AMD Radeon Pro 580X vs NVIDIA CMP 50HX Comparison

FAQ

Q: How does the NVIDIA CMP 50HX compare to the AMD Radeon Pro 580X in overall average benchmark performance?

A: The NVIDIA CMP 50HX records an average benchmark score of 51,790, while the AMD Radeon Pro 580X lands at 38,706. That places the CMP 50HX roughly 33.8% higher on average, and the delta is consistent with its individual wins in both shared tests.

Q: Which GPU wins in OpenCL performance, and by how much?

A: The NVIDIA CMP 50HX wins the Geekbench OpenCL test with a score of 56,135 against the AMD's 36,426, a decisive 54.1% advantage. This is the largest single-test gap between the two cards.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon Pro 580X have any benchmark where it beats the NVIDIA card?

A: No. In the recorded head-to-head tests, the AMD card loses both the OpenCL and Vulkan comparisons. The Vulkan result is closer, with the NVIDIA leading 47,445 to 40,115, an 18.3% margin, but the AMD card does not secure a single win.

Q: What API feature levels do the two cards support?

A: The NVIDIA CMP 50HX supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The AMD Radeon Pro 580X supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The NVIDIA card has a higher DirectX feature level and a newer Vulkan version.

Q: How do the two cards rank against all GPUs in the database?

A: The NVIDIA CMP 50HX sits in the 86th percentile of all GPUs, while the AMD Radeon Pro 580X sits in the 82nd percentile. Despite being a mining-focused card, the NVIDIA part ranks notably higher overall.

Q: Which card has more memory bandwidth and how does that impact its performance?

A: The NVIDIA CMP 50HX offers 560.0 GB/s of bandwidth over a 320-bit bus with 10 GB of GDDR6, while the AMD card provides 218.9 GB/s over a 256-bit bus with 8 GB of GDDR5. The bandwidth difference is substantial, and it likely explains part of the NVIDIA card's large OpenCL lead.

Where Each One Wins

The recorded data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA CMP 50HX wins every shared benchmark, taking both the OpenCL and Vulkan tests. The AMD Radeon Pro 580X does not win any of the head-to-head comparisons. That said, the two cards occupy different design spaces, and the AMD card has a few qualitative advantages worth noting.

The AMD Radeon Pro 580X is an integrated GPU (IGP) designed for Apple MPX systems, with two HDMI 2.0b display outputs. It is a Mac-oriented professional card with a 185 W TDP and no external power connectors listed. The NVIDIA CMP 50HX, by contrast, has no display outputs at all, uses two 8-pin power connectors, and has a 250 W TDP. The AMD card is the only one of the two that can drive a display, so for any workload requiring visual output, the AMD part is the functional choice despite its lower compute scores.

In pure compute performance, however, the NVIDIA CMP 50HX wins decisively. Its 11.07 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is roughly double the AMD card's 5.530 TFLOPS. The NVIDIA card also has a 54.1% OpenCL lead and an 18.3% Vulkan lead. For any headless compute task, the NVIDIA card is the clear performer.

The AMD card's 1:1 FP16 ratio (5.530 TFLOPS) contrasts with the NVIDIA card's 2:1 ratio (22.15 TFLOPS), meaning the NVIDIA card can deliver four times the FP16 throughput when the workload uses the accelerated path. This makes the NVIDIA card more versatile for mixed-precision work, even though the AMD card's FP16 is simpler and more uniform.

Architecture Differences

The NVIDIA CMP 50HX is built on the TU102 chip using the Turing architecture, fabricated by TSMC on a 12 nm process. It packs 18,600 million transistors on a 754 mm² die, with a transistor density of 24.7 million per mm². The AMD Radeon Pro 580X uses the Ellesmere chip with GCN 4.0 architecture, built by GlobalFoundries on a 14 nm process. It has 5,700 million transistors on a 232 mm² die, with a density of 24.6 million per mm², remarkably close to the NVIDIA part despite the older node.

The NVIDIA card features 3,584 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 80 raster operation pipelines. It also includes 56 ray tracing cores and 448 tensor cores, which are absent from the AMD card entirely. The AMD Radeon Pro 580X has 2,304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, with no dedicated ray tracing or tensor hardware.

The memory subsystems differ fundamentally. The NVIDIA card uses 10 GB of GDDR6 on a 320-bit bus, delivering 560.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The AMD card uses 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, offering 218.9 GB/s. The NVIDIA card's memory clock runs at 1750 MHz with 14 Gbps effective data rate, while the AMD card's memory clock is 1710 MHz with 6.8 Gbps effective. The NVIDIA card has a 2.6x bandwidth advantage, which is a major factor in its benchmark dominance.

The bus interfaces are also completely different. The NVIDIA card uses PCIe 1.0 x4, a legacy interface that is unusual for a modern GPU, while the AMD card uses Apple MPX, a proprietary Apple module interface. Neither card has a standard PCIe 4.0 interface, which is worth noting for system compatibility.

Specification Differences

The table below highlights only the fields where the two cards differ:

| Specification | NVIDIA CMP 50HX | AMD Radeon Pro 580X |

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

| Architecture | Turing | GCN 4.0 |

| Process Node | 12 nm | 14 nm |

| Foundry | TSMC | GlobalFoundries |

| Transistors | 18,600 million | 5,700 million |

| Die Size | 754 mm² | 232 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 24.7M / mm² | 24.6M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1350 MHz | 1100 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1545 MHz | 1200 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) | 1710 MHz (6.8 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 10 GB | 8 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR5 |

| Memory Bus | 320 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 560.0 GB/s | 218.9 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 3584 | 2304 |

| TMUs | 192 | 144 |

| ROPs | 80 | 32 |

| RT Cores | 56 | None |

| Tensor Cores | 448 | None |

| Pixel Rate | 123.6 GPixel/s | 38.40 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 296.6 GTexel/s | 172.8 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 11.07 TFLOPS | 5.530 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 22.15 TFLOPS (2:1) | 5.530 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 250 W | 185 W |

| Slot Width | Dual-slot | IGP |

| Power Connectors | 2x 8-pin | None |

| Suggested PSU | 600 W | None |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 1.0 x4 | Apple MPX |

| Display Outputs | No outputs | 2x HDMI 2.0b |

| DirectX | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | 12 (12_0) |

| Vulkan | 1.4 | 1.3 |

| Dimensions | 267 mm length, 116 mm height, 35 mm width | Not listed |

| Release Date | 2021-06-23 | 2019-03-17 |

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two shared tests tell a clear story. In Geekbench OpenCL, the NVIDIA CMP 50HX scores 56,135 against the AMD Radeon Pro 580X's 36,426, a 54.1% delta. This is the larger of the two wins, and it aligns with the NVIDIA card's massive bandwidth advantage (560.0 GB/s versus 218.9 GB/s) and its higher FP32 throughput (11.07 TFLOPS versus 5.530 TFLOPS).

In Geekbench Vulkan, the NVIDIA card wins again, but by a narrower margin: 47,445 versus 40,115, an 18.3% delta. The Vulkan test appears to be less sensitive to the raw compute differences, possibly because the AMD card's GCN architecture handles certain draw call patterns more efficiently. Still, the NVIDIA card's lead is substantial in both tests.

The NVIDIA card's percentile ranking of 86 puts it above the AMD card's 82, but the gap in percentile is smaller than the gap in raw scores. This is because the AMD card's nearest rivals are clustered tightly: the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 A is within 0% delta, and the RTX 5080 Mobile is within 0.9%. The NVIDIA CMP 50HX's nearest rivals are also close, with the RX 6900 XT within 1.6% and the RX Vega 64 within 3.6%. Both cards are competitive within their respective peer groups, but the NVIDIA card is simply in a higher performance tier.

The Verdict

The data is straightforward: the NVIDIA CMP 50HX is the faster card in every measured benchmark. Its OpenCL lead of 54.1% and Vulkan lead of 18.3% are decisive, and its average score of 51,790 versus 38,706 leaves no ambiguity. For any workload that relies on compute performance, the NVIDIA card is the superior choice.

The AMD Radeon Pro 580X, however, is not without purpose. It is an integrated GPU with display outputs, designed for Apple MPX systems. Its 185 W TDP is lower than the NVIDIA card's 250 W, and it requires no external power connectors, making it simpler to install in compatible Mac systems. Its 1:1 FP16 ratio (5.530 TFLOPS) offers consistent precision across tasks, whereas the NVIDIA card's 2:1 ratio (22.15 TFLOPS) is only available when the workload supports the accelerated path.

The NVIDIA CMP 50HX, on the other hand, is a headless mining card with no display outputs, a dual-slot form factor, two 8-pin connectors, and a 600 W suggested PSU. It is not meant for desktop use, but its compute capability is undeniable. Its 56 ray tracing cores and 448 tensor cores are unique features that the AMD card completely lacks, and its DirectX 12 Ultimate support is a generation ahead of the AMD card's DirectX 12 (12_0).

Who should pick the AMD card? Users with Apple MPX systems who need a display-capable GPU with moderate compute performance and lower power draw. Who should pick the NVIDIA card? Anyone building a headless compute or mining rig who prioritizes raw throughput, especially in OpenCL and Vulkan workloads, and can accommodate its 250 W TDP and dual-slot footprint.