AMD Radeon Pro W5700 vs AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP Comparison

The Verdict

The AMD Radeon Pro W5700 is the clear performance leader in this comparison. Across the two shared benchmark workloads, it wins both, with a commanding 151.5% advantage in Geekbench OpenCL and an 82.9% lead in Geekbench Vulkan. The data positions the Pro W5700 at the 71st percentile of all GPUs, while the RX 580 2048SP sits at the 68th percentile. In average benchmark score, the Pro W5700 records 25,726 points against 23,061 for the RX 580 2048SP, a gap of roughly 2,665 points.

For users selecting between these two end-of-life AMD cards, the decision hinges on workload priorities. The Pro W5700 is the choice for compute-heavy tasks, content creation, or any application that leverages OpenCL or Vulkan acceleration. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth dwarf the RX 580 2048SP's 4 GB GDDR5 at 224.0 GB/s, making it better suited for larger datasets and higher-resolution textures. The RX 580 2048SP, however, offers a lower power footprint at 150 W TDP versus 205 W, and it requires a less demanding 450 W suggested PSU against 550 W. For a legacy system with modest power delivery, the RX 580 2048SP remains a functional option, but the benchmark data shows it is outclassed by a wide margin in raw performance.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro W5700 records an average benchmark score of 25,726, compared to 23,061 for the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP. This places the Pro W5700 at the 71st percentile of all GPUs and the RX 580 2048SP at the 68th percentile.

Q: How much faster is the Pro W5700 in OpenCL performance?

A: In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the Pro W5700 scores 74,613 against 29,668 for the RX 580 2048SP, a delta of 151.5%. This is the largest performance gap recorded between the two cards.

Q: What are the memory specifications for each card?

A: The Pro W5700 has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 580 2048SP has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

Q: Which card supports newer PCIe standards?

A: The Pro W5700 uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while the RX 580 2048SP uses PCIe 3.0 x16. This affects maximum transfer speeds between the GPU and the rest of the system.

Q: Do both cards support DirectX 12?

A: Yes, both support DirectX 12, but at different feature levels. The Pro W5700 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the RX 580 2048SP supports DirectX 12 (12_0).

Q: What are the power requirements for each GPU?

A: The Pro W5700 has a TDP of 205 W and needs a 550 W suggested PSU with 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin connectors. The RX 580 2048SP has a TDP of 150 W, requires a 450 W suggested PSU, and uses a single 8-pin connector.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs represent distinct architectural generations from AMD. The Pro W5700 is built on the Navi 10 chip using the RDNA 1.0 architecture, fabricated on a 7 nm process at TSMC. The RX 580 2048SP uses the Polaris 20 chip with the older GCN 4.0 architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. This process difference is substantial: the Pro W5700 packs 10,300 million transistors into a 251 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 41.0M per mm². The RX 580 2048SP contains 5,700 million transistors on a 232 mm² die, for a density of 24.6M per mm². The Pro W5700 achieves nearly double the transistor density despite a similar physical size.

The RDNA 1.0 architecture in the Pro W5700 introduces a redesigned compute unit layout compared to GCN 4.0. This is reflected in the FP16 throughput: the Pro W5700 delivers 17.33 TFLOPS at a 2:1 ratio to its FP32 rate, while the RX 580 2048SP delivers 5.259 TFLOPS at a 1:1 ratio. The Pro W5700 also supports Vulkan 1.4, whereas the RX 580 2048SP supports Vulkan 1.3. Both cards lack dedicated ray tracing and tensor cores, so neither accelerates those workloads in hardware.

The memory architectures differ as well. The Pro W5700 pairs its Navi 10 chip with GDDR6 memory running at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective), while the RX 580 2048SP uses GDDR5 at 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective). The Pro W5700's memory clock delivers twice the effective data rate, contributing to its bandwidth advantage. The Pro W5700 also supports PCIe 4.0 x16, doubling the per-lane bandwidth available to the RX 580 2048SP's PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.

Specification Differences

The core specification gap between these cards is wide. The Pro W5700 deploys 2,304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. The RX 580 2048SP fields 2,048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The ROP count is particularly notable: the Pro W5700 has exactly twice the render output units of the RX 580 2048SP, which directly impacts pixel fill rate. The Pro W5700 achieves 120.3 GPixel/s and 270.7 GTexel/s, while the RX 580 2048SP manages 41.09 GPixel/s and 164.4 GTexel/s. The pixel rate difference is nearly threefold, a decisive factor for high-resolution rendering.

Clock speeds also favor the Pro W5700. Its base clock is 1400 MHz with a boost of 1880 MHz, while the RX 580 2048SP runs at 1168 MHz base and 1284 MHz boost. Combined with the higher shader count, this yields an FP32 performance of 8.663 TFLOPS for the Pro W5700 versus 5.259 TFLOPS for the RX 580 2048SP, a 64.8% advantage in raw compute throughput.

Memory capacity and type differ sharply: 8 GB of GDDR6 versus 4 GB of GDDR5. Both use a 256-bit bus, but the Pro W5700's 448.0 GB/s bandwidth is exactly double the RX 580 2048SP's 224.0 GB/s. The Pro W5700 also has a longer physical footprint at 267 mm (10.5 inches) versus 241 mm (9.5 inches) for the RX 580 2048SP. Both are dual-slot cards. The Pro W5700 requires two power connectors (1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin) and a 550 W PSU, while the RX 580 2048SP needs a single 8-pin and a 450 W PSU.

Display outputs differ as well. The Pro W5700 offers 5x mini-DisplayPort 1.4a plus 1x USB Type-C, making it suited for multi-monitor professional setups. The RX 580 2048SP provides 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The Pro W5700 was released on November 18, 2019, over a year after the RX 580 2048SP's October 14, 2018 launch. The Pro W5700 carries a launch MSRP of 799 USD; no launch MSRP is recorded for the RX 580 2048SP.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records two shared benchmark tests between these GPUs, and the Pro W5700 wins both decisively.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the Pro W5700 scores 74,613 against 29,668 for the RX 580 2048SP. This is a delta of 151.5%, meaning the Pro W5700 is two and a half times faster in this compute workload. OpenCL performance is critical for general-purpose GPU computing, scientific simulations, and video encoding tasks. A 151.5% lead indicates that the RDNA 1.0 architecture combined with the wider memory bandwidth delivers transformative gains over the older GCN 4.0 design in these scenarios.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the Pro W5700 scores 70,706 versus 38,666 for the RX 580 2048SP, a delta of 82.9%. While not as extreme as the OpenCL gap, this still represents a substantial performance advantage in Vulkan-based games and applications. The Pro W5700's higher shading unit count, elevated clocks, and doubled ROPs all contribute to this result. The RX 580 2048SP's nearest rival in the database is the Intel Arc B580 with an average score of 23,021, just 0.2% behind. The Pro W5700's nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile at 25,740, a negligible 0.1% difference.

The Pro W5700 also participates in additional benchmarks not recorded for the RX 580 2048SP. These include PassMark DirectX 10 (88 points), DirectX 11 (104), DirectX 12 (54), DirectX 9 (225), G2D (899), G3D (14,520), and GPU compute (6,495). The RX 580 2048SP has a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 849, a test not present for the Pro W5700. The overall win tally stands at 2 wins for the Pro W5700 and 0 for the RX 580 2048SP across their common tests.

The data paints an unambiguous picture. The Pro W5700 is the superior GPU on every metric where direct comparison exists, with particularly large margins in compute-oriented workloads. The RX 580 2048SP's only advantages are operational: lower power draw, simpler power connector requirements, and a shorter card length. For anyone prioritizing performance, the Pro W5700 is the definitive choice.