AMD Radeon Pro 5300M vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data presents a stark contrast between these two mobile-capable graphics solutions. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 dominates the head-to-head comparison, securing victories in 9 of the 10 recorded tests. The AMD Radeon Pro 5300M claims only a single win, albeit a significant one in a specific API workload.

The most substantial margin belongs to the GTX 1080 in the PassMark DirectX 11 test, where it scores 124 against the Pro 5300M's 37, a delta of 235.1%. This pattern repeats across legacy DirectX workloads. In DirectX 9, the GTX 1080 posts 211 versus 80, a 163.8% advantage. DirectX 10 shows a 158.3% gap (93 vs 36), and DirectX 12 sees the GTX 1080 lead by 120% (55 vs 25). These results indicate a consistent, generational advantage in rasterization-heavy workloads regardless of API generation.

Compute performance tells a similar story. The PassMark GPU Compute test shows the GTX 1080 scoring 7614 against 2658 for the Pro 5300M, a 186.5% difference. This aligns with the raw FP32 throughput figures, where the GTX 1080 delivers 8.873 TFLOPS compared to 3.200 TFLOPS for the AMD part. The overall PassMark G3D score reinforces this: 15586 for NVIDIA versus 5918 for AMD, a 163.4% lead. Even in the 2D-focused PassMark G2D test, the GTX 1080 holds a 52.6% advantage (888 vs 582).

OpenCL results mirror the compute-heavy trend. The GTX 1080 scores 51204 in Geekbench OpenCL, a massive 75% improvement over the Pro 5300M's 29252. Vulkan performance is closer, but the NVIDIA card still wins with 30398 versus 27912, an 8.9% margin. This narrower gap in Vulkan suggests the AMD architecture is more competitive in modern, low-level APIs, though it still trails.

The sole AMD victory comes in Geekbench Metal, where the Pro 5300M scores 33626 against the GTX 1080's 23824. This represents a 29.2% advantage for AMD. Given the Pro 5300M's positioning as a Radeon Pro Mac part, its optimization for Apple's Metal API is expected. The RDNA 1.0 architecture's compute unit design appears better suited to Metal's execution model, or driver optimizations favor this workload. Notably, this is the only test where the AMD card's higher FP16 throughput (6.400 TFLOPS at 2:1 ratio) could come into play, though Metal benchmarks likely reflect more than just raw half-precision capability.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins the majority of benchmark comparisons?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 wins 9 out of 10 head-to-head tests. The only AMD victory is in Geekbench Metal, where the Radeon Pro 5300M leads by 29.2%.

Q: How large is the performance gap in DirectX 11 workloads?

A: The GTX 1080 scores 124 in PassMark DirectX 11, while the Pro 5300M scores 37. This is a 235.1% difference, the largest margin in any recorded test.

Q: Is the AMD card competitive in any modern API?

A: Yes, in Vulkan the gap narrows significantly. The GTX 1080 leads with 30398 versus 27912, a delta of only 8.9%. This is the closest result outside of the Metal test.

Q: How do the two cards compare in compute performance?

A: The GTX 1080 is substantially ahead. It scores 51204 in Geekbench OpenCL versus 29252 for the Pro 5300M, a 75% difference. In PassMark GPU Compute, the lead expands to 186.5% (7614 vs 2658).

Q: What do the average benchmark scores indicate?

A: The GTX 1080 has an average benchmark score of 11960, placing it at the 51st percentile of all GPUs. The Pro 5300M averages 10013, at the 48th percentile. The GTX 1080's nearest rival, the GeForce GTX 960A, scores 11998, a negligible 0.3% difference. The Pro 5300M's closest competitor is the Quadro K5100M at 10043, also a 0.3% gap.

Q: Where does the GTX 1080's biggest win come from?

A: The largest delta is in PassMark DirectX 11 at 235.1%. The second-largest is PassMark GPU Compute at 186.5%, followed closely by PassMark G3D at 163.4% and DirectX 9 at 163.8%.

The Verdict

The data paints a clear picture for different use cases. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 is the superior choice for general-purpose graphics and compute workloads. Its 75% OpenCL lead and 186.5% compute advantage make it the obvious pick for tasks that leverage GPGPU acceleration, including rendering, simulation, and data processing. Its dominance across all four DirectX versions (158.3% to 235.1% deltas) ensures strong performance in legacy and current DirectX titles alike.

The AMD Radeon Pro 5300M justifies its existence in one specific scenario: macOS environments where Metal is the primary graphics API. Its 29.2% Metal advantage is substantial and directly relevant for creative professionals working in Apple's ecosystem. The card's 7 nm process node and RDNA 1.0 architecture also provide efficiency benefits, with a 85 W TDP compared to the GTX 1080's 180 W.

For users prioritizing raw performance, especially in Windows or Linux environments with OpenCL, Vulkan, or DirectX workloads, the GTX 1080 is the unequivocal choice. Its 51st percentile ranking versus the Pro 5300M's 48th percentile, combined with an average benchmark score 19.4% higher, confirms its overall superiority. The Pro 5300M, however, remains relevant for Apple users who value Metal performance and power efficiency over raw compute throughput.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every major specification category. The GTX 1080 uses a 16 nm process node, while the Pro 5300M is built on 7 nm technology. Transistor counts are similar in magnitude, with the GTX 1080 at 7,200 million versus 6,400 million for AMD, but the die sizes diverge sharply: 314 mm² for NVIDIA and 158 mm² for AMD. This yields transistor densities of 22.9M per mm² and 40.5M per mm², respectively.

Clock speeds show the GTX 1080 running higher, with a base of 1607 MHz and boost of 1733 MHz, compared to 1000 MHz base and 1250 MHz boost for the Pro 5300M. Memory configurations differ fundamentally: the GTX 1080 offers 8 GB of GDDR5X on a 256-bit bus delivering 320.3 GB/s bandwidth, while the Pro 5300M has 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus at 192.0 GB/s. Effective memory speeds are 10 Gbps for NVIDIA and 12 Gbps for AMD.

The compute resource allocation favors NVIDIA heavily. The GTX 1080 packs 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, against 1280 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs for the Pro 5300M. Pixel rate is 110.9 GPixel/s versus 40.00 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 277.3 GTexel/s versus 100.0 GTexel/s. FP32 performance stands at 8.873 TFLOPS for NVIDIA and 3.200 TFLOPS for AMD. FP16 is a notable inversion: the GTX 1080 manages only 138.6 GFLOPS (1:64 ratio), while the Pro 5300M delivers 6.400 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio).

Power and physical specifications also differ. The GTX 1080 has a 180 W TDP, requires a 1x 8-pin power connector, and is a dual-slot card measuring 267 mm in length. The Pro 5300M has an 85 W TDP, requires no power connectors, and has no recorded dimensions, consistent with its mobile-oriented design. The GTX 1080 uses PCIe 3.0 x16, while the Pro 5300M uses PCIe 4.0 x8. Display outputs vary: the GTX 1080 offers 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the Pro 5300M's outputs are listed as portable device dependent.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide is generational. The GTX 1080 is built on NVIDIA's Pascal architecture using the GP104 chip, part of the GeForce 10 series. The Pro 5300M employs AMD's RDNA 1.0 architecture with the Navi 14 chip, from the Radeon Pro Mac generation. Both use TSMC as the foundry, but at different nodes: 16 nm for Pascal and 7 nm for RDNA 1.0.

Pascal is a mature design focused on raw throughput and efficiency at larger process nodes. Its 1:64 FP16 ratio indicates that half-precision compute is largely an afterthought, with FP32 being the primary compute path. The architecture's 2560 shading units and high clock speeds (1733 MHz boost) drive its strong FP32 performance of 8.873 TFLOPS.

RDNA 1.0 represents AMD's modern gaming architecture, designed for higher instructions per clock and improved power efficiency. The 2:1 FP16 ratio means the Pro 5300M can process half-precision at twice the rate of FP32, a feature increasingly relevant for machine learning inference and certain content creation workflows. The 7 nm process allows 6,400 million transistors in a 158 mm² die, a density of 40.5M per mm², more than 76% higher than the GTX 1080's density.

Neither card includes dedicated ray tracing or tensor cores, as both architectures predate the widespread adoption of those features. The GTX 1080's predecessor was the GeForce 900 series, and its successor is the GeForce 20 series. The Pro 5300M has no recorded predecessor or successor. Both cards support DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, indicating parity in API feature levels despite their internal differences.

The GTX 1080's 7,200 million transistors and 314 mm² die reflect a design from 2016, optimized for desktop performance with a 180 W power budget. The Pro 5300M, released later, uses its smaller, denser die to achieve 3.200 TFLOPS at just 85 W, demonstrating the efficiency gains of the 7 nm node. These architectural differences explain the benchmark results: the GTX 1080's larger resource pool and higher clocks dominate compute-heavy and DirectX workloads, while the Pro 5300M's modern architecture and Metal optimizations secure its single victory.