AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT vs AMD Radeon RX 9070 Comparison

Architecture Differences

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 and AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT represent two distinct generations of AMD graphics architecture, separated by a significant technological gap. The RX 9070 is built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture using the Navi 48 chip, while the RX 5600 XT uses the older RDNA 1.0 architecture with the Navi 10 chip. This architectural divide is reflected across nearly every specification category.

The manufacturing process shows a major advancement: the RX 9070 is fabricated on a 4 nm process at TSMC, whereas the RX 5600 XT uses a 7 nm process from the same foundry. The transistor counts tell a dramatic story. The RX 9070 contains 53,900 million transistors on a 357 mm² die, giving a density of 151.0 million transistors per square millimeter. The RX 5600 XT houses just 10,300 million transistors on a 251 mm² die, with a density of 41.0 million per square millimeter. This represents a 5.2x increase in raw transistor count and a 3.7x improvement in density.

Core configuration differences are substantial. The RX 9070 features 3,584 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 128 raster operation pipelines. It also includes 56 dedicated ray tracing cores. The RX 5600 XT is equipped with 2,304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, with no ray tracing hardware present. The shading unit advantage of the RX 9070 is roughly 55%, but the ROP advantage is a full 2x.

Clock speeds have also progressed significantly. The RX 9070 operates with a base clock of 1330 MHz, a game clock of 2070 MHz, and a boost clock of 2520 MHz. The RX 5600 XT runs at 1130 MHz base, 1375 MHz game, and 1560 MHz boost. The boost clock difference of 960 MHz represents a 61.5% higher ceiling for the newer card.

Memory architecture changes are equally pronounced. The RX 9070 comes with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering memory bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s. The RX 5600 XT offers 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, with bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s. The memory clock is rated at 2518 MHz (20.1 Gbps effective) for the RX 9070 versus 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective) for the RX 5600 XT.

The RX 9070 also introduces hardware ray tracing support, a feature entirely absent from the RX 5600 XT. API support differs as well: the RX 9070 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the RX 5600 XT is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1). Both cards support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4. The RX 9070 uses PCIe 5.0 x16, while the RX 5600 XT is on PCIe 4.0 x16. Power requirements scale accordingly: the RX 9070 has a 220 W TDP with dual 8-pin connectors and a suggested 550 W PSU, whereas the RX 5600 XT draws 150 W with a single 8-pin connector and a suggested 450 W PSU.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the RX 9070 in raw compute performance?

A: The RX 9070 delivers 36.13 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, which is 5.0x the 7.188 TFLOPS of the RX 5600 XT. The pixel rate is 322.6 GPixel/s versus 99.84 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 564.5 GTexel/s versus 224.6 GTexel/s.

Q: What is the memory capacity and bandwidth difference?

A: The RX 9070 has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory with 644.6 GB/s bandwidth, compared to 6 GB with 288.0 GB/s on the RX 5600 XT. The bus width is 256-bit versus 192-bit, and effective memory speed is 20.1 Gbps versus 12 Gbps.

Q: Does the RX 9070 support ray tracing?

A: Yes, the RX 9070 includes 56 dedicated ray tracing cores. The RX 5600 XT has no ray tracing cores listed, and its DirectX 12 (12_1) API support does not include the ray tracing features found in the RX 9070's DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) support.

Q: Which card has better production status?

A: The RX 9070 is listed as Active in production, with a release date of March 5, 2025. The RX 5600 XT is End-of-life, having been released on January 20, 2020. The RX 9070's predecessor is Navi III, while the RX 5600 XT's predecessor is Vega and its successor is Navi II.

Q: How do their average benchmark scores compare?

A: The RX 9070 has an average benchmark score of 23,877, while the RX 5600 XT averages 20,713. This is a 15.3% difference in average score, though individual tests show much larger gaps in the RX 9070's favor.

Q: What are the power draw differences?

A: The RX 9070 has a TDP of 220 W with a suggested PSU of 550 W and requires two 8-pin power connectors. The RX 5600 XT has a TDP of 150 W with a suggested PSU of 450 W and requires a single 8-pin connector.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark comparison between these two cards shows a decisive sweep: the RX 9070 wins all 10 recorded head-to-head tests. The margins vary widely by workload, and the distribution of those margins tells an important story about where each architecture excels.

The largest victory comes in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test. The RX 9070 scores 6,290 against 1,669 for the RX 5600 XT, a delta of 276.9%. This is the single most demanding test in the comparison, and it reflects the combination of newer architecture, more compute units, and higher memory bandwidth. A 3.8x performance advantage in a modern DirectX 12 workload is consistent with the generational leap between RDNA 1.0 and RDNA 4.0.

The PassMark DirectX 11 test shows the second-largest gap. The RX 9070 scores 281 versus 96 for the RX 5600 XT, a 192.7% delta. This nearly 3x advantage in a legacy API workload suggests that the RX 9070's architectural improvements benefit even older rendering paths, not just modern ones.

Compute workloads also show massive differences. In PassMark GPU Compute, the RX 9070 scores 14,737 versus 6,296, a 134.1% delta. Geekbench OpenCL shows a 91.9% delta, with scores of 131,539 versus 68,537. These compute results align with the 5.0x FP32 theoretical advantage, though real-world compute scaling is less than theoretical peak.

The PassMark DirectX 10 test shows a 93.2% delta, with scores of 141 versus 73. The PassMark G3D test shows an 88.6% delta, with 25,381 versus 13,457. The PassMark DirectX 9 test shows a 69.8% delta, with 343 versus 202. The PassMark G2D test shows a 47.1% delta, with 1,280 versus 870.

The narrowest margin is in Geekbench Vulkan, where the RX 9070 scores 58,705 against 56,218 for the RX 5600 XT, a modest 4.4% delta. This is notable because Vulkan is a low-level API that can sometimes narrow gaps between architectures. The RX 9070 also wins PassMark DirectX 12 by 42.3%, with 74 versus 52, though both scores are low in absolute terms.

The overall pattern is clear: the RX 9070's advantage grows with workload complexity. The smallest delta is in Vulkan, where the RX 5600 XT's RDNA 1.0 architecture still holds up reasonably well. The largest deltas appear in modern DX12 and compute-heavy workloads, where the newer architecture's features and resources provide outsized benefits.

The Verdict

The data presents an unambiguous hierarchy. The RX 9070 wins every benchmark in the comparison, and the average score difference of 15.3% (23,877 versus 20,713) understates the gap in demanding workloads. In the most modern test, 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the RX 9070 is 276.9% faster. In compute workloads, it is roughly 92% to 134% faster. Only in Vulkan does the RX 5600 XT come close, trailing by just 4.4%.

For users running modern DirectX 12 games, ray tracing workloads, or GPU compute tasks, the RX 9070 is the clear choice. It offers 16 GB of memory versus 6 GB, 5.0x the FP32 compute throughput, dedicated ray tracing cores, and support for DirectX 12 Ultimate. The RX 9070 also has a higher pixel rate (322.6 GPixel/s versus 99.84 GPixel/s) and texture rate (564.5 GTexel/s versus 224.6 GTexel/s), which directly benefits resolution scaling and texture-heavy scenes.

The RX 5600 XT remains a functional card for less demanding scenarios. Its 7.188 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth are sufficient for older titles and lighter workloads. Its 150 W TDP and single 8-pin connector make it easier to integrate into systems with modest power supplies. However, its 6 GB memory capacity is a limiting factor for modern game installations, and the absence of ray tracing hardware puts it at a disadvantage in games that leverage that feature.

The percentile rankings reflect the broader competitive context. The RX 9070 sits at the 69th percentile among all GPUs, with nearest rivals including the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER (average score 24,170, delta of -1.2%) and the AMD Radeon RX 6800S (average score 24,063, delta of -0.8%). The RX 5600 XT sits at the 66th percentile, with nearest rivals including the Intel Arc A750 (average score 20,582, delta of 0.6%) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (average score 20,534, delta of 0.9%).

The production status difference is also relevant. The RX 9070 is Active, while the RX 5600 XT is End-of-life. For new system builds, the RX 9070 is the only one of the two that represents a current product. The RX 5600 XT's successor, Navi II, has already been released, and the card is no longer in production.

In summary, the RX 9070 is the superior card in every measured category. Its advantages range from modest (4.4% in Vulkan) to overwhelming (276.9% in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12). Users prioritizing modern gaming, ray tracing, or compute performance should select the RX 9070. Users with legacy software requirements or strict power constraints might still find the RX 5600 XT workable, but the benchmark data shows no scenario where it outperforms the RX 9070.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon RX 9070 | AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | RDNA 4.0 | RDNA 1.0 |

| Chip | Navi 48 | Navi 10 |

| Generation | Navi IV (RX 9000) | Navi (RX 5000) |

| Process Node | 4 nm | 7 nm |

| Transistors | 53,900 million | 10,300 million |

| Die Size | 357 mm² | 251 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 151.0M / mm² | 41.0M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1330 MHz | 1130 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2520 MHz | 1560 MHz |

| Game Clock | 2070 MHz | 1375 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 2518 MHz (20.1 Gbps effective) | 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 16 GB | 6 GB |

| Memory Bus Width | 256 bit | 192 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 644.6 GB/s | 288.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 3584 | 2304 |

| TMUs | 224 | 144 |

| ROPs | 128 | 64 |

| RT Cores | 56 | None |

| Pixel Rate | 322.6 GPixel/s | 99.84 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 564.5 GTexel/s | 224.6 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 36.13 TFLOPS | 7.188 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 36.13 TFLOPS (1:1) | 14.38 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 220 W | 150 W |

| Power Connectors | 2x 8-pin | 1x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 550 W | 450 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 5.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 1x HDMI 2.1b, 3x DisplayPort 2.1a | 1x HDMI 2.0b, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a |

| DirectX Support | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | 12 (12_1) |

| Production Status | Active | End-of-life |

| Release Date | 2025-03-05 | 2020-01-20 |

| Launch MSRP | 549 USD | 279 USD |

| Average Benchmark Score | 23,877 | 20,713 |

| G3D Score | 25,381 | 13,457 |

| GPU Compute Score | 14,737 | 6,296 |