AMD Radeon Pro W5500 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti Comparison

The AMD Radeon Pro W5500 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti sit nearly a decade apart in release date, yet both occupy a similar percentile ranking among all GPUs (58th vs 57th). The data reveals a generational chasm in compute capability, with the W5500 delivering over triple the raw FP32 throughput, but the GTX 660 Ti’s legacy status and lower average score suggest it remains a functional, if dated, option. The head-to-head benchmarks are lopsided, but the specification sheet tells a story of two very different design philosophies separated by process node, memory architecture, and intended workload.

The Verdict

The AMD Radeon Pro W5500 is the clear choice for anyone needing modern compute performance, as it wins both head-to-head benchmark comparisons by overwhelming margins. In Geekbench OpenCL, the W5500 scores 45615 against the GTX 660 Ti’s 15113, a 201.8% advantage, while in Vulkan it leads 42021 to 15012, a 179.9% delta. The GTX 660 Ti, with an average benchmark score of 15063, sits just 4.1% below the W5500’s 15679 average, yet this aggregate masks the fact that the W5500 has ten recorded benchmark entries versus the GTX 660 Ti’s two, skewing the comparison.

For a modern user, the W5500’s 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth dwarf the GTX 660 Ti’s 2 GB GDDR5 and 144.2 GB/s, making the older card unsuitable for contemporary workloads. The GTX 660 Ti’s 2 GB frame buffer is a hard limitation, while the W5500’s 7 nm process node and RDNA 1.0 architecture deliver efficiency the 28 nm Kepler chip cannot match. The W5500 is the only defensible pick from the data, unless the specific requirement is legacy DirectX 11-era gaming, where the GTX 660 Ti’s Passmark DirectX 11 score of 56 (versus the W5500’s 56) shows parity, though this is a single data point.

Architecture Differences

The W5500 uses TSMC’s 7 nm process with a Navi 14 chip, packing 6,400 million transistors into a 158 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 40.5M per mm². The GTX 660 Ti employs the same foundry but on a 28 nm node, with 3,540 million transistors on a larger 294 mm² die, resulting in just 12.0M transistors per mm². This density disparity explains the W5500’s superior power efficiency per transistor, though the GTX 660 Ti’s larger die area historically allowed for more shading units per watt.

Memory subsystems diverge sharply: the W5500 uses 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective), while the GTX 660 Ti has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus at 1502 MHz (6 Gbps effective). The W5500’s bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s exceeds the GTX 660 Ti’s 144.2 GB/s by 55.3%, despite the narrower bus, thanks to the faster memory standard. The W5500 supports PCIe 4.0 x8, while the GTX 660 Ti uses PCIe 3.0 x16, a difference that matters for data transfer but is secondary to raw compute.

Compute resources tell a nuanced story. The W5500 has 1408 shading units, 88 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, while the GTX 660 Ti has 1344 shading units, 112 TMUs, and 24 ROPs. The GTX 660 Ti’s higher TMU count (112 vs 88) suggests better texture throughput per clock, but its lower boost clock of 980 MHz versus the W5500’s 1855 MHz negates this advantage. The W5500 also supports FP16 at 10.45 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio), a feature the GTX 660 Ti lacks entirely, and newer API versions: DirectX 12_1 versus 11_0, and Vulkan 1.4 versus 1.2.175.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two head-to-head tests are decisive. In Geekbench OpenCL, the W5500 scores 45615, which is 201.8% higher than the GTX 660 Ti’s 15113. This is not a marginal gain; it is a tripling of compute performance, driven by the W5500’s 5.224 TFLOPS FP32 throughput versus the GTX 660 Ti’s 2.634 TFLOPS. The Vulkan test shows a similar pattern: 42021 for the W5500 against 15012 for the GTX 660 Ti, a 179.9% delta. Vulkan’s lower-level API benefits from the W5500’s newer architecture, but the GTX 660 Ti’s lack of native FP16 support also caps its potential in mixed-precision workloads.

The W5500’s average benchmark score of 15679 is only 4.1% higher than the GTX 660 Ti’s 15063, but this is misleading. The W5500’s scores span Passmark DirectX 9 through DirectX 12, plus Geekbench Metal, OpenCL, and Vulkan, while the GTX 660 Ti only has OpenCL and Vulkan entries. In Passmark G3D, the W5500 scores 8978, but the GTX 660 Ti has no comparable entry, so cross-referencing is impossible. The nearest rival data reinforces the W5500’s positioning: it sits 0.8% above the GTX 1080 Ti and 1% above the R9 M380, while the GTX 660 Ti is 0.1% below the Radeon Pro 560X and 0.7% below the RX 7600.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon Pro W5500 | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti |

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

| Process Node | 7 nm | 28 nm |

| Transistors | 6,400 million | 3,540 million |

| Die Size | 158 mm² | 294 mm² |

| Base Clock | 1744 MHz | 915 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1855 MHz | 980 MHz |

| Memory Size | 8 GB GDDR6 | 2 GB GDDR5 |

| Memory Bus | 128 bit | 192 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 224.0 GB/s | 144.2 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 1408 | 1344 |

| TMUs | 88 | 112 |

| ROPs | 32 | 24 |

| FP32 | 5.224 TFLOPS | 2.634 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 10.45 TFLOPS | None |

| TDP | 125 W | 150 W |

| Slot Width | Single-slot | Dual-slot |

| Power Connectors | 1x 6-pin | 2x 6-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 300 W | 450 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x8 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 4x DisplayPort 1.4a | 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, 1x DisplayPort 1.2 |

| DirectX | 12 (12_1) | 12 (11_0) |

| Vulkan | 1.4 | 1.2.175 |

| Release Date | 2020-02-09 | 2012-08-15 |

| Launch MSRP | 399 USD | 299 USD |

The W5500’s higher clocks (1744 MHz base vs 915 MHz) and double the memory capacity are the most consequential differences. Its 125 W TDP is lower than the GTX 660 Ti’s 150 W, despite delivering nearly double the FP32 performance, a signal of the 7 nm node’s efficiency. The GTX 660 Ti’s dual-slot cooler and 2x 6-pin connectors reflect its older, power-hungry design, while the W5500’s single-slot form factor and single 6-pin connector make it far easier to integrate into compact workstations.

FAQ

Q: Which card has higher raw compute performance?

A: The W5500, with 5.224 TFLOPS FP32 versus the GTX 660 Ti’s 2.634 TFLOPS, a 98.3% difference. The W5500 also supports FP16 at 10.45 TFLOPS, which the GTX 660 Ti cannot process.

Q: How do the memory configurations compare?

A: The W5500 has 8 GB GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the GTX 660 Ti has 2 GB GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus with 144.2 GB/s. The W5500’s bandwidth advantage is 55.3%, despite its narrower bus.

Q: Which card is more power-efficient?

A: The W5500, at 125 W TDP versus the GTX 660 Ti’s 150 W, while delivering higher performance. The suggested PSU of 300 W for the W5500 versus 450 W for the GTX 660 Ti confirms this.

Q: What are the API differences?

A: The W5500 supports DirectX 12_1 and Vulkan 1.4, while the GTX 660 Ti supports DirectX 11_0 and Vulkan 1.2.175. Both support OpenGL 4.6.

Q: Why is the W5500’s average score only 4.1% higher despite winning head-to-head tests by ~200%?

A: The W5500 has ten benchmark entries including Passmark tests where it scores lower (e.g., 47 in DirectX 10, 39 in DirectX 12), while the GTX 660 Ti only has Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan scores, which are its stronger areas. The aggregate is thus not directly comparable.

Q: Which card has more TMUs?

A: The GTX 660 Ti has 112 TMUs versus the W5500’s 88, but the W5500’s higher boost clock (1855 MHz vs 980 MHz) results in a higher texture rate of 163.2 GTexel/s versus 109.8 GTexel/s.

Where Each One Wins

The W5500 wins in every measurable compute scenario from the data: OpenCL by 201.8%, Vulkan by 179.9%, and it dominates in memory capacity, bandwidth, and FP32 throughput. Its 4x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs and PCIe 4.0 support make it suited for multi-monitor professional setups, while its 8 GB frame buffer handles large datasets that would exhaust the GTX 660 Ti’s 2 GB. The W5500’s single-slot design and 125 W TDP also make it a candidate for dense workstation builds where space and power are constrained.

The GTX 660 Ti’s wins are narrower and mostly historical. Its 112 TMUs give it a theoretical edge in texture-bound workloads, but its lower clock speed negates this in practice. Its 192-bit bus and 2 GB GDDR5 were competitive in 2012, but the data shows no benchmark where it beats the W5500. The only area where the GTX 660 Ti could claim parity is Passmark DirectX 11, where both score 56, but this is a legacy API test with no modern equivalent in the head-to-head set. For pure legacy gaming at 1080p with DirectX 11 titles, the GTX 660 Ti might hold its own, but its 2 GB memory and lack of Vulkan 1.4 make it a poor choice for anything current. The W5500 is the definitive pick for compute, modern APIs, and future-proofing, while the GTX 660 Ti remains a relic for retro compatibility.