AMD Radeon RX 5500M vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a clear and decisive victory for the AMD Radeon RX 5500M across every benchmark where both GPUs have recorded scores. The head-to-head comparison includes three Geekbench tests, and the AMD part wins all three, often by enormous margins.

The largest gap appears in the Geekbench Metal test. The RX 5500M scores 50,359, while the GTX 780M manages only 8,319. That is a delta of 505.3% in favor of the AMD card. This is not a close contest; the modern RDNA architecture simply overwhelms the older Kepler part in this API.

The OpenCL result tells a similar story, though with a narrower margin. The RX 5500M posts 38,725, against 12,769 for the GTX 780M. The delta here is 203.3%. Even the Vulkan test, which is often considered a more balanced cross-vendor comparison, shows the RX 5500M at 35,693 versus 12,696 for the GTX 780M, a delta of 181.1%.

Looking at the broader database averages, the RX 5500M has an average benchmark score of 13,356, compared to 11,261 for the GTX 780M. The percentile rankings reinforce this: the RX 5500M sits at the 54th percentile of all GPUs, while the GTX 780M is at the 50th. The AMD part also sits in a different tier of nearest rivals. Its closest competitors are the AMD FirePro M6100 at 13,354, the AMD Radeon HD 8950M at 13,376, the AMD Radeon Pro 555X at 13,321, and the AMD Radeon Pro 555 at 13,407. The GTX 780M, by contrast, has rivals like the AMD Radeon Pro WX 3200 at 11,228, the AMD FirePro W4300 at 11,225, and the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max-Q at 11,088.

The raw compute specifications already hint at why the results are so lopsided. The RX 5500M delivers 4.632 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, while the GTX 780M delivers 2.448 TFLOPS. The AMD part has 1,408 shading units, 88 texture units, and 32 ROPs. The GTX 780M has more shading units at 1,536, more texture units at 128, and the same 32 ROPs. More shading units and texture units do not help the older card overcome the massive architectural gap. The AMD part also has a much higher pixel rate at 52.64 GPixel/s versus 25.50 GPixel/s, and a texture rate of 144.8 GTexel/s versus 102.0 GTexel/s.

The memory subsystem also favors the RX 5500M. Both cards have 4 GB of VRAM, but the AMD part uses GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX 780M uses GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, yet only reaches 160.0 GB/s. The wider bus does not compensate for the older memory technology and lower effective clock speed.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 5500M wins every recorded head-to-head benchmark. It is faster in Metal, OpenCL, and Vulkan. The 505.3% lead in Metal is the most extreme, but the 203.3% lead in OpenCL and the 181.1% lead in Vulkan are equally decisive for real-world use. Any workload that relies on these APIs will favor the AMD part by a wide margin.

The GTX 780M has no recorded wins in the head-to-head data. Its strongest showing is in Vulkan, where the delta is 181.1%, meaning the RX 5500M is still nearly three times faster. If we look at the full benchmark suite, the RX 5500M has additional recorded scores in PassMark tests: DirectX 10 at 39, DirectX 11 at 35, DirectX 12 at 28, DirectX 9 at 100, G2D at 414, G3D at 5,848, and GPU compute at 2,316. The GTX 780M has no recorded PassMark scores at all, so the database lists only the Geekbench results for that card.

For gaming, the RX 5500M series targets modern mobile systems. The GTX 780M era is from an earlier generation, and its successor in the database is listed as the GeForce 800M. The RX 5500M has no successor listed and is now end-of-life. The data indicates that any mobile workload, whether compute or graphics, will be better served by the AMD part.

The RX 5500M also has a higher average benchmark score at 13,356 versus 11,261. That 18.6% difference in the overall average is consistent with the head-to-head results. The GTX 780M has a slightly higher transistor density rival pool, but its nearest rivals are all within a narrow band. The RX 5500M has a slightly wider spread among its nearest rivals, from the AMD Radeon HD 8950M at 13,376 to the AMD Radeon Pro 555 at 13,407.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous. The AMD Radeon RX 5500M is the faster GPU in every benchmark where both are measured. It wins the Geekbench Metal test by 505.3%, the OpenCL test by 203.3%, and the Vulkan test by 181.1%. The average benchmark score is 18.6% higher, and the percentile ranking is 4 points higher.

Anyone choosing between these two parts for a mobile workstation or gaming laptop should pick the RX 5500M without hesitation. The only scenario where the GTX 780M might be relevant is if someone specifically needs the MXM-B form factor, since the GTX 780M is listed as an MXM Module while the RX 5500M has no slot width listed. But even then, the performance gap is so large that it is hard to justify the older card.

The RX 5500M is a 7 nm part with RDNA 1.0 architecture, while the GTX 780M is a 28 nm part with Kepler. The process node difference alone explains much of the efficiency and clock speed gap. The RX 5500M has a base clock of 1375 MHz and a boost clock of 1645 MHz, while the GTX 780M runs at 771 MHz base and 797 MHz boost. The AMD part also has a game clock of 1448 MHz.

Power consumption is another factor. The RX 5500M is rated at 85 W, while the GTX 780M is rated at 122 W. The AMD part delivers more performance while drawing less power. The GTX 780M also uses a power connector listed as "None", and its bus interface is MXM-B (3.0), while the RX 5500M uses PCIe 4.0 x8.

FAQ

Q: Is the AMD Radeon RX 5500M faster than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M in every benchmark?

A: Yes. The RX 5500M wins all three head-to-head tests in the database: Geekbench Metal at 50,359 versus 8,319, OpenCL at 38,725 versus 12,769, and Vulkan at 35,693 versus 12,696. It also has a higher average benchmark score of 13,356 versus 11,261.

Q: Which GPU has the higher memory bandwidth?

A: The RX 5500M has 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth with 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus. The GTX 780M has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus but only 160.0 GB/s, so the AMD card wins despite the narrower bus.

Q: How do the clock speeds compare?

A: The RX 5500M runs at 1375 MHz base and 1645 MHz boost, with a game clock of 1448 MHz. The GTX 780M runs at 771 MHz base and 797 MHz boost. The AMD part has a substantial clock advantage.

Q: Which GPU has the better pixel and texture rates?

A: The RX 5500M has a pixel rate of 52.64 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 144.8 GTexel/s. The GTX 780M has 25.50 GPixel/s and 102.0 GTexel/s. The AMD card leads in both.

Q: Is the GTX 780M still competitive in any workload?

A: No. The GTX 780M has no recorded wins in the head-to-head data. Its closest Vulkan score is still 181.1% behind the RX 5500M, and its Metal score is 505.3% behind.

Q: What about the API support differences?

A: The RX 5500M supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The GTX 780M supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175. The AMD card supports a higher DirectX feature level and a newer Vulkan version.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from completely different architectural eras. The AMD Radeon RX 5500M uses the Navi 14 chip built on RDNA 1.0, manufactured on TSMC's 7 nm process. It has 6,400 million transistors on a 158 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 40.5 million per mm². The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M uses the GK104 chip with the Kepler architecture, manufactured on TSMC's 28 nm process. It has 3,540 million transistors on a 294 mm² die, for a density of 12.0 million per mm².

The process node difference is stark: 7 nm versus 28 nm. This is the primary reason the RX 5500M can run at much higher clocks while consuming less power. The RX 5500M has a base clock of 1375 MHz and a boost of 1645 MHz, while the GTX 780M is at 771 MHz and 797 MHz. The newer process also explains the RX 5500M's lower TDP of 85 W versus 122 W for the GTX 780M.

The memory architecture differs as well. The RX 5500M uses GDDR6 with a 128-bit bus and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth. The GTX 780M uses GDDR5 with a 256-bit bus and 160.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RX 5500M also has a memory clock of 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective), while the GTX 780M runs at 1250 MHz (5 Gbps effective).

In terms of compute resources, the RX 5500M has 1,408 shading units, 88 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The GTX 780M has more shading units at 1,536, more TMUs at 128, and the same 32 ROPs. Despite having fewer resources, the RX 5500M achieves higher FP32 throughput at 4.632 TFLOPS versus 2.448 TFLOPS. The RX 5500M also supports FP16 at 9.265 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio), while the GTX 780M has no recorded FP16 performance. Neither GPU has ray tracing cores or tensor cores.

The RX 5500M is part of the Navi Mobile generation, while the GTX 780M belongs to the GeForce 700M series. The RX 5500M's predecessor is listed as Polaris Mobile, while the GTX 780M's predecessor is the GeForce 600M and its successor is the GeForce 800M. The RX 5500M has no successor listed.

Specification Differences

The key specification differences between the two GPUs are as follows. The RX 5500M uses a 7 nm process, the GTX 780M uses 28 nm. The RX 5500M has 6,400 million transistors, the GTX 780M has 3,540 million. The die size is 158 mm² for the RX 5500M versus 294 mm² for the GTX 780M.

Clock speeds: the RX 5500M has a base of 1375 MHz and boost of 1645 MHz, plus a game clock of 1448 MHz. The GTX 780M has a base of 771 MHz and boost of 797 MHz, with no game clock listed. Memory clocks: the RX 5500M runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective), the GTX 780M at 1250 MHz (5 Gbps effective).

Memory: both have 4 GB, but the RX 5500M uses GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth. The GTX 780M uses GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 160.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RX 5500M has 1,408 shading units, 88 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The GTX 780M has 1,536 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs.

Pixel rate: 52.64 GPixel/s for the RX 5500M versus 25.50 GPixel/s for the GTX 780M. Texture rate: 144.8 GTexel/s versus 102.0 GTexel/s. FP32: 4.632 TFLOPS versus 2.448 TFLOPS. The RX 5500M also lists FP16 at 9.265 TFLOPS, while the GTX 780M has no FP16 figure.

TDP: 85 W for the RX 5500M, 122 W for the GTX 780M. The GTX 780M is listed as an MXM Module with an MXM-B (3.0) bus interface, while the RX 5500M uses PCIe 4.0 x8. The RX 5500M supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The GTX 780M supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175. Both are end-of-life, and neither has a launch MSRP listed.