AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT vs AMD Radeon VII Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison available between the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT and the AMD Radeon VII is the Geekbench OpenCL test, and the result is decisively in favor of the older, larger card. The Radeon VII scores 91,947, while the RX 665M XT scores 76,904, giving the Radeon VII a 16.4% advantage. That is a substantial margin, not a marginal one. The deltaPct of -16.4% for the RX 6650M XT means it trails by nearly a sixth of its own score, a gap that separates the two clearly in raw compute throughput.

However, the percentile rankings tell a more nuanced story. The RX 6650M XT sits at the 91st percentile among all GPUs, while the Radeon VII is at the 90th percentile. Despite losing the head-to-head, the newer mobile chip is ranked slightly higher relative to the entire GPU universe. This suggests the RX 6650M XT’s single benchmark score is more representative of its standing among contemporaries, whereas the Radeon VII’s OpenCL result may be flattered by its architecture’s compute strengths. The data implies that raw OpenCL scores do not fully capture the practical performance hierarchy.

Examining the nearest rivals for each card reinforces this divergence. The RX 6650M XT’s closest competitor is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D, which averages 77,712 — only 1% ahead. The RX 6850M XT is 2.6% ahead at 78,940, and both Tesla P100 variants trail by 3.1% and 3.4% respectively. This places the RX 6650M XT in a tight cluster where 1-3% swings matter. The Radeon VII, by contrast, sits in a looser grouping: the NVIDIA Tesla T4 is 1.1% behind at 66,733, the Tesla P40 is 1.4% ahead at 65,095, and the Radeon Pro WX 9100 is 2.8% ahead at 64,212. The Radeon VII’s OpenCL score of 91,947 towers over its average benchmark score of 66,004, indicating considerable variance across different test suites.

The deltaPct values reveal an interesting asymmetry. While the Radeon VII wins the OpenCL test by 16.4%, its average benchmark score of 66,004 is actually lower than the RX 6650M XT’s average of 76,904. This contradiction suggests the Radeon VII performs exceptionally well in OpenCL but falls behind in other workloads not captured in the head-to-head data. The RX 6650M XT, with only one benchmark listed, may be more consistent across its tested workload, or the dataset simply lacks comparable measurements for other tests.

Where Each One Wins

The Radeon VII wins the only direct comparison — Geekbench OpenCL — by 16.4%. This is its clear territory: raw compute throughput in a widely used cross-platform API. The score of 91,947 versus 76,904 indicates the Radeon VII’s compute shaders and 3840 shading units deliver substantially more parallel processing power in this specific test. For applications that rely heavily on OpenCL — such as certain scientific simulations, video encoding pipelines, or cryptocurrency mining algorithms — the Radeon VII’s advantage is unambiguous.

The RX 6650M XT wins in the broader context of its percentile ranking. At the 91st percentile versus the Radeon VII’s 90th, it is positioned slightly better among all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 76,904 also exceeds the Radeon VII’s average of 66,004, meaning that across whatever tests contribute to those averages, the RX 6650M XT performs better on the whole. The data does not specify which tests comprise the average, but the implication is that the RX 6650M XT is more well-rounded.

The Radeon VII also wins on memory capacity with 16 GB of HBM2 versus 8 GB of GDDR6. For workloads that exceed 8 GB of VRAM — large datasets, high-resolution textures, or multi-model AI inference — the Radeon VII has a hard advantage that no benchmark score can override. The RX 6650M XT, with half the memory, would face allocation failures or spilling to system RAM in such scenarios. This is a qualitative edge not reflected in the OpenCL numbers.

The RX 6650M XT wins on efficiency metrics that matter for its form factor. Its 120 W TDP versus the Radeon VII’s 295 W means less heat, less power draw, and no external power connectors (the RX 6650M XT lists "None" for connectors, while the Radeon VII requires 2x 8-pin and a 600 W suggested PSU). For mobile or small-form-factor deployments, this is decisive.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher OpenCL benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon VII scores 91,947 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 16.4% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT’s 76,904.

Q: How do their overall GPU percentile rankings compare?

A: The RX 6650M XT ranks at the 91st percentile among all GPUs, while the Radeon VII ranks at the 90th percentile, giving the newer mobile chip a slight edge in overall standing.

Q: What are the memory specifications of each card?

A: The RX 6650M XT has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 256.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Radeon VII has 16 GB of HBM2 on a 4096-bit bus with 1.02 TB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The RX 6650M XT has an average benchmark score of 76,904, which is higher than the Radeon VII’s average of 66,004, despite losing the single head-to-head OpenCL test.

Q: What is the TDP difference between the two cards?

A: The RX 6650M XT has a 120 W TDP and uses no power connectors, while the Radeon VII has a 295 W TDP, requires 2x 8-pin connectors, and suggests a 600 W power supply.

Q: Which API versions do they support?

A: The RX 6650M XT supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the Radeon VII supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.3. Both support OpenGL 4.6.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ on nearly every major specification. Clock speeds: the RX 6650M XT runs at a 2068 MHz base and 2416 MHz boost, while the Radeon VII runs at 1400 MHz base and 1750 MHz boost. The RX 6650M XT also lists a game clock of 2162 MHz, which the Radeon VII lacks entirely. Memory: the RX 6650M XT uses 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 256.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the Radeon VII uses 16 GB of HBM2 on a 4096-bit bus with 1.02 TB/s bandwidth. The memory clock differs similarly: 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) versus 1000 MHz (2 Gbps effective).

Compute units vary significantly. The RX 6650M XT has 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The Radeon VII has 3840 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The Radeon VII has nearly double the shading units and TMUs, but identical ROP counts. Pixel rates differ: 154.6 GPixel/s for the RX 6650M XT versus 112.0 GPixel/s for the Radeon VII. Texture rates are 309.2 GTexel/s versus 420.0 GTexel/s respectively. FP32 performance is 9.896 TFLOPS for the RX 6650M XT versus 13.44 TFLOPS for the Radeon VII. FP16 is 19.79 TFLOPS versus 26.88 TFLOPS (both at 2:1 ratio).

Power and form factor: the RX 6650M XT is an IGP with 120 W TDP and no power connectors, while the Radeon VII is dual-slot, 280 mm long, 125 mm high, 40 mm wide, with 295 W TDP and 2x 8-pin connectors. The RX 6650M XT uses PCIe 4.0 x8, the Radeon VII uses PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs: the RX 6650M XT is "portable device dependent," while the Radeon VII has 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a.

Architecture Differences

The RX 6650M XT is built on Navi 23 with RDNA 2.0 architecture, while the Radeon VII uses Vega 20 with GCN 5.1. Both are 7 nm TSMC chips, but the transistor counts differ: 11,060 million for the RX 6650M XT versus 13,230 million for the Radeon VII. Die sizes are 237 mm² versus 331 mm², resulting in transistor densities of 46.7M/mm² versus 40.0M/mm². The RX 6650M XT’s higher density reflects the more modern RDNA 2.0 design.

The RX 6650M XT has 32 ray tracing cores; the Radeon VII has none. This is a generational leap — RDNA 2.0 includes hardware ray tracing support, while GCN 5.1 predates it. Neither card has tensor cores. API support differs accordingly: the RX 6650M XT supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the Radeon VII supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.3. The RX 6650M XT’s newer architecture enables features like mesh shaders and variable rate shading that the Radeon VII cannot access.

Release dates and lineage: the RX 6650M XT launched on January 3, 2022, as part of the Radeon RX 6000 series (Navi Mobile / RX 6000M), succeeding Polaris Mobile. The Radeon VII launched on February 6, 2019, as part of the Vega II generation, succeeding Vega and being succeeded by Navi. Both are end-of-life. The Radeon VII had a launch MSRP of 699 USD; the RX 6650M XT has no listed MSRP. The RX 6650M XT’s predecessor is Polaris Mobile, while the Radeon VII’s predecessor is Vega — indicating the RX 6650M XT is a direct mobile evolution, whereas the Radeon VII was a desktop flagship.

The memory architecture differs fundamentally. HBM2 on the Radeon VII uses a 4096-bit bus to achieve 1.02 TB/s, while GDDR6 on the RX 6650M XT uses a 128-bit bus for 256.0 GB/s. This is a 4x difference in bus width and a 4x difference in bandwidth. The Radeon VII’s HBM2 is physically stacked on the package, contributing to its larger die size and higher transistor count. The RX 6650M XT’s GDDR6 is discrete, allowing for the IGP form factor.

The Verdict

The data presents a clear trade-off rather than a single winner. For raw compute in OpenCL, the Radeon VII is the choice — its 91,947 score beats the RX 6650M XT by 16.4%, and its 13.44 TFLOPS FP32 performance exceeds the RX 6650M XT’s 9.896 TFLOPS by 35.8%. The 16 GB of HBM2 memory with 1.02 TB/s bandwidth is a massive advantage for memory-bound workloads, offering 4x the capacity and 4x the bandwidth of the RX 6650M XT’s 8 GB GDDR6 at 256.0 GB/s. The Radeon VII’s 3840 shading units and 240 TMUs provide substantially more parallel processing resources.

However, the RX 6650M XT is the more balanced product in context. Its 91st percentile ranking edges out the Radeon VII’s 90th, and its average benchmark score of 76,904 is 16.5% higher than the Radeon VII’s 66,004. The RX 6650M XT also wins decisively on power efficiency: 120 W TDP versus 295 W, no power connectors versus 2x 8-pin, and an IGP form factor versus a 280 mm dual-slot card. For mobile deployments, the RX 6650M XT is the only viable option — the Radeon VII physically cannot fit in a laptop. The RX 6650M XT’s RDNA 2.0 architecture brings ray tracing (32 RT cores), DirectX 12 Ultimate, and Vulkan 1.4 support, features entirely absent from the Radeon VII.

The choice depends on the use case. Users needing maximum compute throughput, massive memory capacity, or HBM2 bandwidth for specialized workloads should pick the Radeon VII, provided they can accommodate its power and size requirements. Users prioritizing portability, modern API features, ray tracing, and overall consistency across workloads should pick the RX 6650M XT. The data does not support a universal winner — it supports two different tools for two different jobs. The Radeon VII is a specialized compute card that happens to be old; the RX 6650M XT is a modern mobile GPU that happens to be slower in one specific test.