AMD Radeon 8060S vs AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 Comparison

The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 and the AMD Radeon 8060S represent two distinct eras of AMD graphics architecture, and the benchmark data reveals a clear generational shift in performance. While the Pro Vega 56 was a high-end workstation part in its day, the 8060S, a mobile integrated GPU, demonstrates substantial gains in raw compute and API support. The head-to-head results show the 8060S winning both available tests, with a particularly significant lead in OpenCL performance, while the Pro Vega 56 holds a higher overall percentile ranking among all GPUs.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The direct comparison between these two GPUs is limited to two tests, but the results are decisive. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the AMD Radeon 8060S scores 84,626 points, which is 26.8% higher than the Pro Vega 56’s score of 61,930. This is a substantial margin, indicating that the newer architecture handles general-purpose compute tasks with significantly greater efficiency. The 8060S’s advantage is not merely incremental; it represents a clear step up in raw processing power for workloads that leverage OpenCL.

The Vulkan test tells a similar story, though with a slightly smaller gap. Here, the 8060S scores 80,483 points, beating the Pro Vega 56’s 66,004 by 18%. While the Pro Vega 56 is no slouch in this test, the 8060S’s superior performance suggests that its newer architecture is better optimized for modern graphics APIs, offering a smoother experience in games and applications that rely on Vulkan. The deltaPct values of -26.8% and -18% for the Pro Vega 56 in these tests quantify the performance deficit it faces.

It is notably the Pro Vega 56 has a higher overall percentile rank (89th) compared to the 8060S (87th), despite losing both head-to-head matchups. This is because the Pro Vega 56’s average benchmark score of 63,693 is bolstered by its Geekbench Metal score of 63,145, a test that the 8060S does not share. The 8060S’s average score of 55,757 is pulled down by the inclusion of its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 result of 2,162, which is a different metric. The data suggests that in the specific tests they share, the 8060S is the clear winner, but the Pro Vega 56 remains competitive in the broader landscape.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two GPUs is immense, spanning multiple generations of design philosophy. The Pro Vega 56 is built on the Vega 10 chip using the GCN 5.0 architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. This older design is a monolithic chip with 12,500 million transistors on a 495 mm² die. In contrast, the 8060S is based on the Strix Halo chip using the newer RDNA 3.5 architecture, built on a 4 nm process at TSMC. While its transistor count is listed as unknown, its die size is significantly smaller at 308 mm², which combined with the advanced node, allows for much higher clock speeds and efficiency.

The core configurations differ significantly as well. The Pro Vega 56 packs 3,584 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The 8060S has fewer shading units (2,560) and TMUs (160), but it also has the same 64 ROPs. Crucially, the 8060S features 40 dedicated ray tracing cores, a technology completely absent from the older Vega 10 chip. This is a key differentiator, as it enables hardware-accelerated ray tracing in supported titles. The clock speeds also tell a story of efficiency: the Pro Vega 56 has a base clock of 1138 MHz and a boost of 1250 MHz, while the 8060S starts at 1295 MHz and can boost up to 2900 MHz, a massive increase in frequency that drives its superior performance.

Memory architecture is another fundamental split. The Pro Vega 56 uses 8 GB of HBM2 memory on a 2048-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 402.4 GB/s. The 8060S, however, uses system shared memory, meaning its bandwidth is system dependent and its memory size is not fixed. This makes the 8060S a unified memory architecture part, which is typical for integrated GPUs. The Pro Vega 56’s dedicated VRAM offers the advantage of consistent, high-bandwidth memory access, while the 8060S’s approach allows for flexible memory allocation but is more dependent on the rest of the system’s configuration. The API support also shows a generation gap: the Pro Vega 56 supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.3, while the 8060S supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in compute workloads?

A: The AMD Radeon 8060S is significantly faster. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, it scores 84,626 compared to the Pro Vega 56’s 61,930, a 26.8% difference.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon 8060S support ray tracing?

A: Yes, the 8060S has 40 dedicated ray tracing cores. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 has no ray tracing cores at all.

Q: What is the main difference in memory configuration?

A: The Pro Vega 56 has a dedicated 8 GB HBM2 memory pool with a 2048-bit bus and 402.4 GB/s bandwidth. The 8060S uses system shared memory, so its memory size and bandwidth are system dependent.

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The Pro Vega 56 has a higher average benchmark score of 63,693, compared to the 8060S’s average of 55,757. This is partly due to the Pro Vega 56’s strong Geekbench Metal result, which the 8060S does not have.

Q: How do their process nodes compare?

A: The Pro Vega 56 is manufactured on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries, while the 8060S is built on a much smaller 4 nm process at TSMC.

Q: What is the difference in their power consumption?

A: The Pro Vega 56 has a TDP of 210 W, whereas the 8060S has a TDP of only 55 W, a substantial difference in power efficiency.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every major specification category. The process node is a key difference: the Pro Vega 56 uses 14 nm, while the 8060S uses 4 nm. The architectures are also generations apart, with the Pro Vega 56 using GCN 5.0 and the 8060S using RDNA 3.5. The chip designs differ (Vega 10 vs Strix Halo), and the die sizes are 495 mm² vs 308 mm², respectively.

Core counts show a notable divergence. The Pro Vega 56 has 3,584 shading units and 224 TMUs, while the 8060S has 2,560 shading units and 160 TMUs. Both have 64 ROPs, but the 8060S adds 40 ray tracing cores, which the Pro Vega 56 lacks. Clock speeds are heavily in favor of the 8060S, with a base clock of 1295 MHz and a boost clock of 2900 MHz, compared to the Pro Vega 56’s 1138 MHz base and 1250 MHz boost.

Memory is a major point of differentiation. The Pro Vega 56 has 8 GB of HBM2 memory on a 2048-bit bus with 402.4 GB/s bandwidth. The 8060S uses system shared memory for all aspects, with bandwidth listed as system dependent. The power profiles are also starkly different, with the Pro Vega 56 rated at 210 W and the 8060S at 55 W. The bus interface differs as well, with the Pro Vega 56 using PCIe 3.0 x16 and the 8060S using PCIe 5.0 x16. Display outputs also vary: the Pro Vega 56 has 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the 8060S is portable device dependent.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon 8060S wins in every head-to-head benchmark test available. Its 26.8% lead in OpenCL and 18% lead in Vulkan make it the clear choice for modern compute and graphics workloads that utilize these APIs. Its support for DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4, along with dedicated ray tracing cores, positions it for contemporary and future gaming titles. The 8060S also offers a massive advantage in power efficiency, with a 55 W TDP compared to the Pro Vega 56’s 210 W, making it far more suitable for thin-and-light laptops.

The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 still holds a few advantages based on the data. Its dedicated 8 GB of HBM2 memory with 402.4 GB/s bandwidth provides a consistent, high-speed memory pool that is not dependent on system RAM. This could be beneficial for certain professional workloads that require stable memory performance. Its higher average benchmark score of 63,693, fueled by its strong Geekbench Metal performance, suggests it remains highly capable in Apple-specific environments, given its generation name. The Pro Vega 56 also has a higher percentile rank among all GPUs (89th) compared to the 8060S (87th), indicating that it still sits in a strong position in the overall performance distribution.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear generational victory for the AMD Radeon 8060S in direct competition. It is decisively faster in the OpenCL and Vulkan tests, offers modern features like ray tracing, and does so at a fraction of the power draw. For anyone building a new system, especially a portable one, the 8060S is the obvious choice based on performance and efficiency. Its higher boost clock, more advanced architecture, and superior API support make it the more future-proof option.

The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56, however, still has a niche. Its high average benchmark score, driven by its Geekbench Metal result, suggests it remains a strong contender for users within the Apple ecosystem who rely on Metal-based applications. Its dedicated, high-bandwidth memory is also a point in its favor for tasks that benefit from a fixed, fast memory pool. For those users, the Pro Vega 56’s performance is still competitive, even if it lags in the shared tests. The choice ultimately depends on the specific application ecosystem, but for raw speed in modern APIs, the 8060S is the winner.