AMD Radeon Pro WX 3200 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Comparison

The data presents a stark contrast between two very different GPUs: the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080, a former flagship built for high-end gaming and compute, and the AMD Radeon Pro WX 3200, a professional workstation card focused on efficiency and multi-display output. Their benchmark scores, architectural designs, and physical specifications place them in entirely different segments, despite their similar overall performance percentiles.

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark results are decisively one-sided. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 wins the only head-to-head benchmark available in the data, the Geekbench OpenCL test, with a score of 51,204 against the AMD Radeon Pro WX 3200’s 11,228. This represents a 356% advantage for the GTX 1080. This is not a marginal victory; it is a dominant, order-of-magnitude difference in raw compute performance. The data records one win for the GTX 1080 and zero for the WX 3200.

However, the AMD card’s value proposition is not in raw speed but in its form factor and power profile. The WX 3200 is a single-slot card that requires no external power connectors and has a 65 W TDP. In contrast, the GTX 1080 is a dual-slot card with a 180 W TDP and requires a single 8-pin power connector. The GTX 1080 also demands a 450 W suggested PSU, while the WX 3200 only needs a 250 W PSU. The AMD card is also significantly smaller, measuring 167 mm in length compared to the GTX 1080’s 267 mm.

Therefore, the WX 3200 “wins” in scenarios where physical space, power draw, and thermal output are the primary constraints. Its single-slot design and lack of power connectors make it suitable for compact workstations or systems with limited power delivery. The GTX 1080 wins in every performance metric, making it the clear choice for any workload that depends on GPU compute power, such as 3D rendering, video editing, or complex simulations.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on fundamentally different architectures and process nodes. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 uses the GP104 chip based on the Pascal architecture, fabricated on a 16 nm process at TSMC. This chip contains 7,200 million transistors on a die size of 314 mm², resulting in a transistor density of 22.9M / mm². The AMD Radeon Pro WX 3200, in contrast, uses the Polaris 23 chip based on the GCN 4.0 architecture, fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. Its chip contains only 2,200 million transistors on a much smaller 103 mm² die, with a slightly lower transistor density of 21.4M / mm².

These architectural differences lead to massive disparities in core counts and memory subsystems. The GTX 1080 features 2,560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 64 raster output units (ROPs). The WX 3200 has just 640 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. The GTX 1080 also has a substantial memory advantage: 8 GB of GDDR5X on a 256-bit bus, providing 320.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The WX 3200 is equipped with 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, yielding only 96.00 GB/s of bandwidth.

The compute capabilities further highlight the gap. The GTX 1080 delivers 8.873 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and a pixel rate of 110.9 GPixel/s, with a texture rate of 277.3 GTexel/s. The WX 3200 manages 1.658 TFLOPS of FP32, a pixel rate of 20.72 GPixel/s, and a texture rate of 41.44 GTexel/s. Interestingly, the WX 3200 offers a 1:1 FP16 ratio at 1.658 TFLOPS, while the GTX 1080’s FP16 performance is severely limited at 138.6 GFLOPS (1:64). The GTX 1080 also has a much higher boost clock at 1733 MHz compared to the WX 3200, whose base and boost clocks are not provided.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct comparison available in the data is the Geekbench OpenCL test. This single metric encapsulates the entire performance difference between the two cards. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 scores 51,204, while the AMD Radeon Pro WX 3200 scores 11,228. This yields a delta of 356% in favor of the GTX 1080. In practical terms, this means the GTX 1080 is over four and a half times faster in this general-purpose GPU compute benchmark.

While no other direct benchmarks are listed, the broader benchmark data reinforces this trend. The GTX 1080 has an average benchmark score of 11,960 across all tests, while the WX 3200’s average is 11,228. This similarity is misleading, as the GTX 1080’s average is pulled down by its poor performance in specific legacy tests, such as Passmark DirectX 9 (211) and Passmark DirectX 10 (93). In modern compute-heavy workloads, as shown by the Geekbench OpenCL score, the GTX 1080 is in a different league.

The GTX 1080’s nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960A, AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT, and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660, all within a 2.4% delta of its average score. The WX 3200’s closest competitors include the AMD FirePro W4300 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M, showing it is positioned against much older or lower-tier hardware. The data clearly indicates that the GTX 1080 competes with modern mid-range gaming GPUs, while the WX 3200 is more aligned with entry-level professional cards.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the data, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 is the superior performer in every measurable compute metric. Its 356% lead in the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark is decisive. Its higher pixel rate, texture rate, and FP32 throughput make it suitable for any graphics-intensive or compute-heavy task. The card’s 51st percentile ranking among all GPUs, despite being end-of-life, shows it still holds up well against modern hardware. The GTX 1080 is the clear choice for users who prioritize raw performance and have the power supply and chassis space to accommodate its dual-slot design and 180 W TDP.

The AMD Radeon Pro WX 3200 is not a performance part. Its 50th percentile ranking is achieved with a fraction of the GTX 1080’s compute resources. Its strengths lie entirely in its physical and power characteristics. The single-slot, 65 W, power-connector-free design makes it ideal for low-profile or densely packed systems where a high-performance card cannot physically fit or would overwhelm the thermal solution. Its four mini-DisplayPort 1.4a outputs also suggest a focus on multi-monitor professional setups, a feature the GTX 1080 does not match with its single DVI, single HDMI, and three DisplayPort outputs.

Therefore, the choice is clear: pick the GTX 1080 for performance, and pick the WX 3200 for its compact, low-power professional form factor.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 is significantly faster, scoring 51,204 compared to the AMD Radeon Pro WX 3200's 11,228, a 356% difference.

Q: What are the memory specifications of each card?

A: The GTX 1080 has 8 GB of GDDR5X memory on a 256-bit bus with 320.3 GB/s bandwidth. The WX 3200 has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus with 96.00 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card has a lower power consumption?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro WX 3200 has a significantly lower TDP of 65 W and requires no external power connectors. The GTX 1080 has a 180 W TDP and requires a single 8-pin power connector.

Q: What is the difference in their physical size?

A: The GTX 1080 is a dual-slot card measuring 267 mm in length, while the WX 3200 is a single-slot card measuring 167 mm in length.

Q: How do their FP32 compute performances compare?

A: The GTX 1080 delivers 8.873 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, while the WX 3200 delivers 1.658 TFLOPS.

Q: What are the launch MSRPs for these products?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 had a launch MSRP of 599 USD, and the AMD Radeon Pro WX 3200 had a launch MSRP of 199 USD.