AMD Radeon Pro 575 vs NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation Comparison

NVIDIA’s RTX 5880 Ada Generation and AMD’s Radeon Pro 575 represent two vastly different eras of workstation graphics, separated by nearly seven years of architectural evolution. The data reveals a stark generational chasm: in the sole head-to-head benchmark available, Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 5880 scores 326,898 against the Radeon Pro 575’s 34,596. That is a delta of 844.9% in favor of NVIDIA, a figure that dwarfs typical generational leaps and signals a complete redefinition of compute expectations. This analysis will dissect the specific benchmark wins, architectural roots, and use-case implications drawn strictly from the provided data.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct comparison in the data is Geekbench OpenCL, and it is not close. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation delivers 326,898 points, which is 844.9% higher than the Radeon Pro 575’s 34,596 points. To contextualize this, the RTX 5880’s average benchmark score of 45,972 across all tests places it at the 85th percentile of all GPUs, while the Radeon Pro 575’s average of 39,555 puts it at the 82nd percentile. On the surface, those percentiles look similar, but the OpenCL result exposes the real gulf; the RTX 5880 is not merely faster, it is in a different computational class, with its raw compute output exceeding the older AMD card by nearly ninefold in this specific workload.

Looking beyond the head-to-head, the RTX 5880’s other scores paint a picture of a versatile compute monster. It posts 25,096 in Passmark G3D and 14,208 in Passmark GPU Compute, alongside 326,898 in Geekbench OpenCL. The Radeon Pro 575, conversely, shows its strengths in different APIs: 46,192 in Geekbench Metal and 37,878 in Geekbench Vulkan, with its OpenCL score of 34,596 being its weakest of the three listed. This suggests the AMD card’s performance is API-dependent, while the NVIDIA card’s single OpenCL score implies a more uniform high-performance profile across compute tasks, though other API scores for NVIDIA are not provided for direct comparison. The delta in OpenCL is so extreme that it alone dictates the overall verdict for raw compute, even accounting for the fact that the Radeon Pro 575’s nearest rivals (RTX A500 Mobile at 39,568, Radeon Pro 575X at 39,116) are all within 1.9% of its average score, whereas the RTX 5880’s nearest rivals (RTX A2000 at 46,043, RX 5600M at 46,601) are also tightly clustered, indicating its OpenCL outlier is not representative of its average performance.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two cards is the root cause of the benchmark disparity. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation uses the AD102 chip on a 5 nm TSMC process, packing 76,300 million transistors into a 609 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 125.3M per mm². This is a modern, power-dense design. In contrast, the Radeon Pro 575 uses the Ellesmere chip on GlobalFoundries’ 14 nm process, with just 5,700 million transistors on a 232 mm² die, resulting in a density of only 24.6M per mm². The RTX 5880 has over 13 times more transistors and five times the die area, which directly translates to its massive compute advantage.

The compute resources are equally lopsided. The RTX 5880 features 14,080 shading units, 440 TMUs, 176 ROPs, 110 RT cores, and 440 tensor cores. The Radeon Pro 575 has 2,048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, with no RT cores or tensor cores listed. This means the RTX 5880 not only has more raw shader throughput but also dedicated hardware for ray tracing and AI acceleration, which the AMD card entirely lacks. The FP32 performance tells the story: the RTX 5880 delivers 69.27 TFLOPS, while the Radeon Pro 575 manages 4.489 TFLOPS, a 15.4x difference. Pixel and texture rates follow suit: 433.0 GPixel/s vs 35.07 GPixel/s, and 1,082.4 GTexel/s vs 140.3 GTexel/s, respectively. These are not incremental improvements; they are foundational shifts in capability.

Memory architecture further separates them. The RTX 5880 uses 48 GB of GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus, delivering 864.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Radeon Pro 575 has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, with 217.0 GB/s. That is a 12x capacity increase and a 4x bandwidth increase for NVIDIA. The RTX 5880 also supports PCIe 4.0 x16, while the AMD card is limited to PCIe 3.0 x16. Process node differences (5 nm vs 14 nm) explain the power efficiency gap: the RTX 5880 has a 285 W TDP, but the Radeon Pro 575’s 150 W TDP is higher than expected for its compute output, underscoring the older architecture’s inefficiency. The RTX 5880 also supports newer API versions, including DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the Radeon Pro 575 tops out at DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation has an average benchmark score of 45,972, while the AMD Radeon Pro 575 averages 39,555. The RTX 5880 sits at the 85th percentile of all GPUs, compared to the Radeon Pro 575’s 82nd percentile.

Q: Is the RTX 5880’s lead consistent across all API types?

A: The data only provides a direct comparison via Geekbench OpenCL, where the RTX 5880 leads by 844.9%. The Radeon Pro 575 shows higher scores in Geekbench Metal (46,192) and Vulkan (37,878) than its OpenCL result, but no equivalent NVIDIA scores are available for those APIs, so consistency cannot be fully verified.

Q: How do the memory capacities compare?

A: The RTX 5880 features 48 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus with 864.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Radeon Pro 575 has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 217.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 5880 offers 12 times the capacity and roughly four times the bandwidth.

Q: Does the Radeon Pro 575 support ray tracing or AI acceleration?

A: No. The Radeon Pro 575’s specifications list no RT cores and no tensor cores. The RTX 5880 includes 110 RT cores and 440 tensor cores, enabling dedicated ray tracing and AI workloads.

Q: What are the production statuses of these two cards?

A: The RTX 5880 Ada Generation is listed as Active in production, with a release date of 2024-01-04. The Radeon Pro 575 is End-of-life, with a release date of 2017-06-04.

Q: Which card has a higher transistor density?

A: The RTX 5880 has a transistor density of 125.3M per mm², fabricated on a 5 nm TSMC process. The Radeon Pro 575 has a density of 24.6M per mm² on a 14 nm GlobalFoundries process, a difference of over 5x.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ on nearly every measurable specification. The RTX 5880 uses a 5 nm process and TSMC foundry, while the Radeon Pro 575 uses 14 nm and GlobalFoundries. Transistor counts are 76,300 million vs 5,700 million, and die sizes are 609 mm² vs 232 mm². The RTX 5880 has 14,080 shading units, 440 TMUs, and 176 ROPs, compared to the Radeon Pro 575’s 2,048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The RTX 5880 adds 110 RT cores and 440 tensor cores; the AMD card has none. Clock speeds differ: the RTX 5880 has a base of 975 MHz and boost of 2460 MHz, while the Radeon Pro 575 lists no base or boost clocks, only a memory clock of 1695 MHz (6.8 Gbps effective). Memory is 48 GB GDDR6 vs 4 GB GDDR5, with bus widths of 384-bit vs 256-bit and bandwidths of 864.0 GB/s vs 217.0 GB/s. Pixel rate is 433.0 GPixel/s vs 35.07 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 1,082.4 GTexel/s vs 140.3 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 69.27 TFLOPS vs 4.489 TFLOPS. TDP is 285 W vs 150 W, with the RTX 5880 being dual-slot and the Radeon Pro 575 being an MXM Module. The RTX 5880 uses a 1x 16-pin power connector and suggests a 600 W PSU, while the AMD card has no power connectors listed. Bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x16 vs PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs are 4x DisplayPort 1.4a vs Portable Device Dependent. API support: DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) vs 12 (12_0), and Vulkan 1.4 vs 1.3. Finally, the RTX 5880 is 267 mm long and 112 mm tall, while the Radeon Pro 575 has no listed dimensions.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 5880 Ada Generation wins decisively in raw compute, memory capacity, and bandwidth. Its 69.27 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 864.0 GB/s bandwidth make it suited for large-scale simulation, deep learning training, and high-resolution rendering workloads that demand massive memory pools. The presence of 110 RT cores and 440 tensor cores gives it a clear edge in ray-traced visualization and AI-accelerated tasks, which are increasingly standard in professional workflows. Its 48 GB frame buffer is critical for datasets that exceed the 4 GB limit of the AMD card, which would cause out-of-memory errors in such scenarios. The RTX 5880 also wins on API support, being DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4 capable, ensuring compatibility with the latest software.

The Radeon Pro 575, despite being end-of-life, shows a niche advantage in specific API environments. Its Geekbench Metal score of 46,192 is its highest recorded benchmark, suggesting it is optimized for Apple’s Metal API, which aligns with its generation name "Radeon Pro Mac (500 Series)." Similarly, its Vulkan score of 37,878 exceeds its OpenCL score, indicating decent performance in Vulkan-based applications. For legacy Mac Pro systems or environments where Metal is the primary API, the Radeon Pro 575 may still function adequately, but its 4 GB memory and lack of RT/tensor cores severely limit its modern relevance. The RTX 5880 wins everywhere else, with its OpenCL dominance being the clearest indicator.

The Verdict

The data points to a single conclusion: the NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation is the superior card for virtually any compute-intensive workload. Its 844.9% lead in OpenCL, combined with 15.4x higher FP32 throughput and 12x more memory, makes it the only choice for professionals handling large models, complex simulations, or AI inference. Its 85th percentile ranking and active production status ensure long-term support and driver updates. The Radeon Pro 575, with its 82nd percentile and end-of-life status, is a legacy part best suited for older Mac systems where its Metal performance (46,192) can still be leveraged. For any new deployment, the RTX 5880 is the rational pick, as its benchmark results and architecture clearly outperform the 2017-era AMD card. The Radeon Pro 575 should only be considered in niche environments where its specific API strengths align with the software stack, and even then, its 4 GB memory will likely become a bottleneck. The verdict is unambiguous: the RTX 5880 is the modern workstation choice, while the Radeon Pro 575 is a relic of a less demanding era.