AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a decisive victory for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile in the two shared benchmark tests. The AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT wins no head-to-head comparisons, while the NVIDIA card wins both. The largest margin appears in Geekbench Vulkan, where the RTX 5080 Mobile scores 169,754 against the Radeon Pro 5500 XT's 39,601, a delta of 76.7%. In Geekbench OpenCL, the NVIDIA part posts 166,986 versus 41,772 for the AMD card, a 75% advantage. These are not marginal differences; the NVIDIA GPU delivers roughly four times the raw compute throughput in both API tests.

The average benchmark score tells a more nuanced story. The Radeon Pro 5500 XT holds an average score of 45,384 across its three recorded tests, placing it in the 84th percentile of all GPUs. The RTX 5080 Mobile averages 38,349 across ten tests, placing it in the 81st percentile. This apparent contradiction stems from the different test suites: the AMD card's average is built entirely from Geekbench workloads, while the NVIDIA card includes PassMark tests with lower scores. The PassMark DirectX 12 result of 116 and DirectX 10 result of 171 drag down the NVIDIA average, despite its Geekbench scores exceeding 166,000.

Looking at the nearest rivals clarifies the positioning. The Radeon Pro 5500 XT sits within 1.3% of the NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation (45,972), the Intel Arc A730M (45,592), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile (45,152). Its average is 0.5% above the RTX 5090 Mobile and 1.3% above the RTX 4070 Ti (44,795). The RTX 5080 Mobile, by contrast, is essentially tied with the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 (38,299, a 0.1% delta) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (38,135, a 0.6% delta). It sits 0.9% below the AMD Radeon Pro 580X (38,706) and the MX570 A (38,691). The data indicates that the RTX 5080 Mobile's average is dragged down by its PassMark suite, while its Geekbench performance is far ahead of its average-based rivals.

Where Each One Wins

The Radeon Pro 5500 XT wins on benchmark consistency across its tested workloads. Its three Geekbench scores cluster tightly: 54,779 in Metal, 41,772 in OpenCL, and 39,601 in Vulkan. This narrow spread suggests predictable performance across different compute APIs, which matters for applications that rely on Metal on macOS. The Metal score of 54,779 is notably higher than its OpenCL and Vulkan results, indicating that Apple's API is a strength for this GPU.

The RTX 5080 Mobile wins decisively in raw compute throughput. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 166,986 is 299.7% higher than the Radeon's 41,772. Its Vulkan score of 169,754 is 328.7% higher than the Radeon's 39,601. The NVIDIA card also shows strength in DirectX workloads, with PassMark DirectX 11 scoring 253, DirectX 9 scoring 314, and DirectX 12 scoring 116. The PassMark G3D score of 27,711 and GPU compute score of 12,134 further demonstrate its compute capability. For users running OpenCL or Vulkan workloads, the RTX 5080 Mobile is the clear choice based on the benchmark data.

The use-case split is straightforward. The Radeon Pro 5500 XT suits Metal-centric environments and workloads that benefit from consistent performance across APIs. The RTX 5080 Mobile suits OpenCL, Vulkan, and DirectX workloads where absolute throughput is the priority. The NVIDIA card's PassMark G2D score of 1,095 also suggests stronger 2D performance, though this metric is not available for the AMD card.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations and process nodes. The AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT uses the Navi 14 chip based on RDNA 1.0 architecture, built on a 7 nm process at TSMC with 6,400 million transistors on a 158 mm² die. The transistor density is 40.5 million per square millimeter. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile uses the GB203 chip based on Blackwell 2.0 architecture, built on a 5 nm process at TSMC with 45,600 million transistors on a 378 mm² die. Its transistor density is 120.6 million per square millimeter.

The NVIDIA chip packs nearly seven times the transistor count into a die that is 2.4 times larger. The transistor density difference is stark: 120.6M per mm² versus 40.5M per mm², reflecting the more advanced process node and denser design. The Blackwell architecture also brings hardware features absent from RDNA 1.0: 60 RT cores for ray tracing and 240 tensor cores for AI acceleration. The Radeon Pro 5500 XT has no equivalent hardware units listed.

Memory configurations differ substantially. The Radeon Pro 5500 XT has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 224.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 5080 Mobile has 16 GB of GDDR7 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 896.0 GB/s bandwidth. That is exactly four times the memory bandwidth. The NVIDIA card also uses a faster memory clock: 1750 MHz at 28 Gbps effective, versus 1750 MHz at 14 Gbps effective for the AMD card.

Compute resources are heavily skewed toward the NVIDIA part. The RTX 5080 Mobile has 7,680 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 96 ROPs. The Radeon Pro 5500 XT has 1,536 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The NVIDIA card has 5 times the shading units and 2.5 times the TMUs. Pixel rate is 144.0 GPixel/s versus 56.22 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 360.0 GTexel/s versus 168.7 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 23.04 TFLOPS versus 5.398 TFLOPS. FP16 is 23.04 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio on the NVIDIA card, versus 10.80 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio on the AMD card.

Clock speeds tell a different story. The AMD card has a higher base clock at 1187 MHz versus 975 MHz, and a higher boost clock at 1757 MHz versus 1500 MHz. Despite lower clocks, the NVIDIA card achieves far higher throughput due to its massive parallel resource advantage. The Radeon Pro 5500 XT draws 125 W TDP, while the RTX 5080 Mobile draws only 80 W, a 45 W difference that makes the NVIDIA part more power-efficient per unit of compute.

Both cards use an integrated form factor with no power connectors. The AMD card uses PCIe 4.0 x8, while the NVIDIA card uses PCIe 5.0 x16. The AMD card has no display outputs, while the NVIDIA card's outputs are portable device dependent. API support differs: the AMD card supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the NVIDIA card supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT has an average benchmark score of 45,384, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile averages 38,349. However, the NVIDIA card's average includes PassMark tests that score as low as 116, which are not present in the AMD card's benchmark suite.

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The RTX 5080 Mobile scores 166,986, which is 75% higher than the Radeon Pro 5500 XT's 41,772. The NVIDIA card wins this test by a wide margin.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The RTX 5080 Mobile has 896.0 GB/s of bandwidth from 16 GB of GDDR7 on a 256-bit bus. The Radeon Pro 5500 XT has 224.0 GB/s from 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus. The NVIDIA card delivers exactly four times the memory bandwidth.

Q: Does the Radeon Pro 5500 XT support ray tracing?

A: No. The Radeon Pro 5500 XT has no RT cores listed. The RTX 5080 Mobile has 60 RT cores and 240 tensor cores, supporting hardware ray tracing and AI acceleration.

Q: What is the transistor density difference?

A: The RTX 5080 Mobile has a transistor density of 120.6 million per square millimeter on a 5 nm process. The Radeon Pro 5500 XT has a density of 40.5 million per square millimeter on a 7 nm process. The NVIDIA chip is nearly three times denser.

Q: Which GPU is more power efficient?

A: The RTX 5080 Mobile has an 80 W TDP while delivering 23.04 TFLOPS FP32. The Radeon Pro 5500 XT has a 125 W TDP while delivering 5.398 TFLOPS FP32. The NVIDIA card delivers over four times the compute at 36% less power draw.

The Verdict

The data supports a clear conclusion: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile is the superior GPU for compute-intensive workloads. Its 23.04 TFLOPS FP32 performance is 4.27 times the Radeon Pro 5500 XT's 5.398 TFLOPS. Its 896.0 GB/s memory bandwidth is four times higher. Its Geekbench OpenCL score is 299.7% higher, and its Vulkan score is 328.7% higher. The NVIDIA card also achieves this at a lower TDP of 80 W versus 125 W.

The Radeon Pro 5500 XT retains relevance in one specific context: Metal-based environments. Its Geekbench Metal score of 54,779 is its strongest result, and the card's consistent performance across OpenCL and Vulkan suggests stable behavior across APIs. For macOS users or applications that rely on Metal, this card may be serviceable. Its 84th percentile ranking versus the RTX 5080 Mobile's 81st percentile reflects its tighter benchmark suite, not superior absolute performance.

The RTX 5080 Mobile is the pick for OpenCL, Vulkan, and DirectX workloads. Its PassMark DirectX scores, while lower than its Geekbench results, still show functional capability across legacy and modern APIs. The 60 RT cores and 240 tensor cores add features the AMD card simply lacks. The 16 GB GDDR7 memory doubles the capacity and quadruples the bandwidth, which matters for large datasets and high-resolution textures. The production status difference is also notable: the Radeon Pro 5500 XT is end-of-life, while the RTX 5080 Mobile is active.

The verdict is straightforward. Choose the RTX 5080 Mobile for raw performance, memory bandwidth, and modern feature support. Choose the Radeon Pro 5500 XT only if Metal compatibility and a simpler API profile are the primary requirements, and even then, the performance gap in shared tests is enormous.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | RDNA 1.0 | Blackwell 2.0 |

| Process Node | 7 nm | 5 nm |

| Transistors | 6,400 million | 45,600 million |

| Die Size | 158 mm² | 378 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 40.5M / mm² | 120.6M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1187 MHz | 975 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1757 MHz | 1500 MHz |

| Memory Size | 8 GB | 16 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR7 |

| Memory Bus | 128 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 224.0 GB/s | 896.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 1536 | 7680 |

| TMUs | 96 | 240 |

| ROPs | 32 | 96 |

| RT Cores | None | 60 |

| Tensor Cores | None | 240 |

| Pixel Rate | 56.22 GPixel/s | 144.0 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 168.7 GTexel/s | 360.0 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 5.398 TFLOPS | 23.04 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 10.80 TFLOPS (2:1) | 23.04 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 125 W | 80 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x8 | PCIe 5.0 x16 |

| DirectX | 12 (12_1) | 12 Ultimate (12_2) |

| Production Status | End-of-life | Active |

| Release Date | 2020-08-03 | 2025-04-01 |