AMD Radeon Pro W6600X vs NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile Comparison

FAQ

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in raw compute performance?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro W6600X delivers 10.15 TFLOPS FP32, while the NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile delivers 10.08 TFLOPS FP32. The difference is minimal, less than 1% in theoretical peak performance.

Q: Which GPU has more memory bandwidth?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile has slightly higher memory bandwidth at 264.0 GB/s, compared to 256.0 GB/s for the AMD Radeon Pro W6600X. However, the AMD card has 8 GB of memory versus 6 GB on the NVIDIA card.

Q: What is the performance percentile ranking for each GPU?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro W6600X ranks in the 94th percentile among all GPUs in the database, while the NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile ranks in the 91st percentile.

Q: What benchmark data is available for each GPU?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro W6600X has a Geekbench Metal score of 107342. The NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile has a Geekbench OpenCL score of 79091 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 61189.

Q: What are the manufacturing process nodes for these GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro W6600X uses a 7 nm process at TSMC, while the NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile uses an 8 nm process at Samsung.

Q: What is the thermal design power for each GPU?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro W6600X has a TDP of 120 W, while the NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile has a TDP of 70 W.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Radeon Pro W6600X is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture, manufactured by TSMC on a 7 nm process node. Its chip, Navi 23, contains 11,060 million transistors on a die size of 237 mm², yielding a transistor density of 46.7 million per square millimeter. The GPU belongs to the Radeon Pro Mac (Navi II Series) generation.

The NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile uses the Ampere architecture, fabricated by Samsung on an 8 nm process node. Its GA104 chip contains 17,400 million transistors on a 392 mm² die, resulting in a slightly lower transistor density of 44.4 million per square millimeter. This GPU is part of the Ampere-MW (Ax000) generation.

The AMD GPU has 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation pipelines. It also includes 32 ray tracing cores. The NVIDIA GPU has double the shading units at 4096, but matches the AMD card with 128 TMUs and 64 ROPs. The RTX A3000 Mobile also has 32 ray tracing cores but adds 128 tensor cores, which the AMD card does not list.

Clock behavior differs substantially. The AMD Radeon Pro W6600X has a base clock of 2068 MHz and a boost clock of 2479 MHz, reflecting a desktop-class power envelope. The NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile has a base clock of 600 MHz and a boost clock of 1230 MHz, typical of a mobile part prioritizing efficiency.

Memory configurations also diverge. The AMD card uses 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128 bit bus, with memory clocked at 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective). The NVIDIA card uses 6 GB of GDDR6 on a wider 192 bit bus, with memory at 1375 MHz (11 Gbps effective). Despite the narrower bus, the NVIDIA GPU achieves slightly higher memory bandwidth.

The FP16 compute rates reveal a notable architectural difference. The AMD Radeon Pro W6600X delivers 20.31 TFLOPS FP16 with a 2:1 ratio relative to FP32, while the NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile delivers 10.08 TFLOPS FP16 with a 1:1 ratio. This means the AMD card has double-rate FP16 capability, while the NVIDIA card does not.

The AMD GPU uses an Apple MPX bus interface and has no display outputs, indicating it is designed for integration into Apple systems. The NVIDIA GPU uses PCIe 4.0 x16 and its display outputs are described as portable device dependent. The AMD card is dual-slot, while the NVIDIA card has no slot width listed and draws power without external connectors.

Both GPUs support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Both are end-of-life products. The AMD Radeon Pro W6600X was released on August 2, 2021, while the NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile was released earlier on April 11, 2021. The NVIDIA card has a predecessor named Quadro Turing-M and a successor named Ada-MW.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

Direct head-to-head benchmark results are not recorded in the database for these two GPUs. However, each has individual benchmark scores that can be compared contextually through their nearest rivals.

The AMD Radeon Pro W6600X scores 107342 in Geekbench Metal, placing it in the 94th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II Duo, scores 106750, which is 0.6% lower. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega II scores 109617, putting it 2.1% ahead of the W6600X. The AMD Radeon PRO W7900 scores 110725, which is 3.1% ahead. The NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000 scores 101872, placing it 5.4% behind the W6600X.

The NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile has two recorded benchmarks: 79091 in Geekbench OpenCL and 61189 in Geekbench Vulkan. Its average benchmark score across all recorded tests is 70140, placing it in the 91st percentile. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Quadro P6000, scores 69986, just 0.2% lower. The AMD Radeon Pro WX 8200 scores 69870, 0.4% lower. The AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE scores 70829, which is 1% ahead of the RTX A3000 Mobile. The NVIDIA CMP 90HX scores 69000, 1.7% behind.

The percentile gap between the two GPUs is narrow: 94th versus 91st. The AMD card's single recorded benchmark of 107342 in Metal is substantially higher than either of the NVIDIA card's individual scores, but the tests are not directly comparable. The Metal test exercises AMD's graphics stack in Apple environments, while the OpenCL and Vulkan scores on the NVIDIA card reflect a different API workload.

The closest rival comparisons show both GPUs sitting in a similar performance neighborhood. The AMD card is within 3.1% of the Radeon PRO W7900 and within 2.1% of the Radeon Pro Vega II. The NVIDIA card is within 1% of the Radeon RX 6600 LE and within 0.2% of the Quadro P6000. These proximity bands suggest both cards are competitive with workstation-class GPUs from the same era, though the AMD card appears to sit slightly higher in the overall distribution.

The Verdict

The recorded data does not include a direct head-to-head benchmark between the AMD Radeon Pro W6600X and the NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile. Instead, the comparison must be drawn from their individual benchmark scores, percentile rankings, and nearest rival relationships.

The AMD Radeon Pro W6600X holds a 94th percentile ranking with an average benchmark score of 107342. The NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile holds a 91st percentile ranking with an average benchmark score of 70140. The percentile gap of three points indicates that the AMD card sits higher in the overall GPU distribution, though the different benchmark APIs used for each card complicate direct score comparison.

The AMD card offers advantages in memory capacity with 8 GB versus 6 GB, higher FP16 throughput with 20.31 TFLOPS versus 10.08 TFLOPS, and a significantly higher boost clock at 2479 MHz versus 1230 MHz. These features position it as the stronger choice for compute workloads that benefit from memory capacity and half-precision arithmetic.

The NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile counters with higher memory bandwidth at 264.0 GB/s versus 256.0 GB/s, double the shading units at 4096 versus 2048, the addition of 128 tensor cores, and a much lower TDP at 70 W. The mobile form factor and efficiency profile suggest a design intended for systems where power draw and heat dissipation are primary constraints.

For users selecting between these two end-of-life workstation GPUs, the AMD Radeon Pro W6600X appears to be the stronger performer in Metal-based compute workloads and offers more memory headroom. The NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile is likely the better choice in efficiency-constrained mobile environments where tensor core acceleration matters.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across several key fields. The AMD Radeon Process Node field shows 7 nm for the AMD card and 8 nm for the NVIDIA card. Foundries differ, TSMC for AMD and Samsung for NVIDIA. The transistor counts are 11,060 million for the AMD Navi 23 and 17,400 million for the NVIDIA GA104. Die sizes are 237 mm² and 392 mm² respectively.

Memory size is 8 GB of GDDR6 on the AMD card and 6 GB on the NVIDIA card. The AMD uses a 128 bit bus while the NVIDIA uses a 192 bit bus. Memory bandwidth is 256.0 GB/s for AMD and 264.0 GB/s for NVIDIA. Shading units, 2048 for the AMD card and 4096 for the NVIDIA card. The TMU count is identical at 128 for both. The ROP count is identical at 64 for both. RT cores are identical at 32 for both. Tensor cores are listed at 128 for the NVIDIA card and null for the AMD card.

FP32 performance is 10.15 TFLOPS for AMD and 10.08 TFLOPS for NVIDIA. FP16 performance is 20.31 TFLOPS for AMD and 10.08 TFLOPS for NVIDIA. TDP is 120 W for the AMD card and 70 W for the NVIDIA card. The AMD card is dual-slot while the NVIDIA card has no slot width listed. The AMD card has no power connectors listed, while the NVIDIA card has none. The AMD card has a suggested PSU of 300 W while the NVIDIA card has no suggested PSU listed.

Bus interfaces differ, with the AMD card using Apple MPX and the NVIDIA card using PCIe 4.0 x16. Display outputs show no outputs for the AMD card and portable device dependent for the NVIDIA card. Release dates differ, with the AMD card on August 2, 2021 and the NVIDIA card on April 11, 2021. The AMD card has a launch MSRP of 699 USD.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon Pro W6600X wins in memory capacity with 8 GB versus 6 GB, which benefits workloads that require larger working sets. It also wins in FP16 compute with 20.31 TFLOPS versus 10.08 TFLOPS, offering double-rate half-precision performance. The higher boost clock of 2479 MHz versus 1230 MHz suggests stronger single-threaded compute throughput. The higher transistor density of 46.7M per square millimeter versus 44.4M indicates a more compact design. The AMD card also holds the higher percentile ranking at 94th versus 91st.

The NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile wins in memory bandwidth at 264.0 GB/s versus 256.0 GB/s, despite having less memory. It also wins in shading unit count with 4096 versus 2048, which can aid certain parallel workloads. The presence of 128 tensor cores gives the NVIDIA card an advantage in workloads that leverage tensor operations, a feature absent from the AMD card's specifications. The NVIDIA card has a significantly lower TDP at 70 W versus 120 W, making it more suitable for thermally constrained mobile designs. The wider 192 bit memory bus versus 128 bit also favors the NVIDIA card for memory-heavy operations that fit within its 6 GB capacity.

The AMD card's performance percentile of 94th places it above the NVIDIA card's 91st, suggesting it occupies a stronger position in the overall GPU hierarchy. The AMD card also has a higher average benchmark score at 107342 versus 70140, though the underlying tests differ in API and workload.

For ray tracing, both cards feature 32 RT cores, so there is no distinction in that capability. For TMUs and ROPs, both cards match at 128 and 64 respectively. Both support the same API set including DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

The AMD card's Apple MPX interface and lack of display outputs indicate it is designed for Apple Mac systems, where Metal performance is the relevant metric. The NVIDIA card's PCIe 4.0 x16 interface and portable device dependent outputs suggest broader compatibility with mobile workstation platforms.

In summary, the AMD Radeon Pro W6600X wins in memory capacity, FP16 throughput, raw clock speed, and overall percentile ranking. The NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile wins in memory bandwidth, stream processor count, tensor acceleration, and power efficiency. Users prioritizing Apple Metal compute and larger memory buffers would favor the AMD card. Users prioritizing efficiency and tensor-based workloads in a mobile chassis would favor the NVIDIA card.