AMD Radeon RX 590 GME vs NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data contains two direct comparison points between the AMD Radeon RX 590 GME and the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000, and in both cases the NVIDIA card takes a commanding lead. The Geekbench OpenCL test shows the Quadro RTX 8000 scoring 101,883 against the RX 590 GME’s 36,294, a delta of -64.4% for the AMD part. That is a massive gap, more than two and a half times the raw score, indicating the NVIDIA card’s compute throughput is in a different class entirely. The Geekbench Vulkan test tells a similar story: the Quadro RTX 8000 posts 122,637 while the RX 590 GME manages 60,508, a -50.7% difference. In both scenarios, the NVIDIA card wins outright, and the database records zero wins for the AMD card across the paired benchmarks.

Looking at the broader benchmark picture, the RX 590 GME has an average benchmark score of 32,601 across all recorded tests, while the Quadro RTX 8000 sits at 28,421. That is an interesting inversion: the AMD card’s average is actually higher despite losing both head-to-head matchups. The reason is that the RX 590 GME’s benchmark set includes a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1,001, which pulls its average up, while the Quadro RTX 8000’s set includes several low-scoring legacy DirectX tests (PassMark DirectX 9 at 211, DirectX 10 at 137, DirectX 11 at 188, DirectX 12 at 79) that drag its average down. The Quadro RTX 8000 does, however, show its strength in the PassMark G3D test with 19,799 and PassMark GPU Compute with 9,992, both far above what the RX 590 GME would be expected to produce based on its other results.

The percentile rankings also differ notably. The RX 590 GME sits at the 77th percentile among all GPUs in the database, while the Quadro RTX 8000 is at the 74th percentile. This is a case where the average score and percentile tell a story that contradicts the direct comparison results. The RX 590 GME’s higher percentile reflects its more consistent performance across its benchmark suite, while the Quadro RTX 8000’s lower percentile is influenced by those legacy DirectX scores that are not representative of its real-world capabilities. When interpreting the data, it is crucial to weight the head-to-head results more heavily than the overall averages, since the paired tests are directly comparable while the broader suites are not.

The Verdict

The data paints a clear picture for users who prioritize raw compute performance: the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 is the dominant card in every direct comparison. It leads by 64.4% in OpenCL and 50.7% in Vulkan, which are substantial margins that would translate into significant real-world differences for GPU-accelerated workloads such as rendering, simulation, or machine learning inference. The Quadro RTX 8000 also offers 48 GB of GDDR6 memory with 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth, compared to the RX 590 GME’s 8 GB of GDDR5 with 256.0 GB/s. For tasks that require large datasets or high-resolution textures, that memory difference is decisive.

However, the RX 590 GME is not without its own statistical merits. Its average benchmark score of 32,601 exceeds the Quadro RTX 8000’s 28,421, and its 77th percentile ranking places it above the NVIDIA card’s 74th percentile. The RX 590 GME also wins on efficiency in terms of power draw, with a 175 W TDP versus the Quadro RTX 8000’s 260 W, and it has a shorter physical length at 241 mm compared to 267 mm. For users who do not need the extreme compute capabilities of the Quadro RTX 8000, the RX 590 GME offers a more balanced profile across the database’s full test suite.

The verdict from the data is straightforward: pick the Quadro RTX 8000 if your workload is compute-heavy and you need the massive memory pool and raw throughput. Pick the RX 590 GME if you want a card with a higher overall benchmark average, better percentile standing, and lower power requirements, and if your applications do not demand the Quadro’s extreme performance. The Quadro RTX 8000 is the clear winner in head-to-head tests, but the RX 590 GME holds its own in the broader statistical context.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different architectural generations and design philosophies. The AMD Radeon RX 590 GME is built on the Polaris 20 chip using GCN 4.0 architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. It contains 5,700 million transistors on a 232 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 24.6M per mm². The NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 uses the TU102 chip with Turing architecture, built on a 12 nm process at TSMC. It packs 18,600 million transistors onto a 754 mm² die, with a transistor density of 24.7M per mm². The density is nearly identical, but the Quadro has over three times the total transistor count and a die that is more than three times larger.

The compute configurations diverge sharply. The RX 590 GME has 2,304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The Quadro RTX 8000 has 4,608 shading units, 288 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The NVIDIA card also includes dedicated hardware that the AMD card lacks entirely: 72 RT cores for ray tracing and 576 tensor cores for AI acceleration. These are not present in the RX 590 GME’s GCN architecture. The FP32 compute figures reflect the hardware difference: the Quadro RTX 8000 delivers 16.31 TFLOPS against the RX 590 GME’s 6.543 TFLOPS. In FP16, the gap widens further, as the Quadro RTX 8000 achieves 32.62 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio, while the RX 590 GME stays at 6.543 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio.

Memory architecture also differs fundamentally. The RX 590 GME uses 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, providing 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Quadro RTX 8000 uses 48 GB of GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus, delivering 672.0 GB/s. Clock speeds favor the NVIDIA card as well, with a base of 1395 MHz and boost of 1770 MHz versus the AMD card’s 1257 MHz base and 1420 MHz boost. The API support differs too: the Quadro RTX 8000 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the RX 590 GME supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3. Both support OpenGL 4.6.

FAQ

Q: Which card has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 590 GME has an average benchmark score of 32,601, while the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 has 28,421.

Q: How large is the performance gap in the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The Quadro RTX 8000 scores 101,883 compared to the RX 590 GME’s 36,294, a delta of -64.4% for the AMD card.

Q: Does the Quadro RTX 8000 have more memory?

A: Yes, it has 48 GB of GDDR6 with a 384-bit bus and 672.0 GB/s bandwidth, versus 8 GB of GDDR5 with a 256-bit bus and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth on the RX 590 GME.

Q: What is the power draw difference?

A: The RX 590 GME has a TDP of 175 W, while the Quadro RTX 8000 has a TDP of 260 W. The suggested PSU ratings are 450 W and 600 W respectively.

Q: Which card supports ray tracing?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 includes 72 RT cores and 576 tensor cores. The AMD Radeon RX 590 GME has no RT cores or tensor cores listed in the database.

Q: What is the release date difference?

A: The Quadro RTX 8000 was released on 2018-08-12, while the RX 590 GME came later on 2020-03-08. Both are now marked as end-of-life.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 wins every direct head-to-head benchmark recorded, and its advantages extend to specific use cases that benefit from its hardware. The 48 GB memory pool and 672.0 GB/s bandwidth make it suitable for large-scale data processing, high-resolution rendering, and workloads that need to hold massive datasets in VRAM. The 72 RT cores and 576 tensor cores enable ray-traced rendering and AI-accelerated tasks that the RX 590 GME simply cannot perform. The FP16 throughput of 32.62 TFLOPS gives it a significant edge in mixed-precision compute workloads.

The AMD Radeon RX 590 GME wins in the statistical aggregate. Its average benchmark score of 32,601 is 14.7% higher than the Quadro RTX 8000’s 28,421, and its 77th percentile ranking beats the NVIDIA card’s 74th. It also wins on efficiency metrics: 175 W TDP versus 260 W, and a shorter 241 mm length versus 267 mm. For users with limited power budgets or smaller chassis, the RX 590 GME is the more practical choice. Its 1x 8-pin power connector requirement is simpler than the Quadro RTX 8000’s 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin setup.

In terms of API support, the Quadro RTX 8000 is more forward-looking with DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4, while the RX 590 GME supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3. Display outputs also differ: the RX 590 GME offers 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the Quadro RTX 8000 provides 4x DisplayPort 1.4a and 1x USB Type-C.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every specification field. The process node is 14 nm for the AMD card versus 12 nm for the NVIDIA card. Transistor count is 5,700 million versus 18,600 million, and die size is 232 mm² versus 754 mm². The RX 590 GME has 2,304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 32 ROPs; the Quadro RTX 8000 has 4,608 shading units, 288 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The NVIDIA card adds 72 RT cores and 576 tensor cores, which the AMD card lacks.

Clock speeds: the RX 590 GME runs at 1257 MHz base and 1420 MHz boost, while the Quadro RTX 8000 runs at 1395 MHz base and 1770 MHz boost. Memory is 8 GB GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 256.0 GB/s bandwidth versus 48 GB GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus with 672.0 GB/s bandwidth. Pixel rate is 45.44 GPixel/s versus 169.9 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 204.5 GTexel/s versus 509.8 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 6.543 TFLOPS versus 16.31 TFLOPS, and FP16 is 6.543 TFLOPS (1:1) versus 32.62 TFLOPS (2:1). TDP is 175 W versus 260 W, with power connectors of 1x 8-pin versus 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin. Suggested PSU is 450 W versus 600 W. The RX 590 GME is 241 mm long; the Quadro RTX 8000 is 267 mm long and 111 mm high. The Quadro RTX 8000 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the RX 590 GME supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3. The Quadro RTX 8000 has a launch MSRP of 9,999 USD.