AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 vs AMD Radeon RX 570 Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 570 and AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 are both end-of-life graphics solutions from AMD, but they target very different segments of the market. The RX 570 is a desktop gaming card built on the Polaris 20 chip, while the Pro Vega 20 is a mobile workstation GPU based on the Vega 12 chip, typically found in high-end laptops. Benchmark data shows a clear and consistent performance gap between the two, with the RX 570 winning all three head-to-head comparisons. The average benchmark score for the RX 570 is 28,766, placing it in the 74th percentile of all GPUs, while the Pro Vega 20 achieves an average of 27,839, sitting in the 73rd percentile. This close overall percentile ranking, however, masks significant differences in individual workloads, particularly in Vulkan performance where the RX 570 is dramatically faster.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most striking result in the head-to-head comparison is in the Geekbench Vulkan test. Here, the AMD Radeon RX 570 scores 42,752, while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 manages only 26,410. This translates to a 61.9% advantage for the RX 570, which is a massive performance gap in a modern cross-platform API. This result indicates that the RX 570 is substantially better suited for Vulkan-based applications, which are becoming increasingly common in both gaming and compute workloads.

In the Geekbench Metal test, the RX 570 again takes the lead, scoring 39,349 compared to the Pro Vega 20's 30,427. This 29.3% delta is significant, showing that even in Apple's graphics API, which the Pro Vega 20 is often paired with in Mac systems, the older desktop card holds a considerable edge. The RX 570's advantage in Metal is likely due to its higher raw compute throughput and shading unit count.

The Geekbench OpenCL result is closer but still favors the RX 570 decisively. The RX 570 posts a score of 32,084, while the Pro Vega 20 reaches 26,679, a 20.3% difference. While this is the smallest margin of the three tests, it is still a clear win for the RX 570. The data indicates that in general-purpose GPU compute tasks, the RX 570 offers roughly a fifth more performance than the Pro Vega 20.

The RX 570 also wins in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, scoring 880, a benchmark that the Pro Vega 20 did not have a recorded score for in the data. This absence of a score suggests that the Pro Vega 20 may not be a primary target for this specific DirectX 12 gaming workload, or that testing was not conducted on that platform. Regardless, the RX 570's presence in this test and its competitive score of 880 further reinforces its positioning as a more capable gaming and general-purpose graphics processor.

Where Each One Wins

Based strictly on the benchmark data, the AMD Radeon RX 570 wins in every category where a direct comparison exists. It is the clear winner in Metal, OpenCL, and Vulkan workloads. The RX 570's strength lies in its raw compute performance, evidenced by its 5.095 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and its 2,048 shading units. This makes it a more powerful option for tasks that leverage these capabilities, such as gaming, 3D rendering, and general compute applications that are not heavily optimized for the Vega architecture.

The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20, however, has its own distinct advantages that are not captured in the raw performance scores. Its primary strengths are its power efficiency and its form factor. With a TDP of only 100 W compared to the RX 570's 150 W, the Pro Vega 20 is designed for systems where power consumption and thermal output are critical constraints, such as in a laptop. Its slot width is listed as "IGP," indicating it is an integrated graphics processor, which means it is soldered directly onto a motherboard and is not a user-serviceable component. This makes it the only choice for the specific portable devices it was designed for.

The Pro Vega 20 also features HBM2 memory with a 1024-bit bus, which is a more advanced memory technology than the GDDR5 found on the RX 570. While the RX 570 has higher bandwidth at 224.0 GB/s compared to the Pro Vega 20's 189.4 GB/s, the HBM2 memory in the Pro Vega 20 offers other benefits such as lower power consumption and a much smaller physical footprint. It also supports DirectX 12_1, while the RX 570 only supports 12_0, indicating a slightly more modern feature set. The Pro Vega 20's FP16 performance of 6.569 TFLOPS (2:1) is also higher than its FP32 rate, suggesting a potential advantage in workloads that can utilize half-precision math.

The Verdict

The data is unequivocal: for raw graphics and compute performance, the AMD Radeon RX 570 is the superior choice. It wins all head-to-head benchmark tests, often by substantial margins. Its 61.9% lead in Vulkan and 29.3% lead in Metal make it a far more capable card for applications that use these APIs. The RX 570 is the pick for anyone building a desktop system who needs the best possible performance from these two GPUs, particularly for gaming or compute tasks.

The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 is not a card you would choose for performance; it is a card you are forced into by the system it comes with. As an IGP with a 100 W TDP, it is designed for mobile workstations where the RX 570's dual-slot, 150 W, 241 mm form factor is simply not an option. The Pro Vega 20 is the only choice for users who need a discrete-level GPU in a specific portable Mac or other laptop that integrates this chip. Its lower performance is the trade-off for its portability and efficiency. For a desktop user, there is no scenario in the data where the Pro Vega 20 would be the recommended choice over the RX 570.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 570 has a higher average benchmark score of 28,766, compared to the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20's average of 27,839.

Q: How much faster is the RX 570 in the Geekbench Vulkan test?

A: The RX 570 scores 42,752 in Geekbench Vulkan, which is 61.9% higher than the Pro Vega 20's score of 26,410.

Q: Which card is more power-efficient based on the data?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 has a lower TDP of 100 W, compared to the RX 570's 150 W, making it the more power-efficient option.

Q: What type of memory does each GPU use?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 570 uses 4 GB of GDDR5 memory, while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 uses 4 GB of HBM2 memory.

Q: Which GPU has a higher FP32 performance rating?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 570 has a higher FP32 performance rating of 5.095 TFLOPS, while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 is rated at 3.284 TFLOPS.

Q: Does the RX 570 support the same DirectX feature level as the Pro Vega 20?

A: No, the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 supports DirectX 12_1, while the AMD Radeon RX 570 supports DirectX 12_0.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on different generations of AMD's Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture. The AMD Radeon RX 570 uses the Polaris 20 chip based on GCN 4.0, while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 uses the Vega 12 chip based on GCN 5.0. This architectural difference is fundamental, with GCN 5.0 introducing a new memory controller and other design changes. The RX 570 is fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries, while the Pro Vega 20 also uses a 14 nm process at the same foundry.

The RX 570 has a transistor count of 5,700 million on a die size of 232 mm², resulting in a transistor density of 24.6M / mm². In contrast, the transistor count and die size for the Pro Vega 20 are not provided in the data. The RX 570 is equipped with 2,048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 32 render output units (ROPs). The Pro Vega 20 has fewer shading units at 1,280, fewer TMUs at 80, but the same number of ROPs at 32.

Clock speeds also differ. The RX 570 has a base clock of 1168 MHz and a boost clock of 1244 MHz. The Pro Vega 20 has a much lower base clock of 815 MHz but a higher boost clock of 1283 MHz. The memory architecture is a major differentiator, with the RX 570 using a 256-bit GDDR5 interface and the Pro Vega 20 using a 1024-bit HBM2 interface. The RX 570's process node, foundry, transistor count, and die size are all identical to the Pro Vega 20, but the core configurations and memory subsystems are wholly different.

Specification Differences

The most significant specification differences are in the core configuration and memory subsystem. The AMD Radeon RX 570 has 2,048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 has 1,280 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. This accounts for a significant difference in compute throughput, with the RX 570 rated at 5.095 TFLOPS FP32 compared to the Pro Vega 20's 3.284 TFLOPS.

Memory bandwidth is another key difference. The RX 570 has a 256-bit memory bus and 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth, while the Pro Vega 20 has a 1024-bit bus but only 189.4 GB/s of bandwidth. Memory clocks also differ, with the RX 570 running at 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective) and the Pro Vega 20 at 740 MHz (1480 Mbps effective). Both cards have 4 GB of memory, but the RX 570 uses GDDR5 while the Pro Vega 20 uses HBM2.

Power and physical specifications are starkly different. The RX 570 has a TDP of 150 W, is dual-slot, requires a 1x 6-pin power connector, and has a suggested PSU of 450 W. It is 241 mm long. The Pro Vega 20 has a TDP of 100 W, is an IGP with no power connectors or suggested PSU listed, and has no length specified. The RX 570 features display outputs of 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the Pro Vega 20's display outputs are "Portable Device Dependent." Finally, the RX 570 supports DirectX 12_0, while the Pro Vega 20 supports DirectX 12_1.