AMD Radeon Pro W5500X vs AMD Radeon RX 7800M Comparison

The Verdict

The benchmark data places the AMD Radeon Pro W5500X and the AMD Radeon RX 7800M in essentially the same performance tier. Their average benchmark scores are separated by a razor-thin margin: the W5500X scores 27,973, while the RX 7800M scores 27,883. That is a delta of just 0.3% in favor of the W5500X. Both cards sit at the 73rd percentile among all GPUs. The nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti, is only 0.2% ahead of the W5500X, meaning these two AMD parts are clustered with a much older high-end card. The RX 7800M is 0.5% behind the GTX 980 Ti, and the W5500X is 0.2% behind it.

The data shows that raw average scores do not favor one card decisively. The W5500X has a single Geekbench Metal score of 27,973. The RX 7800M has a much broader benchmark profile, including Geekbench OpenCL (120,778), Vulkan (126,668), and Passmark G3D (17,613). The absence of overlapping benchmark tests in the FACT PACK makes a direct apples-to-apples comparison impossible. Instead, the verdict hinges on which workloads you prioritize. The W5500X is an end-of-life, dual-slot Apple MPX card with a 125 W TDP, released in December 2019. The RX 7800M is an active, integrated mobile part (IGP) with a 180 W TDP, released in September 2024. If you need a dedicated Mac Pro module with a specific launch MSRP of 599 USD, the W5500X is the only choice. If you need a modern mobile GPU with ray tracing, the RX 7800M is the only choice. For pure average compute performance, the data says they are effectively tied.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is generational. The W5500X uses the Navi 14 chip, built on RDNA 1.0 architecture. The RX 7800M uses the Navi 32 chip, built on RDNA 3.0 architecture. The process node shrinks from 7 nm (TSMC) to 5 nm (TSMC). The W5500X packs 6,400 million transistors on a 158 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 40.5 million per mm². The RX 7800M more than quadruples the transistor count to 28,100 million, on a 346 mm² die, with a density of 81.2 million per mm². That is a doubling of density, which explains how the newer card fits far more compute hardware into a similar relative footprint.

The RX 7800M also introduces hardware that the W5500X lacks entirely. The W5500X has no ray tracing cores. The RX 7800M has 60 ray tracing cores. The W5500X supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the RX 7800M supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), which includes ray tracing and mesh shaders. The RX 7800M is part of the Radeon RX 7000 series, generation Navi Mobile (RX 7000M), with the codename "Wheat Nas". Its predecessor is listed as Polaris Mobile. The W5500X is from the Radeon Pro Mac (Navi Series) generation, with no listed codename. The RX 7800M also has a different memory configuration (more on that in the Specification Differences section), and its FP16 performance is 1:1 with FP32, whereas the W5500X uses a 2:1 ratio. This indicates the RX 7800M is designed for heavier compute and ray-traced workloads, while the W5500X is a simpler, lower-power workstation part.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

There are no direct head-to-head benchmark entries in the FACT PACK. The data instead provides separate benchmark lists for each card. The W5500X’s only benchmark is Geekbench Metal, scoring 27,973. The RX 7800M has no Metal score. Its highest compute scores are Geekbench Vulkan (126,668) and Geekbench OpenCL (120,778). These are not comparable to the Metal score because they target different APIs. The nearest rival data, however, provides a useful cross-reference. The W5500X is listed as 0.3% ahead of the RX 7800M in average score. The RX 7800M is listed as 0.2% behind the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20. This suggests that in aggregate, the two cards are within a rounding error of each other.

Looking at the RX 7800M’s internal benchmark spread, its Passmark G3D score is 17,613, which is its strongest DirectX-based result. Its Passmark DirectX 11 score is 176, DirectX 10 is 99, and DirectX 12 is 89. The Passmark GPU Compute score is 9,342. The W5500X has no equivalent Passmark scores. The data shows the RX 7800M is a capable modern part in synthetic compute tests, but without a shared benchmark, the head-to-head section cannot report a specific win for either card. The only concrete comparative number is the 0.3% delta in average score favoring the W5500X. The biggest win for the RX 7800M is its breadth of API support and the presence of ray tracing cores, which the W5500X lacks entirely.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every measurable specification except for manufacturer (AMD), OpenGL version (4.6), and Vulkan version (1.4). The table below highlights the divergent fields.

| Specification | AMD Radeon Pro W5500X | AMD Radeon RX 7800M |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | RDNA 1.0 | RDNA 3.0 |

| Process Node | 7 nm | 5 nm |

| Transistors | 6,400 million | 28,100 million |

| Die Size | 158 mm² | 346 mm² |

| Base Clock | 1187 MHz | 1295 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1757 MHz | 2335 MHz |

| Game Clock | N/A | 2145 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) | 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 8 GB | 12 GB |

| Memory Bus | 128 bit | 192 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 224.0 GB/s | 432.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 1536 | 3840 |

| TMUs | 96 | 240 |

| ROPs | 32 | 96 |

| Ray Tracing Cores | None | 60 |

| Pixel Rate | 56.22 GPixel/s | 224.2 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 168.7 GTexel/s | 560.4 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 5.398 TFLOPS | 35.87 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 10.80 TFLOPS (2:1) | 35.87 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 125 W | 180 W |

| Slot Width | Dual-slot | IGP |

| Power Connectors | None listed | None |

| Suggested PSU | 300 W | None listed |

| Bus Interface | Apple MPX | PCIe 4.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 2x HDMI 2.0b | Portable Device Dependent |

| DirectX | 12 (12_1) | 12 Ultimate (12_2) |

| Production Status | End-of-life | Active |

| Release Date | 2019-12-10 | 2024-09-10 |

| Launch MSRP | 599 USD | None listed |

The RX 7800M has 2.5 times the shading units (3,840 vs 1,536), 2.5 times the TMUs (240 vs 96), and 3 times the ROPs (96 vs 32). Its FP32 throughput is 35.87 TFLOPS versus the W5500X’s 5.398 TFLOPS — a 6.6x difference. The memory bandwidth is nearly double (432.0 GB/s vs 224.0 GB/s). The RX 7800M is a much larger and more powerful chip on paper, but the average benchmark scores do not reflect that gap, likely due to the different test suites and the W5500X’s optimized Metal driver.

FAQ

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro W5500X has an average score of 27,973, which is 0.3% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 7800M’s average of 27,883.

Q: Does the RX 7800M support ray tracing?

A: Yes. The RX 7800M has 60 ray tracing cores and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2). The W5500X has no ray tracing cores and only supports DirectX 12 (12_1).

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The RX 7800M has a 432.0 GB/s memory bandwidth, which is roughly double the W5500X’s 224.0 GB/s. The RX 7800M also has 12 GB of memory versus 8 GB on the W5500X.

Q: Which card is newer?

A: The RX 7800M was released on 2024-09-10 and is marked as Active. The W5500X was released on 2019-12-10 and is marked as End-of-life.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the W5500X?

A: The W5500X has a launch MSRP of 599 USD. The RX 7800M has no launch MSRP listed.

Q: Are these cards comparable in raw compute performance?

A: In terms of FP32 throughput, the RX 7800M is far ahead at 35.87 TFLOPS versus 5.398 TFLOPS. However, the average benchmark scores are nearly identical (27,973 vs 27,883), indicating that the W5500X’s Metal benchmark is highly optimized relative to the RX 7800M’s broader but lower-scoring test set.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon Pro W5500X wins in the context of Mac Pro workstation builds. It is a dual-slot card with an Apple MPX bus interface and two HDMI 2.0b outputs. Its production status is end-of-life, but its launch MSRP of 599 USD and 125 W TDP make it a lower-power option. It also has a higher average benchmark score (27,973) than the RX 7800M, and it sits 0.3% ahead of its rival in the nearest-rival comparison. The W5500X is the better choice if you are restricted to a Mac Pro chassis that requires an Apple MPX module, or if you need a card with a modest 300 W suggested PSU. Its single Geekbench Metal score of 27,973 is its only data point, but it is enough to place it in the 73rd percentile.

The AMD Radeon RX 7800M wins in every raw specification category that matters for modern rendering. It has 60 ray tracing cores, 12 GB of memory, 432.0 GB/s bandwidth, and 35.87 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. It is an active product on the PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, designed as an IGP for portable devices. Its Vulkan score of 126,668 and OpenCL score of 120,778 show strong API-level compute performance. It supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, which enables hardware ray tracing and mesh shaders. The RX 7800M is the clear winner for any workload that leverages ray tracing, higher-resolution textures (12 GB VRAM), or modern DirectX 12 Ultimate features. Its 180 W TDP is higher than the W5500X’s 125 W, but it is still a mobile-class part. The data indicates the RX 7800M is the future-proof choice, while the W5500X is a legacy workstation part that only wins on average score and Mac-specific compatibility.