AMD Radeon 540 vs AMD Radeon Vega 10 Mobile Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon 540 has the higher average score at 7673, while the AMD Radeon Vega 10 Mobile records 6476. This places the Radeon 540 in the 41st percentile of all GPUs, versus the 37th percentile for the Vega 10 Mobile.

Q: How do the two compare in the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The AMD Radeon Vega 10 Mobile wins the only shared benchmark, scoring 6476 against the Radeon 540's 6184, a 4.5% difference. The Radeon 540 also has a Geekbench Vulkan score of 9162, but no Vulkan result is recorded for the Vega 10 Mobile.

Q: What are the closest rivals to each GPU based on the database?

A: The Radeon 540's nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti, which is 0.6% behind, followed by the AMD Radeon Pro WX 3100 at 1.2% ahead, the AMD Radeon R7 250 at 1.5% ahead, and the Intel Arc A310 at 1.6% ahead. The Vega 10 Mobile sits near the NVIDIA Quadro M5000M (0.1% behind), NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M (0.3% behind), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M (0.6% behind), and NVIDIA RTX PRO 5000 72 GB Blackwell (1.1% ahead).

Q: Which GPU has the higher transistor count?

A: The AMD Radeon Vega 10 Mobile has 4,940 million transistors on a 210 mm² die, while the AMD Radeon 540 has 2,200 million transistors on a 103 mm² die. The Vega 10 Mobile also has a slightly higher transistor density at 23.5M/mm² versus 21.4M/mm².

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The AMD Radeon 540 has a TDP of 50 W and a suggested PSU of 250 W, while the AMD Radeon Vega 10 Mobile has a TDP of 10 W and no suggested PSU listed. The Radeon 540 is a single-slot card with no power connectors, and the Vega 10 Mobile is an integrated GPU (IGP).

Q: Which GPU supports more advanced DirectX features?

A: The AMD Radeon Vega 10 Mobile supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the AMD Radeon 540 supports DirectX 12 (12_0). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.3.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different generations of AMD architecture. The Radeon 540 is built on GCN 4.0 architecture with the Lexa chip, belonging to the Polaris (RX 500) generation. In contrast, the Vega 10 Mobile uses GCN 5.0 architecture with the Raven-M chip, part of the Vega IGP (Raven Ridge-M) generation.

Both are fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries, but the die sizes differ substantially. The Radeon 540 has a 103 mm² die with 2,200 million transistors, resulting in a density of 21.4M/mm². The Vega 10 Mobile packs 4,940 million transistors into a 210 mm² die, yielding a higher density of 23.5M/mm². This reflects the integrated nature of the Vega 10 Mobile, which combines CPU and GPU logic on one die.

The shading engine configurations differ as well. The Radeon 540 has 384 shading units, 24 texture mapping units, and 16 ROPs. The Vega 10 Mobile has 640 shading units and 40 texture mapping units, but only 8 ROPs. This combination gives the Vega 10 Mobile a much higher texture rate of 52.04 GTexel/s versus 28.39 GTexel/s for the Radeon 540, while the Radeon 540 has a higher pixel rate at 18.93 GPixel/s against 10.41 GPixel/s.

Memory architecture is fundamentally different. The Radeon 540 uses dedicated 1024 MB of GDDR5 memory with a 32-bit bus and 24.00 GB/s bandwidth. The Vega 10 Mobile uses system shared memory, with the bus width and bandwidth described as system dependent. Clock behavior also differs: the Radeon 540 lists memory at 1500 MHz (6 Gbps effective), while the Vega 10 Mobile has a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 1301 MHz.

Compute capability shows a clear split. The Vega 10 Mobile delivers 1.665 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 3.331 TFLOPS of FP16 performance with a 2:1 ratio. The Radeon 540 provides 908.5 GFLOPS of FP32 and 908.5 GFLOPS of FP16 with a 1:1 ratio. The Vega 10 Mobile supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the Radeon 540 is limited to DirectX 12 (12_0).

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon 540 wins on aggregate performance. Its average benchmark score of 7673 is 18.5% higher than the Vega 10 Mobile's 6476. This places the Radeon 540 in the 41st percentile of all GPUs, four percentile points above the Vega 10 Mobile's 37th. The Radeon 540 also has a superior pixel fill rate, 18.93 GPixel/s versus 10.41 GPixel/s, which matters for resolutions and rasterization workloads.

The Radeon 540 also wins on dedicated memory. Its 1024 MB of GDDR5 with 24.00 GB/s bandwidth provides consistent memory performance, whereas the Vega 10 Mobile depends entirely on system memory, making its bandwidth system dependent. This gives the Radeon 540 an advantage in scenarios where memory latency and bandwidth are predictable.

The Vega 10 Mobile wins on the shared OpenCL benchmark. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 6476 against the Radeon 540's 6184, a 4.5% margin. This suggests that the Vega 10 Mobile's higher shading unit count, 640 versus 384, and higher FP32 throughput, 1.665 TFLOPS versus 908.5 GFLOPS, translate into better raw compute throughput in OpenCL workloads.

The Vega 10 Mobile also wins decisively on power efficiency. Its TDP of 10 W is one-fifth of the Radeon 540's 50 W. For portable devices, this makes a substantial difference in thermal management and battery life, even though the Radeon 540's dedicated memory may offer more consistent performance.

The Vega 10 Mobile has a higher texture rate, 52.04 GTexel/s versus 28.39 GTexel/s, and supports a newer DirectX feature level (12_1 versus 12_0). This makes it better suited for texture-heavy workloads and applications using the latest DirectX features.

Specification Differences

The key specification differences between the two GPUs are as follows:

• Architecture: GCN 4.0 (Radeon 540) versus GCN 5.0 (Vega 10 Mobile)
• Chip: Lexa versus Raven-M
• Generation: Polaris (RX 500) versus Vega IGP (Raven Ridge-M)
• Transistors: 2,200 million versus 4,940 million
• Die Size: 103 mm² versus 210 mm²
• Transistor Density: 21.4M/mm² versus 23.5M/mm²
• Base Clock: Not listed versus 300 MHz
• Boost Clock: Not listed versus 1301 MHz
• Memory Size: 1024 MB versus system shared
• Memory Type: GDDR5 versus system shared
• Memory Bus Width: 32 bit versus system shared
• Memory Bandwidth: 24.00 GB/s versus system dependent
• Shading Units: 384 versus 640
• Texture Mapping Units: 24 versus 40
• ROPs: 16 versus 8
• Pixel Rate: 18.93 GPixel/s versus 10.41 GPixel/s
• Texture Rate: 28.39 GTexel/s versus 52.04 GTexel/s
• FP32 Performance: 908.5 GFLOPS versus 1.665 TFLOPS
• FP16 Performance: 908.5 GFLOPS (1:1) versus 3.331 TFLOPS (2:1)
• TDP: 50 W versus 10 W
• Slot Width: Single-slot versus IGP
• Suggested PSU: 250 W versus not listed
• Bus Interface: PCIe 3.0 x8 versus IGP
• Display Outputs: 2x DisplayPort 1.4a versus portable device dependent
• DirectX Support: 12 (12_0) versus 12 (12_1)
• Release Date: 2017-04-19 versus 2019-01-07
• Predecessor: Arctic Islands versus GCN 3.0 IGP
• Successor: Vega versus Navi II IGP

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains one direct head-to-head benchmark between these two GPUs. In Geekbench OpenCL, the AMD Radeon Vega 10 Mobile wins with a score of 6476 against the AMD Radeon 540's 6184. This represents a 4.5% advantage for the Vega 10 Mobile. This result is consistent with the Vega 10 Mobile's higher shading unit count and FP32 throughput, which are 66.7% and 83.2% higher respectively than the Radeon 540's.

The Radeon 540 also has a Geekbench Vulkan score of 9162, but no comparable Vulkan result is recorded for the Vega 10 Mobile, so a direct comparison cannot be made for that API. The average benchmark scores favor the Radeon 540 overall, at 7673 versus 6476, a difference of 18.5%. The Radeon 540's percentile ranking of 41 versus the Vega 10 Mobile's 37 reflects this aggregate lead.

The nearest rival data provides context for each GPU's standing. The Radeon 540 sits very close to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti, with only 0.6% separating them. It also edges out the AMD Radeon Pro WX 3100 by 1.2%, the AMD Radeon R7 250 by 1.5%, and the Intel Arc A310 by 1.6%. The Vega 10 Mobile is tightly clustered with several NVIDIA mobile GPUs: it trails the Quadro M5000M by 0.1%, the GeForce GT 555M by 0.3%, and the GeForce GTX 670M by 0.6%, while leading the NVIDIA RTX PRO 5000 72 GB Blackwell by 1.1%.

These numbers indicate that while the Vega 10 Mobile wins the specific OpenCL test, its overall measured performance across the database is lower than the Radeon 540. The Radeon 540's Vulkan score of 9162, which is 48% higher than its OpenCL score, suggests that the card performs differently across APIs, while the Vega 10 Mobile's single recorded benchmark leaves its Vulkan performance unmeasured.

The Verdict

The data presents a clear split between these two GPUs. The AMD Radeon 540 is the stronger overall performer, with an average benchmark score of 7673 against the Vega 10 Mobile's 6476. Its dedicated GDDR5 memory, higher pixel rate, and superior aggregate percentile ranking make it the better choice for users who need consistent, dedicated graphics performance in a desktop or discrete card context. The Radeon 540 also has a wider API coverage in the database, with both OpenCL and Vulkan scores recorded.

The AMD Radeon Vega 10 Mobile, however, wins the only direct comparison available, the Geekbench OpenCL test, with a 4.5% margin. Its higher shading unit count, FP32 throughput, and texture rate make it more capable in compute-heavy workloads. Its 10 W TDP, versus 50 W for the Radeon 540, makes it dramatically more power-efficient, which is critical for portable devices. The Vega 10 Mobile also supports DirectX 12 (12_1) versus the Radeon 540's 12_0, enabling newer rendering features.

For users prioritizing raw aggregate performance and dedicated memory, the Radeon 540 is the better pick. For users prioritizing power efficiency, compute throughput, and the latest DirectX feature level, the Vega 10 Mobile has clear advantages. The database records one head-to-head win for the Vega 10 Mobile, but the Radeon 540 wins on average score and percentile ranking. The choice depends entirely on whether the workload favors the Vega 10 Mobile's compute strengths or the Radeon 540's overall consistency.