AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 and AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM sit at opposite ends of the GPU spectrum, separated by two generations of architecture, a massive gulf in compute resources, and a 2.5-year gap in release timing. The data shows a complete sweep for the RTX 4090 in direct comparisons, but the RX 5600 OEM remains a relevant data point for understanding performance tiers. This analysis breaks down the benchmark results, architectural differences, and specification gaps to clarify where each card stands.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 posts an average benchmark score of 60,347, while the AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM averages 58,085. This places the RTX 4090 at the 88th percentile of all GPUs and the RX 5600 OEM at the 87th percentile.

Q: How much faster is the RTX 4090 in the head-to-head Geekbench tests?

A: In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 4090 scores 255,416 versus 62,427 for the RX 5600 OEM, a delta of 309.1%. In Geekbench Vulkan, the gap widens: 271,631 versus 53,743, a delta of 405.4%.

Q: What are the memory specifications for each card?

A: The RTX 4090 has 24 GB of GDDR6X on a 384-bit bus with 1.01 TB/s bandwidth. The RX 5600 OEM has 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus with 288.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card supports hardware ray tracing?

A: The RTX 4090 includes 128 dedicated RT cores. The RX 5600 OEM lists no RT cores (null in the data), indicating it lacks dedicated ray tracing hardware.

Q: What are the power requirements for each GPU?

A: The RTX 4090 has a TDP of 450 W and requires a suggested PSU of 850 W with a 1x 16-pin connector. The RX 5600 OEM has a TDP of 125 W, a suggested PSU of 300 W, and uses a 1x 8-pin connector.

Q: Which GPU has the higher transistor density?

A: The RTX 4090, built on a 5 nm process, achieves 125.3M transistors per mm². The RX 5600 OEM, on a 7 nm process, has 41.0M per mm².

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 4090 wins every benchmark category where both cards have data. In the two head-to-head tests, it dominates both OpenCL and Vulkan workloads. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 255,416 is more than four times the RX 5600 OEM's 62,427, indicating a massive advantage in general-purpose compute tasks. The Vulkan result is even more lopsided, with the RTX 4090 scoring 271,631 versus 53,743, showing superior performance in modern graphics APIs.

The RX 5600 OEM's only "win" is relative to its own position in the market. Its average benchmark score of 58,085 sits within 2,262 points of the RTX 4090's 60,347, which is a surprisingly small gap given the hardware disparity. However, this is misleading: the RX 5600 OEM's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT (58,392, -0.5% delta) and the NVIDIA P102-100 (58,528, -0.8% delta), meaning it punches at a much higher weight class in this aggregate metric than its raw specs suggest. The RTX 4090, meanwhile, trades blows with the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (61,896, -2.5% delta) and the Intel Arc Pro A60 (60,326, 0% delta).

For gaming, the RTX 4090's 16384 shading units, 512 TMUs, and 176 ROPs deliver pixel rates of 443.5 GPixel/s and texture rates of 1,290.2 GTexel/s. The RX 5600 OEM's 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs produce 99.84 GPixel/s and 199.7 GTexel/s. The RTX 4090 is the clear choice for any workload that demands raw throughput, while the RX 5600 OEM's lower specs suggest it was designed for more modest resolutions and settings.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap is generational and fundamental. The RTX 4090 uses the AD102 chip on NVIDIA's Ada Lovelace architecture, built on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It packs 76,300 million transistors into a 609 mm² die, achieving a density of 125.3M per mm². The RX 5600 OEM uses the Navi 10 chip on AMD's RDNA 1.0 architecture, built on a 7 nm process, also at TSMC. It contains 10,300 million transistors on a 251 mm² die, with a density of 41.0M per mm².

The RTX 4090 is equipped with 128 RT cores and 512 tensor cores, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI-based features like DLSS. The RX 5600 OEM has no RT cores and no tensor cores, meaning it lacks dedicated hardware for these tasks. This is a critical feature split: the RTX 4090 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the RX 5600 OEM only supports DirectX 12 (12_1). Both cards support Vulkan 1.4 and OpenGL 4.6.

The memory architectures differ as well. The RTX 4090 uses GDDR6X with a 384-bit bus and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth, while the RX 5600 OEM uses GDDR6 with a 192-bit bus and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 4090's memory clock is listed as 1313 MHz with 21 Gbps effective, whereas the RX 5600 OEM runs at 1500 MHz with 12 Gbps effective. The RTX 4090's FP32 compute is 82.58 TFLOPS; the RX 5600 OEM's is 6.390 TFLOPS. Notably, the RX 5600 OEM's FP16 performance is 12.78 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio), which is double its FP32 rate, while the RTX 4090's FP16 is 82.58 TFLOPS (1:1).

Specification Differences

The specification sheets diverge on nearly every major field. The RTX 4090 has a base clock of 2235 MHz and a boost clock of 2520 MHz; the RX 5600 OEM runs at 1130 MHz base, 1560 MHz boost, with a game clock of 1375 MHz. The RTX 4090's shading units number 16384 versus 2048, TMUs are 512 versus 128, and ROPs are 176 versus 64. The RTX 4090's pixel rate is 443.5 GPixel/s versus 99.84 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 1,290.2 GTexel/s versus 199.7 GTexel/s.

The RTX 4090 uses a triple-slot cooler and a 1x 16-pin power connector, while the RX 5600 OEM is dual-slot with a 1x 8-pin connector. The RTX 4090's dimensions are 304 mm in length, 137 mm in height, and 61 mm in width; the RX 5600 OEM's dimensions are not provided. Display outputs differ: the RTX 4090 has 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the RX 5600 OEM has 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. Both use PCIe 4.0 x16.

The RTX 4090 has a launch MSRP of 1,599 USD. The RX 5600 OEM has no launch MSRP listed. The RTX 4090's predecessor is GeForce 30 and successor is GeForce 50; the RX 5600 OEM's predecessor is Vega and successor is Navi II.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head data is limited to two Geekbench tests, but the results are decisive. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 4090 scores 255,416 against the RX 5600 OEM's 62,427. The delta of 309.1% means the RTX 4090 is roughly four times faster in this compute-heavy workload. This aligns with the FP32 difference: 82.58 TFLOPS versus 6.390 TFLOPS, a ratio of 12.9x, though the benchmark gap is narrower due to other bottlenecks.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the RTX 4090 scores 271,631 versus 53,743, a delta of 405.4%. This is an even larger margin, suggesting the RTX 4090's architecture scales better with the Vulkan API, likely due to its higher TMU count and memory bandwidth. The RTX 4090's 1.01 TB/s bandwidth versus 288.0 GB/s gives it a 3.5x advantage in raw memory throughput, which directly impacts Vulkan's draw-call and texture streaming performance.

The RTX 4090 wins both head-to-head tests, giving it a 2-0 record. The RX 5600 OEM wins none. In the broader benchmark suite, the RTX 4090's Passmark G3D score of 38,194 and GPU compute score of 26,613 are not matched by any RX 5600 OEM data, as the latter only has Geekbench entries. The RTX 4090's Passmark DirectX scores (224 for DX10, 326 for DX11, 150 for DX12, 397 for DX9) and G2D score of 1299 provide additional context, but no direct comparison is possible.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the superior GPU in every measurable way. It wins both head-to-head benchmarks by margins of 309.1% and 405.4%, offers 16,384 shading units versus 2,048, and provides 24 GB of memory versus 6 GB. Its 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 compute dwarfs the RX 5600 OEM's 6.390 TFLOPS. For anyone building a high-end system targeting 4K gaming, ray tracing, or professional compute workloads, the RTX 4090 is the only choice between these two.

However, the RX 5600 OEM is not without merit in its context. Its average benchmark score of 58,085 is within 4% of the RTX 4090's 60,347, and it sits at the 87th percentile of all GPUs, just one point below the RTX 4090's 88th percentile. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT and the Intel Arc A580, which are much more modern cards. This suggests the RX 5600 OEM holds up well in aggregate performance metrics despite its age and lower specs.

The practical verdict is simple. If you need maximum performance and have the power budget (450 W TDP, 850 W PSU), the RTX 4090 is the clear winner. It also offers features the RX 5600 OEM lacks entirely: 128 RT cores, 512 tensor cores, and DirectX 12 Ultimate support. If you are on a strict power or space budget, the RX 5600 OEM's 125 W TDP and dual-slot design are far more accommodating, though it sacrifices ray tracing and most compute headroom. The data does not support choosing the RX 5600 OEM on performance grounds alone; it only makes sense for constrained builds where the RTX 4090's size and power draw are non-starters.