AMD Radeon Pro W6600X vs AMD Radeon VII Comparison

The Verdict

The AMD Radeon Pro W6600X and AMD Radeon VII occupy different ends of the workload spectrum. The data shows a clear split: the Radeon Pro W6600X is the pick for modern API compatibility, efficiency, and raw Metal performance, while the Radeon VII offers twice the memory capacity and substantially higher FP32 and texture throughput for compute-heavy tasks that can use them.

For users working within Apple's Metal ecosystem, the Radeon Pro W6600X is the stronger choice. Its Geekbench Metal score of 107,342 beats the Radeon VII's 77,975 by 37.7%. This is a decisive margin in the only directly recorded head-to-head benchmark. The W6600X also sits in the 94th percentile of all GPUs in the database, versus the Radeon VII's 90th percentile.

However, the Radeon VII is not obsolete. Its 16 GB of HBM2 memory with 1.02 TB/s bandwidth dwarfs the W6600X's 8 GB GDDR6 at 256.0 GB/s. For datasets that exceed 8 GB, the Radeon VII is the only viable option between the two, despite its lower overall benchmark average. The Radeon VII also delivers 13.44 TFLOPS FP32 versus 10.15 TFLOPS, and a texture rate of 420.0 GTexel/s versus 317.3 GTexel/s.

The recommendation depends on the workload. If the priority is Metal performance, modern DirectX 12 Ultimate support, and lower power draw, the Radeon Pro W6600X wins. If the priority is memory capacity and raw compute throughput, the Radeon VII remains relevant. Both cards are end-of-life, and both launched at the same MSRP, but their design goals diverge sharply.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations. The Radeon Pro W6600X uses the Navi 23 chip built on RDNA 2.0, while the Radeon VII uses Vega 20 built on GCN 5.1. This is not a minor revision; RDNA 2.0 introduces hardware ray tracing cores, which the GCN 5.1 architecture lacks entirely. The W6600X has 32 dedicated RT cores, while the Radeon VII has no RT core count recorded.

The transistor budgets also differ. The Radeon VII packs 13,230 million transistors on a 331 mm² die, while the W6600X uses 11,060 million transistors on a smaller 237 mm² die. The newer RDNA 2.0 design achieves a higher transistor density of 46.7M per mm² versus 40.0M per mm². Both are fabricated on TSMC's 7 nm process.

Shading resources favor the older card. The Radeon VII has 3,840 shading units and 240 texture mapping units, while the W6600X has 2,048 shading units and 128 TMUs. Both have 64 raster operation units. The Radeon VII's larger shader count explains its higher FP32 throughput, but the W6600X's newer architecture allows it to exceed the Radeon VII in pixel rate: 158.7 GPixel/s versus 112.0 GPixel/s.

API support is a major differentiator. The W6600X supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the Radeon VII is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.3. Both support OpenGL 4.6. The W6600X is also built for the Apple MPX bus interface with no display outputs, whereas the Radeon VII uses PCIe 3.0 x16 and provides 1x HDMI 2.0b plus 3x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only recorded head-to-head test is Geekbench Metal, and it is a decisive win for the Radeon Pro W6600X. The W6600X scores 107,342 against the Radeon VII's 77,975, a delta of 37.7%. This is a large margin, and it reflects the architectural advantage of RDNA 2.0 in Apple's Metal framework. The newer card's higher boost clock of 2,479 MHz versus 1,750 MHz, combined with the 2:1 FP16 rate of 20.31 TFLOPS, contributes to this result.

Beyond this single test, the database shows the W6600X sits comfortably above its nearest rivals. It is 0.6% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II Duo, 5.4% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000, and 2.1% behind the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II. The Radeon VII, by contrast, is 1.1% behind the NVIDIA Tesla T4, 1.4% ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla P40, 2.8% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100, and 3.4% ahead of the NVIDIA CMP 30HX. These relative positions show the W6600X competing at a higher tier of Metal performance.

The Radeon VII does have other benchmark records in the database, including a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2,304, a Geekbench OpenCL score of 91,947, and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 91,788. The W6600X has no recorded scores for these tests, so direct comparisons in those APIs are not possible from the available data. However, the average benchmark score for the Radeon VII is 66,004, dragged down by the inclusion of lower-scoring tests, while the W6600X's average is 107,342, based solely on its Metal result.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon Pro W6600X | AMD Radeon VII |

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

| Chip | Navi 23 | Vega 20 |

| Architecture | RDNA 2.0 | GCN 5.1 |

| Generation | Radeon Pro Mac (Navi II Series) | Vega II (Radeon VII) |

| Transistors | 11,060 million | 13,230 million |

| Die Size | 237 mm² | 331 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 46.7M / mm² | 40.0M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 2,068 MHz | 1,400 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2,479 MHz | 1,750 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 2,000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) | 1,000 MHz (2 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 8 GB | 16 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | HBM2 |

| Memory Bus Width | 128 bit | 4,096 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 256.0 GB/s | 1.02 TB/s |

| Shading Units | 2,048 | 3,840 |

| TMUs | 128 | 240 |

| ROPs | 64 | 64 |

| RT Cores | 32 | None |

| Pixel Rate | 158.7 GPixel/s | 112.0 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 317.3 GTexel/s | 420.0 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 10.15 TFLOPS | 13.44 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 20.31 TFLOPS (2:1) | 26.88 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 120 W | 295 W |

| Power Connectors | Not recorded | 2x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 300 W | 600 W |

| Bus Interface | Apple MPX | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | No outputs | 1x HDMI 2.0b, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a |

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

| Vulkan | 1.4 | 1.3 |

| Dimensions | Not recorded | 280 mm x 125 mm x 40 mm |

| Release Date | 2021-08-02 | 2019-02-06 |

| Predecessor | Not recorded | Vega |

| Successor | Not recorded | Navi |

| Launch MSRP | 699 USD | 699 USD |

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher Metal benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro W6600X scores 107,342 in Geekbench Metal, while the AMD Radeon VII scores 77,975. The W6600X is 37.7% faster in this test.

Q: How much memory does each card have, and what type?

A: The Radeon Pro W6600X has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus. The Radeon VII has 16 GB of HBM2 on a 4,096-bit bus, giving it 1.02 TB/s of bandwidth versus 256.0 GB/s.

Q: Which card supports hardware ray tracing?

A: Only the Radeon Pro W6600X. It has 32 RT cores as part of the RDNA 2.0 architecture. The Radeon VII, based on GCN 5.1, has no RT cores.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The Radeon Pro W6600X has a TDP of 120 W and a suggested PSU of 300 W. The Radeon VII has a TDP of 295 W, requires 2x 8-pin power connectors, and suggests a 600 W PSU.

Q: Do both cards support the same DirectX version?

A: No. The Radeon Pro W6600X supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the Radeon VII is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1). The W6600X also has a newer Vulkan version, 1.4 versus 1.3.

Q: Which card has better raw compute throughput?

A: The Radeon VII. It delivers 13.44 TFLOPS FP32 and 26.88 TFLOPS FP16, both higher than the W6600X's 10.15 TFLOPS and 20.31 TFLOPS. The Radeon VII also has a higher texture rate of 420.0 GTexel/s versus 317.3 GTexel/s.