AMD Radeon Pro W5700X vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 dominates every recorded head-to-head comparison. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 5090 scores 334,370 against the W5700X's 43,810, a 663.2% advantage. In Geekbench Vulkan, the gap widens further: 376,728 versus 45,246, putting the RTX 5090 732.6% ahead. These are not marginal wins; they represent completely different performance tiers.

The RTX 5090 also holds a vast lead in the broader database. Its average benchmark score sits at 79,842, placing it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs. The W5700X averages 54,828, in the 87th percentile. The percentile difference looks modest, but the raw score gap is roughly 45%. The RTX 5090's nearest rivals in the database include the Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (79,605, only 0.3% behind) and the Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (79,396, 0.6% behind), which shows how far above the W5700X the 5090 sits. The W5700X's closest competitors, by contrast, are the RTX 4080 (54,247, 1.1% behind) and RTX 4080 SUPER (54,209, 1.1% behind).

Where does the W5700X win? Nowhere in the recorded data. It has no wins in any head-to-head test. The only benchmark where it appears without a direct RTX 5090 comparison is Geekbench Metal, where it scores 75,427, a result that reflects its Apple ecosystem heritage rather than any competitive standing against the 5090.

The use-case split is therefore simple: if the workload is OpenCL or Vulkan compute, the RTX 5090 is the only rational choice from these two. The W5700X is not competitive in any measured dimension.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations and design philosophies. The RTX 5090 uses the GB202 chip built on Blackwell 2.0 architecture, manufactured on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It packs 92,200 million transistors into a 750 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 122.9 million per mm². The W5700X uses Navi 10 with RDNA 1.0 architecture, on TSMC's 7 nm node, with 10,300 million transistors on a 251 mm² die, for 41.0 million per mm². The RTX 5090 is not just larger, it is denser by a factor of three.

Memory configurations diverge sharply. The RTX 5090 carries 32 GB of GDDR7 on a 512 bit bus, with 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. The W5700X has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256 bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s. That is a 4x capacity advantage and roughly a 4x bandwidth advantage for the 5090.

Compute resources tell the same story. The RTX 5090 has 21,760 shading units, 680 TMUs, 176 ROPs, 170 RT cores, and 680 tensor cores. The W5700X has 2,560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, with no RT cores and no tensor cores listed. The RTX 5090's FP32 throughput is 104.8 TFLOPS; the W5700X manages 10.44 TFLOPS. The 5090's FP16 is 104.8 TFLOPS (1:1), while the W5700X reaches 20.89 TFLOPS (2:1). Pixel rate is 423.6 GPixel/s versus 130.6 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 1,636.8 GTexel/s versus 326.4 GTexel/s.

Clock behavior differs too. The RTX 5090 runs at a 2017 MHz base and 2407 MHz boost, with memory at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). The W5700X has a 1243 MHz base and 2040 MHz boost, with memory at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). The 5090 boosts higher and its memory runs at double the effective speed.

Power and physical design are in different leagues. The RTX 5090 is rated at 575 W TDP with a suggested 950 W PSU, dual-slot, powered by a single 16-pin connector. The W5700X draws 205 W, suggests a 550 W PSU, and occupies four slots with no listed power connector, using Apple MPX as its bus interface. The RTX 5090 uses PCIe 5.0 x16; the W5700X uses Apple MPX. Display outputs: the 5090 has 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1b; the W5700X has 1x HDMI 2.0b and 4x Thunderbolt. API support: the 5090 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The W5700X supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, missing the Ultimate feature level.

Production status also differs: the RTX 5090 is Active, released 2025-01-29, with a listed successor (GeForce 60) and predecessor (GeForce 40). The W5700X is End-of-life, released 2019-12-10, with no listed successor or predecessor.

The Verdict

Choose the RTX 5090 for any workload that appears in the benchmark database. It wins both head-to-head tests by margins of 663.2% and 732.6%. It has 32 GB of GDDR7 memory versus 16 GB of GDDR6, more than 8x the shading units, and more than 10x the FP32 throughput. The 5090's average score of 79,842 places it near the Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (79,605) and above the Radeon Pro Vega 64X (80,959, which is actually 1.4% higher, making that rival the only one in its list that beats it). The W5700X's average of 54,828 sits alongside the RTX 4080 and RX 6750 GRE 12 GB, a much lower tier.

Pick the W5700X only if the platform demands it. It uses Apple MPX, has four Thunderbolt outputs, and is a quad-slot card. Its 205 W TDP and 550 W suggested PSU are far more modest than the 5090's 575 W and 950 W. It also has a Metal benchmark score of 75,427, which is its only recorded strong result, and that test has no RTX 5090 comparison. But for raw compute, the data shows no scenario where the W5700X wins.

The RTX 5090's launch MSRP is 1,999 USD. The W5700X's launch MSRP is 999 USD. The price difference is substantial, but the performance difference is even larger. The 5090 is the choice for anyone whose software uses OpenCL or Vulkan. The W5700X is a legacy Apple-oriented card with no competitive standing in these tests.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The RTX 5090 averages 79,842, while the W5700X averages 54,828. The 5090 sits in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs; the W5700X is in the 87th.

Q: How large is the gap in Geekbench Vulkan?

A: The RTX 5090 scores 376,728 versus 45,246 for the W5700X, a 732.6% difference.

Q: Does the W5700X have any ray tracing or tensor hardware?

A: No. The database lists no RT cores and no tensor cores for the W5700X. The RTX 5090 has 170 RT cores and 680 tensor cores.

Q: What memory configurations do the two cards use?

A: The RTX 5090 uses 32 GB of GDDR7 on a 512 bit bus with 1.79 TB/s bandwidth. The W5700X uses 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256 bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card has higher power requirements?

A: The RTX 5090 has a 575 W TDP and suggests a 950 W PSU. The W5700X has a 205 W TDP and suggests a 550 W PSU.

Q: Are there any benchmarks where the W5700X is competitive?

A: In the head-to-head data, no. The W5700X loses both OpenCL and Vulkan tests. Its only notable result is a Geekbench Metal score of 75,427, but there is no RTX 5090 Metal comparison in the database.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two recorded head-to-head tests both belong to the RTX 5090. In Geekbench OpenCL, the 5090 posts 334,370 against the W5700X's 43,810. That is a 663.2% delta, or roughly 7.6x the W5700X's score. In Geekbench Vulkan, the 5090 reaches 376,728 versus 45,246, a 732.6% delta, or about 8.3x. These are the only direct comparisons available, and they cover the two most common cross-platform compute APIs.

The broader database results reinforce the head-to-head picture. The RTX 5090's individual scores include 18,355 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, 334,370 in OpenCL, 376,728 in Vulkan, and 39,650 in Passmark G3D. Its Passmark compute score is 26,756. The W5700X has only three recorded benchmarks: 75,427 in Metal, 43,810 in OpenCL, and 45,246 in Vulkan. The Metal score is its best, but Metal is Apple-specific and has no RTX 5090 counterpart in the database.

Look at the rival lists for context. The RTX 5090's nearest rival by average score is the Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB at 79,605, just 0.3% behind. The Radeon Pro Vega 64X is 1.4% ahead at 80,959. The W5700X's nearest rival is the RX 6750 GRE 12 GB at 55,698, 1.6% ahead, and the Radeon 8060S at 55,757, 1.7% ahead. The RTX 4080 and 4080 SUPER are both 1.1% behind the W5700X. These lists show that the W5700X competes with mid-range GPUs from 2022-2023, while the RTX 5090 competes with professional compute cards.

The biggest win for the 5090 is Vulkan at 732.6%. The biggest win for the W5700X does not exist in the head-to-head data. Even in its strongest recorded area, Metal, the score of 75,427 is far below the 5090's OpenCL and Vulkan numbers, though the different APIs make direct comparison imperfect.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every measurable field. Process node: 5 nm for the RTX 5090, 7 nm for the W5700X. Transistors: 92,200 million versus 10,300 million. Die size: 750 mm² versus 251 mm². Transistor density: 122.9M per mm² versus 41.0M per mm².

Clock speeds: the 5090 has a 2017 MHz base and 2407 MHz boost; the W5700X has 1243 MHz base and 2040 MHz boost. Memory clock: 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective) versus 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). Memory size: 32 GB versus 16 GB. Memory type: GDDR7 versus GDDR6. Bus width: 512 bit versus 256 bit. Bandwidth: 1.79 TB/s versus 448.0 GB/s.

Compute units: 21,760 shading units versus 2,560. TMUs: 680 versus 160. ROPs: 176 versus 64. RT cores: 170 versus none listed. Tensor cores: 680 versus none listed. Pixel rate: 423.6 GPixel/s versus 130.6 GPixel/s. Texture rate: 1,636.8 GTexel/s versus 326.4 GTexel/s. FP32: 104.8 TFLOPS versus 10.44 TFLOPS. FP16: 104.8 TFLOPS (1:1) versus 20.89 TFLOPS (2:1).

Power: 575 W TDP versus 205 W. Slot width: dual-slot versus quad-slot. Power connector: 1x 16-pin versus none listed. Suggested PSU: 950 W versus 550 W. Bus interface: PCIe 5.0 x16 versus Apple MPX. Display outputs: 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1b versus 1x HDMI 2.0b and 4x Thunderbolt.

API support: DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) versus DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4. Production status: Active versus End-of-life. Release date: 2025-01-29 versus 2019-12-10. The 5090 has a predecessor (GeForce 40) and successor (GeForce 60); the W5700X has neither listed. Dimensions: the 5090 is 304 mm long, 137 mm tall, 40 mm wide; the W5700X is 305 mm long with no listed height or width. Both are approximately 12 inches in length.