AMD Radeon Pro 5600M vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Comparison

The Verdict

The benchmark data presents a clear split personality for these two GPUs. The AMD Radeon Pro 5600M dominates in Apple-oriented compute workloads, taking the Geekbench Metal test with a score of 55,030 versus the GTX 1080 Ti’s 30,624 — a 79.7% advantage. However, this is the exception, not the rule. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti wins 8 of the 10 head-to-head benchmarks, including every single PassMark test and the Geekbench OpenCL test. The GTX 1080 Ti’s overall average benchmark score of 15,548 is 5.2% lower than the Radeon Pro 5600M’s 16,351, but this is skewed by the AMD’s massive Metal lead. The data suggests the Radeon Pro 5600M is the specialist choice for macOS Metal environments, while the GTX 1080 Ti is the general-purpose performer for Windows, Vulkan, and legacy DirectX workloads. The GTX 1080 Ti also holds a 59th percentile ranking versus all GPUs, while the Radeon Pro 5600M sits at 59th percentile as well, meaning they are nearly equal in overall standing despite their divergent strengths.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide here is stark. The AMD Radeon Pro 5600M is built on the Navi 12 chip using RDNA 1.0 architecture and a 7 nm TSMC process, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti uses the GP102 chip with Pascal architecture on a 16 nm TSMC process. The Radeon Pro 5600M is part of the Radeon Pro Mac (Navi Mobile) generation, released on June 14, 2020, while the GTX 1080 Ti belongs to the GeForce 10-series, released March 9, 2017. The GTX 1080 Ti carries 11,800 million transistors on a 471 mm² die, with a transistor density of 25.1M per mm², while the Radeon Pro 5600M’s transistor count and die size are not listed in the data.

The memory subsystems could not be more different. The Radeon Pro 5600M uses 8 GB of HBM2 on a 2048-bit bus, delivering 394.2 GB/s bandwidth, whereas the GTX 1080 Ti uses 11 GB of GDDR5X on a 352-bit bus, delivering 484.4 GB/s bandwidth. The Radeon Pro 5600M has 2,560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, while the GTX 1080 Ti has 3,584 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 88 ROPs. The NVIDIA card’s raw compute is nearly double, with 11.34 TFLOPS FP32 versus 5.857 TFLOPS for the AMD. Interestingly, the Radeon Pro 5600M has a 2:1 FP16 ratio at 11.71 TFLOPS, while the GTX 1080 Ti has a 1:64 ratio at just 177.2 GFLOPS — a massive difference in half-precision capability. The GTX 1080 Ti also features a dual-slot design, 267 mm length, and requires 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin power connectors, while the Radeon Pro 5600M is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with no power connectors and portable device-dependent display outputs.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The single biggest win for the Radeon Pro 5600M is in Geekbench Metal, where it scores 55,030 versus 30,624, a 79.7% advantage. This is a decisive margin that suggests the AMD architecture is far better optimized for Apple’s Metal API. The Radeon Pro 5600M also wins Geekbench Vulkan with 46,425 versus 40,511, a 14.6% lead. In contrast, the GTX 1080 Ti sweeps every PassMark test. The largest margin is in PassMark DirectX 11, where the NVIDIA card scores 151 versus 59, a 60.9% advantage. The GTX 1080 Ti also wins PassMark DirectX 9 (231 vs 118, 48.9% ahead), PassMark DirectX 10 (118 vs 62, 47.5% ahead), and PassMark DirectX 12 (66 vs 39, 40.9% ahead).

The GTX 1080 Ti’s dominance extends to general compute. In PassMark GPU Compute, it scores 9,632 versus 4,031, a 58.1% lead. In PassMark G3D, the NVIDIA card is 50.1% ahead (18,600 vs 9,279). Even in 2D, the GTX 1080 Ti wins PassMark G2D (939 vs 679, 27.7% ahead). The Geekbench OpenCL result is also a GTX 1080 Ti win: 67,929 versus 47,783, a 29.7% advantage. Interestingly, the GTX 1080 Ti’s nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon R9 M380 (0.2% ahead), AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (0.8% behind), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 (1.7% ahead), while the Radeon Pro 5600M’s nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT (0.1% behind) and NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell (0.3% behind). This places the Radeon Pro 5600M in more modern company, despite its low power envelope.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher overall average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro 5600M has an average benchmark score of 16,351, which is 5.2% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti’s 15,548, despite the NVIDIA card winning more individual tests.

Q: Why does the Radeon Pro 5600M win Geekbench Metal by such a large margin?

A: The data shows a 79.7% advantage for the Radeon Pro 5600M in Geekbench Metal (55,030 vs 30,624), which likely reflects the AMD architecture’s optimization for Apple’s Metal API, given its generation name "Radeon Pro Mac (Navi Mobile)."

Q: What is the biggest benchmark win for the GTX 1080 Ti?

A: The GTX 1080 Ti’s largest win is in PassMark DirectX 11, where it scores 151 versus 59, a 60.9% advantage over the Radeon Pro 5600M.

Q: How do these GPUs compare in Vulkan performance?

A: The Radeon Pro 5600M wins Geekbench Vulkan with 46,425 versus 40,511, a 14.6% lead, despite the GTX 1080 Ti having a higher Vulkan API version (1.4 vs 1.3).

Q: Which GPU has higher memory bandwidth?

A: The GTX 1080 Ti has 484.4 GB/s bandwidth from its GDDR5X memory, while the Radeon Pro 5600M has 394.2 GB/s from HBM2, giving the NVIDIA card a 22.9% bandwidth advantage.

Q: What are the power requirements for each GPU?

A: The Radeon Pro 5600M has a 50 W TDP and uses no power connectors as an IGP, while the GTX 1080 Ti has a 250 W TDP and requires 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin connectors with a suggested PSU of 600 W.

Where Each One Wins

The Radeon Pro 5600M wins in Apple-centric compute ecosystems. Its Geekbench Metal score of 55,030 is a massive 79.7% ahead of the GTX 1080 Ti, making it the clear choice for macOS Metal workloads. It also wins Geekbench Vulkan (46,425 vs 40,511, 14.6% ahead), suggesting better cross-platform low-level API performance. The Radeon Pro 5600M’s 2:1 FP16 ratio (11.71 TFLOPS) versus the GTX 1080 Ti’s 1:64 ratio (177.2 GFLOPS) indicates a strong advantage for half-precision compute tasks, though no direct benchmark confirms this in the data. Its 50 W TDP and IGP form factor make it ideal for mobile or integrated solutions, as evidenced by its portable-device-dependent display outputs.

The GTX 1080 Ti wins in legacy DirectX performance and general rasterization. It is 60.9% ahead in PassMark DirectX 11, 48.9% ahead in DirectX 9, and 47.5% ahead in DirectX 10. Its PassMark DirectX 12 score of 66 is 40.9% higher than the Radeon’s 39, showing better modern API performance as well. In pure graphics throughput, the GTX 1080 Ti’s PassMark G3D score of 18,600 is 50.1% higher, and its PassMark GPU Compute score of 9,632 is 58.1% higher. The GTX 1080 Ti also wins in 2D performance (PassMark G2D: 939 vs 679, 27.7% ahead). With 11 GB of memory versus 8 GB, and higher bandwidth (484.4 GB/s vs 394.2 GB/s), the GTX 1080 Ti is better suited for large texture loads and high-resolution gaming. Its dual-slot design, 267 mm length, and 250 W TDP indicate a desktop-oriented card meant for sustained performance, whereas the Radeon Pro 5600M is a low-power integrated solution.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every specification listed. The Radeon Pro 5600M uses a 7 nm process, while the GTX 1080 Ti uses 16 nm. The Radeon Pro 5600M has a base clock of 822 MHz and boost clock of 1144 MHz, while the GTX 1080 Ti has a base clock of 1481 MHz and boost of 1582 MHz. Memory clocks differ significantly: the Radeon Pro 5600M runs at 770 MHz (1540 Mbps effective), while the GTX 1080 Ti runs at 1376 MHz (11 Gbps effective). Memory capacity is 8 GB HBM2 for the AMD versus 11 GB GDDR5X for the NVIDIA, with bus widths of 2048-bit and 352-bit respectively.

Pixel rate favors the GTX 1080 Ti at 139.2 GPixel/s versus 73.22 GPixel/s, and texture rate favors the NVIDIA card at 354.4 GTexel/s versus 183.0 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 5.857 TFLOPS for the AMD and 11.34 TFLOPS for the NVIDIA, while FP16 is 11.71 TFLOPS (2:1) for the AMD and 177.2 GFLOPS (1:64) for the NVIDIA. The TDP difference is dramatic: 50 W for the Radeon Pro 5600M versus 250 W for the GTX 1080 Ti. The Radeon Pro 5600M is an IGP with no power connectors, while the GTX 1080 Ti is dual-slot with 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin connectors and a suggested PSU of 600 W. The bus interface differs: PCIe 4.0 x16 for the AMD versus PCIe 3.0 x16 for the NVIDIA. Display outputs are portable-device-dependent for the AMD, while the GTX 1080 Ti has 1x HDMI 2.0 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The GTX 1080 Ti is 267 mm long, 112 mm high, and 40 mm wide, while the Radeon Pro 5600M has no listed dimensions. The GTX 1080 Ti also has a launch MSRP of 699 USD.