NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 vs NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max-Q Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded database contains no direct head-to-head benchmark entries between the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 and the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max-Q. This means there are no same-test scores where the two cards were measured against each other. What exists instead are separate benchmark records for each card, each using a different test, making a direct numerical comparison impossible.

The GeForce GTX 480 has one recorded benchmark result: a Geekbench OpenCL score of 13,300. That result places the card at the 53rd percentile among all GPUs in the database. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max-Q has one recorded benchmark result as well: a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 11,088. That result places the card at the 50th percentile among all GPUs in the database.

Because the tests are different, a higher or lower raw score does not indicate superiority. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 13,300 reflects a compute-oriented workload, while the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 11,088 reflects a modern DirectX 12 gaming and graphics workload. The two numbers are not comparable on a linear scale.

Looking at the nearest rivals for each card provides useful context. The GeForce GTX 480 sits within a cluster of AMD mobile and laptop GPUs. The AMD Radeon Pro 555X scores 13,321, which is 0.2% higher than the GTX 480. The AMD FirePro M6100 scores 13,354, 0.4% higher. The AMD Radeon RX 5500M scores 13,356, also 0.4% higher. The AMD Radeon HD 8950M scores 13,376, 0.6% higher. This means the GTX 480 is effectively tied with these four rivals, trailing by less than one percentage point in every case.

The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max-Q has a different competitive landscape. Its closest rival is the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000D Blackwell Max-Q, which scores exactly 11,088, a 0% difference. The AMD Radeon RX 550 scores 11,075, which is 0.1% lower than the RTX PRO card. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER scores 11,047, 0.4% lower. The AMD FirePro W4300 scores 11,225, which is 1.2% higher. The RTX PRO card is therefore essentially tied with its nearest competitors, with a maximum gap of 1.2% in either direction.

The data shows that both cards are mid-pack performers within their own benchmark contexts. Neither card dominates its immediate rivals. The GTX 480 trails all four of its nearest rivals, but by no more than 0.6%. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max-Q leads two of its rivals, trails one, and ties one, with all differences under 1.2%.

Where Each One Wins

Based on the recorded data, the GeForce GTX 480 wins in the Geekbench OpenCL workload with a score of 13,300. This is the only benchmark recorded for that card. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max-Q wins in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 workload with a score of 11,088, the only benchmark recorded for that card.

The GTX 480's OpenCL score suggests strength in general-purpose compute tasks that use the OpenCL API. The card's position relative to its rivals indicates that it performs at a level comparable to mid-range AMD mobile GPUs from a later era, such as the Radeon RX 5500M, which scores 13,356. The difference between the GTX 480 and that card is only 0.4%.

The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max-Q's Steel Nomad score indicates capability in modern DirectX 12 workloads, which include advanced rendering features. Its position relative to the GTX 1650 SUPER, which scores 11,047, shows that the RTX PRO card is 0.4% ahead in this specific test. The FirePro W4300 outperforms it by 1.2%, however.

For users selecting a card for OpenCL compute, the GTX 480 is the only card in this comparison with a recorded OpenCL result. For users selecting a card for DirectX 12 graphics, the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max-Q is the only card with a recorded DirectX 12 result. The database does not provide cross-test comparisons, so no judgment can be made about which card is faster overall.

The percentile data adds context. The GTX 480 sits at the 53rd percentile of all GPUs, meaning 53% of recorded GPUs score lower in their respective benchmarks. The RTX PRO card sits at the 50th percentile. Both are near the median of the database, indicating that neither is an outlier at the top or bottom of the performance distribution.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from completely different architectural eras. The GeForce GTX 480 uses the GF100 chip, built on the Fermi architecture, part of the GeForce 400 generation. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max-Q uses the GB202 chip, built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture, part of the Blackwell PRO W (x000) generation.

The manufacturing process differs substantially. The GTX 480 uses a 40 nm process at TSMC, while the RTX PRO card uses a 5 nm process, also at TSMC. This process difference is reflected in transistor counts. The GTX 480 contains 3,100 million transistors on a die size of 529 mm², giving a transistor density of 5.9 million transistors per square millimeter. The RTX PRO card contains 92,200 million transistors on a die size of 750 mm², giving a transistor density of 122.9 million transistors per square millimeter. The RTX PRO card packs nearly 30 times more transistors into a die that is only about 42% larger.

Memory architecture has changed dramatically. The GTX 480 has 1,536 MB of GDDR5 memory on a 384-bit bus, with a memory clock of 924 MHz and 3.7 Gbps effective speed, producing 177.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX PRO card has 96 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, with a memory clock of 1750 MHz and 28 Gbps effective speed, producing 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. The RTX PRO card offers 64 times more memory capacity and roughly ten times more memory bandwidth.

The compute unit counts also differ by a wide margin. The GTX 480 has 480 shading units, 60 texture mapping units, and 48 render output units. The RTX PRO card has 24,064 shading units, 752 texture mapping units, and 192 render output units. The RTX PRO card has 50 times more shading units and 12.5 times more texture mapping units.

The RTX PRO card adds dedicated hardware that did not exist in the Fermi generation. It includes 188 ray tracing cores and 752 tensor cores. The GTX 480 has no such units. This reflects the introduction of hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI acceleration in later NVIDIA architectures.

The measured throughput rates reflect these architectural changes. The GTX 480 delivers 21.03 GPixel/s pixel rate and 42.06 GTexel/s texture rate, with FP32 compute of 1,345.0 GFLOPS. The RTX PRO card delivers 437.8 GPixel/s pixel rate and 1,714.6 GTexel/s texture rate, with FP32 compute of 109.7 TFLOPS and FP16 compute of 109.7 TFLOPS at a 1:1 ratio. The FP32 compute difference is roughly 81-fold.

FAQ

Q: What benchmark score does the GeForce GTX 480 have?

A: The GTX 480 has a Geekbench OpenCL score of 13,300, placing it at the 53rd percentile among all GPUs.

Q: What benchmark score does the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max-Q have?

A: The RTX PRO card has a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 11,088, placing it at the 50th percentile among all GPUs.

Q: How does the GTX 480 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: It trails all four of its nearest rivals. The AMD Radeon Pro 555X scores 0.2% higher, the AMD FirePro M6100 scores 0.4% higher, the AMD Radeon RX 5500M scores 0.4% higher, and the AMD Radeon HD 8950M scores 0.6% higher.

Q: How does the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max-Q compare to its nearest rivals?

A: It ties the RTX PRO 6000D Blackwell Max-Q at a 0% difference, leads the AMD Radeon RX 550 by 0.1%, leads the GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER by 0.4%, and trails the AMD FirePro W4300 by 1.2%.

Q: What are the memory specifications for each card?

A: The GTX 480 has 1,536 MB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus with 177.4 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX PRO card has 96 GB of GDDR7 on a 512-bit bus with 1.79 TB/s bandwidth.

Q: What is the power consumption of each card?

A: The GTX 480 has a TDP of 250 W with a suggested PSU of 600 W. The RTX PRO card has a TDP of 300 W with a suggested PSU of 700 W.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 | NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max-Q |

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

| Architecture | Fermi | Blackwell 2.0 |

| Generation | GeForce 400 | Blackwell PRO W (x000) |

| Process Node | 40 nm | 5 nm |

| Transistors | 3,100 million | 92,200 million |

| Die Size | 529 mm² | 750 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 5.9M / mm² | 122.9M / mm² |

| Memory Size | 1536 MB | 96 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR7 |

| Memory Bus Width | 384 bit | 512 bit |

| Memory Clock | 924 MHz, 3.7 Gbps effective | 1750 MHz, 28 Gbps effective |

| Memory Bandwidth | 177.4 GB/s | 1.79 TB/s |

| Shading Units | 480 | 24064 |

| TMUs | 60 | 752 |

| ROPs | 48 | 192 |

| RT Cores | None | 188 |

| Tensor Cores | None | 752 |

| Pixel Rate | 21.03 GPixel/s | 437.8 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 42.06 GTexel/s | 1,714.6 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Compute | 1,345.0 GFLOPS | 109.7 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Compute | Not listed | 109.7 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 250 W | 300 W |

| Power Connectors | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin | 1x 16-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 600 W | 700 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 2.0 x16 | PCIe 5.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 2x DVI, 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a | 4x DisplayPort 2.1b |

| DirectX Support | 12 (11_0) | 12 Ultimate (12_2) |

| Vulkan Support | Not listed | 1.4 |

| Release Date | 2010-03-25 | 2025-03-17 |

| Production Status | End-of-life | Active |

| Launch MSRP | 499 USD | 8,565 USD |

The Verdict

The data shows two cards from opposite ends of NVIDIA's product timeline. The GeForce GTX 480 is an end-of-life product from the Fermi era, released on 2010-03-25. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max-Q is an active product from the Blackwell 2.0 era, released on 2025-03-17.

For users who need OpenCL compute performance, the GTX 480 has the only recorded OpenCL score in this comparison, at 13,300. That score puts it at the 53rd percentile, essentially tied with several AMD mobile GPUs. The card has 1,536 MB of memory and 177.4 GB/s of bandwidth, which may limit it in modern workloads.

For users who need modern DirectX 12 graphics performance, the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max-Q is the clear choice from this data. It has a Steel Nomad DX12 score of 11,088, placing it at the 50th percentile. It also includes dedicated ray tracing cores and tensor cores, which the GTX 480 lacks entirely.

The RTX PRO card's memory capacity of 96 GB and bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s are orders of magnitude beyond the GTX 480's specifications. The compute throughput of 109.7 TFLOPS FP32 dwarfs the GTX 480's 1,345.0 GFLOPS. The architecture supports DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4, while the GTX 480 only supports DirectX 12 (11_0) without Vulkan.

The two cards serve entirely different purposes. The GTX 480 belongs to a legacy era and has been succeeded by later GeForce generations. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max-Q is a current workstation card with active production status. For any modern workload, the RTX PRO card is the only viable option based on the recorded data. For historical or legacy OpenCL compute tasks, the GTX 480 remains a functional option, but its performance is near the median of all GPUs and its memory capacity is minimal by modern standards.