AMD Radeon Pro W5500 vs NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile Comparison

AMD Radeon Pro W5500 vs. NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile is a contest between a desktop workstation card and a mobile laptop GPU. The benchmark data shows a clear split: the NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile dominates modern graphics and compute APIs, while the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 holds decisive leads in legacy DirectX 9, 2D desktop tasks, and one specific compute workload. The NVIDIA card wins 6 of the 9 direct head-to-head benchmarks, but the AMD card’s victories are often by massive margins. The recorded data indicates that the RTX A2000 Mobile is the stronger overall performer for contemporary workloads, while the W5500 retains specific advantages for older software and 2D-heavy environments.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile is the clear winner in every modern graphics API tested. It leads in Geekbench OpenCL by 19.3% and Geekbench Vulkan by 20.9%. In the Passmark suite, it wins DirectX 10 by 17.5%, DirectX 11 by 17.6%, and DirectX 12 by 17%. The largest modern win is in Passmark G3D, where it posts a 6.6% advantage. These are not marginal differences; the NVIDIA card is consistently faster across the board for current-generation rendering and general GPU compute. Its FP32 throughput is 8.637 TFLOPS versus 5.224 TFLOPS for the AMD card, which explains why it leads in raw shader-heavy benchmarks. The RTX A2000 Mobile also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate and includes 20 RT cores and 80 tensor cores, features that the AMD card lacks entirely.

The AMD Radeon Pro W5500 wins in three specific areas. The largest single victory is in Passmark G2D, where it scores 806 against 491, a 64.2% advantage. This is a massive lead for 2D desktop compositing, window management, and basic display output. It also wins Passmark DirectX 9 by 9.6%, scoring 126 versus 115. Finally, it wins Passmark GPU Compute by 10.8%, scoring 4804 versus 4334. The GPU Compute result is notable because it suggests the AMD card is more efficient in certain compute patterns despite having lower raw FP32. The W5500 also has 8 GB of VRAM versus 4 GB, which is not directly benchmarked but affects capacity for large datasets. The AMD card’s wins are fewer, but they are decisive in their respective domains.

The Verdict

For anyone running modern 3D applications, DirectX 11/12 workloads, or Vulkan-based software, the NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile is the superior choice. The data shows it is faster in every contemporary API by double-digit percentages. Its 8.637 TFLOPS FP32 throughput and support for DirectX 12 Ultimate mean it will handle current games, CAD, and rendering engines with greater headroom. The NVIDIA card also has dedicated RT and tensor cores, making it the only option here for ray tracing or AI-accelerated tasks. The RTX A2000 Mobile’s 55th percentile score versus all GPUs is slightly below the AMD card’s 58th percentile, but that aggregate metric is dragged down by its poor 2D performance. For real-world modern workloads, the NVIDIA card wins.

The AMD Radeon Pro W5500 is the better choice only if the workload is heavily 2D-focused or relies on legacy DirectX 9 applications. Its 64.2% lead in G2D is enormous, and its 9.6% win in DirectX 9 shows it handles older software better. The GPU Compute win is also relevant for specific compute kernels that favor its architecture. The W5500’s 8 GB memory capacity is a tangible advantage for larger textures or datasets that exceed 4 GB. However, these wins are narrow in scope. The average benchmark score for the W5500 is 15679, while the RTX A2000 Mobile averages 13821. The AMD card’s higher average is driven almost entirely by its exceptional G2D score and its compute lead. For a general-purpose workstation GPU, the NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile is the verdict for modern usage, while the W5500 is a niche specialist for 2D and legacy environments.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most lopsided result in the entire comparison is Passmark G2D. The AMD Radeon Pro W5500 scores 806, while the NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile scores 491. This 64.2% delta is the single largest gap in either direction. The AMD card’s architecture is clearly optimized for 2D rasterization and desktop output, which aligns with its 4x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs and single-slot desktop form factor. The NVIDIA card, being a mobile IGP, is less capable in this regard.

In compute workloads, the AMD card wins Passmark GPU Compute by 10.8%, scoring 4804 versus 4334. This is interesting because the NVIDIA card has higher raw FP32 (8.637 TFLOPS vs 5.224 TFLOPS). The data suggests the AMD card’s compute units are more efficient for the specific operations in this test, or that the NVIDIA card is bottlenecked by its lower memory bandwidth of 192.0 GB/s versus 224.0 GB/s. The AMD card also wins DirectX 9 by 9.6%, which indicates its driver and architecture handle older fixed-function pipelines better.

The NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile wins the modern graphics tests with consistent margins. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 56518 against 45615, a 19.3% lead. In Geekbench Vulkan, it scores 53146 against 42021, a 20.9% lead. These are the two largest modern wins. The Passmark DirectX tests are more uniform: DirectX 10 shows a 17.5% lead (57 vs 47), DirectX 11 shows a 17.6% lead (68 vs 56), and DirectX 12 shows a 17% lead (47 vs 39). The G3D test, which is a composite of several 3D workloads, shows the NVIDIA card winning by 6.6% (9611 vs 8978). This smaller margin indicates that the AMD card is competitive in some 3D scenarios, but the NVIDIA card wins the aggregate.

The win count is 6 to 3 in favor of NVIDIA. The AMD wins are in G2D, DirectX 9, and GPU Compute. The NVIDIA wins are in OpenCL, Vulkan, DirectX 10, DirectX 11, DirectX 12, and G3D. The distribution shows that NVIDIA has a broad lead across modern APIs, while AMD has specific, narrow victories.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster for modern 3D rendering?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile is faster. It wins Passmark G3D by 6.6% and leads in DirectX 11 by 17.6% and DirectX 12 by 17%.

Q: Which GPU has better compute performance?

A: It depends on the workload. The NVIDIA card wins Geekbench OpenCL by 19.3%, but the AMD card wins Passmark GPU Compute by 10.8%. The NVIDIA card has higher raw FP32 at 8.637 TFLOPS.

Q: Which GPU is better for legacy DirectX 9 games?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro W5500 wins DirectX 9 by 9.6%, scoring 126 against 115. It is the better choice for older software.

Q: Which GPU has more memory?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro W5500 has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, while the NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile has 4 GB. Both use a 128-bit bus, but the AMD card has higher bandwidth at 224.0 GB/s versus 192.0 GB/s.

Q: Does the NVIDIA card support ray tracing?

A: Yes, the RTX A2000 Mobile has 20 RT cores and 80 tensor cores. The AMD card has no dedicated RT or tensor cores.

Q: Why is the AMD card’s average benchmark score higher?

A: The AMD card’s average score is 15679, while the NVIDIA card averages 13821. This is largely due to the AMD card’s 64.2% lead in Passmark G2D, which inflates its average despite losing most modern tests.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Radeon Pro W5500 uses the Navi 14 chip on the RDNA 1.0 architecture, built on a 7 nm process at TSMC. It has 6,400 million transistors on a 158 mm² die, yielding a density of 40.5 million transistors per mm². The NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile uses the GA107 chip on the Ampere architecture, built on an 8 nm process at Samsung. It has 8,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die, yielding a density of 43.5 million per mm². The NVIDIA card has a higher transistor count and density, but the AMD card is smaller and uses a more advanced process node.

The AMD card has 1408 shading units, 88 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The NVIDIA card has 2560 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. The NVIDIA card has more shaders and ROPs, but fewer TMUs. The NVIDIA card also has 20 RT cores and 80 tensor cores, which the AMD card lacks entirely. This is the fundamental architectural difference: the NVIDIA card is designed for modern workloads with ray tracing and AI, while the AMD card is a pure rasterization design.

The memory subsystems differ in capacity and bandwidth. The AMD card has 8 GB of GDDR6 at 224.0 GB/s, while the NVIDIA card has 4 GB of GDDR6 at 192.0 GB/s. Both use a 128-bit bus, but the AMD card’s memory runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) versus 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective) for the NVIDIA card. The AMD card also has a higher pixel rate at 59.36 GPixel/s versus 80.98 GPixel/s for the NVIDIA card, but the NVIDIA card has a higher texture rate at 135.0 GTexel/s versus 163.2 GTexel/s for the AMD card.

Specification Differences

The AMD Radeon Pro W5500 has a base clock of 1744 MHz and a boost clock of 1855 MHz, while the NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile has a base clock of 1215 MHz and a boost clock of 1687 MHz. The AMD card runs at higher clocks, but the NVIDIA card has more shaders. The AMD card’s FP32 performance is 5.224 TFLOPS, while the NVIDIA card achieves 8.637 TFLOPS. The NVIDIA card also has FP16 performance at 8.637 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio), while the AMD card has FP16 at 10.45 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio).

The power profiles differ significantly. The AMD card has a TDP of 125 W and requires a 1x 6-pin power connector, with a suggested PSU of 300 W. The NVIDIA card has a TDP of 95 W and uses no power connectors, being an integrated GPU for laptops. The AMD card is a single-slot desktop card measuring 241 mm in length and 111 mm in height, while the NVIDIA card has no dimensions listed as it is an IGP. The AMD card uses a PCIe 4.0 x8 interface, while the NVIDIA card uses PCIe 4.0 x16.

The display outputs differ: the AMD card has 4x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the NVIDIA card’s outputs are described as "Portable Device Dependent". The AMD card supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the NVIDIA card supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4. The AMD card was released on 2020-02-09 and the NVIDIA card on 2021-04-11. The AMD card had a launch MSRP of 399 USD, while the NVIDIA card has no listed launch MSRP. Both are end-of-life products.