AMD Radeon Pro W5500 vs NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000 Comparison

The Verdict

The benchmark data presents a clear hierarchy between these two workstation GPUs. The NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000 wins all nine head-to-head benchmark comparisons against the AMD Radeon Pro W5500. The recorded data shows the NVIDIA card holds a substantial overall performance advantage, with its average benchmark score of 17,789 sitting well above the AMD card's 15,679. The NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000 ranks in the 61st percentile of all GPUs in the database, while the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 sits at the 58th percentile. For users whose workloads prioritize raw compute throughput, DirectX performance, and general 3D rendering, the data points exclusively toward the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000. The AMD Radeon Pro W5500, while a capable single-slot workstation card in its own right, does not present a competitive case based on the measured benchmarks, trailing in every recorded test category.

Where Each One Wins

The head-to-head results contain no wins for the AMD Radeon Pro W5500. Every single benchmark comparison, from DirectX 9 through DirectX 12, from OpenCL to Vulkan, from 2D to 3D to compute workloads, records a victory for the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000. The largest margins appear in the older DirectX API tests, where the NVIDIA card more than doubles the AMD card's scores. The closest contest occurs in the Passmark G2D test, where the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000 scores 846 against the AMD Radeon Pro W5500's 806, a margin of only 5%. This suggests that for purely 2D desktop workloads, the two cards perform at a comparable level. However, once the workload shifts to 3D rendering, compute, or modern graphics APIs, the NVIDIA card pulls ahead decisively. The database records 9 wins for the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000 and 0 wins for the AMD Radeon Pro W5500. Users running OpenCL compute tasks, Vulkan applications, or any of the DirectX benchmark suites will consistently see higher scores on the NVIDIA card.

Architecture Differences

The two cards represent fundamentally different architectural approaches from their respective manufacturers. The NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000 utilizes the TU104 chip built on the Turing architecture, fabricated on a 12 nm process at TSMC. This chip contains 13,600 million transistors on a 545 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 25.0 million transistors per square millimeter. The AMD Radeon Pro W5500 uses the Navi 14 chip based on the RDNA 1.0 architecture, also fabricated at TSMC but on a more advanced 7 nm process node. The Navi 14 die contains 6,400 million transistors on a 158 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 40.5 million transistors per square millimeter. Despite the AMD card's higher transistor density and smaller die, the NVIDIA card brings significantly more hardware resources to bear. The Quadro RTX 4000 features 2,304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output units. It also includes 36 ray tracing cores and 288 tensor cores, hardware that the Radeon Pro W5500 lacks entirely, as evidenced by the null values for RT cores and tensor cores in its specifications. The AMD card fields 1,408 shading units, 88 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. Clock speeds tell a different story: the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 runs at a base clock of 1744 MHz and a boost clock of 1855 MHz, substantially higher than the NVIDIA card's 1005 MHz base and 1545 MHz boost. The NVIDIA card compensates with its larger execution resource pool, achieving 7.119 TFLOPS of FP32 performance against 5.224 TFLOPS for the AMD card. Both cards support DirectX 12, though the NVIDIA card supports 12 Ultimate (12_2) while the AMD card supports 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4. The NVIDIA card also supports USB Type-C output alongside its three DisplayPort 1.4a connections, while the AMD card provides four DisplayPort 1.4a outputs.

FAQ

Q: Which card has better overall benchmark performance?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000 wins all nine head-to-head benchmark comparisons against the AMD Radeon Pro W5500. Its average benchmark score is 17,789 compared to 15,679 for the AMD card.

Q: How do the memory subsystems compare?

A: Both cards feature 8 GB of GDDR6 memory. The NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000 uses a 256-bit memory bus with 416.0 GB/s of bandwidth, while the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 uses a 128-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

Q: Which card supports ray tracing and tensor cores?

A: Only the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000 includes dedicated ray tracing cores (36) and tensor cores (288) in its architecture. The AMD Radeon Pro W5500 has no ray tracing cores or tensor cores listed in its specifications.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000 has a TDP of 160 W and requires a single 8-pin power connector with a suggested 450 W power supply. The AMD Radeon Pro W5500 has a lower TDP of 125 W, uses a single 6-pin connector, and recommends a 300 W power supply.

Q: How do the cards compare in the Passmark G3D benchmark?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000 scores 15,117 in Passmark G3D, which is 68.4% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro W5500's score of 8,978.

Q: Which card has a higher percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000 ranks in the 61st percentile of all GPUs in the database, while the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 ranks in the 58th percentile.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data reveals a consistent pattern of NVIDIA dominance across every test category. Starting with compute workloads, the Geekbench OpenCL test shows the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000 scoring 74,540 against 45,615 for the AMD Radeon Pro W5500, a 63.4% advantage. The Vulkan test shows an even larger gap: 78,844 for the NVIDIA card versus 42,021 for the AMD card, a 87.6% delta. The Passmark GPU Compute test records 6,176 for the NVIDIA card and 4,804 for the AMD card, a 28.6% margin.

The DirectX benchmark suite produces the most dramatic differences. In Passmark DirectX 10, the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000 scores 108 against the AMD card's 47, a 129.8% lead. Passmark DirectX 11 shows a similar pattern with 128 versus 56, a 128.6% delta. The DirectX 12 test narrows the gap somewhat, with the NVIDIA card scoring 52 against 39, a 33.3% advantage. In DirectX 9, the NVIDIA card scores 205 versus 126, a 62.7% lead.

The 3D rendering tests follow the same trajectory. In Passmark G3D, the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000 scores 15,117 against 8,978 for the AMD Radeon Pro W5500, a 68.4% difference. This substantial margin in the general 3D benchmark reflects the NVIDIA card's higher FP32 throughput of 7.119 TFLOPS and its larger execution resource pool. The only test where the two cards approach parity is the Passmark G2D test, where the NVIDIA card leads by just 5% (846 versus 806). This indicates that 2D desktop workloads do not meaningfully differentiate the two cards, but any workload involving 3D rendering, compute, or modern graphics APIs will favor the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000 by a wide margin. The Geekbench Vulkan result is worth emphasizing, as the 87.6% delta represents the second-largest performance gap in the entire benchmark suite, suggesting that Vulkan-based applications will see particularly pronounced differences between these two cards.

Specification Differences

The two cards diverge across nearly every major specification category. The NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000 uses the TU104 chip on a 12 nm process with 13,600 million transistors, while the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 uses the Navi 14 chip on a 7 nm process with 6,400 million transistors. Die sizes differ accordingly: 545 mm² for the NVIDIA card versus 158 mm² for the AMD card. Transistor density favors the AMD card at 40.5 million transistors per mm² against 25.0 million for the NVIDIA card.

Clock speeds run in the AMD card's favor. The Radeon Pro W5500 has a base clock of 1744 MHz and a boost clock of 1855 MHz, while the Quadro RTX 4000 operates at 1005 MHz base and 1545 MHz boost. Memory clocks also differ, with the AMD card running at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) and the NVIDIA card at 1625 MHz (13 Gbps effective). However, the NVIDIA card's 256-bit memory bus versus the AMD card's 128-bit bus gives it 416.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth against 224.0 GB/s.

The execution resources heavily favor the NVIDIA card. It fields 2,304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, compared to 1,408 shading units, 88 TMUs, and 32 ROPs for the AMD card. The NVIDIA card also includes 36 RT cores and 288 tensor cores, neither of which the AMD card possesses. Pixel rate and texture rate follow the same pattern: 98.88 GPixel/s versus 59.36 GPixel/s, and 222.5 GTexel/s versus 163.2 GTexel/s. FP32 compute stands at 7.119 TFLOPS for the NVIDIA card and 5.224 TFLOPS for the AMD card. FP16 compute, at a 2:1 ratio, reaches 14.24 TFLOPS for the NVIDIA card and 10.45 TFLOPS for the AMD card.

Power and connectivity also differ. The NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000 has a 160 W TDP and uses a single 8-pin power connector with a 450 W suggested PSU. The AMD Radeon Pro W5500 has a 125 W TDP, uses a single 6-pin connector, and suggests a 300 W PSU. Both cards are single-slot designs with identical dimensions of 241 mm in length and 111 mm in height. The NVIDIA card connects via PCIe 3.0 x16, while the AMD card uses PCIe 4.0 x8. Display outputs differ as well: the NVIDIA card offers three DisplayPort 1.4a connections plus one USB Type-C port, while the AMD card provides four DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. DirectX support differs, with the NVIDIA card supporting 12 Ultimate (12_2) and the AMD card supporting 12 (12_1). Both cards support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4, and both are listed as end-of-life products in the database.