AMD Radeon Pro 580 vs NVIDIA T1000 Comparison

# AMD Radeon Pro 580 vs NVIDIA T1000

The AMD Radeon Pro 580 and NVIDIA T1000 are both end-of-life workstation GPUs, but they target very different segments of the market. The Radeon Pro 580 is a high-power integrated graphics solution from AMD's 500 Series for Mac, while the T1000 is a low-power single-slot card from NVIDIA's Quadro Turing line. Benchmark data shows the AMD card holds a clear performance edge in the two tests where both were measured, but the T1000 counters with dramatically lower power draw and a more flexible physical format. The average benchmark score for the Radeon Pro 580 is 40,318, which places it in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs, while the T1000 averages 36,289, landing in the 80th percentile. These are close percentile rankings, but the raw score gap of 4,029 points (about 11%) is significant for compute workloads.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two GPUs were tested head-to-head in Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan, and the AMD Radeon Pro 580 won both tests. In OpenCL, the Radeon Pro 580 scored 38,457 against the T1000's 37,704, a margin of 2%. That is a narrow win, but it is consistent across the board. In Vulkan, the gap widens dramatically: the Radeon Pro 580 scored 43,285 versus 34,874 for the T1000, a 24.1% advantage. This is the single biggest performance differential between the two cards, and it suggests the AMD architecture handles Vulkan workloads with substantially more efficiency than NVIDIA's Turing design in this comparison.

Look at the absolute numbers. The Radeon Pro 580's Vulkan score of 43,285 is higher than its own OpenCL score by 4,828 points, indicating that GCN 4.0 scales well with Vulkan's low-level API. The T1000, by contrast, scores lower in Vulkan (34,874) than in OpenCL (37,704), a drop of 2,830 points. That inversion is telling: the NVIDIA card performs better under OpenCL but falls behind when the workload shifts to Vulkan. Across both tests, the Radeon Pro 580's average comes to 40,318, while the T1000's average is 36,289. The Radeon Pro 580's nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 at 40,377, a delta of -0.1%, meaning the AMD card is essentially tied with that much newer GPU in average score. The T1000's nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 5300M at 36,529, with the T1000 trailing by 0.7%.

Where Each One Wins

The Radeon Pro 580 wins outright on raw compute performance. Its FP32 throughput is 5.530 TFLOPS, more than double the T1000's 2.500 TFLOPS. That translates directly to faster number-crunching in OpenCL and Vulkan workloads, as the benchmark results confirm. If your work involves GPU compute — rendering, simulation, or any task that leverages OpenCL or Vulkan — the data says the AMD card is the stronger choice. Its 24.1% Vulkan lead is particularly relevant for modern applications that use Vulkan as their primary API.

The T1000 wins on efficiency and physical design. Its TDP is 50 W versus 185 W for the Radeon Pro 580, a difference of 135 W. That means the T1000 can be powered entirely by the PCIe slot with no external power connectors, while the Radeon Pro 580 is an integrated GPU (IGP) with a slot width of "IGP" and no power connectors because it is designed to be soldered onto a motherboard, not installed as a discrete card. The T1000 is a single-slot card measuring 156 mm in length and 69 mm in height, with four mini-DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. This makes it suitable for compact workstation builds where space is at a premium. The Radeon Pro 580's display outputs are listed as "Portable Device Dependent," which means it is not meant for standalone display connectivity in a traditional desktop.

For memory, the Radeon Pro 580 has 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, yielding 217.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The T1000 has 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, yielding 160.0 GB/s. The AMD card offers twice the capacity and 35.6% more bandwidth. If your workload involves large datasets that exceed 4 GB, the T1000 will hit a wall regardless of its compute capabilities.

Architecture Differences

The two cards are built on fundamentally different architectures from different vendors. The AMD Radeon Pro 580 uses the Ellesmere chip based on GCN 4.0, fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. It packs 5,700 million transistors into a die size of 232 mm², giving a transistor density of 24.6 million per square millimeter. The NVIDIA T1000 uses the TU117 chip based on Turing, fabricated on a 12 nm process at TSMC. It contains 4,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die, with a density of 23.5 million per square millimeter. The AMD chip is larger in both transistor count and die area, but the NVIDIA chip uses a smaller process node, which partially offsets the density difference.

Compute resource allocation is starkly different. The Radeon Pro 580 has 2,304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 32 render output units (ROPs). The T1000 has just 896 shading units, 56 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The AMD card has 2.57 times more shaders and 2.57 times more TMUs, while ROP counts are identical at 32. This explains the AMD card's higher texture rate of 172.8 GTexel/s versus 78.12 GTexel/s for the T1000. Pixel rates are closer: the Radeon Pro 580 hits 38.40 GPixel/s, while the T1000 reaches 44.64 GPixel/s — the NVIDIA card actually wins here because of its higher boost clock.

FP16 performance also differs in character. The Radeon Pro 580 delivers FP16 at 5.530 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio to FP32, meaning it does not accelerate half-precision separately. The T1000 delivers FP16 at 5.000 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio, meaning it processes two half-precision operations per single-precision operation. For workloads that can use FP16, the T1000's architecture provides dedicated throughput, though the absolute number is still lower than the Radeon's FP32 output.

API support also diverges. The Radeon Pro 580 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The T1000 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The T1000 has a higher DirectX feature level and a newer Vulkan version, but neither card has ray tracing or tensor cores — both are null in the specifications.

Specification Differences

Memory configuration is a major divider. The Radeon Pro 580 offers 8 GB of GDDR5 at 6.8 Gbps effective on a 256-bit bus, producing 217.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The T1000 offers 4 GB of GDDR6 at 10 Gbps effective on a 128-bit bus, producing 160.0 GB/s. The AMD card has double the capacity and 57 GB/s more bandwidth. Memory type differs (GDDR5 vs GDDR6), and the T1000 runs its memory at a higher effective speed, but the narrower bus limits total throughput.

Clock speeds tell a different story. The Radeon Pro 580 has a base clock of 1100 MHz and a boost clock of 1200 MHz. The T1000 has a base clock of 1065 MHz and a boost clock of 1395 MHz. The NVIDIA card has a higher boost clock by 195 MHz, which contributes to its superior pixel rate despite fewer ROPs being equal. However, the AMD card's massive shader count overwhelms the clock disadvantage in compute tasks.

Power consumption is the most extreme difference. The Radeon Pro 580 is rated at 185 W TDP, while the T1000 is rated at 50 W TDP. That is a 135 W gap. The T1000 also lists a suggested PSU of 250 W, while the Radeon Pro 580 has no suggested PSU because it is an IGP. The Radeon Pro 580 has no power connectors and a slot width of "IGP," confirming its integrated nature. The T1000 is a single-slot card with no power connectors, drawing all power from the PCIe slot.

Physical dimensions are only listed for the T1000: 156 mm in length and 69 mm in height. The Radeon Pro 580 has no dimensions listed because it is not a discrete card. The T1000's display outputs are four mini-DisplayPort 1.4a connectors, while the Radeon Pro 580's outputs are "Portable Device Dependent," meaning they are determined by the host device.

Release dates also differ: the Radeon Pro 580 launched on June 4, 2017, while the T1000 launched on May 5, 2021. The T1000's predecessor is Quadro Volta and its successor is Workstation Ampere. The Radeon Pro 580 has no listed predecessor or successor.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute performance?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro 580. It delivers 5.530 TFLOPS of FP32 performance versus 2.500 TFLOPS for the NVIDIA T1000. In head-to-head benchmarks, the Radeon Pro 580 wins OpenCL by 2% and Vulkan by 24.1%.

Q: How do their average benchmark scores compare?

A: The Radeon Pro 580 has an average benchmark score of 40,318, placing it in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs. The T1000 has an average of 36,289, placing it in the 80th percentile. The AMD card is 4,029 points higher.

Q: Which GPU uses less power?

A: The NVIDIA T1000, with a TDP of 50 W, compared to the Radeon Pro 580's 185 W. The T1000 also lists a suggested PSU of 250 W, while the Radeon Pro 580 has no suggested PSU.

Q: What memory configurations do they offer?

A: The Radeon Pro 580 has 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 217.0 GB/s bandwidth. The T1000 has 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 160.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Are these cards suitable for modern APIs?

A: Both support DirectX 12, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan. The T1000 supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.4, while the Radeon Pro 580 supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3. Neither has ray tracing or tensor cores.

Q: Which card is easier to install in a compact system?

A: The T1000 is a single-slot card measuring 156 mm by 69 mm with four mini-DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. The Radeon Pro 580 is an IGP with no listed dimensions, designed to be integrated into a motherboard.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear split. If your priority is raw compute performance, the AMD Radeon Pro 580 is the stronger choice. It wins both head-to-head benchmarks, has 2.57 times more shading units, delivers 5.530 TFLOPS of FP32, and offers 8 GB of memory with 217.0 GB/s bandwidth. Its Vulkan advantage of 24.1% over the T1000 is substantial, and its average benchmark score sits at the 82nd percentile, essentially tied with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070. Anyone running OpenCL or Vulkan workloads — rendering, simulation, or data processing — should favor the AMD card based on these numbers.

If your priority is power efficiency and physical flexibility, the NVIDIA T1000 is the obvious pick. Its 50 W TDP is a fraction of the Radeon Pro 580's 185 W, it is a true single-slot card with standard display outputs, and it requires no external power connectors. The T1000 also has a higher boost clock (1395 MHz vs 1200 MHz) and better pixel rate (44.64 GPixel/s vs 38.40 GPixel/s), which could matter for certain 2D or rasterization tasks. Its 4 GB of GDDR6 memory is less than the Radeon's 8 GB, but the 10 Gbps effective memory speed partially compensates for the narrower 128-bit bus.

Choose the Radeon Pro 580 for compute-heavy workloads where memory capacity and FP32 throughput are critical. Choose the T1000 for low-power, space-constrained systems where standard display outputs and single-slot installation matter more than raw performance. The benchmark data does not support the T1000 as a compute leader, but it wins decisively on efficiency and form factor.