AMD Radeon Pro 560 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 Comparison

The Verdict

The benchmark database positions the AMD Radeon Pro 560 as the stronger overall performer in this head-to-head comparison, winning the only shared benchmark test and holding a higher average benchmark score. The recorded data shows the Radeon Pro 560 achieves an average score of 17,551 across all tested workloads, while the GeForce GTX 580 trails at 15,283. This places the AMD card in the 61st percentile of all GPUs, compared to the 58th percentile for the NVIDIA card, a modest but consistent advantage.

The GeForce GTX 580 is the older architecture by a wide margin, released in 2010 versus the Radeon Pro 560's 2017 launch. It does retain advantages in raw memory bandwidth and pixel throughput, but those strengths do not translate into a benchmark victory in the recorded data. The GTX 580's only benchmark entry, geekbench_opencl, scores 15,283, which is 1.4% behind the Radeon Pro 560's 15,504 in the same test.

For system builders, the decision hinges on platform and purpose. The Radeon Pro 560 is an integrated-grade part (IGP slot width) with no power connectors and a 75 W TDP, making it suitable for compact or mobile systems where space and thermal limits are tight. The GTX 580 is a dual-slot, 244 W discrete card requiring a 550 W suggested PSU and both a 6-pin and 8-pin power connector, which restricts it to full desktop builds with adequate power delivery.

The GTX 580 does offer a launch MSRP of 499 USD, but the database shows no pricing advantages beyond that single figure. The Radeon Pro 560, by contrast, has no recorded launch MSRP in the database. In terms of production status, both are end-of-life, so neither is a current purchase recommendation for new systems. The Radeon Pro 560 is the better choice for those prioritizing compute benchmarks, modern API support, and power efficiency, while the GTX 580 remains relevant only in legacy systems that can accommodate its power and cooling requirements.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro 560 has an average benchmark score of 17,551, which is 14.8% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580's average of 15,283. The Radeon Pro 560 also ranks in the 61st percentile of all GPUs, while the GTX 580 ranks in the 58th percentile.

Q: How do the two cards compare in the geekbench_opencl test?

A: The Radeon Pro 560 scores 15,504 in geekbench_opencl, while the GTX 580 scores 15,283. This gives the AMD card a 1.4% victory in the only benchmark test that both GPUs share.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference between the two?

A: The Radeon Pro 560 has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, yielding 81.28 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX 580 has 1536 MB of GDDR5 memory on a 384-bit bus, yielding 192.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX 580 has more than double the memory bandwidth despite having less total memory.

Q: Which GPU has better API support?

A: The Radeon Pro 560 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The GTX 580 supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, but has no recorded Vulkan support. The AMD card has the edge in modern API compatibility.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The Radeon Pro 560 has a TDP of 75 W, uses no power connectors, and has an IGP slot width. The GTX 580 has a TDP of 244 W, requires one 6-pin and one 8-pin power connector, a suggested PSU of 550 W, and occupies a dual-slot footprint.

Q: How do the nearest rivals compare for each card?

A: The Radeon Pro 560's nearest rival is the AMD Radeon 780M with an average score of 17,588, a 0.2% difference. The GTX 580's nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 with an average score of 15,290, a 0% difference. Both cards sit within a narrow band of their respective competitors.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Radeon Pro 560 is built on the Polaris 21 chip using the GCN 4.0 architecture, fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 uses the GF110 chip with the Fermi 2.0 architecture, fabricated on a 40 nm process at TSMC. This process node difference is substantial: the AMD card packs 3,000 million transistors into a 123 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 24.4 million per mm², while the GTX 580 also has 3,000 million transistors but spread across a 520 mm² die, yielding only 5.8 million per mm². The Radeon Pro 560 is more than four times denser in transistor packing.

The Radeon Pro 560 belongs to the Radeon Pro Mac (500 Series) generation, while the GTX 580 belongs to the GeForce 500 generation. The AMD part uses a PCIe 3.0 x8 bus interface, whereas the GTX 580 uses the older PCIe 2.0 x16 interface. This means the Radeon Pro 560 has a newer bus standard but a narrower link width, while the GTX 580 has a wider but older connection.

In terms of compute resources, the Radeon Pro 560 features 1,024 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, and 16 render output units. The GTX 580 has 512 shading units, also 64 TMUs, but 48 ROPs. The AMD card has twice the shading units, while the NVIDIA card has triple the ROP count. The GTX 580 also supports fp16 with a null rating in the database, meaning no recorded fp16 capability, whereas the Radeon Pro 560 supports fp16 at a 1:1 ratio with fp32.

The display outputs differ significantly. The Radeon Pro 560 has portable device dependent outputs, reflecting its intended use in laptops or all-in-one systems. The GTX 580 provides two DVI outputs and one mini-HDMI 1.3a port, suitable for desktop monitors. The GTX 580 has physical dimensions of 267 mm in length and 111 mm in height, while the Radeon Pro 560 has no recorded dimensions, consistent with its integrated form factor.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every specification category. The Radeon Pro 560 has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory, while the GTX 580 has 1536 MB, less than half the capacity. The memory bus width is 128-bit for the AMD card versus 384-bit for the NVIDIA card, and the resulting bandwidth is 81.28 GB/s versus 192.4 GB/s. The GTX 580's memory clock runs at 1002 MHz (4 Gbps effective), while the Radeon Pro 560's memory runs at 1270 MHz (5.1 Gbps effective).

The Radeon Pro 560 delivers 1.858 TFLOPS of fp32 performance, compared to 1.581 TFLOPS for the GTX 580, a 17.5% advantage for the AMD card. The pixel rates favor the GTX 580: 24.70 GPixel/s versus 14.51 GPixel/s for the Radeon Pro 560. Texture rates are closer, with the Radeon Pro 560 achieving 58.05 GTexel/s versus 49.41 GTexel/s for the GTX 580, a 17.5% lead for AMD.

The TDP difference is stark: 75 W for the Radeon Pro 560 versus 244 W for the GTX 580. The AMD card requires no power connectors and has an IGP slot width, while the GTX 580 needs one 6-pin and one 8-pin connector with a suggested PSU of 550 W. The GTX 580 is dual-slot, while the Radeon Pro 560 occupies no expansion slot.

The release dates are seven years apart: the Radeon Pro 560 launched on April 17, 2017, and the GTX 580 on November 8, 2010. The GTX 580 has a predecessor (GeForce 400) and successor (GeForce 600), while the Radeon Pro 560 has neither recorded. The GTX 580 also has a launch MSRP of 499 USD, which the Radeon Pro 560 does not have recorded.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records a single shared benchmark between these two GPUs: geekbench_opencl. In that test, the AMD Radeon Pro 560 scores 15,504, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 scores 15,283. The AMD card wins by 1.4%, a narrow but decisive margin. This single victory gives the Radeon Pro 560 one win in the head-to-head comparison, with zero wins for the GTX 580.

Looking at the broader benchmark picture, the Radeon Pro 560 also has results in geekbench_metal (20,918) and geekbench_vulkan (16,232), tests that the GTX 580 does not have recorded. These additional scores contribute to the Radeon Pro 560's average of 17,551, while the GTX 580's average is based solely on its geekbench_opencl result of 15,283. The difference in average scores is 2,268 points, or approximately 14.8% in favor of the AMD card.

The nearest rival data provides context for these scores. The Radeon Pro 560's closest competitor is the AMD Radeon 780M with an average score of 17,588, a 0.2% difference. The GTX 580's closest competitor is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 with an average score of 15,290, a 0% difference. This means the Radeon Pro 560 is competitive with modern integrated graphics, while the GTX 580 sits at the level of entry-level discrete GPUs from several generations later.

In the geekbench_opencl test specifically, the GTX 580's score of 15,283 is nearly identical to its nearest rival, the RTX 2060 at 15,290, differing by only 0.1%. The Radeon Pro 560's score of 15,504 in the same test is 0.5% below its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla K40c at 17,468, though the average scores tell a slightly different story with the Radeon Pro 560 sitting just 0.2% below the Radeon 780M.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon Pro 560 wins in compute benchmarks across the board. It has a higher average benchmark score (17,551 versus 15,283), a higher fp32 throughput (1.858 TFLOPS versus 1.581 TFLOPS), and a higher texture fill rate (58.05 GTexel/s versus 49.41 GTexel/s). It also wins the only direct head-to-head test, geekbench_opencl, by 1.4%. The Radeon Pro 560 supports Vulkan 1.3, which the GTX 580 does not, making it the better choice for modern cross-platform compute workloads that leverage Vulkan.

The Radeon Pro 560 is also the clear winner in power efficiency. Its 75 W TDP is less than one-third of the GTX 580's 244 W TDP, and it requires no auxiliary power connectors. This makes it suitable for systems where power delivery is limited, such as laptops or compact desktops with integrated graphics slots. The AMD card's 14 nm process node and higher transistor density (24.4M per mm² versus 5.8M per mm²) explain this efficiency advantage.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 wins in memory bandwidth and pixel throughput. Its 192.4 GB/s bandwidth is more than double the Radeon Pro 560's 81.28 GB/s, and its 24.70 GPixel/s pixel rate is 70% higher than the AMD card's 14.51 GPixel/s. These specifications suggest the GTX 580 would perform better in fill-rate-bound scenarios, such as high-resolution rasterization with heavy overdraw, though the database does not include a benchmark test that isolates this advantage.

The GTX 580 also wins on memory bus width with 384 bits versus 128 bits, and it has triple the ROP count (48 versus 16). These characteristics historically favor antialiasing and high-resolution rendering. The GTX 580's dual-slot form factor and 550 W suggested PSU indicate it was designed for full desktop towers with robust cooling and power infrastructure, whereas the Radeon Pro 560's IGP designation means it is intended for pre-built systems where the GPU is not user-serviceable.

The use-case split is clear. The Radeon Pro 560 suits compute-focused tasks in power-constrained environments, with modern API support and higher fp32 performance. The GTX 580 suits legacy systems where raw memory bandwidth and pixel throughput matter more than compute efficiency, and where the user can accommodate its 244 W power draw and dual-slot footprint. For any workload measured in the database, the Radeon Pro 560 is the better performer.