AMD Radeon RX 5700 vs AMD Radeon RX 6600M Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 wins the majority of direct comparisons, taking 7 of 11 head-to-head benchmarks, while the RX 6600M secures 4 wins. The largest victory for the RX 5700 comes in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, where it scores 1862 against the RX 6600M's 1495, a 19.7% advantage. This is the single biggest gap between the two cards in any test. The RX 6600M's most decisive win is in PassMark DirectX 11, where it scores 136 versus 101, a 34.7% margin — the largest relative difference in either direction across all benchmarks.

In compute-oriented workloads, the RX 5700 leads by meaningful margins. PassMark GPU Compute shows 6517 for the RX 5700 versus 5646 for the RX 6600M, a 13.4% gap. Geekbench OpenCL also favors the RX 5700, scoring 69603 against 67765, a 2.6% edge. The RX 5700 further wins PassMark G3D (14314 vs 13929, 2.7% ahead), PassMark G2D (877 vs 728, 17% ahead), PassMark DirectX 9 (209 vs 184, 12% ahead), and PassMark DirectX 12 (54 vs 52, 3.7% ahead).

The RX 6600M counters with strong showings in API-specific and cross-platform tests. Geekbench Vulkan gives the RX 6600M a 14.9% win (73740 vs 64166), and Geekbench Metal shows a 7.2% advantage (92237 vs 86079). The two cards tie exactly in PassMark DirectX 10 at 87 points each, with the RX 6600M credited the nominal win due to the delta being zero. This split tells a clear story: the RX 5700 excels in traditional rasterization and compute benchmarks, while the RX 6600M shows particular strength in Vulkan and Metal environments.

Average benchmark scores reinforce the RX 5700's overall lead. The RX 5700 averages 22170 across its benchmark suite, while the RX 6600M averages 23273 — a counterintuitive result where the RX 6600M has the higher average despite losing more head-to-head matchups. This discrepancy stems from the RX 6600M's very strong Geekbench Metal and Vulkan scores pulling its average up, while the RX 5700 wins more tests but with smaller margins in some and larger losses in others. The percentile ranks are close: the RX 6600M sits at the 68th percentile of all GPUs, the RX 5700 at the 67th.

Architecture Differences

The two cards represent successive generations of AMD's RDNA architecture. The RX 6600M uses Navi 23 with RDNA 2.0, while the RX 5700 uses Navi 10 with RDNA 1.0. Both are built on TSMC's 7 nm process, but the RX 6600M packs 11,060 million transistors into a 237 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 46.7 million per mm². The RX 5700 has 10,300 million transistors on a larger 251 mm² die, yielding 41.0 million per mm². The RX 6600M thus achieves roughly 14% higher transistor density despite a smaller physical footprint.

Core configurations differ substantially. The RX 5700 has 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation pipelines. The RX 6600M has 1792 shading units and 112 TMUs, but also matches 64 ROPs. Despite fewer shaders and TMUs, the RX 6600M reaches higher clock speeds: its base clock is 2068 MHz, boost 2416 MHz, and game clock 2177 MHz, versus the RX 5700's 1465 MHz base, 1725 MHz boost, and 1625 MHz game clock. These clocks translate to a higher pixel rate for the RX 6600M (154.6 GPixel/s vs 110.4 GPixel/s) and higher texture rate (270.6 GTexel/s vs 248.4 GTexel/s). FP32 throughput also favors the RX 6600M at 8.659 TFLOPS versus 7.949 TFLOPS, with FP16 at 17.32 TFLOPS versus 15.90 TFLOPS.

The RX 6600M introduces hardware ray tracing cores (28 RT cores), a feature entirely absent from the RX 5700. Memory configurations differ as well: both have 8 GB of GDDR6, but the RX 5700 uses a 256-bit bus yielding 448.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the RX 6600M uses a 128-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s — exactly half the bandwidth. Memory clocks are identical at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). API support also diverges: the RX 6600M supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the RX 5700 is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4.

Power and physical characteristics differ sharply. The RX 6600M is an integrated mobile part with a 100 W TDP, IGP slot width, and no power connectors. The RX 5700 is a dual-slot desktop card with a 180 W TDP, requiring 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin power connectors and a suggested 450 W PSU. The RX 5700 measures 268 mm long, 111 mm high, and 36 mm wide, with display outputs of 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The RX 6600M's display outputs are listed as "Portable Device Dependent," reflecting its mobile nature. The RX 6600M connects via PCIe 4.0 x8, while the RX 5700 uses PCIe 4.0 x16.

FAQ

Q: Which card has higher raw compute throughput?

A: The RX 6600M leads in FP32 with 8.659 TFLOPS versus the RX 5700's 7.949 TFLOPS, a 8.9% advantage. FP16 also favors the RX 6600M at 17.32 TFLOPS versus 15.90 TFLOPS.

Q: Why does the RX 5700 win more benchmarks despite having lower clock speeds?

A: The RX 5700 has 2304 shading units and 144 TMUs versus 1792 shading units and 112 TMUs on the RX 6600M. Combined with double the memory bandwidth (448.0 GB/s vs 224.0 GB/s), the RX 5700's wider configuration compensates for its lower clocks in many workloads.

Q: Does the RX 6600M support ray tracing?

A: Yes. The RX 6600M has 28 dedicated RT cores as part of the RDNA 2.0 architecture. The RX 5700 has no RT cores at all, being based on RDNA 1.0.

Q: Which card performs better in Vulkan and Metal APIs?

A: The RX 6600M wins Geekbench Vulkan by 14.9% (73740 vs 64166) and Geekbench Metal by 7.2% (92237 vs 86079). The RX 5700's only API win is Geekbench OpenCL at 2.6% (69603 vs 67765).

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The RX 6600M has a 100 W TDP and requires no power connectors, being an integrated mobile part. The RX 5700 has a 180 W TDP, needs 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin connectors, and has a suggested 450 W PSU.

Q: How does memory bandwidth compare between the two?

A: The RX 5700 has 448.0 GB/s bandwidth via a 256-bit bus, exactly double the RX 6600M's 224.0 GB/s on a 128-bit bus. Both use 8 GB of GDDR6 at 14 Gbps effective.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon RX 6600M | AMD Radeon RX 5700 |

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

| Architecture | RDNA 2.0 | RDNA 1.0 |

| Chip | Navi 23 | Navi 10 |

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

| Die Size | 237 mm² | 251 mm² |

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

| Base Clock | 2068 MHz | 1465 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2416 MHz | 1725 MHz |

| Game Clock | 2177 MHz | 1625 MHz |

| Memory Bus Width | 128 bit | 256 bit |

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

| Shading Units | 1792 | 2304 |

| TMUs | 112 | 144 |

| RT Cores | 28 | None |

| Pixel Rate | 154.6 GPixel/s | 110.4 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 270.6 GTexel/s | 248.4 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 8.659 TFLOPS | 7.949 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 17.32 TFLOPS | 15.90 TFLOPS |

| TDP | 100 W | 180 W |

| Slot Width | IGP | Dual-slot |

| Power Connectors | None | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | None | 450 W |

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

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

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

| Release Date | 2021-05-30 | 2019-07-06 |

| Launch MSRP | None | 349 USD |

Where Each One Wins

The RX 5700 dominates in DirectX-based gaming and compute. It wins 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 by 19.7%, PassMark G3D by 2.7%, PassMark DirectX 9 by 12%, and PassMark DirectX 12 by 3.7%. It also takes PassMark GPU Compute by 13.4% and PassMark G2D by 17%, making it the stronger choice for traditional Windows gaming, compute-heavy tasks like rendering or physics simulations, and 2D desktop workloads. Its double memory bandwidth (448.0 GB/s) and 2304 shading units make it particularly suited to high-resolution texture-heavy scenarios where bandwidth matters most.

The RX 6600M wins in cross-platform and modern API contexts. Its 14.9% Vulkan lead and 7.2% Metal lead suggest strong performance in Vulkan-based games and Apple ecosystem applications. The 34.7% DirectX 11 win is notable, indicating the RX 6600M handles legacy DX11 titles with relative ease. Its 28 RT cores provide hardware ray tracing capability the RX 5700 lacks entirely, making it the only option of the two for ray-traced effects. The 100 W TDP and IGP form factor make it suitable for thin-and-light laptops where the RX 5700's 180 W dual-slot design cannot fit.

The Verdict

Choose the AMD Radeon RX 5700 if you prioritize raw gaming performance and compute throughput in a desktop context. The data shows it wins 7 of 11 head-to-head benchmarks, with a commanding 19.7% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 and a 13.4% edge in PassMark GPU Compute. Its 448.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 2304 shading units provide a solid foundation for demanding games and compute applications. The launch MSRP was 349 USD, and it remains a capable dual-slot desktop card requiring a 450 W PSU.

Choose the AMD Radeon RX 6600M if you need modern features, mobility, or cross-platform performance. Its 28 RT cores bring ray tracing to the table, and its 14.9% Vulkan and 7.2% Metal wins make it the better fit for Vulkan-based titles and macOS environments. The 100 W TDP and IGP form factor enable laptop integration where the RX 5700 cannot operate. The RX 6600M also achieves higher clock speeds (2416 MHz boost vs 1725 MHz) and higher FP32 throughput (8.659 TFLOPS vs 7.949 TFLOPS), despite its narrower memory bus. The two cards sit within one percentile point of each other in overall GPU rankings (68th vs 67th), but the RX 5700's benchmark win count and compute advantages give it the edge for traditional desktop gaming, while the RX 6600M's feature set and efficiency make it the forward-looking choice for portable systems.