AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 vs AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is decisively faster than the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 across every shared benchmark, but the two cards occupy different worlds: the Pro Vega 20 is an end-of-life, integrated-class part aimed at portability, while the RX 6700 XT is a dual-slot, high-power desktop GPU. Benchmark results show the RX 6700 XT winning all three head-to-head tests, with its largest margin coming in Metal, where it scores 130,896 against the Pro Vega 20's 30,427 — a 76.8% delta. The data is unambiguous: the RX 6700 XT is the performance king, while the Pro Vega 20 holds a niche as a low-power, integrated solution.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most dramatic separation occurs in the Geekbench Metal test. The RX 6700 XT scores 130,896, while the Pro Vega 20 manages only 30,427. That is a 76.8% delta in favor of the RX 6700 XT, making it the single largest performance gap between the two cards in any shared test. This result is not an outlier; it reflects the fundamental architectural and specification chasm between the two GPUs.

In Vulkan, the RX 6700 XT again dominates, posting 93,500 points against the Pro Vega 20's 26,410. The 71.8% delta is slightly smaller than the Metal gap but still represents a massive advantage. For any workload leveraging Vulkan — whether gaming or compute — the RX 6700 XT is in a different league, delivering over three times the raw score of the Pro Vega 20.

The OpenCL test is the closest of the three, though "closest" is relative. The RX 6700 XT scores 44,152, while the Pro Vega 20 scores 26,679, yielding a 39.6% delta. This narrower margin suggests that OpenCL workloads, which often rely on raw compute throughput, benefit less from the RX 6700 XT's architectural advantages than Metal or Vulkan do. Still, the RX 6700 XT wins decisively, and the overall head-to-head record stands at 3–0 in its favor.

Context from the rivals list reinforces the Pro Vega 20's standing. Its average benchmark score of 27,839 places it within 1% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 (27,565) and just 0.2% behind the AMD Radeon RX 7800M (27,883). This means the Pro Vega 20, despite its age and low power envelope, punches well above its weight in synthetic tests. The RX 6700 XT, with an average score of 27,425, sits 1.5% below the Pro Vega 20 in average terms — a quirk driven by the fact that the RX 6700 XT's benchmark suite includes many more tests (like Passmark DX9 and DX10) that drag its average down. In direct head-to-head comparisons, however, the RX 6700 XT wins every time.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 has a higher average benchmark score of 27,839, compared to the RX 6700 XT's 27,425. However, this is skewed by the different test suites each card runs; in direct head-to-head tests, the RX 6700 XT wins all three.

Q: How much faster is the RX 6700 XT in Metal?

A: The RX 6700 XT scores 130,896 in Geekbench Metal, which is 76.8% higher than the Pro Vega 20's 30,427. This is the largest performance gap between the two cards.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference?

A: The Pro Vega 20 uses 4 GB of HBM2 memory with a 1024-bit bus and 189.4 GB/s bandwidth. The RX 6700 XT uses 12 GB of GDDR6 memory with a 192-bit bus and 384.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Does the Pro Vega 20 support ray tracing?

A: No. The Pro Vega 20 has no ray tracing cores listed, while the RX 6700 XT includes 40 ray tracing cores as part of its RDNA 2.0 architecture.

Q: What is the TDP difference?

A: The Pro Vega 20 has a TDP of 100 W, while the RX 6700 XT has a TDP of 230 W. The Pro Vega 20 is also listed as an integrated graphics processor (IGP), whereas the RX 6700 XT is a dual-slot card.

Q: Which card has a higher pixel rate?

A: The RX 6700 XT has a pixel rate of 165.2 GPixel/s, which is four times higher than the Pro Vega 20's 41.06 GPixel/s.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on fundamentally different architectures and process nodes. The Pro Vega 20 uses the Vega 12 chip based on GCN 5.0 architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process by GlobalFoundries. In contrast, the RX 6700 XT uses the Navi 22 chip based on RDNA 2.0 architecture, manufactured on a 7 nm process by TSMC. This node advantage alone — 14 nm versus 7 nm — explains much of the efficiency and clock speed gap between the two.

Clock speeds tell a stark story. The Pro Vega 20 has a base clock of 815 MHz and a boost clock of 1283 MHz. The RX 6700 XT starts at 2321 MHz base and boosts to 2581 MHz, with a game clock of 2424 MHz. The RX 6700 XT's clocks are nearly double the Pro Vega 20's, which directly translates to higher throughput across all operations.

Core counts also diverge significantly. The Pro Vega 20 has 1280 shading units, 80 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The RX 6700 XT more than doubles this with 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The RX 6700 XT also adds 40 ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent from the Pro Vega 20. The result is a texture rate of 413.0 GTexel/s for the RX 6700 XT versus 102.6 GTexel/s for the Pro Vega 20, and a pixel rate of 165.2 GPixel/s versus 41.06 GPixel/s.

Memory technology is another major divergence. The Pro Vega 20 uses 4 GB of HBM2 on a 1024-bit bus, yielding 189.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 6700 XT uses 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, but with a much higher effective speed of 16 Gbps, it achieves 384.0 GB/s of bandwidth — more than double. The RX 6700 XT also has a larger die (335 mm²) and 17,200 million transistors, while the Pro Vega 20's transistor count and die size are not listed.

API support also differs. The Pro Vega 20 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The RX 6700 XT supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, making it more forward-compatible with modern titles. The RX 6700 XT also uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while the Pro Vega 20 is limited to PCIe 3.0 x16.

The Verdict

The data makes the choice straightforward for anyone prioritizing raw performance: the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is the superior GPU. It wins every head-to-head benchmark by margins ranging from 39.6% to 76.8%. Its compute capabilities are dramatically higher, with 13.21 TFLOPS of FP32 performance versus the Pro Vega 20's 3.284 TFLOPS. It also offers triple the memory capacity (12 GB versus 4 GB) and more than double the memory bandwidth (384.0 GB/s versus 189.4 GB/s).

The Pro Vega 20 is not without merit, but its advantages are narrow. It is an integrated GPU with a 100 W TDP, making it suitable for compact, power-constrained systems. Its average benchmark score of 27,839 is actually higher than the RX 6700 XT's 27,425, and it sits within 1% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 in average terms. This suggests that in specific, well-optimized workloads, the Pro Vega 20 can hold its own against much larger desktop cards.

However, the Pro Vega 20 is end-of-life, released in November 2018, while the RX 6700 XT is also end-of-life but released in March 2021. The RX 6700 XT's newer architecture, higher clocks, and ray tracing support make it the clear choice for gaming, content creation, or any GPU-accelerated task that benefits from modern features. The Pro Vega 20 should only be considered for ultra-low-power, integrated systems where the RX 6700 XT's 230 W TDP and dual-slot form factor are simply not viable.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every measurable specification. The RX 6700 XT has a 7 nm process node versus the Pro Vega 20's 14 nm node. The RX 6700 XT has 17,200 million transistors on a 335 mm² die, while the Pro Vega 20's counts are not listed. Base clocks are 2321 MHz versus 815 MHz, and boost clocks are 2581 MHz versus 1283 MHz. The RX 6700 XT's game clock is 2424 MHz; the Pro Vega 20 has no game clock listed.

Memory differs substantially: 12 GB GDDR6 at 16 Gbps effective versus 4 GB HBM2 at 1480 Mbps effective. Bus widths are 192-bit versus 1024-bit, but the RX 6700 XT's bandwidth is 384.0 GB/s versus 189.4 GB/s. Shading units are 2560 versus 1280, TMUs are 160 versus 80, and ROPs are 64 versus 32. The RX 6700 XT has 40 ray tracing cores; the Pro Vega 20 has none. Pixel rates are 165.2 GPixel/s versus 41.06 GPixel/s, and texture rates are 413.0 GTexel/s versus 102.6 GTexel/s.

FP32 performance is 13.21 TFLOPS versus 3.284 TFLOPS, and FP16 performance is 26.43 TFLOPS versus 6.569 TFLOPS (both 2:1). TDP is 230 W versus 100 W. The RX 6700 XT is dual-slot with 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin power connectors and a suggested PSU of 550 W; the Pro Vega 20 is an IGP with no power connectors or PSU suggestion listed. The RX 6700 XT uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while the Pro Vega 20 uses PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs are 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a for the RX 6700 XT, versus "Portable Device Dependent" for the Pro Vega 20. The RX 6700 XT has dimensions of 267 mm x 110 mm x 40 mm; the Pro Vega 20 has none listed. The RX 6700 XT supports DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4, while the Pro Vega 20 supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.3.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 6700 XT wins in every performance category measured by the head-to-head benchmarks. Its Metal score of 130,896 is 76.8% higher, making it the overwhelming choice for macOS or iOS development environments that leverage Metal. Its Vulkan score of 93,500 is 71.8% higher, ideal for cross-platform gaming engines and Vulkan-based compute. Its OpenCL score of 44,152 is 39.6% higher, suitable for general-purpose GPU computing.

The Pro Vega 20 wins in power efficiency and form factor. With a TDP of 100 W versus 230 W, it draws less than half the power. As an integrated GPU, it requires no additional power connectors and fits into portable devices, whereas the RX 6700 XT is a 267 mm dual-slot card. The Pro Vega 20's average benchmark score of 27,839 is also higher than the RX 6700 XT's 27,425, indicating that in aggregated synthetic tests, it can surprise. It also matches or exceeds the performance of rivals like the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 (27,565) in average score, making it a competent performer for its class.

For gaming, the RX 6700 XT is the only real choice, given its ray tracing cores, DirectX 12 Ultimate support, and 12 GB of VRAM. For ultra-portable, low-power systems where the GPU is soldered to the motherboard, the Pro Vega 20 is the only viable option. The data shows no scenario where the Pro Vega 20 outpaces the RX 6700 XT in raw throughput; its wins are purely in efficiency and integration.