AMD Radeon Pro W6600X vs NVIDIA Quadro GP100 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data available for these two cards is not directly comparable, as the AMD Radeon Pro W6600X was tested using Geekbench Metal, while the NVIDIA Quadro GP100 was tested using Geekbench OpenCL. This is a critical distinction. The AMD card scores 107,342 in Metal, while the NVIDIA card scores 87,445 in OpenCL. However, these are different test APIs, not a direct head-to-head comparison.

Looking at the relative standings, the AMD Radeon Pro W6600X sits at the 94th percentile of all GPUs, with its nearest rival being the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II Duo at 106,750, a delta of just 0.6%. It also surpasses the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000 by 5.4%, which scores 101,872. On the other side, the NVIDIA Quadro GP100 sits at the 93rd percentile, with the AMD Radeon PRO W7600 as its closest competitor at 87,108, a 0.4% gap.

The data shows the GP100 is 2.1% ahead of the NVIDIA CMP 40HX (85,637) but trails the NVIDIA RTX A4500 Mobile by 4% (91,134) and the NVIDIA RTX A4500 by 4.6% (91,671). While the raw scores suggest the W6600X is roughly 22.8% higher than the GP100 in their respective benchmark tests, this should not be treated as a direct performance comparison due to the different test methodologies.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different architectural eras. The AMD Radeon Pro W6600X is built on RDNA 2.0 architecture, using the Navi 23 chip, fabricated on a 7 nm process at TSMC. It integrates 11,060 million transistors on a 237 mm² die, giving it a transistor density of 46.7M per mm². The NVIDIA Quadro GP100, by contrast, uses the older Pascal architecture with the GP100 chip, on a 16 nm process, also from TSMC. It has 15,300 million transistors on a much larger 610 mm² die, resulting in a lower transistor density of 25.1M per mm².

Ray tracing support is a key differentiator. The AMD card includes 32 dedicated ray tracing cores, while the NVIDIA card has none. The AMD card also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), whereas the NVIDIA card is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1). Vulkan support differs as well: the AMD card supports Vulkan 1.4, while the NVIDIA card supports Vulkan 1.3. Both offer OpenGL 4.6.

The memory subsystem is fundamentally different. The W6600X uses 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, while the GP100 uses 16 GB of HBM2 on a massive 4096-bit bus. This leads to a significant bandwidth advantage for the NVIDIA card: 732.2 GB/s versus 256.0 GB/s for the AMD card.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon Pro W6600X wins on architectural modernity and efficiency. Its 7 nm process node, smaller die, and lower transistor count suggest better power efficiency per watt, though direct power consumption figures are not compared here. The inclusion of 32 ray tracing cores and DirectX 12 Ultimate support makes it the clear choice for workloads that leverage hardware-accelerated ray tracing or the latest DirectX 12 features. The data shows it at the 94th percentile, slightly ahead of the GP100's 93rd percentile.

The NVIDIA Quadro GP100 wins on raw memory capacity and bandwidth. With 16 GB of HBM2 memory and 732.2 GB/s of bandwidth, it holds a 2.9x advantage in memory bandwidth over the AMD card. This makes it better suited for large datasets or workloads that are heavily memory-bound. It also has more shading units (3584 vs 2048), more texture mapping units (224 vs 128), and more render output units (96 vs 64). In raw compute, its FP32 output is 10.34 TFLOPS, nearly identical to the AMD card's 10.15 TFLOPS, despite the architectural differences.

The GP100 also offers display outputs (1x DVI and 4x DisplayPort 1.4a), while the W6600X has no outputs, meaning it is strictly a compute card for use in Apple MPX systems.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon Pro W6600X | NVIDIA Quadro GP100 |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | RDNA 2.0 | Pascal |

| Process Node | 7 nm | 16 nm |

| Transistors | 11,060 million | 15,300 million |

| Die Size | 237 mm² | 610 mm² |

| Base Clock | 2068 MHz | 1304 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2479 MHz | 1443 MHz |

| Memory Size | 8 GB | 16 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | HBM2 |

| Memory Bus | 128 bit | 4096 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 256.0 GB/s | 732.2 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 2048 | 3584 |

| TMUs | 128 | 224 |

| ROPs | 64 | 96 |

| Ray Tracing Cores | 32 | None |

| Pixel Rate | 158.7 GPixel/s | 138.5 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 317.3 GTexel/s | 323.2 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 10.15 TFLOPS | 10.34 TFLOPS |

| TDP | 120 W | 235 W |

| Suggested PSU | 300 W | 550 W |

| Bus Interface | Apple MPX | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | None | 1x DVI, 4x DisplayPort 1.4a |

| DirectX Support | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | 12 (12_1) |

| Vulkan Support | 1.4 | 1.3 |

| Release Date | 2021-08-02 | 2016-09-30 |

The AMD card has significantly higher clock speeds, with a base clock of 2068 MHz versus 1304 MHz and a boost clock of 2479 MHz versus 1443 MHz. It also has a lower TDP of 120 W versus 235 W, and requires a 300 W PSU versus 550 W for the NVIDIA card. The AMD card is end-of-life, as is the NVIDIA card, but the AMD card launched in 2021 while the NVIDIA card launched in 2016.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in raw compute performance?

A: The data shows they are nearly identical in FP32 performance. The NVIDIA Quadro GP100 delivers 10.34 TFLOPS, while the AMD Radeon Pro W6600X delivers 10.15 TFLOPS, a negligible 0.19 TFLOPS difference.

Q: Does the AMD card support ray tracing?

A: Yes, the AMD Radeon Pro W6600X includes 32 dedicated ray tracing cores. The NVIDIA Quadro GP100 has no ray tracing cores.

Q: How do their memory bandwidths compare?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro GP100 has 732.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth, which is approximately 2.9 times higher than the 256.0 GB/s of the AMD Radeon Pro W6600X.

Q: Which card has more memory?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro GP100 has 16 GB of HBM2 memory, which is double the 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on the AMD Radeon Pro W6600X.

Q: Are these cards still in production?

A: No, both the AMD Radeon Pro W6600X and the NVIDIA Quadro GP100 are marked as end-of-life products in the data.

Q: What is the benchmark percentile ranking for each?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro W6600X is at the 94th percentile of all GPUs, while the NVIDIA Quadro GP100 is at the 93rd percentile.

The Verdict

The data presents a clear split between two very different design philosophies. Pick the AMD Radeon Pro W6600X if your priority is modern architecture, hardware ray tracing, and power efficiency. It is built on a 7 nm process, has ray tracing cores, supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, and draws only 120 W. It also holds a higher benchmark percentile (94th vs 93rd) and a higher raw benchmark score in its respective test. Its launch MSRP was 699 USD.

Pick the NVIDIA Quadro GP100 if your workloads demand large memory capacity and maximum memory bandwidth. It offers 16 GB of HBM2 memory with 732.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is nearly three times the bandwidth of the AMD card. It also has more shading units, TMUs, and ROPs, and provides display outputs for direct monitor connection. However, it is an older architecture from 2016, lacks ray tracing, and draws almost twice the power at 235 W.

The choice ultimately depends on whether you need the modern feature set and efficiency of the AMD card or the massive memory bandwidth and capacity of the NVIDIA card. The benchmark scores are not directly comparable due to different test APIs, so rely on the architectural and specification differences to guide your decision.