NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D vs NVIDIA PG506-232 Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The recorded data paints a surprisingly clear picture: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D wins the only direct head-to-head benchmark available in the database, while the NVIDIA PG506-232 has no benchmark wins of its own in this comparison. The GeForce OpenCL score of 310,674 versus the PG506-232's 225,124 represents a 27.5% gap in favor of the consumer Blackwell part. That is not a marginal edge; it is a substantial performance advantage in a compute-oriented API.

However, the two cards occupy fundamentally different positions in the database's broader rankings. The PG506-232 sits at the 99th percentile among all GPUs, a remarkable placement that indicates it outperforms nearly every other recorded graphics processor in the database. Its average benchmark score of 225,124 places it 2.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon PRO W7900D, 8.7% ahead of the NVIDIA A100 PCIe 80 GB, and 14.9% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX 6000D. Only the NVIDIA L20 beats it among its nearest rivals, and that by 10.4%. For a server-oriented accelerator with no display outputs, those numbers signal a device engineered for raw compute density rather than interactive graphics.

The RTX 5090 D, by contrast, records a 92nd percentile placement with an average benchmark score of 77,712. That average is heavily influenced by a wide range of tests, including DirectX 9, 10, 11, and 12 workloads, G2D and G3D rasterization tests, compute benchmarks, and Vulkan results. Its nearest rivals are mobile-class AMD parts and older NVIDIA Tesla accelerators, with deltas of just 1.1%, 1.6%, 2.1%, and 2.4%. The data suggests the RTX 5090 D's average score is dragged down by legacy API tests, while its modern workloads, particularly Vulkan at 376,915 and OpenCL at 310,674, show far higher performance.

The use-case split is therefore not about one card being universally faster. The PG506-232 appears optimized for sustained server compute with a single, strong OpenCL result and no graphics pipeline to speak of. The RTX 5090 D is a general-purpose consumer card that excels in modern APIs but also has to carry the weight of backward compatibility tests, which depress its average. If the workload is pure compute in an OpenCL context, the RTX 5090 D wins on raw score. If the workload requires server-class reliability, EOL status notwithstanding, the PG506-232's percentile ranking tells the story of a specialized tool.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two NVIDIA parts is generational and profound. The PG506-232 is built on the GA100 chip using the Ampere architecture, fabricated on a 7 nm process at TSMC. The RTX 5090 D uses the GB202 chip with Blackwell 2.0 architecture on a 5 nm process, also from TSMC. The transistor counts reflect the generational leap: the PG506-232 packs 54,200 million transistors on an 826 mm² die, while the RTX 5090 D crams 92,200 million transistors into a smaller 750 mm² package. The density numbers quantify this: 65.6 million transistors per square millimeter for Ampere versus 122.9 million for Blackwell 2.0, nearly double the density.

Memory architecture differs even more starkly. The PG506-232 carries 24 GB of HBM2 on a 3072-bit bus, yielding 933.1 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 5090 D uses 32 GB of GDDR7 on a 512-bit bus, delivering 1.79 TB/s. The bandwidth advantage is nearly double for the newer card, though the memory types serve different purposes: HBM2 prioritizes capacity and bandwidth per watt in server environments, while GDDR7 favors cost-effective bandwidth for consumer workloads. The PG506-232's memory clock is listed as 1215 MHz with 2.4 Gbps effective, while the RTX 5090 D runs at 1750 MHz with 28 Gbps effective.

Compute resources are where the RTX 5090 D runs away with the comparison. The PG506-232 has 3,584 shading units, 224 TMUs, 96 ROPs, and 224 tensor cores. The RTX 5090 D has 21,760 shading units, 680 TMUs, 176 ROPs, 170 RT cores, and 680 tensor cores. That is roughly six times the shading units, three times the TMUs, and three times the tensor cores. The clock speeds amplify the difference: the PG506-232 boosts to 1,440 MHz, while the RTX 5090 D boosts to 2,407 MHz. FP32 throughput tells the tale: 10.32 TFLOPS for the server card versus 104.8 TFLOPS for the consumer card, a tenfold gap. FP16 is identical in ratio, at 1:1 for both.

The PG506-232 has no RT cores, no DirectX, OpenGL, or Vulkan API support listed, and no display outputs. It is a compute-only accelerator. The RTX 5090 D supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, with 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1b outputs. Power requirements also diverge: the PG506-232 draws 165 W with a suggested 450 W PSU and an 8-pin EPS connector, while the RTX 5090 D draws 575 W with a suggested 950 W PSU and a 16-pin connector. Both are dual-slot, but the RTX 5090 D is physically longer at 304 mm versus 267 mm, taller at 137 mm versus 112 mm, and has a listed width of 48 mm.

The Verdict

The data directs different buyers to different cards, but only if they ignore the head-to-head result. For any workload captured by the Geekbench OpenCL test, the RTX 5090 D is the clear choice: 310,674 versus 225,124, a 27.5% advantage. That is a decisive margin, and it comes with the added benefits of modern graphics API support, display outputs, and a 92nd percentile ranking that, while lower than the PG506-232's 99th percentile, still places it among the top tier of all GPUs.

The PG506-232's case rests entirely on its percentile placement and its nearest rival comparisons. At the 99th percentile, it outperforms the AMD Radeon PRO W7900D by 2.4%, the NVIDIA A100 PCIe 80 GB by 8.7%, and the NVIDIA RTX 6000D by 14.9%. Those are server-class accelerators, and the PG506-232 beats them all in the database's recorded scores. Its 165 W power draw, relative to the RTX 5090 D's 575 W, suggests a far more efficient compute solution per watt, though efficiency per watt is not directly scored here.

The verdict is therefore workload-dependent. Server administrators running OpenCL compute workloads in a power-constrained environment, where the PG506-232's 99th percentile ranking and lower power envelope matter, might still favor the older Ampere part, especially given its 24 GB of HBM2 and 3072-bit bus. But the RTX 5090 D wins the only direct comparison the database records, and it wins by a wide margin. For anyone who needs graphics output, modern API support, or maximum raw OpenCL performance, the RTX 5090 D is the data-backed pick. The PG506-232 is a specialized server relic, end-of-life since its 2021 release, while the RTX 5090 D is active and current, released in 2025 with a launch MSRP of 2,299 USD.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher Geekbench OpenCL score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D scores 310,674, which is 27.5% higher than the NVIDIA PG506-232's 225,124.

Q: How does the PG506-232 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: It is 2.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon PRO W7900D, 8.7% ahead of the NVIDIA A100 PCIe 80 GB, and 14.9% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX 6000D, while trailing the NVIDIA L20 by 10.4%.

Q: What are the memory specifications of each card?

A: The PG506-232 has 24 GB of HBM2 on a 3072-bit bus with 933.1 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 5090 D has 32 GB of GDDR7 on a 512-bit bus with 1.79 TB/s bandwidth.

Q: Does the PG506-232 support any display outputs?

A: No, the PG506-232 has no display outputs. The RTX 5090 D has 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1b.

Q: What is the percentile ranking for each GPU?

A: The PG506-232 ranks at the 99th percentile among all GPUs, while the RTX 5090 D ranks at the 92nd percentile.

Q: What is the TDP difference between the two cards?

A: The PG506-232 has a TDP of 165 W with a suggested 450 W power supply, while the RTX 5090 D has a TDP of 575 W with a suggested 950 W power supply.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct head-to-head benchmark in the database is Geekbench OpenCL, and the result is unambiguous. The RTX 5090 D posts 310,674 against the PG506-232's 225,124, a delta of 27.5% in favor of the Blackwell part. This is not a narrow victory; it is a commanding lead in a compute workload that should theoretically favor a server accelerator. The PG506-232's Ampere architecture, with its 224 tensor cores and 10.32 TFLOPS FP32, cannot match the RTX 5090 D's 680 tensor cores and 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 in this test.

The PG506-232 does have its own strengths when viewed through the lens of its nearest rivals. Its 225,124 OpenCL score beats the AMD Radeon PRO W7900D's 219,827 by 2.4%, the NVIDIA A100 PCIe 80 GB's 207,124 by 8.7%, and the NVIDIA RTX 6000D's 195,964 by 14.9%. Only the NVIDIA L20, at 251,147, surpasses it, and that by 10.4%. These deltas show that the PG506-232, despite being end-of-life, remains competitive within its server-class peer group.

The RTX 5090 D's broader benchmark suite reveals where its average score of 77,712 comes from. Its Vulkan score of 376,915 is its highest recorded result, followed by OpenCL at 310,674 and G3D at 44,065. PassMark compute scores 28,396, while G2D sits at 1,487. Legacy DirectX tests are much lower: DirectX 9 scores 434, DirectX 11 scores 371, DirectX 10 scores 231, and DirectX 12 scores 219. These legacy results, likely from older workloads, drag down the average and explain why the RTX 5090 D's nearest rivals include mobile GPUs like the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (76,904, 1.1% behind) and RX 6850M XT (78,940, 1.6% ahead), as well as the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (79,396, 2.1% ahead) and P100 PCIe 16 GB (79,605, 2.4% ahead). The modern API scores, however, suggest the RTX 5090 D is a far stronger performer than its average implies.

Specification Differences

The two NVIDIA cards differ across nearly every measurable specification. The PG506-232 uses the GA100 chip on a 7 nm TSMC process with 54,200 million transistors on an 826 mm² die, while the RTX 5090 D uses the GB202 chip on a 5 nm TSMC process with 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die. Transistor density is 65.6M per mm² for the former and 122.9M per mm² for the latter.

Clock speeds differ substantially: the PG506-232 has a 930 MHz base and 1,440 MHz boost, while the RTX 5090 D has a 2,017 MHz base and 2,407 MHz boost. Memory clocks are 1,215 MHz with 2.4 Gbps effective for the server card and 1,750 MHz with 28 Gbps effective for the consumer card. Memory capacity is 24 GB of HBM2 versus 32 GB of GDDR7, with bus widths of 3072 bits and 512 bits respectively. Bandwidth is 933.1 GB/s versus 1.79 TB/s.

Compute resources show the largest divide: 3,584 shading units versus 21,760, 224 TMUs versus 680, 96 ROPs versus 176, no RT cores versus 170, and 224 tensor cores versus 680. Pixel rate is 138.2 GPixel/s versus 423.6 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 322.6 GTexel/s versus 1,636.8 GTexel/s. FP32 and FP16 are both 10.32 TFLOPS for the PG506-232 and 104.8 TFLOPS for the RTX 5090 D, with 1:1 ratios on both.

Power and physical specs also diverge: 165 W TDP versus 575 W, 8-pin EPS versus 16-pin connectors, 450 W suggested PSU versus 950 W. Both are dual-slot, but the PG506-232 measures 267 mm by 112 mm with no width listed, while the RTX 5090 D measures 304 mm by 137 mm by 48 mm. The bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x16 versus PCIe 5.0 x16. The PG506-232 has no display outputs, no API support listed, and is end-of-life with a 2021 release date. The RTX 5090 D has full DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 support, multiple display outputs, and is active with a 2025 release date.