NVIDIA RTX A5500 vs NVIDIA RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell Comparison
NVIDIA RTX A5500
RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell
PERFORMANCE BENCHMARKS
Analysis: NVIDIA RTX A5500 vs NVIDIA RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell
The NVIDIA RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell and NVIDIA RTX A5500 represent two distinct generations of workstation graphics. The data shows a clear performance hierarchy, but the practical choice depends heavily on workload priorities, software ecosystem, and platform compatibility. The RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell wins every benchmark in this comparison, but the RTX A5500 remains a relevant data point for specific legacy or power-constrained environments.
Where Each One Wins
The NVIDIA RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell wins all two head-to-head benchmark comparisons against the RTX A5500, with no workload in the dataset favoring the older card. The largest advantage appears in Geekbench Vulkan, where the Blackwell card scores 282,631 against the A5500's 155,797, a delta of 81.4%. This indicates a substantial generational leap in compute-heavy graphics workloads that leverage Vulkan's low-level API access. The Geekbench OpenCL result shows a narrower but still decisive 45.5% advantage for the RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell, scoring 254,116 versus 174,637.
The RTX A5500's competitive position is best understood through its own nearest rival comparisons rather than against the newer card. Its average benchmark score of 165,217 places it within 2% of the AMD Radeon PRO W7800 (164,894, deltaPct 0.2%) and within 1.7% of the NVIDIA A100 PCIe 40 GB (162,504). This suggests the A5500 remains competitive with its immediate contemporaries, even if it cannot match the Blackwell generation. The RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell, by contrast, sits at the 98th percentile of all GPUs, while the A5500 sits at the 97th percentile. Both are elite performers, but the newer card operates in a higher tier.
For users prioritizing raw compute throughput in OpenCL or Vulkan, the RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell is the definitive choice. For those with existing Ampere-generation workflows or specific driver certifications tied to the older architecture, the RTX A5500 still holds its own against similar-generation rivals, but it cannot compete with the Blackwell card's absolute performance.
FAQ
Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?
A: The NVIDIA RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell has an average benchmark score of 182,109, compared to 165,217 for the NVIDIA RTX A5500. This represents a 10.2% advantage for the newer card, calculated from the raw scores.
Q: How does the RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell perform in Geekbench Vulkan relative to the RTX A5500?
A: The RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell scores 282,631 in Geekbench Vulkan, which is 81.4% higher than the RTX A5500's score of 155,797. This is the largest performance gap in the head-to-head dataset.
Q: What is the memory configuration difference between the two cards?
A: The RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell has 48 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 1.34 TB/s bandwidth. The RTX A5500 has 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on the same 384-bit bus width, delivering 768.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Blackwell card offers double the capacity and 74.5% more bandwidth.
Q: Are both cards still in production?
A: No. The RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell has an active production status, while the RTX A5500 is end-of-life. The A5500 was released on 2022-03-21, and the RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell was released on 2025-03-17.
Q: Which card has a higher pixel fill rate?
A: The RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell has a pixel rate of 380.3 GPixel/s, more than double the RTX A5500's 159.8 GPixel/s. This suggests a significant advantage in rasterization-heavy tasks.
Q: How does the RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell compare to its closest rival, the RTX 5000 Ada Generation?
A: The RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell's average score of 182,109 is 1.4% lower than the RTX 5000 Ada Generation's average score of 184,664. This places the two cards within a narrow performance band, despite the architectural differences.
Head-to-Head Benchmarks
The direct comparison dataset includes two benchmark tests, both won by the NVIDIA RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell. The Geekbench OpenCL test shows the Blackwell card scoring 254,116 against the A5500's 174,637, a delta of 45.5%. This gap is substantial and indicates that compute workloads utilizing OpenCL will see nearly half again as much performance on the newer card. The absolute difference of 79,479 points is significant in a benchmark where scores typically scale with memory bandwidth and shader throughput.
The Geekbench Vulkan test reveals an even larger divergence. The RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell scores 282,631, while the RTX A5500 manages 155,797. The 81.4% delta translates to an absolute difference of 126,834 points. Vulkan's explicit control over GPU resources tends to reward architectures with higher raw compute and better memory subsystem efficiency. The Blackwell card's GDDR7 memory and 1.34 TB/s bandwidth likely contribute to this outcome, though the benchmark data alone cannot isolate the cause.
The RTX A5500's best performance in this comparison is still a loss, but its relative standing against other rivals provides context. Its average benchmark score of 165,217 is within 0.5% of the NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation (166,094) and 2% below the AMD Radeon Pro W6900X (168,574). This suggests the A5500 is not obsolete; it simply faces a much faster successor. The RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell, meanwhile, benchmarks within 2.3% of the GeForce RTX 4090 D (178,050) and 0.9% of the A100 SXM4 80 GB (183,725), showing it competes with the fastest accelerators available.
Specification Differences
The architectural gap between these cards is visible across nearly every specification category. The RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell uses the GB202 chip on a 5 nm TSMC process, while the RTX A5500 uses the GA102 chip on an 8 nm Samsung process. Transistor counts differ dramatically: 92,200 million for the Blackwell chip versus 28,300 million for Ampere, a 3.3x increase. Die size also grows from 628 mm² to 750 mm², but transistor density jumps from 45.1M / mm² to 122.9M / mm², reflecting the process node advantage.
Clock speeds move higher on the newer card. The RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell has a base clock of 1740 MHz and a boost of 2377 MHz, compared to 1080 MHz base and 1665 MHz boost for the A5500. Memory clocks differ as well, with the Blackwell card running at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective) versus 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) for the A5500. The effective data rate is 75% higher on the newer card, which pairs with the bandwidth increase from 768.0 GB/s to 1.34 TB/s.
Compute resources scale accordingly. Shading units increase from 10,240 to 14,080, TMUs from 320 to 440, and ROPs from 96 to 160. RT cores grow from 80 to 110, and tensor cores from 320 to 440. The FP32 compute rate nearly doubles, from 34.10 TFLOPS to 66.94 TFLOPS, and FP16 follows the same 1:1 ratio at 66.94 TFLOPS versus 34.10 TFLOPS. Pixel rate rises from 159.8 GPixel/s to 380.3 GPixel/s, and texture rate from 532.8 GTexel/s to 1,045.9 GTexel/s.
Architecture Differences
The two cards belong to different architectural families. The RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell uses Blackwell 2.0 architecture, while the RTX A5500 uses Ampere. This generational shift brings changes in process node, with TSMC's 5 nm process replacing Samsung's 8 nm process. The foundry change is notable, as it directly enables the higher transistor density and clock speeds observed in the data.
Memory technology differs fundamentally. The RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell uses GDDR7 memory, while the RTX A5500 uses GDDR6. This is not just a capacity difference but a change in memory architecture, with the newer card offering 48 GB versus 24 GB and a 74.5% bandwidth increase. The bus interface also upgrades from PCIe 4.0 x16 to PCIe 5.0 x16, which affects data transfer rates to the host system.
Display outputs are updated as well. The RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell supports 4x DisplayPort 2.1b, while the RTX A5500 has 4x DisplayPort 1.4a. The newer DisplayPort version allows higher resolutions and refresh rates, though the benchmarks in this dataset do not measure display output capabilities. Power requirements scale with performance: the RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell has a TDP of 300 W and uses a 1x 16-pin connector, while the RTX A5500 has a TDP of 230 W and uses a 1x 8-pin connector. The suggested PSU rating increases from 550 W to 700 W.
The Verdict
The data points to a straightforward conclusion: the NVIDIA RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell is the superior performer in every benchmark recorded. Its 45.5% advantage in OpenCL and 81.4% advantage in Vulkan over the RTX A5500 represent decisive wins that no workload-specific tuning could realistically overcome. The newer card also offers double the memory capacity, 74.5% more bandwidth, and nearly double the FP32 compute throughput. For any user whose primary concern is raw benchmark performance, the RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell is the correct choice.
The RTX A5500's role is more nuanced. Its average benchmark score of 165,217 places it within 2% of the AMD Radeon PRO W7800 and within 1.7% of the NVIDIA A100 PCIe 40 GB, making it competitive with its direct contemporaries. The card is end-of-life, but it retains relevance for systems already built around Ampere architecture or for applications with specific driver certifications. Its lower 230 W TDP and 8-pin power connector make it easier to integrate into existing power infrastructure, and its 24 GB of memory remains sufficient for many professional workloads.
Users with legacy Ampere-based workflows or constrained power budgets may find the RTX A5500 sufficient, especially if their software does not yet leverage Blackwell-specific optimizations. However, the benchmark data shows that the RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell is not just faster but dramatically faster, with percentile rankings of 98 versus 97 among all GPUs. For new purchases or upgrades where performance is the deciding factor, the RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell wins without qualification. The only scenario where the A5500 makes sense is when compatibility with existing infrastructure outweighs the substantial performance deficit.