AMD Radeon Pro 5500M vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro 5500M has an average score of 11,528, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 has an average score of 12,830. The GTX 590 sits at the 52nd percentile of all GPUs, slightly above the Pro 5500M at the 51st percentile.

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

A: In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the AMD Radeon Pro 5500M scores 31,088 versus 12,830 for the GTX 590. The Pro 5500M wins this test with a 58.7% advantage, which is the only head-to-head benchmark recorded in the database.

Q: What are the closest rivals to the GTX 590?

A: The nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon Pro 455 (score 12,831, 0% delta), the AMD FirePro W5100 (score 12,847, 0.1% behind), the AMD Radeon 740M (score 12,870, 0.3% behind), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 (score 12,773, 0.4% ahead).

Q: What are the closest rivals to the Radeon Pro 5500M?

A: The nearest rivals are the NVIDIA Tesla K20c (score 11,479, 0.4% ahead), the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT (score 11,627, 0.8% behind), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 (score 11,680, 1.3% behind), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M (score 11,261, 2.4% ahead).

Q: Which GPU has the higher pixel fill rate?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro 5500M achieves 46.40 GPixel/s, more than double the GTX 590's 19.46 GPixel/s. The Pro 5500M also leads in texture rate at 139.2 GTexel/s versus 38.91 GTexel/s.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The GTX 590 has a TDP of 365 W and requires a 750 W suggested power supply with 2x 8-pin connectors. The Radeon Pro 5500M has a TDP of 85 W and requires no power connectors, as it is designed for portable devices.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from completely different architectural eras and design philosophies. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 uses the GF110 chip built on Ferm 2.0 architecture, manufactured on a 40 nm process at TSMC. The die size is 520 mm² with 3,000 million transistors, giving a transistor density of 5.8 million per square millimeter. This was a dual-GPU flagship design from the GeForce 500 generation, released in March 2011.

The AMD Radeon Pro 5500M uses the Navi 14 chip built on RDNA 1.0 architecture, manufactured on a 7 nm process, also at TSMC. The die size is dramatically smaller at 158 mm², yet it packs 6,400 million transistors, resulting in a transistor density of 40.5 million per square millimeter. This is a mobile workstation GPU from the Radeon Pro Mac (Navi Mobile) generation, released in November 2019.

The memory subsystems reflect their respective generations. The GTX 590 has 1536 MB of GDDR5 memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 164.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Pro 5500M has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 192.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Although the bus is narrower, the faster GDDR6 memory at 12 Gbps effective allows the AMD card to exceed the older card's bandwidth.

Compute resources differ substantially. The GTX 590 has 512 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output units. The Pro 5500M has 1536 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The AMD card has three times the shading units and 50% more TMUs, but fewer ROPs. Neither GPU has dedicated ray tracing or tensor cores.

The API support shows the generational gap. The GTX 590 supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, with no Vulkan support listed. The Pro 5500M supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The AMD card has a more modern feature set across the board.

The bus interfaces also differ: the GTX 590 uses PCIe 2.0 x16, while the Pro 5500M uses PCIe 4.0 x8. The GTX 590 is a dual-slot card measuring 279 mm in length, 111 mm in height, and 40 mm in width, with 3x DVI and 1x mini-DisplayPort outputs. The Pro 5500M has no fixed dimensions or display outputs, as it is portable device dependent.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records only one head-to-head benchmark between these two GPUs: Geekbench OpenCL. In this test, the AMD Radeon Pro 5500M scores 31,088, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 scores 12,830. The delta is 58.7% in favor of the AMD card. This is a decisive victory, more than doubling the older NVIDIA card's score.

The Pro 5500M's OpenCL result is consistent with its other recorded benchmarks. It scores 38,235 in Geekbench Metal, 35,134 in Geekbench Vulkan, and 6,732 in Passmark G3D. The GTX 590 has no corresponding Metal, Vulkan, or Passmark scores in the database, so the comparison rests on the OpenCL result.

The GTX 590's nearest rival in the database is the AMD Radeon Pro 455, which scores 12,831, essentially identical to the GTX 590's 12,830. This places the GTX 590 in a performance tier that is far below the Pro 5500M. The Pro 5500M's nearest rivals include the Tesla K20c at 11,479, which the AMD card slightly trails, and the RX 7800 XT at 11,627, which the AMD card slightly beats.

Looking at the broader benchmark suite for the Pro 5500M, the Passmark results show a mixed profile. It scores 36 in DirectX 10, 42 in DirectX 11, 29 in DirectX 12, and 96 in DirectX 9. The G2D score is 648, and the GPU compute score is 3,240. These numbers indicate that the Pro 5500M has a wide range of performance depending on the API and workload type.

The GTX 590's single benchmark score of 12,830 places it at the 52nd percentile of all GPUs. The Pro 5500M's average score of 11,528 places it at the 51st percentile. Despite the Pro 5500M winning the head-to-head OpenCL test, its average across all recorded benchmarks is slightly lower than the GTX 590's single score. This is because the Pro 5500M's average includes lower Passmark scores that drag down the overall figure.

The Verdict

The benchmark data shows a clear generational shift. The AMD Radeon Pro 5500M wins the only direct head-to-head test by 58.7% in OpenCL, and its architecture is fundamentally more advanced in nearly every measurable specification. The 7 nm process, RDNA 1.0 architecture, and modern API support give it capabilities the GTX 590 cannot match.

The GTX 590 retains a narrow edge in average benchmark score, 12,830 versus 11,528, and holds a slightly higher percentile ranking. This is notable given that the GTX 590 is from 2011, while the Pro 5500M is from 2019. The older card's higher average likely reflects the limited benchmark coverage, with only one test recorded versus ten for the AMD card.

For compute workloads using OpenCL, the Pro 5500M is the clear choice based on the 58.7% advantage. For users who prioritize the specific performance profile of the GTX 590, the data shows it remains competitive in its narrow benchmark range, but it lacks the modern feature set, lower power draw, and broader API support of the Pro 5500M.

The Pro 5500M also offers 8 GB of memory versus 1536 MB, a 192.0 GB/s bandwidth versus 164.0 GB/s, and vastly higher compute rates: 4.454 TFLOPS FP32 versus 1,244.2 GFLOPS. The AMD card's 85 W TDP versus 365 W makes it suitable for portable systems, while the GTX 590 requires a 750 W power supply and dual-slot cooling.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 | AMD Radeon Pro 5500M |

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

| Chip | GF110 | Navi 14 |

| Architecture | Fermi 2.0 | RDNA 1.0 |

| Generation | GeForce 500 | Radeon Pro Mac (Navi Mobile) |

| Process Node | 40 nm | 7 nm |

| Transistors | 3,000 million | 6,400 million |

| Die Size | 520 mm² | 158 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 5.8M / mm² | 40.5M / mm² |

| Base Clock | null | 1000 MHz |

| Boost Clock | null | 1450 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 854 MHz (3.4 Gbps effective) | 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 1536 MB | 8 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus Width | 384 bit | 128 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 164.0 GB/s | 192.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 512 | 1536 |

| TMUs | 64 | 96 |

| ROPs | 48 | 32 |

| Pixel Rate | 19.46 GPixel/s | 46.40 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 38.91 GTexel/s | 139.2 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 1,244.2 GFLOPS | 4.454 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | null | 8.909 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 365 W | 85 W |

| Power Connectors | 2x 8-pin | None |

| Suggested PSU | 750 W | null |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 2.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x8 |

| Display Outputs | 3x DVI, 1x mini-DisplayPort | Portable Device Dependent |

| DirectX | 12 (11_0) | 12 (12_1) |

| OpenGL | 4.6 | 4.6 |

| Vulkan | null | 1.4 |

| Dimensions | 279 mm x 111 mm x 40 mm | null |

| Release Date | 2011-03-23 | 2019-11-12 |

| Launch MSRP | 699 USD | null |

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon Pro 5500M wins decisively in raw compute throughput. Its FP32 performance of 4.454 TFLOPS is over 3.5 times the GTX 590's 1,244.2 GFLOPS. The texture rate of 139.2 GTexel/s is over 3.5 times higher, and the pixel rate of 46.40 GPixel/s is more than double. The Pro 5500M also leads in memory bandwidth at 192.0 GB/s, despite using a narrower 128-bit bus.

The Pro 5500M wins on efficiency by a massive margin. Its 85 W TDP is less than a quarter of the GTX 590's 365 W. This makes the AMD card viable for portable devices, as reflected in its lack of power connectors and portable-dependent display outputs. The GTX 590 requires a 750 W power supply and dual-slot cooling, limiting it to desktop systems.

The Pro 5500M wins on modern features. It supports Vulkan 1.4, DirectX 12 (12_1), and has FP16 compute at 8.909 TFLOPS. The GTX 590 has no Vulkan support and only DirectX 12 (11_0). The AMD card's 7 nm process and 40.5M / mm² transistor density represent a fundamentally newer manufacturing technology.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 wins in the narrow metric of average benchmark score, 12,830 versus 11,528. It also holds a slightly higher percentile ranking at 52 versus 51. The GTX 590 has more ROPs at 48 versus 32, which could benefit certain rasterization workloads. Its 384-bit memory bus is wider, and its 3,000 million transistor count on a 520 mm² die shows a different design approach.

The GTX 590 wins on physical interface flexibility for desktop use. It offers 3x DVI and 1x mini-DisplayPort outputs, while the Pro 5500M's outputs are dependent on the portable device. The GTX 590 also has a defined launch MSRP of 699 USD, whereas the Pro 5500M has no listed launch price.

For users choosing between these GPUs, the data points to the Pro 5500M for compute-heavy workloads, modern API support, and efficiency. The GTX 590 remains relevant only for those who specifically need its desktop-oriented output configuration and wider memory bus, or who are constrained by software that performs best on its specific architecture. The single head-to-head benchmark, however, leaves no ambiguity: the Pro 5500M is 58.7% faster in OpenCL.