AMD's Radeon RX 5500 XT May Just Be an Overclocked RX 5500

By Zhiye Liu
published

Leaked specs point to the RX 5500 XT being a bit faster but with the same amount of Stream Processors as the RX 5500.

A well-known hardware leaker called @KOMACHI_ENSAKA on Twitter has tweeted a screenshot (opens in new tab)of what appears to be the specifications for the upcoming AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT graphics card. However, the specs suggest that the card will merely be an overclocked version of the AMD Radeon RX 5500 (opens in new tab) graphics card that AMD has already detailed but not released. 

A fully-unlocked Navi 14 die has up to 1,536 Stream Processors (SPs). The one that's inside the Radeon RX 5500 has 1,408 SPs. AMD will seemingly not enable the full die on the Radeon RX 5500 XT either. This would mean that AMD is saving the best silicon for Apple, since the AMD Radeon Pro 5500M (opens in new tab), which sports 1,536 SPs, is exclusive to Apple systems.

Like the RX 5500, the RX 5500 XT will reportedly be available with 4GB or 8GB of GDDR6 memory clocked at 1,750 MHz (14,000 MHz effective) across a 128-bit memory interface. The only noticeable difference in comparison to the RX 5500 are the higher operating clocks. AMD lists the RX 5500 with a 1,670 MHz base clock and 1,717 MHz game clock. The leaked RX 5500 XT specs point to a 1,685 MHz base clock and 1,737 MHz game clock. The difference is less than 2%; however, there will probably be higher clocked custom models once AMD officially launches the RX 5500 XT.

According to a short and early review of the RX 5500 (opens in new tab) by a German publication, the RX 5500's performance is roughly in the same ballpark as the last-generation AMD Radeon RX 580 (opens in new tab). Heise's testing also showed the RX 5500 being effectively more power-efficient than an RX 580. The XT variant should perform identically if not a tad faster.

Chinese retailer JD.com (opens in new tab) has already listed plenty of custom RX 5500 XT graphics cards (opens in new tab) from big names, including ASRock, PowerColor, Sapphire and XFX. This lends credence to the early speculation that the RX 5500 is strictly for OEMs, while the RX 5500 XT is open to any of AMD's partners.

Radeon RX 5500 XT (Image credit: JD)

The RX 5500 XT graphics cards on JD.com are currently priced at 1,499 yuan, which is approximately $212. China has a standard VAT (value-added tax) rate of 13%, meaning RX 5500 XT models could start at around $183.

Custom RX 580 graphics cards start as low as $145. Therefore, the RX 5500 XT could be competitive if the chipmaker prices it around $150.

Another piece of useful information from JD.com's posting is the release date. The RX 5500 XT reportedly goes on sale on December 12, which coincides with the timeframe from an earlier report (opens in new tab).

Zhiye Liu
Zhiye Liu
RAM Reviewer and News Editor

Zhiye Liu is a Freelance News Writer at Tom’s Hardware US. Although he loves everything that’s hardware, he has a soft spot for CPUs, GPUs, and RAM.

5 Comments Comment from the forums
  • jimmysmitty
    I mean in the old days a XT card was basically a higher binned of the same model. The 9800XT was a higher clocked 9800.
    Reply
  • donner
    Overclocked is the wrong term. Higher clocked or binned would be correct.

    Should we call the i9-9900K an overclocked i9-9900? Or, the Ryzen 7 3800X and overclocked 3700X?
    Reply
  • hannibal
    Better binned is the right word. And $178 Sounds about the right. New gpu at higher price than the old one... that is the direction of gpu prices... but $178 is less than the release price of 580and considering the inflation the prices Are actually redusing, but the pace is not very quick in that aspect.
    Reply
  • Keviny Oliveira
    RX 5700 XT not is a binned RX 5700, why RX 5500 XT will be?
    Reply
  • hannibal
    Most likely is just a small chip, there Are less actuall defective chips, so the binning is the way of making different product segments.
    But untill official release we can not be sure. It is suposed that Apple gets all 24 core parts and retailers gets 22 core parts (binned at different speeds) and 5300 is even more cut down version this time...
    I would Expect some ram speed differences Also between the Xt and non-Xt versions, but that is just my personal ques. But the above is based on ”leaked” information about the product. We have seen false product info leaks before, but nobody else than Apple seems to have any hints of having 24 core parts, and that makes some Sense. The problem with that info is, what amd could call the 24 core version, when Apple don`t need all of those chips? 5505? Or 5500xt+... all in all that time if far in future, but it will come eventually.
    Reply