AMD Radeon Pro WX 8200 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Comparison

# AMD Radeon Pro WX 8200 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090

The AMD Radeon Pro WX 8200 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 represent two completely different eras of GPU design, with the former built on 14nm GCN architecture from 2018 and the latter on 5nm Ada Lovelace from 2022. Benchmark data shows a decisive performance gap, but the WX 8200 still holds relevance in specific professional workloads, as its average benchmark score of 69,870 places it in the 90th percentile of all GPUs, while the RTX 4090's 60,347 average score sits in the 88th percentile—a counterintuitive result that reflects different benchmark suites and workload characteristics.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The direct comparison between these two cards is limited to two compute-oriented tests, and the RTX 4090 dominates both by massive margins. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 4090 scores 255,416 against the WX 8200's 69,774, representing a 72.7% advantage for NVIDIA. The gap widens slightly in Geekbench Vulkan, where the RTX 4090 posts 271,631 versus 69,076 for the AMD card, a 74.6% differential. These are not incremental improvements; the RTX 4090 delivers roughly 3.7 times the compute throughput in both APIs.

The RTX 4090's raw specifications explain this gulf. Its FP32 throughput of 82.58 TFLOPS dwarfs the WX 8200's 10.75 TFLOPS, an eight-fold difference. The NVIDIA card also carries 16,384 shading units, 512 texture mapping units, and 176 ROPs, compared to 3,584 shaders, 224 TMUs, and 64 ROPs on the AMD side. Memory bandwidth tells a similar story: the RTX 4090's 1.01 TB/s over a 384-bit bus versus the WX 8200's 512.0 GB/s on 2048-bit HBM2—the NVIDIA card achieves double the bandwidth despite a narrower interface, thanks to faster GDDR6X memory running at 21 Gbps effective.

The RTX 4090 also wins on features absent from the WX 8200 entirely. It includes 128 ray tracing cores and 512 tensor cores, while the AMD card has none. Pixel fill rate favors NVIDIA at 443.5 GPixel/s versus 96.00 GPixel/s, and texture rate is similarly lopsided at 1,290.2 GTexel/s versus 336.0 GTexel/s. The RTX 4090's FP16 performance of 82.58 TFLOPS matches its FP32 output, whereas the WX 8200's FP16 of 21.50 TFLOPS is exactly double its FP32—a 2:1 ratio that indicates the AMD card uses packed math rather than dedicated hardware.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the RTX 4090 wins both head-to-head benchmarks decisively, with margins exceeding 72% in each test. For any workload that leverages OpenCL or Vulkan compute—rendering, simulation, machine learning inference—the RTX 4090 is the superior choice by a wide margin. Its 24 GB of GDDR6X memory also provides 16 GB more capacity than the WX 8200's 8 GB HBM2, which matters for large datasets and high-resolution textures.

However, the WX 8200's average benchmark score of 69,870, which beats the RTX 4090's 60,347, suggests that the AMD card excels in certain legacy or specialized benchmarks that favor its GCN architecture. The WX 8200 sits in the 90th percentile versus the RTX 4090's 88th, and its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro P6000 (avg 69,986, just 0.2% higher) and the RTX A3000 Mobile (avg 70,140, 0.4% higher). The RTX 4090's nearest rivals are notably weaker—the Intel Arc Pro A60 matches it exactly at 60,326, and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 trails by 0.3%.

Buyers should choose the RTX 4090 for modern compute workloads, ray tracing, and applications that leverage its tensor cores. The WX 8200 makes sense only for legacy professional software that was optimized for GCN 5.0 and HBM2 memory, where its higher average benchmark score and 90th percentile ranking indicate sustained relevance. The RTX 4090's 450W TDP and triple-slot cooler also demand more power and space than the WX 8200's 230W dual-slot design, which may factor into workstation builds.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from fundamentally different design philosophies. The WX 8200 uses AMD's GCN 5.0 architecture on a 14nm process from GlobalFoundries, packing 12,500 million transistors into a 495 mm² die for a transistor density of 25.3M per mm². The RTX 4090 uses NVIDIA's Ada Lovelace architecture on TSMC's 5nm node, with 76,300 million transistors in a 609 mm² die—a density of 125.3M per mm², roughly five times higher.

Memory configurations diverge sharply. The WX 8200 employs 8 GB of HBM2 on a 2048-bit bus, achieving 512.0 GB/s bandwidth with memory clocked at 2 Gbps effective. The RTX 4090 uses 24 GB of GDDR6X on a 384-bit bus, reaching 1.01 TB/s at 21 Gbps effective. HBM2 offers lower power consumption and a smaller footprint, but GDDR6X delivers higher absolute bandwidth and capacity.

Clock speeds also tell a story of process node advantages. The WX 8200 runs at 1200 MHz base and 1500 MHz boost, while the RTX 4090 operates at 2235 MHz base and 2520 MHz boost—a 68% higher boost clock. The NVIDIA card's shading units, TMUs, and ROPs all scale accordingly, with 4.6 times the shaders, 2.3 times the TMUs, and 2.75 times the ROPs.

Feature support differs substantially. The RTX 4090 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the WX 8200 only reaches DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.3. Both support OpenGL 4.6. Display outputs favor the WX 8200 for multi-monitor professional setups with 4x mini-DisplayPort 1.4a, whereas the RTX 4090 offers 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The RTX 4090 uses PCIe 4.0 x16 versus the WX 8200's PCIe 3.0 x16, doubling available host bandwidth.

Power requirements scale with performance. The WX 8200 draws 230W with a 550W suggested PSU and uses 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin connectors, while the RTX 4090 consumes 450W, requires an 850W PSU, and uses a single 16-pin connector. Physical dimensions also differ: the WX 8200 measures 267mm long and 111mm tall, while the RTX 4090 is 304mm long, 137mm tall, and 61mm wide.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw FP32 compute performance?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers 82.58 TFLOPS FP32, compared to the AMD Radeon Pro WX 8200's 10.75 TFLOPS—a difference of roughly 7.7 times in favor of NVIDIA.

Q: How do the two cards compare in memory capacity and bandwidth?

A: The RTX 4090 has 24 GB of GDDR6X with 1.01 TB/s bandwidth, while the WX 8200 has 8 GB of HBM2 with 512.0 GB/s. The RTX 4090 offers three times the capacity and roughly double the bandwidth.

Q: What is the average benchmark score for each GPU?

A: The WX 8200 averages 69,870 across its benchmark suite, placing it in the 90th percentile of all GPUs. The RTX 4090 averages 60,347, which is the 88th percentile.

Q: Does the RTX 4090 support ray tracing or tensor cores?

A: Yes, the RTX 4090 includes 128 ray tracing cores and 512 tensor cores. The WX 8200 has no equivalent hardware, with no RT or tensor core specifications listed.

Q: Which card has higher power consumption and what PSU is recommended?

A: The RTX 4090 draws 450W with an 850W suggested PSU and requires a 16-pin connector. The WX 8200 draws 230W with a 550W suggested PSU and uses 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin connectors.

Q: What are the transistor counts and process nodes for each GPU?

A: The WX 8200 uses 12,500 million transistors on a 14nm GlobalFoundries process with a 495 mm² die. The RTX 4090 uses 76,300 million transistors on a 5nm TSMC process with a 609 mm² die.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 4090 wins decisively in every head-to-head benchmark category available, including Geekbench OpenCL (255,416 vs 69,774) and Geekbench Vulkan (271,631 vs 69,076). It also wins on every architectural metric: higher clock speeds, more shading units, higher fill rates, and greater memory bandwidth. For compute-heavy workloads like 3D rendering, scientific simulation, and AI inference, the RTX 4090 is the clear choice, especially given its 24 GB memory capacity and tensor core acceleration.

The WX 8200's advantage lies in its higher average benchmark score (69,870 vs 60,347) and its 90th percentile ranking versus the RTX 4090's 88th. This suggests the AMD card performs better in a broader range of legacy benchmarks, likely due to its GCN architecture being well-optimized for older professional applications. Its nearest rivals—the Quadro P6000 and RTX A3000 Mobile—are similarly professional-oriented cards, indicating the WX 8200 competes in a workstation-class segment where the RTX 4090's gaming heritage may not translate to equal performance in every test.

The WX 8200 also wins on power efficiency per watt for its class, drawing 230W versus 450W, and its dual-slot design fits in tighter chassis than the RTX 4090's triple-slot cooler. For multi-display professional setups, the WX 8200 offers 4x mini-DisplayPort outputs, potentially supporting more monitors than the RTX 4090's 3x DisplayPort plus 1x HDMI configuration. The AMD card's HBM2 memory may also provide lower latency for certain workloads, though this is not directly measured in the available benchmarks.