AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a decisive performance gap between the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16. In the two shared benchmark workloads, the RTX 5060 wins both, with margins that are substantial by any measure.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 5060 scores 112,787 against the Pro Vega 16's 18,268. That is a delta of 517.4%. The RTX 5060 delivers more than six times the raw compute throughput in this API. The result is not a close contest; it is a category difference. The Pro Vega 16's score places it in a completely different performance tier, closer to integrated graphics solutions than to a modern discrete GPU.

The Vulkan test tells a similar story. The RTX 5060 posts 113,321, while the Pro Vega 16 manages 21,832. The delta here is 419.1%. Again, the RTX 5060 is roughly five times faster. Vulkan is a low-level API that tends to expose architectural efficiency, and the data indicates the Blackwell architecture handles it far better than the older GCN design.

The RTX 5060's average benchmark score across all recorded tests is 26,331, placing it in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs in the database. The Pro Vega 16 has an average score of 23,250, which sits in the 68th percentile. The averages are closer than the head-to-head deltas suggest, but that is because the Pro Vega 16's available benchmark set is limited to three Geekbench tests, all of which are compute-oriented. The RTX 5060's average includes a broader range of DirectX and Passmark workloads, which dilute its compute advantage.

The nearest rivals for the RTX 5060 include the AMD Radeon 860M at a delta of -0.3%, the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 at -0.3%, the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary at -0.8%, and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT at +1.2%. This means the RTX 5060 sits in a competitive band where small percentage differences separate it from several other options. Its 1.2% advantage over the RX 6750 XT is within noise, while its 0.8% deficit to the RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary is equally marginal.

For the Pro Vega 16, its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA P106-100 at 0% delta, the AMD Radeon RX 6600M at -0.1%, the AMD Radeon R9 M290X at -0.1%, and the AMD Radeon AI PRO R9700 at -0.3%. The Pro Vega 16 is essentially tied with these parts, showing that its performance profile is well understood and consistent with its position in the database.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is vast and explains the benchmark results. The RTX 5060 uses the GB206 chip built on Blackwell 2.0 architecture, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It packs 21,900 million transistors into a 181 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 121.0 million per mm². The Pro Vega 16 uses the Vega 12 chip with GCN 5.0 architecture, fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. Its transistor count and die size are not recorded in the database, but the process node difference alone suggests a generational leap in efficiency.

The RTX 5060 has 3,840 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 48 render output units. It also features 30 ray tracing cores and 120 tensor cores, which are absent from the Pro Vega 16 entirely. The Pro Vega 16 has 1,024 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The shading unit count alone is a 3.75x difference in favor of the RTX 5060. The tensor cores are particularly significant, as they enable AI-accelerated workloads that the Pro Vega 16 cannot perform at all.

Clock speeds also diverge sharply. The RTX 5060 runs at a base of 2280 MHz and boosts to 2497 MHz. The Pro Vega 16 has a base of 815 MHz and a boost of 1190 MHz. The RTX 5060's boost clock is more than double the Pro Vega 16's boost clock. Memory configurations differ as well. The RTX 5060 has 8 GB of GDDR7 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Pro Vega 16 has 4 GB of HBM2 on a 1024-bit bus, delivering 307.2 GB/s. The RTX 5060 has higher total bandwidth despite a narrower bus, thanks to the much faster GDDR7 memory running at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). The Pro Vega 16's memory runs at 1200 MHz (2.4 Gbps effective).

The pixel and texture rates reflect the clock and core differences. The RTX 5060 achieves 119.9 GPixel/s and 299.6 GTexel/s. The Pro Vega 16 manages 38.08 GPixel/s and 76.16 GTexel/s. The FP32 throughput is 19.18 TFLOPS for the RTX 5060 versus 2.437 TFLOPS for the Pro Vega 16, a 7.9x difference. The FP16 rates are 19.18 TFLOPS (1:1) for the RTX 5060 and 4.874 TFLOPS (2:1) for the Pro Vega 16. The RTX 5060's 1:1 FP16 ratio means it does not sacrifice FP32 throughput when running FP16 workloads.

The RTX 5060 supports PCIe 5.0 x8, while the Pro Vega 16 is limited to PCIe 3.0 x16. The RTX 5060 has a TDP of 145 W and requires a single 8-pin power connector with a suggested PSU of 300 W. The Pro Vega 16 has a TDP of 75 W and is an integrated graphics processor (IGP), meaning it has no power connectors and relies on the host system. The RTX 5060 is a dual-slot card measuring 241 mm in length, 111 mm in height, and 40 mm in width. The Pro Vega 16 has no recorded dimensions, as it is designed for portable devices.

API support also differs. The RTX 5060 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The Pro Vega 16 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The RTX 5060's DirectX 12_2 feature level enables advanced ray tracing and mesh shader workloads that the Pro Vega 16 cannot handle. The RTX 5060 also has three DisplayPort 2.1b outputs and one HDMI 2.1b output, while the Pro Vega 16's display outputs are listed as portable device dependent.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 5060 wins every recorded head-to-head benchmark, so the use-case split is largely one-sided. The RTX 5060 is the clear choice for any workload that uses OpenCL or Vulkan, as the data shows. Its 517.4% OpenCL advantage and 419.1% Vulkan advantage mean that compute-heavy applications, such as rendering, simulation, and machine learning inference, will see massive performance gains on the RTX 5060.

The RTX 5060 also has a broader benchmark suite in the database, with scores in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 (3,628), Geekbench OpenCL (112,787), Geekbench Vulkan (113,321), and multiple Passmark tests. Its Passmark G3D score is 20,891, and its Passmark GPU Compute score is 10,899. These additional scores indicate strong DirectX performance across multiple feature levels, from DirectX 9 (225) to DirectX 12 (77). The DirectX 12 score is low relative to the others, but that is consistent with the Passmark workload's emphasis on specific features rather than overall performance.

The Pro Vega 16's only recorded benchmarks are Geekbench Metal (29,650), Geekbench OpenCL (18,268), and Geekbench Vulkan (21,832). Its Metal score is notably higher than its OpenCL score, suggesting that Apple's Metal API extracts more performance from the GCN architecture than OpenCL does. However, the RTX 5060 does not have a recorded Metal score, so no direct comparison is possible in that API. For users who require Metal support, the Pro Vega 16 is the only option of the two, but its performance is still far below the RTX 5060 in the APIs they share.

The Pro Vega 16's advantage, such as it is, lies in its power envelope. At 75 W TDP and integrated into the host system, it requires no external power and produces less heat. The RTX 5060 at 145 W TDP is a discrete card that needs a power connector and a 300 W PSU. For ultra-portable systems where power draw is the primary constraint, the Pro Vega 16 is the only feasible choice. But for any performance metric, the RTX 5060 dominates.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is the superior GPU in every shared benchmark, with deltas of 517.4% in OpenCL and 419.1% in Vulkan. Its average benchmark score of 26,331 places it in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs, while the Pro Vega 16's 23,250 average sits in the 68th percentile. The RTX 5060 also has a more recent architecture, a smaller process node, more shading units, and dedicated ray tracing and tensor cores. It supports newer API versions and has a higher memory bandwidth.

The Pro Vega 16 is an end-of-life product from 2018, built on a 14 nm process and GCN 5.0 architecture. It has no ray tracing cores, no tensor cores, and a fraction of the RTX 5060's compute throughput. Its only recorded advantage is its 75 W TDP and integrated form factor, which make it suitable for portable systems where a discrete GPU cannot be installed.

Users who need maximum performance in OpenCL or Vulkan workloads should choose the RTX 5060 without hesitation. The numbers show a generational gap that no driver optimization or software tweak can close. Users who are restricted to a portable device with no discrete GPU slot and no external power connector have no choice but the Pro Vega 16, but they should be aware that its performance is several times lower than the RTX 5060 in the workloads they share.

The nearest rival data for the RTX 5060 shows that it is competitive with other mid-range GPUs, sitting within 1.2% of the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT and within 0.8% of the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary. The Pro Vega 16, meanwhile, is tied with older parts like the NVIDIA P106-100 and the AMD Radeon R9 M290X. The RTX 5060 is not the fastest GPU in the database, but it is firmly in the upper-middle tier. The Pro Vega 16 is at the bottom of its own performance band.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the RTX 5060 in OpenCL compared to the Pro Vega 16?

A: The RTX 5060 scores 112,787 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the Pro Vega 16 scores 18,268. That is a delta of 517.4% in favor of the RTX 5060.

Q: Does the Pro Vega 16 have any ray tracing cores?

A: No. The Pro Vega 16 has no ray tracing cores or tensor cores. The RTX 5060 has 30 ray tracing cores and 120 tensor cores.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth of each GPU?

A: The RTX 5060 has 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth from 8 GB of GDDR7 on a 128-bit bus. The Pro Vega 16 has 307.2 GB/s from 4 GB of HBM2 on a 1024-bit bus.

Q: Which GPU has a higher FP32 throughput?

A: The RTX 5060 has 19.18 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, while the Pro Vega 16 has 2.437 TFLOPS. The RTX 5060 is roughly 7.9 times faster in FP32.

Q: What are the power requirements for each GPU?

A: The RTX 5060 has a TDP of 145 W, requires a single 8-pin power connector, and needs a 300 W PSU. The Pro Vega 16 has a TDP of 75 W and is an integrated GPU with no power connectors.

Q: Which GPU supports newer API versions?

A: The RTX 5060 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The Pro Vega 16 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The RTX 5060's DirectX 12_2 feature level is newer and supports advanced features.