AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo vs NVIDIA RTX A5500 Mobile Comparison

The AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo and NVIDIA RTX A5500 Mobile target entirely different segments of the professional GPU market, as reflected in their physical design, memory capacity, and benchmark profiles. The AMD card is a desktop-class, quad-slot Apple MPX solution with 32 GB of GDDR6 memory, while the NVIDIA part is a mobile Ampere processor with 16 GB of GDDR6 and no power connectors, designed for portable workstations. Data from the FACT PACK shows the AMD card holds a 96th percentile ranking versus 94th for the NVIDIA, with an average benchmark score of 135,774 against 113,944. The head-to-head results are narrow in one API and lopsided in the other, with the AMD card winning both recorded tests.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo wins on raw compute throughput in both available head-to-head benchmarks. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 124,335 versus the RTX A5500 Mobile’s 124,287, a delta of 0%. While technically a win for AMD, the margin is negligible—less than one-tenth of one percent. The more decisive victory comes in Geekbench Vulkan, where the AMD card scores 125,622 against 103,601, a 21.3% advantage. This indicates that the AMD architecture provides a substantial performance lead in Vulkan workloads, which are common in professional rendering and compute tasks that leverage cross-platform APIs.

The NVIDIA RTX A5500 Mobile wins on efficiency and form factor suitability. Its 165 W TDP contrasts sharply with the AMD card’s 400 W TDP, making the NVIDIA part the only viable option for battery-powered laptops. The NVIDIA card also carries 232 tensor cores, which are absent from the AMD specification, suggesting a clear advantage in AI-accelerated workflows such as denoising, inference, and machine learning training. The AMD card’s higher FP16 throughput (30.21 TFLOPS versus 22.27 TFLOPS) does not translate to a tensor-core advantage, as the NVIDIA card’s 1:1 FP16 ratio and dedicated tensor hardware offer a different compute path for AI tasks. For users prioritizing raw Vulkan performance or a 32 GB memory buffer, the AMD card wins; for portable AI workloads or any scenario requiring a laptop form factor, the NVIDIA card is the only choice.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations and foundries. The AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo uses the Navi 21 chip built on RDNA 2.0 architecture, fabricated on a 7 nm process at TSMC. It contains 26,800 million transistors on a 520 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 51.5M per mm². The NVIDIA RTX A5500 Mobile uses the GA103 chip on the older Ampere architecture, manufactured on an 8 nm process at Samsung. This chip packs 22,000 million transistors into a 496 mm² die, with a lower density of 44.4M per mm². The smaller process node gives AMD a density advantage, but the NVIDIA chip compensates with a higher raw shader count.

Core configurations differ significantly. The AMD card has 3,840 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, 96 ROPs, and 60 ray tracing cores. The NVIDIA card has 7,424 shading units—nearly double—alongside 232 TMUs, 96 ROPs, 58 RT cores, and 232 tensor cores. Despite having fewer shaders, the AMD card achieves a higher pixel rate of 188.8 GPixel/s versus 144.0 GPixel/s, and a texture rate of 472.1 GTexel/s versus 348.0 GTexel/s. This implies the AMD architecture executes more work per clock per shader, likely due to the higher base and boost clocks: 1800 MHz base and 1967 MHz boost for AMD, versus 975 MHz base and 1500 MHz boost for NVIDIA. The NVIDIA card’s FP32 throughput is 22.27 TFLOPS, exceeding AMD’s 15.11 TFLOPS, but its FP16 output is identical at 22.27 TFLOPS (1:1), while AMD achieves 30.21 TFLOPS FP16 using a 2:1 ratio.

Memory architecture is similar in bus width and bandwidth but diverges on capacity. Both use GDDR6 with a 256-bit bus and 512.0 GB/s bandwidth, and both run memory at 2000 MHz with 16 Gbps effective. The AMD card offers 32 GB, twice the NVIDIA card’s 16 GB. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The bus interface differs: AMD uses Apple MPX, while NVIDIA uses PCIe 4.0 x16. The AMD card is quad-slot, requires an 800 W suggested PSU, and measures 267 mm in length, whereas the NVIDIA card has no listed dimensions, slot width, or PSU requirement.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has more memory, and why does that matter?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo has 32 GB of GDDR6 memory, double the RTX A5500 Mobile’s 16 GB. The larger buffer allows the AMD card to hold larger datasets, textures, or models in VRAM without spilling to system memory, which is critical for high-resolution rendering or machine learning workloads. Both cards share the same 256-bit bus and 512.0 GB/s bandwidth, so the capacity is the sole differentiator.

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in Vulkan performance?

A: The AMD card wins decisively in Geekbench Vulkan with a score of 125,622 versus 103,601 for the NVIDIA card, a 21.3% advantage. This is the largest performance gap between the two in any benchmark. For applications that rely on Vulkan for compute or rendering, the AMD card provides a significant performance lead.

Q: What is the TDP difference, and what does it imply?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo has a TDP of 400 W, while the NVIDIA RTX A5500 Mobile has a TDP of 165 W. The NVIDIA card consumes less than half the power, making it suitable for mobile workstations where thermal and battery constraints are strict. The AMD card requires a desktop-class power delivery system, indicated by its 800 W suggested PSU.

Q: Does either GPU support tensor or AI acceleration?

A: Only the NVIDIA RTX A5500 Mobile lists tensor cores, with 232 available. The AMD card has no tensor core specification in the data. This suggests NVIDIA holds a hardware advantage for AI-specific tasks like inference and deep learning training, despite AMD’s higher FP16 throughput of 30.21 TFLOPS versus 22.27 TFLOPS for NVIDIA.

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD card has an average benchmark score of 135,774, which is 19.2% higher than the NVIDIA card’s 113,944. This places the AMD card in the 96th percentile of all GPUs, compared to the NVIDIA card’s 94th percentile. The AMD card’s nearest rival is the AMD Radeon PRO V620 at 136,472, while the NVIDIA card’s closest competitor is the NVIDIA GB10 at 117,393.

Q: What are the release dates and production statuses?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo was released on August 2, 2021, and is end-of-life. The NVIDIA RTX A5500 Mobile was released on March 21, 2022, and is also end-of-life. Both have successors or predecessors listed, but the AMD card has none listed, while the NVIDIA card’s predecessor is the Quadro Turing-M and its successor is the Ada-MW.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo | NVIDIA RTX A5500 Mobile |

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

| Chip | Navi 21 | GA103 |

| Architecture | RDNA 2.0 | Ampere |

| Process Node | 7 nm | 8 nm |

| Foundry | TSMC | Samsung |

| Transistors | 26,800 million | 22,000 million |

| Die Size | 520 mm² | 496 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 51.5M / mm² | 44.4M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1800 MHz | 975 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1967 MHz | 1500 MHz |

| Memory Size | 32 GB | 16 GB |

| Shading Units | 3840 | 7424 |

| TMUs | 240 | 232 |

| RT Cores | 60 | 58 |

| Tensor Cores | None | 232 |

| Pixel Rate | 188.8 GPixel/s | 144.0 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 472.1 GTexel/s | 348.0 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 15.11 TFLOPS | 22.27 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 30.21 TFLOPS (2:1) | 22.27 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 400 W | 165 W |

| Slot Width | Quad-slot | None listed |

| Power Connectors | None listed | None |

| Suggested PSU | 800 W | None listed |

| Bus Interface | Apple MPX | PCIe 4.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 1x HDMI 2.1, 4x Thunderbolt | Portable Device Dependent |

| Launch MSRP | 4,999 USD | None listed |

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only two benchmarks shared between the cards are Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan. In OpenCL, the AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo scores 124,335, edging out the RTX A5500 Mobile’s 124,287 by a margin of 0%. This is effectively a statistical tie, indicating that for OpenCL compute workloads, the two GPUs deliver nearly identical performance despite their architectural differences. The AMD card’s higher clock speeds (1800 MHz base versus 975 MHz) are offset by the NVIDIA card’s nearly double shader count (7,424 versus 3,840), resulting in a wash.

The Vulkan result is far more one-sided. The AMD card scores 125,622, which is 21.3% higher than the NVIDIA card’s 103,601. This 22,021-point gap represents the largest single benchmark difference between the two. The AMD card’s Vulkan score is also higher than its own OpenCL score (125,622 versus 124,335), while the NVIDIA card’s Vulkan score is dramatically lower than its OpenCL score (103,601 versus 124,287). This suggests that the NVIDIA Ampere architecture is less optimized for Vulkan in this mobile configuration, or that driver overhead negatively impacts Vulkan on this particular part. For users running Vulkan-based renderers or compute frameworks, the AMD card offers a clear and substantial performance advantage.

Looking at average benchmark scores, the AMD card’s 135,774 average is 21,830 points higher than the NVIDIA card’s 113,944. The AMD card’s nearest rival, the AMD Radeon PRO V620, scores 136,472, which is 0.5% higher, while the NVIDIA card’s nearest rival is the NVIDIA GB10 at 117,393, which is 2.9% higher. The deltaPct values show that the AMD card is competitive with its peers within a tight 0.5% band, whereas the NVIDIA card sits in a wider 2.9% band below its closest competitor. This indicates that the AMD card is more closely matched to its performance class, while the NVIDIA card has more variance among its nearest rivals.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear split based on workload and form factor. The AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo is the superior choice for desktop or MPX-based systems where raw compute and memory capacity are paramount. Its 21.3% Vulkan lead and 32 GB memory buffer make it ideal for large-scale rendering, simulation, or any task that benefits from holding large datasets in VRAM. The 400 W TDP and quad-slot design are acceptable trade-offs for a stationary workstation, and the 4,999 USD launch MSRP reflects its professional positioning. The 96th percentile ranking and average score of 135,774 place it slightly above the RTX A5500 Mobile’s 94th percentile and 113,944 average.

The NVIDIA RTX A5500 Mobile is the only option for mobile or power-constrained environments. Its 165 W TDP enables portable workstation designs, and its 232 tensor cores provide dedicated AI acceleration that the AMD card lacks. While its FP32 throughput of 22.27 TFLOPS exceeds AMD’s 15.11 TFLOPS, this does not translate to wins in the recorded benchmarks, where it loses both OpenCL and Vulkan. The NVIDIA card’s 16 GB memory is half the AMD card’s capacity, limiting its suitability for massive datasets. The benchmark data shows no scenario where the NVIDIA card wins a head-to-head test, but its tensor cores and mobile form factor are qualitative advantages not captured by the Geekbench scores. Users who require a laptop GPU or AI-specific hardware should choose the NVIDIA card; all other professional workloads favor the AMD card based on the available data.