AMD Radeon PRO W6600 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 and AMD Radeon PRO W6600 sit at opposite ends of the GPU spectrum, yet both achieve the 94th percentile among all GPUs. The RTX 5090 is a 2025 flagship built on Blackwell 2.0, while the PRO W6600 is a 2021 workstation card based on RDNA 2.0, now end-of-life. Their average benchmark scores are remarkably close—84306 for the RTX 5090 versus 83209 for the PRO W6600—a mere 1.3% gap. However, this similarity masks enormous differences in architecture, power, and performance profile. The data shows two cards that occupy the same percentile tier through entirely different means: one through raw compute dominance, the other through efficiency and specialization.

FAQ

Q: How do the average benchmark scores compare between the RTX 5090 and PRO W6600?

A: The RTX 5090 scores 84306 on average, while the PRO W6600 scores 83209. The RTX 5090 leads by 1.3%, as shown in the nearestRivals data. Both cards sit at the 94th percentile of all GPUs.

Q: Which card wins in Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan tests?

A: The RTX 5090 wins both head-to-head tests. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 380114 versus 73151 for the PRO W6600, a 419.6% advantage. In Geekbench Vulkan, it scores 379571 versus 78993, a 380.5% lead.

Q: What are the memory specifications for each card?

A: The RTX 5090 has 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus with 1.79 TB/s bandwidth. The PRO W6600 has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: How do the power requirements differ?

A: The RTX 5090 has a TDP of 575 W and requires a 950 W suggested PSU with a 1x 16-pin connector. The PRO W6600 has a TDP of 100 W, needs only a 300 W suggested PSU, and uses a 1x 6-pin connector.

Q: What is the transistor count and die size for each GPU?

A: The RTX 5090 packs 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die using a 5 nm process. The PRO W6600 has 11,060 million transistors on a 237 mm² die using a 7 nm process. Transistor density is 122.9M / mm² for the RTX 5090 versus 46.7M / mm² for the PRO W6600.

Q: Are both cards still in production?

A: No. The RTX 5090 is listed as Active, while the PRO W6600 is listed as End-of-life. The RTX 5090 released on 2025-01-29, and the PRO W6600 released on 2021-06-07.

Architecture Differences

The RTX 5090 uses the GB202 chip built on Blackwell 2.0 architecture, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It contains 92,200 million transistors across a 750 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 122.9M / mm². The PRO W6600 uses the Navi 23 chip based on RDNA 2.0 architecture, fabricated on a 7 nm process, also at TSMC. It holds 11,060 million transistors on a 237 mm² die, with a density of 46.7M / mm². The RTX 5090 has 21760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs, while the PRO W6600 has 1792 shading units, 112 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. Ray tracing cores number 170 on the RTX 5090 versus 28 on the PRO W6600. The RTX 5090 also includes 680 tensor cores; the PRO W6600 has none. Memory technology differs significantly: GDDR7 on a 512-bit bus for the RTX 5090, GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus for the PRO W6600. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The RTX 5090 uses a PCIe 5.0 x16 interface, while the PRO W6600 uses PCIe 4.0 x8.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head data contains only two shared benchmarks, both of which the RTX 5090 wins decisively. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 5090 scores 380114 against the PRO W6600's 73151. This is a 419.6% delta, meaning the RTX 5090 delivers over five times the OpenCL performance. In Geekbench Vulkan, the RTX 5090 scores 379571 versus 78993 for the PRO W6600, a 380.5% advantage. These results reflect the massive compute gap: the RTX 5090 offers 104.8 TFLOPS FP32, while the PRO W6600 offers 9.247 TFLOPS. The RTX 5090 also leads in pixel rate at 423.6 GPixel/s versus 165.1 GPixel/s, and texture rate at 1,636.8 GTexel/s versus 289.0 GTexel/s. The PRO W6600's only benchmark wins come from tests not shared with the RTX 5090; its Geekbench Metal score of 97483 is not comparable here. The RTX 5090 also holds additional benchmark scores—like Passmark G3D at 39650 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 at 14411—that have no PRO W6600 counterpart. The wins count stands at 2 for the RTX 5090 and 0 for the PRO W6600.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every specification field. Process node: 5 nm for the RTX 5090, 7 nm for the PRO W6600. Transistors: 92,200 million versus 11,060 million. Die size: 750 mm² versus 237 mm². Transistor density: 122.9M / mm² versus 46.7M / mm². Base clock: 2017 MHz versus 2331 MHz. Boost clock: 2407 MHz versus 2580 MHz. Memory clock: 28 Gbps effective versus 14 Gbps effective. Memory size: 32 GB versus 8 GB. Memory type: GDDR7 versus GDDR6. Bus width: 512 bit versus 128 bit. Bandwidth: 1.79 TB/s versus 224.0 GB/s. Shading units: 21760 versus 1792. TMUs: 680 versus 112. ROPs: 176 versus 64. RT cores: 170 versus 28. Tensor cores: 680 versus none. Pixel rate: 423.6 GPixel/s versus 165.1 GPixel/s. Texture rate: 1,636.8 GTexel/s versus 289.0 GTexel/s. FP32: 104.8 TFLOPS versus 9.247 TFLOPS. FP16: 104.8 TFLOPS (1:1) versus 18.49 TFLOPS (2:1). TDP: 575 W versus 100 W. Slot width: Dual-slot versus Single-slot. Power connector: 1x 16-pin versus 1x 6-pin. Suggested PSU: 950 W versus 300 W. Bus interface: PCIe 5.0 x16 versus PCIe 4.0 x8. Display outputs: 1x HDMI 2.1b plus 3x DisplayPort 2.1b versus 4x DisplayPort 1.4a. Dimensions: 304 mm length, 137 mm height, 40 mm width versus 241 mm length only. Release date: 2025-01-29 versus 2021-06-07. Production status: Active versus End-of-life. Launch MSRP: 1,999 USD versus 649 USD.

The Verdict

The data makes the choice straightforward for raw performance: the RTX 5090 dominates every shared benchmark. Its Geekbench OpenCL score is 419.6% higher and its Vulkan score is 380.5% higher. The RTX 5090 offers 32 GB of GDDR7 memory with 1.79 TB/s bandwidth, versus 8 GB of GDDR6 with 224.0 GB/s. It has 21760 shading units and 170 RT cores, compared to 1792 and 28 respectively. The RTX 5090 is also the only one of the two with tensor cores, adding 680 of them. The PRO W6600 counters with a much lower TDP of 100 W versus 575 W, a single-slot design versus dual-slot, and a smaller 241 mm length. It also has a higher base clock (2331 MHz versus 2017 MHz) and boost clock (2580 MHz versus 2407 MHz). But those clock advantages do not translate into compute wins. The RTX 5090's FP32 throughput is 104.8 TFLOPS, over eleven times the PRO W6600's 9.247 TFLOPS. The nearestRivals data confirms the RTX 5090's top position: it is 0.1% ahead of the RTX 5090 D, 0.2% ahead of the RTX 5050 Mobile, and 1.3% ahead of the PRO W6600. The PRO W6600's rival list shows it trailing the RTX 5090 by 1.3%. Both cards hit the 94th percentile, but the RTX 5090 does so with far more headroom.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 5090 wins in every scenario involving heavy compute. Its 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth make it the clear choice for GPU compute workloads, as evidenced by the 419.6% OpenCL lead. The 32 GB memory capacity suits large datasets, and the 512-bit bus moves data quickly. The 680 tensor cores enable AI acceleration that the PRO W6600 cannot offer at all. The RTX 5090 also wins on display output modernity with HDMI 2.1b and DisplayPort 2.1b, versus the PRO W6600's older DisplayPort 1.4a. Its PCIe 5.0 x16 interface doubles the PRO W6600's PCIe 4.0 x8 bandwidth. The PRO W6600 wins on efficiency and physical footprint. Its 100 W TDP means it can run in systems where the RTX 5090's 575 W draw is impossible. The single-slot design fits in dense chassis, and the 241 mm length is shorter than the RTX 5090's 304 mm. The PRO W6600's higher clocks—2331 MHz base and 2580 MHz boost—suggest better per-clock efficiency, though the RTX 5090's massive core count overwhelms that advantage. The PRO W6600's 4x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs offer multi-display capability without adapters, while the RTX 5090 provides three DisplayPort 2.1b plus one HDMI 2.1b. For users with strict power limits, the PRO W6600's 300 W suggested PSU versus the RTX 5090's 950 W is the deciding factor. The RTX 5090's active production status and 2025 release date mean ongoing support, while the PRO W6600's end-of-life status signals limited future updates.