AMD Radeon Pro 450 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN BLACK Comparison

AMD Radeon Pro 450 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN BLACK sit at opposite ends of the GPU spectrum, both in time and in purpose. The database shows the Radeon Pro 450 as a 14 nm mobile-class part aimed at professional Mac notebooks, while the TITAN BLACK is a 28 nm desktop flagship from the GeForce 700 generation. Their benchmark results, however, tell a story that is not entirely predictable from specifications alone. The TITAN BLACK wins every recorded head-to-head test, often by substantial margins, yet the Radeon Pro 450 posts a higher average benchmark score across the full database. This contradiction stems from the different test suites each card is subjected to, making direct comparisons nuanced.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score in the database?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro 450 has an average benchmark score of 10804, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN BLACK averages 9474. The Radeon Pro 450 is ahead by roughly 14% in this aggregate metric.

Q: How do the two cards compare in Geekbench Metal performance?

A: The TITAN BLACK scores 24172 in Geekbench Metal, which is 46.7% higher than the Radeon Pro 450’s 12893. The NVIDIA card wins this test decisively.

Q: What is the biggest performance gap between the two in any single benchmark?

A: The largest delta is in Geekbench OpenCL, where the TITAN BLACK scores 27218 versus the Radeon Pro 450’s 9002, a 66.9% advantage for the NVIDIA card.

Q: Does the Radeon Pro 450 have any benchmark where it beats the TITAN BLACK?

A: No. In the three head-to-head tests recorded (Geekbench Metal, OpenCL, and Vulkan), the TITAN BLACK wins all three. The Radeon Pro 450 has zero wins.

Q: What is the transistor count and die size difference?

A: The TITAN BLACK contains 7,080 million transistors on a 561 mm² die, while the Radeon Pro 450 has 3,000 million transistors on a 123 mm² die. The NVIDIA chip is larger in both absolute transistor count and physical area.

Q: Which card supports a higher DirectX version?

A: The Radeon Pro 450 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), whereas the TITAN BLACK supports DirectX 12 (11_1). The AMD card has a higher feature level.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from fundamentally different architectural eras and design philosophies. The Radeon Pro 450 uses the Baffin chip built on GCN 4.0 architecture, manufactured by GlobalFoundries on a 14 nm process. The TITAN BLACK uses the GK110B chip with Kepler architecture, produced by TSMC on a 28 nm process. This process gap explains much of the efficiency difference: the Radeon Pro 450 packs 3,000 million transistors into a 123 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 24.4M per mm². The TITAN BLACK spreads 7,080 million transistors across 561 mm², giving a density of just 12.6M per mm². The newer 14 nm node allows the AMD chip to nearly double the transistor density of the older 28 nm part.

Shader resources differ dramatically. The Radeon Pro 450 has 640 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 16 ROPs. The TITAN BLACK has 2880 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. In raw execution resources, the NVIDIA card has 4.5 times the shading units, 6 times the TMUs, and 3 times the ROPs. Pixel throughput reflects this: the TITAN BLACK achieves 58.80 GPixel/s versus 12.80 GPixel/s for the Radeon Pro 450. Texture rate is similarly lopsided at 235.2 GTexel/s versus 32.00 GTexel/s.

Memory architecture is another major divider. The Radeon Pro 450 uses a 128 bit bus with 2 GB of GDDR5 memory, delivering 81.28 GB/s of bandwidth. The TITAN BLACK uses a 384 bit bus with 6 GB of GDDR5 memory, delivering 336.0 GB/s. That is over four times the memory bandwidth. Both use GDDR5, but the NVIDIA card has triple the bus width and triple the capacity.

Feature support differs in API levels. The Radeon Pro 450 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The TITAN BLACK supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175. The AMD card has a higher DirectX feature level and a newer Vulkan version. The TITAN BLACK has no listed FP16 capability, while the Radeon Pro 450 offers FP16 at a 1:1 ratio with FP32. Power consumption is starkly different: the Radeon Pro 450 has a TDP of 35 W, while the TITAN BLACK draws 250 W. The AMD card is an MXM module, whereas the NVIDIA card is a dual-slot desktop part requiring one 6-pin and one 8-pin power connector and a suggested 600 W power supply.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The three recorded head-to-head benchmarks all favor the TITAN BLACK, but the margins vary significantly. In Geekbench Metal, the TITAN BLACK scores 24172 against the Radeon Pro 450’s 12893, a delta of 46.7%. This is the closest of the three tests, likely because Metal is a low-level API that can mask some architectural differences. Still, the NVIDIA card is nearly twice as fast.

Geekbench OpenCL shows a much larger gap. The TITAN BLACK scores 27218, while the Radeon Pro 450 manages only 9002, giving a 66.9% advantage to the NVIDIA card. This test heavily leverages compute throughput, and the TITAN BLACK’s 5.645 TFLOPS of FP32 performance dwarfs the Radeon Pro 450’s 1,024.0 GFLOPS. The TITAN BLACK has more than five times the raw FP32 power, which explains the massive OpenCL delta.

Geekbench Vulkan follows a similar pattern. The TITAN BLACK scores 29561 versus 10518 for the Radeon Pro 450, a 64.4% difference. Vulkan, like Metal, is a modern low-level API, but the TITAN BLACK still dominates. Across all three tests, the TITAN BLACK wins with an average delta of roughly 59%. The Radeon Pro 450 has zero wins in head-to-head comparisons.

These results align with the specification disparities. The TITAN BLACK’s 2880 shading units, 336 GB/s bandwidth, and 5.645 TFLOPS FP32 are overwhelming advantages. The Radeon Pro 450’s 640 shading units and 81.28 GB/s bandwidth cannot compete in raw compute or fill-rate bound workloads. However, the database’s average benchmark scores tell a different story. The Radeon Pro 450 averages 10804 across all tests, while the TITAN BLACK averages 9474. This is because the TITAN BLACK’s average includes PassMark tests (DirectX 9, 10, 11, 12, G2D, G3D, and GPU compute) where it scores relatively low, such as 47 in DirectX 10 and 34 in DirectX 12. The Radeon Pro 450’s average is derived only from Geekbench tests, which may not stress the same bottlenecks.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every measurable specification. The Radeon Pro 450 uses a 14 nm Baffin chip with 3,000 million transistors on a 123 mm² die. The TITAN BLACK uses a 28 nm GK110B chip with 7,080 million transistors on a 561 mm² die. Transistor density is 24.4M per mm² for AMD versus 12.6M per mm² for NVIDIA.

Clock speeds are only partially listed. The TITAN BLACK has a base clock of 889 MHz and a boost clock of 980 MHz, while the Radeon Pro 450 lists no base or boost clocks. Memory clocks differ: the Radeon Pro 450 runs at 1270 MHz (5.1 Gbps effective), and the TITAN BLACK runs at 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective). Memory configuration is 2 GB GDDR5 on a 128 bit bus for AMD versus 6 GB GDDR5 on a 384 bit bus for NVIDIA. Bandwidth is 81.28 GB/s versus 336.0 GB/s.

Compute resources are vastly different. The Radeon Pro 450 has 640 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. The TITAN BLACK has 2880 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. Pixel rate is 12.80 GPixel/s versus 58.80 GPixel/s. Texture rate is 32.00 GTexel/s versus 235.2 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 1,024.0 GFLOPS versus 5.645 TFLOPS. The Radeon Pro 450 supports FP16 at 1:1, while the TITAN BLACK has no FP16 listing.

Power and physical specs diverge sharply. The Radeon Pro 450 has a 35 W TDP and uses an MXM Module form factor. The TITAN BLACK has a 250 W TDP, is dual-slot, requires 1x 6-pin and 1x 8-pin power connectors, and suggests a 600 W power supply. The bus interface is PCIe 3.0 x8 for AMD and PCIe 3.0 x16 for NVIDIA. Display outputs are portable device dependent for the Radeon Pro 450, while the TITAN BLACK offers 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 1x DisplayPort 1.2. The TITAN BLACK has physical dimensions of 267 mm length, 111 mm height, and 38 mm width, while the Radeon Pro 450 lists none.

API support differs slightly. The Radeon Pro 450 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The TITAN BLACK supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175. Release dates are also far apart: the Radeon Pro 450 launched in October 2016, while the TITAN BLACK launched in February 2014. The TITAN BLACK has a launch MSRP of 999 USD, while the Radeon Pro 450 has no listed launch MSRP.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous in raw performance: the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN BLACK wins every head-to-head benchmark against the AMD Radeon Pro 450. In Geekbench Metal, it leads by 46.7%. In OpenCL, the margin grows to 66.9%. In Vulkan, it holds a 64.4% advantage. Anyone seeking maximum compute or graphics throughput from these two specific cards should choose the TITAN BLACK. Its 5.645 TFLOPS FP32, 336 GB/s memory bandwidth, and 2880 shading units provide a level of performance the Radeon Pro 450 cannot approach.

However, the TITAN BLACK is not universally superior. The Radeon Pro 450 has a higher average benchmark score (10804 versus 9474) and a higher percentile rank (49th versus 46th). The AMD card also supports a newer DirectX feature level (12_0 versus 11_1) and a newer Vulkan version (1.3 versus 1.2.175). It consumes only 35 W versus 250 W, making it far more power-efficient. The Radeon Pro 450 is the better choice for environments where power draw, physical size (MXM Module versus dual-slot), and modern API support are priorities. It is also the only option for portable systems, as its display outputs are portable device dependent.

The TITAN BLACK, by contrast, demands a desktop chassis with a 600 W power supply and dual-slot space. Its 6 GB memory capacity and 384 bit bus are superior for large datasets, but its older Kepler architecture lacks the FP16 support and newer API features of the Radeon Pro 450. The data shows a clear trade-off: the TITAN BLACK wins on raw speed, while the Radeon Pro 450 wins on efficiency and modern feature support. Users with compute-heavy workloads that favor OpenCL or Vulkan should take the TITAN BLACK. Users who need a low-power, modern-API card in a compact form factor should take the Radeon Pro 450. The benchmark database records 3 wins for the TITAN BLACK and 0 for the Radeon Pro 450 in direct comparison, but the broader average scores indicate the Radeon Pro 450 performs closer to its rivals in typical workloads. Ultimately, the choice depends on whether raw throughput or efficiency and compatibility matter more.