AMD Radeon Pro W5700X vs AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT and AMD Radeon Pro W5700X are both end-of-life GPUs that sit at the 90th percentile of all GPUs in this database, but they are built for different worlds. The RX 6850M XT is a mobile RDNA 2.0 part with a 165 W TDP and 12 GB of GDDR6, while the Pro W5700X is a quad-slot Apple MPX card with a 205 W TDP and 16 GB of GDDR6. Their average benchmark scores are nearly identical—61,492 for the RX 6850M XT versus 61,207 for the Pro W5700X, a 0.5% gap—but head-to-head compute tests reveal a much larger chasm. This analysis uses only the supplied data to compare architecture, benchmark performance, and practical fit.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The RX 6850M XT averages 61,492 points, while the Pro W5700X averages 61,207 points. The RX 6850M XT leads by 0.5% in the nearestRivals delta, and the Pro W5700X trails by the same 0.5% when viewed from its own rival list.

Q: Does either GPU support ray tracing?

A: Only the RX 6850M XT has ray tracing hardware, with 40 dedicated RT cores. The Pro W5700X lists no RT cores at all.

Q: Which card has more memory and higher bandwidth?

A: The Pro W5700X has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s. The RX 6850M XT has 12 GB on a 192-bit bus, delivering 432.0 GB/s. So the Pro W5700X wins on both capacity and bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU is more power-efficient?

A: The RX 6850M XT has a 165 W TDP, compared to 205 W for the Pro W5700X. The RX 6850M XT also has no power connectors (being an IGP), while the Pro W5700X suggests a 550 W PSU.

Q: What are the DirectX API differences?

A: The RX 6850M XT supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the Pro W5700X supports DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4.

Q: Which GPU has higher FP32 compute throughput?

A: The RX 6850M XT delivers 13.21 TFLOPS of FP32, compared to 10.44 TFLOPS for the Pro W5700X—a 26.5% advantage for the RX 6850M XT.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs share the same 7 nm TSMC process, but their underlying designs diverge sharply. The RX 6850M XT uses the Navi 22 chip with RDNA 2.0 architecture, packing 17,200 million transistors into a 335 mm² die (51.3 million transistors per mm²). The Pro W5700X uses the Navi 10 chip with the older RDNA 1.0 architecture, containing 10,300 million transistors on a 251 mm² die (41.0 million per mm²). The RX 6850M XT’s newer architecture brings 40 ray tracing cores, a feature completely absent from the Pro W5700X.

Clock speeds also differ substantially. The RX 6850M XT runs at a base of 2321 MHz, a game clock of 2463 MHz, and a boost of 2581 MHz. The Pro W5700X has a base of 1243 MHz and a boost of 2040 MHz, with no game clock listed. Memory clocks follow suit: the RX 6850M XT uses 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective), while the Pro W5700X uses 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). Despite the lower clock, the Pro W5700X’s wider 256-bit bus gives it slightly higher bandwidth (448.0 vs 432.0 GB/s).

The physical and interface designs are opposite. The RX 6850M XT is an IGP with no power connectors and a PCIe 4.0 x16 bus, making it a mobile or embedded solution. The Pro W5700X is a quad-slot card with an Apple MPX bus interface, a 305 mm length, and display outputs of 1x HDMI 2.0b plus 4x Thunderbolt. The RX 6850M XT’s display outputs are listed as “Portable Device Dependent,” meaning they vary by the host laptop.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two available head-to-head tests show a decisive win for the RX 6850M XT. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 6850M XT scores 82,762 versus the Pro W5700X’s 43,810—a delta of 88.9% in favor of the RX 6850M XT. In Geekbench Vulkan, the RX 6850M XT scores 99,456 versus 45,246, a delta of 119.8%. These are not marginal differences; they represent nearly double the performance in Vulkan.

The RX 6850M XT also has a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2,257, but the Pro W5700X has no corresponding result. Conversely, the Pro W5700X has a Geekbench Metal score of 94,564, which the RX 6850M XT does not list. Because these tests are exclusive to each card, they cannot be directly compared, but the two shared tests paint a clear picture: the RX 6850M XT is far faster in OpenCL and Vulkan compute workloads.

Specification Differences

| Field | AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT | AMD Radeon Pro W5700X |

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

| Architecture | RDNA 2.0 | RDNA 1.0 |

| Chip | Navi 22 | Navi 10 |

| Transistors | 17,200 million | 10,300 million |

| Die Size | 335 mm² | 251 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 51.3M / mm² | 41.0M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 2321 MHz | 1243 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2581 MHz | 2040 MHz |

| Game Clock | 2463 MHz | None |

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

| Memory Size | 12 GB | 16 GB |

| Memory Bus | 192 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 432.0 GB/s | 448.0 GB/s |

| RT Cores | 40 | None |

| Pixel Rate | 165.2 GPixel/s | 130.6 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 413.0 GTexel/s | 326.4 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 13.21 TFLOPS | 10.44 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 26.43 TFLOPS (2:1) | 20.89 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 165 W | 205 W |

| Slot Width | IGP | Quad-slot |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x16 | Apple MPX |

| Display Outputs | Portable Device Dependent | 1x HDMI 2.0b, 4x Thunderbolt |

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

| Release Date | 2022-01-03 | 2019-12-10 |

| Launch MSRP | None | 999 USD |

Both cards share the same 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, but every other measurable specification favors the RX 6850M XT except memory capacity and bandwidth, where the Pro W5700X holds the edge.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the data, the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT is the superior GPU for raw compute and modern graphics features. It wins both head-to-head benchmarks by huge margins (88.9% in OpenCL, 119.8% in Vulkan), has ray tracing hardware, a higher pixel/texture fill rate, higher FP32 and FP16 throughput, and a lower TDP (165 W vs 205 W). Its newer architecture (RDNA 2.0 vs RDNA 1.0) and higher transistor density explain these advantages. The Pro W5700X’s only quantitative wins are memory size (16 GB vs 12 GB) and bandwidth (448.0 vs 432.0 GB/s), but those do not translate into better benchmark scores in the shared tests.

The Pro W5700X is not without merit. It is designed for Apple MPX systems, offers four Thunderbolt outputs and one HDMI 2.0b, and carries a launch MSRP of 999 USD. Its 16 GB frame buffer could be useful for large datasets, and its Metal benchmark (94,564) is impressive, though no comparable Metal score exists for the RX 6850M XT. However, for anyone not locked into the Apple ecosystem or needing a quad-slot workstation card, the RX 6850M XT is the clear choice from the numbers.

Where Each One Wins

AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT wins on:

• OpenCL performance: 82,762 vs 43,810 (88.9% faster)
• Vulkan performance: 99,456 vs 45,246 (119.8% faster)
• Ray tracing: 40 RT cores vs none
• Pixel rate: 165.2 GPixel/s vs 130.6 GPixel/s
• Texture rate: 413.0 GTexel/s vs 326.4 GTexel/s
• FP32: 13.21 TFLOPS vs 10.44 TFLOPS
• FP16: 26.43 TFLOPS vs 20.89 TFLOPS
• Power efficiency: 165 W TDP vs 205 W TDP
• Modern API: DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) vs DirectX 12 (12_1)
• Newer release (2022 vs 2019) and higher average benchmark score (61,492 vs 61,207)

AMD Radeon Pro W5700X wins on:

• Memory capacity: 16 GB vs 12 GB
• Memory bandwidth: 448.0 GB/s vs 432.0 GB/s
• Display connectivity: 1x HDMI 2.0b and 4x Thunderbolt vs portable device dependent
• Form factor: quad-slot with Apple MPX interface (for Mac Pro systems)
• A dedicated Geekbench Metal score of 94,564 (no direct comparison available)

For most compute-heavy tasks, gaming, or any workload that uses OpenCL or Vulkan, the RX 6850M XT is the decisive winner. The Pro W5700X only makes sense in a Mac Pro environment where its memory capacity, Thunderbolt outputs, and Metal support are relevant—and even then, its OpenCL and Vulkan scores lag far behind. The data is unambiguous: the RX 6850M XT is the faster, more efficient, and more feature-complete GPU.