AMD Radeon RX 5700 vs AMD Radeon RX 6600 Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data splits these two AMD cards along clear lines. The AMD Radeon RX 5700 wins 4 of the 11 head-to-head tests, while the AMD Radeon RX 6600 wins 7. The RX 5700, built on RDNA 1.0, dominates in compute-heavy and legacy DirectX workloads. Its biggest victory is a 141.3% lead in Geekbench OpenCL, a massive margin that points to raw throughput advantages in general-purpose compute. It also takes 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 by 24.8%, a modern DirectX 12 test where its wider memory bus and higher shading unit count pay off. The RX 5700 also edges ahead in PassMark DirectX 12 by 5.9% and PassMark DirectX 9 by 6.1%.

The RX 6600, using RDNA 2.0, counters with wins across most of the remaining tests, particularly in DirectX 11 and API-agnostic workloads. Its largest victory is a 33.6% lead in PassMark DirectX 11, a result that suggests better driver optimization or architectural efficiency in that API. It also wins PassMark DirectX 10 by 8.4%, PassMark G3D by 5.2%, Geekbench Vulkan by 5.1%, Geekbench Metal by 2.6%, PassMark G2D by 1.3%, and PassMark GPU Compute by 0.6%. The RX 6600 is the more consistent performer across the broader test suite, even though its average benchmark score of 19036 sits below the RX 5700's 22170. That discrepancy is notable: the RX 6600 wins more individual tests but has a lower overall average, which means the RX 5700's wins tend to be in tests with larger score magnitudes.

The use-case split is fairly straightforward. For compute-heavy tasks, especially OpenCL, the RX 5700 is the clear choice. For DirectX 11 gaming and general 3D rendering, the RX 6600 is more reliable. The RX 5700 holds the edge in modern DirectX 12 and legacy DirectX 9, while the RX 6600 dominates the middle ground of DirectX 10 and 11. The percentiles reflect this mixed picture: the RX 5700 sits at the 67th percentile across all GPUs, while the RX 6600 sits at the 63rd.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different generations of AMD's RDNA architecture. The RX 5700 uses the Navi 10 chip with RDNA 1.0, while the RX 6600 uses the Navi 23 chip with RDNA 2.0. Both are fabricated on TSMC's 7 nm process, but the transistor counts differ. The RX 5700 packs 10,300 million transistors on a 251 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 41.0M per mm². The RX 6600 has 11,060 million transistors on a smaller 237 mm² die, resulting in a higher density of 46.7M per mm². The RX 6600 is the denser design, which is consistent with the architectural improvements of RDNA 2.0.

The compute configuration is notably different. The RX 5700 has 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. The RX 6600 has fewer shading units at 1792, fewer TMUs at 112, but the same 64 ROPs. Despite having fewer shaders, the RX 6600 achieves higher clock speeds: a base clock of 1626 MHz, a boost clock of 2491 MHz, and a game clock of 2044 MHz, compared to the RX 5700's 1465 MHz base, 1725 MHz boost, and 1625 MHz game clock. The higher clocks help the RX 6600 reach 8.928 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, beating the RX 5700's 7.949 TFLOPS. The same pattern holds for FP16, with the RX 6600 at 17.86 TFLOPS versus 15.90 TFLOPS.

Memory configurations also diverge. Both cards have 8 GB of GDDR6, but the RX 5700 uses a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, while the RX 6600 uses a 128-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s. The RX 5700 has double the memory bandwidth, which likely explains its strong showing in memory-sensitive tests. The RX 6600 compensates with a higher pixel rate of 159.4 GPixel/s versus 110.4 GPixel/s, and a higher texture rate of 279.0 GTexel/s versus 248.4 GTexel/s. The RX 6600 also introduces 28 ray tracing cores, a feature the RX 5700 lacks entirely. In terms of API support, the RX 6600 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the RX 5700 is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1).

Power and physical characteristics differ as well. The RX 5700 has a TDP of 180 W, requires a 6-pin and 8-pin power connector, and a suggested 450 W PSU. The RX 6600 is more efficient, with a TDP of 132 W, a single 8-pin connector, and a suggested 300 W PSU. The RX 6600 is also shorter at 190 mm (7.5 inches) compared to the RX 5700's 268 mm (10.6 inches). Both are dual-slot cards, but the RX 6600 is slightly thicker at 40 mm versus 36 mm. The RX 5700 uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while the RX 6600 uses PCIe 4.0 x8.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most striking result in the head-to-head data is Geekbench OpenCL, where the RX 5700 scores 69603 against the RX 6600's 28850. That is a 141.3% advantage, the largest delta in any test. The magnitude suggests the RX 5700's wider memory bus and higher shading unit count give it a substantial edge in raw compute throughput, despite the RX 6600's higher FP32 rating. The RX 6600's score of 28850 is unusually low relative to its other results, which may indicate a driver or workload-specific issue, but the recorded data stands as measured.

In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the RX 5700 scores 1862 against 1492, a 24.8% lead. This is a modern DirectX 12 workload, and the RX 5700's 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth appears to be a decisive factor. The RX 6600's 224.0 GB/s is half that, and the test likely stresses memory throughput heavily.

The RX 6600's biggest win is PassMark DirectX 11, where it scores 152 against the RX 5700's 101, a 33.6% margin. This is a substantial gap and suggests the RDNA 2.0 architecture, with its higher clocks and newer feature set, handles DirectX 11 more efficiently. The RX 6600 also wins PassMark DirectX 10 by 8.4%, scoring 95 versus 87.

Smaller margins appear in several tests. Geekbench Vulkan goes to the RX 6600 at 67623 versus 64166, a 5.1% lead. PassMark G3D goes to the RX 6600 at 15096 versus 14314, a 5.2% margin. Geekbench Metal goes to the RX 6600 at 88398 versus 86079, a 2.6% difference. PassMark G2D is nearly tied, with the RX 6600 at 889 and the RX 5700 at 877, a 1.3% edge. PassMark GPU Compute is even closer, with the RX 6600 at 6554 and the RX 5700 at 6517, a 0.6% difference.

The RX 5700 also wins PassMark DirectX 12 by 5.9% (54 versus 51) and PassMark DirectX 9 by 6.1% (209 versus 197). These are modest margins, but they show the older card retaining an edge in both the newest and oldest DirectX versions tested. The overall win count favors the RX 6600, but the average benchmark scores tell a different story: the RX 5700 averages 22170 across all benchmarks, while the RX 6600 averages 19036. The RX 5700's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6700S at 22154 (0.1% delta) and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB at 21856 (1.4% delta), while the RX 6600's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro K6000 at 19030 (0% delta) and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile at 19049 (-0.1% delta).

FAQ

Q: Which card has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 5700 has the higher average benchmark score at 22170, compared to the AMD Radeon RX 6600's 19036. The RX 5700 sits at the 67th percentile across all GPUs, while the RX 6600 sits at the 63rd.

Q: What is the largest performance gap in the head-to-head tests?

A: The largest gap is in Geekbench OpenCL, where the AMD Radeon RX 5700 scores 69603 versus the RX 6600's 28850, a 141.3% advantage.

Q: Does the RX 6600 support ray tracing?

A: Yes, the AMD Radeon RX 6600 has 28 ray tracing cores. The AMD Radeon RX 5700 has no ray tracing cores.

Q: Which card has more memory bandwidth?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 5700 has 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth on a 256-bit bus. The AMD Radeon RX 6600 has 224.0 GB/s on a 128-bit bus.

Q: How do the cards compare in DirectX 11 performance?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6600 wins PassMark DirectX 11 by a 33.6% margin, scoring 152 against the RX 5700's 101.

Q: Which card has a higher boost clock?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6600 has a boost clock of 2491 MHz, while the AMD Radeon RX 5700 has a boost clock of 1725 MHz.

Specification Differences

The table below lists only the fields where the two cards differ, based on the recorded specifications.

| Field | AMD Radeon RX 5700 | AMD Radeon RX 6600 |

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

| Architecture | RDNA 1.0 | RDNA 2.0 |

| Chip | Navi 10 | Navi 23 |

| Transistors | 10,300 million | 11,060 million |

| Die Size | 251 mm² | 237 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 41.0M / mm² | 46.7M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1465 MHz | 1626 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1725 MHz | 2491 MHz |

| Game Clock | 1625 MHz | 2044 MHz |

| Memory Bus Width | 256 bit | 128 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 448.0 GB/s | 224.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 2304 | 1792 |

| TMUs | 144 | 112 |

| Ray Tracing Cores | None | 28 |

| Pixel Rate | 110.4 GPixel/s | 159.4 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 248.4 GTexel/s | 279.0 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 7.949 TFLOPS | 8.928 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 15.90 TFLOPS (2:1) | 17.86 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 180 W | 132 W |

| Power Connectors | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin | 1x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 450 W | 300 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x8 |

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

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

| Length | 268 mm (10.6 inches) | 190 mm (7.5 inches) |

| Height | 111 mm (4.4 inches) | 110 mm (4.3 inches) |

| Width | 36 mm (1.4 inches) | 40 mm (1.6 inches) |

| Release Date | 2019-07-06 | 2021-10-12 |

| Predecessor | Vega | Navi |

| Successor | Navi II | Navi III |

| Launch MSRP | 349 USD | 329 USD |

Both cards share the same 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, 64 ROPs, 7 nm process node, TSMC as foundry, dual-slot width, and end-of-life production status.

The Verdict

The data points to two distinct buyer profiles. The AMD Radeon RX 5700 is the choice for compute-oriented workloads and users who prioritize memory bandwidth. Its 141.3% lead in Geekbench OpenCL is the single largest margin in the comparison, and its 24.8% win in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 shows strength in modern DirectX 12. The 256-bit bus and 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth are the likely drivers of these results. The RX 5700 also holds the overall average score advantage at 22170 versus 19036, and it sits higher in the global percentile ranking at 67 versus 63. For users running OpenCL-heavy tasks or legacy DirectX 9 titles, the RX 5700 is the safer pick.

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 is the better all-rounder for gaming across a wider range of APIs. It wins 7 of the 11 head-to-head tests, including a 33.6% margin in PassMark DirectX 11 and 5.2% in PassMark G3D. The higher boost clock of 2491 MHz and the addition of 28 ray tracing cores make it the more future-proof option for DirectX 12 Ultimate content. Its lower TDP of 132 W and shorter 190 mm length make it easier to fit in compact builds. The RX 6600 also carries a lower launch MSRP of 329 USD compared to the RX 5700's 349 USD. For most users playing DirectX 10 and 11 titles, the RX 6600 is the more consistent performer, even if its average score trails the RX 5700. The recorded data shows a clear trade-off: raw compute and bandwidth on the RX 5700, efficiency and API coverage on the RX 6600.