AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 vs AMD Radeon Pro VII Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The recorded benchmark data presents an unambiguous picture: the AMD Radeon Pro VII wins every single head-to-head comparison against the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48. Across three Geekbench compute tests, the Pro VII takes all three wins while the Pro Vega 48 records zero victories. This is not a close contest with trade-offs depending on workload; it is a decisive sweep in favor of the newer, larger chip.

The use-case split, therefore, is not about one card being better for certain tasks and the other better for others within these benchmarks. Instead, the split is about absolute performance tiers and platform context. The Radeon Pro VII, with an average benchmark score of 97131, sits at the 93rd percentile among all GPUs in the database. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000 (average score 101872, which is 4.7% higher than the Pro VII) and the AMD Radeon Instinct MI60 (average score 92466, which is 5% lower). The Pro VII is clearly positioned in the upper echelon of professional compute hardware, trading blows with high-end workstation cards from both AMD and NVIDIA.

The Radeon Pro Vega 48, by contrast, averages 60140 across its benchmark scores and falls at the 88th percentile. Its nearest rivals are strikingly different: the Intel Arc Pro A60 (average score 60326, only 0.3% higher) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 (average score 60347, also 0.3% higher). That the Pro Vega 48 lands in the same statistical neighborhood as an Arc Pro A60 and a GeForce RTX 4090 is a reflection of the specific benchmark mix, but the data clearly indicates the Pro Vega 48 is a mid-pack performer relative to the Pro VII. The use-case distinction is thus simple: if the workload requires maximum compute throughput in Metal, OpenCL, or Vulkan, the Pro VII is the only choice from this pair. The Pro Vega 48 remains functional for lighter professional tasks, but it trails in every measured scenario.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different generations of AMD's Graphics Core Next architecture, which explains much of the performance gap. The Radeon Pro VII is built on the Vega 20 chip using the GCN 5.1 architecture, while the Radeon Pro Vega 48 uses the Vega 10 chip with the older GCN 5.0 architecture. This architectural generation change is accompanied by a significant manufacturing process shift. The Pro VII is fabricated on a 7 nm process at TSMC with a die size of 331 mm² and 13,230 million transistors, resulting in a transistor density of 40.0 million transistors per square millimeter. The Pro Vega 48 is on a 14 nm process from GlobalFoundries, with a larger die at 495 mm² and 12,500 million transistors, yielding a much lower density of 25.3 million per square millimeter.

The smaller process node allows the Pro VII to pack more compute resources despite the smaller die. The Pro VII has 3840 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output units. The Pro Vega 48 has 3072 shading units, 192 TMUs, and the same 64 ROPs. This is a 25% increase in shading units and TMUs for the Pro VII, which directly contributes to its higher throughput rates. The pixel rate for the Pro VII is 108.8 GPixel/s versus 76.80 GPixel/s for the Pro Vega 48, and the texture rate is 408.0 GTexel/s versus 230.4 GTexel/s.

Memory architecture also differs substantially. The Pro VII ships with 16 GB of HBM2 memory on a 4096-bit bus, delivering 1.02 TB/s of bandwidth. The Pro Vega 48 has 8 GB of HBM2 on a 2048-bit bus, with bandwidth of 402.4 GB/s. That is more than double the memory capacity and roughly 2.5 times the bandwidth for the Pro VII. Clock speeds follow suit: the Pro VII has a base clock of 1400 MHz and a boost clock of 1700 MHz, with memory running at 1000 MHz (2 Gbps effective). The Pro Vega 48 does not have recorded base or boost clocks, but its memory runs at 786 MHz (1572 Mbps effective), which is significantly lower.

Form factor and connectivity also differ. The Pro VII is a dual-slot card that is 305 mm long and 111 mm tall, requiring a 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin power connector and a 600 W suggested power supply. It uses a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface and provides 6x mini-DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. The Pro Vega 48 is listed as an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with no slot width, no power connectors, and no recorded dimensions. Its display outputs are described as "Portable Device Dependent," and it uses PCIe 3.0 x16. This indicates the Pro Vega 48 is designed for mobile or portable workstation platforms, while the Pro VII is a full desktop add-in board.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The three Geekbench tests show consistent and substantial margins in favor of the Radeon Pro VII. The largest win comes in the OpenCL test, where the Pro VII scores 90148 against the Pro Vega 48's 53757. That is a 67.7% advantage, the biggest delta of the three tests. OpenCL is often used for general-purpose compute across a wide range of professional applications, so this result indicates the Pro VII is significantly stronger in raw compute throughput.

The Vulkan test shows the second-largest gap. The Pro VII scores 92862 while the Pro Vega 48 scores 57653, a 61.1% difference. Vulkan is a low-overhead graphics and compute API, and the Pro VII's advantage here is nearly as large as in OpenCL. The smallest margin, though still decisive, is in the Metal test. The Pro VII scores 108383 against 69010 for the Pro Vega 48, a 57.1% lead. Metal is Apple's graphics API, heavily used on macOS platforms, and the Pro VII still holds a comfortable lead.

Across all three tests, the average score for the Pro VII is 97131, while the Pro Vega 48 averages 60140. That is a 61.5% overall advantage for the Pro VII. To put these numbers in context with the nearest rivals, the Pro VII is only 0.4% behind the AMD Radeon RX 7900M (average score 97487) and 4.7% behind the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000 (average score 101872). Meanwhile, the Pro Vega 48 is essentially tied with the Intel Arc Pro A60 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090, both of which score within 0.3% of its average. The Pro VII also holds a 5% advantage over the AMD Radeon Instinct MI60 and a 6% advantage over the NVIDIA RTX A4500, showing it competes well against dedicated compute accelerators. The Pro Vega 48, on the other hand, is only 2.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon PRO V710 and 2.8% ahead of the NVIDIA P102-100, placing it in a much lower performance class.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro VII has an average benchmark score of 97131, while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 has an average score of 60140, making the Pro VII about 61.5% faster on average.

Q: How does the Radeon Pro VII compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Pro VII is 0.4% behind the AMD Radeon RX 7900M, 4.7% behind the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000, 5% ahead of the AMD Radeon Instinct MI60, and 6% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX A4500.

Q: How does the Radeon Pro Vega 48 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Pro Vega 48 is 0.3% behind both the Intel Arc Pro A60 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090, while it is 2.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon PRO V710 and 2.8% ahead of the NVIDIA P102-100.

Q: What is the largest head-to-head benchmark margin between the two cards?

A: The largest margin is in the Geekbench OpenCL test, where the Radeon Pro VII scores 90148 versus 53757 for the Pro Vega 48, a 67.7% advantage.

Q: Which card has more memory bandwidth?

A: The Radeon Pro VII has 1.02 TB/s of memory bandwidth, while the Radeon Pro Vega 48 has 402.4 GB/s, so the Pro VII offers roughly 2.5 times the bandwidth.

Q: What architecture does each card use?

A: The Radeon Pro VII uses GCN 5.1 on a 7 nm process with the Vega 20 chip, while the Radeon Pro Vega 48 uses GCN 5.0 on a 14 nm process with the Vega 10 chip.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every measurable specification, reflecting their different generations and intended platforms.

Process and Die: The Radeon Pro VII is built on a 7 nm process at TSMC with a 331 mm² die and 13,230 million transistors. The Radeon Pro Vega 48 uses a 14 nm process from GlobalFoundries with a 495 mm² die and 12,500 million transistors. Transistor density is 40.0M per mm² for the Pro VII versus 25.3M per mm² for the Pro Vega 48.

Compute Units: The Pro VII has 3840 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The Pro Vega 48 has 3072 shading units, 192 TMUs, and also 64 ROPs. The Pro VII therefore has 768 more shading units and 48 more TMUs.

Clocks: The Pro VII has a base clock of 1400 MHz and a boost clock of 1700 MHz, with memory at 1000 MHz (2 Gbps effective). The Pro Vega 48 has no recorded base or boost clocks, and its memory runs at 786 MHz (1572 Mbps effective).

Memory: The Pro VII has 16 GB of HBM2 on a 4096-bit bus with 1.02 TB/s bandwidth. The Pro Vega 48 has 8 GB of HBM2 on a 2048-bit bus with 402.4 GB/s bandwidth.

Performance Rates: The Pro VII delivers 108.8 GPixel/s pixel rate and 408.0 GTexel/s texture rate, with FP32 of 13.06 TFLOPS and FP16 of 26.11 TFLOPS (2:1). The Pro Vega 48 delivers 76.80 GPixel/s and 230.4 GTexel/s, with FP32 of 7.373 TFLOPS and FP16 of 14.75 TFLOPS (2:1).

Power and Form Factor: The Pro VII has a TDP of 250 W, is dual-slot, uses a 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin power connector, and suggests a 600 W power supply. The Pro Vega 48 has no recorded TDP, is listed as an IGP with no power connectors and no suggested PSU.

Interface and Outputs: The Pro VII uses PCIe 4.0 x16 and provides 6x mini-DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. The Pro Vega 48 uses PCIe 3.0 x16 with display outputs described as "Portable Device Dependent."

Physical Dimensions: The Pro VII is 305 mm long and 111 mm tall. The Pro Vega 48 has no recorded dimensions.

Release and Status: The Pro VII was released on 2020-05-12, while the Pro Vega 48 was released on 2019-03-18. Both are end-of-life products. The Pro VII has a launch MSRP of 1,899 USD; the Pro Vega 48 has no recorded launch MSRP.