AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo has an average benchmark score of 135774, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 records 79842. The AMD card sits at the 96th percentile of all GPUs, compared to the 92nd percentile for the NVIDIA card.

Q: How do the two compare in raw compute benchmarks?

A: In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 5090 scores 334370 versus 124335 for the W6800X Duo, a delta of -62.8% from AMD’s perspective. In Geekbench Vulkan, the RTX 5090 scores 376728 versus 125622, a delta of -66.7%.

Q: What memory configurations do these cards use?

A: Both cards have 32 GB of memory. The AMD card uses GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 512.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the NVIDIA card uses GDDR7 on a 512-bit bus with 1.79 TB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card is still in production?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is listed as Active production status, while the AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo is End-of-life. The AMD card was released on 2021-08-02, and the NVIDIA card on 2025-01-29.

Q: What are the launch MSRP values?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo has a launch MSRP of 4,999 USD. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 has a launch MSRP of 1,999 USD.

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 has 21760 shading units, compared to 3840 on the AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo. The NVIDIA card also has 680 texture mapping units and 176 raster operations pipelines, versus 240 TMUs and 96 ROPs on the AMD card.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo is built on the Navi 21 chip using the RDNA 2.0 architecture, fabricated on a 7 nm process at TSMC. It integrates 26,800 million transistors across a 520 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 51.5M per mm². The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 uses the GB202 chip with the Blackwell 2.0 architecture, also from TSMC, but on a 5 nm node. That die contains 92,200 million transistors over 750 mm², for a density of 122.9M per mm². The process shrink and larger die give NVIDIA a substantial transistor count advantage.

The compute core layout differs sharply. AMD’s card has 3840 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. NVIDIA’s card has 21760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs. For ray tracing, AMD provides 60 RT cores, while NVIDIA provides 170 RT cores. NVIDIA also includes 680 tensor cores, a feature entirely absent from the AMD card. The FP32 throughput is 15.11 TFLOPS for AMD versus 104.8 TFLOPS for NVIDIA. FP16 performance is 30.21 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio) for AMD, but NVIDIA reaches 104.8 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio, meaning it does not halve its rate for half-precision work.

Clock speeds differ as well. The AMD card runs a base clock of 1800 MHz and a boost of 1967 MHz. The NVIDIA card has a base of 2017 MHz and a boost of 2407 MHz. Memory clocks also diverge: AMD’s GDDR6 operates at 2000 MHz with 16 Gbps effective, while NVIDIA’s GDDR7 runs at 1750 MHz with 28 Gbps effective. The memory bus width is 256-bit for AMD and 512-bit for NVIDIA, which directly explains the bandwidth gap (512.0 GB/s versus 1.79 TB/s).

The physical and interface profiles are different. AMD uses an Apple MPX bus interface and is a quad-slot card, measuring 267 mm in length and 120 mm in height. NVIDIA uses PCIe 5.0 x16, is dual-slot, and measures 304 mm in length, 137 mm in height, and 40 mm in width. Display outputs are 1x HDMI 2.1 and 4x Thunderbolt on the AMD card, while the NVIDIA card has 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1b. Power delivery also differs: AMD lists a 400 W TDP with an 800 W suggested PSU, while NVIDIA lists a 575 W TDP with a 950 W suggested PSU and a single 16-pin connector.

Both cards support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so API coverage is identical.

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data shows a clear split. The AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo wins in the Geekbench Metal test, scoring 157365, a result not present in the head-to-head comparison but reflective of its Apple MPX design and macOS-oriented positioning. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 wins decisively in OpenCL and Vulkan workloads. In the recorded head-to-head tests, NVIDIA wins both: Geekbench OpenCL (334370 versus 124335) and Geekbench Vulkan (376728 versus 125622). The win count is 0 for AMD and 2 for NVIDIA.

For users running Metal-accelerated applications on Apple platforms, the AMD card’s 157365 Metal score suggests it remains competitive in that specific environment. For general-purpose compute or cross-platform Vulkan workloads, the NVIDIA card’s scores are more than double those of the AMD card. The RTX 5090 also shows strength in DirectX 12 and 11 tests: its PassMark DirectX 12 score is 185, DirectX 11 is 341, and DirectX 10 is 226. Its PassMark G3D score is 39650, and GPU compute is 26756. The AMD card has no recorded PassMark results, so the data cannot compare those workloads directly.

The AMD card’s average benchmark score of 135774 is higher than the NVIDIA card’s 79842, but that average is driven by the Metal result. When looking at shared tests (OpenCL and Vulkan), NVIDIA leads by a wide margin. The percentile ranks reflect the broader database: AMD is at the 96th percentile, NVIDIA at the 92nd, which indicates that the AMD card’s specialized results place it high among all GPUs, while the NVIDIA card’s average is dragged down by lower-scoring tests like PassMark DirectX 9 (395) and DirectX 12 (185).

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every measured specification. The process node is 7 nm for AMD versus 5 nm for NVIDIA. Transistor count is 26,800 million versus 92,200 million, and die size is 520 mm² versus 750 mm². Transistor density is 51.5M per mm² versus 122.9M per mm². Base clocks are 1800 MHz versus 2017 MHz, and boost clocks are 1967 MHz versus 2407 MHz. Memory type is GDDR6 versus GDDR7, with bus widths of 256-bit versus 512-bit. Bandwidth is 512.0 GB/s versus 1.79 TB/s.

Shading units are 3840 versus 21760, TMUs are 240 versus 680, and ROPs are 96 versus 176. RT cores are 60 versus 170, and tensor cores are absent on AMD versus 680 on NVIDIA. Pixel rate is 188.8 GPixel/s versus 423.6 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 472.1 GTexel/s versus 1,636.8 GTexel/s. FP32 is 15.11 TFLOPS versus 104.8 TFLOPS. FP16 is 30.21 TFLOPS (2:1) versus 104.8 TFLOPS (1:1). TDP is 400 W versus 575 W. Slot width is quad-slot versus dual-slot. Bus interface is Apple MPX versus PCIe 5.0 x16. Display outputs are 1x HDMI 2.1 and 4x Thunderbolt versus 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1b. Dimensions are 267 mm by 120 mm versus 304 mm by 137 mm by 40 mm. Production status is End-of-life versus Active. Release dates are 2021-08-02 versus 2025-01-29. The predecessor for NVIDIA is GeForce 40, with successor GeForce 60; AMD lists no predecessor or successor.

The only similarities are memory size (32 GB each) and the API support set (DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, Vulkan 1.4).

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head table contains two tests. In Geekbench OpenCL, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 scores 334370 against the AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo’s 124335. The delta percentage is -62.8%, meaning the AMD card trails by nearly two-thirds. In Geekbench Vulkan, NVIDIA scores 376728 versus AMD’s 125622, a delta of -66.7%. Both results are overwhelming wins for NVIDIA.

Looking at the broader benchmark list, the AMD card’s best result is its Geekbench Metal score of 157365, which is not part of the head-to-head but still appears in the database. The NVIDIA card’s strongest results are its Geekbench Vulkan score (376728) and OpenCL score (334370). Its PassMark G3D score of 39650 and GPU compute score of 26756 further show compute strength. The NVIDIA card’s PassMark DirectX 9 score of 395 is its highest legacy DX test, while DirectX 12 is only 185.

The average benchmark score comparison is misleading if taken alone. AMD’s 135774 average is higher than NVIDIA’s 79842, but the NVIDIA card’s average includes many low-scoring PassMark tests. The percentile ranks (96 for AMD, 92 for NVIDIA) suggest that the AMD card’s specialized results place it in the top tier of the database, but the direct comparison on shared workloads shows NVIDIA dominating. The nearest rivals for AMD include the AMD Radeon PRO W6800 (avg 135396, delta 0.3%), NVIDIA A10M (135230, delta 0.4%), and NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada Generation (135218, delta 0.4%). For NVIDIA, the nearest rivals are the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (79605, delta 0.3%), Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (79396, delta 0.6%), and AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78940, delta 1.1%). These rival comparisons reinforce that the AMD card sits among professional workstation GPUs, while the NVIDIA card’s average is closer to older data-center parts.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear conclusion for most users. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 wins every shared benchmark by a wide margin: 62.8% in OpenCL and 66.7% in Vulkan. Its 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 throughput, 1.79 TB/s memory bandwidth, and 21760 shading units are far beyond the AMD card’s 15.11 TFLOPS, 512.0 GB/s, and 3840 shading units. For compute-heavy workloads, Vulkan applications, or DirectX-based tasks, the RTX 5090 is the stronger choice.

The AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo retains a niche. Its Geekbench Metal score of 157365 is higher than any result the NVIDIA card shows in the database, and its 96th percentile rank indicates it performs well relative to the entire GPU population. The Apple MPX bus interface, quad-slot design, and Thunderbolt outputs suggest it is built for Mac Pro systems. For users locked into Apple’s ecosystem who rely on Metal-accelerated rendering, the AMD card may still be relevant. However, it is End-of-life, while the NVIDIA card is Active. The NVIDIA card’s launch MSRP of 1,999 USD is lower than the AMD card’s 4,999 USD, but pricing is not the focus here.

The verdict: choose the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 for any cross-platform compute, Vulkan, or DirectX workload, and for any user who needs current production status and higher raw throughput. Choose the AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo only if the target environment is Apple-specific and Metal performance is the primary metric, given its higher average benchmark score and 96th percentile placement. The recorded data shows no scenario where the AMD card wins a shared benchmark against the NVIDIA card.