AMD Radeon RX 5500M vs AMD Radeon RX 7600 Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7600 records an average benchmark score of 15171, while the AMD Radeon RX 5500M averages 13356. The RX 7600 sits at the 57th percentile of all GPUs, compared to the RX 5500M's 54th percentile.

Q: How large is the performance gap in DirectX 11 workloads?

A: In PassMark DirectX 11, the RX 7600 scores 172 versus the RX 5500M's 35, a delta of 391.4%. This is the single largest relative margin in the head-to-head results.

Q: Does the RX 5500M win any benchmark?

A: Yes, in Geekbench Vulkan the RX 5500M scores 35693 against the RX 7600's 34401, a 3.6% advantage. This is the only test out of nine where the RX 5500M comes out ahead.

Q: How do the two compare in compute-oriented tests?

A: In PassMark GPU Compute, the RX 7600 scores 8790 versus 2316 for the RX 5500M, a 279.5% lead. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 7600's 88051 more than doubles the RX 5500M's 38725, a 127.4% margin.

Q: What are the production statuses of these two cards?

A: The RX 7600 is listed as Active production, while the RX 5500M is End-of-life.

Q: Which card has more VRAM?

A: The RX 7600 has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, while the RX 5500M has 4 GB. Both use a 128-bit memory bus, but the RX 7600 reaches 288.0 GB/s bandwidth versus 224.0 GB/s for the RX 5500M.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different RDNA generations. The RX 7600 is built on RDNA 3.0 with the Navi 33 chip, part of the Navi III (RX 7000) generation, codenamed Hotpink Bonefish. The RX 5500M uses RDNA 1.0 with the Navi 14 chip, from the Navi Mobile (RX 5000M) generation. This generational gap is reflected in several fundamental design choices.

Manufacturing process differs substantially. The RX 7600 uses a 6 nm process at TSMC, while the RX 5500M uses a 7 nm process, also at TSMC. Transistor counts follow suit: the RX 7600 packs 13,300 million transistors on a 204 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 65.2M per mm². The RX 5500M contains 6,400 million transistors on a 158 mm² die, for 40.5M per mm². The RX 7600 therefore has roughly double the transistor count and over 60% higher density.

Compute resources differ across every unit type. The RX 7600 has 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units. The RX 5500M has 1408 shading units, 88 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The RX 7600 also includes 32 ray tracing cores, while the RX 5500M has none, reflecting the RDNA 3.0 feature set versus the first-generation RDNA implementation.

Clock behavior also separates the two. The RX 7600 runs at a base clock of 1720 MHz, a boost of 2655 MHz, and a game clock of 2250 MHz. The RX 5500M operates at 1375 MHz base, 1645 MHz boost, and 1448 MHz game clock. The difference is significant, and it compounds with the higher shader count to produce a large raw throughput gap.

Memory architecture shows a shared bus width but different capacities and speeds. Both use GDDR6 on a 128-bit interface, but the RX 7600 runs its memory at 2250 MHz with 18 Gbps effective, yielding 288.0 GB/s. The RX 5500M runs at 1750 MHz with 14 Gbps effective, for 224.0 GB/s. The RX 7600 also has twice the VRAM capacity at 8 GB versus 4 GB.

The API support differs on DirectX. The RX 7600 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the RX 5500M is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4. The RX 7600's fp32 throughput is listed at 21.75 TFLOPS, while the RX 5500M manages 4.632 TFLOPS. The RX 7600's fp16 is 21.75 TFLOPS at a 1:1 ratio, while the RX 5500M's fp16 is 9.265 TFLOPS at a 2:1 ratio.

The Verdict

The data presents an unambiguous picture for raw performance. The RX 7600 wins 8 of the 9 head-to-head benchmarks, and its wins are often by enormous margins. The single RX 5500M victory, in Geekbench Vulkan, is narrow at 3.6% and does not offset the scale of losses elsewhere.

For users deciding between these two, the choice depends on context. The RX 7600 is a current-generation desktop part with active production status, 8 GB of memory, and a 165 W TDP. It is the clear pick for anyone building a desktop system and prioritizing compute, DirectX 11, or overall rasterization performance. Its PassMark G3D score of 16634 is nearly three times the RX 5500M's 5848.

The RX 5500M is a mobile part, end-of-life, with no power connector listed and a 85 W TDP. Its only recorded advantage comes in a single Vulkan test. For a laptop user who already owns this GPU, the data shows it remains functional for lighter loads, but it trails the RX 7600 in every other measured category. For any new purchase decision, the RX 7600 is the stronger option by the recorded measurements.

The percentile data reinforces this. The RX 7600 sits at the 57th percentile of all GPUs, while the RX 5500M sits at the 54th. The gap in average score, 15171 versus 13356, is roughly 13.6%. That is a meaningful separation, and the head-to-head results show that the gap is not uniform across workloads but heavily skewed toward the RX 7600 in most tests.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every specification field. Process node: 6 nm for the RX 7600, 7 nm for the RX 5500M. Transistor count: 13,300 million versus 6,400 million. Die size: 204 mm² versus 158 mm². Transistor density: 65.2M per mm² versus 40.5M per mm².

Clock speeds: base 1720 MHz versus 1375 MHz, boost 2655 MHz versus 1645 MHz, game 2250 MHz versus 1448 MHz. Memory clock: 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) versus 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). Memory size: 8 GB versus 4 GB. Bandwidth: 288.0 GB/s versus 224.0 GB/s.

Compute units: 2048 shading units versus 1408, 128 TMUs versus 88, 64 ROPs versus 32. Ray tracing cores: 32 on the RX 7600, none on the RX 5500M. Pixel rate: 169.9 GPixel/s versus 52.64 GPixel/s. Texture rate: 339.8 GTexel/s versus 144.8 GTexel/s. FP32: 21.75 TFLOPS versus 4.632 TFLOPS. FP16: 21.75 TFLOPS (1:1) versus 9.265 TFLOPS (2:1).

TDP: 165 W versus 85 W. Slot width: dual-slot on the RX 7600, not specified on the RX 5500M. Power connectors: 1x 8-pin on the RX 7600, none on the RX 5500M. Suggested PSU: 450 W for the RX 7600, not specified for the RX 5500M. Display outputs: the RX 7600 has 1x HDMI 2.1a and 3x DisplayPort 2.1, while the RX 5500M's outputs are listed as portable device dependent.

DirectX support: 12 Ultimate (12_2) for the RX 7600, 12 (12_1) for the RX 5500M. Release date: May 24, 2023 for the RX 7600, October 6, 2019 for the RX 5500M. Production status: Active versus End-of-life. The RX 7600 has a successor listed as Navi IV and a predecessor of Navi II, while the RX 5500M has a predecessor of Polaris Mobile and no successor listed. The RX 7600 has a launch MSRP of 269 USD; the RX 5500M has no launch MSRP recorded.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The largest single win for the RX 7600 comes in PassMark DirectX 11. The RX 7600 scores 172 against the RX 5500M's 35, a 391.4% delta. This is the kind of margin that indicates a completely different performance class in legacy DirectX workloads.

PassMark GPU Compute shows a 279.5% lead for the RX 7600, with scores of 8790 versus 2316. This aligns with the FP32 throughput difference, where the RX 7600's 21.75 TFLOPS dwarfs the RX 5500M's 4.632 TFLOPS. Compute-heavy tasks such as rendering or GPGPU work will favor the RX 7600 heavily.

PassMark G3D, a general 3D graphics score, gives the RX 7600 a 184.4% advantage: 16634 versus 5848. This is likely the most representative single number for overall gaming performance. The RX 7600 also leads in PassMark G2D by 137.7%, with 984 versus 414.

PassMark DirectX 9 shows a 126% lead for the RX 7600, 226 versus 100. PassMark DirectX 10 gives the RX 7600 a 115.4% advantage, 84 versus 39. PassMark DirectX 12 adds a 107.1% margin, 58 versus 28. Across the entire PassMark suite, the RX 7600 doubles or nearly doubles the RX 5500M in every test.

Geekbench OpenCL shows the RX 7600 at 88051 versus 38725, a 127.4% lead. The RX 7600 also wins in the average benchmark comparison, though the head-to-head list does not include a separate Geekbench Metal test for the RX 7600; the RX 5500M's Metal score of 50359 exists in its individual benchmark set.

The one exception is Geekbench Vulkan. Here the RX 5500M scores 35693 and the RX 7600 scores 34401, giving the RX 5500M a 3.6% victory. This is the only test in the head-to-head set where the RX 5500M wins, and the margin is small. It may indicate driver-level differences in Vulkan optimization for the older architecture, but it does little to offset the RX 7600's dominant position elsewhere.

In summary, the RX 7600 leads decisively in 8 of 9 head-to-head benchmarks, with margins ranging from 107.1% to 391.1%, while the RX 5500M holds a single narrow Vulkan edge of 3.6%. The recorded data consistently favors the RX 7600 for users who need strong compute, DirectX 11, or general 3D performance in a current-generation desktop GPU.