AMD Radeon Pro Vega II Duo vs NVIDIA RTX A5500 Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data splits cleanly between these two workstation cards, with NVIDIA RTX A5500 taking both recorded head-to-head wins. In Geekbench OpenCL, the A5500 scores 174,637 against the Radeon Pro Vega II Duo's 98,432, a 77.4% advantage. The Vulkan test shows a similar pattern: 155,797 versus 99,296, a 56.9% gap. These are not marginal differences; the A5500 dominates in both compute APIs that the database records for both cards.

The Radeon Pro Vega II Duo does have one recorded benchmark that the A5500 lacks: Geekbench Metal, where it scores 122,522. This is relevant for macOS environments, where Metal is the primary graphics API. The card also holds a 32 GB memory capacity advantage, which can matter for workloads that exceed the A5500's 24 GB frame buffer. However, in the two directly comparable tests, the AMD card trails by substantial margins.

The A5500's average benchmark score of 165,217 places it in the 97th percentile of all GPUs in the database, while the Vega II Duo's 106,750 average sits at the 94th percentile. The percentile gap is modest, but the raw score gap is large. The A5500's nearest rivals in the database include the AMD Radeon PRO W7800 (164,894, only 0.2% behind) and the NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation (166,094, 0.5% ahead). The Vega II Duo, by contrast, sits closest to the AMD Radeon Pro W6600X (107,342, 0.6% behind) and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II (109,617, 2.6% ahead). This places the two cards in different performance strata entirely.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide is stark. The NVIDIA RTX A5500 uses the GA102 chip on Samsung's 8 nm process, built on the Ampere architecture. It packs 28,300 million transistors onto a 628 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 45.1 million per square millimeter. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega II Duo uses the Vega 20 chip on TSMC's 7 nm process, belonging to the older GCN 5.1 architecture. It contains 13,230 million transistors on a 331 mm² die, a density of 40.0 million per square millimeter. The A5500 has more than twice the transistor count and nearly twice the die area.

Shading units tell a similar story. The A5500 has 10,240 shading units, 320 texture mapping units, and 96 render output units. It also includes 80 dedicated ray tracing cores and 320 tensor cores. The Vega II Duo has 4,096 shading units, 256 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, with no ray tracing or tensor cores listed. This means the A5500 supports hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI acceleration features that the AMD card simply lacks.

Memory subsystems differ fundamentally. The A5500 uses 24 GB of GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus, delivering 768.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Vega II Duo uses 32 GB of HBM2 on a 4096-bit bus, achieving 1.02 TB/s. The AMD card has both more capacity and higher peak bandwidth, a significant advantage for memory-bound workloads. Clock speeds also differ: the A5500 runs at 1080 MHz base and 1665 MHz boost, while the Vega II Duo runs at 1400 MHz base and 1720 MHz boost. The AMD card has higher clocks, but the NVIDIA card's massive shading unit count more than compensates.

API support favors NVIDIA. The A5500 lists DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The Vega II Duo lists DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The A5500 also uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while the AMD card uses Apple MPX, reflecting its Mac Pro heritage. Power requirements differ drastically: the A5500 has a 230 W TDP with a suggested 550 W PSU, while the Vega II Duo draws 475 W and needs an 850 W PSU. The NVIDIA card is dual-slot with a single 8-pin connector; the AMD card is quad-slot with no standard power connector listed.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The Geekbench OpenCL test provides the largest single gap between the two cards. The NVIDIA RTX A5500 scores 174,637, which is 77.4% higher than the Vega II Duo's 98,432. This is a decisive margin that indicates a fundamental compute capability difference. The A5500's FP32 throughput of 34.10 TFLOPS versus the Vega II Duo's 14.09 TFLOPS explains much of this gap, as OpenCL tends to exercise raw shader compute. The A5500 also has more than double the shading units, which directly scales with this type of workload.

The Geekbench Vulkan test narrows the gap somewhat but still favors NVIDIA decisively. The A5500 scores 155,797 against 99,296 for the AMD card, a 56.9% difference. Vulkan tends to be more efficient at extracting performance from available hardware, but the A5500's architectural advantages remain overwhelming. The A5500's FP16 output matches its FP32 at 34.10 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio), while the Vega II Duo doubles its FP16 to 28.18 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio). Even with the AMD card's FP16 advantage over its own FP32, it still trails the A5500's raw numbers.

The Vega II Duo's only recorded benchmark win comes in Geekbench Metal, where it scores 122,522. This is not directly comparable to the A5500, which has no Metal benchmark in the database, but it does show that the AMD card performs best in Apple's native API. This aligns with the card's positioning as a Radeon Pro Mac product, designed for the macOS ecosystem rather than general workstation use.

FAQ

Q: Which card has better raw compute performance in the recorded benchmarks?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A5500 wins both directly comparable tests. It leads by 77.4% in Geekbench OpenCL (174,637 versus 98,432) and by 56.9% in Geekbench Vulkan (155,797 versus 99,296).

Q: Does the AMD card have any performance advantage?

A: The Vega II Duo has a 32 GB memory capacity versus 24 GB, and its 1.02 TB/s bandwidth exceeds the A5500's 768.0 GB/s. It also records a Geekbench Metal score of 122,522, which the NVIDIA card cannot match in that specific API.

Q: How do these cards compare to their nearest rivals in the database?

A: The A5500's average score of 165,217 places it within 0.2% of the AMD Radeon PRO W7800 and 0.5% behind the NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation. The Vega II Duo's 106,750 average is 0.6% behind the AMD Radeon Pro W6600X and 2.6% ahead of the single Vega II.

Q: What architectural features does the NVIDIA card have that AMD lacks?

A: The A5500 includes 80 ray tracing cores and 320 tensor cores, while the Vega II Duo has none listed. The NVIDIA card also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4, versus DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.3 for AMD.

Q: Which card is more power efficient?

A: The A5500 has a 230 W TDP and requires a 550 W PSU, while the Vega II Duo draws 475 W and needs an 850 W PSU. The NVIDIA card delivers higher benchmark scores with less than half the power draw.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the AMD card?

A: The Radeon Pro Vega II Duo had a launch MSRP of 4,399 USD. The A5500 has no launch MSRP recorded in the database.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA RTX A5500 | AMD Radeon Pro Vega II Duo |

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

| Architecture | Ampere | GCN 5.1 |

| Process Node | 8 nm (Samsung) | 7 nm (TSMC) |

| Transistors | 28,300 million | 13,230 million |

| Die Size | 628 mm² | 331 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 45.1M / mm² | 40.0M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1080 MHz | 1400 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1665 MHz | 1720 MHz |

| Memory Size | 24 GB GDDR6 | 32 GB HBM2 |

| Memory Bus | 384 bit | 4096 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 768.0 GB/s | 1.02 TB/s |

| Shading Units | 10240 | 4096 |

| TMUs | 320 | 256 |

| ROPs | 96 | 64 |

| RT Cores | 80 | None |

| Tensor Cores | 320 | None |

| Pixel Rate | 159.8 GPixel/s | 110.1 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 532.8 GTexel/s | 440.3 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 34.10 TFLOPS | 14.09 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 34.10 TFLOPS (1:1) | 28.18 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 230 W | 475 W |

| Slot Width | Dual-slot | Quad-slot |

| Power Connectors | 1x 8-pin | None listed |

| Suggested PSU | 550 W | 850 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x16 | Apple MPX |

| Display Outputs | 4x DisplayPort 1.4a | 1x HDMI 2.0b, 4x Thunderbolt |

| DirectX | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | 12 (12_1) |

| Vulkan | 1.4 | 1.3 |

| Release Date | 2022-03-21 | 2019-06-02 |

The Verdict

The data points to a clear choice for most workstation scenarios: the NVIDIA RTX A5500. It wins both directly comparable benchmarks by wide margins, has more than double the shading units, includes ray tracing and tensor cores, and draws less than half the power of the AMD card. The A5500's FP32 output of 34.10 TFLOPS versus 14.09 TFLOPS for the Vega II Duo represents a fundamental compute advantage that shows up in the 77.4% OpenCL gap. Its 97th percentile ranking and average score of 165,217 place it in a performance class well above the Vega II Duo's 94th percentile and 106,750 average.

The Radeon Pro Vega II Duo does have specific strengths that the A5500 cannot match. Its 32 GB HBM2 memory with 1.02 TB/s bandwidth exceeds the A5500's 24 GB and 768.0 GB/s, making it the better option for memory-capacity-bound workloads. Its Geekbench Metal score of 122,522 indicates strong macOS integration, and its Apple MPX bus interface and Thunderbolt display outputs target the Mac Pro ecosystem specifically. For users locked into that platform, the AMD card is the only one of these two that fits.

The power and physical requirements also favor NVIDIA. The A5500's 230 W TDP and dual-slot design are far more manageable than the Vega II Duo's 475 W TDP and quad-slot footprint. The suggested PSU of 550 W versus 850 W compounds this difference. The A5500's end-of-life status and 2022 release date are newer than the Vega II Duo's 2019 launch, and its successor in the Workstation Ada line is already recorded, while the AMD card has no successor listed.

For general workstation compute, rendering, and AI-adjacent workloads, the NVIDIA RTX A5500 is the superior choice based on recorded data. For Mac Pro users prioritizing memory capacity and Metal performance, the Radeon Pro Vega II Duo remains a viable option, but its compute performance lags significantly in cross-platform APIs. The A5500's 56.9% Vulkan lead and 77.4% OpenCL lead are not small margins; they represent a generational architectural gap that no amount of memory bandwidth can close in compute-heavy tasks.