AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo vs NVIDIA B200 Comparison
AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo
B200
PERFORMANCE BENCHMARKS
Analysis: AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo vs NVIDIA B200
The NVIDIA B200 and AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo occupy entirely different corners of the GPU world, and the benchmark data reflects that chasm. The B200 is a server-class Blackwell accelerator with a 100th-percentile ranking, while the W6800X Duo is an end-of-life RDNA 2 workstation card for Apple MPX systems sitting at the 96th percentile. In the single head-to-head benchmark available, the B200 delivers a 177.9% higher OpenCL score (345482 vs 124335), making the performance gap definitive. However, the W6800X Duo offers display outputs, ray tracing cores, and a far lower power envelope, making it the right tool for a completely different job.
FAQ
Q: Which GPU is faster in OpenCL benchmarks?
A: The NVIDIA B200 wins decisively, scoring 345482 in Geekbench OpenCL versus 124335 for the AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo. This represents a 177.9% delta in favor of the B200, meaning it delivers nearly three times the raw compute throughput in this test.
Q: How does each card compare to its nearest rivals?
A: The B200 sits 3.2% above the NVIDIA H200 NVL (334891), 8.6% above the AMD Instinct MI300X (317994), and 16.8% above the NVIDIA L40S (295763), while trailing the B300 SXM6 AC by 6.6% (369831). The W6800X Duo is tightly clustered with its peers: 0.3% above the Radeon PRO W6800 (135396), 0.4% above both the NVIDIA A10M (135230) and RTX 4000 Ada Generation (135218), and 0.5% below the Radeon PRO V620 (136472).
Q: What are the memory specifications for each card?
A: The B200 features 90 GB of HBM3e memory on a 4096-bit bus with 4.10 TB/s bandwidth. The W6800X Duo has 32 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 512.0 GB/s bandwidth. The B200 offers 8x the capacity and 8x the bandwidth.
Q: Can either card drive displays?
A: No. The NVIDIA B200 has no display outputs, being a pure compute accelerator in SXM Module form. The AMD W6800X Duo, however, provides 1x HDMI 2.1 and 4x Thunderbolt outputs, making it suitable for direct display connectivity in Mac Pro systems.
Q: What are the power requirements for each?
A: The B200 has a 1000 W TDP with a suggested PSU of 1400 W. The W6800X Duo has a 400 W TDP with a suggested PSU of 800 W. The B200 draws 2.5 times more power but delivers vastly higher compute throughput.
Q: What is the production status and release context?
A: The B200 is Active, part of the Server Blackwell (Bxx) generation, succeeding Server Hopper and preceding Server Rubin. The W6800X Duo is End-of-life, released on 2021-08-02, part of the Radeon Pro Mac (Navi II Series), with a launch MSRP of 4,999 USD.
Architecture Differences
The architectural divide between these two cards is fundamental. The NVIDIA B200 uses the GB100 chip on a 5 nm TSMC process with Blackwell architecture, packing 104,000 million transistors. The AMD W6800X Duo uses the Navi 21 chip on a 7 nm TSMC process with RDNA 2.0 architecture, containing 26,800 million transistors — roughly one quarter of the B200’s transistor count. The B200 also has a 520 mm² die size for the AMD chip, while the B200’s die size is not listed in the data.
Core configurations differ dramatically. The B200 has 18,944 shading units, 592 TMUs, 24 ROPs, and 592 tensor cores, with no dedicated RT cores listed. The W6800X Duo has 3,840 shading units, 240 TMUs, 96 ROPs, and 60 RT cores, with no tensor cores. The B200’s shading unit count is nearly 5x higher, and its TMU count is 2.5x higher, though the AMD card has 4x the ROP count.
Memory architecture is another major split. The B200 uses HBM3e with 90 GB capacity, 4096-bit bus width, and 4.10 TB/s bandwidth. The W6800X Duo uses GDDR6 with 32 GB capacity, 256-bit bus width, and 512.0 GB/s bandwidth. The B200’s memory bandwidth is 8x higher, which is critical for large-scale compute workloads. Clock speeds are similar in boost — 1965 MHz for B200 versus 1967 MHz for W6800X Duo — but base clocks differ at 700 MHz versus 1800 MHz respectively.
Process node differences also affect density. The B200 uses 5 nm versus 7 nm for the AMD card, with transistor density listed only for the W6800X Duo at 51.5M per mm². The B200 supports PCIe 5.0 x16, while the W6800X Duo uses Apple MPX bus interface. API support also differs: the W6800X Duo lists DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, while the B200 has no API listings in the data.
Where Each One Wins
The NVIDIA B200 wins in raw compute density. Its fp32 performance is 74.45 TFLOPS versus 15.11 TFLOPS for the W6800X Duo, a 4.9x advantage. In fp16, the B200 reaches 1,191.2 TFLOPS (16:1 ratio) versus 30.21 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio) for the AMD card. This makes the B200 the clear choice for AI training, scientific simulation, and any workload that saturates tensor cores or requires massive memory bandwidth.
The B200 also wins on memory capacity and bandwidth, with 90 GB and 4.10 TB/s versus 32 GB and 512.0 GB/s. This matters for large language models, high-resolution data sets, or in-memory databases. The B200’s texture rate of 1,163.3 GTexel/s versus 472.1 GTexel/s for the W6800X Duo further cements its compute advantage, though the AMD card’s pixel rate of 188.8 GPixel/s versus 47.16 GPixel/s for the B200 shows a different rasterization focus.
The AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo wins on practical workstation features. It has display outputs (1x HDMI 2.1, 4x Thunderbolt) versus none for the B200, making it usable for direct visual output. It includes 60 RT cores for hardware-accelerated ray tracing, which the B200 lacks. Its 400 W TDP is far more manageable than the B200’s 1000 W, and its 800 W suggested PSU versus 1400 W makes system integration easier. The W6800X Duo also has a compact 267 mm length and 120 mm height, fitting standard workstation slots, while the B200 requires an SXM Module form factor.
Specification Differences
| Specification | NVIDIA B200 | AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Blackwell | RDNA 2.0 |
| Process Node | 5 nm | 7 nm |
| Transistors | 104,000 million | 26,800 million |
| Die Size | Not listed | 520 mm² |
| Base Clock | 700 MHz | 1800 MHz |
| Boost Clock | 1965 MHz | 1967 MHz |
| Memory Size | 90 GB | 32 GB |
| Memory Type | HBM3e | GDDR6 |
| Memory Bus | 4096 bit | 256 bit |
| Memory Bandwidth | 4.10 TB/s | 512.0 GB/s |
| Shading Units | 18944 | 3840 |
| TMUs | 592 | 240 |
| ROPs | 24 | 96 |
| RT Cores | Not listed | 60 |
| Tensor Cores | 592 | Not listed |
| FP32 | 74.45 TFLOPS | 15.11 TFLOPS |
| FP16 | 1,191.2 TFLOPS (16:1) | 30.21 TFLOPS (2:1) |
| Pixel Rate | 47.16 GPixel/s | 188.8 GPixel/s |
| Texture Rate | 1,163.3 GTexel/s | 472.1 GTexel/s |
| TDP | 1000 W | 400 W |
| Suggested PSU | 1400 W | 800 W |
| Slot Width | SXM Module | Quad-slot |
| Bus Interface | PCIe 5.0 x16 | Apple MPX |
| Display Outputs | No outputs | 1x HDMI 2.1, 4x Thunderbolt |
| Production Status | Active | End-of-life |
Head-to-Head Benchmarks
The only direct benchmark comparison available is Geekbench OpenCL, where the NVIDIA B200 scores 345482 against the AMD W6800X Duo’s 124335. The delta is 177.9% in favor of the B200, meaning the B200 more than doubles the AMD card’s score. This single data point is consistent with the massive specification differences: the B200 has 4.9x the FP32 throughput, 8x the memory bandwidth, and 3.9x the transistor count.
Contextualizing the B200’s score against its nearest rivals shows it is not an outlier. The B200’s 345482 sits 3.2% above the H200 NVL (334891) and 8.6% above the MI300X (317994), while remaining 6.6% below the B300 SXM6 AC (369831). This places the B200 firmly in the top tier of server accelerators, with a 100th-percentile ranking across all GPUs.
The W6800X Duo’s 124335 OpenCL score is similarly consistent with its peer group. Its average benchmark score of 135774 includes Geekbench Metal at 157365 and Vulkan at 125622. The deltaPct against its nearest rivals is minimal: 0.3% above the PRO W6800, 0.4% above the A10M and RTX 4000 Ada, and 0.5% below the PRO V620. The 96th-percentile ranking reflects a solid but not exceptional position.
The B200’s wins extend beyond OpenCL. Its FP16 performance of 1,191.2 TFLOPS is 39.4x the W6800X Duo’s 30.21 TFLOPS, though the 16:1 ratio versus 2:1 ratio indicates different precision handling. The B200’s texture rate advantage (1,163.3 versus 472.1 GTexel/s) is 2.5x, while the W6800X Duo counters with a 4x pixel rate advantage (188.8 versus 47.16 GPixel/s), suggesting the AMD card is better suited for traditional rasterization output.
The Verdict
The data points to a simple conclusion: these GPUs serve different masters. The NVIDIA B200 is a compute monster. Its 177.9% OpenCL lead over the W6800X Duo, combined with 90 GB of HBM3e memory and 4.10 TB/s bandwidth, makes it the obvious choice for AI training, large-scale data processing, and scientific computing where raw throughput is paramount. Its 100th-percentile ranking and proximity to the B300 SXM6 AC (6.6% gap) confirm it belongs in the top tier of server accelerators. The 1000 W TDP and SXM Module form factor are non-issues in a datacenter rack.
The AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo is a workstation card for a specific ecosystem. Its 4x Thunderbolt outputs plus HDMI 2.1 make it a practical choice for Mac Pro users needing direct display connectivity. The 60 RT cores enable hardware ray tracing that the B200 lacks entirely. Its 400 W TDP and 800 W suggested PSU allow integration into systems where the B200’s 1400 W PSU requirement would be prohibitive. The 96th-percentile ranking shows it is competitive within its class, with deltaPct values under 0.5% against its nearest rivals.
Choose the B200 if your workload is compute-bound and you have the power and cooling infrastructure. Its 74.45 TFLOPS FP32 and 1,191.2 TFLOPS FP16 performance, plus 8x memory bandwidth over the AMD card, will accelerate any heavy compute task. Choose the W6800X Duo if you need display outputs, ray tracing, and a manageable power envelope in a Mac Pro or similar workstation. Its 188.8 GPixel/s pixel rate and 60 RT cores serve visualization workloads, and its end-of-life status with a 4,999 USD launch MSRP does not diminish its capability for those specific tasks. The benchmark data is unambiguous: the B200 wins on compute, the W6800X Duo wins on practicality.