GPU Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data records nine direct comparisons between the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 and the AMD Radeon Pro 5700. The NVIDIA card wins eight of those tests, with the AMD card taking a single victory. The margin of victory varies widely depending on the workload, from a narrow 22.9% lead to a dominant 80% gap.

The largest single win for the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 comes in the Geekbench Vulkan test, where it scores 92,309 against the Radeon Pro 5700's 51,289. That is an 80% advantage, the widest delta recorded in the head-to-head set. The DirectX 11 PassMark test shows a similar pattern: NVIDIA scores 140 versus AMD's 78, a 79.5% lead. These two results suggest the NVIDIA architecture has a substantial edge in API-specific execution paths that favor its hardware design.

The Geekbench OpenCL test also goes to NVIDIA, with a score of 78,999 versus 52,787. That translates to a 49.7% advantage. This is a general-purpose compute workload, and the gap here is consistent with the raw shader output difference between the two cards. The NVIDIA card delivers 11.15 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, while the AMD card delivers 6.221 TFLOPS. The OpenCL result reflects that nearly 2:1 compute ratio.

In the PassMark G3D test, which is a broader 3D graphics benchmark, NVIDIA scores 15,616 against AMD's 11,583. That is a 34.8% lead. The GPU compute test shows a 31.5% advantage for NVIDIA, with scores of 6,525 versus 4,961. Both results are substantial wins, though not as lopsided as the Vulkan and DirectX 11 numbers.

The DirectX 10 test gives NVIDIA a 59.2% lead (113 versus 71), and the DirectX 9 test shows a 36.4% advantage (195 versus 143). The smallest NVIDIA win is in DirectX 12, where the gap narrows to 22.9% (59 versus 48). This suggests that as the API becomes more modern and better at abstracting hardware differences, the AMD card closes some of the gap, but it still trails.

The AMD Radeon Pro 5700's only win comes in the PassMark G2D test, which measures 2D graphics performance. AMD scores 805 versus NVIDIA's 709, an 11.9% advantage. This is a niche workload, but it is a real result in the database and worth noting for users who prioritize 2D desktop rendering or similar tasks.

Looking at the average benchmark scores across all recorded tests, the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 averages 21,629, while the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 averages 18,189. That is an overall gap of roughly 18.9% across the full benchmark suite. The NVIDIA card also sits at the 67th percentile among all GPUs in the database, while the AMD card sits at the 62nd percentile.

The nearest rival data provides additional context. The Quadro RTX 5000's closest competitor by average score is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB, which trails by just 1%. The AMD Radeon Pro 5700's closest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile, which is within 0.2%. This places both cards in similar company, but the NVIDIA card edges ahead in raw aggregate performance.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two cards is significant. The NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 is built on the Turing architecture using the TU104 chip, fabricated on a 12 nm process at TSMC. The AMD Radeon Pro 5700 uses the RDNA 1.0 architecture with the Navi 10 chip, built on a 7 nm process, also at TSMC. The process node difference is notable: 12 nm versus 7 nm, which gives AMD a density advantage despite fewer total transistors.

The transistor counts tell an interesting story. The NVIDIA chip packs 13,600 million transistors on a 545 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 25.0 million per square millimeter. The AMD chip has 10,300 million transistors on a much smaller 251 mm² die, yielding a density of 41.0 million per square millimeter. The AMD chip is more than twice as dense per area, a direct benefit of the smaller process node, but the NVIDIA die is physically much larger and holds more transistors overall.

The compute resources differ substantially. The NVIDIA card has 3,072 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units. The AMD card has 2,304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. NVIDIA leads in shader count by roughly a third and in texture units by the same proportion, while ROP counts are identical. This helps explain the NVIDIA advantage in texture-heavy and shader-bound workloads.

The NVIDIA card also includes dedicated hardware that the AMD card lacks entirely. The Quadro RTX 5000 has 48 RT cores and 384 tensor cores. The Radeon Pro 5700 has no RT cores and no tensor cores. This is a fundamental architectural difference: NVIDIA has dedicated ray tracing and tensor processing hardware, while AMD relies on general-purpose shader units for those tasks. The DirectX support reflects this, with NVIDIA supporting DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) while AMD supports DirectX 12 (12_1).

Clock speeds also differ. The NVIDIA card runs at a base clock of 1620 MHz and a boost clock of 1815 MHz. The AMD card runs at a lower 1243 MHz base and 1350 MHz boost. Despite the lower clocks, the AMD card draws significantly less power: 130 W versus 230 W. That power efficiency is a direct consequence of the 7 nm process. The AMD card is also an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with no display outputs and no power connectors, while the NVIDIA card is a dual-slot card with 1x 6-pin and 1x 8-pin power connectors and a suggested PSU of 550 W versus AMD's 300 W.

Memory configurations differ in capacity but not bus width. Both cards use a 256-bit memory bus with GDDR6 memory. The NVIDIA card has 16 GB at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) for 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The AMD card has 8 GB at 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective) for 384.0 GB/s. The NVIDIA card offers double the capacity and 16.7% more bandwidth.

The NVIDIA card supports PCIe 3.0 x16, while the AMD card supports PCIe 4.0 x16. The AMDs bus interface is newer and offers higher theoretical bandwidth, though the measured benchmark results do not show this translating into a performance win outside of the single 2D test.

The Verdict

The data points clearly to the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 as the stronger performer in the vast majority of workloads. It wins 8 of 9 head-to-head tests, with margins ranging from 22.9% to 80%. Its average benchmark score of 21,629 is about 18.9% higher than the AMD card's 18,189. For users prioritizing raw compute, 3D rendering, or API-specific performance in Vulkan or DirectX 11, the NVIDIA card is the clear choice.

The AMD Radeon Pro 5700 wins only the G2D test, with an 11.9% margin. Its advantages are elsewhere: lower power draw at 130 W versus 230 W, a smaller die at 251 mm² versus 545 mm², and a more modern 7 nm process. For users who need an integrated solution with no display outputs and minimal power requirements, the AMD card is the only option, as the NVIDIA card requires a dual-slot footprint and external power connectors.

Users who need 16 GB of memory should choose the NVIDIA card, as the AMD card offers only 8 GB. Users who need dedicated ray tracing or tensor cores should also choose the NVIDIA card, as the AMD card has neither. The NVIDIA card also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, while the AMD card is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1).

The AMD card is better suited for scenarios where power efficiency is paramount and where the workload is limited to 2D operations or lighter 3D tasks. Its PCIe 4.0 interface is newer, but the benchmark data does not show this delivering a practical performance advantage in the recorded tests.

Specification Differences

• Architecture: NVIDIA uses Turing; AMD uses RDNA 1.0.
• Process node: NVIDIA is 12 nm; AMD is 7 nm.
• Transistors: NVIDIA has 13,600 million; AMD has 10,300 million.
• Die size: NVIDIA is 545 mm²; AMD is 251 mm².
• Transistor density: NVIDIA is 25.0M per mm²; AMD is 41.0M per mm².
• Base clock: NVIDIA is 1620 MHz; AMD is 1243 MHz.
• Boost clock: NVIDIA is 1815 MHz; AMD is 1350 MHz.
• Memory clock: NVIDIA is 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective); AMD is 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective).
• Memory size: NVIDIA is 16 GB; AMD is 8 GB.
• Memory bandwidth: NVIDIA is 448.0 GB/s; AMD is 384.0 GB/s.
• Shading units: NVIDIA has 3072; AMD has 2304.
• Texture mapping units: NVIDIA has 192; AMD has 144.
• Render output units: both have 64.
• RT cores: NVIDIA has 48; AMD has none.
• Tensor cores: NVIDIA has 384; AMD has none.
• Pixel rate: NVIDIA is 116.2 GPixel/s; AMD is 86.40 GPixel/s.
• Texture rate: NVIDIA is 348.5 GTexel/s; AMD is 194.4 GTexel/s.
• FP32 compute: NVIDIA is 11.15 TFLOPS; AMD is 6.221 TFLOPS.
• FP16 compute: NVIDIA is 22.30 TFLOPS (2:1); AMD is 12.44 TFLOPS (2:1).
• TDP: NVIDIA is 230 W; AMD is 130 W.
• Slot width: NVIDIA is dual-slot; AMD is IGP.
• Power connectors: NVIDIA uses 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin; AMD uses none.
• Suggested PSU: NVIDIA is 550 W; AMD is 300 W.
• Bus interface: NVIDIA is PCIe 3.0 x16; AMD is PCIe 4.0 x16.
• Display outputs: NVIDIA has 4x DisplayPort 1.4a and 1x USB Type-C; AMD has no outputs.
• DirectX support: NVIDIA is 12 Ultimate (12_2); AMD is 12 (12_1).
• Release date: NVIDIA launched on 2018-08-12T17:00:00.000Z; AMD released on 2020-08-03T17:00:00.000Z.
• Launch MSRP: NVIDIA had a launch MSRP of 2,299 USD; AMD has no recorded launch MSRP.

FAQ

Q: Which card wins more benchmark tests?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 wins 8 out of 9 head-to-head tests. The AMD Radeon Pro 5700 wins 1 test, the PassMark G2D test.

Q: What is the largest performance gap between the two cards?

A: The largest gap is in the Geekbench Vulkan test, where the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 scores 92,309 versus the AMD Radeon Pro 5700's 51,289, an 80% advantage.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 have any advantages?

A: Yes, it wins the PassMark G2D test with a score of 805 versus NVIDIA's 709, an 11.9% lead. It also has a lower TDP of 130 W versus NVIDIA's 230 W.

Q: How do the memory configurations compare?

A: The NVIDIA card has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. The AMD card has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory with 384.0 GB/s bandwidth. Both use a 256-bit bus.

Q: Does the AMD card support ray tracing?

A: No. The AMD Radeon Pro 5700 has no RT cores and no tensor cores. The NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 has 48 RT cores and 384 tensor cores.

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 has an average benchmark score of 21,629, placing it at the 67th percentile. The AMD Radeon Pro 5700 has an average score of 18,189, placing it at the 62nd percentile.