Radeon RX 5700 vs Radeon RX 6700 XT
The Radeon RX 6700 XT pulls ahead here — in a different league, about 60% ahead of the Radeon RX 5700. It also wins on performance-per-dollar, making it the cleaner choice when you can afford it.
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Radeon RX 6700 XT vs Radeon RX 5700: In-Depth Breakdown
Performance: Radeon RX 6700 XT vs Radeon RX 5700
The Radeon RX 6700 XT is dramatically faster, around 60% ahead of the Radeon RX 5700. Both cards sit in the same broad class, well suited to 1080p. The Radeon RX 6700 XT packs 2,560 stream processors versus 2,304 on the Radeon RX 5700.
Price & Value
Pricing has the Radeon RX 6700 XT at $350 EUR, $35 EUR under the Radeon RX 5700's $385 EUR. Because it's both faster and competitively priced, the Radeon RX 6700 XT wins on performance-per-dollar by about 76%. The Radeon RX 6700 XT is trading below its $479 EUR MSRP — a genuine deal.
Power & Efficiency
At 180W vs 230W, the Radeon RX 5700 is the gentler load on your system. The Radeon RX 6700 XT's extra power draw buys more performance per watt, not just more heat — worth it if your PSU has the headroom. Its more modern RDNA 2 architecture on a TSMC N7 process is part of why it does more with each watt.
VRAM & Future-Proofing
The Radeon RX 6700 XT carries 12GB versus 8GB on the Radeon RX 5700. The extra 4GB helps at 4K, with high-resolution texture packs, and for content-creation or local-AI workloads that exhaust smaller buffers. The Radeon RX 5700's memory is also faster — 448 GB/s versus 384 GB/s (256-bit vs 192-bit bus) — which helps feed the GPU at 4K and with heavy textures.
Generation & Longevity
The Radeon RX 6700 XT is roughly 2 years newer than the Radeon RX 5700 (RDNA 2 vs RDNA), so it generally benefits from a more modern architecture and longer driver-support runway.
Which should you buy: Radeon RX 5700 or Radeon RX 6700 XT?
The Radeon RX 6700 XT is the all-round winner here — it's faster and the better value, so buy it if it fits your budget. Only consider the Radeon RX 5700 if you find it at a steep discount.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Radeon RX 6700 XT better than the Radeon RX 5700?
Which is better for 4K gaming, the Radeon RX 5700 or the Radeon RX 6700 XT?
Is the Radeon RX 5700 worth the extra $35 EUR over the Radeon RX 6700 XT?
Does the Radeon RX 6700 XT have enough VRAM advantage to matter?
Which should you buy: Radeon RX 5700 or Radeon RX 6700 XT?
Technical Specifications Comparison
Architecture & Cores
| Specification | Radeon RX 5700 | Radeon RX 6700 XT |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | RDNA | RDNA 2 |
| Process Node | TSMC N7 | TSMC N7 |
| CUDA Cores (Stream Processors / Stream Processors) | 2,304 | 2,560✓ |
| Ray Tracing Cores | — | 40 |
Clock Speeds
| Specification | Radeon RX 5700 | Radeon RX 6700 XT |
|---|---|---|
| Base Clock | 1,465 MHz | 2,321 MHz✓ |
| Boost Clock | 1,725 MHz | 2,581 MHz✓ |
Memory
| Specification | Radeon RX 5700 | Radeon RX 6700 XT |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM Capacity | 8 GB | 12 GB✓ |
| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR6 |
| Memory Bus | 256-bit✓ | 192-bit |
| Memory Speed | 14 Gbps | 16 Gbps✓ |
| Bandwidth | 448 GB/s✓ | 384 GB/s |
Connectivity & Power
| Specification | Radeon RX 5700 | Radeon RX 6700 XT |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | PCIe 4.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x16 |
| TDP | 180 W✓ | 230 W |
| Power Connectors | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin |
| Released | Jul 2019 | Mar 2021 |