AMD Radeon HD 6950 vs AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records a single direct comparison between the AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile and the AMD Radeon HD 6950, using the Geekbench OpenCL test. The results show a clear victory for the Vega 8 Mobile, which scored 7,435 points against the HD 6950's 6,210 points. This translates to a 19.7% performance advantage for the integrated Vega part, a notable margin given the HD 6950's dedicated card status and its much higher power envelope.

Looking at the broader benchmark context, the Vega 8 Mobile's average benchmark score of 7,203 places it in the 39th percentile of all GPUs in the database. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 (average score 7,222, a difference of -0.3%), the GeForce GTX 560 SE (7,171, +0.4%), the Intel Iris Pro Graphics P580 (7,170, +0.5%), and the GeForce GTX 970 (7,157, +0.6%). These deltas are all within a single percentage point, indicating that the Vega 8 Mobile sits in a tightly competitive cluster, trading blows with several dedicated graphics cards from previous generations.

For the HD 6950, its average benchmark score of 6,210 places it in the 36th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD FirePro W600 (6,223, -0.2%), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER AD102 (6,270, -0.9%), the RTX 5070 Ti SUPER (6,270, -0.9%), and the Quadro K620 (6,282, -1.1%). The HD 6950 trails all of these by small margins, though the presence of much newer high-end cards in its rival list is an artifact of the database's scoring methodology rather than a reflection of real-world comparison.

The single head-to-head result is unambiguous: the Vega 8 Mobile wins the only benchmark where both are recorded, with a 19.7% lead. This is a substantial gap, especially when considering that the HD 6950 was a flagship-level product in its day, while the Vega 8 Mobile is an integrated graphics solution designed for laptops.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher Geekbench OpenCL score?

A: The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile scores 7,435, which is 19.7% higher than the AMD Radeon HD 6950's 6,210.

Q: How does the Vega 8 Mobile compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Vega 8 Mobile's average score of 7,203 is within 0.6% of the GeForce GTX 970 (7,157), 0.5% of the Iris Pro P580 (7,170), and 0.4% of the GTX 560 SE (7,171). It trails the GTX 750 (7,222) by only 0.3%.

Q: What is the percentile ranking of each GPU?

A: The Vega 8 Mobile is in the 39th percentile of all GPUs, while the HD 6950 is in the 36th percentile.

Q: Does the HD 6950 have any benchmark where it beats the Vega 8 Mobile?

A: No. The database records one head-to-head benchmark (Geekbench OpenCL), and the HD 6950 loses that test. The wins tally shows 1 for the Vega 8 Mobile and 0 for the HD 6950.

Q: What is the process node difference between the two?

A: The Vega 8 Mobile uses a 14 nm process from GlobalFoundries, while the HD 6950 uses a 40 nm process from TSMC.

Q: What are the power connector requirements for each card?

A: The Vega 8 Mobile has no power connectors as it is an integrated GPU. The HD 6950 requires two 6-pin power connectors and lists a suggested power supply of 550 W.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile wins the only recorded benchmark, and its advantage is significant. The 19.7% lead in Geekbench OpenCL suggests that the Vega 8 Mobile is the stronger compute performer in this specific test. This is reinforced by its higher average benchmark score (7,203 versus 6,210) and its higher percentile ranking (39th versus 36th).

The HD 6950, however, has no recorded benchmark wins in this comparison. That said, its underlying specifications suggest scenarios where it might hold an advantage in real-world usage, even if the database does not capture them. For instance, the HD 6950 has a dedicated 2 GB of GDDR5 memory with a 256-bit bus and 160.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Vega 8 Mobile relies on system-shared memory with bandwidth that is system dependent, which could become a bottleneck in memory-intensive workloads.

The HD 6950 also has significantly higher raw throughput numbers: 2.253 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, 70.40 GTexel/s texture fill rate, and 25.60 GPixel/s pixel rate. The Vega 8 Mobile counters with 1,127.4 GFLOPS, 35.23 GTexel/s, and 8.808 GPixel/s. For tasks that are heavily dependent on texture filtering or pixel shading, the HD 6950's dedicated hardware resources could theoretically outperform the Vega 8 Mobile, despite the latter's win in the synthetic OpenCL test.

For users running modern compute workloads that scale well with newer architectures, the Vega 8 Mobile is the clear choice based on the recorded data. For older games or applications that rely on high memory bandwidth and raw fill rates, the HD 6950's specification sheet suggests it could still be competitive, though the database does not provide direct evidence of this.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every measurable specification category. The Vega 8 Mobile is built on a 14 nm process, while the HD 6950 uses 40 nm. The Vega 8 Mobile integrates 4,940 million transistors on a 210 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 23.5 million per square millimeter. The HD 6950 has 2,640 million transistors on a much larger 389 mm² die, with a density of only 6.8 million per square millimeter.

Clock speeds show a fundamental difference: the Vega 8 Mobile has a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 1,101 MHz, while the HD 6950 lists no base or boost clocks, instead only specifying a memory clock of 1,250 MHz (5 Gbps effective). Memory configurations are entirely different: the Vega 8 Mobile uses system-shared memory with a system-dependent bus width and bandwidth, while the HD 6950 has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus delivering 160.0 GB/s.

The compute unit counts diverge significantly: the Vega 8 Mobile has 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 8 ROPs, whereas the HD 6950 has 1,408 shading units, 88 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. Despite having fewer execution units, the Vega 8 Mobile achieves a higher OpenCL score, indicating better per-unit efficiency.

Power and physical characteristics are also starkly different. The Vega 8 Mobile has a 25 W TDP and is an IGP with no power connectors or slot width. The HD 6950 has a 200 W TDP, is a dual-slot card, requires two 6-pin power connectors, and lists a suggested PSU of 550 W. The HD 6950's dimensions are 286 mm in length, 126 mm in height, and 42 mm in width, while the Vega 8 Mobile has no recorded dimensions since it is integrated.

API support differs as well: the Vega 8 Mobile supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3, while the HD 6950 supports DirectX 11.2 (11_0), OpenGL 4.4, and has no Vulkan support. The HD 6950's display outputs are 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.2, whereas the Vega 8 Mobile's outputs are portable-device dependent.

Architecture Differences

The Vega 8 Mobile is based on the GCN 5.0 architecture, specifically the Raven-M chip, and belongs to the Vega IGP generation (Raven Ridge-M). The HD 6950 uses the TeraScale 3 architecture with the Cayman chip, part of the Northern Islands generation (HD 6900). These are fundamentally different design philosophies: GCN 5.0 was designed for modern compute workloads with asynchronous compute and explicit graphics APIs, while TeraScale 3 was a forward-looking architecture for its time but lacks modern API features.

The process node difference is dramatic: 14 nm at GlobalFoundries versus 40 nm at TSMC. This explains the transistor density gap (23.5M/mm² versus 6.8M/mm²) and partially accounts for the power efficiency difference (25 W versus 200 W TDP). The Vega 8 Mobile packs more transistors into a smaller die, enabling higher performance per watt.

Memory architecture differs at the fundamental level. The Vega 8 Mobile uses system-shared memory, meaning it has no dedicated VRAM and instead borrows from the system's main memory. The HD 6950 has dedicated GDDR5 with a 256-bit interface and 160.0 GB/s bandwidth. This means the HD 6950 has guaranteed memory bandwidth, while the Vega 8 Mobile's memory performance is system dependent.

FP16 support is another differentiator: the Vega 8 Mobile lists 2.255 TFLOPS of FP16 compute (2:1 rate), while the HD 6950 has no recorded FP16 capability. This gives the Vega 8 Mobile a potential advantage in workloads that can use half-precision arithmetic, such as certain machine learning and image processing tasks.

The HD 6950's release date is recorded as December 13, 2010, while the Vega 8 Mobile's release date is January 7, 2019. This reflects the generational gap: the HD 6950 predates the Vega 8 Mobile by over eight years. The production status for both is listed as end-of-life.

The Verdict

Based on the recorded data, the AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile is the stronger performer in the one benchmark where both are measured. Its 19.7% lead in Geekbench OpenCL, combined with a higher average benchmark score (7,203 versus 6,210) and a higher percentile ranking (39th versus 36th), makes it the clear choice for compute-oriented tasks.

The Vega 8 Mobile also offers modern API support, including DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3, while the HD 6950 is limited to DirectX 11.2 and OpenGL 4.4 with no Vulkan support. For any modern application or game that relies on these newer APIs, the Vega 8 Mobile is the only viable option.

The HD 6950 does have advantages in raw specification counts: more shading units (1,408 versus 512), more TMUs (88 versus 32), more ROPs (32 versus 8), and dedicated memory with 160.0 GB/s bandwidth. These specs suggest that in older DirectX 11-era games or workloads that favor raw fill rates, the HD 6950 could potentially outperform the Vega 8 Mobile, though the database does not record such a win.

The power and physical requirements are decisive for many users. The Vega 8 Mobile is an integrated GPU with a 25 W TDP and no power connectors, making it suitable for compact laptops and low-power systems. The HD 6950 is a 200 W dual-slot card requiring two 6-pin connectors and a 550 W power supply, which limits it to desktop builds with adequate power delivery and chassis space.

For a user building a new system or upgrading a laptop, the Vega 8 Mobile is the practical recommendation based on the benchmark data. For a user with a legacy desktop system that already has the required power supply and physical space, the HD 6950 could still serve in older applications, but the recorded data does not show it winning any comparative test.

The verdict from the database is straightforward: the AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile wins the head-to-head comparison, offers superior API compatibility, and does so with dramatically lower power requirements. The HD 6950's only recorded strengths are its raw specification counts and dedicated memory, which do not translate into a benchmark victory in the available data.