AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT is the decisive winner in every shared benchmark against the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN, with the data showing a generational leap that completely overcomes the older card's larger die and higher transistor count. Across three head-to-head tests, the RX 5500 XT wins all of them, with deltas ranging from 88.8% to a staggering 567.3%. The GTX TITAN, a 2013 flagship, retains only its historical status; its 56th percentile ranking versus the RX 5500 XT's 57th percentile shows they are adjacent in overall standings, but the actual benchmark scores reveal a massive performance gulf in favor of the newer AMD architecture.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT wins in every benchmark category where both cards have results. The most dramatic margin comes in the Geekbench Metal test, where the RX 5500 XT scores 54,842 against the GTX TITAN's 8,218, a 567.3% advantage. This is not a narrow victory; it indicates that the RX 5500 XT is in an entirely different performance class for compute workloads that leverage Apple's Metal API. Similarly, in Geekbench Vulkan, the RX 5500 XT achieves 44,191 versus 10,027 for the GTX TITAN, translating to a 340.7% lead, showcasing the AMD card's superior modern API execution.

The RX 5500 XT also wins in Geekbench OpenCL, posting 46,965 compared to the GTX TITAN's 24,873, an 88.8% improvement. This win is less extreme than the Metal or Vulkan results but still represents a near-doubling of compute performance. The data shows no benchmark where the GTX TITAN wins; the NVIDIA card's best showing is in OpenCL, where it manages to keep the deficit under 100%. For any modern workload using these APIs, the RX 5500 XT is the clear choice, with the GTX TITAN only being relevant for legacy scenarios that rely on its older feature set.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two cards is foundational. The RX 5500 XT uses the Navi 14 chip built on RDNA 1.0 architecture, fabricated on a 7 nm process at TSMC. This is a stark contrast to the GTX TITAN's GK110 chip, which uses the Kepler architecture on a 28 nm process. The process node difference is enormous: 7 nm versus 28 nm, which directly explains the transistor density disparity. The RX 5500 XT packs 6,400 million transistors into a 158 mm² die, yielding a density of 40.5 million transistors per mm². The GTX TITAN has more transistors overall at 7,080 million, but they are spread across a massive 561 mm² die, resulting in a density of just 12.6 million transistors per mm².

Clock speeds tell the same story of architectural efficiency. The RX 5500 XT runs at a base clock of 1607 MHz and boosts to 1845 MHz, with a game clock of 1717 MHz. The GTX TITAN is far slower, with a base of 836 MHz and a boost of just 876 MHz. This nearly 2x boost clock advantage allows the RX 5500 XT to achieve higher pixel and texture rates despite having fewer execution units. The RX 5500 XT has 1408 shading units, 88 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, while the GTX TITAN has 2688 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. Yet the RX 5500 XT still posts a pixel rate of 59.04 GPixel/s versus the GTX TITAN's 49.06 GPixel/s, and a texture rate of 162.4 GTexel/s versus 196.2 GTexel/s, showing the RDNA architecture's superior per-clock throughput.

Memory configurations also diverge sharply. The RX 5500 XT uses 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX TITAN uses 6 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, providing 288.4 GB/s. While the GTX TITAN has more memory and bandwidth, the RX 5500 XT's newer memory type operates at 14 Gbps effective versus the GTX TITAN's 6 Gbps. The RX 5500 XT also supports PCIe 4.0 x8, while the GTX TITAN is limited to PCIe 3.0 x16. Feature support follows the generational split: the RX 5500 XT supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.4, while the GTX TITAN is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0) and Vulkan 1.2.175. The RX 5500 XT also has native FP16 support at 10.39 TFLOPS (2:1), while the GTX TITAN has no FP16 data.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The largest head-to-head victory belongs to the RX 5500 XT in Geekbench Metal, where it outscores the GTX TITAN by 567.3%. The RX 5500 XT's score of 54,842 dwarfs the GTX TITAN's 8,218, indicating that the AMD card is over six times faster in this specific compute test. This result is so lopsided that it suggests the GTX TITAN's Kepler architecture is fundamentally incapable of efficiently executing Metal workloads, likely due to its age and lack of modern compute optimizations.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the RX 5500 XT again dominates, winning by 340.7% with a score of 44,191 versus 10,027. This 4.4x advantage highlights the RX 5500 XT's strong Vulkan driver support and modern hardware design. The GTX TITAN's Vulkan 1.2.175 support is present but clearly not optimized for performance, as evidenced by its low score.

The closest contest is in Geekbench OpenCL, where the RX 5500 XT wins by 88.8%. The RX 5500 XT scores 46,965, while the GTX TITAN manages 24,873. This is still a substantial victory, but the GTX TITAN's OpenCL performance is relatively better than its Metal or Vulkan results, suggesting that OpenCL is a more favorable workload for the older Kepler architecture. Across all three benchmarks, the RX 5500 XT's average score of 14,692 versus the GTX TITAN's 14,373 shows only a 2.2% difference in their overall benchmark averages, but this hides the fact that the head-to-head tests are overwhelmingly in favor of the AMD card.

FAQ

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT has an average benchmark score of 14,692, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN has an average of 14,373. This difference is approximately 2.2% in favor of the RX 5500 XT.

Q: What is the biggest performance gap between the two cards?

A: The largest gap is in Geekbench Metal, where the RX 5500 XT leads by 567.3%. The RX 5500 XT scores 54,842, versus the GTX TITAN's 8,218.

Q: Does the GTX TITAN win any head-to-head benchmark?

A: No. The data shows the RX 5500 XT wins all three head-to-head benchmarks: Geekbench Metal, OpenCL, and Vulkan. The NVIDIA card has zero wins in this comparison.

Q: How do their percentile rankings compare?

A: The RX 5500 XT is in the 57th percentile of all GPUs, while the GTX TITAN is in the 56th percentile. This puts them adjacent in the overall ranking distribution.

Q: What is the difference in memory bandwidth?

A: The GTX TITAN has higher memory bandwidth at 288.4 GB/s, compared to the RX 5500 XT's 224.0 GB/s. However, the RX 5500 XT uses faster GDDR6 memory at 14 Gbps effective, versus the GTX TITAN's GDDR5 at 6 Gbps.

Q: Which card has a higher boost clock?

A: The RX 5500 XT has a boost clock of 1845 MHz, which is significantly higher than the GTX TITAN's boost clock of 876 MHz. The RX 5500 XT also has a higher base clock at 1607 MHz versus 836 MHz.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every core specification. The process node is 7 nm for the RX 5500 XT versus 28 nm for the GTX TITAN. The RX 5500 XT has a smaller die at 158 mm², while the GTX TITAN is much larger at 561 mm². Transistor counts are 6,400 million for the AMD card and 7,080 million for the NVIDIA card, but transistor density favors the RX 5500 XT at 40.5M / mm² versus 12.6M / mm². Clock speeds are starkly different: the RX 5500 XT has base and boost clocks of 1607 MHz and 1845 MHz, respectively, while the GTX TITAN has 836 MHz and 876 MHz. The RX 5500 XT also has a game clock of 1717 MHz, which the GTX TITAN lacks.

Memory configurations diverge: the RX 5500 XT has 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, while the GTX TITAN has 6 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus. Memory bandwidth is 224.0 GB/s for the RX 5500 XT versus 288.4 GB/s for the GTX TITAN. Shading units are 1408 for the RX 5500 XT and 2688 for the GTX TITAN; TMUs are 88 versus 224; ROPs are 32 versus 48. Pixel rate is 59.04 GPixel/s for the AMD card and 49.06 GPixel/s for the NVIDIA card. Texture rate is 162.4 GTexel/s for the RX 5500 XT and 196.2 GTexel/s for the GTX TITAN. FP32 performance is 5.196 TFLOPS for the RX 5500 XT and 4.709 TFLOPS for the GTX TITAN; only the RX 5500 XT has FP16 performance at 10.39 TFLOPS. TDP is 130 W for the RX 5500 XT versus 250 W for the GTX TITAN. Power connectors are 1x 8-pin for the AMD card and 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin for the NVIDIA card. Suggested PSU is 300 W versus 600 W. Bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x8 versus PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs are 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a for the RX 5500 XT, versus 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 1x DisplayPort 1.2 for the GTX TITAN. DirectX support is 12 (12_1) versus 12 (11_0); Vulkan support is 1.4 versus 1.2.175. The RX 5500 XT is 180 mm long, while the GTX TITAN is 267 mm long, 111 mm high, and 38 mm wide.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT is the superior card for any modern workload. It wins all three head-to-head benchmarks, with leads of 88.8% in OpenCL, 340.7% in Vulkan, and 567.3% in Metal. Its 7 nm RDNA architecture delivers higher clocks, better pixel rate, and superior FP32 compute despite having fewer shading units and TMUs. The GTX TITAN's only advantages are its larger memory capacity of 6 GB and higher memory bandwidth of 288.4 GB/s, but these do not translate into benchmark wins. The RX 5500 XT also consumes less power, with a 130 W TDP versus 250 W, and requires a smaller PSU at 300 W versus 600 W.

Who should pick the GTX TITAN? Strictly from the data, no one seeking performance should choose it, as it loses every head-to-head test. The GTX TITAN's 56th percentile ranking is just one point below the RX 5500 XT's 57th, but the actual scores show a massive performance deficit in the three tested APIs. The RX 5500 XT, with its 57th percentile ranking and decisive wins, is the clear pick for users who need strong compute performance in Metal, Vulkan, or OpenCL. Its modern feature set, including DirectX 12_1 and Vulkan 1.4, makes it the more future-proof option. The GTX TITAN is end-of-life with a 2013 release date, while the RX 5500 XT, also end-of-life, is from 2019. The verdict is simple: choose the RX 5500 XT for performance and efficiency; the GTX TITAN is only relevant as a historical artifact.