AMD Radeon RX 5700 vs AMD Radeon RX 6700S Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 and AMD Radeon RX 6700S are separated by two GPU generations, yet their aggregate benchmark scores are nearly identical—22170 and 22154, respectively. This places both at the 67th percentile of all GPUs, with a deltaPct of only 0.1% in favor of the older card. The data reveals a fascinating collision: a desktop-first RDNA 1.0 part from 2019 squaring off against a mobile-oriented RDNA 2.0 chip from 2022, each winning a different set of workloads.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 5700 edges out the RX 6700S by a razor-thin margin, with an average score of 22170 versus 22154—a deltaPct of 0.1% in favor of the RX 5700.

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

A: The RX 6700S is significantly stronger in DirectX 11, scoring 134 in PassMark's DirectX 11 test compared to the RX 5700's 101, representing a 24.6% lead for the newer mobile card.

Q: Which GPU wins in Vulkan workloads?

A: The RX 6700S dominates in Vulkan, scoring 76150 in Geekbench Vulkan against the RX 5700's 64166—a 15.7% advantage that stands as one of the largest margins in the head-to-head results.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference between the two?

A: The RX 5700 has a 448.0 GB/s memory bandwidth, exactly double the 224.0 GB/s of the RX 6700S, stemming from its 256-bit bus versus the 128-bit bus on the mobile chip.

Q: Do both GPUs support hardware ray tracing?

A: No. The RX 6700S includes 28 ray tracing cores as part of its RDNA 2.0 architecture, while the RX 5700 has no RT cores listed, relying on the older RDNA 1.0 design.

Q: Which card wins more individual benchmark tests?

A: The RX 5700 wins 6 of the 11 head-to-head benchmarks, while the RX 6700S takes 5, making the overall contest remarkably close despite the generational gap.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide here is the core story. The RX 5700 uses the Navi 10 chip built on RDNA 1.0, fabricated on a 7 nm process at TSMC with 10,300 million transistors across a 251 mm² die. The RX 6700S shifts to Navi 23 on RDNA 2.0, also 7 nm at TSMC, but packs 11,060 million transistors into a smaller 237 mm² die—yielding a higher transistor density of 46.7M per mm² versus 41.0M per mm².

The compute layout differs substantially. The RX 5700 carries 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. The RX 6700S reduces shading units to 1792 and TMUs to 112, while keeping ROPs at 64. The newer chip compensates with 28 ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent from the RX 5700. Clock speeds also favor the mobile part: the RX 6700S runs at a 1700 MHz base and 2000 MHz boost, while the RX 5700 sits at 1465 MHz base and 1725 MHz boost.

The memory subsystem presents a major divergence. Both use 8 GB of GDDR6, but the RX 5700 operates on a 256-bit bus delivering 448.0 GB/s, whereas the RX 6700S halves the bus to 128-bit for 224.0 GB/s—a 50% reduction in bandwidth. The power envelope tells the rest of the story: the RX 5700 is rated at 180 W TDP with dual-slot cooling and dual power connectors, while the RX 6700S is an IGP-class part at just 80 W TDP with no power connectors, designed for portable devices.

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark splits reveal distinct personalities. The RX 5700 excels in raw throughput scenarios—its 7.949 TFLOPS FP32 performance versus 7.168 TFLOPS on the RX 6700S, along with higher texture fill rate (248.4 GTexel/s vs 224.0 GTexel/s) and pixel rate (110.4 GPixel/s vs 128.0 GPixel/s, where the mobile card actually leads). The RX 5700's wins concentrate in compute-heavy and legacy API tests: PassMark GPU Compute (6517 vs 5990), Geekbench Metal (86079 vs 72864), and DirectX 9 (209 vs 195).

The RX 6700S claims victory in modern API and driver-optimized workloads. Its Geekbench Vulkan score of 76150 crushes the RX 5700's 64166, and it leads in PassMark DirectX 11 (134 vs 101) and DirectX 12 (58 vs 54). The newer card also wins PassMark G3D (15066 vs 14314), suggesting that its RDNA 2.0 architecture handles contemporary graphics pipelines more efficiently despite lower raw compute and half the bandwidth.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon RX 5700 | AMD Radeon RX 6700S |

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

| Architecture | RDNA 1.0 | RDNA 2.0 |

| Chip | Navi 10 | Navi 23 |

| Process Node | 7 nm | 7 nm |

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

| Die Size | 251 mm² | 237 mm² |

| Base Clock | 1465 MHz | 1700 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1725 MHz | 2000 MHz |

| Game Clock | 1625 MHz | 1890 MHz |

| Memory Bus | 256 bit | 128 bit |

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

| Shading Units | 2304 | 1792 |

| TMUs | 144 | 112 |

| ROPs | 64 | 64 |

| RT Cores | None | 28 |

| FP32 | 7.949 TFLOPS | 7.168 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 15.90 TFLOPS (2:1) | 14.34 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 180 W | 80 W |

| Slot Width | Dual-slot | IGP |

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

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

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

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test delivers the largest margin of the entire comparison: the RX 5700 scores 1862 against the RX 6700S's 1451, a commanding 28.3% lead. This aligns with the RX 5700's higher shading unit count and doubled memory bandwidth, giving it a clear edge in this modern, high-resolution workload. The Geekbench Metal test similarly favors the RX 5700 at 86079 versus 72864, an 18.1% advantage that underscores the desktop card's strength in Apple's compute API.

The RX 6700S fights back decisively in Vulkan. Its Geekbench Vulkan score of 76150 versus 64166 represents a 15.7% win, the second-largest margin in the set. This is notable because it suggests the RDNA 2.0 architecture extracts more performance per transistor in Vulkan's explicit control model, despite the RX 6700S having 512 fewer shading units. The mobile chip also posts a 24.6% win in PassMark DirectX 11 (134 vs 101), a steeper gap than the 6.9% lead in DirectX 12 (58 vs 54).

Compute workloads split almost evenly. Geekbench OpenCL goes to the RX 6700S by a slim 1.9% (70965 vs 69603), while PassMark GPU Compute favors the RX 5700 by 8.8% (6517 vs 5990). The RX 5700 also wins PassMark G2D by 18.7% (877 vs 739), likely benefiting from its full-length desktop board design. The PassMark DirectX 10 test is a dead heat at 87 for both cards, and DirectX 9 goes to the RX 5700 by 7.2% (209 vs 195). In the aggregate PassMark G3D test, the RX 6700S takes a 5% win (15066 vs 14314), showing that its modern architecture translates to better overall rasterized performance in typical gaming scenarios.

The Verdict

The data presents a nuanced picture. For users prioritizing raw compute throughput, legacy API compatibility, or bandwidth-intensive workloads, the RX 5700 is the clear choice. Its 28.3% win in 3DMark Steel Nomad, 18.1% lead in Metal, and 8.8% advantage in GPU compute demonstrate that its 256-bit bus and 2304 shading units deliver tangible benefits in demanding scenarios. The RX 5700's 6 total benchmark wins and higher average score (22170 vs 22154) reinforce this, though the 0.1% aggregate difference is effectively negligible.

The RX 6700S makes its case for modern gaming and efficiency. Its 15.7% Vulkan victory and 24.6% DirectX 11 win suggest that RDNA 2.0's architectural improvements—including 28 RT cores—yield better performance in contemporary graphics APIs. The 80 W TDP versus 180 W represents a massive efficiency gap, making the RX 6700S the sensible pick for portable systems where power draw and thermal output matter more than raw bandwidth. Its DirectX 12 Ultimate support and higher game clock (1890 MHz) position it for future titles, even if its halved memory bandwidth limits its ceiling in bandwidth-sensitive scenarios.

The verdict depends entirely on context. A desktop user with power headroom and a preference for compute or Metal workloads would favor the RX 5700. A laptop buyer or someone prioritizing modern API performance and ray tracing would choose the RX 6700S. The near-identical average scores—separated by just 0.1%—mask very different performance profiles, and the benchmark data suggests that while the RX 5700 wins more individual tests, the RX 6700S wins in the places that matter for today's gaming landscape.