AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 Comparison

AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only directly comparable benchmark in the database is Geekbench OpenCL, and the result is decisive. The AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT scores 46,965 points, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 scores 13,300 points. That is a 253.1% advantage for the RX 5500 XT, meaning it delivers more than three and a half times the compute performance in this workload. The data shows a complete generational shift in raw compute capability between these two cards.

Looking at the broader database averages reinforces this gap. The RX 5500 XT holds an average benchmark score of 14,692 across all recorded tests, which places it in the 57th percentile of all GPUs. The GTX 480, with only its OpenCL result recorded, averages 13,300 and sits in the 53rd percentile. While the percentile difference appears modest at four points, the average score difference of 1,392 points is substantial, especially considering the GTX 480 has only one benchmark entry contributing to its average.

The RX 5500 XT also shows a clean sweep in the head-to-head comparison, winning 1 out of 1 shared benchmarks with no losses. The GTX 480 does not win any of the directly comparable tests. In terms of nearest rivals, the RX 5500 XT sits just 0.4% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770's average score of 14,747, and 1.1% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro M2000. It also edges out the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 by 2.1% and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M by 2%. The GTX 480, by contrast, sits 0.2% behind the AMD Radeon Pro 555X and 0.4% behind both the AMD FirePro M6100 and the AMD Radeon RX 5500M. These positioning details show that while the RX 5500 XT competes with mid-range cards from a generation later, the GTX 480 aligns with older or lower-tier mobile and workstation parts.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is vast and explains the benchmark results. The RX 5500 XT uses the Navi 14 chip built on RDNA 1.0 architecture, fabricated on a 7 nm process at TSMC. The GTX 480 uses the GF100 chip based on Fermi architecture, also from TSMC but on a much older 40 nm process. The transistor counts tell the story of density: the RX 5500 XT packs 6,400 million transistors into a 158 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 40.5 million transistors per square millimeter. The GTX 480 contains 3,100 million transistors spread across a much larger 529 mm² die, with a density of only 5.9 million transistors per square millimeter. The RX 5500 XT achieves roughly seven times the transistor density of the GTX 480.

Memory configurations differ sharply as well. The RX 5500 XT comes with 4 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX 480 offers 1536 MB of GDDR5 memory on a wider 384-bit bus, but bandwidth is lower at 177.4 GB/s. Despite having a narrower bus, the newer GDDR6 memory on the RX 5500 XT provides 26% more bandwidth than the older GDDR5 setup on the GTX 480. The RX 5500 XT memory runs at 1750 MHz with 14 Gbps effective transfer, while the GTX 480 memory runs at 924 MHz with 3.7 Gbps effective.

Compute resources also favor the RX 5500 XT heavily. It has 1,408 shading units, 88 texture mapping units, and 32 raster operation units. The GTX 480 has 480 shading units, 60 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. While the GTX 480 has more ROPs, the RX 5500 XT dominates in shading and texturing throughput. Pixel rate on the RX 5500 XT is 59.04 GPixel/s versus 21.03 GPixel/s on the GTX 480. Texture rate is 162.4 GTexel/s versus 42.06 GTexel/s. Floating point performance shows the biggest gap: the RX 5500 XT delivers 5.196 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, while the GTX 480 delivers 1,345.0 GFLOPS, which is approximately 1.35 TFLOPS. The RX 5500 XT also supports FP16 at 10.39 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio, a feature entirely absent from the GTX 480.

The Verdict

The data points to one clear conclusion: the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT is the superior GPU in nearly every measurable way. In the only direct head-to-head benchmark, it beats the GTX 480 by 253.1%. The average benchmark score is 10.5% higher, and the percentile ranking is four points better. The RX 5500 XT also wins the architecture comparison outright, with more transistors, higher density, more shading units, more TMUs, higher bandwidth, faster clocks, and support for modern APIs like Vulkan 1.4. The GTX 480 lacks Vulkan support entirely. The RX 5500 XT supports PCIe 4.0 x8, while the GTX 480 uses PCIe 2.0 x16. Display outputs also favor the newer card, with 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a versus the GTX 480's 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a. The RX 5500 XT is the only sensible pick from the recorded data.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT has an average benchmark score of 14,692, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 has an average score of 13,300.

Q: How much faster is the RX 5500 XT in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The RX 5500 XT scores 46,965 points compared to 13,300 for the GTX 480, a 253.1% difference.

Q: Does the GTX 480 support Vulkan?

A: No, the GTX 480 has no Vulkan support recorded, while the RX 5500 XT supports Vulkan 1.4.

Q: Which card has more memory bandwidth?

A: The RX 5500 XT has 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth, while the GTX 480 has 177.4 GB/s.

Q: What is the transistor density difference?

A: The RX 5500 XT has a transistor density of 40.5 million transistors per square millimeter, while the GTX 480 has 5.9 million, a roughly sevenfold difference.

Q: Which GPU has a higher pixel rate?

A: The RX 5500 XT has a pixel rate of 59.04 GPixel/s, compared to 21.03 GPixel/s for the GTX 480.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 5500 XT wins in every benchmark category where both cards have recorded data. In Geekbench OpenCL, it is 253.1% ahead. Across the database, it holds a higher average score, a higher percentile rank, and a better position among its nearest rivals. It also wins on memory bandwidth, texture rate, pixel rate, FP32 compute, and FP16 compute. The GTX 480 does hold an advantage in ROP count with 48 versus 32, and it has a wider 384-bit memory bus compared to 128-bit, but neither advantage translates into a benchmark win. The GTX 480 also has a lower power draw at 250 W versus 130 W, but that is not a performance metric. For any workload represented in the database, the RX 5500 XT is the winner.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every specification field. The RX 5500 XT uses a 7 nm process, while the GTX 480 uses 40 nm. Transistor count is 6,400 million versus 3,100 million. Die size is 158 mm² versus 529 mm². Transistor density is 40.5 million per square millimeter versus 5.9 million. The RX 5500 XT has a base clock of 1607 MHz and a boost clock of 1845 MHz, while the GTX 480 has no base or boost clock recorded. Memory differs in size, type, bus width, and bandwidth: 4 GB GDDR6 on 128-bit at 224.0 GB/s versus 1536 MB GDDR5 on 384-bit at 177.4 GB/s. Shading units are 1,408 versus 480. TMUs are 88 versus 60. ROPs are 32 versus 48. Pixel rate is 59.04 GPixel/s versus 21.03 GPixel/s. Texture rate is 162.4 GTexel/s versus 42.06 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 5.196 TFLOPS versus 1,345.0 GFLOPS. FP16 is 10.39 TFLOPS on the RX 5500 XT, with none recorded for the GTX 480. TDP is 130 W versus 250 W. Power connectors are 1x 8-pin versus 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin. Suggested PSU is 300 W versus 600 W. Bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x8 versus PCIe 2.0 x16. Display outputs are 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a versus 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a. DirectX support is 12 (12_1) versus 12 (11_0). Vulkan support is 1.4 versus none. Physical length is 180 mm versus 267 mm. Both cards are dual-slot and end-of-life. The RX 5500 XT has a launch MSRP of 169 USD, while the GTX 480 has a launch MSRP of 499 USD.