AMD Radeon RX 5600M vs AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a split decision between the AMD Radeon RX 5600M and the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56, with each card claiming one benchmark victory. In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, the RX Vega 56 posts a score of 1501 against the RX 5600M's 1320, a 12.1% advantage for the older desktop part. This is a substantial lead in a modern DirectX 12 workload, indicating that the Vega 56's raw compute resources translate into real performance where rasterization and geometry throughput matter most.

Conversely, in the Geekbench Metal benchmark, the RX 5600M turns the tables with a score of 76653 versus 73512 for the RX Vega 56, a 4.3% margin. The Metal API test favors the newer RDNA architecture's efficiency and feature set, and the RX 5600M's win here demonstrates that architectural maturity can offset raw hardware disadvantages. The average benchmark score across all recorded tests reinforces the split: the RX 5600M averages 46601 points, while the RX Vega 56 averages 37507. That 24.3% gap in overall average score heavily favors the mobile card, but the head-to-head results show that the Vega 56 remains competitive in specific workloads.

Looking at percentile rankings, the RX 5600M sits at the 85th percentile among all GPUs, while the RX Vega 56 ranks at the 81st percentile. The RX 5600M's nearest rivals in the database include the Intel Arc A530M at 46614 (0% delta), the AMD Radeon RX 6550M at 46702 (-0.2%), the NVIDIA RTX A2000 at 46043 (1.2%), and the NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation at 45972 (1.4%). The RX Vega 56, by contrast, sits near the NVIDIA Tesla P4 at 37628 (-0.3%), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 at 37648 (-0.4%), the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 at 37157 (0.9%), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile at 38135 (-1.6%). These figures indicate that the RX 5600M competes in a higher performance tier overall, despite losing the single DX12 head-to-head test.

Where Each One Wins

The RX Vega 56 wins decisively in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark, a test that stresses traditional GPU pipelines with heavy geometry, rasterization, and memory bandwidth demands. Its 12.1% lead over the RX 5600M in this test suggests that scenarios favoring high raw throughput and large memory pools will see the Vega 56 excel. The card's 8 GB HBM2 memory with a 2048-bit bus and 409.6 GB/s bandwidth provides a massive data pipeline that the 5600M's 6 GB GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus (288.0 GB/s) cannot match. For users running DX12 titles that are not bottlenecked by driver overhead or architectural inefficiencies, the Vega 56's higher pixel rate (94.14 GPixel/s versus 80.96 GPixel/s) and texture rate (329.5 GTexel/s versus 182.2 GTexel/s) give it a clear edge.

The RX 5600M wins in the Geekbench Metal benchmark, a cross-platform API test that measures compute and graphics performance through Apple's Metal interface. Its 4.3% lead over the Vega 56 indicates that the RDNA 1.0 architecture handles modern API features more efficiently, particularly in scenarios that leverage asynchronous compute and reduced instruction overhead. The 5600M's higher average benchmark score (46601 versus 37507) also suggests that across a broader test suite, the newer architecture maintains a consistent advantage, likely due to its 7 nm process node and higher transistor density (41.0M per mm² versus 25.3M per mm²). Users prioritizing compute workloads, creative applications, or any software that scales well with architectural efficiency should favor the 5600M.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs represent fundamentally different design philosophies from AMD. The RX 5600M uses the Navi 10 chip built on RDNA 1.0 architecture, fabricated on TSMC's 7 nm process node. It contains 10,300 million transistors on a 251 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 41.0M per mm². The RX Vega 56 uses the Vega 10 chip with GCN 5.0 architecture, built on GlobalFoundries' 14 nm process node. It packs 12,500 million transistors onto a much larger 495 mm² die, with a transistor density of just 25.3M per mm². The RDNA design achieves higher efficiency per transistor, while the Vega design allocates more silicon to raw compute resources.

Core configurations differ sharply. The RX 5600M has 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output units. The RX Vega 56 has 3584 shading units, 224 TMUs, and also 64 ROPs. The Vega 56's 55% more shading units and 55% more TMUs explain its higher pixel and texture rates, though the 5600M's architecture extracts more performance per unit. Clock speeds tell a similar story: the Vega 56 has a base clock of 1156 MHz and boost clock of 1471 MHz, while the 5600M runs at a 1035 MHz base and 1265 MHz boost, with a game clock of 1190 MHz. The Vega 56's higher clocks and more cores produce its FP32 throughput of 10.54 TFLOPS versus the 5600M's 5.829 TFLOPS, and FP16 of 21.09 TFLOPS versus 11.66 TFLOPS (both at 2:1 ratio).

Memory architectures are completely different. The RX 5600M uses 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, running at 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective) for 288.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RX Vega 56 uses 8 GB of HBM2 on a 2048-bit bus, running at 800 MHz (1600 Mbps effective) for 409.6 GB/s bandwidth. The Vega 56's 42% higher bandwidth is a direct consequence of the stacked memory design. The 5600M supports PCIe 4.0 x16, while the Vega 56 uses PCIe 3.0 x16. Both support DirectX 12 (12_1) and OpenGL 4.6, but the 5600M supports Vulkan 1.4 while the Vega 56 supports Vulkan 1.3. The 5600M is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with no power connectors and a 150 W TDP, while the Vega 56 is a dual-slot card requiring 2x 8-pin power connectors, a 210 W TDP, and a suggested 550 W PSU. The Vega 56 measures 280 mm in length, 111 mm in height, and 40 mm in width.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 5600M averages 46601 points across all recorded benchmarks, while the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 averages 37507 points. The 5600M also sits at the 85th percentile among all GPUs, compared to the Vega 56's 81st percentile.

Q: How do the two chips compare in the DX12 Steel Nomad test?

A: The RX Vega 56 scores 1501 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, which is 12.1% higher than the RX 5600M's 1320. This is the Vega 56's only head-to-head win.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The RX Vega 56 provides 409.6 GB/s of bandwidth via 8 GB of HBM2 on a 2048-bit bus, while the RX 5600M provides 288.0 GB/s via 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus. The Vega 56's bandwidth is 42% higher.

Q: Which GPU is more transistor-dense?

A: The RX 5600M leads with 41.0M transistors per mm² on a 251 mm² die, versus 25.3M per mm² on the RX Vega 56's 495 mm² die. The 5600M uses a 7 nm TSMC process, while the Vega 56 uses a 14 nm GlobalFoundries process.

Q: Do both cards support the same API versions?

A: Both support DirectX 12 (12_1) and OpenGL 4.6, but the RX 5600M supports Vulkan 1.4 while the RX Vega 56 supports Vulkan 1.3.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The RX 5600M has a 150 W TDP, uses no power connectors, and is an IGP. The RX Vega 56 has a 210 W TDP, requires 2x 8-pin power connectors, and needs a 550 W suggested PSU.

The Verdict

The data supports different use cases for each card. The AMD Radeon RX 5600M is the superior overall performer based on its 46601 average benchmark score, 85th percentile ranking, and win in Geekbench Metal. Its RDNA 1.0 architecture, 7 nm process, and higher transistor density make it the more efficient and future-proof choice for compute-heavy workloads, creative applications, and modern API usage. The RX 5600M's 4.3% win in the Metal test, combined with its significantly higher average score, indicates that it handles a broader range of tasks more consistently.

The AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 is the better choice for raw DX12 rasterization performance, as evidenced by its 12.1% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad. Its 8 GB of HBM2 memory with 409.6 GB/s bandwidth, 3584 shading units, and 10.54 TFLOPS FP32 throughput give it a decisive advantage in bandwidth-hungry and compute-heavy games. Users who prioritize maximum frame rates in traditional rasterized titles, particularly at higher resolutions where memory bandwidth matters most, should favor the Vega 56.

The RX 5600M is end-of-life with a 2020 release date, while the RX Vega 56 is also end-of-life but released in 2017. The 5600M's successor is not listed, while the Vega 56's successor is Navi, which the 5600M itself represents. For mobile users, the 5600M's IGP form factor and 150 W TDP make it the only practical choice. For desktop users with a 550 W PSU and dual-slot space, the Vega 56 offers superior raw performance in specific workloads, though its 210 W TDP and 280 mm length are significant constraints. Ultimately, the RX 5600M wins on overall capability and efficiency, while the RX Vega 56 wins on pure compute and bandwidth.

Specification Differences

| Field | AMD Radeon RX 5600M | AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 |

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

| Chip | Navi 10 | Vega 10 |

| Architecture | RDNA 1.0 | GCN 5.0 |

| Generation | Navi Mobile (RX 5000M) | Vega (RX Vega) |

| Process Node | 7 nm | 14 nm |

| Foundry | TSMC | GlobalFoundries |

| Transistors | 10,300 million | 12,500 million |

| Die Size | 251 mm² | 495 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 41.0M / mm² | 25.3M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1035 MHz | 1156 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1265 MHz | 1471 MHz |

| Game Clock | 1190 MHz | null |

| Memory Clock | 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective) | 800 MHz (1600 Mbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 6 GB | 8 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | HBM2 |

| Memory Bus Width | 192 bit | 2048 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 288.0 GB/s | 409.6 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 2304 | 3584 |

| TMUs | 144 | 224 |

| ROPs | 64 | 64 |

| Pixel Rate | 80.96 GPixel/s | 94.14 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 182.2 GTexel/s | 329.5 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 5.829 TFLOPS | 10.54 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 11.66 TFLOPS (2:1) | 21.09 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 150 W | 210 W |

| Slot Width | IGP | Dual-slot |

| Power Connectors | None | 2x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | null | 550 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | Portable Device Dependent | 1x HDMI 2.0b, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a |

| Vulkan | 1.4 | 1.3 |

| Release Date | 2020-07-06 | 2017-08-13 |

| Launch MSRP | null | 399 USD |

| Predecessor | Polaris Mobile | Polaris |

| Successor | null | Navi |

| Dimensions | null | 280 mm x 111 mm x 40 mm |