AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 vs NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile Comparison

AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 vs NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile: the data shows a complete sweep. In every recorded head-to-head benchmark, the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile takes the win, often by a wide margin. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20, an end-of-life integrated part from 2018, cannot match the newer, larger Ampere mobile GPU. The database records two head-to-head tests, and the RTX A5000 Mobile wins both, with the average benchmark score favoring NVIDIA by a significant amount. The AMD card’s average score is 27839, while the NVIDIA card’s average is 24763, but that comparison is skewed by the different benchmark suites each card was tested with. The direct head-to-head tests are the clearest evidence of the performance gap.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 wins nowhere in the recorded head-to-head data. It has zero wins against the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile. The NVIDIA card wins both of the direct comparison tests: Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan. In OpenCL, the RTX A5000 Mobile scores 110877 versus the Vega 20’s 26679, a delta of -75.9% from the AMD card’s perspective. In Vulkan, the NVIDIA card scores 88144 versus 26410, a delta of -70%. These are not close contests. The RTX A5000 Mobile is faster by over three times in OpenCL and over three times in Vulkan.

Looking at the broader benchmark data, the AMD card’s strongest recorded result is its Geekbench Metal score of 30427, which is not part of the head-to-head set. The NVIDIA card has a much larger set of Passmark scores, including a G3D score of 15779 and a GPU compute score of 6945. In the database’s percentile ranking, the AMD card sits at the 73rd percentile of all GPUs, while the NVIDIA card sits at the 70th percentile. That is a narrow gap in overall standing, but the head-to-head numbers tell a different story: the RTX A5000 Mobile is decisively faster in the tests they share.

The use-case split is therefore simple: the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 is a legacy integrated part with a single strong point in Metal (a macOS-oriented API), while the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile dominates in general-purpose compute and Vulkan workloads. For any task that relies on OpenCL or Vulkan, the NVIDIA card is the clear choice. For macOS-specific Metal workloads, the AMD card has a recorded score that is respectable for its class, but it still trails the NVIDIA card’s OpenCL and Vulkan results by a wide margin.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different generations and foundries. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 uses the Vega 12 chip on GCN 5.0 architecture, built on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. The NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile uses the GA104 chip on Ampere architecture, built on an 8 nm process at Samsung. The process node difference is substantial: 14 nm versus 8 nm, which directly impacts transistor density and power efficiency. The NVIDIA chip packs 17,400 million transistors on a 392 mm² die, giving a density of 44.4M per mm². The AMD chip has no recorded transistor count or die size in the database.

The memory subsystems are entirely different. The AMD card has 4 GB of HBM2 on a 1024-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 189.4 GB/s. The NVIDIA card has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The NVIDIA card has four times the capacity and more than double the bandwidth. The bus width is narrower on the NVIDIA card, but the higher clocked GDDR6 memory more than compensates.

Compute resources differ by a wide margin. The AMD card has 1280 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The NVIDIA card has 6144 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. That is roughly 4.8 times the shading units, 2.4 times the TMUs, and 3 times the ROPs. The NVIDIA card also has dedicated hardware that the AMD card lacks entirely: 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores. The AMD card has no recorded RT or tensor core counts.

Clock speeds favor the NVIDIA card as well. The AMD card has a base clock of 815 MHz and a boost of 1283 MHz. The NVIDIA card has a base of 900 MHz and a boost of 1575 MHz. The memory clocks are similarly divergent: the AMD memory runs at 740 MHz (1480 Mbps effective), while the NVIDIA memory runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). These clock differences compound the core count advantage.

The pixel rate and texture rate tell the same story. The AMD card delivers 41.06 GPixel/s and 102.6 GTexel/s. The NVIDIA card delivers 151.2 GPixel/s and 302.4 GTexel/s. The FP32 throughput is 3.284 TFLOPS versus 19.35 TFLOPS, a difference of nearly sixfold. The FP16 numbers are also stark: the AMD card does 6.569 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio, while the NVIDIA card does 19.35 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio.

Power draw is recorded as 100 W for the AMD card and 150 W for the NVIDIA card. The AMD card is an integrated part (IGP slot width), while the NVIDIA card has no slot width recorded and no power connectors. The bus interface differs: PCIe 3.0 x16 for AMD, PCIe 4.0 x16 for NVIDIA. API support also differs: the AMD card supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The NVIDIA card supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous. The NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile is the faster GPU in every shared benchmark. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 110877 versus 26679, a 75.9% lead. In Geekbench Vulkan, it scores 88144 versus 26410, a 70% lead. The NVIDIA card’s architecture advantages, including more shading units, dedicated RT and tensor cores, faster memory, and a more advanced process node, all contribute to this outcome.

Who should pick the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20? The database shows it is an end-of-life integrated part from 2018, with a 73rd percentile standing. Its only distinguishing recorded benchmark is Geekbench Metal at 30427, which is not compared against the NVIDIA card in the head-to-head set. If a workload is exclusively Metal-based on a macOS system, the AMD card has a recorded score that is competitive within its own class. But the data does not show any scenario where it beats the RTX A5000 Mobile.

Who should pick the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile? Anyone whose workloads use OpenCL or Vulkan. The recorded scores are 110877 and 88144 respectively, both far above the AMD card’s results. The NVIDIA card also has a much larger memory pool (16 GB versus 4 GB), higher bandwidth (448.0 GB/s versus 189.4 GB/s), and support for DirectX 12 Ultimate. For compute-heavy tasks, professional 3D rendering, or any modern API workload, the RTX A5000 Mobile is the clear choice from the recorded data. Its 70th percentile standing is lower than the AMD card’s 73rd, but that reflects a broader benchmark suite including older DirectX tests where it scores low (e.g., Passmark DirectX 9 at 169, DirectX 10 at 115). In the tests that matter for modern workloads, it dominates.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in OpenCL?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile is dramatically faster. It scores 110877 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 scores 26679. The NVIDIA card leads by 75.9%.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 win any benchmark against the RTX A5000 Mobile?

A: No. In the recorded head-to-head benchmarks, the AMD card has zero wins. The NVIDIA card wins both Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan.

Q: What is the memory capacity difference?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 has 4 GB of HBM2 memory. The NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory. The NVIDIA card has four times the capacity.

Q: Which GPU has dedicated ray tracing cores?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile has 48 RT cores. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 has no recorded RT cores.

Q: How does the FP32 compute throughput compare?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 delivers 3.284 TFLOPS. The NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile delivers 19.35 TFLOPS. The NVIDIA card is roughly 5.9 times faster in FP32.

Q: What are the process nodes for each GPU?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 is built on 14 nm at GlobalFoundries. The NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile is built on 8 nm at Samsung.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records two direct comparisons between these GPUs. Both are Geekbench tests. The first is Geekbench OpenCL. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 scores 26679. The NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile scores 110877. The delta is -75.9% from the AMD card’s perspective, meaning the NVIDIA card is more than four times faster. This is the largest gap in any recorded benchmark between the two.

The second test is Geekbench Vulkan. The AMD card scores 26410. The NVIDIA card scores 88144. The delta is -70%. Again, the NVIDIA card is over three times faster. The AMD card’s Vulkan score is close to its OpenCL score, but the NVIDIA card’s Vulkan score is lower than its OpenCL score, suggesting Vulkan is a relatively less efficient API for the Ampere architecture in this test. Still, the NVIDIA card retains a commanding lead.

The broader benchmark data reinforces this pattern. The AMD card’s best recorded score is Geekbench Metal at 30427, which is higher than its OpenCL and Vulkan results. The NVIDIA card has a Passmark G3D score of 15779 and a Passmark GPU compute score of 6945, but these are not directly comparable to the Geekbench numbers. The head-to-head tests are the only direct apples-to-apples comparison, and they show a total sweep.

The NVIDIA card also has a much wider range of recorded benchmarks, including Passmark DirectX 9 (169), DirectX 10 (115), DirectX 11 (133), and DirectX 12 (72). These scores are low, which drags down its average benchmark score to 24763, below the AMD card’s 27839. But that average includes legacy API tests that are not representative of modern workloads. The direct comparisons show the true performance relationship.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every recorded specification category. The process node is 14 nm for AMD versus 8 nm for NVIDIA. The architecture is GCN 5.0 versus Ampere. The AMD card has no recorded transistor count or die size, while the NVIDIA card has 17,400 million transistors on a 392 mm² die.

Memory is a major differentiator. The AMD card has 4 GB of HBM2 on a 1024-bit bus with 189.4 GB/s bandwidth. The NVIDIA card has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. The memory clock is 740 MHz (1480 Mbps effective) for AMD versus 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) for NVIDIA.

Compute units differ sharply. The AMD card has 1280 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The NVIDIA card has 6144 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The NVIDIA card also has 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores; the AMD card has none recorded.

Clock speeds are higher on the NVIDIA card: base 900 MHz versus 815 MHz, boost 1575 MHz versus 1283 MHz. The pixel rate is 41.06 GPixel/s versus 151.2 GPixel/s. The texture rate is 102.6 GTexel/s versus 302.4 GTexel/s. FP32 is 3.284 TFLOPS versus 19.35 TFLOPS. FP16 is 6.569 TFLOPS (2:1) versus 19.35 TFLOPS (1:1).

Power draw is 100 W for AMD versus 150 W for NVIDIA. The AMD card is an IGP (integrated), while the NVIDIA card has no slot width recorded. The bus interface is PCIe 3.0 x16 for AMD versus PCIe 4.0 x16 for NVIDIA. API support: AMD has DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.3; NVIDIA has DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4. Both support OpenGL 4.6. The AMD card is end-of-life from 2018; the NVIDIA card is end-of-life from 2021. The NVIDIA card’s predecessor is Quadro Turing-M and its successor is Ada-MW; the AMD card has no recorded predecessor or successor.