AMD Radeon Pro W5500X vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Comparison

FAQ

Q: How do the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti and AMD Radeon Pro W5500X compare in overall benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 2080 Ti has an average benchmark score of 29,783, while the Radeon Pro W5500X scores 27,973. This puts the RTX 2080 Ti roughly 6.5% higher overall. The RTX 2080 Ti sits at the 75th percentile of all GPUs, while the W5500X sits at the 73rd percentile.

Q: What are the closest rivals for each card according to the data?

A: The RTX 2080 Ti's nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 6800, which scores 30,095 (1% higher). The W5500X's nearest rival is the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20, which scores 27,839 (0.5% lower). The W5500X also sits within 0.2% of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti (28,020).

Q: Which card has more shading units and texture mapping units?

A: The RTX 2080 Ti has 4,352 shading units and 272 TMUs. The W5500X has 1,536 shading units and 96 TMUs. The RTX 2080 Ti has roughly 2.8x the shading units and 2.8x the TMUs of the W5500X.

Q: How do the memory subsystems differ between the two cards?

A: The RTX 2080 Ti has 11 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 352-bit bus with 616.0 GB/s bandwidth. The W5500X has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 2080 Ti offers nearly 2.75x the memory bandwidth.

Q: What are the process node and transistor density differences?

A: The RTX 2080 Ti uses a 12 nm process at TSMC with 18,600 million transistors on a 754 mm² die (24.7M transistors per mm²). The W5500X uses a 7 nm process at TSMC with 6,400 million transistors on a 158 mm² die (40.5M per mm²). The W5500X has roughly 1.6x the transistor density.

Q: Which card supports ray tracing and tensor cores?

A: Only the RTX 2080 Ti includes dedicated hardware: 68 RT cores and 544 tensor cores. The W5500X has no RT cores and no tensor cores listed. Both cards support DirectX 12, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, but the RTX 2080 Ti runs DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) while the W5500X runs DirectX 12 (12_1).

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti is the overwhelmingly stronger GPU in nearly every measurable category. Its average benchmark score of 29,783 versus 27,973 for the AMD Radeon Pro W5500X represents a 6.5% lead overall, and the gap widens dramatically in specific compute and rasterization tests. The RTX 2080 Ti wins decisively on memory bandwidth (616.0 GB/s vs 224.0 GB/s), shading units (4,352 vs 1,536), and FP32 throughput (13.45 TFLOPS vs 5.398 TFLOPS).

The W5500X, however, is not without its own merits. It is built on a more advanced 7 nm process with significantly higher transistor density (40.5M per mm² vs 24.7M), and it draws only 125 W TDP compared to the RTX 2080 Ti's 250 W. For users constrained by power delivery — the W5500X suggests a 300 W PSU versus 600 W for the RTX 2080 Ti — the AMD card is the only sensible choice.

But the verdict for raw performance is clear: the RTX 2080 Ti is in a different class. Its nearest rivals are cards like the RTX 3070 Ti and RX 6800, while the W5500X competes with the GTX 980 Ti and Radeon Pro Vega 20. Anyone needing maximum compute or rendering throughput should choose NVIDIA. Anyone building a power-efficient workstation — particularly in a Mac environment, given the W5500X's Apple MPX bus interface — should consider AMD.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

Direct head-to-head benchmark comparisons are not available in the data, but the individual benchmark suites tell a stark story. The RTX 2080 Ti scores 21,548 in Passmark G3D, while the W5500X's only listed benchmark is Geekbench Metal at 27,973. The Passmark G3D score for the RTX 2080 Ti places it far above the W5500X's overall average, which itself comes from the Geekbench Metal test.

In compute workloads, the RTX 2080 Ti delivers 13.45 TFLOPS of FP32 performance versus 5.398 TFLOPS for the W5500X — a 2.5x advantage. The texture rate tells a similar story: 420.2 GTexel/s versus 168.7 GTexel/s, a 2.5x difference. Pixel rate is 136.0 GPixel/s versus 56.22 GPixel/s, a 2.4x gap.

The RTX 2080 Ti also holds the edge in API support, featuring DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) compared to the W5500X's DirectX 12 (12_1). This means the NVIDIA card supports the latest DirectX 12 Ultimate feature set, which includes hardware ray tracing and mesh shaders — capabilities the W5500X lacks entirely, as it has no RT cores.

Memory bandwidth is perhaps the most lopsided comparison. The RTX 2080 Ti's 616.0 GB/s is nearly triple the W5500X's 224.0 GB/s. In memory-heavy workloads — large textures, high-resolution rendering, data-parallel compute — this difference will be felt immediately.

The W5500X does have one notable win: power efficiency per transistor. Its 7 nm process with 40.5M transistors per mm² is far denser than the RTX 2080 Ti's 12 nm process at 24.7M per mm². The W5500X also requires only a 300 W suggested PSU versus 600 W for the RTX 2080 Ti.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ fundamentally in nearly every specification. The RTX 2080 Ti uses the TU102 chip on a 12 nm process, while the W5500X uses the Navi 14 chip on a 7 nm process. The RTX 2080 Ti packs 18,600 million transistors on a 754 mm² die; the W5500X has 6,400 million on a 158 mm² die.

Memory is a major differentiator: the RTX 2080 Ti has 11 GB of GDDR6 on a 352-bit bus, whereas the W5500X has 8 GB on a 128-bit bus. Bandwidth is 616.0 GB/s versus 224.0 GB/s. Both cards run memory at 1750 MHz with 14 Gbps effective.

Compute resources diverge sharply. The RTX 2080 Ti has 4,352 shading units, 272 TMUs, and 88 ROPs. The W5500X has 1,536 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The RTX 2080 Ti also has 68 RT cores and 544 tensor cores; the W5500X has none.

Clock speeds are closer than raw resource counts might suggest. The RTX 2080 Ti runs at 1350 MHz base and 1545 MHz boost. The W5500X has a lower 1187 MHz base but a higher 1757 MHz boost. However, the RTX 2080 Ti's massive resource advantage overwhelms the W5500X's boost clock lead.

Power and physical specifications differ substantially. The RTX 2080 Ti has a 250 W TDP and requires 2x 8-pin power connectors with a 600 W suggested PSU. The W5500X has a 125 W TDP and a 300 W suggested PSU, with no power connector listed. The RTX 2080 Ti is 267 mm long (10.5 inches), while the W5500X has no listed dimensions.

Bus interface and display outputs also differ. The RTX 2080 Ti uses PCIe 3.0 x16 and offers 1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, and 1x USB Type-C. The W5500X uses Apple MPX and offers only 2x HDMI 2.0b.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap is generational. The RTX 2080 Ti is built on NVIDIA's Turing architecture, which introduced dedicated ray tracing cores and tensor cores for AI acceleration. The W5500X uses AMD's RDNA 1.0 architecture, which focuses on efficiency and traditional rasterization without dedicated ray tracing or tensor hardware.

The manufacturing processes reflect this divergence. The RTX 2080 Ti uses TSMC's 12 nm node, which is less dense but allows for a massive 754 mm² die. The W5500X uses TSMC's 7 nm node, enabling 40.5M transistors per mm² — a 64% density advantage over the RTX 2080 Ti's 24.7M per mm².

The RTX 2080 Ti's Turing architecture supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), which includes hardware-accelerated ray tracing, variable rate shading, and mesh shaders. The W5500X's RDNA 1.0 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), which lacks these modern features. Both cards support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4.

FP16 performance tells an interesting story. Both cards achieve a 2:1 ratio of FP16 to FP32: the RTX 2080 Ti delivers 26.90 TFLOPS FP16 versus 13.45 TFLOPS FP32, while the W5500X delivers 10.80 TFLOPS FP16 versus 5.398 TFLOPS FP32. This means both can accelerate FP16 workloads, but the RTX 2080 Ti's absolute throughput is far higher.

The W5500X's RDNA architecture is designed for efficiency, and the data supports that: 125 W TDP versus 250 W for the RTX 2080 Ti, with a 300 W suggested PSU versus 600 W. This makes the W5500X viable in systems where the RTX 2080 Ti would require a power supply upgrade.

Where Each One Wins

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti wins on raw performance. Its 13.45 TFLOPS FP32, 420.2 GTexel/s texture rate, and 136.0 GPixel/s pixel rate are all roughly 2.5x the W5500X's figures. The 616.0 GB/s memory bandwidth is essential for high-resolution textures and large datasets. The 11 GB memory capacity also exceeds the W5500X's 8 GB, which matters for large models and multi-app workloads.

The RTX 2080 Ti wins on modern features. With 68 RT cores and 544 tensor cores, it supports hardware ray tracing and AI acceleration — capabilities entirely absent from the W5500X. Its DirectX 12 Ultimate support (versus 12_1) means it can run the latest games and applications that leverage mesh shaders and variable rate shading.

The RTX 2080 Ti wins on connectivity. It offers 3x DisplayPort 1.4a and a USB Type-C port, while the W5500X has only 2x HDMI 2.0b. For multi-monitor setups or VR headsets, the NVIDIA card is far more flexible.

AMD Radeon Pro W5500X wins on power efficiency. At 125 W TDP with a 300 W suggested PSU, it draws half the power of the RTX 2080 Ti. This makes it suitable for compact workstations, Mac Pro systems (via Apple MPX), or environments where power delivery is limited.

The W5500X wins on architectural efficiency. Its 7 nm process with 40.5M transistors per mm² demonstrates superior manufacturing density. It achieves its performance with 6,400 million transistors versus the RTX 2080 Ti's 18,600 million, making it a leaner design.

The W5500X wins on Geekbench Metal. Its score of 27,973 in that specific test is its sole benchmark listing, and it is the only card of the two with a Metal result. For macOS users relying on Metal-accelerated applications, the W5500X is the only one of these two with relevant data.

For users who need maximum compute, rendering, or gaming performance, the RTX 2080 Ti is the clear choice. Its benchmark scores, memory bandwidth, and feature set place it in a higher performance tier. For users building a power-efficient workstation, particularly in a Mac environment, the W5500X is the sensible option. The data shows a 6.5% overall score advantage for NVIDIA, but the W5500X's power requirements and Apple MPX compatibility make it the only viable choice in certain systems.