AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT vs NVIDIA RTX A5500 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data presents a decisive outcome in favor of the NVIDIA RTX A5500. Across the two shared tests recorded in the database, the A5500 wins both, with its most substantial margin appearing in the Geekbench OpenCL workload. In that test, the NVIDIA card scores 174,637 points against 85,040 for the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT, a difference of 105.4%. This is not a narrow lead; the RTX A5500 more than doubles the output of its mobile rival in raw compute compute performance.

The second shared test, Geekbench Vulkan, shows a tighter but still commanding gap. The RTX A5500 posts 155,797 points, while the RX 6850M XT manages 99,483 points, placing the NVIDIA part 56.6% ahead. While the Vulkan margin is smaller than the OpenCL one, it still represents a major performance advantage in a graphics API workload. The recorded data shows that the NVIDIA card's advantage is consistent across both API paths, rather than isolated to a single test type.

A closer look at the average benchmark scores reveals the broader context. The RTX A5500 holds an average benchmark score of 165,217, which places it in the 97th percentile of all GPUs in the database. The RX 6850M XT, by contrast, has an average score of 78,940, landing in the 92nd percentile. That percentile difference may sound small relative to the raw score gap, but it reflects the fact that the mobile AMD part is still a strong performer in its own right. The absolute numbers, however, tell the real story: the A5500's average is roughly 109% higher than the RX 6850M XT's average. The delta between the two cards is not subtle, and it strongly suggests different intended workloads and power envelopes.

The NVIDIA card's nearest rivals in the database include the AMD Radeon PRO W7800 (average score 164,894, a 0.2% difference), the NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation (166,094, 0.5% higher), and the AMD Radeon Pro W6900X (168,574, 2% higher). Those are all professional or workstation-class parts with similar compute ambitions. Meanwhile, the RX 6850M XT sits near the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (79,396, 0.6% lower) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 (79,842, 1.1% higher). That comparison group shows the mobile AMD part is competitive with high-end consumer and data center cards from earlier generations, but it is clearly not in the same league as the A5500 in raw benchmark terms.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A5500 wins with a score of 174,637 versus 85,040 for the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT, a lead of 105.4%.

Q: How large is the Vulkan performance gap between the two cards?

A: The RTX A5500 scores 155,797 in Geekbench Vulkan, while the RX 6850M XT scores 99,483. That puts the NVIDIA part 56.6% ahead.

Q: What are the average benchmark scores for each GPU?

A: The RTX A5500 has an average benchmark score of 165,217. The RX 6850M XT has an average benchmark score of 78,940.

Q: Does the RX 6850M XT beat the A5500 in any shared benchmark?

A: No. In the recorded head-to-head data, the RTX A5500 wins 2 tests and the RX 6850M XT wins 0 tests.

Q: How do these GPUs rank against all other GPUs in the database?

A: The RTX A5500 sits in the 97th percentile of all GPUs, while the RX 6850M XT sits in the 92nd percentile.

Q: What kind of GPU is the RX 6850M XT closest to in the database?

A: Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (0.6% lower score) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 (1.1% higher score), showing it performs near those parts in average benchmarks.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on fundamentally different architectures and for different physical contexts. The NVIDIA RTX A5500 uses the GA102 chip, based on the Ampere architecture, and is manufactured on an 8 nm process at Samsung. The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT uses the Navi 22 chip, based on RDNA 2.0, and is built on a 7 nm process at TSMC. The process node difference is not huge, but the transistor counts tell a different story. The GA102 packs 28,300 million transistors on a 628 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 45.1 million per mm². The Navi 22 has 17,200 million transistors on a 335 mm² die, for a higher density of 51.3 million per mm². AMD's chip is smaller in both absolute terms and in total transistor count, yet its density is actually higher, a reflection of the more mature 7 nm process.

The memory subsystems differ sharply. The RTX A5500 carries 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384 bit bus, yielding 768.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 6850M XT has 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192 bit bus, for 432.0 GB/s. That is a 336 GB/s bandwidth advantage for the NVIDIA card, which is substantial for memory-heavy workloads. Memory clock rates also differ: the A5500 runs at 2000 MHz with 16 Gbps effective, while the AMD card runs at 2250 MHz with 18 Gbps effective. The AMD part has a faster memory clock, but the narrower bus limits its total throughput.

Compute resources are heavily skewed toward the NVIDIA card. The RTX A5500 has 10,240 shading units, 320 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The RX 6850M XT has 2,560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. Ray tracing cores also favor NVIDIA: 80 RT cores on the A5500 versus 40 on the AMD part. The A5500 additionally includes 320 tensor cores; the RX 6850M XT has no tensor core count listed. In raw floating point throughput, the NVIDIA card delivers 34.10 TFLOPS in FP32, while the AMD part delivers 13.21 TFLOPS. In FP16, the A5500 again posts 34.10 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio), while the RX 6850M XT reaches 26.43 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio). The AMD card's FP16 advantage over its own FP32 is notable, but it still trails the A5500 in absolute terms.

Pixel and texture rates follow the same pattern. The RTX A5500 achieves 159.8 GPixel/s and 532.8 GTexel/s. The RX 6850M XT achieves 165.2 GPixel/s and 413.0 GTexel/s. Interestingly, the AMD card has a slightly higher pixel rate, but the NVIDIA card has a significantly higher texture rate.

Power and physical design differ as expected for a desktop workstation card versus a mobile part. The RTX A5500 has a TDP of 230 W, is dual-slot, uses a single 8-pin power connector, and requires a 550 W power supply. The RX 6850M XT has a TDP of 165 W, is an IGP (integrated into a laptop), and has no power connectors, with its display outputs described as portable device dependent. The A5500 offers 4x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, while the AMD card's outputs are tied to the host laptop.

Both cards support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Both use a PCIe 4.0 x16 bus interface. The NVIDIA card is 267 mm long and 112 mm tall, while the AMD card has no listed physical dimensions.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous. The NVIDIA RTX A5500 is the stronger GPU by a wide margin in every shared benchmark, and its average score of 165,217 versus 78,940 for the RX 6850M XT puts it in a different performance class. The 105.4% OpenCL lead and 56.6% Vulkan lead are not marginal differences; they represent a generational and architectural gap.

The RTX A5500 is the choice for users who need maximum compute throughput, large memory capacity (24 GB versus 12 GB), and workstation-grade features like tensor cores and a full-size desktop form factor. Its 97th percentile ranking among all GPUs reflects its position near the top of the database. The RX 6850M XT, despite its lower scores, still ranks in the 92nd percentile, meaning it is a strong mobile GPU. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 and Tesla P100, which shows it holds its own against capable desktop and data center parts from other segments.

For a laptop user who needs solid performance in a portable package, the RX 6850M XT is the only viable option of the two, given that it is an IGP with no external power connectors. But the benchmark data does not support any claim that it outperforms the A5500 in compute workloads. The verdict is simple: the RTX A5500 dominates in raw performance, while the RX 6850M XT offers a respectable fraction of that performance in a mobile form factor.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA RTX A5500 | AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT |

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

| Architecture | Ampere | RDNA 2.0 |

| Process Node | 8 nm (Samsung) | 7 nm (TSMC) |

| Transistors | 28,300 million | 17,200 million |

| Die Size | 628 mm² | 335 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 45.1M / mm² | 51.3M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1080 MHz | 2321 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1665 MHz | 2581 MHz |

| Memory Size | 24 GB | 12 GB |

| Memory Bus | 384 bit | 192 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 768.0 GB/s | 432.0 GB/s |

| Memory Clock | 2000 MHz, 16 Gbps effective | 2250 MHz, 18 Gbps effective |

| Shading Units | 10240 | 2560 |

| TMUs | 320 | 160 |

| ROPs | 96 | 64 |

| RT Cores | 80 | 40 |

| Tensor Cores | 320 | None listed |

| FP32 | 34.10 TFLOPS | 13.21 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 34.10 TFLOPS (1:1) | 26.43 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| Pixel Rate | 159.8 GPixel/s | 165.2 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 532.8 GTexel/s | 413.0 GTexel/s |

| TDP | 230 W | 165 W |

| Slot Width | Dual-slot | IGP |

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

| Suggested PSU | 550 W | Not listed |

| Display Outputs | 4x DisplayPort 1.4a | Portable Device Dependent |

| Dimensions | 267 mm x 112 mm | Not listed |

| Release Date | 2022-03-21 | 2022-01-03 |

| Production Status | End-of-life | End-of-life |

Where Each One Wins

The RTX A5500 wins in every shared benchmark category recorded in the database. Its advantages are most pronounced in OpenCL compute, where it leads by 105.4%, and in Vulkan graphics, where it leads by 56.6%. It also wins on average benchmark score, memory capacity, memory bandwidth, shading units, TMUs, ROPs, RT cores, tensor core availability, FP32 throughput, FP16 throughput, texture rate, and transistor count. The A5500 is the clear winner for compute-heavy workstation tasks, large dataset manipulation, and any workload that can leverage 24 GB of memory or 34.10 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. Its 97th percentile ranking reinforces its position as a top-tier GPU in the database.

The RX 6850M XT, while losing every shared benchmark, still has specific strengths worth noting. It wins on pixel rate (165.2 GPixel/s versus 159.8 GPixel/s), base clock (2321 MHz versus 1080 MHz), boost clock (2581 MHz versus 1665 MHz), memory clock (2250 MHz versus 2000 MHz), transistor density (51.3M / mm² versus 45.1M / mm²), and process node efficiency (7 nm versus 8 nm). Its lower TDP of 165 W versus 230 W makes it a more power-efficient part in absolute terms, and its IGP form factor means it can fit into laptops without external power connectors. For mobile users who need a strong GPU in a portable chassis, the RX 6850M XT is the only option between these two, and its 92nd percentile ranking shows it is not a weak card. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 and the Tesla P100, placing it in respectable company despite its lower average score. The RX 6850M XT wins on portability, clock speeds, and pixel throughput, but it loses decisively on every compute benchmark where both cards were tested.