AMD Radeon Pro 455 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 Comparison

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 and AMD Radeon Pro 455 are two very different products from different eras, yet they land in a similar performance class in the benchmark database. The Fermi 2.0-based desktop card from late 2010 and the GCN 4.0 mobile workstation part from 2016 share a single common OpenCL data point, and the results reveal a surprisingly comfortable margin for the older NVIDIA card. While the Radeon Pro 455 brings modern API support and a vastly more efficient process node, the GTX 570's raw compute throughput in the recorded test remains competitive even against a much younger rival.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only directly comparable metric between these two GPUs is the Geekbench OpenCL score, and here the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 decisively outperforms the AMD Radeon Pro 455. The GTX 570 scores 13,515 points, while the Radeon Pro 455 manages 10,336 points. That works out to a 30.8% advantage for the NVIDIA card, a substantial gap in a compute workload that exercises raw shading and memory throughput.

Context from the rivals list helps interpret this margin. The GTX 570's score places it within 0.2% of the AMD Radeon HD 7770M (13,536) and the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT (13,543), and it sits 0.3% ahead of the NVIDIA P106-090 (13,470). Notably, it is 0.8% faster than the AMD Radeon Pro 555 (13,407), which is a sibling product in the same Radeon Pro 400 series as the 455. The Radeon Pro 455, by contrast, averages 12,831 points across all its benchmark runs, and its OpenCL score of 10,336 is its weakest result among the three recorded tests.

The Radeon Pro 455 does not win the only head-to-head benchmark, but its other scores tell a different story. In Geekbench Metal, it scores 15,916 points, and in Geekbench Vulkan it reaches 12,240 points. These tests are not available for the GTX 570, so they cannot be compared directly. The average benchmark score for the Radeon Pro 455 is 12,831, which is 5.3% below the GTX 570's single recorded OpenCL score of 13,515. Looking at the percentile ranks, the GTX 570 sits at the 54th percentile among all GPUs, while the Radeon Pro 455 rests at the 52nd percentile—a close overall standing that belies the large OpenCL delta.

In the rivals comparison, the Radeon Pro 455's nearest competitor is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 at 12,830 points, a 0% delta. It also trades blows with the AMD FirePro W5100 (12,847, -0.1%) and the AMD Radeon 740M (12,870, -0.3%), while leading the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 by 0.5% (12,773). These figures confirm that the Radeon Pro 455, despite its lower OpenCL showing, is not a weak performer overall; it simply lags severely in the one test where the two cards overlap.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins in Geekbench OpenCL, and by how much?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 wins the only head-to-head benchmark. It scores 13,515 versus 10,336 for the AMD Radeon Pro 455, a 30.8% advantage for the NVIDIA card.

Q: Does the Radeon Pro 455 outperform the GTX 570 in any benchmark?

A: The data includes no direct head-to-head win for the Radeon Pro 455. However, it has separate scores in Metal (15,916) and Vulkan (12,240) that the GTX 570 was not tested in, so no cross-API comparison is possible.

Q: How do these GPUs compare in overall percentile ranking?

A: The GTX 570 sits at the 54th percentile among all GPUs, while the Radeon Pro 455 sits at the 52nd percentile. The GTX 570's average benchmark score is 13,515, and the Radeon Pro 455's average is 12,831.

Q: What are the closest rivals for each card based on average score?

A: For the GTX 570, the closest rivals are the AMD Radeon HD 7770M (13,536, -0.2% delta) and the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT (13,543, -0.2% delta). For the Radeon Pro 455, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 (12,830, 0% delta) and AMD FirePro W5100 (12,847, -0.1% delta) are nearest.

Q: Which card has the larger memory bus, and how does that relate to bandwidth?

A: The GTX 570 uses a 320-bit bus with 152.0 GB/s of bandwidth and 1280 MB of GDDR5. The Radeon Pro 455 uses a 128-bit bus with 81.28 GB/s and 2 GB of GDDR5. The wider bus contributes to the GTX 570's higher memory bandwidth.

Q: Do these cards support the same DirectX version?

A: No. The GTX 570 supports DirectX 12 (11_0), while the Radeon Pro 455 supports DirectX 12 (12_0). The Radeon Pro 455 also supports Vulkan 1.3, whereas the GTX 570 has no listed Vulkan support.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from fundamentally different architectural generations. The GTX 570 is built on NVIDIA's Fermi 2.0 architecture using the GF110 chip, a design that dates to the GeForce 500 generation. It is fabricated on a 40 nm process at TSMC, with a die size of 520 mm² and 3,000 million transistors. The transistor density works out to 5.8 million per square millimeter, a modest figure by modern standards. The Radeon Pro 455, in contrast, uses AMD's GCN 4.0 architecture with the Baffin chip, part of the Radeon Pro Mac (400 Series) generation. It is built on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries, with a die size of just 123 mm² and the same 3,000 million transistors. That yields a much higher transistor density of 24.4 million per square millimeter, reflecting the four-generation manufacturing advantage.

The compute resources differ in composition. The GTX 570 carries 480 shading units, 60 texture mapping units, and 40 ROPs. The Radeon Pro 455 has 768 shading units, 48 TMUs, and only 16 ROPs. Despite having 60% more shading units, the Radeon Pro 455 delivers lower peak pixel throughput: 13.68 GPixel/s versus 21.96 GPixel/s for the GTX 570. Texture fill rates are closer, with the GTX 570 at 43.92 GTexel/s and the Radeon Pro 455 at 41.04 GTexel/s. In raw FP32 compute, the GTX 570 posts 1,405.4 GFLOPS, slightly ahead of the Radeon Pro 455's 1,313.3 GFLOPS. The Radeon Pro 455 also lists FP16 performance of 1,313.3 GFLOPS at a 1:1 ratio, while the GTX 570 has no FP16 figures.

Memory architecture is another clear divider. The GTX 570 uses a 320-bit memory bus with 1280 MB of GDDR5, achieving 152.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Radeon Pro 455 uses a 128-bit bus with 2 GB of GDDR5, delivering only 81.28 GB/s. The GTX 570's memory clock is listed at 950 MHz (3.8 Gbps effective), while the Radeon Pro 455 runs at 1270 MHz (5.1 Gbps effective). The faster memory clock on the AMD card cannot compensate for its much narrower bus.

API support also separates the two. The GTX 570 lists DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, with no Vulkan support. The Radeon Pro 455 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. This makes the Radeon Pro 455 more future-proof for modern graphics workloads that rely on Vulkan or newer DirectX feature levels.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ on nearly every measurable specification. The GTX 570 is a dual-slot desktop card measuring 267 mm (10.5 inches) in length, powered by two 6-pin connectors with a 219 W TDP and a suggested 550 W power supply. The Radeon Pro 455 is an MXM module with no power connectors and a 35 W TDP, drawing significantly less power. The GTX 570 uses a PCIe 2.0 x16 interface, while the Radeon Pro 455 uses PCIe 3.0 x8. Display outputs differ as well: the GTX 570 offers 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a, while the Radeon Pro 455's outputs are described as "Portable Device Dependent."

Memory capacity and bus width differ: 1280 MB on a 320-bit bus for the GTX 570, versus 2 GB on a 128-bit bus for the Radeon Pro 455. The GTX 570 has more TMUs (60 vs. 48) and more ROPs (40 vs. 16), but fewer shading units (480 vs. 768). Pixel rate favors the GTX 570 at 21.96 GPixel/s versus 13.68 GPixel/s. Texture rate is nearly identical, with the GTX 570 at 43.92 GTexel/s and the Radeon Pro 455 at 41.04 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is also close, but the GTX 570 leads at 1,405.4 GFLOPS versus 1,313.3 GFLOPS. The Radeon Pro 455 adds FP16 capability at 1,313.3 GFLOPS, which the GTX 570 lacks.

Power and physical design are the starkest contrasts. The GTX 570's 219 W TDP is more than six times the Radeon Pro 455's 35 W. The GTX 570 has a launch MSRP of 349 USD, while the Radeon Pro 455 has no listed launch price. The GTX 570 was released on December 6, 2010, with predecessors in the GeForce 400 series and successors in the GeForce 600 series. The Radeon Pro 455 was released on October 29, 2016, with no listed predecessor or successor. Both are end-of-life products.

Where Each One Wins

The GTX 570 wins in raw compute throughput and memory bandwidth. Its 30.8% OpenCL lead over the Radeon Pro 455 is the single biggest measured advantage, and its 152.0 GB/s bandwidth dwarfs the Radeon Pro 455's 81.28 GB/s. The GTX 570 also has a higher pixel rate (21.96 GPixel/s) and a higher texture rate (43.92 GTexel/s), making it the stronger choice for fill-rate-bound workloads. Its wider 320-bit bus and higher FP32 output (1,405.4 GFLOPS) give it an edge in compute-heavy tasks that leverage the OpenCL path.

The Radeon Pro 455 wins on efficiency and modern feature support. Its 35 W TDP versus 219 W makes it suitable for portable or low-power systems, and its MXM form factor targets mobile workstations. It supports Vulkan 1.3 and DirectX 12 (12_0), both of which the GTX 570 lacks. The Radeon Pro 455 also has more shading units (768 vs. 480) and double the memory capacity (2 GB vs. 1280 MB), which can help in scenarios with large textures or data sets that fit within the smaller frame buffer. Its Metal score of 15,916 is notably high, though no comparable Metal result exists for the GTX 570.

For users prioritizing raw OpenCL performance, the GTX 570 is the clear pick. For those needing a low-power, modern-API GPU in a compact module, the Radeon Pro 455 is the better fit. The two cards occupy different niches despite their overlapping average scores, and the choice comes down to whether compute speed or platform compatibility matters more. The GTX 570's 54th percentile rank edges out the Radeon Pro 455's 52nd, but the Radeon Pro 455's broader API support and dramatically lower power draw make it the more versatile product for contemporary software environments.