AMD Radeon Pro W5500X vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data does not contain any directly shared test results between the AMD Radeon Pro W5500X and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile, meaning there are no head-to-head scores to compare on identical workloads. However, the database records each GPU's performance across different suites, and the percentiles place them in adjacent tiers. The Radeon Pro W5500X sits at the 73rd percentile among all GPUs, while the RTX 3080 Mobile sits at the 69th percentile. That three-point gap suggests the AMD card edges ahead in overall standing despite having far fewer compute units.

Looking at the recorded scores, the Radeon Pro W5500X delivers a Geekbench Metal result of 27973. Its nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti at 28020, a delta of -0.2% (meaning the W5500X trails by two-tenths of a percent), and the AMD Radeon RX 7800M at 27883, a delta of +0.3% (the W5500X leads by three-tenths of a percent). These are essentially statistical ties. The W5500X also sits 0.5% above the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 and 0.5% below the AMD FirePro S7150. In other words, the W5500X's single Metal benchmark places it squarely in a cluster of GPUs that are indistinguishable from one another within measurement noise.

The RTX 3080 Mobile has a much broader benchmark footprint. Its Passmark G3D score is 16321, and its Passmark GPU Compute score is 7276. The Geekbench OpenCL result is 104831, while the Vulkan result is 104066. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 2644. Its nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z at 23736, a delta of -0.5%, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Mobile at 23518, a delta of +0.5%. The AMD Radeon RX 9070 sits at 23877, a delta of -1%, and the AMD Radeon AI PRO R9700 at 23315, a delta of +1.3%. All of these deltas are within two points, meaning the RTX 3080 Mobile is also locked in a tight competitive band, but its average benchmark score of 23628 is well below the W5500X's 27973 average.

The raw numbers point to a clear conclusion: despite the RTX 3080 Mobile's massive shader count and higher theoretical throughput, its recorded average score is roughly 15.5% lower than the W5500X's average. The data shows the AMD card winning on aggregate performance in the database, even though it only has one benchmark entry. The RTX 3080 Mobile's multiple DirectX and compute tests do not compensate for the gap in the single Metal result that drives the W5500X's standing.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different process nodes and foundries. The AMD Radeon Pro W5500X uses the Navi 14 chip on TSMC's 7 nm process, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile uses the GA104 chip on Samsung's 8 nm process. The W5500X is built on RDNA 1.0 architecture, belonging to the Radeon Pro Mac (Navi Series) generation. The RTX 3080 Mobile is Ampere architecture, part of the GeForce 30 Mobile family.

Transistor counts differ dramatically. The Navi 14 die contains 6,400 million transistors on a 158 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 40.5 million per square millimeter. The GA104 die contains 17,400 million transistors on a 392 mm² die, with a density of 44.4 million per square millimeter. The NVIDIA chip has nearly three times the transistor count and a larger physical footprint.

The core configurations diverge sharply. The W5500X has 1536 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The RTX 3080 Mobile has 6144 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The NVIDIA part also includes 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores, neither of which exist on the Radeon. This explains the TFLOPS gap: the W5500X delivers 5.398 TFLOPS FP32 and 10.80 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1 ratio), while the RTX 3080 Mobile delivers 18.98 TFLOPS FP32 and 18.98 TFLOPS FP16 (1:1 ratio). The NVIDIA GPU has roughly 3.5 times the FP32 throughput on paper.

Memory configurations also differ. Both have 8 GB of GDDR6, but the W5500X uses a 128-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the RTX 3080 Mobile uses a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. Clock speeds are similar at the base level (1187 MHz vs 1110 MHz), but the W5500X boosts higher at 1757 MHz versus 1545 MHz for the RTX 3080 Mobile. The memory clock is identical at 1750 MHz or 14 Gbps effective.

Power and interface details differ as well. The W5500X has a TDP of 125 W and uses the Apple MPX bus interface, while the RTX 3080 Mobile has a TDP of 115 W and uses PCIe 4.0 x16. The W5500X is a dual-slot card with two HDMI 2.0b outputs, while the RTX 3080 Mobile has no slot width specified and its display outputs are listed as "Portable Device Dependent." The W5500X lists a suggested PSU of 300 W, while the RTX 3080 Mobile lists no suggested PSU and no power connectors (meaning it draws from the mobile platform). The Radeon supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the NVIDIA card supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score in the database?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro W5500X has an average benchmark score of 27973, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile has an average of 23628. The AMD card's average is higher by roughly 15.5%.

Q: Does the RTX 3080 Mobile have more shading units than the W5500X?

A: Yes. The RTX 3080 Mobile has 6144 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The W5500X has 1536 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The NVIDIA card also has 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores, which the AMD card lacks entirely.

Q: How do the memory bandwidths compare?

A: Both cards have 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, but the W5500X has a 128-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the RTX 3080 Mobile has a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 3080 Mobile offers exactly double the memory bandwidth.

Q: What process nodes are used by each GPU?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro W5500X uses the Navi 14 chip on TSMC's 7 nm process. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile uses the GA104 chip on Samsung's 8 nm process. The AMD chip has a transistor density of 40.5M per mm², while the NVIDIA chip has 44.4M per mm².

Q: Which GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate?

A: Only the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2). The AMD Radeon Pro W5500X supports DirectX 12 (12_1), which is a lower feature level.

Q: Are both GPUs still in production?

A: No. Both are listed as end-of-life in the database. The W5500X was released on 2019-12-10, and the RTX 3080 Mobile was released on 2021-01-11.

The Verdict

The data supports a split decision. The AMD Radeon Pro W5500X wins on aggregate benchmark score and percentile ranking. Its average score of 27973 places it at the 73rd percentile, and its nearest rivals are all within one percentage point, indicating a tight but solid position. The RTX 3080 Mobile's average of 23628 places it at the 69th percentile, with nearest rivals also clustered within 1.3 points. The AMD card leads by 4345 points in average score, a margin of about 15.5%.

The NVIDIA card wins on raw compute specifications and API support. It has 4 times the shading units, 6 times the FP32 TFLOPS, double the memory bandwidth, and dedicated RT and tensor cores. It also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, a feature level the AMD card cannot match. However, these specifications do not translate into a higher benchmark score in the database. The recorded data shows the W5500X outperforming the RTX 3080 Mobile on average, despite having far fewer resources.

For a user prioritizing the database's recorded performance metrics, the W5500X is the stronger choice. For a user prioritizing architectural features like ray tracing acceleration, tensor cores, and the latest DirectX feature level, the RTX 3080 Mobile is clearly ahead. The W5500X's launch MSRP was 599 USD; the RTX 3080 Mobile has no recorded launch MSRP.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every measurable specification category. The process node differs (7 nm TSMC for AMD, 8 nm Samsung for NVIDIA). The transistor count differs (6,400 million vs 17,400 million). The die size differs (158 mm² vs 392 mm²). The base clock differs (1187 MHz vs 1110 MHz). The boost clock differs (1757 MHz vs 1545 MHz). The memory bus width differs (128 bit vs 256 bit). The memory bandwidth differs (224.0 GB/s vs 448.0 GB/s). The shading units differ (1536 vs 6144). The TMUs differ (96 vs 192). The ROPs differ (32 vs 96). The RT cores differ (none vs 48). The tensor cores differ (none vs 192). The pixel rate differs (56.22 GPixel/s vs 148.3 GPixel/s). The texture rate differs (168.7 GTexel/s vs 296.6 GTexel/s). The FP32 throughput differs (5.398 TFLOPS vs 18.98 TFLOPS). The FP16 throughput differs (10.80 TFLOPS at 2:1 vs 18.98 TFLOPS at 1:1). The TDP differs (125 W vs 115 W). The bus interface differs (Apple MPX vs PCIe 4.0 x16). The display outputs differ (2x HDMI 2.0b vs Portable Device Dependent). The DirectX support differs (12_1 vs 12 Ultimate). The release dates differ (2019-12-10 vs 2021-01-11). The launch MSRP differs (599 USD for AMD, none for NVIDIA). The suggested PSU differs (300 W for AMD, none for NVIDIA). The slot width differs (dual-slot for AMD, none for NVIDIA). The power connectors differ (none listed for AMD, "None" for NVIDIA). The predecessor differs (none for AMD, GeForce 20 Mobile for NVIDIA). The manufacturer, architecture, generation, and foundry all differ as well.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon Pro W5500X wins in the database's aggregate performance ranking. Its average benchmark score of 27973 is higher than the RTX 3080 Mobile's 23628, and its 73rd percentile placement beats the NVIDIA card's 69th percentile. The W5500X also wins on clock speeds, with a higher base clock (1187 MHz vs 1110 MHz) and a higher boost clock (1757 MHz vs 1545 MHz). It has a lower TDP per the specs (125 W vs 115 W, though the AMD card is higher), and it offers a dual-slot form factor with fixed display outputs, which suits a workstation or Mac Pro environment. Its process node advantage (7 nm vs 8 nm) also stands out in the data.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile wins on almost every raw compute specification. It has 4 times the shading units (6144 vs 1536), double the TMUs (192 vs 96), triple the ROPs (96 vs 32), and it is the only one of the two with RT cores and tensor cores. Its FP32 throughput of 18.98 TFLOPS is more than 3.5 times the W5500X's 5.398 TFLOPS. Its FP16 throughput matches its FP32 at 18.98 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio, whereas the W5500X achieves 10.80 TFLOPS at a 2:1 ratio. The RTX 3080 Mobile doubles the memory bandwidth (448.0 GB/s vs 224.0 GB/s) and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, a higher API level than the W5500X's DirectX 12 (12_1). Its pixel rate (148.3 GPixel/s) and texture rate (296.6 GTexel/s) are also far higher than the W5500X's 56.22 GPixel/s and 168.7 GTexel/s.

In terms of benchmark coverage, the RTX 3080 Mobile has recorded results across multiple suites (3DMark, Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan, and Passmark DirectX 9 through 12), while the W5500X has only a single Geekbench Metal result. The use-case split is therefore clear: the W5500X is the better choice according to the aggregate database score, while the RTX 3080 Mobile is the better choice for compute-heavy workloads that leverage its shader count, tensor cores, RT cores, and memory bandwidth. The data shows the NVIDIA card as the specification leader and the AMD card as the benchmark score leader.