD Radeon RX 6800M achieves a score of 113,721, obliterating the Pro W5500X’s 27,973. The delta is a massive 306.5%, meaning the RX 6800M is over four times faster in this specific test. This result is not a marginal victory but a generational leap, reflecting the RX 6800M’s higher boost clock of 2390 MHz versus the Pro W5500X’s 1757 MHz, and its vastly superior FP32 throughput of 12.24 TFLOPS compared to 5.398 TFLOPS.

Beyond the shared test, the RX 6800M has a broader benchmark portfolio. It scores 87,621 in Geekbench OpenCL and 94,766 in Geekbench Vulkan, demonstrating strong cross-API performance. In PassMark tests, it achieves 13,261 in G3D and 5,032 in GPU Compute, with DirectX 11 (127) and DirectX 9 (147) results that outpace its DirectX 12 score of 65. The Pro W5500X, however, has no other recorded benchmarks, limiting direct comparisons. The RX 6800M’s average benchmark score of 28,874, which is 901 points higher than the Pro W5500X’s 27,973, confirms that the mobile gaming GPU is the superior performer across the board.

Specification Differences

The specification sheets reveal where these two cards diverge most sharply:

• Chip and Architecture: Navi 22 (RDNA 2.0) vs Navi 14 (RDNA 1.0)
• Transistors: 17,200 million vs 6,400 million
• Die Size: 335 mm² vs 158 mm²
• Base Clock: 2116 MHz vs 1187 MHz
• Boost Clock: 2390 MHz vs 1757 MHz
• Memory Size: 12 GB vs 8 GB
• Memory Bus: 192 bit vs 128 bit
• Memory Bandwidth: 384.0 GB/s vs 224.0 GB/s
• Shading Units: 2560 vs 1536
• Texture Mapping Units: 160 vs 96
• Render Output Units: 64 vs 32
• Ray Tracing Cores: 40 vs None
• Pixel Rate: 153.0 GPixel/s vs 56.22 GPixel/s
• Texture Rate: 382.4 GTexel/s vs 168.7 GTexel/s
• FP32 Performance: 12.24 TFLOPS vs 5.398 TFLOPS
• FP16 Performance: 24.47 TFLOPS vs 10.80 TFLOPS
• TDP: 145 W vs 125 W
• Slot Width: IGP vs Dual-slot
• Bus Interface: PCIe 4.0 x16 vs Apple MPX
• Display Outputs: Portable Device Dependent vs 2x HDMI 2.0b
• Release Date: 2021-05-30 vs 2019-12-10

The RX 6800M has nearly double the shading units, TMUs, and ROPs, along with a 71% higher boost clock. Its memory bandwidth advantage of 160 GB/s is critical for high-resolution gaming. The Pro W5500X, however, has a lower TDP of 125 W and a suggested PSU of 300 W, making it more power-efficient in absolute terms, though it lacks the RX 6800M’s advanced features.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has better ray tracing performance?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6800M exclusively supports ray tracing, featuring 40 dedicated RT cores. The AMD Radeon Pro W5500X has no RT cores and is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1), lacking DirectX 12 Ultimate capabilities.

Q: How do their memory configurations compare?

A: The RX 6800M offers 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 384.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Pro W5500X has 8 GB on a 128-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth, a 160 GB/s deficit.

Q: Are these cards compatible with the same systems?

A: No. The RX 6800M uses a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface and is designed for mobile IGP integration. The Pro W5500X uses an Apple MPX bus interface and features 2x HDMI 2.0b outputs, making it exclusive to Apple Mac Pro systems.

Q: What is the performance gap in their shared benchmark?

A: In Geekbench Metal, the RX 6800M scores 113,721 versus the Pro W5500X’s 27,973, resulting in a 306.5% higher score for the RX 6800M.

Q: Which card has a higher transistor count?

A: The RX 6800M contains 17,200 million transistors on a 335 mm² die, while the Pro W5500X has 6,400 million transistors on a 158 mm² die.

Q: What are their release dates?

A: The RX 6800M was released on May 30, 2021, while the Pro W5500X is older, released on December 10, 2019.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the AMD Radeon RX 6800M is the superior performer by a wide margin. Its 306.5% lead in Geekbench Metal, combined with double the memory bandwidth, nearly double the FP32 throughput, and exclusive ray tracing support, makes it the clear choice for anyone prioritizing raw graphics power. The RX 6800M’s 74th percentile ranking and higher average benchmark score of 28,874 versus 27,973 reinforce its dominance. It is the card for gamers and creators who need maximum frame rates and modern feature support.

The AMD Radeon Pro W5500X, however, serves a different purpose. Its 73rd percentile ranking and performance comparable to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti (delta -0.2%) indicate it is a competent workstation GPU for its era. Its dual HDMI 2.0b outputs and Apple MPX bus interface make it the only viable option here for Mac Pro users who require native compatibility. Its lower 125 W TDP and 300 W suggested PSU also make it easier to integrate into existing workstation power envelopes.

Who should pick which? Choose the RX 6800M if you need the fastest mobile GPU for gaming, 3D rendering, or compute tasks, and you have a compatible laptop platform. Choose the Pro W5500X only if you are locked into a Mac Pro ecosystem and need a drop-in card with specific display outputs, accepting its substantial performance deficit. For all other use cases, the RX 6800M is the definitive winner.