AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM vs AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT Comparison

AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT and AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM represent two very different points in AMD’s recent GPU lineup, and the benchmark data reflects a clear performance hierarchy. The RX 6950 XT, built on the Navi 21 chip with RDNA 2.0 architecture, dominates the two shared benchmark tests, while the RX 5600 OEM, using the smaller Navi 10 chip with RDNA 1.0, trails by a wide margin. This analysis walks through the data to show where each card wins, how their architectures differ, and what the numbers mean for potential use cases.

Where Each One Wins

The head-to-head benchmark data is unambiguous: the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT wins every shared test, taking both available comparisons. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 6950 XT scores 175,410 against the RX 5600 OEM’s 61,660, a delta of 184.5%. In Geekbench Vulkan, the RX 6950 XT scores 164,748 versus 53,538, a delta of 207.7%. That gives the RX 6950 XT a 2–0 win record in direct comparisons, with the RX 5600 OEM failing to claim a single victory.

The RX 6950 XT also holds a much broader benchmark footprint, with eleven recorded tests spanning DirectX 9 through DirectX 12, Metal, OpenCL, Vulkan, and compute workloads. The RX 5600 OEM only has two recorded tests, both compute-oriented (OpenCL and Vulkan), which limits its observable strengths to that narrow slice. In terms of average benchmark score, the RX 6950 XT posts 55,569, while the RX 5600 OEM posts 57,599 — the RX 5600 OEM actually edges ahead by 3.5% on average score, but this is driven by the different test sets and the RX 5600 OEM’s proximity to its rivals, not by any head-to-head superiority.

Architecture Differences

The two cards are separated by a full generation of AMD graphics architecture. The RX 6950 XT uses the Navi 21 chip on the RDNA 2.0 architecture, part of the Navi II (RX 6000) generation, while the RX 5600 OEM uses the Navi 10 chip on the older RDNA 1.0 architecture, from the Navi (RX 5000) generation. Both are fabricated on TSMC’s 7 nm process, but the chip sizes differ considerably: the RX 6950 XT’s die measures 520 mm² with 26,800 million transistors, giving a transistor density of 51.5M per mm², whereas the RX 5600 OEM’s die is 251 mm² with 10,300 million transistors, for a density of 41.0M per mm².

The RX 6950 XT also brings hardware ray tracing cores — 80 of them — while the RX 5600 OEM has no ray tracing cores at all. This is a fundamental architectural split: RDNA 2.0 adds dedicated RT hardware that RDNA 1.0 lacks. The RX 6950 XT supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the RX 5600 OEM is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4, so API compatibility is otherwise identical. The RX 6950 XT’s larger chip and newer architecture translate directly into higher raw throughput, which shows up in every compute metric.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two shared benchmarks tell a consistent story of massive performance disparity. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 6950 XT’s score of 175,410 is 184.5% higher than the RX 5600 OEM’s 61,660. That is nearly a threefold difference in compute performance, driven by the RX 6950 XT’s 5,120 shading units versus 2,048 on the RX 5600 OEM, as well as its 23.65 TFLOPS FP32 throughput against 6.390 TFLOPS.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the gap widens further. The RX 6950 XT scores 164,748, which is 207.7% above the RX 5600 OEM’s 53,538. This larger delta suggests the RX 6950 XT’s architectural advantages — including its 80 RT cores and higher memory bandwidth — are even more pronounced in Vulkan workloads. The RX 6950 XT’s 576.0 GB/s memory bandwidth versus 288.0 GB/s on the RX 5600 OEM likely contributes to this, as Vulkan tests often stress memory throughput alongside compute.

Beyond these shared tests, the RX 6950 XT’s additional benchmarks show strengths across legacy and modern APIs. It scores 4235 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, 222,653 in Geekbench Metal, and 28,070 in Passmark G3D. Its Passmark compute score is 14,199. The RX 5600 OEM has no comparable data points, so those results stand only for the RX 6950 XT.

Specification Differences

The specification sheets reveal how far apart these two cards are. The RX 6950 XT has a base clock of 1860 MHz and a boost clock of 2310 MHz, with a game clock of 2100 MHz, while the RX 5600 OEM runs at 1130 MHz base and 1560 MHz boost, with a 1375 MHz game clock. Memory configurations differ sharply: the RX 6950 XT has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 576.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the RX 5600 OEM has 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus with 288.0 GB/s bandwidth. Effective memory speed is 18 Gbps on the RX 6950 XT versus 12 Gbps on the RX 5600 OEM.

Compute resources scale accordingly: the RX 6950 XT has 5,120 shading units, 320 TMUs, and 128 ROPs, versus 2,048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs on the RX 5600 OEM. Pixel rate is 295.7 GPixel/s on the RX 6950 XT versus 99.84 GPixel/s on the RX 5600 OEM, and texture rate is 739.2 GTexel/s versus 199.7 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 23.65 TFLOPS versus 6.390 TFLOPS, and FP16 is 47.31 TFLOPS versus 12.78 TFLOPS (both at 2:1 ratio).

Power and physical specs also diverge. The RX 6950 XT has a TDP of 335 W, requires a 700 W suggested PSU, uses 2x 8-pin connectors, and is a triple-slot card measuring 267 mm in length, 120 mm in height, and 50 mm in width. The RX 5600 OEM has a 125 W TDP, a 300 W suggested PSU, a single 8-pin connector, and a dual-slot design, though its dimensions are not recorded. Display outputs differ as well: the RX 6950 XT offers 1x HDMI 2.1 and 2x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the RX 5600 OEM has 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a.

FAQ

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM has a higher average benchmark score of 57,599, compared to the RX 6950 XT’s 55,569, a delta of 3.5% in the RX 5600 OEM’s favor. However, this reflects different test sets, not direct performance.

Q: How much faster is the RX 6950 XT in Geekbench Vulkan?

A: The RX 6950 XT scores 164,748 in Geekbench Vulkan, which is 207.7% higher than the RX 5600 OEM’s 53,538, making it roughly three times faster in that workload.

Q: Does the RX 5600 OEM support ray tracing?

A: No. The RX 5600 OEM has no ray tracing cores, while the RX 6950 XT includes 80 RT cores. This is a key architectural difference between RDNA 1.0 and RDNA 2.0.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The RX 6950 XT has 576.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth, double the RX 5600 OEM’s 288.0 GB/s. The RX 6950 XT also has 16 GB of memory versus 6 GB on the RX 5600 OEM.

Q: Are both cards still in production?

A: No. Both the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT and the AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM are listed as end-of-life production status.

Q: Which card has a higher transistor density?

A: The RX 6950 XT has a transistor density of 51.5M per mm², while the RX 5600 OEM has 41.0M per mm², despite both using TSMC’s 7 nm process.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear split: the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT is the superior performer in every shared benchmark, with margins of 184.5% in OpenCL and 207.7% in Vulkan over the RX 5600 OEM. Its architectural advantages — RDNA 2.0, 80 RT cores, 16 GB of memory, and 576.0 GB/s bandwidth — make it the obvious choice for anyone prioritizing raw compute, modern API support, or ray tracing capability.

The RX 5600 OEM, despite its lower scores, does have one statistical edge: its average benchmark score of 57,599 is 3.5% higher than the RX 6950 XT’s 55,569, though this is an artifact of its limited two-test benchmark set rather than a real performance win. Its lower TDP of 125 W and dual-slot design make it a more power-efficient option, and its 300 W suggested PSU requirement is far more modest than the RX 6950 XT’s 700 W.

For a user choosing between these two, the decision hinges on workload. If the priority is maximum compute performance, DirectX 12 Ultimate features, or ray tracing, the RX 6950 XT is the only viable option based on the data. If the priority is lower power draw and the workload is limited to OpenCL or Vulkan compute, the RX 5600 OEM could suffice, but it will deliver less than half the performance in those tests. The benchmark data does not support any scenario where the RX 5600 OEM outperforms the RX 6950 XT in a direct comparison.