AMD Radeon Pro 580X vs NVIDIA T600 Mobile Comparison

# AMD Radeon Pro 580X vs NVIDIA T600 Mobile

The benchmark database shows a clear overall winner: the AMD Radeon Pro 580X takes both recorded head-to-head tests, with its largest advantage coming in Vulkan performance where it leads by a substantial 32.8%. The NVIDIA T600 Mobile, while more efficient and newer, trails in raw compute scores across the board, though its lower power envelope and distinct architecture make it a relevant option for specific workloads.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data includes two Geekbench compute tests, and the AMD Radeon Pro 580X wins both. In the OpenCL test, the AMD card scores 36,426 against the NVIDIA T600 Mobile's 35,486, a modest 2.6% advantage. This is a close contest, indicating that the two GPUs are broadly comparable in general-purpose compute when using OpenCL. The margin is small enough that real-world differences would be minor, but the AMD still holds the top spot.

The Vulkan test tells a very different story. Here, the AMD Radeon Pro 580X scores 40,115, while the NVIDIA T600 Mobile manages only 30,211. That is a 32.8% lead for AMD, a massive gap that highlights a significant architectural advantage in Vulkan workloads. The AMD card's GCN 4.0 design appears to scale much better under Vulkan's low-level API, delivering nearly a third more performance. For any application that relies heavily on Vulkan, the Radeon Pro 580X is clearly the superior choice.

Looking at the broader benchmark context, the AMD Radeon Pro 580X's average score across all recorded tests is 38,706, placing it in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs in the database. The NVIDIA T600 Mobile's average is 32,849, good for the 77th percentile. The AMD card also sits close to rivals like the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 A (average 38,691, a 0% delta) and the AMD Radeon Pro 575X (39,116, a -1% delta), showing it is competitive with a wide range of modern mobile GPUs. The NVIDIA T600 Mobile, by contrast, is near the NVIDIA P104-100 (32,982, a -0.4% delta) and the AMD Radeon RX 590 GME (32,601, a 0.8% delta), indicating it trades blows with mid-range desktop parts from a few generations back.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from fundamentally different design philosophies. The AMD Radeon Pro 580X uses the Ellesmere chip built on GCN 4.0 architecture, fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. It packs 5,700 million transistors on a 232 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 24.6 million per square millimeter. The NVIDIA T600 Mobile uses the TU117 chip based on Turing architecture, made on TSMC's 12 nm process. It contains 4,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die, for a density of 23.5 million per square millimeter. The AMD chip is physically larger and denser, but both are relatively compact designs.

Shader and texture resources differ sharply. The AMD Radeon Pro 580X has 2,304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The NVIDIA T600 Mobile has only 896 shading units, 56 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. This explains why AMD's texture rate is 172.8 GTexel/s versus NVIDIA's 78.96 GTexel/s, more than double. However, the pixel rate favors NVIDIA: 45.12 GPixel/s versus AMD's 38.40 GPixel/s. The NVIDIA card achieves this with fewer ROPs by running at a higher boost clock, 1410 MHz versus AMD's 1200 MHz, despite a much lower base clock of 780 MHz versus 1100 MHz.

Memory configurations are another major split. The AMD card features 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 218.9 GB/s of bandwidth. The NVIDIA card uses 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, providing 192.0 GB/s. AMD has double the capacity and 14% more bandwidth, which matters for large datasets or high-resolution textures. The NVIDIA memory runs at 12 Gbps effective, while AMD's runs at 6.8 Gbps effective, but the wider bus gives AMD the throughput advantage.

The floating-point capabilities diverge as well. AMD's FP32 throughput is 5.530 TFLOPS, while NVIDIA's is 2.527 TFLOPS. AMD also matches FP16 at 5.530 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio), whereas NVIDIA offers 5.053 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1 ratio). This means the AMD card has more raw single-precision power, but the NVIDIA card can nearly match it in half-precision tasks thanks to its 2:1 execution. Neither GPU includes dedicated ray tracing or tensor cores, so those features are absent from both.

The power and interface profiles are polar opposites. The AMD Radeon Pro 580X is rated at 185 W TDP, uses the Apple MPX bus interface, and has no power connectors listed. The NVIDIA T600 Mobile is rated at only 40 W TDP, uses PCIe 3.0 x16, and has no power connectors required. The NVIDIA card is designed for extreme mobility and low power draw, while the AMD card is a higher-power integrated part for Apple systems. The AMD card also lists 2x HDMI 2.0b outputs, while the NVIDIA card's display outputs are described as "portable device dependent."

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon Pro 580X wins in scenarios that demand raw compute throughput and high memory capacity. Its 8 GB frame buffer and 218.9 GB/s bandwidth are well-suited for large 3D scenes, machine learning inference with big models, or video processing with high-resolution frames. The Vulkan advantage of 32.8% makes it the clear pick for Vulkan-based games, CAD viewports, or compute applications that leverage that API. Its FP32 performance of 5.530 TFLOPS gives it a strong edge in scientific simulation or rendering tasks that rely on single-precision math.

The NVIDIA T600 Mobile wins in power-sensitive environments. At 40 W TDP, it draws less than a quarter of the AMD card's 185 W, making it far better suited for thin-and-light laptops, fanless designs, or battery-operated workstations. Its 45.12 GPixel/s pixel rate exceeds AMD's 38.40 GPixel/s, so for fill-rate-bound tasks like simple 2D compositing or basic rasterization, the NVIDIA card can actually be faster despite lower overall compute. The 12 nm Turing architecture also supports DirectX 12_1, while AMD's GCN 4.0 only reaches DirectX 12_0, which could matter for specific modern game features or compute shaders.

The NVIDIA card also offers Vulkan 1.4 API support versus AMD's Vulkan 1.3, a small but real compatibility advantage for the latest Vulkan extensions. For workloads that are not compute-heavy, such as office productivity, video playback, or lightweight 3D modeling, the T600 Mobile's efficiency makes it the more practical choice. The AMD card's OpenCL lead is only 2.6%, so in OpenCL-based tasks the two are effectively interchangeable, and the NVIDIA card's lower power draw becomes the deciding factor.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher average benchmark scores?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro 580X has an average benchmark score of 38,706, placing it in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs. The NVIDIA T600 Mobile has an average of 32,849, placing it in the 77th percentile.

Q: How large is the Vulkan performance gap?

A: In the Geekbench Vulkan test, the AMD Radeon Pro 580X scores 40,115 versus the NVIDIA T600 Mobile's 30,211, a 32.8% advantage for AMD.

Q: What is the memory capacity difference?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro 580X has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, while the NVIDIA T600 Mobile has 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus. AMD also has higher bandwidth at 218.9 GB/s versus 192.0 GB/s.

Q: Which GPU consumes less power?

A: The NVIDIA T600 Mobile is rated at 40 W TDP, which is far lower than the AMD Radeon Pro 580X's 185 W TDP. This makes the NVIDIA card more suitable for portable or low-power systems.

Q: Do either of these GPUs support ray tracing?

A: No, neither the AMD Radeon Pro 580X nor the NVIDIA T600 Mobile includes dedicated ray tracing cores or tensor cores in their specifications.

Q: What is the release date difference?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro 580X was released on March 17, 2019, while the NVIDIA T600 Mobile was released on April 11, 2021. The AMD card is from the GCN 4.0 era, while the NVIDIA card is from the Turing generation.

The Verdict

The data supports a straightforward conclusion: choose the AMD Radeon Pro 580X if raw performance is the priority. It wins both head-to-head tests, delivers 5.530 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, offers double the memory capacity, and sits 5 percentile points higher in the global GPU rankings. Its Vulkan advantage of 32.8% is decisive for any Vulkan-based workload, and even in OpenCL it maintains a lead. The AMD card is the superior choice for compute-heavy applications, high-resolution texture work, or any scenario where the extra 4 GB of VRAM makes a difference.

Choose the NVIDIA T600 Mobile if power efficiency and pixel throughput matter more. Its 40 W TDP is a dramatic advantage for mobile workstations, and its 45.12 GPixel/s pixel rate actually beats the AMD card. The Turing architecture provides DirectX 12_1 and Vulkan 1.4 support, which may be necessary for specific software compatibility. For users who prioritize battery life, low heat output, or compact system design, the T600 Mobile is the pragmatic option, even if it sacrifices overall compute performance.

The database also shows that the AMD card competes closely with the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 A (0% delta), while the NVIDIA T600 Mobile is near the NVIDIA P104-100 (-0.4% delta). This suggests the AMD card is a stronger performer relative to its immediate rivals, while the NVIDIA card sits in a more crowded mid-range field. Given the 2.6% OpenCL margin and the 32.8% Vulkan margin, the AMD Radeon Pro 580X is the clear performance winner, with the T600 Mobile serving as a low-power alternative for specific use cases.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon Pro 580X | NVIDIA T600 Mobile |

| --- | --- | --- |

| Architecture | GCN 4.0 | Turing |

| Process Node | 14 nm | 12 nm |

| Foundry | GlobalFoundries | TSMC |

| Transistors | 5,700 million | 4,700 million |

| Die Size | 232 mm² | 200 mm² |

| Base Clock | 1100 MHz | 780 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1200 MHz | 1410 MHz |

| Memory Size | 8 GB | 4 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus Width | 256 bit | 128 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 218.9 GB/s | 192.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 2304 | 896 |

| TMUs | 144 | 56 |

| Pixel Rate | 38.40 GPixel/s | 45.12 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 172.8 GTexel/s | 78.96 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 5.530 TFLOPS | 2.527 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 5.530 TFLOPS (1:1) | 5.053 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 185 W | 40 W |

| Bus Interface | Apple MPX | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

| DirectX Support | 12 (12_0) | 12 (12_1) |

| Vulkan Support | 1.3 | 1.4 |

| Release Date | 2019-03-17 | 2021-04-11 |