AMD Radeon Pro W6600X vs NVIDIA RTX A5500 Mobile Comparison

NVIDIA RTX A5500 Mobile and AMD Radeon Pro W6600X are both end-of-life professional workstation GPUs, but they target very different physical and performance envelopes. The NVIDIA part is a large mobile chip, while the AMD is a compact desktop card for Apple Mac Pro systems. Benchmark data shows the NVIDIA card leads in raw compute scores, but the AMD card holds its own in specific API tests, making the choice highly dependent on the intended software environment and system form factor.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most striking difference in the data is the raw compute advantage held by the NVIDIA RTX A5500 Mobile. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the RTX A5500 Mobile scores 124,287 points. This is a significant lead over the AMD Radeon Pro W6600X, which does not have a directly comparable OpenCL score in the provided data. However, the AMD card's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000, which scores 101,872, and the RTX A5500 Mobile sits 5.4% above that specific rival. This suggests that in OpenCL workloads, the A5500 Mobile is a top-tier performer, landing in the 94th percentile of all GPUs.

The picture changes when looking at the AMD card's strongest result. The Radeon Pro W6600X achieves a Geekbench Metal score of 107,342. This is its only listed benchmark, but it is a strong one, also placing it in the 94th percentile of all GPUs. This is critical context because Metal is Apple's graphics API, and this card is designed for the Mac platform. The NVIDIA card has no Metal benchmark score listed, meaning that in the Mac ecosystem, the AMD card is the one with proven, data-backed performance.

Comparing the two cards' overall average benchmark scores provides a clear headline number. The NVIDIA RTX A5500 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 113,944. The AMD Radeon Pro W6600X averages 107,342. This puts the NVIDIA card 6.2% ahead on average, a notable but not overwhelming margin. In terms of closest rivals, the NVIDIA card is nearly tied with the NVIDIA Tesla V100 SXM2 16 GB, which scores 114,395 (a delta of -0.4%), and sits marginally behind the NVIDIA GB10, which scores 117,393 (a delta of -2.9%). The AMD card, by contrast, is closely matched with the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II Duo, which scores 106,750 (a delta of 0.6%), and trails the AMD Radeon PRO W7900 by 3.1%.

The data does not list any direct head-to-head benchmark results between these two specific cards, so all comparisons must be drawn from their individual scores and their positions relative to shared rivals. The NVIDIA card's FP32 compute throughput is listed at 22.27 TFLOPS, while the AMD card is rated for 10.15 TFLOPS. This more than 2x theoretical compute difference aligns with the observed average score gap, but the AMD card's higher clock speeds (2479 MHz boost vs 1500 MHz) and higher pixel rate (158.7 GPixel/s vs 144.0 GPixel/s) show it is not without its own efficiency advantages.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the data, the NVIDIA RTX A5500 Mobile is the higher-performing card in general compute workloads. Its average benchmark score is 6.2% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro W6600X, and it offers more than double the FP32 throughput. Users running OpenCL-based applications on a PC or workstation should prioritize the NVIDIA card, as it also holds a 5.4% edge over the older NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000, a well-established professional card.

However, the AMD Radeon Pro W6600X is the only card in this comparison with a validated Geekbench Metal score. For anyone working within a Mac Pro environment where Metal is the primary graphics API, the AMD card is the data-backed choice. The NVIDIA card has no listed Metal performance, and its mobile design and "Portable Device Dependent" display outputs make it unsuitable for desktop Mac integration. The AMD card's Apple MPX bus interface and dual-slot form factor are designed for that specific platform.

Furthermore, the AMD card's launch MSRP is 699 USD. This is the only price data available for either card, and it establishes the W6600X as the entry point for professional Mac graphics. The NVIDIA card has no listed MSRP, implying it was sold as part of mobile workstation systems rather than as a standalone retail product. The choice is ultimately about platform and software stack: NVIDIA for general compute and OpenCL on Windows/Linux, AMD for Metal-accelerated workflows on Mac.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two GPUs is substantial, stemming from different design philosophies and manufacturing processes. The NVIDIA RTX A5500 Mobile is built on the GA103 chip using the Ampere architecture, fabricated on an 8 nm process at Samsung. This is a large chip, with 22,000 million transistors on a 496 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 44.4M per mm². The AMD Radeon Pro W6600X, in contrast, uses the Navi 23 chip based on RDNA 2.0, manufactured on a more advanced 7 nm process at TSMC. It is much smaller, with 11,060 million transistors on a 237 mm² die, giving it a higher transistor density of 46.7M per mm².

Memory configurations also differ sharply. The NVIDIA card features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The AMD card has half the capacity at 8 GB, on a narrower 128-bit bus, resulting in exactly half the bandwidth at 256.0 GB/s. Both use GDDR6 memory with a 16 Gbps effective speed, but the NVIDIA card's wider bus gives it a clear advantage in memory-heavy workloads.

Compute resources are heavily skewed toward NVIDIA. The RTX A5500 Mobile contains 7424 shading units, 232 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. It also features dedicated hardware accelerators: 58 RT cores and 232 tensor cores. The AMD card has 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, along with 32 ray accelerators for RT workloads, but no tensor core equivalent. This explains the stark difference in FP32 performance (22.27 TFLOPS vs 10.15 TFLOPS) and texture rate (348.0 GTexel/s vs 317.3 GTexel/s). Interestingly, the AMD card has a higher pixel rate (158.7 GPixel/s vs 144.0 GPixel/s) despite fewer ROPs, likely due to its much higher boost clock of 2479 MHz versus 1500 MHz.

Power and physical design also diverge. The NVIDIA card has a TDP of 165 W and relies on no external power connectors, indicating it draws power through the mobile motherboard. The AMD card has a lower TDP of 120 W and a suggested PSU of 300 W, comes in a dual-slot form factor, and uses the Apple MPX bus interface. The NVIDIA card uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while the AMD card uses Apple MPX, and the AMD card has no display outputs, whereas the NVIDIA card's outputs are dependent on the portable device it is installed in.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A5500 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 113,944, which is 6.2% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro W6600X's average of 107,342.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon Pro W6600X support Metal?

A: Yes. The AMD Radeon Pro W6600X has a Geekbench Metal score of 107,342, which is its only listed benchmark result and indicates strong performance in Apple's Metal API.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference between the two cards?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A5500 Mobile has a memory bandwidth of 512.0 GB/s, which is exactly double the 256.0 GB/s bandwidth of the AMD Radeon Pro W6600X.

Q: How does the NVIDIA card compare to its closest rival, the Tesla V100?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A5500 Mobile's average score is 113,944, which is 0.4% lower than the NVIDIA Tesla V100 SXM2 16 GB's score of 114,395.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the AMD Radeon Pro W6600X?

A: The launch MSRP of the AMD Radeon Pro W6600X is 699 USD. The NVIDIA RTX A5500 Mobile has no listed launch MSRP.

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A5500 Mobile has 7424 shading units, far more than the 2048 shading units found in the AMD Radeon Pro W6600X.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA RTX A5500 Mobile wins in raw compute and memory bandwidth. Its FP32 throughput of 22.27 TFLOPS is more than double the AMD card's 10.15 TFLOPS, and its 512.0 GB/s memory bandwidth is double the AMD card's 256.0 GB/s. It also has more than triple the shading units and a larger 16 GB frame buffer, making it the clear choice for GPU-accelerated rendering, simulation, and large dataset processing in OpenCL or CUDA-centric environments. Its PCIe 4.0 x16 interface is standard for PC workstations.

The AMD Radeon Pro W6600X wins in the Mac ecosystem and in specific efficiency metrics. Its Geekbench Metal score of 107,342 is the only Metal result in this comparison, making it the sole data-backed option for macOS applications that rely on Metal. It also has a higher boost clock (2479 MHz vs 1500 MHz) and a higher pixel rate (158.7 GPixel/s vs 144.0 GPixel/s), which could benefit certain 2D or composition workloads. Its lower TDP of 120 W and Apple MPX interface make it a purpose-built fit for Mac Pro systems, where the NVIDIA card's mobile form factor and portable-device-dependent outputs are not applicable.

The data suggests a split decision: for maximum raw performance in a PC, the NVIDIA card is superior; for a Mac Pro with Metal-based workflows, the AMD card is the only validated option. The AMD card's launch MSRP of 699 USD also gives it a clear positioning as a more accessible entry point for professional Mac users, though the NVIDIA card's lack of a standalone price makes direct cost comparison impossible.