AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM vs AMD Radeon VII Comparison

AMD Radeon VII and AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM are both end-of-life AMD graphics cards, but they represent fundamentally different design philosophies from the same manufacturer. The Radeon VII, released earlier, is a massive flagship built on the Vega 20 chip with GCN 5.1 architecture, while the RX 5600 OEM is a mid-range part using the Navi 10 chip with RDNA 1.0 architecture. The benchmark data shows the Radeon VII leading in every common test, but the RX 5600 OEM counters with far lower power requirements and a more modern feature set, making the choice between them highly dependent on the specific use case.

FAQ

Q: Which card has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon VII has an average benchmark score of 66004, placing it in the 90th percentile of all GPUs. The AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM scores 58085 on average, which places it in the 87th percentile.

Q: How does the Radeon VII compare to its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla T4?

A: The Radeon VII scores 1.1% lower than the NVIDIA Tesla T4 (which averages 66733). It is 1.4% higher than the Tesla P40 (65095) and 2.8% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100 (64212).

Q: What is the closest competitor to the RX 5600 OEM according to the data?

A: The Intel Arc A570M is the closest rival, scoring 58239, which is 0.3% higher than the RX 5600 OEM. The AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT is 0.5% higher, while the Intel Arc A580 is 0.6% lower.

Q: In which benchmark does the Radeon VII show its largest advantage over the RX 5600 OEM?

A: The Radeon VII wins the Geekbench Vulkan test by 70.8%, scoring 91788 versus 53743 for the RX 5600 OEM.

Q: Do both cards support the same DirectX version?

A: Yes, both support DirectX 12 (12_1) and OpenGL 4.6. However, the Radeon VII supports Vulkan 1.3 while the RX 5600 OEM supports Vulkan 1.4.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference between the two?

A: The Radeon VII has 16 GB of HBM2 memory on a 4096-bit bus with 1.02 TB/s bandwidth. The RX 5600 OEM has 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus with 288.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Architecture Differences

The two cards share a 7 nm TSMC manufacturing process but diverge completely thereafter. The Radeon VII uses the Vega 20 chip with the older GCN 5.1 architecture, packing 13,230 million transistors onto a 331 mm² die. The RX 5600 OEM uses the Navi 10 chip with the newer RDNA 1.0 architecture, fitting 10,300 million transistors onto a smaller 251 mm² die. Interestingly, the transistor density is nearly identical: 40.0M per mm² for the Radeon VII and 41.0M per mm² for the RX 5600 OEM.

The compute resources differ dramatically. The Radeon VII has 3840 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. The RX 5600 OEM has 2048 shading units and 128 TMUs, but the same 64 ROPs. This translates to a peak FP32 throughput of 13.44 TFLOPS for the Radeon VII versus 6.390 TFLOPS for the RX 5600 OEM. Both cards have FP16 performance at a 2:1 ratio: 26.88 TFLOPS and 12.78 TFLOPS respectively.

Clock speeds tell a different story. The Radeon VII has a base clock of 1400 MHz and a boost of 1750 MHz, with no defined game clock. The RX 5600 OEM runs at a 1130 MHz base, a 1560 MHz boost, and a 1375 MHz game clock. Despite lower peak clocks, the RX 5600 OEM achieves a higher transistor density and uses the more modern RDNA instruction set.

Memory architecture is a major split. The Radeon VII uses 16 GB of HBM2 across a 4096-bit bus, delivering 1.02 TB/s of bandwidth. The RX 5600 OEM uses 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, yielding 288.0 GB/s. The Radeon VII's memory clock is listed as 1000 MHz (2 Gbps effective), while the RX 5600 OEM runs at 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective).

Power and interface differences are stark. The Radeon VII has a 295 W TDP and requires two 8-pin power connectors with a 600 W suggested PSU. The RX 5600 OEM has a 125 W TDP, one 8-pin connector, and a 300 W suggested PSU. The Radeon VII uses PCIe 3.0 x16, while the RX 5600 OEM uses PCIe 4.0 x16. Both are dual-slot cards with identical display outputs: 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The shared benchmark pool between these two cards is limited to two Geekbench tests, but the results are decisive. In Geekbench OpenCL, the Radeon VII scores 91947 against 62427 for the RX 5600 OEM, a 47.3% advantage. The gap widens in Geekbench Vulkan, where the Radeon VII scores 91788 versus 53743, a 70.8% lead. The Radeon VII wins both head-to-head tests, giving it a 2-0 record.

These margins align with the raw compute specifications. The Radeon VII's FP32 throughput of 13.44 TFLOPS is roughly 2.1 times that of the RX 5600 OEM's 6.390 TFLOPS. The Vulkan delta of 70.8% is larger than the OpenCL delta of 47.3%, suggesting that the Radeon VII's massive memory bandwidth of 1.02 TB/s provides a particular advantage in Vulkan workloads that are more memory-intensive.

The average benchmark scores reinforce the same hierarchy. The Radeon VII's average of 66004 is 13.6% higher than the RX 5600 OEM's 58085. However, the RX 5600 OEM is tightly clustered with its rivals: it is within 0.8% of the Intel Arc A580, NVIDIA P102-100, Intel Arc A570M, and AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT. In contrast, the Radeon VII sits in a slightly wider band, within 3.4% of its nearest competitors.

The Verdict

The data presents a clear performance hierarchy: the Radeon VII is substantially faster in every measured benchmark. Its 47.3% lead in OpenCL and 70.8% lead in Vulkan are not marginal differences but generational gaps in throughput. The Radeon VII also ranks higher overall, sitting in the 90th percentile of all GPUs versus the 87th percentile for the RX 5600 OEM.

However, the RX 5600 OEM is not without merit. Its TDP of 125 W is less than half the Radeon VII's 295 W, and it requires a 300 W PSU instead of 600 W. It also supports the newer PCIe 4.0 interface and Vulkan 1.4, whereas the Radeon VII is limited to PCIe 3.0 and Vulkan 1.3. For systems with power or thermal constraints, the RX 5600 OEM is the practical choice.

The Radeon VII launched at 699 USD MSRP, which reflects its flagship positioning. The RX 5600 OEM has no listed launch MSRP, but its specifications place it in a lower tier. The Radeon VII's 16 GB of HBM2 memory and 1.02 TB/s bandwidth are unmatched by the RX 5600 OEM's 6 GB GDDR6 at 288.0 GB/s, making the former the obvious pick for memory-bound workloads.

Specification Differences

• Chip: Vega 20 (Radeon VII) versus Navi 10 (RX 5600 OEM)
• Architecture: GCN 5.1 versus RDNA 1.0
• Transistors: 13,230 million versus 10,300 million
• Die Size: 331 mm² versus 251 mm²
• Transistor Density: 40.0M / mm² versus 41.0M / mm²
• Base Clock: 1400 MHz versus 1130 MHz
• Boost Clock: 1750 MHz versus 1560 MHz
• Game Clock: Not specified versus 1375 MHz
• Memory Size: 16 GB versus 6 GB
• Memory Type: HBM2 versus GDDR6
• Memory Bus: 4096 bit versus 192 bit
• Memory Bandwidth: 1.02 TB/s versus 288.0 GB/s
• Shading Units: 3840 versus 2048
• TMUs: 240 versus 128
• Pixel Rate: 112.0 GPixel/s versus 99.84 GPixel/s
• Texture Rate: 420.0 GTexel/s versus 199.7 GTexel/s
• FP32: 13.44 TFLOPS versus 6.390 TFLOPS
• FP16: 26.88 TFLOPS versus 12.78 TFLOPS
• TDP: 295 W versus 125 W
• Power Connectors: 2x 8-pin versus 1x 8-pin
• Suggested PSU: 600 W versus 300 W
• Bus Interface: PCIe 3.0 x16 versus PCIe 4.0 x16
• Vulkan Version: 1.3 versus 1.4

Where Each One Wins

The Radeon VII wins decisively in raw compute and memory-intensive scenarios. Its 1.02 TB/s bandwidth is 3.5 times higher than the RX 5600 OEM's, and its FP32 output of 13.44 TFLOPS is more than double. The 70.8% Vulkan lead suggests that applications leveraging modern graphics APIs will see outsized gains. The 16 GB memory capacity also allows for larger datasets and textures without spilling to system memory.

The RX 5600 OEM wins in efficiency and platform compatibility. Its 125 W TDP allows for simpler cooling and power delivery, and the single 8-pin connector makes installation easier in existing systems. The PCIe 4.0 interface provides double the bandwidth to the host system compared to PCIe 3.0, which can benefit data transfer in certain workloads. The Vulkan 1.4 support is a forward-looking feature that the Radeon VII lacks.

For users with an existing high-wattage PSU and a need for maximum performance in OpenCL or Vulkan workloads, the Radeon VII is the clear winner. For builds prioritizing power efficiency, modern bus connectivity, or operating within a 300 W PSU budget, the RX 5600 OEM is the appropriate selection. The benchmark data does not support the RX 5600 OEM in pure performance terms, but its lower power envelope and newer interface standards give it a distinct niche.