AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 vs NVIDIA Quadro M5000 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark database records two direct comparisons between the NVIDIA Quadro M5000 and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20, and both favor the NVIDIA card. In Geekbench OpenCL, the Quadro M5000 scores 29,481 against the Radeon Pro Vega 20's 26,679, a 10.5% advantage. The gap widens considerably in Geekbench Vulkan, where the Quadro M5000 delivers 32,931 versus 26,410, a 24.7% lead. This means the NVIDIA card wins both head-to-head matchups, and the Vulkan result is especially decisive, showing a near-quarter performance margin.

The average benchmark score across all recorded tests reinforces this pattern. The Quadro M5000 averages 31,206, while the Radeon Pro Vega 20 averages 27,839. That difference places the two cards in different performance bands relative to the entire GPU database. The Quadro M5000 sits at the 76th percentile of all GPUs, while the Radeon Pro Vega 20 sits at the 73rd percentile. The NVIDIA card's nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA GRID M60-1Q at 31,220 (within 0%), the NVIDIA RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell at 31,532 (1% higher), the NVIDIA TITAN RTX at 31,676 (1.5% higher), and the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER at 31,087 (0.4% lower). The Radeon Pro Vega 20's nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX 7800M at 27,883 (0.2% higher), the AMD Radeon Pro W5500X at 27,973 (0.5% higher), the GeForce GTX 980 Ti at 28,020 (0.6% higher), and the GeForce RTX 3090 at 27,565 (1% lower).

Looking at the raw score differences, the Quadro M5000's average is roughly 12% higher than the Radeon Pro Vega 20's average. The OpenCL margin is smaller than the average gap, while the Vulkan margin is much larger. This suggests the Vulkan implementation on the NVIDIA card is particularly strong relative to the AMD card, whereas the OpenCL gap is more moderate. For context, the Quadro M5000's Vulkan score of 32,931 is its stronger result, while its OpenCL score of 29,481 is lower. The Radeon Pro Vega 20 shows the opposite pattern: its OpenCL score of 26,679 is slightly higher than its Vulkan score of 26,410, and its strongest recorded result is a Geekbench Metal score of 30,427, which is not directly compared head-to-head against the Quadro M5000.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different architectural generations and manufacturing processes. The NVIDIA Quadro M5000 uses the GM204 chip, built on Maxwell 2.0 architecture, and is fabricated by TSMC on a 28 nm process. The die contains 5,200 million transistors on a 398 mm² area, giving a transistor density of 13.1 million per square millimeter. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 uses the Vega 12 chip, built on GCN 5.0 architecture, and is fabricated by GlobalFoundries on a 14 nm process. The database does not record transistor count, die size, or density for the AMD card.

The memory subsystems differ substantially. The Quadro M5000 has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, with memory clocked at 1653 MHz (6.6 Gbps effective) and bandwidth of 211.6 GB/s. The Radeon Pro Vega 20 has 4 GB of HBM2 memory on a 1024-bit bus, with memory clocked at 740 MHz (1480 Mbps effective) and bandwidth of 189.4 GB/s. The NVIDIA card has more capacity and higher bandwidth, while the AMD card uses a much wider bus with a different memory type. The AMD card's HBM2 memory operates at a lower clock speed but compensates with the wider interface.

Compute resources also differ significantly. The Quadro M5000 has 2,048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units. The Radeon Pro Vega 20 has 1,280 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The NVIDIA card has roughly 60% more shading units, 60% more TMUs, and double the ROPs. Clock speeds partially offset this: the Quadro M5000 runs at 861 MHz base and 1038 MHz boost, while the Radeon Pro Vega 20 runs at 815 MHz base and 1283 MHz boost. The AMD card's boost clock is notably higher, but the NVIDIA card's larger execution resource pool still gives it higher peak throughput rates. The Quadro M5000 achieves 66.43 GPixel/s pixel rate and 132.9 GTexel/s texture rate, while the Radeon Pro Vega 20 achieves 41.06 GPixel/s and 102.6 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 4.252 TFLOPS for the NVIDIA card versus 3.284 TFLOPS for the AMD card. The AMD card does have FP16 capability at 6.569 TFLOPS (2:1 rate), which the NVIDIA card lacks entirely, but no benchmark in the database tests FP16 workloads.

Power and physical specifications also differ. The Quadro M5000 has a 150 W TDP, requires a single 6-pin power connector, and is a dual-slot card measuring 267 mm in length and 111 mm in height. The Radeon Pro Vega 20 has a 100 W TDP, uses no external power connectors, and is an integrated graphics processor (IGP), meaning it is designed for portable devices with display outputs that are device-dependent. The NVIDIA card offers 1x DVI and 4x DisplayPort 1.2 outputs. Both cards support PCIe 3.0 x16, DirectX 12 (12_1), and OpenGL 4.6. The NVIDIA card supports Vulkan 1.4, while the AMD card supports Vulkan 1.3.

Release timing also differs. The Quadro M5000 was released on June 28, 2015, succeeding the Quadro Kepler generation and preceding Quadro Pascal. The Radeon Pro Vega 20 was released on November 13, 2018, as part of the Radeon Pro Mac (Vega Series) generation. Both cards are end-of-life production status. The NVIDIA card's predecessor and successor are recorded, while the AMD card's are not.

The Verdict

The benchmark data clearly favors the NVIDIA Quadro M5000 in both recorded head-to-head tests. The OpenCL result shows a 10.5% lead, and the Vulkan result shows a 24.7% lead. The average benchmark score gap is approximately 12%, and the percentile ranking difference is 3 points (76th versus 73rd). If the decision rests purely on these benchmark results, the Quadro M5000 is the stronger choice for OpenCL and Vulkan workloads.

However, the Radeon Pro Vega 20 is not without merits in the database. Its Geekbench Metal score of 30,427 is its highest recorded result, and that test is not part of the head-to-head comparison. The AMD card also has a lower TDP at 100 W versus 150 W, and it is an IGP designed for portable devices, which the NVIDIA card is not. The AMD card also supports FP16 compute at 6.569 TFLOPS, a capability the NVIDIA card does not offer.

For users prioritizing raw OpenCL or Vulkan performance, the Quadro M5000 is the data-backed choice. For users prioritizing Metal performance, power efficiency, or portable form factor, the Radeon Pro Vega 20 has advantages that the head-to-head numbers do not capture. The database does not provide a direct Metal comparison, so that consideration is qualitative rather than quantitative.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro M5000 wins with a score of 29,481 versus the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20's 26,679, a 10.5% advantage.

Q: What is the margin in the Geekbench Vulkan benchmark?

A: The Quadro M5000 scores 32,931, which is 24.7% higher than the Radeon Pro Vega 20's 26,410.

Q: How do the two cards compare in average benchmark score?

A: The Quadro M5000 averages 31,206 across its recorded tests, while the Radeon Pro Vega 20 averages 27,839. The NVIDIA card sits at the 76th percentile of all GPUs, and the AMD card sits at the 73rd percentile.

Q: What memory configurations do the two cards use?

A: The Quadro M5000 has 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 211.6 GB/s bandwidth. The Radeon Pro Vega 20 has 4 GB of HBM2 on a 1024-bit bus with 189.4 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card has higher FP32 compute throughput?

A: The Quadro M5000 achieves 4.252 TFLOPS FP32, while the Radeon Pro Vega 20 achieves 3.284 TFLOPS FP32. The AMD card does support FP16 at 6.569 TFLOPS, which the NVIDIA card does not.

Q: What are the power consumption figures?

A: The Quadro M5000 has a 150 W TDP and requires a single 6-pin power connector. The Radeon Pro Vega 20 has a 100 W TDP and uses no external power connectors.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA Quadro M5000 wins in both recorded head-to-head benchmarks. Its Vulkan advantage of 24.7% is the largest margin, making it the clear choice for Vulkan-based workloads. The OpenCL advantage of 10.5% is more moderate but still favors NVIDIA. The card's higher average score of 31,206 versus 27,839 places it in a higher performance percentile, and its larger memory capacity of 8 GB versus 4 GB gives it an edge in memory-heavy tasks that the benchmarks may not fully capture. The NVIDIA card also has higher pixel rate (66.43 GPixel/s versus 41.06 GPixel/s), higher texture rate (132.9 GTexel/s versus 102.6 GTexel/s), and higher memory bandwidth (211.6 GB/s versus 189.4 GB/s). It is a dual-slot card with dedicated display outputs, suited for workstation use.

The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 wins in areas outside the head-to-head tests. Its Geekbench Metal score of 30,427 is the highest recorded score for either card, though there is no direct Metal comparison against the Quadro M5000. The AMD card's lower TDP of 100 W versus 150 W makes it more power-efficient, and its IGP form factor with no external power connectors suits portable device integration. The HBM2 memory with a 1024-bit bus offers a different memory architecture, and the FP16 capability at 6.569 TFLOPS provides compute flexibility that the NVIDIA card lacks. For users working in Metal-based environments or requiring low power draw in a compact portable form factor, the Radeon Pro Vega 20 has distinct advantages that the benchmark scores do not directly measure.