AMD Radeon RX 5700 vs AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX Comparison

The Verdict

The recorded data presents a clear split decision between these two AMD Radeon cards. The RX 7900 XTX dominates in the vast majority of measured workloads, winning 9 of 10 head-to-head comparisons, while the RX 5700 claims a single but substantial victory. For users prioritizing raw rasterization performance, DirectX compatibility across multiple API versions, and compute throughput in traditional GPU workloads, the RX 7900 XTX is the definitive choice. The RX 5700, however, demonstrates a surprising edge in one specific OpenCL compute scenario that cannot be ignored.

The benchmark averages tell an interesting story. The RX 5700 holds an average benchmark score of 22170, placing it in the 67th percentile of all GPUs, while the RX 7900 XTX records an average score of 19410, which lands it in the 64th percentile. This counterintuitive result stems from the RX 5700's dominant OpenCL score of 69603, which heavily inflates its aggregate. The nearest rivals for the RX 5700 include the RX 6700S at 22154 (0.1% behind), the RTX 5060 Mobile at 22435 (1.2% ahead), and the GTX 1060 6 GB at 21856 (1.4% behind). The RX 7900 XTX's nearest rivals are far less modern: the GTX 1060 3 GB at 19334 (0.4% behind), the Quadro K5200 at 19602 (1% ahead), and the FirePro D300 at 19637 (1.2% ahead). The RX 7900 XTX's aggregate score is dragged down by its comparatively weak OpenCL showing, which is a notable outlier given its hardware specifications.

The decision hinges on workload type. The RX 7900 XTX is the pick for modern DirectX 12 gaming, legacy DirectX compatibility, and general GPU compute. The RX 5700 is the pick for OpenCL-specific applications, where it outperforms the RX 7900 XTX by 37.9%. The RX 5700 also offers a smaller physical footprint and lower power draw, but those factors are secondary to the performance differential.

FAQ

Q: Which card has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The RX 5700 records an average benchmark score of 22170, compared to the RX 7900 XTX's 19410. This places the RX 5700 in the 67th percentile and the RX 7900 XTX in the 64th percentile of all GPUs.

Q: Why does the RX 7900 XTX have a lower average score despite winning most benchmarks?

A: The RX 7900 XTX's OpenCL score of 50465 is substantially lower than the RX 5700's 69603, a 37.9% deficit. This single result disproportionately affects the aggregate average, even though the RX 7900 XTX wins 9 of 10 head-to-head tests.

Q: How do the two cards compare in DirectX 12 performance?

A: The RX 7900 XTX scores 131 in the Passmark DirectX 12 test, while the RX 5700 scores 54. The RX 7900 XTX leads by 58.8% in this workload. Additionally, the RX 7900 XTX supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the RX 5700 only supports DirectX 12 (12_1).

Q: Which card has better 3DMark Steel Nomad performance?

A: The RX 7900 XTX scores 6841 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, compared to the RX 5700's 1862. This represents a 72.8% advantage for the RX 7900 XTX, the largest margin in any recorded test.

Q: Is the RX 5700 better at any compute workload?

A: Yes, the RX 5700 wins the Geekbench OpenCL test with a score of 69603 against the RX 7900 XTX's 50465, a 37.9% advantage. In Geekbench Vulkan, however, the RX 7900 XTX wins with 85612 versus 64166, a 25.1% margin.

Q: What are the nearest rivals for each card?

A: The RX 5700's nearest rival is the RX 6700S at 22154 (0.1% lower), followed by the RTX 5060 Mobile at 22435 (1.2% higher). The RX 7900 XTX's nearest rival is the GTX 1060 3 GB at 19334 (0.4% lower), with the Quadro K5200 at 19602 (1% higher).

Architecture Differences

The RX 5700 uses the Navi 10 chip built on RDNA 1.0 architecture, fabricated on a 7 nm process at TSMC with 10,300 million transistors on a 251 mm² die. The RX 7900 XTX uses the Navi 31 chip (codenamed Plum Bonito) built on RDNA 3.0 architecture, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC with 57,700 million transistors on a 529 mm² die. The transistor density scales from 41.0M per mm² on the RX 5700 to 109.1M per mm² on the RX 7900 XTX, representing a major architectural leap.

The RX 7900 XTX introduces dedicated ray tracing cores (96 of them), a feature entirely absent from the RX 5700. The RX 7900 XTX also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the RX 5700 is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1). Both cards support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4, but the RX 7900 XTX's newer architecture provides higher hardware capability across the board.

The RX 5700 belongs to the Navi (RX 5000) generation and lists Vega as its predecessor with Navi II as its successor. The RX 7900 XTX belongs to the Navi III (RX 7000) generation, with Navi II as its predecessor and Navi IV as its successor. Both cards are marked as end-of-life in production status, with the RX 5700 releasing on 2019-07-06 and the RX 7900 XTX releasing on 2022-11-02.

Specification Differences

The RX 7900 XTX triples the memory capacity, offering 24 GB of GDDR6 compared to the RX 5700's 8 GB. The memory bus widens from 256 bit to 384 bit, and bandwidth nearly doubles from 448.0 GB/s to 960.0 GB/s. Effective memory speed increases from 14 Gbps to 20 Gbps.

The RX 7900 XTX scales every processing unit: shading units rise from 2304 to 6144, texture mapping units from 144 to 384, and ROPs from 64 to 192. Pixel rate jumps from 110.4 GPixel/s to 479.6 GPixel/s, and texture rate from 248.4 GTexel/s to 959.2 GTexel/s. FP32 compute goes from 7.949 TFLOPS to 61.39 TFLOPS, and FP16 from 15.90 TFLOPS to 122.8 TFLOPS (both at 2:1 ratio).

Clock speeds also differ significantly. The RX 5700 has a base clock of 1465 MHz, boost of 1725 MHz, and game clock of 1625 MHz. The RX 7900 XTX operates at 1929 MHz base, 2498 MHz boost, and 2365 MHz game clock. Power requirements scale accordingly: the RX 5700 draws 180 W with a suggested 450 W PSU and uses 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin connectors, while the RX 7900 XTX draws 355 W with a suggested 750 W PSU and uses 2x 8-pin connectors.

Physical dimensions differ modestly. The RX 5700 measures 268 mm in length, 111 mm in height, and 36 mm in width. The RX 7900 XTX is longer at 287 mm, slightly shorter at 110 mm, and notably thicker at 51 mm. Display outputs also diverge: the RX 5700 offers 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the RX 7900 XTX provides 1x HDMI 2.1a, 2x DisplayPort 2.1, and 1x USB Type-C. Both cards are dual-slot and use PCIe 4.0 x16.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The RX 7900 XTX wins decisively in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, scoring 6841 against the RX 5700's 1862, a 72.8% advantage. This is the largest single margin recorded between the two cards.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the RX 7900 XTX scores 85612 versus 64166 for the RX 5700, a 25.1% lead. The Geekbench OpenCL test flips the result: the RX 5700 scores 69603 while the RX 7900 XTX manages only 50465, giving the RX 5700 a 37.9% win. This is the only head-to-head victory for the RX 5700.

Passmark results consistently favor the RX 7900 XTX. DirectX 10 shows 166 versus 87, a 47.6% margin. DirectX 11 shows 356 versus 101, a 71.6% margin. DirectX 12 shows 131 versus 54, a 58.8% margin. DirectX 9 shows 330 versus 209, a 36.7% margin. The 2D graphics test shows 1267 versus 877, a 30.8% margin.

The largest Passmark difference appears in the G3D test: the RX 7900 XTX scores 31238 while the RX 5700 scores 14314, a 54.2% gap. GPU compute also heavily favors the newer card: 17689 versus 6517, a 63.2% margin.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 7900 XTX wins in every DirectX generation tested, from DirectX 9 through DirectX 12 Ultimate. Its margins range from 36.7% in DirectX 9 to 71.6% in DirectX 11, showing consistent dominance across legacy and modern APIs. The 3DMark Steel Nomad result confirms its strength in contemporary DX12 workloads, and the Vulkan score shows additional compute headroom. Its 24 GB memory capacity and 960.0 GB/s bandwidth make it the clear choice for memory-intensive applications and high-resolution textures.

The RX 5700 wins exclusively in Geekbench OpenCL, where its 69603 score eclipses the RX 7900 XTX's 50465 by 37.9%. This result appears anomalous given the RX 7900 XTX's far higher hardware specifications, but it indicates that OpenCL-optimized applications may run surprisingly well on the older architecture. The RX 5700 also carries advantages in physical size (268 mm versus 287 mm length, 36 mm versus 51 mm width) and power draw (180 W versus 355 W), which may matter in compact builds or systems with limited PSU headroom.

Overall, the RX 7900 XTX is the performance leader in 9 of 10 recorded tests, with the RX 5700's single OpenCL win being the only counterpoint. The RX 7900 XTX's launch MSRP is 999 USD, while the RX 5700's launch MSRP is 349 USD.