AMD Radeon RX 5600M vs AMD Radeon RX 6650M Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows two direct comparison points between the AMD Radeon RX 6650M and the AMD Radeon RX 5600M, both from the Geekbench suite. In the OpenCL test, the RX 6650M scores 65,800 against the RX 5600M's 59,589, a 10.4% advantage. This is a solid, measurable lead in a general-purpose compute workload, placing the newer part clearly ahead without being overwhelming.

The Vulkan test tells a far more dramatic story. Here, the RX 6650M scores 77,735 versus 48,843 for the RX 5600M, a 59.2% delta in favor of the RX 6650M. This is not a marginal improvement; it is a generational leap in graphics API performance. The RX 5600M's Vulkan result is barely above two-thirds of the RX 6650M's score, indicating that the newer architecture extracts significantly more efficiency from the same API standard.

When looking at average benchmark scores across all recorded tests, the RX 6650M posts an average of 71,768, while the RX 5600M averages 46,601. That is a 54% overall difference in the aggregate metric, though the head-to-head data only includes two shared tests. The RX 6650M wins both head-to-head comparisons, giving it a 2-0 record in the database. The RX 5600M has no wins in this matchup.

The RX 6650M's nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA TITAN X Pascal, which averages 72,098 and trails the RX 6650M by only 0.5%, and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64, which averages 72,379 and trails by 0.8%. This places the RX 6650M in a performance tier where it trades blows with high-end desktop cards from a few generations ago, despite being a mobile part. The RX 6650M also sits 1.3% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE and 2.2% behind the AMD Radeon Vega Frontier Edition.

The RX 5600M, by contrast, sits in a lower tier. Its nearest rival is the Intel Arc A530M, which matches its average score almost exactly at 46,614, a 0% delta. The AMD Radeon RX 6550M is 0.2% behind, the NVIDIA RTX A2000 trails by 1.2%, and the NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation is 1.4% behind. The RX 5600M is therefore positioned at the top of its immediate competitive cluster, but that cluster is far below the RX 6650M's orbit.

The Verdict

From the data, the AMD Radeon RX 6650M is the clear winner in this comparison. It wins both shared benchmarks, with a 10.4% lead in OpenCL and a 59.2% lead in Vulkan. Its average benchmark score of 71,768 is 54% higher than the RX 5600M's 46,601. The RX 6650M also ranks in the 91st percentile among all GPUs in the database, while the RX 5600M ranks in the 85th percentile. That 6-point percentile gap understates the actual score difference because the percentile distribution is compressed at the upper end.

Users who prioritize graphics API performance, particularly Vulkan, should select the RX 6650M without hesitation. The 59.2% delta in Vulkan suggests that the RX 6650M's RDNA 2.0 architecture delivers substantially better driver-level efficiency and hardware utilization for modern workloads. The RX 5600M's Vulkan score is its weakest recorded result, which is unusual for a GPU of its class and suggests a significant architectural handicap.

Users who need OpenCL compute performance will still find the RX 6650M superior, but the margin is narrower at 10.4%. The RX 5600M does have a higher raw shading unit count, which may help in some compute workloads, but the recorded data shows that advantage does not translate into higher OpenCL scores. The RX 6650M's higher clock speeds and newer architecture overcome the RX 5600M's additional shading units.

There is no scenario in the recorded data where the RX 5600M wins. Its only consolation is that it sits at the top of its own rival cluster, meaning it is not a weak GPU in absolute terms, it is simply outclassed by a newer, faster part. The RX 5600M remains viable for legacy DirectX 12 workloads, but the RX 6650M is the objectively superior choice based on every metric in the database.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different generations of AMD's Radeon architecture. The RX 6650M is built on RDNA 2.0 and uses the Navi 23 chip, while the RX 5600M is built on RDNA 1.0 and uses the Navi 10 chip. Both are manufactured by TSMC on a 7 nm process node, but the transistor counts differ: the RX 6650M packs 11,060 million transistors on a 237 mm² die, giving a density of 46.7 million transistors per square millimeter. The RX 5600M has 10,300 million transistors on a larger 251 mm² die, yielding a density of 41.0 million per square millimeter.

The RX 6650M compensates for its smaller die with higher clock speeds. Its base clock is 2068 MHz, its boost clock is 2416 MHz, and its game clock is 2222 MHz. The RX 5600M runs at 1035 MHz base, 1265 MHz boost, and 1190 MHz game clock. The RX 6650M's game clock alone is 75% higher than the RX 5600M's boost clock, which explains much of the performance gap.

The RX 6650M has 1792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units. The RX 5600M has more shading units at 2304, more TMUs at 144, and the same 64 ROPs. Despite having fewer shading units, the RX 6650M achieves a higher pixel rate of 154.6 GPixel/s versus 80.96 GPixel/s for the RX 5600M, and a higher texture rate of 270.6 GTexel/s versus 182.2 GTexel/s. The RX 6650M also delivers 8.659 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, compared to 5.829 TFLOPS for the RX 5600M.

The most significant architectural difference is ray tracing support. The RX 6650M includes 28 dedicated ray tracing cores, while the RX 5600M has none. This is a direct consequence of the RDNA 2.0 upgrade, which added hardware ray tracing acceleration. The RX 6650M also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the RX 5600M is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4.

Memory configurations also diverge. The RX 6650M uses 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 5600M uses 6 GB of GDDR6 on a wider 192-bit bus, delivering 288.0 GB/s. The RX 5600M has higher raw bandwidth, but the RX 6650M compensates with faster effective memory speed: 14 Gbps versus 12 Gbps. The RX 6650M's memory clock is 1750 MHz, while the RX 5600M's is 1500 MHz.

Power characteristics differ as well. The RX 6650M has a TDP of 120 W, while the RX 5600M draws 150 W. The RX 6650M delivers substantially higher performance while consuming 30 W less, indicating a major efficiency improvement in the newer architecture. Both use the PCIe 4.0 interface, but the RX 6650M connects via x8 lanes, while the RX 5600M uses x16 lanes. Both are integrated into mobile platforms with no external power connectors.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher compute performance in the database?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6650M delivers 8.659 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, compared to 5.829 TFLOPS for the AMD Radeon RX 5600M. The RX 6650M also leads in FP16 at 17.32 TFLOPS versus 11.66 TFLOPS.

Q: Does the RX 5600M have more shading units?

A: Yes, the RX 5600M has 2304 shading units, while the RX 6650M has 1792. However, the RX 6650M still achieves higher benchmark scores due to its much higher clock speeds and architectural improvements.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The RX 5600M has a higher memory bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s over a 192-bit bus, while the RX 6650M has 224.0 GB/s over a 128-bit bus. The RX 6650M compensates with faster effective memory speed of 14 Gbps versus 12 Gbps.

Q: Which GPU supports ray tracing?

A: Only the AMD Radeon RX 6650M supports hardware ray tracing, with 28 dedicated ray tracing cores. The RX 5600M has no ray tracing cores and is based on the older RDNA 1.0 architecture.

Q: How do the power requirements compare?

A: The RX 6650M has a TDP of 120 W, while the RX 5600M has a TDP of 150 W. The RX 6650M achieves higher performance while consuming less power.

Q: What is the release timing for these GPUs?

A: The RX 6650M was released on January 3, 2022, while the RX 5600M was released on July 6, 2020. Both are end-of-life products with no successor listed in the database.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 6650M wins in every recorded benchmark category. In OpenCL, it beats the RX 5600M by 10.4%, a meaningful margin for compute workloads that use OpenCL. In Vulkan, the margin expands to 59.2%, making the RX 6650M overwhelmingly faster for Vulkan-based gaming and graphics applications. The RX 6650M also wins on power efficiency, delivering its performance at 120 W versus the RX 5600M's 150 W.

For users running modern DirectX 12 Ultimate titles or Vulkan-based games, the RX 6650M is the only rational choice from this pairing. Its ray tracing cores and newer RDNA 2.0 architecture provide features that the RX 5600M simply lacks. The RX 6650M's higher pixel rate of 154.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 270.6 GTexel/s also make it better suited for high-resolution rendering and texture-heavy workloads.

The RX 5600M does not win any recorded benchmark, but it retains advantages in specific hardware specifications. It has more shading units (2304 versus 1792), more TMUs (144 versus 112), a wider memory bus (192-bit versus 128-bit), and higher memory bandwidth (288.0 GB/s versus 224.0 GB/s). These specifications may benefit workloads that are highly parallel and memory-bandwidth sensitive, even though the recorded benchmarks do not show such an outcome.

The RX 5600M also uses a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, twice the lane width of the RX 6650M's x8 connection. In theory, this could reduce transfer bottlenecks in CPU-GPU communication for certain workloads, though the recorded data does not reflect this advantage. For users running legacy DirectX 12 (12_1) applications that do not use ray tracing, the RX 5600M remains functionally capable, but it will still lose to the RX 6650M in the shared benchmarks.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in the following recorded specifications:

Chip and Architecture: The RX 6650M uses the Navi 23 chip with RDNA 2.0 architecture, while the RX 5600M uses the Navi 10 chip with RDNA 1.0 architecture.

Transistors and Die Size: The RX 6650M has 11,060 million transistors on a 237 mm² die (46.7M per mm²). The RX 5600M has 10,300 million transistors on a 251 mm² die (41.0M per mm²).

Clock Speeds: The RX 6650M runs at 2068 MHz base, 2416 MHz boost, and 2222 MHz game clock. The RX 5600M runs at 1035 MHz base, 1265 MHz boost, and 1190 MHz game clock. Memory clocks are 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) for the RX 6650M and 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective) for the RX 5600M.

Memory: The RX 6650M has 8 GB GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RX 5600M has 6 GB GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus with 288.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Shading Units and TMUs: The RX 6650M has 1792 shading units and 112 TMUs. The RX 5600M has 2304 shading units and 144 TMUs. Both have 64 ROPs.

Ray Tracing: The RX 6650M has 28 ray tracing cores. The RX 5600M has none.

Fill Rates: The RX 6650M achieves 154.6 GPixel/s and 270.6 GTexel/s. The RX 5600M achieves 80.96 GPixel/s and 182.2 GTexel/s.

FP32 and FP16: The RX 6650M delivers 8.659 TFLOPS FP32 and 17.32 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1). The RX 5600M delivers 5.829 TFLOPS FP32 and 11.66 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1).

TDP: The RX 6650M consumes 120 W, while the RX 5600M consumes 150 W.

Bus Interface: The RX 6650M uses PCIe 4.0 x8, while the RX 5600M uses PCIe 4.0 x16.

DirectX Support: The RX 6650M supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the RX 5600M supports DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4.

Release Date: The RX 6650M was released on January 3, 2022. The RX 5600M was released on July 6, 2020. Both are end-of-life products.