AMD Radeon PRO W7500 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 Comparison

The Verdict

The benchmark data presents a decisive outcome: the AMD Radeon PRO W7500 is the clear winner in every recorded head-to-head comparison. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the W7500 scores 58,213 against the GTX 680's 16,906, a delta of 244.3%. In Geekbench Vulkan, the W7500 reaches 68,634 while the GTX 680 manages 17,646, a delta of 288.9%. These are not marginal differences; they represent generational leaps in compute capability.

The database places the Radeon PRO W7500 at the 59th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 16,415. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell, sits at 16,408 (0% delta), while the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT trails slightly at 16,361 (0.3% delta). The GTX 680, by contrast, ranks at the 55th percentile with an average score of 14,150, placing it near the NVIDIA Tesla K10 (14,029, 0.9% delta) and slightly behind the GeForce GTX 1070 Ti (14,277, -0.9% delta). The data indicates that while the GTX 680 remains a functional legacy card, it operates in a substantially lower performance tier.

For users choosing between these two, the verdict is straightforward from the measurements: the Radeon PRO W7500 is the only sensible pick for any modern workload involving OpenCL or Vulkan. The GTX 680 lacks hardware ray tracing cores, supports only DirectX 12 (11_0), and offers a fraction of the memory bandwidth. The W7500 is also the only one of the two with active production status, while the GTX 680 is end-of-life with a successor already listed. Professionals requiring workstation-class features, modern API support, ray tracing acceleration, or simply a card that will not bottleneck, should select the AMD Radeon PRO W7500. Enthusiasts of legacy hardware or those specifically seeking a Kepler-era card for collection purposes might consider the GTX 680, but the benchmark results offer no performance-based reason to do so.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from entirely different eras of GPU design. The AMD Radeon PRO W7500 uses the Navi 33 chip built on RDNA 3.0 architecture, codenamed Hotpink Bonefish, part of the Radeon Pro Navi (Navi III Series generation. It is fabricated on a TSMC 6 nm process node, packing 13,300 million transistors on a 204 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 65.2 million per square millimeter. The GTX 680, by contrast, uses the GK104 chip on NVIDIA's Kepler architecture, belonging to the GeForce 600 generation. It is built on a much older TSMC 28 nm process node, with 3,540 million transistors spread across a larger 294 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 12.0 million per square millimeter.

The memory subsystem differs sharply as well. The W7500 features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its memory clock runs at 2000 MHz with 16 Gbps effective speed. The GTX 680 offers 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a wider 256-bit bus, providing 192.3 GB/s of bandwidth, with a memory clock of 1502 MHz and 6 Gbps effective speed.

Compute resources show a clear separation. The W7500 has 1,792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, 64 render output units, and 28 ray tracing cores. Its pixel rate is 108.8 GPixel/s, texture rate is 190.4 GTexel/s, FP32 performance is 12.19 TFLOPS, and FP16 performance is 24.37 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio). The GTX 680 has 1,536 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, but no ray tracing cores. Its pixel rate is 33.86 GPixel/s, texture rate is 135.4 GTexel/s, and FP32 performance is 3.250 TFLOPS. The GTX 680's FP16 performance is not recorded.

Feature support differs in API coverage. The W7500 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The GTX 680 supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175. The difference in DirectX feature level is notable for modern games and compute workloads.

Power and physical design also diverge. The W7500 has a TDP of 70 W, is single-slot, requires no power connectors, and suggests a 250 W PSU. The GTX 680 has a TDP of 195 W, is dual-slot, requires two 6-pin power connectors, and suggests a 450 W PSU. The W7500 measures 216 mm in length, 115 mm in height, and 20 mm in width. The GTX 680 is longer at 256 mm, similar in height at 111 mm, and much thicker at 38 mm.

The W7500 offers 4x DisplayPort 2.1 outputs, while the GTX 680 provides 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 1x DisplayPort 1.2. The W7500 uses a PCIe 4.0 x8 interface, while the GTX 680 uses PCIe 3.0 x16.

FAQ

Q: Which card has higher peak compute performance in FP32?

A: The AMD Radeon PRO W7500 achieves 12.19 TFLOPS FP32 performance, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 reaches 3.250 TFLOPS FP32, making the W7500 approximately 3.75 times faster.

Q: Does the GTX 680 support hardware ray tracing?

A: No. The Radeon PRO W7500 includes 28 ray tracing cores, while the GTX 680 has no ray tracing core count listed in the database.

Q: What is the memory capacity difference?

A: The W7500 has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, while the GTX 680 has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus. The W7500 provides 256.0 GB/s bandwidth versus 192.3 GB/s for the GTX 680.

Q: Which card is more power efficient according to TDP figures?

A: The W7500 has a TDP of 70 W with no power connectors required, while the GTX 680 has a TDP of 195 W and requires two 6-pin power connectors. The W7500 also suggests a 250 W PSU, the GTX 680 suggests a 450 W PSU.

Q: Which card supports newer API versions in Vulkan?

A: The W7500 supports Vulkan 1.4, while the GTX 680 supports Vulkan 1.2.175 as well as DirectX 12 (11_0). The W7500 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) feature level.

Q: Which GPU is still being produced by its manufacturer?

A: The W7500 has an active production status, released on 2023-08-02. The GTX 680 is end-of-life, released on 2012-03-21, with a successor, the GeForce 700 series.

Q: What are the board dimensions?

A: The W7500 is 216 mm long, 115 mm high, and 20 mm wide. The GTX 680 is 256 mm long, 111 mm high, and 38 mm wide, making the W7500 shorter and thinner.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every specification field. The W7500 uses a 6 nm TSMC process node, the GTX 680 uses a 28 nm TSMC process. Die size is 204 mm² versus 294 mm², with the W7500's transistor count at 13,300 million and the GTX 680 at 3,540 million.

Memory clocks: the W7500 memory runs at 2000 MHz with 16 Gbps effective, the GTX 680 memory runs at 1502 MHz with 6 Gbps effective. Memory size is 8 GB GDDR6 versus 2 GB GDDR5.

Compute resources: W7500 shading units 1792, GTX 680 shading units 1536. TMUs 112 versus 128, ROPs 64 versus 32. The W7500 RT cores 28, the GTX 680 has no RT cores listed.

Pixel rate: W7500 108.8 GPixel/s, GTX 680 33.86 GPixel/s. Texture rate: W7500 190.4 GTexel/s, GTX 680 135.4 GTexel/s. FP32 performance: W7500 12.19 TFLOPS, GTX 680 3.250 TFLOPS. FP16 performance is 24.37 TFLOPS for the W7500, the GTX 680 has null FP16 data.

Power: W7500 TDP 70 W, GTX 680 195 W. Slot width: W7500 single-slot, GTX 680 dual-slot. Power connectors: W7500 none, GTX 680 two 6-pin. Suggested PSU: W7500 250 W, GTX 680 450 W.

Interface: W7500 PCIe 4.0 x8, GTX 680 PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs: W7500 4x DisplayPort 2.1, GTX 680 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, 1x DisplayPort 1.2. DirectX: W7500 12 Ultimate (12_2), GTX 680 12 (11_0). OpenGL 4.6 for both. Vulkan 1.4 for W7500, 1.2.175 for GTX 680.

Release date: W7500 2023-08-02, GTX 680 2023-03-21. GTX 680, W7500 predecessor Radeon Pro Vega, GTX 680 predecessor GeForce 500. GTX 680 680 has successor GeForce 700. W7500 successor 680 has no successor listed, GTX 680 has GeForce 680.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data contains two head-to-head benchmark tests, both won by the AMD Radeon PRO W7500. The Geekbench OpenCL test shows the W7500 at 58,213 and the GTX 680 at 16,906, with a delta of 244.3%. This means the W7500 is roughly 3.44 times the OpenCL score. In Geekbench Vulkan, the W7500 scores 68, 68,634, the GTX 680 scores 17,646, a delta of 288.9%. The Vulkan margin is even larger than the OpenCL margin.

Looking at absolute deltas, the W7500 dominates in Vulkan by 288.9%, which is an even larger percentage lead than its OpenCL lead of 244. The GTX 680's best recorded score in any single test is in Vulkan at 17,646, but this remains 288.9% below the W7500's Vulkan score of 68, 68.

Both tests are compute-focused GPGPU benchmarks, not DirectX gaming tests. The GTX 680's recorded performance in those workloads is far behind the W7500, indicating a massive compute capability gap.

No recorded tests show a GTX 680 win. The database lists a total of two wins for the W7500 and zero for the GTX 680 in the head-to-head. The W7500's average benchmark score of 16,415 across all tests is higher than the GTX 680's average of 14,150.

The percentile ranking reinforces the head-to-head: the W7500's 59th percentile versus the GTX 680's 55th percentile. While these percentile differences are smaller than the head-to-head deltas, they reflect the overall database. The W7500's nearest rivals in the database (RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell at 16,408, RX 5700 XT at 16,361) all cluster within 0.4% of the W7500's average score. The GTX 680's nearest rivals (Tesla K10 at 14,029, GTX 1070 Ti at 14,277) cluster around its 14,150 average, but at a far lower absolute level.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon PRO W7500 wins in every measured benchmark category. Its 244.3% OpenCL lead and 288.9% Vulkan lead over the GTX 680 indicate a compute architecture that is several generations ahead. The W7500 also holds advantages in memory capacity (8 GB versus 2 GB), memory bandwidth (256.0 GB/s versus 192.3 GB/s), FP32 throughput (12.19 TFLOPS versus 3.250 TFLOPS), pixel rate (108.8 GPixel/s versus 33.86 GPixel/s), and texture rate (190.4 GTexel/s versus 135.4 GTexel/s). It supports hardware ray tracing, while the GTX 680 does not, and it supports newer API feature levels, including DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 retains a few technical advantages in specific fields: it has a wider 256-bit memory bus compared to the W7500's 128-bit bus, and it has 128 TMUs versus the W7500's 112 TMUs. It also uses a PCIe 3.0 x16 interface, which is a wider physical connection than the W7500's PCIe 4.0 x8, though the W7500's newer PCIe generation may offset bandwidth differences. The GTX 680's dual-slot cooler and 2x 6-pin connectors were typical for its 2012 era, but these are not performance benefits in modern workloads.

The practical use-case split is clear from the data. For any modern compute task, OpenCL, Vulkan, professional workloads, or gaming with modern APIs, the W7500 wins decisively. For legacy software that requires Kepler-era driver behavior or a 2 GB framebuffer, the GTX 680 might still function, but the performance gap is so large that even those scenarios would likely favor the W7500 if it can run the software. The W7500's active production status, lower power draw, and lack of power connectors make it the more practical and modern choice. The GTX 680 is end-of-life, with no further development, while the W7500 remains in production.

The only recorded benchmark where the GTX 680 appears at all is the Geekbench Metal test, where it scores 7,897, but the W7500 has no Metal score recorded, and Metal is not part of the head-to-head comparison. This is not a meaningful victory for the GTX 680, as the W7500's absence in Metal reflects platform differences rather than performance capability. In every shared benchmark, the W7500 wins by a wide margin.