NVIDIA N1 20SM vs NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The recorded data presents a straightforward split between these two NVIDIA Blackwell 2.0 parts. The NVIDIA N1 20SM is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) built for the N1x generation, while the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell is a dual-slot professional workstation card. The N1 20SM has no benchmark entries in the database, meaning there are zero recorded wins for it. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell holds a single 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 16,408, which places it at the 59th percentile among all GPUs.

For use-case separation, the N1 20SM is designed to be embedded directly into a system as an IGP, with no power connectors and a PCIe 5.0 x16 interface. It targets platforms where a discrete card is unnecessary. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell, by contrast, is a standalone card with a 600 W TDP, a 1000 W suggested PSU, and a 16-pin power connector. Its 96 GB GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth position it for large data sets, rendering workloads, and compute tasks that require high memory throughput. The N1 20SM offers 128 GB LPDDR5X memory but only 273.2 GB/s bandwidth, so it wins on capacity but loses heavily on speed.

Benchmark wins are entirely one-sided. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell has an average benchmark score of 16,408 from its single Steel Nomad run. The N1 20SM has an average score of 0 and a percentile rank of 50, which is lower than the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell's 59th percentile. The data shows no scenario where the N1 20SM outperforms the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell in compute or graphics throughput. The N1 20SM's only advantages are its IGP form factor, its 128 GB memory capacity, and its lack of external power requirements.

Architecture Differences

Both chips use the same 5 nm TSMC process node and Blackwell 2.0 architecture, but they diverge sharply in physical scale and component counts. The N1 20SM uses the GB20B chip with a die size of 382 mm² and an unknown transistor count. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell uses the GB202 chip with 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 122.9M per mm². The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell's die is nearly double the size, and its transistor count dwarfs the unknown figure for the N1 20SM.

Core configurations differ by an order of magnitude. The N1 20SM has 2,560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, 24 ROPs, 20 RT cores, and 80 tensor cores. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell has 24,064 shading units, 752 TMUs, 192 ROPs, 188 RT cores, and 752 tensor cores. That means the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell has roughly 9.4 times the shading units, 4.7 times the TMUs, 8 times the ROPs, 9.4 times the RT cores, and 9.4 times the tensor cores. These ratios explain the massive performance gap in the benchmark data.

Clock behavior also diverges. The N1 20SM runs at a 741 MHz base and 2346 MHz boost, while the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell runs at 1590 MHz base and 2617 MHz boost. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell has a higher boost clock by 271 MHz, but its base clock is more than double the N1 20SM's. Memory architecture is fundamentally different: the N1 20SM uses LPDDR5X on a 256-bit bus, while the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell uses GDDR7 on a 512-bit bus. The effective memory speed is 8.5 Gbps for the N1 20SM versus 28 Gbps for the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell.

API support separates them completely. The N1 20SM lists DirectX, OpenGL, and Vulkan as N/A, meaning it has no consumer graphics API support recorded. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. This makes the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell the only one of the two suitable for standard graphics workloads, while the N1 20SM appears oriented toward compute or embedded tasks without traditional graphics drivers.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

There is no head-to-head benchmark data in the database, so the comparison relies on the single recorded score for the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell and the absence of any score for the N1 20SM. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell achieved a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 16,408. The N1 20SM has no benchmark entries, so its score is effectively zero in the database. The database shows winsA as 0 and winsB as 0, confirming no direct comparison tests were run.

The nearest rivals for the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell put its score into context. The AMD Radeon PRO W7500 scores 16,415, which is a 0% delta, meaning the two are statistically identical. The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT scores 16,361, a 0.3% delta, again essentially tied. The AMD Radeon Pro 5600M scores 16,351, a 0.4% delta. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D V2 scores 16,504, a -0.6% delta, meaning the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell trails it by 0.6%. These deltas are all within 1%, so the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell's performance in this test is effectively equivalent to a range of other cards, from workstation parts to consumer gaming GPUs.

The N1 20SM has no nearest rivals listed, so no comparative deltas exist for it. The percentile difference is telling: the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell sits at the 59th percentile, while the N1 20SM sits at the 50th percentile. The 50th percentile for the N1 20SM is likely a placeholder given its zero average score, but the data records it as such. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell's single benchmark score of 16,408 is its average, and it outperforms the N1 20SM by every measurable metric in the database.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has more memory, and does that matter?

A: The N1 20SM has 128 GB of LPDDR5X memory, while the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell has 96 GB of GDDR7 memory. The N1 20SM wins on capacity, but the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell has 1.79 TB/s bandwidth versus 273.2 GB/s, so the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell moves data over 6.5 times faster.

Q: Can the N1 20SM run modern DirectX games?

A: The database lists DirectX as N/A for the N1 20SM, along with OpenGL and Vulkan as N/A. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The N1 20SM has no recorded graphics API support, so standard gaming workloads are not indicated.

Q: How does the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell compare to its closest rivals in the benchmark?

A: The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell scores 16,408 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. The AMD Radeon PRO W7500 scores 16,415 with a 0% delta. The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT scores 16,361 with a 0.3% delta. The AMD Radeon Pro 5600M scores 16,351 with a 0.4% delta. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D V2 scores 16,504 with a -0.6% delta. All are within 1% of each other.

Q: What are the physical differences between the two cards?

A: The N1 20SM is an IGP with no slot width, no power connectors, and a single HDMI output. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell is a dual-slot card measuring 304 mm by 137 mm by 40 mm, with one 16-pin power connector and four DisplayPort 2.1b outputs.

Q: Which GPU has a higher pixel and texture throughput?

A: The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell has a pixel rate of 502.5 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,968.0 GTexel/s. The N1 20SM has a pixel rate of 56.30 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 375.4 GTexel/s. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell is about 8.9 times faster in pixel rate and 5.2 times faster in texture rate.

Q: What is the release timing for each product?

A: The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell was released on 2025-03-17 and has a predecessor listed as Workstation Ada. The N1 20SM was released on 2026-05-31. Both are marked as Active production status.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ on nearly every specification field. The N1 20SM uses the GB20B chip, while the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell uses the GB202 chip. The N1 20SM has a die size of 382 mm², the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell has 750 mm². Transistors are unknown for the N1 20SM, while the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell has 92,200 million with a density of 122.9M per mm².

Clock speeds: the N1 20SM runs at 741 MHz base and 2346 MHz boost; the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell runs at 1590 MHz base and 2617 MHz boost. Memory speed is 1067 MHz (8.5 Gbps effective) for the N1 20SM versus 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective) for the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell.

Memory configuration: 128 GB LPDDR5X on a 256-bit bus for the N1 20SM, 96 GB GDDR7 on a 512-bit bus for the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell. Bandwidth is 273.2 GB/s versus 1.79 TB/s.

Compute units: the N1 20SM has 2,560 shading units, 160 TMUs, 24 ROPs, 20 RT cores, and 80 tensor cores. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell has 24,064 shading units, 752 TMUs, 192 ROPs, 188 RT cores, and 752 tensor cores.

Rates: the N1 20SM has 56.30 GPixel/s and 375.4 GTexel/s, while the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell has 502.5 GPixel/s and 1,968.0 GTexel/s. FP32 and FP16 are both 12.01 TFLOPS for the N1 20SM, while the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell delivers 126.0 TFLOPS in both.

Power and physical: TDP is unknown for the N1 20SM, 600 W for the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell. The N1 20SM has no power connectors, the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell has one 16-pin. Suggested PSU is absent for the N1 20SM, 1000 W for the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell. Slot width is IGP versus dual-slot. Display outputs: 1x HDMI for the N1 20SM, 4x DisplayPort 2.1b for the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell.

APIs: the N1 20SM has N/A for DirectX, OpenGL, and Vulkan. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell has DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell measures 304 mm by 137 mm by 40 mm; the N1 20SM has no recorded dimensions. Release dates differ: 2026-05-31 for the N1 20SM, 2025-03-17 for the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell has a launch MSRP of 8,565 USD.

The Verdict

The data supports only one conclusion for GPU-bound tasks: the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell is the far stronger performer. Its 126.0 TFLOPS FP32 output is over 10 times the N1 20SM's 12.01 TFLOPS. Its 188 RT cores and 752 tensor cores dwarf the 20 RT cores and 80 tensor cores of the N1 20SM. The 502.5 GPixel/s pixel rate versus 56.30 GPixel/s, and 1,968.0 GTexel/s versus 375.4 GTexel/s, confirm the same pattern. The single benchmark score of 16,408 for the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell, against no score for the N1 20SM, reinforces this.

The N1 20SM makes sense only for systems that need a built-in GPU with a large memory pool. Its 128 GB LPDDR5X capacity exceeds the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell's 96 GB, but the bandwidth deficit is severe: 273.2 GB/s versus 1.79 TB/s. For workloads that require more memory than bandwidth, the N1 20SM's capacity could be useful, but the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell's 96 GB is already substantial and its bandwidth is far superior.

The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell has a 600 W TDP and requires a 1000 W PSU, while the N1 20SM uses no external power and fits as an IGP. The N1 20SM is for low-power integrated platforms. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell is for professional workstations that need maximum compute, with a 8,565 USD launch MSRP. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell has full API support, including DirectX 12 Ultimate, while the N1 20SM has none recorded. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell is the only one of the two that can handle standard graphics applications, and it does so at a level near the AMD Radeon PRO W7500, AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT, and AMD Radeon Pro 5600M, all within 0.4% of its score. For any benchmark-driven decision, the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell is the clear choice.