AMD Radeon Pro W5500 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM Comparison

The AMD Radeon Pro W5500 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM are both end-of-life graphics cards aimed at different segments, yet they share a surprising amount of common ground in their specifications. The data shows a clear performance hierarchy, with the RTX 3050 OEM taking a decisive lead across every single benchmark in the head-to-head comparison, while the W5500 counters with its professional positioning and older architectural roots. This analysis breaks down the benchmark data, architectural differences, and practical use cases to determine which card suits which workload.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark results are remarkably one-sided. Out of the nine tests conducted, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM wins all nine, with no victories for the AMD Radeon Pro W5500. The most significant margin comes in the DirectX 11 test, where the RTX 3050 OEM scores 86 against the W5500's 56, representing a 34.9% advantage. This is a substantial gap that indicates the NVIDIA card handles legacy DirectX workloads much more efficiently.

Compute performance tells a similar story. In Geekbench's OpenCL test, the RTX 3050 OEM scores 60740 versus 45615 for the W5500, a 24.9% difference. The Vulkan benchmark shows an even larger spread, with the NVIDIA card hitting 57103 compared to 42021, a 26.4% lead. These results suggest that the Ampere architecture's compute capabilities are significantly stronger than what RDNA 1.0 can offer in these specific tests.

The gap narrows in older API tests but never reverses. In DirectX 9, the RTX 3050 OEM's 137 score is only 8% higher than the W5500's 126. Similarly, the DirectX 12 test shows a 32.8% difference (58 vs 39), while DirectX 10 comes in at a 23% gap (61 vs 47). The 2D graphics test shows a 17.2% difference, with scores of 973 for NVIDIA and 806 for AMD.

The overall 3D performance metric, Passmark G3D, reinforces this pattern: the RTX 3050 OEM scores 11857, which is 24.3% higher than the W5500's 8978. The GPU compute test is the closest of the modern workloads, with the NVIDIA card scoring 5779 versus 4804, a 16.9% advantage. It is worth remembering the W5500 does not have a Geekbench Metal score listed in the head-to-head, though its standalone Metal score is 54302.

The average benchmark score for the W5500 is 15679, placing it at the 58th percentile of all GPUs. The RTX 3050 OEM has a slightly lower average score of 15199, at the 57th percentile, which is counterintuitive given its head-to-head dominance. This discrepancy is explained by the fact that the W5500's nearest rivals include the GTX 1080 Ti (0.8% higher) and the RX 7700 (1.1% lower), while the RTX 3050 OEM sits near the RX 7600 (0.2% higher) and RTX 2060 (0.6% lower). The W5500's average is boosted by its strong Metal score, which is not compared directly against the RTX 3050 OEM.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different generations and design philosophies. The AMD Radeon Pro W5500 uses the Navi 14 chip built on RDNA 1.0 architecture, manufactured on TSMC's 7 nm process. It packs 6,400 million transistors onto a 158 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 40.5M per mm². The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM employs the GA106 chip with Ampere architecture, built on Samsung's 8 nm process. This larger chip contains 12,000 million transistors on a 276 mm² die, with a slightly higher density of 43.5M per mm².

Clock speeds favor the AMD card. The W5500 has a base clock of 1744 MHz and a boost clock of 1855 MHz, while the RTX 3050 OEM runs at 1515 MHz base and 1755 MHz boost. Despite the lower clocks, the NVIDIA card achieves higher throughput due to its hardware configuration. The RTX 3050 OEM has 2304 shading units, compared to 1408 on the W5500, and 72 TMUs versus 88. Both have 32 ROPs.

The most critical architectural difference is the presence of dedicated ray tracing and tensor cores on the NVIDIA card. The RTX 3050 OEM includes 18 RT cores and 72 tensor cores, while the W5500 has none. This directly impacts the feature set: the NVIDIA card supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the AMD card is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4.

Memory configurations are identical on paper: both have 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth and 1750 MHz memory clock (14 Gbps effective). The FP32 compute rates diverge significantly, with the RTX 3050 OEM delivering 8.087 TFLOPS versus the W5500's 5.224 TFLOPS. The FP16 rates also differ: the AMD card achieves 10.45 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio, while the NVIDIA card matches its FP32 rate at 8.087 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio.

Where Each One Wins

Based on the benchmark data, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM is the clear winner in raw performance across all tested workloads. Its largest advantages are in DirectX 11 (34.9% ahead) and DirectX 12 (32.8% ahead), making it the better choice for gaming and applications that rely on modern graphics APIs. The 24.3% lead in Passmark G3D reinforces this, suggesting stronger overall 3D rendering capabilities.

The RTX 3050 OEM also excels in compute-heavy tasks. Its 24.9% advantage in Geekbench OpenCL and 26.4% lead in Vulkan indicate better performance for general-purpose GPU computing, whether for rendering, simulation, or other parallel workloads. The GPU compute test shows a 16.9% edge, which is still substantial. The presence of RT cores and tensor cores gives it capabilities the W5500 simply cannot match for ray-traced workloads or AI-accelerated tasks.

The AMD Radeon Pro W5500's only potential advantage lies in its professional positioning and lower power draw. It has a TDP of 125 W versus 130 W for the NVIDIA card, and uses a single-slot cooler versus dual-slot. It also has four DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, while the RTX 3050 OEM has one HDMI 2.1 and three DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. For users with specific display output requirements, the W5500's four identical ports might be preferable, though the NVIDIA card offers HDMI connectivity.

It is also worth remembering the W5500 has a higher pixel rate (59.36 GPixel/s vs 56.16 GPixel/s) and texture rate (163.2 GTexel/s vs 126.4 GTexel/s), despite the lower overall compute. This suggests the AMD card might be slightly more efficient in certain fill-rate-limited scenarios, though the benchmark data does not isolate these specific metrics.

FAQ

Q: Which card has better overall performance?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM wins all nine head-to-head benchmarks. Its most significant lead is 34.9% in DirectX 11, and its smallest is 8% in DirectX 9. The AMD Radeon Pro W5500 does not win any test.

Q: Do these cards have the same memory configuration?

A: Yes. Both have 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth and a 1750 MHz memory clock (14 Gbps effective).

Q: Does the RTX 3050 OEM support ray tracing?

A: Yes. It has 18 RT cores and 72 tensor cores, and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2). The Radeon Pro W5500 has no RT or tensor cores and only supports DirectX 12 (12_1).

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The AMD card has a TDP of 125 W and uses a single 6-pin power connector, while the NVIDIA card has a TDP of 130 W and uses a single 8-pin connector. Both have a suggested PSU of 300 W.

Q: Which card has a higher transistor count?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM has 12,000 million transistors on a 276 mm² die, while the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 has 6,400 million transistors on a 158 mm² die.

Q: Are there any benchmark tests where the W5500 is competitive?

A: The closest result is in DirectX 9, where the RTX 3050 OEM leads by only 8% (137 vs 126). The GPU compute test is the next closest at 16.9% (5779 vs 4804). In all other tests, the NVIDIA card leads by at least 17.2%.

Specification Differences

The following specifications differ between the two cards:

• Chip: Navi 14 (AMD) vs GA106 (NVIDIA)
• Architecture: RDNA 1.0 vs Ampere
• Process Node: 7 nm (TSMC) vs 8 nm (Samsung)
• Transistors: 6,400 million vs 12,000 million
• Die Size: 158 mm² vs 276 mm²
• Transistor Density: 40.5M / mm² vs 43.5M / mm²
• Base Clock: 1744 MHz vs 1515 MHz
• Boost Clock: 1855 MHz vs 1755 MHz
• Shading Units: 1408 vs 2304
• TMUs: 88 vs 72
• RT Cores: None vs 18
• Tensor Cores: None vs 72
• Pixel Rate: 59.36 GPixel/s vs 56.16 GPixel/s
• Texture Rate: 163.2 GTexel/s vs 126.4 GTexel/s
• FP32: 5.224 TFLOPS vs 8.087 TFLOPS
• FP16: 10.45 TFLOPS (2:1) vs 8.087 TFLOPS (1:1)
• TDP: 125 W vs 130 W
• Slot Width: Single-slot vs Dual-slot
• Power Connectors: 1x 6-pin vs 1x 8-pin
• Display Outputs: 4x DisplayPort 1.4a vs 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a
• DirectX Support: 12 (12_1) vs 12 Ultimate (12_2)
• Release Date: 2020-02-09 vs 2022-01-03
• Predecessor: Radeon Pro Vega vs GeForce 20
• Launch MSRP: 399 USD (W5500 only; RTX 3050 OEM has none listed)

The Verdict

The benchmark data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM outperforms the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 in every single head-to-head test, with margins ranging from 8% to 34.9%. If raw performance is the sole criterion, the RTX 3050 OEM is the definitive choice. Its advantages in DirectX 11, DirectX 12, and compute workloads make it the stronger candidate for gaming, 3D rendering, and general GPU compute tasks. The inclusion of RT cores and tensor cores further extends its capabilities into ray tracing and AI-accelerated applications, which the W5500 cannot access at all.

The Radeon Pro W5500's case rests on its professional positioning and physical characteristics. It is a single-slot card with a lower TDP (125 W vs 130 W) and uses a 6-pin connector rather than an 8-pin, which could simplify installation in tighter builds. Its four DisplayPort 1.4a outputs offer uniform connectivity, which may be preferable in multi-display professional setups. The higher pixel rate (59.36 vs 56.16 GPixel/s) and texture rate (163.2 vs 126.4 GTexel/s) suggest it handles certain fill-rate-bound tasks more gracefully, though the benchmark suite does not confirm this in practice.

For most users, the RTX 3050 OEM is the logical pick. The data shows a 24.3% lead in Passmark G3D and a 16.9% lead in GPU compute, which translates to real-world performance gains across a wide range of software. The W5500's higher average benchmark score (15679 vs 15199) is misleading, as it is driven by a Metal score that is not compared directly against the NVIDIA card. When matched head-to-head, the NVIDIA card wins every time. Choose the RTX 3050 OEM for performance, or the W5500 only if the single-slot form factor, lower power draw, or four DisplayPort outputs are critical requirements.