AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Comparison

The AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 occupy entirely different eras of GPU design, and the benchmark data reflects that chasm. The RTX 5080 is the definitive winner in every shared metric, delivering 3.5x the OpenCL performance and 4.7x the Vulkan performance of the WX 9100. The WX 9100, however, remains a relevant entry in the database due to its specialized Vega architecture and its standing near the top of the older professional GPU hierarchy. For anyone choosing between these two, the data dictates that the RTX 5080 is the only rational pick for modern workloads, while the WX 9100 serves as a legacy reference point for older AMD pro stacks.

The Verdict

The RTX 5080 is the clear choice for any user whose priority is raw compute throughput. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 235,901 crushes the WX 9100’s 66,605, a 71.8% margin in the RTX 5080's favor. In Vulkan, the gap widens further: 255,450 versus 54,711, a 78.6% deficit for the AMD card. The RTX 5080 also holds a significant architectural advantage with 10,752 shading units against 4,096, and its FP32 throughput of 56.28 TFLOPS is more than 4.5x the WX 9100’s 12.29 TFLOPS. The data suggests the WX 9100 is only suitable for legacy software environments that predate the RTX 5080’s feature set, or for archival comparisons. The RTX 5080 is also the newer product, released on 2025-01-29, whereas the WX 9100 launched on 2017-07-09 and is marked as End-of-life. For any new system build or upgrade path, the RTX 5080 is the only defensible option from these two.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on fundamentally different foundations. The WX 9100 uses the Vega 10 chip on AMD’s GCN 5.0 architecture, fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. The RTX 5080 uses the GB203 chip on NVIDIA’s Blackwell 2.0 architecture, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. This process gap explains a massive transistor density difference: the RTX 5080 packs 120.6 million transistors per mm² across a 378 mm² die, totaling 45,600 million transistors, while the WX 9100 has 25.3 million per mm² across a larger 495 mm² die, totaling 12,500 million. The WX 9100’s memory subsystem uses 16 GB of HBM2 on a 2048-bit bus, delivering 483.8 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 5080 uses 16 GB of GDDR7 on a 256-bit bus but achieves nearly double the bandwidth at 960.0 GB/s. The RTX 5080 also introduces dedicated hardware the WX 9100 lacks entirely: 84 RT cores and 336 tensor cores. The AMD card has no equivalent. The RTX 5080’s FP16 performance is 56.28 TFLOPS at a 1:1 ratio, whereas the WX 9100’s FP16 is 24.58 TFLOPS at a 2:1 ratio, indicating a different compute precision strategy. The RTX 5080 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the WX 9100 is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.3.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The WX 9100 has a higher average benchmark score of 64,212, compared to the RTX 5080’s 56,083. However, this is an artifact of the different benchmark suites used; the RTX 5080’s scores in head-to-head tests are overwhelmingly higher.

Q: What is the difference in memory bandwidth between the two?

A: The RTX 5080 has a bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s, which is nearly double the WX 9100’s 483.8 GB/s. This is achieved despite the RTX 5080 using a narrower 256-bit bus, due to the higher speed of GDDR7 memory at 30 Gbps effective versus 1890 Mbps effective for HBM2.

Q: How do their transistor counts compare?

A: The RTX 5080 has 45,600 million transistors, which is 3.6x more than the WX 9100’s 12,500 million. The RTX 5080 achieves this on a smaller die (378 mm² versus 495 mm²) thanks to its denser 5 nm process.

Q: Which card supports ray tracing?

A: Only the RTX 5080 has dedicated RT cores (84 of them). The WX 9100 has no RT cores listed in its specifications, so it lacks hardware-accelerated ray tracing.

Q: What are the power connector requirements?

A: The WX 9100 requires a 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin connector, while the RTX 5080 uses a single 1x 16-pin connector. The suggested PSU wattage is 550 W for the AMD card and 750 W for the NVIDIA card.

Q: What is the difference in their API support?

A: The RTX 5080 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the WX 9100 supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.3. Both support OpenGL 4.6.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 |

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

| Process Node | 14 nm | 5 nm |

| Foundry | GlobalFoundries | TSMC |

| Transistors | 12,500 million | 45,600 million |

| Die Size | 495 mm² | 378 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 25.3M / mm² | 120.6M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1200 MHz | 2295 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1500 MHz | 2617 MHz |

| Memory Type | HBM2 | GDDR7 |

| Memory Bus Width | 2048 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 483.8 GB/s | 960.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 4096 | 10752 |

| TMUs | 256 | 336 |

| ROPs | 64 | 112 |

| RT Cores | None | 84 |

| Tensor Cores | None | 336 |

| Pixel Rate | 96.00 GPixel/s | 293.1 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 384.0 GTexel/s | 879.3 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 12.29 TFLOPS | 56.28 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 24.58 TFLOPS (2:1) | 56.28 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 230 W | 360 W |

| Power Connectors | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin | 1x 16-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 550 W | 750 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 5.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 6x mini-DisplayPort 1.4a | 1x HDMI 2.1b, 3x DisplayPort 2.1b |

| DirectX Support | 12 (12_1) | 12 Ultimate (12_2) |

| Vulkan Support | 1.3 | 1.4 |

| Length | 267 mm (10.5 inches) | 304 mm (12 inches) |

| Height | 111 mm (4.4 inches) | 137 mm (5.4 inches) |

| Width | Not specified | 40 mm (1.6 inches) |

| Production Status | End-of-life | Active |

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

Only two direct benchmark comparisons exist in the data, and the RTX 5080 wins both decisively. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 5080 scores 235,901 against the WX 9100’s 66,605. That is a delta of -71.8% from the perspective of the AMD card, meaning the RTX 5080 is approximately 3.5x faster. This result is consistent with the raw compute specifications: the RTX 5080 has 10,752 shading units versus 4,096, and its FP32 rating of 56.28 TFLOPS dwarfs the 12.29 TFLOPS of the WX 9100. The OpenCL test stresses general-purpose compute, where the RTX 5080’s newer architecture and higher clock speeds (2617 MHz boost versus 1500 MHz) provide an insurmountable advantage.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the RTX 5080’s dominance is even more pronounced. It scores 255,450, while the WX 9100 manages 54,711, a delta of -78.6%. This 4.7x performance gap highlights the RTX 5080’s superior driver optimization and hardware feature set for modern graphics APIs. The WX 9100’s GCN 5.0 architecture, while capable in its day, lacks the dedicated RT and tensor cores that the RTX 5080 can leverage in Vulkan workloads. The RTX 5080’s pixel rate of 293.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 879.3 GTexel/s are also far ahead of the WX 9100’s 96.00 GPixel/s and 384.0 GTexel/s, respectively, further explaining the benchmark disparities.

The overall win tally in the head-to-head is 0 for the WX 9100 and 2 for the RTX 5080. No test exists where the AMD card comes out ahead. The closest the WX 9100 comes to the RTX 5080 is in the average benchmark score category, where the AMD card holds a higher percentile rank (89th versus 87th), but this is due to the different benchmark sets each card was subjected to, not a sign of competitive performance in shared tests.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 5080 is the overwhelming victor in every measurable category that matters for modern performance. It wins on raw compute, as evidenced by its 3.5x lead in OpenCL and 4.7x lead in Vulkan. It wins on memory bandwidth, with 960.0 GB/s versus 483.8 GB/s. It wins on architectural features, being the only card with RT cores and tensor cores. It wins on process technology, using a 5 nm node versus 14 nm, which enables higher clocks (2617 MHz versus 1500 MHz) and greater efficiency per transistor. For any workload involving current games, AI inference, or professional 3D rendering that utilizes DirectX 12 Ultimate or Vulkan 1.4, the RTX 5080 is the only viable choice.

The WX 9100 has no benchmark wins in the head-to-head data. Its only advantages are in areas not covered by performance tests. It has a lower TDP at 230 W versus 360 W, which means it draws less power under load, though the RTX 5080’s higher performance per watt is not quantified here. The WX 9100 also offers six mini-DisplayPort outputs, which could benefit multi-monitor setups that require more than the three DisplayPort connections on the RTX 5080. Its smaller physical footprint (267 mm length versus 304 mm) makes it easier to fit into compact chassis. However, these are niche practical considerations, not performance wins. The data is unambiguous: the RTX 5080 is the superior GPU in every benchmark where the two are directly compared.