AMD Radeon Pro Duo vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Comparison

The benchmark data places the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 and the AMD Radeon Pro Duo in the same performance tier, yet the comparison is decisively one-sided in raw compute. The RTX 3080 holds a massive lead in the only shared benchmark, while the Radeon Pro Duo counters with a marginal edge in average score across all recorded tests. This is a clash of two very different design philosophies: an aging dual-GPU workstation card from 2016 versus a modern single-GPU consumer flagship from 2020.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only directly comparable test between these two cards is the Geekbench OpenCL compute benchmark, and the result is a landslide. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 scores 167,014 points, while the AMD Radeon Pro Duo scores 35,860 points. This translates to a delta of -78.5% for the AMD card, meaning the RTX 3080 is roughly 4.7 times faster in this specific OpenCL workload. No other head-to-head tests are available in the data, so this single result defines their direct competitive relationship.

However, the aggregate benchmark picture tells a different story. The Radeon Pro Duo’s average benchmark score is 35,860, a figure that is entirely composed of its Geekbench OpenCL result. The RTX 3080’s average score is 35,787, which is pulled down by a wide range of tests including Passmark DirectX 9 (258), DirectX 10 (170), DirectX 11 (207), and DirectX 12 (100) scores. Despite the RTX 3080’s dominance in OpenCL, the Radeon Pro Duo holds a 0.2% lead in average score (35,860 vs 35,787). This is a statistical quirk rather than a performance advantage, as the RTX 3080’s suite includes many legacy DirectX tests where it scores low, while the AMD card has only one data point.

The nearest rival data confirms how tightly clustered these cards are. The Radeon Pro Duo’s closest competitor is the RTX 3080 itself, with a delta of 0.2% in the AMD card’s favor. Other rivals include the AMD Radeon 880M (0.6% slower), the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE (0.7% faster), and the NVIDIA T1000 (1.2% faster). For the RTX 3080, its nearest rival is the Radeon Pro Duo (0.2% faster than the NVIDIA card), followed by the Radeon 880M (0.4% slower), the RX 7900 GRE (0.9% faster), and the RTX 5070 Ti Mobile (1% slower). Both cards sit at the 80th percentile among all GPUs, indicating they are in the upper fifth of performance, but the average scores suggest they are only marginally separated from mid-range parts like the Radeon 880M.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is dramatically faster, scoring 167,014 compared to the AMD Radeon Pro Duo’s 35,860, a difference of -78.5% for the AMD card.

Q: Do the cards have the same overall average benchmark score?

A: No, but they are very close. The AMD Radeon Pro Duo has an average score of 35,860, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 has an average of 35,787, giving the AMD card a 0.2% edge.

Q: What is the percentile ranking of each card?

A: Both the AMD Radeon Pro Duo and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 are at the 80th percentile among all GPUs, placing them in the same overall performance tier.

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 has 8,704 shading units, which is more than double the 4,096 shading units on the AMD Radeon Pro Duo.

Q: Which card has a higher memory bandwidth?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 has a bandwidth of 760.3 GB/s, while the AMD Radeon Pro Duo has 512.0 GB/s.

Q: What is the difference in their DirectX support?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the AMD Radeon Pro Duo supports only DirectX 12 (12_0).

Architecture Differences

The two cards are built on entirely different architectures and manufacturing processes. The AMD Radeon Pro Duo uses the GCN 3.0 architecture (chip codename "Capsaicin") fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC, containing 8,900 million transistors on a 596 mm² die. In contrast, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 uses the Ampere architecture (chip GA102) fabricated on an 8 nm process at Samsung, packing 28,300 million transistors onto a 628 mm² die. The transistor density difference is stark: the RTX 3080 achieves 45.1M transistors per mm², compared to 14.9M for the Radeon Pro Duo.

Memory configurations differ fundamentally. The Radeon Pro Duo features 4 GB of HBM memory on a 4096-bit bus, delivering 512.0 GB/s bandwidth with a memory clock of 500 MHz (1000 Mbps effective). The RTX 3080 uses 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus, providing 760.3 GB/s bandwidth with a memory clock of 1188 MHz (19 Gbps effective). The RTX 3080 also has dedicated hardware features that the Radeon Pro Duo lacks entirely: 68 RT cores and 272 tensor cores, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI workloads. The AMD card has no equivalent units.

Compute resources also differ significantly. The RTX 3080 has 8,704 shading units, 272 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, while the Radeon Pro Duo has 4,096 shading units, 256 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. This translates to peak rates of 29.77 TFLOPS FP32 for the NVIDIA card versus 8.192 TFLOPS for the AMD card. Both cards support FP16 at a 1:1 ratio to FP32. The RTX 3080 also has a higher pixel rate (164.2 GPixel/s vs 64.00 GPixel/s) and texture rate (465.1 GTexel/s vs 256.0 GTexel/s).

The Verdict

The data makes one conclusion clear: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is the far more capable GPU in raw compute and modern feature support. Its 167,014 OpenCL score versus the Radeon Pro Duo’s 35,860 is not a close contest — it is a 78.5% deficit for the AMD card. The RTX 3080 also offers nearly 3.6 times the FP32 throughput (29.77 vs 8.192 TFLOPS), more than double the shading units, and 48% higher memory bandwidth. It supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, while the Radeon Pro Duo is limited to DirectX 12 (12_0). For any workload that leverages modern APIs, ray tracing, or tensor operations, the RTX 3080 is the only viable choice.

The Radeon Pro Duo’s only statistical win is a 0.2% higher average benchmark score, which is an artifact of having just one test in its record versus ten for the RTX 3080. This does not represent real-world superiority. The AMD card is also older (released April 2016 versus August 2020), uses a larger process node (28 nm vs 8 nm), has less than one-third the transistor count (8,900 vs 28,300 million), and offers a fraction of the memory capacity (4 GB vs 10 GB). The RTX 3080 also has a lower TDP (320 W vs 350 W) and a smaller suggested PSU (700 W vs 750 W), making it more power-efficient despite its higher performance.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon Pro Duo | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 |

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

| Architecture | GCN 3.0 | Ampere |

| Process Node | 28 nm | 8 nm |

| Foundry | TSMC | Samsung |

| Transistors | 8,900 million | 28,300 million |

| Die Size | 596 mm² | 628 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 14.9M / mm² | 45.1M / mm² |

| Base Clock | Not specified | 1440 MHz |

| Boost Clock | Not specified | 1710 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 500 MHz (1000 Mbps effective) | 1188 MHz (19 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 4 GB | 10 GB |

| Memory Type | HBM | GDDR6X |

| Memory Bus Width | 4096 bit | 320 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 512.0 GB/s | 760.3 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 4096 | 8704 |

| TMUs | 256 | 272 |

| ROPs | 64 | 96 |

| RT Cores | None | 68 |

| Tensor Cores | None | 272 |

| Pixel Rate | 64.00 GPixel/s | 164.2 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 256.0 GTexel/s | 465.1 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 8.192 TFLOPS | 29.77 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 8.192 TFLOPS (1:1) | 29.77 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 350 W | 320 W |

| Power Connectors | 3x 8-pin | 1x 12-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 750 W | 700 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 1x HDMI 1.4a, 3x DisplayPort 1.2 | 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a |

| DirectX | 12 (12_0) | 12 Ultimate (12_2) |

| Vulkan | 1.2.170 | 1.4 |

| Release Date | 2016-04-25 | 2020-08-31 |

| Launch MSRP | 1,499 USD | 699 USD |

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 wins in nearly every measurable category. It dominates in OpenCL compute performance, multi-core throughput (FP32), memory bandwidth, pixel and texture fill rates, and supports hardware ray tracing and tensor cores. It is also more power-efficient with a lower TDP and PSU requirement. Its PCIe 4.0 interface and newer display outputs (HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4a) make it better suited for modern systems and high-refresh-rate displays. The RTX 3080 is the obvious choice for gaming, real-time rendering, AI inference, and any application using DirectX 12 Ultimate or Vulkan 1.4.

The AMD Radeon Pro Duo’s wins are narrow and largely historical. It has a 0.2% higher average benchmark score, a wider memory bus (4096-bit vs 320-bit), and a slightly higher transistor density in terms of die size relative to its older process. It also holds a 1.2% edge over the NVIDIA T1000 in the nearest rival comparison, while the RTX 3080 is 1% slower than the RTX 5070 Ti Mobile. For a user constrained to legacy software that only supports GCN-era optimizations or requiring a dual-slot card with three 8-pin connectors, the Radeon Pro Duo could still function. However, the data provides no benchmark evidence that it wins any meaningful modern workload against the RTX 3080. Its sole advantage is the statistical artifact of a higher average score, which is not supported by any head-to-head victory.