AMD Radeon Pro W5700 vs AMD Radeon RX 6800 Comparison

The Verdict

The benchmark data presents a clear split. The AMD Radeon RX 6800 is the dominant performer for almost every workload recorded, winning 9 out of 10 head-to-head comparisons. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700 claims only a single win, but it is a significant one: it leads decisively in Geekbench OpenCL. For users prioritizing raw graphics throughput, DirectX performance, and gaming-oriented APIs, the RX 6800 is the obvious choice. For those whose primary workloads rely on OpenCL compute, the Pro W5700 has a specific and measurable advantage. The data also shows that the RX 6800 sits at the 75th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 30095, while the Pro W5700 is at the 71st percentile with an average score of 25726. This places the RX 6800 roughly 17% higher in average score, a gap that aligns with its consistent head-to-head victories.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different generations of AMD graphics architecture. The RX 6800 uses the Navi 21 chip built on RDNA 2.0, while the Pro W5700 uses the Navi 10 chip on RDNA 1.0. Both are manufactured on a 7 nm process at TSMC, but the underlying design differs substantially. The RX 6800 packs 26,800 million transistors on a 520 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 51.5M per mm². The Pro W5700 is a smaller chip, with 10,300 million transistors on a 251 mm² die, a density of 41.0M per mm². This difference in scale translates directly into compute resources: the RX 6800 has 3840 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 96 ROPs, compared to 2304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 64 ROPs on the Pro W5700. The RX 6800 also introduces dedicated ray tracing hardware with 60 RT cores, a feature entirely absent from the Pro W5700, which lists no RT cores at all.

Clock speeds also favor the RX 6800. Its base clock is 1700 MHz with a boost of 2105 MHz and a game clock of 1815 MHz. The Pro W5700 runs at a 1400 MHz base and 1880 MHz boost, with no game clock listed. Memory configurations differ in capacity and speed. The RX 6800 carries 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, with memory clocked at 2000 MHz or 16 Gbps effective, producing 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Pro W5700 has 8 GB of GDDR6 on the same 256-bit bus, but memory runs at 1750 MHz or 14 Gbps effective, yielding 448.0 GB/s. Both cards use PCIe 4.0 x16 and are dual-slot designs. The RX 6800 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the Pro W5700 is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4. Display outputs also differ: the RX 6800 offers 1x HDMI 2.1, 2x DisplayPort 1.4a, and 1x USB Type-C, while the Pro W5700 provides 5x mini-DisplayPort 1.4a and 1x USB Type-C.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The RX 6800 dominates most recorded tests, often by wide margins. In Passmark DirectX 11, it scores 214 against 104, a 105.8% advantage, more than doubling the Pro W5700's result. Passmark DirectX 12 shows a 64.8% lead with scores of 89 versus 54. Passmark DirectX 10 gives the RX 6800 a 45.5% edge at 128 versus 88. Even the older DirectX 9 test shows a 14.2% lead, 257 versus 225. In Passmark G3D, the RX 6800 scores 22067 against 14520, a 52% difference. Passmark GPU Compute shows a 67.3% lead at 10864 versus 6495. The RX 6800 also wins in Geekbench Vulkan with 115107 versus 70706, a 62.8% margin, and in Geekbench Metal with 153635 versus 89557, a 71.5% margin. The 2D test is closer: Passmark G2D shows 990 versus 899, a 10.1% lead for the RX 6800.

The single exception is Geekbench OpenCL, where the Pro W5700 scores 74613 against the RX 6800's 24508. This is a 67.2% advantage for the Pro W5700, and it is the largest delta in either direction across all recorded tests. This result is striking because the RX 6800 has more shading units, higher clocks, and more memory bandwidth, yet the Pro W5700 delivers more than triple the OpenCL score. The data suggests the Pro W5700 is specifically tuned for OpenCL compute workloads, which are common in professional and workstation environments. In every other recorded benchmark, the RX 6800 wins, and in most cases the margin is substantial. The average benchmark scores reflect this overall trend: the RX 6800 averages 30095, while the Pro W5700 averages 25726.

FAQ

Q: Which card has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6800 has an average benchmark score of 30095, compared to 25726 for the AMD Radeon Pro W5700. The RX 6800 also sits at the 75th percentile among all GPUs, while the Pro W5700 sits at the 71st percentile.

Q: Is there any test where the Pro W5700 wins?

A: Yes. The Pro W5700 wins the Geekbench OpenCL test with a score of 74613, versus 24508 for the RX 6800. That is a 67.2% advantage for the Pro W5700.

Q: How do the two cards compare in DirectX 12 performance?

A: In Passmark DirectX 12, the RX 6800 scores 89, while the Pro W5700 scores 54. The RX 6800 leads by 64.8%. Additionally, the RX 6800 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the Pro W5700 supports only DirectX 12 (12_1).

Q: What are the memory capacity differences?

A: The RX 6800 has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory with 512.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Pro W5700 has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. Both use a 256-bit memory bus.

Q: Does the RX 6800 have ray tracing support?

A: Yes, the RX 6800 includes 60 dedicated ray tracing cores. The Pro W5700 lists no ray tracing cores at all.

Q: What is the closest rival to each card according to the database?

A: The RX 6800's nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti, with an average score of 29945 and a delta of 0.5%. The Pro W5700's nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile, with an average score of 25740 and a delta of -0.1%.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 6800 wins across nearly the entire benchmark suite, making it the stronger general-purpose card. It leads in all Passmark tests except none, including DirectX 9, 10, 11, and 12, plus G2D, G3D, and GPU Compute. It also wins in Geekbench Metal and Geekbench Vulkan. These results indicate that the RX 6800 is better suited for gaming, DirectX-based applications, and Vulkan workloads. Its 16 GB memory capacity and higher bandwidth also give it a structural advantage for large textures and high-resolution rendering. The presence of 60 RT cores means it supports hardware-accelerated ray tracing, a feature the Pro W5700 lacks entirely.

The Pro W5700 wins in Geekbench OpenCL, and this is where its case rests. OpenCL is widely used in professional compute, scientific simulation, and certain content creation pipelines. The Pro W5700's score of 74613 is more than triple the RX 6800's 24508, a 67.2% lead. For users whose software stack depends heavily on OpenCL, this single result can outweigh the RX 6800's wins elsewhere. The Pro W5700 also offers 5x mini-DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, which may be preferable for multi-display professional setups, compared to the RX 6800's 1x HDMI 2.1, 2x DisplayPort 1.4a, and 1x USB Type-C. The Pro W5700 draws 205 W versus 250 W for the RX 6800, and it suggests a 550 W power supply rather than 600 W, which could matter in constrained workstation builds.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every core specification. The RX 6800 uses the Navi 21 chip on RDNA 2.0, while the Pro W5700 uses Navi 10 on RDNA 1.0. Transistor count is 26,800 million versus 10,300 million, and die size is 520 mm² versus 251 mm². Transistor density is 51.5M per mm² for the RX 6800 and 41.0M per mm² for the Pro W5700. Base clocks are 1700 MHz versus 1400 MHz, boost clocks are 2105 MHz versus 1880 MHz, and the RX 6800 adds a game clock of 1815 MHz. Memory speed is 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) versus 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). Memory capacity is 16 GB versus 8 GB, and bandwidth is 512.0 GB/s versus 448.0 GB/s. Shading units are 3840 versus 2304, TMUs are 240 versus 144, and ROPs are 96 versus 64. The RX 6800 has 60 RT cores, while the Pro W5700 has none. Pixel rate is 202.1 GPixel/s versus 120.3 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 505.2 GTexel/s versus 270.7 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 16.17 TFLOPS versus 8.663 TFLOPS, and FP16 is 32.33 TFLOPS versus 17.33 TFLOPS. TDP is 250 W versus 205 W, with power connectors of 2x 8-pin versus 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin. Suggested PSU is 600 W versus 550 W. Both use PCIe 4.0 x16 and are dual-slot. The RX 6800 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the Pro W5700 supports DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4. Dimensions are identical in length at 267 mm, but height differs: 120 mm for the RX 6800 versus 111 mm for the Pro W5700, and width is 40 mm for the RX 6800 while the Pro W5700 has no recorded width.