AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile Comparison

AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile

The database pits a 2017 workstation flagship against a 2025 mobile gaming flagship. The AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100, built on GCN 5.0, was designed for professional rendering and compute, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile brings Blackwell 2.0 architecture to laptops with dedicated ray tracing and tensor hardware. Benchmark results show a massive generational gap, but the comparison is not merely about raw speed, as the two cards target fundamentally different use cases, power envelopes, and system designs.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100 records an average benchmark score of 64,212, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile averages 45,152. The AMD card sits at the 89th percentile of all GPUs, whereas the NVIDIA card ranks at the 84th percentile.

Q: How do the two cards compare in OpenCL and Vulkan tests?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile dominates both shared tests. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 201,834 versus 66,605 for the AMD card, a 67% advantage. In Geekbench Vulkan, it scores 198,405 versus 54,711, a 72.4% lead.

Q: What are the memory configurations?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100 has 16 GB of HBM2 on a 2048-bit bus, delivering 483.8 GB/s bandwidth. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile has 24 GB of GDDR7 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 896.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units and texture mapping units?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile has 10,496 shading units and 328 TMUs. The AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100 has 4,096 shading units and 256 TMUs. The NVIDIA card also has 82 ray tracing cores and 328 tensor cores, while the AMD card has none.

Q: What are the power requirements?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100 has a 230 W TDP, requires a dual-slot cooler with 1x 6-pin and 1x 8-pin power connectors, and needs a 550 W suggested PSU. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile has a 95 W TDP, is an integrated graphics package (IGP), and uses no external power connectors.

Q: When were these GPUs released?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100 launched on July 9, 2017, and is now end-of-life. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile launched on March 26, 2025, and remains in active production.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide is stark. The AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100 uses the Vega 10 chip on GCN 5.0 architecture, fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. It packs 12,500 million transistors on a 495 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 25.3 million per mm². The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile uses the GB203 chip on Blackwell 2.0 architecture, built on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It contains 45,600 million transistors on a smaller 378 mm² die, achieving 120.6 million transistors per mm², nearly five times the density.

Clock speeds differ in interesting ways. The AMD card runs at a 1200 MHz base and 1500 MHz boost. The NVIDIA card has a lower 990 MHz base but a 1515 MHz boost, slightly higher than the AMD boost. The AMD memory operates at 945 MHz with 1890 Mbps effective, while the NVIDIA memory runs at 1750 MHz with 28 Gbps effective. These figures reflect the different memory technologies: HBM2 for AMD versus GDDR7 for NVIDIA.

Compute capabilities reveal a major shift. The AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100 delivers 12.29 TFLOPS FP32 and 24.58 TFLOPS FP16 with a 2:1 ratio. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile delivers 31.80 TFLOPS FP32 and 31.80 TFLOPS FP16 with a 1:1 ratio, meaning it does not sacrifice FP16 throughput. The NVIDIA card also features 82 ray tracing cores and 328 tensor cores, hardware that the AMD card lacks entirely. Pixel and texture rates follow the same pattern: NVIDIA leads with 169.7 GPixel/s and 496.9 GTexel/s versus AMD's 96.00 GPixel/s and 384.0 GTexel/s.

The AMD card supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The NVIDIA card supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The bus interface also differs: PCIe 3.0 x16 for AMD versus PCIe 5.0 x16 for NVIDIA. Display outputs are six mini-DisplayPort 1.4a on the AMD workstation card, while the NVIDIA mobile GPU's outputs are portable device dependent. The AMD card measures 267 mm in length and 111 mm in height with a dual-slot design. The NVIDIA card has no listed dimensions and is an IGP package.

The Verdict

The data points to distinct buyers. The AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100, despite its age, posts a higher average benchmark score of 64,212 and sits above the NVIDIA card in the percentile ranking, 89th versus 84th. Its nearest rivals in the database are the NVIDIA CMP 30HX at 63,842, the AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT LP at 63,830, the AMD Radeon RX 7600M at 63,775, and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 at 63,693, all within 0.8% of its score. This suggests the AMD workstation card remains competitive with a cluster of mid-range and professional GPUs, likely due to its wide 2048-bit memory bus and high FP16 throughput.

However, the head-to-head benchmark data tells a one-sided story. In the only two shared tests, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile wins both, with a 67% lead in OpenCL and a 72.4% lead in Vulkan. The NVIDIA card's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT at 45,384, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti at 44,795, the Intel Arc A730M at 45,592, and the NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation at 45,972. These deltas range from -1.8% to +0.8%, meaning the RTX 5090 Mobile clusters with previous-generation desktop high-end cards, not with the AMD workstation parts.

Who should pick which? The AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100 appeals to legacy workstation users who need 16 GB of HBM2 memory with 483.8 GB/s bandwidth, six mini-DisplayPort outputs, and a dual-slot professional form factor. It still holds its own against a tight group of rivals in aggregate scoring. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile is the choice for portable systems requiring 24 GB of GDDR7 memory, 896.0 GB/s bandwidth, ray tracing, tensor cores, and vastly superior OpenCL and Vulkan performance, all within a 95 W envelope. The AMD card draws 230 W and needs external power; the NVIDIA card is an IGP with no connectors. For modern compute workloads and mobile integration, the NVIDIA card is clearly ahead. For a stationary professional workstation with legacy display and memory needs, the AMD card remains viable.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every major specification. The AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100 uses a 14 nm process from GlobalFoundries, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile uses a 5 nm process from TSMC. Transistor counts are 12,500 million versus 45,600 million, and die sizes are 495 mm² versus 378 mm². Transistor density is 25.3M per mm² versus 120.6M per mm².

Memory configurations diverge completely: 16 GB HBM2 on a 2048-bit bus with 483.8 GB/s bandwidth versus 24 GB GDDR7 on a 256-bit bus with 896.0 GB/s bandwidth. The AMD memory clock is 945 MHz with 1890 Mbps effective; the NVIDIA memory clock is 1750 MHz with 28 Gbps effective. Shading units number 4,096 versus 10,496, TMUs 256 versus 328, and ROPs 64 versus 112. The NVIDIA card has 82 ray tracing cores and 328 tensor cores; the AMD card has none.

Compute rates: FP32 is 12.29 TFLOPS versus 31.80 TFLOPS, and FP16 is 24.58 TFLOPS versus 31.80 TFLOPS. Pixel rate is 96.00 GPixel/s versus 169.7 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 384.0 GTexel/s versus 496.9 GTexel/s. Base clocks are 1200 MHz versus 990 MHz, boost clocks 1500 MHz versus 1515 MHz.

Power and physical specs: TDP is 230 W versus 95 W. The AMD card is dual-slot with 1x 6-pin and 1x 8-pin power connectors and a 550 W suggested PSU; the NVIDIA card is an IGP with no power connectors and no suggested PSU. Bus interface is PCIe 3.0 x16 versus PCIe 5.0 x16. Display outputs are 6x mini-DisplayPort 1.4a versus portable device dependent. DirectX support is 12 (12_1) versus 12 Ultimate (12_2), Vulkan is 1.3 versus 1.4, and OpenGL is 4.6 for both. The AMD card has dimensions of 267 mm length and 111 mm height; the NVIDIA card has none listed. Release dates are July 9, 2017 versus March 26, 2025, and production status is end-of-life versus active.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records only two shared benchmark tests, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile wins both decisively. In Geekbench OpenCL, the NVIDIA card scores 201,834 against the AMD card's 66,605, a delta of -67% from the AMD perspective. This means the NVIDIA card achieves roughly three times the OpenCL score. In Geekbench Vulkan, the NVIDIA card scores 198,405 against 54,711, a delta of -72.4%. The NVIDIA advantage in Vulkan is even larger than in OpenCL, suggesting that Blackwell 2.0's driver and hardware optimizations for Vulkan are particularly strong.

The AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100 does not win any head-to-head benchmark in the database. Its aggregate strength comes from its three recorded Geekbench scores: 71,319 in Metal, 66,605 in OpenCL, and 54,711 in Vulkan. These push its average to 64,212, which places it ahead of the NVIDIA card's 45,152 average, but that average includes the NVIDIA card's many Passmark scores, which are measured on a different scale and drag down the overall figure. The NVIDIA card's individual Passmark results range from 138 in DirectX 12 to 324 in DirectX 9, 1,057 in G2D, 30,034 in G3D, and 13,401 in GPU compute. It also scores 5,871 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 and 201,834 in Geekbench OpenCL.

The absolute performance gap in compute workloads is clear. The NVIDIA card's 31.80 TFLOPS FP32 is more than 2.5 times the AMD card's 12.29 TFLOPS. Its FP16 output of 31.80 TFLOPS matches its FP32, whereas the AMD card's FP16 of 24.58 TFLOPS is exactly double its FP32, indicating a loss of throughput for half-precision operations. The NVIDIA card also has dedicated ray tracing and tensor hardware that the AMD card cannot emulate. For any modern workload using these features, the NVIDIA card is the only option in this comparison. The AMD card's sole advantages are its higher aggregate benchmark percentile, its 2048-bit memory bus, and its six mini-DisplayPort outputs for multi-monitor professional setups.