AMD Radeon RX 5700 vs AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT decisively outperforms the AMD Radeon RX 5700 across nearly every benchmark in the database, claiming 9 wins out of 10 head-to-head tests. The RX 7700 XT posts an average benchmark score of 22,549, which is 1.7% higher than the RX 5700's 22,170, placing both cards at the 67th percentile of all GPUs. While the newer card is clearly faster overall, the RX 5700 retains one surprising advantage in a specific API workload, and the data reveals a generational gap that goes far beyond raw frame rates.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most lopsided victory for the RX 7700 XT comes in compute-heavy workloads. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 7700 XT scores 138,383 versus 69,603 for the RX 5700, a massive 98.8% advantage. PassMark GPU Compute tells a similar story: 12,912 versus 6,517, a 98.1% delta. These results reflect the fundamental throughput difference between the two architectures, with the RX 7700 XT delivering 35.17 TFLOPS of FP32 performance compared to just 7.949 TFLOPS on the RX 5700.

DirectX 11 performance shows the widest relative gap of any test. The RX 7700 XT scores 232 in PassMark DirectX 11, while the RX 5700 manages only 101 — a 129.7% difference. This is a legacy API where the newer card's architectural efficiency shines through. DirectX 12 results are closer but still lopsided: 79 versus 54, a 46.3% win for the RX 7700 XT. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test shows a 78.1% advantage (3,316 versus 1,862), confirming that the RX 7700 XT dominates in modern workloads as well.

The RX 7700 XT also wins in rasterization and general graphics tests. PassMark G3D scores 22,547 versus 14,314, a 57.5% margin. DirectX 9 and DirectX 10 tests show 40.7% and 36.8% advantages respectively (294 versus 209, and 119 versus 87). Even the 2D test, PassMark G2D, favors the RX 7700 XT at 1,161 versus 877, a 32.4% gap.

The single benchmark where the RX 5700 wins is Geekbench Vulkan. Here the older card scores 64,166 versus 46,443 for the RX 7700 XT, a 27.6% advantage. This is an outlier result that does not align with the rest of the data, but it is worth noting for Vulkan-specific applications that favor the older driver stack or workload pattern. In every other test, the RX 7700 XT leads by margins ranging from 32.4% to 129.7%.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the RX 7700 XT than the RX 5700 in average benchmark score?

A: The RX 7700 XT has an average benchmark score of 22,549, which is 1.7% higher than the RX 5700's 22,170. However, this average masks the much larger per-test margins; the RX 7700 XT leads by 32.4% to 129.7% in individual tests where it wins.

Q: Is there any benchmark where the RX 5700 beats the RX 7700 XT?

A: Yes. In Geekbench Vulkan, the RX 5700 scores 64,166 against 46,443 for the RX 7700 XT, a 27.6% advantage. This is the only win for the RX 5700 across the 10 head-to-head benchmarks.

Q: How do these cards compare to their nearest rivals?

A: The RX 7700 XT's nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile, which is 0.5% slower, and the RTX 4060 Mobile, which is 0.8% faster. The RX 5700's nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 6700S at 0.1% slower, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB at 1.4% slower.

Q: What is the difference in DirectX 11 performance?

A: The RX 7700 XT scores 232 in PassMark DirectX 11 versus 101 for the RX 5700, a 129.7% advantage. This is the largest delta of any head-to-head test.

Q: Which card has better compute performance for non-gaming workloads?

A: The RX 7700 XT is substantially ahead in compute. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 138,383 versus 69,603 (98.8% higher), and in PassMark GPU Compute it scores 12,912 versus 6,517 (98.1% higher).

Q: Do both cards support the same DirectX version?

A: No. The RX 7700 XT supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the RX 5700 supports DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 7700 XT is the clear choice for almost every workload category. In modern DirectX 12 gaming, it leads by 46.3% in PassMark and 78.1% in 3DMark Steel Nomad, making it the stronger option for current titles and future releases. Its compute performance is nearly double that of the RX 5700 in both OpenCL and PassMark GPU Compute, so it is better suited for GPGPU tasks, rendering, and any application that leverages FP32 throughput. The 57.5% lead in PassMark G3D indicates superior general 3D rendering capability across a broad range of scenarios.

The RX 5700's only meaningful win is in Geekbench Vulkan, where it outperforms the RX 7700 XT by 27.6%. This suggests that in Vulkan-specific applications or games that are heavily optimized for the older RDNA 1.0 architecture's Vulkan path, the RX 5700 can still hold its own. However, this is a narrow niche. The RX 5700 also has a lower TDP of 180 W versus 245 W, making it a more power-efficient choice for systems with smaller power supplies (450 W suggested versus 550 W). For users with an existing RX 5700, upgrading to the RX 7700 XT yields massive gains in DirectX 11 (129.7%), OpenCL (98.8%), and compute (98.1%), but the Vulkan regression may matter if that API is central to the user's workload.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every core specification. The RX 7700 XT uses the Navi 32 chip with 28,100 million transistors on a 346 mm² die, while the RX 5700 uses Navi 10 with 10,300 million transistors on a 251 mm² die. Transistor density is 81.2M per mm² for the newer card versus 41.0M per mm² for the older one. The RX 7700 XT has 3,456 shading units, 216 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, compared to 2,304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 64 ROPs on the RX 5700. It also adds 54 ray tracing cores, which the RX 5700 lacks entirely.

Memory configurations differ significantly. The RX 7700 XT has 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus with 432.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the RX 5700 has 8 GB on a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. Despite the narrower bus, the RX 7700 XT has more total memory, though slightly lower bandwidth. Clock speeds are higher on the newer card: boost clock of 2544 MHz versus 1725 MHz, and game clock of 2171 MHz versus 1625 MHz. The RX 7700 XT also has a higher pixel rate (244.2 GPixel/s versus 110.4 GPixel/s) and texture rate (549.5 GTexel/s versus 248.4 GTexel/s).

Power and connectivity also differ. The RX 7700 XT has a TDP of 245 W and requires two 8-pin power connectors, while the RX 5700 has a TDP of 180 W with one 6-pin and one 8-pin connector. The suggested PSU rating is 550 W versus 450 W. Display outputs differ: the RX 7700 XT offers 1x HDMI 2.1a, 2x DisplayPort 2.1, and 1x USB Type-C, while the RX 5700 has 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. Physical dimensions are similar in length (267 mm versus 268 mm), but the RX 7700 XT is taller (135 mm versus 111 mm) and wider (50 mm versus 36 mm). The RX 7700 XT is still in active production, while the RX 5700 is end-of-life.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these cards is generational. The RX 7700 XT is built on RDNA 3.0 architecture with a 5 nm process node from TSMC, while the RX 5700 uses RDNA 1.0 on a 7 nm node. The newer RDNA 3.0 design is part of the Navi III (RX 7000) generation, whereas the RX 5700 belongs to the Navi (RX 5000) generation. The codename for the RX 7700 XT is "Wheat Nas," while the RX 5700 has no codename listed.

The manufacturing improvements show in transistor density: 81.2M per mm² versus 41.0M per mm², a direct result of the smaller 5 nm process. The RX 7700 XT also introduces hardware ray tracing cores (54 of them), a feature entirely absent from the RX 5700. FP16 performance differs in ratio: the RX 7700 XT achieves 35.17 TFLOPS FP16 (1:1 with FP32), while the RX 5700 achieves 15.90 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1 ratio). The RX 7700 XT supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), which includes features like mesh shaders and variable rate shading, while the RX 5700 is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1). Both cards use the PCIe 4.0 x16 bus interface. The RX 7700 XT's predecessor is Navi II, and its successor is Navi IV; the RX 5700's predecessor is Vega, and its successor is also Navi II.