AMD Radeon RX 5500M vs AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data presents a clear split between these two AMD parts, with the RX 7800 XT dominating in eight of the nine recorded tests. The lone exception is Geekbench OpenCL, where the RX 5500M posts a score of 38,725 against the RX 7800 XT's 18,290, a 111.7% advantage for the older mobile chip. That result stands as an outlier in the dataset, likely reflecting driver or workload characteristics rather than overall compute capability.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the RX 7800 XT reverses the result decisively, scoring 54,228 versus 35,693, a 34.2% margin. The delta is substantial but not the largest in the comparison. Passmark DirectX 11 shows the widest gap: the RX 7800 XT scores 249 against the RX 5500M's 35, an 85.9% difference. DirectX 12 follows at 93 versus 28, a 69.9% gap, while DirectX 10 shows 121 against 39, a 67.8% deficit for the 5500M.

The DirectX 9 result is similarly lopsided, with the RX 7800 XT at 304 and the RX 5500M at 100, a 67.1% difference. Passmark G2D, a 2D graphics test, favors the newer card at 1,177 versus 414, a 64.8% gap. The largest single-test margin appears in Passmark G3D, where the RX 7800 XT scores 24,176 against 5,848, a 75.8% advantage. Passmark GPU Compute shows 13,473 versus 2,316, an 82.8% gap.

The overall win count is decisive: 8 wins for the RX 7800 XT, 1 for the RX 5500M. The aggregate data aligns with this, though the average benchmark scores tell a slightly different story. The RX 5500M averages 13,356 across all recorded tests, while the RX 7800 XT averages 11,627. That discrepancy stems from the RX 5500M's dominant OpenCL score inflating its average, while the RX 7800 XT's scores are spread across more demanding modern workloads.

Percentile rankings place both cards near the middle of the database: the RX 5500M sits at the 54th percentile of all GPUs, the RX 7800 XT at the 51st. Those figures reflect the database's full range of hardware, not the direct comparison here.

FAQ

Q: Is the RX 5500M faster in any benchmark?

A: Yes, in Geekbench OpenCL the RX 5500M scores 38,725 versus the RX 7800 XT's 18,290, a 111.7% lead. This is the only test among the nine recorded where the older card wins.

Q: How large is the RX 7800 XT's advantage in DirectX 11?

A: The RX 7800 XT scores 249 in Passmark DirectX 11, while the RX 5500M scores 35, an 85.9% difference. This is the largest percentage gap in the head-to-head results.

Q: What does the Passmark G3D score indicate?

A: Passmark G3D measures general 3D graphics performance. The RX 7800 XT scores 24,176, which is 75.8% higher than the RX 5500M's 5,848.

Q: Which card has better compute performance in the database?

A: The RX 7800 XT leads in Passmark GPU Compute with 13,473 against 2,316, an 82.8% gap. However, the RX 5500M leads in Geekbench OpenCL, showing that compute results vary by test methodology.

Q: What is the RX 7800 XT's launch MSRP?

A: The launch MSRP is 499 USD. The database does not record a launch MSRP for the RX 5500M.

Q: How do these cards compare in percentile ranking?

A: The RX 5500M is at the 54th percentile of all GPUs in the database, while the RX 7800 XT is at the 51st. Both sit close to the median of the full GPU population.

The Verdict

The data points to a straightforward conclusion for most workloads: the RX 7800 XT is the stronger performer in the majority of recorded tests. It wins eight of nine head-to-head benchmarks, with margins ranging from 34.2% in Geekbench Vulkan to 85.9% in Passmark DirectX 11. The RX 7800 XT also leads decisively in 3D graphics (Passmark G3D at 24,176 versus 5,848) and compute (13,473 versus 2,316).

The RX 5500M's single win in Geekbench OpenCL, a 111.7% advantage, is notable but does not outweigh the broader trend. Users targeting OpenCL-heavy applications might find the older mobile chip unexpectedly competitive, but the RX 7800 XT offers a more consistent profile across DirectX and Vulkan workloads.

For gaming and general GPU tasks, the RX 7800 XT is the clear choice from the data. Its DirectX 9, 10, 11, and 12 scores all exceed the RX 5500M by at least 64.8%, with the largest gap in the most common gaming API, DirectX 11. The RX 5500M, by contrast, is an end-of-life product from 2019, while the RX 7800 XT remains active in production, a factor that aligns with the performance disparity.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every specification category. The RX 7800 XT uses 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth, while the RX 5500M has 4 GB on a 128-bit bus at 224.0 GB/s. The memory clock differs as well: 2438 MHz (19.5 Gbps effective) for the RX 7800 XT versus 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) for the RX 5500M.

Compute resources favor the newer card: 3,840 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 96 render output units for the RX 7800 XT, against 1,408, 88, and 32 for the RX 5500M. The RX 7800 XT also includes 60 ray tracing cores, which the RX 5500M lacks entirely.

Clock speeds show a mixed picture. The RX 5500M has a higher base clock at 1375 MHz versus 1295 MHz, but the RX 7800 XT boosts much higher at 2430 MHz versus 1645 MHz. The game clock also favors the newer card: 2124 MHz versus 1448 MHz.

Pixel and texture rates scale accordingly. The RX 7800 XT achieves 233.3 GPixel/s and 583.2 GTexel/s, while the RX 5500M manages 52.64 GPixel/s and 144.8 GTexel/s. Floating-point performance is similarly lopsided: 37.32 TFLOPS FP32 for the RX 7800 XT versus 4.632 TFLOPS for the RX 5500M. FP16 rates match the FP32 figures for the RX 7800 XT (37.32 TFLOPS at 1:1), while the RX 5500M doubles its FP32 to 9.265 TFLOPS at a 2:1 ratio.

Power and physical specifications diverge sharply. The RX 7800 XT has a 263 W TDP, requires two 8-pin power connectors, and a 600 W suggested PSU. The RX 5500M draws 85 W and uses no power connectors. The RX 7800 XT is a dual-slot card measuring 267 mm by 111 mm by 50 mm, while the RX 5500M has no recorded dimensions or slot width. The RX 7800 XT uses a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface; the RX 5500M uses PCIe 4.0 x8. Display outputs also differ: the RX 7800 XT offers one HDMI 2.1a and three DisplayPort 2.1 outputs, while the RX 5500M's outputs are listed as portable device dependent.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap is generational. The RX 5500M is built on RDNA 1.0, while the RX 7800 XT uses RDNA 3.0. The process node improved from 7 nm to 5 nm, both fabricated by TSMC. Transistor counts reflect the scale: 6,400 million for the RX 5500M on a 158 mm² die, versus 28,100 million for the RX 7800 XT on a 346 mm² die. Transistor density nearly doubles from 40.5 million per mm² to 81.2 million per mm².

The RX 5500M is part of the Radeon RX 5000 series, under the Navi Mobile generation, using the Navi 14 chip. Its predecessor is Polaris Mobile. The RX 7800 XT belongs to the Radeon RX 7000 series, the Navi III generation, with the Navi 32 chip and the codename Wheat Nas. Its predecessor is Navi II, and its successor is Navi IV.

API support differs as well. The RX 7800 XT 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 7800 XT's ray tracing cores are a notable feature absent from the RX 5500M, aligning with the newer architecture's focus on hardware-accelerated ray tracing.

The release timeline is separated by nearly four years: the RX 5500M launched in October 2019, the RX 7800 XT in September 2023. The RX 5500M is marked as end-of-life, while the RX 7800 XT is active. Those statuses match the performance data, with the newer architecture delivering consistently higher scores across the benchmark suite, except for the OpenCL anomaly noted earlier.