AMD Radeon RX 5500M vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti records an average benchmark score of 15548, while the AMD Radeon RX 5500M averages 13356. That places the GTX 1080 Ti ahead by roughly 16.4% overall.

Q: How do the two compare in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test?

A: Only the GTX 1080 Ti has a recorded score in this benchmark, scoring 2231. The RX 5500M has no entry for this test in the database, so no comparison is possible.

Q: Which card wins more head-to-head benchmark comparisons?

A: Out of 10 head-to-head tests, the GTX 1080 Ti wins 9 of them. The RX 8 5500M wins only 1 test, the Geekbench Metal test, where it scores 50359 against the GTX 1080 Ti's 30624.

Q: What is the difference in transistor density between the two chips?

A: The GTX 1080 Ti, built on a 16 nm process, has a density of 25.1M transistors per mm². The RX 5500M, using a 7 nm process, reaches 40.5M transistors per mm², a higher density on a smaller die.

Q: What are the relative percentile ranks of these GPUs?

A: The GTX 1080 Ti sits at the 58th percentile among all GPUs in the database, while the RX 5500M sits at the 54th percentile.

Q: Which card has the bigger memory bandwidth advantage?

A: The GTX 1080 Ti offers 484.4 GB/s of bandwidth using 11 GB of GDDR5X on a 352-bit bus. The RX 5500M offers 224.0 GB/s with 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus.

Architecture Differences

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti is built on Pascal architecture using the GP102 chip, fabricated by TSMC on a 16 nm process. It packs 11,800 million transistors into a 471 mm² die. The AMD Radeon RX 5500M uses the RDNA 1.0 architecture with the Navi 14 chip, also from TSMC, but on a 7 nm process. That smaller node fits 6,400 million transistors into a 158 mm² die, giving the AMD part a higher transistor density of 40.5M per mm² versus 25.1M per mm² for NVIDIA.

Pascal and RDNA 1.0 differ substantially in their compute and shading arrangements. The GTX 1080 Ti fields 3584 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 88 ROPs. It reaches a peak pixel rate of 139.2 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 354.4 GTexel/s. FP32 throughput is where Pascal diverges sharply: the GTX 1080 Ti delivers 11.34 TFLOPS of FP32, but FP16 is severely cut to 177.2 GFLOPS at a 1:64 ratio. The RX 5500M has 1408 shading units, 88 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. Its pixel rate tops out at 52.64 GPixel/s and texture rate at 144.8 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 4.632 TFLOPS, while FP16 reaches 9.265 TFLOPS at a 2:1 ratio, a far more balanced split for AMD.

Neither chip includes dedicated ray tracing or tensor cores; both lack RT cores and tensor cores entirely. Both GPUs support DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. On the interface side, the GTX 1080 Ti uses PCIe 3.0 x16, while the RX 5500M uses PCIe 4.0 x8. Display output also differs: the GTX 1080 Ti provides one HDMI 1x HDMI 2.0 and 3x DisplayPort 1.0, listed as 1x HDMI 2.03x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the RX 5500M is listed as "Portable Device Dependent" for its outputs.

Memory architecture is another major split. The GTX 1080 Ti runs 11 GB of GDDR5X at 1376 MHz (11 Gbps effective) on a 352-bit interface. The RX 5500M uses 4 GB of GDDR6 at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) on a 128-bit bus. In the raw throughput numbers, the NVIDIA card has a bandwidth of 484.4 GB/s, more than twice AMD's 224.0 GB/s.

Power characteristics are also a defining difference. The GTX 1080 Ti carries a 250 W TDP and requires dual-slot cooling, using one 6-pin plus one 8-pin power connector, with a suggested PSU of 600 W. The RX 5500M is an 85 W part with no power connectors listed, making it a mobile-class component. The GTX 1080 Ti measures 267 mm long, 112 mm high, 40 mm wide; the RX 5500M has no physical dimensions recorded.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The Geekbench Metal test is the single win for AMD. There, the RX 5500M posts 50359, with a 50359 score, against the GTX 1080 Ti's 30624, a delta of 39.2% in AMD's favor. By contrast, Geekbench OpenCL puts the GTX 1080 Ti far ahead: 67929 against 38725, a 75.4% advantage. Geekbench Vulkan is closer, with the GTX 1080 Ti leading 40511 to 35693, a 13.5% edge.

Passmark's DX9 test shows NVIDIA at 118 versus the RX 5500M's 100, a delta of 202.9%. DX10 sees 118 to 39, a 202.2% gain for NVIDIA. DX11 shows the biggest gap, 151 to 35, a 331.4% win for NVIDIA in that test. DX12 has 66 to 28, 135.7% ahead for the GTX 1080 Ti. In PassMark G2D, the GTX 1080 Ti scores 939 against 414, a 126.8% difference, and in PassMark G3D, the GTX 1080 Ti posts 18600 against the RX 5500M's 5848, a 218.1% lead.

The largest single gap in the set is PassMark GPU Compute: the GTX 1080 Ti scores 9632, the RX 5500M scores 2316, and the delta reaches 315.9%. In every head-to-head except Geekbench Metal, the GTX 1080 Ti holds a double-digit percentage lead, and most of those leads exceed 100%.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti | AMD Radeon RX 5500M |

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

| Architecture | Pascal | RDNA 1.0 |

| Process Node | 16 nm | 7 nm |

| Transistors | 11,800 million | 6,400 million |

| Die Size | 471 mm² | 158 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 25.1M / mm² | 40.5M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1481 MHz | 1375 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1582 MHz | 1645 MHz |

| Game Clock | None (not listed) | 1448 MHz |

| Memory Size | 11 GB | 4 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR5X | GDDR6 |

| Bus Width | 352 bit | 128 bit |

| Memory Clock | 1376 MHz (11 Gbps effective) | 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) |

| Bandwidth | 484.4 GB/s | 224.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 3584 | 1408 |

| TMUs | 224 | 88 |

| ROPs | 88 | 32 |

| Pixel Rate | 139.2 GPixel/s | 52.64 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 354.4 GTexel/s | 144.8 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 11.34 TFLOPS | 4.632 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 177.2 GFLOPS (1:64) | 9.265 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 250 W | 85 W |

| Power Connectors | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin | None |

| Suggested PSU | 600 W | None listed |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x8 |

| Dimensions (L×H×W) | 267 mm × 112 mm × 40 mm | None recorded |

The list includes only fields where the two GPUs differ. Notably, the GTX 1080 Ti's launch MSRP is 699 USD, while the RX 5500M has no such listed price in the database.

The RX 5500M's boost clock runs at a higher boost clock of 1645 MHz than the GTX 1080 Ti's 1582 MHz, even though the GTX 1080 Ti has a higher base clock. The GTX 1080 Ti's larger bus, more memory, and higher raw throughput numbers all favor NVIDIA, while AMD counters with a smaller node, a lower TDP, and a more efficient FP16 ratio.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti wins decisively across almost every benchmark category in the database. It dominates in PassMark DX11, DX10, DX9, G3D, G2D, GPU Compute, and OpenCL, and holds a smaller lead in Vulkan, with the single exception being Geekbench Metal where AMD wins by 39.2%. If workloads rely on general compute, DirectX 11-era games, or heavy GPGPU tasks, the GTX 1080 Ti is the clear choice, with leads from 13.5% to 331.4% in DirectX 11 and 315.9% in GPU compute throughput, given its FP32 output is 11.34 TFLOPS.

The AMD Radeon RX 5500M wins only a single benchmark, but that test space matters in certain contexts. Geekbench Metal is the only workload where the RX 5500M leads, and that score reflects Apple Metal environments. Beyond that single win, the RX 5500M wins on the basis of its lower 85 W TDP, an 85 W figure versus the GTX 1080 Ti's 250 W, and its 7 nm process and high transistor density of 40.5M/mm². For situations where power and thermal constraints are more important than raw frame rates, the RX 5500M's profile is the more efficient option, though it trails by 218.1% in PassMark G3D and 126.8% in G2D.

The Verdict

The database verdict is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti is the faster GPU in nearly every measured workload. It leads the RX 5500M by 218.1% in PassMark G3D, 315.9% in GPU compute, and 331.4% in DirectX 11, and it holds a 75.4% edge in OpenCL. For a desktop user who needs maximum throughput in gaming and compute, the GTX 1080 Ti is the pick, with the caveat that it draws 250 W and needs a 600 W PSU.

The AMD Radeon RX 5500M is the choice for a portable, low-power system. Its 85 W TDP and lack of power connectors make it suitable for a laptop or an integrated mobile platform, and its Geekbench Metal score of 50359 shows a strength in that API where the GTX 1080 Ti falls behind by 39.2%. Its 7 nm node gives it a density advantage, and its FP16 output is 9.265 TFLOPS, far higher than the GTX 1080 Ti's 177.2 GFLOPS, indicating a different compute profile.

Between the two, the GTX 1080 Ti wins on raw performance and has a 58th percentile rank versus the RX 5500M's 54th. The RX 5500M wins on efficiency and portability, but its 4 GB GDDR6 and 128-bit bus cap its bandwidth at 224.0 GB/s, less than half the GTX 1080 Ti's 484.4 GB/s. Given the data, the GTX 1080 Ti is for users who prioritize maximum benchmark scores, while the RX 5500M is for users who need a small, low-power part with a modern node and a strong Metal showing.