AMD Radeon Pro 580X vs NVIDIA Quadro GV100 Comparison

AMD Radeon Pro 580X and NVIDIA Quadro GV100 are both end-of-life workstation graphics cards, but they occupy entirely different performance tiers. The Radeon Pro 580X is a 14 nm GCN 4.0 part from 2019, while the Quadro GV100 is a 12 nm Volta architecture behemoth from 2018. In the two shared Geekbench tests, the Quadro GV100 wins both decisively, scoring 150,004 in OpenCL and 139,526 in Vulkan, against the Radeon’s 36,426 and 40,115, respectively. The GV100 is roughly four times faster in OpenCL and 3.5 times faster in Vulkan, with deltaPct values of -75.7% and -71.2% from the Radeon’s perspective. However, the Radeon Pro 580X holds a higher percentile ranking at 82 versus the GV100’s 80, and its average benchmark score of 38,706 is actually higher than the GV100’s 35,520. This means the GV100’s raw compute dominance does not translate to a better overall standing across all benchmark types, particularly because the GV100’s Passmark scores are low (e.g., 140 in DirectX 10, 84 in DirectX 12). The data suggests the GV100 is a specialized compute monster, while the Radeon is a more balanced general-purpose card.

The Verdict

From the benchmark data, the NVIDIA Quadro GV100 is the clear choice for workloads that rely on OpenCL or Vulkan compute acceleration. Its 150,004 OpenCL score is 312% higher than the Radeon Pro 580X’s 36,426, and its 139,526 Vulkan score is 248% higher than the Radeon’s 40,115. If your primary applications leverage these APIs — typical for scientific simulation, AI inference, or rendering — the GV100 is the only rational pick.

The AMD Radeon Pro 580X is better suited for general graphics work that uses DirectX or OpenGL, despite not having a direct head-to-head test in those APIs. Its percentile ranking of 82 (above the GV100’s 80) and higher average score of 38,706 (versus 35,520) indicate it performs more consistently across a wider range of tests. The GV100’s Passmark scores are notably weak in DirectX workloads: it scores 140 in DirectX 10, 168 in DirectX 11, and 84 in DirectX 12. These numbers suggest the GV100 is not optimized for traditional gaming or real-time rasterization, making the Radeon a better fit for CAD, video editing, or any app that relies on DirectX.

Choose the Quadro GV100 only if you have compute-heavy tasks that explicitly benefit from its massive 32 GB HBM2 memory and 640 tensor cores. Choose the Radeon Pro 580X for everything else, especially if you need a card that performs well across both graphics and compute without the GV100’s narrow specialization. The GV100’s launch MSRP is 8,999 USD, which is a premium that the data only justifies for specific compute workloads.

Where Each One Wins

The Quadro GV100 wins in raw compute throughput, as demonstrated by its dominant scores in both Geekbench OpenCL (150,004 vs 36,426) and Geekbench Vulkan (139,526 vs 40,115). It also wins in memory bandwidth, offering 868.4 GB/s versus 218.9 GB/s, and in memory capacity at 32 GB versus 8 GB. For any workload that can utilize its 5,120 shading units, 320 TMUs, or 640 tensor cores, the GV100 will be significantly faster.

The Radeon Pro 580X wins in overall benchmark consistency. Its percentile rank of 82 beats the GV100’s 80, and its average score of 38,706 is higher than the GV100’s 35,520. The Radeon also wins in transistor density (24.6M / mm² vs 25.9M / mm² is actually lower, but its die is smaller at 232 mm² vs 815 mm²), which means better power efficiency per area, though the GV100 has a higher absolute transistor count. The Radeon’s 185 W TDP is lower than the GV100’s 250 W, and it requires no power connector (IGP slot width) versus the GV100’s 1x 8-pin, making it easier to integrate into systems with limited power delivery.

The GV100 wins in API support for Vulkan 1.4 and DirectX 12_1, while the Radeon lags with Vulkan 1.3 and DirectX 12_0. However, the Radeon’s two HDMI 2.0b outputs might be more convenient for display connectivity than the GV100’s four DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, depending on your monitor setup.

Architecture Differences

The Radeon Pro 580X uses AMD’s GCN 4.0 architecture on a 14 nm process from GlobalFoundries, featuring the Ellesmere chip. It has 5,700 million transistors on a 232 mm² die, yielding a density of 24.6M / mm². The GV100 uses NVIDIA’s Volta architecture on a 12 nm TSMC process, with the GV100 chip containing 21,100 million transistors on an 815 mm² die, for a density of 25.9M / mm².

The Radeon has 2,304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, while the GV100 has 5,120 shading units, 320 TMUs, and 128 ROPs. The GV100 adds 640 tensor cores, which the Radeon lacks entirely. In memory, the Radeon uses 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, while the GV100 uses 32 GB of HBM2 on a 4096-bit bus. The GV100’s memory clock is 848 MHz (1696 Mbps effective) versus the Radeon’s 1710 MHz (6.8 Gbps effective), but the wider bus gives the GV100 a massive bandwidth advantage.

The GV100’s FP32 throughput is 16.66 TFLOPS versus the Radeon’s 5.530 TFLOPS, and its FP16 is 33.32 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio) versus the Radeon’s 5.530 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio). The GV100’s pixel rate is 208.3 GPixel/s and texture rate is 520.6 GTexel/s, dwarfing the Radeon’s 38.40 GPixel/s and 172.8 GTexel/s. The GV100 also has a higher boost clock at 1627 MHz versus the Radeon’s 1200 MHz, and its base clock is 1132 MHz versus 1100 MHz.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in OpenCL compute?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro GV100 is significantly faster, scoring 150,004 in Geekbench OpenCL versus the Radeon Pro 580X’s 36,426, a delta of -75.7% from the Radeon’s perspective.

Q: Does the Radeon Pro 580X have tensor cores?

A: No, the Radeon Pro 580X has no tensor cores listed. The Quadro GV100 has 640 tensor cores, which are designed for AI and deep learning workloads.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The Quadro GV100 has 868.4 GB/s of bandwidth with 32 GB of HBM2 on a 4096-bit bus, while the Radeon Pro 580X has 218.9 GB/s with 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus.

Q: Which card has better overall benchmark standing?

A: The Radeon Pro 580X has a higher percentile rank at 82 versus the GV100’s 80, and a higher average benchmark score of 38,706 versus 35,520, despite losing the head-to-head compute tests.

Q: Can the Quadro GV100 handle DirectX 12 games?

A: The data suggests weak DirectX performance; it scores only 84 in Passmark DirectX 12, which is much lower than its compute scores. Its API support includes DirectX 12 (12_1), but real-world tests indicate poor rasterization performance.

Q: What are the physical size differences?

A: The Radeon Pro 580X is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with no length or height listed, while the Quadro GV100 is a dual-slot card measuring 267 mm in length and 111 mm in height, requiring a 600 W power supply.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct comparisons available are in Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan, and the Quadro GV100 wins both by a landslide. In OpenCL, the GV100 scores 150,004 against the Radeon’s 36,426, a delta of -75.7% (meaning the Radeon is 75.7% slower). In Vulkan, the GV100 scores 139,526 against the Radeon’s 40,115, a delta of -71.2%. These are not minor margins; they represent a fourfold and 3.5-fold advantage, respectively.

The GV100’s wins are driven by its raw hardware: 5,120 shading units (versus 2,304), 16.66 TFLOPS FP32 (versus 5.530), and 868.4 GB/s memory bandwidth (versus 218.9 GB/s). The Radeon’s only advantage in these tests is its higher Vulkan score relative to its OpenCL score — it scores 40,115 in Vulkan versus 36,426 in OpenCL, suggesting better Vulkan optimization, but that is still far below the GV100’s 139,526.

Outside these head-to-head tests, the GV100’s Passmark scores are telling. It scores 19,650 in Passmark G3D, 9,069 in GPU Compute, and 836 in G2D. However, its DirectX scores are abysmal: 140 in DirectX 10, 168 in DirectX 11, and 84 in DirectX 12. These numbers indicate that while the GV100 excels at compute, it is poorly suited for DirectX-based graphics. The Radeon Pro 580X, with no Passmark scores listed, relies on its Geekbench results and its higher percentile (82) to demonstrate balanced performance.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every specification. The Radeon Pro 580X is built on a 14 nm process by GlobalFoundries, while the GV100 uses 12 nm from TSMC. The Radeon has 5,700 million transistors on a 232 mm² die; the GV100 has 21,100 million on 815 mm². Transistor density is similar (24.6M vs 25.9M per mm²).

Clock speeds: the Radeon has a base clock of 1100 MHz and boost of 1200 MHz, while the GV100 has 1132 MHz base and 1627 MHz boost. Memory: the Radeon uses 8 GB GDDR5 at 1710 MHz (6.8 Gbps effective) on a 256-bit bus; the GV100 uses 32 GB HBM2 at 848 MHz (1696 Mbps effective) on a 4096-bit bus. Bandwidth is 218.9 GB/s versus 868.4 GB/s.

Compute units: the Radeon has 2,304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 32 ROPs; the GV100 has 5,120 shading units, 320 TMUs, and 128 ROPs. The GV100 adds 640 tensor cores; the Radeon has none. Pixel rate is 38.40 GPixel/s versus 208.3 GPixel/s; texture rate is 172.8 GTexel/s versus 520.6 GTexel/s. FP32 is 5.530 TFLOPS versus 16.66 TFLOPS; FP16 is 5.530 TFLOPS (1:1) versus 33.32 TFLOPS (2:1).

Power and physical: the Radeon is 185 W, IGP slot, no power connector, and uses an Apple MPX bus interface. The GV100 is 250 W, dual-slot, requires a 1x 8-pin power connector and a 600 W power supply, and uses PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs: the Radeon has 2x HDMI 2.0b; the GV100 has 4x DisplayPort 1.4a. API support: the Radeon supports DirectX 12_0, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3; the GV100 supports DirectX 12_1, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.