AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile Comparison

AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile occupy different eras of mobile graphics, and benchmark results reflect a generational chasm. The RTX 5090 Mobile wins every shared benchmark by a massive margin, while the Radeon Pro Vega 48 relies on its age-appropriate compute strengths. The data shows a clear performance hierarchy, but the older AMD part still holds a percentile ranking advantage over the newer NVIDIA chip in the database, an anomaly driven by the specific workload mix.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains two directly comparable tests between these GPUs: Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan. In both cases, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile delivers a dominant victory.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 5090 Mobile scores 201,834 against 53,757 for the Radeon Pro Vega 48. That is a delta of -73.4% from the NVIDIA part’s perspective, meaning the AMD GPU trails by nearly three-quarters. The raw score gap is 148,077 points. This is not a close contest; the RTX 5090 Mobile produces roughly 3.75 times the OpenCL throughput of the Vega 48.

Geekbench Vulkan shows a similar pattern. The RTX 5090 Mobile posts 198,405, while the Radeon Pro Vega 48 manages 57,653. The delta is -70.9%, with the NVIDIA GPU leading by 140,752 points. Vulkan results indicate the RTX 5090 Mobile is about 3.44 times faster than the Vega 48 in this API. Both deltas exceed 70%, which is a rare margin in head-to-head comparisons within the database.

The Radeon Pro Vega 48 wins zero head-to-head tests. The RTX 5090 Mobile wins both. There is no benchmark in the shared set where the AMD part comes out ahead. The only nuance is that the Vega 48 has a higher overall percentile (88th versus 84th), but that ranking includes a broader set of workloads, not just these two APIs.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 5090 Mobile wins in every scenario covered by the shared benchmarks. OpenCL and Vulkan are both cross-platform compute and graphics APIs, and the NVIDIA part excels in both. The 31.80 TFLOPS FP32 throughput, 496.9 GTexel/s texture rate, and 169.7 GPixel/s pixel rate give it a structural advantage in any workload that scales with raw shader or texture throughput. Its 82 RT cores and 328 tensor cores also make it the only one of the two with dedicated hardware for ray tracing and AI acceleration, though no ray tracing benchmark is present in the shared head-to-head data.

The Radeon Pro Vega 48 wins in the sense of efficiency relative to its age, but not in raw performance. Its 7.373 TFLOPS FP32 and 230.4 GTexel/s are roughly one-quarter of the RTX 5090 Mobile’s figures. The Vega 48’s advantage lies in its memory subsystem: 2048-bit HBM2 with 402.4 GB/s bandwidth versus the RTX 5090 Mobile’s 256-bit GDDR7 at 896.0 GB/s. For memory-bound workloads that favor HBM2’s wide bus, the Vega 48 could be competitive, but the database’s shared benchmarks do not show that. The Vega 48’s only wins are in its own benchmark suite, where it scores 69,010 in Geekbench Metal, a test the RTX 5090 Mobile does not take.

For users targeting Apple-centric or Metal-based workflows, the Vega 48 has a dedicated path. For everyone else, the RTX 5090 Mobile is the clear choice based on the recorded data.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap is generational. The Radeon Pro Vega 48 uses the Vega 10 chip on GCN 5.0 architecture, built on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. The RTX 5090 Mobile uses the GB203 chip on Blackwell 2.0, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. Transistor count jumps from 12,500 million to 45,600 million, a 3.65 times increase, while die size shrinks from 495 mm² to 378 mm². The result is a transistor density of 120.6 million per mm² for the NVIDIA chip versus 25.3 million per mm² for the AMD chip. That density difference explains how the RTX 5090 Mobile fits 10,496 shading units, 328 TMUs, and 112 ROPs onto a smaller die, compared to the Vega 48’s 3,072 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 64 ROPs.

Memory architecture diverges sharply. The Vega 48 uses 8 GB of HBM2 on a 2048-bit bus, delivering 402.4 GB/s. The RTX 5090 Mobile uses 24 GB of GDDR7 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 896.0 GB/s. The NVIDIA part has triple the capacity and over double the bandwidth, despite a narrower bus. The Vega 48’s memory clock is listed at 786 MHz with 1572 Mbps effective, while the RTX 5090 Mobile runs at 1750 MHz with 28 Gbps effective.

The RTX 5090 Mobile adds features the Vega 48 lacks entirely: 82 RT cores and 328 tensor cores. It also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) versus the Vega 48’s DirectX 12 (12_1), and Vulkan 1.4 versus 1.3. Both support OpenGL 4.6. The NVIDIA part has explicit base and boost clocks (990 MHz and 1515 MHz), while the Vega 48’s base and boost clocks are not recorded in the database. The RTX 5090 Mobile also has a recorded TDP of 95 W, while the Vega 48’s TDP is absent. Both are listed as IGP slot width with no power connectors, and both have portable device dependent display outputs.

Production status differs: the Vega 48 is end-of-life, released in March 2019, while the RTX 5090 Mobile is active, released in March 2025. The NVIDIA part has a predecessor (GeForce 40 Mobile), while the AMD part has none listed.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile is the faster GPU in every shared benchmark. Its OpenCL score is 3.75 times higher, and its Vulkan score is 3.44 times higher. For any workload using those APIs, the RTX 5090 Mobile is the only rational choice. The 24 GB memory capacity, 896.0 GB/s bandwidth, and 31.80 TFLOPS FP32 make it suitable for modern compute, AI, and high-resolution rendering tasks.

The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 should be selected only by users who specifically need its Metal performance, where it scores 69,010 on Geekbench Metal, a test the RTX 5090 Mobile does not appear in. Its 8 GB HBM2 and 402.4 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for older or narrower workloads, but its 7.373 TFLOPS FP32 is a fraction of the NVIDIA part’s capability. The Vega 48’s 88th percentile ranking versus the RTX 5090 Mobile’s 84th is misleading in a direct comparison; that ranking includes a wider benchmark set where the Vega 48’s Metal score lifts its average.

The RTX 5090 Mobile’s average benchmark score of 45,152 is lower than the Vega 48’s 60,140, but that average includes many more tests, including low-scoring DirectX 9, 10, and 11 results. The head-to-head numbers are the reliable comparison, and they favor NVIDIA by a landslide. The Vega 48’s nearest rivals in the database (Intel Arc Pro A60 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090) sit within 0.3% of its average, while the RTX 5090 Mobile’s rivals (AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT and Intel Arc A730M) are within 1%, showing that the Vega 48 competes with desktop-class parts from its era, while the RTX 5090 Mobile competes with a different tier entirely.

For users with no legacy constraints, the RTX 5090 Mobile is the definitive pick. For users locked into Metal-only environments, the Vega 48 remains functional but is end-of-life.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in OpenCL?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile scores 201,834 versus 53,757 for the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48, a delta of -73.4% in favor of NVIDIA.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 win any shared benchmark?

A: No. The database records two head-to-head tests (OpenCL and Vulkan), and the RTX 5090 Mobile wins both. The Vega 48’s only notable score is 69,010 in Geekbench Metal, a test the RTX 5090 Mobile does not take.

Q: What are the memory capacity differences?

A: The RTX 5090 Mobile has 24 GB of GDDR7, while the Vega 48 has 8 GB of HBM2. The RTX 5090 Mobile’s bandwidth is 896.0 GB/s, more than double the Vega 48’s 402.4 GB/s.

Q: Which GPU has a higher percentile ranking in the database?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 ranks in the 88th percentile of all GPUs, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile ranks in the 84th. This reflects different benchmark workloads, not direct performance.

Q: Does the RTX 5090 Mobile support ray tracing hardware?

A: Yes, it has 82 RT cores. The Radeon Pro Vega 48 has no RT cores listed.

Q: What is the transistor density difference?

A: The RTX 5090 Mobile has 120.6 million transistors per mm², while the Vega 48 has 25.3 million per mm². The NVIDIA chip uses a 5 nm TSMC process; the AMD chip uses 14 nm GlobalFoundries.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | GCN 5.0 | Blackwell 2.0 |

| Process Node | 14 nm | 5 nm |

| Foundry | GlobalFoundries | TSMC |

| Transistors | 12,500 million | 45,600 million |

| Die Size | 495 mm² | 378 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 25.3M / mm² | 120.6M / mm² |

| Base Clock | Not recorded | 990 MHz |

| Boost Clock | Not recorded | 1515 MHz |

| Memory Size | 8 GB | 24 GB |

| Memory Type | HBM2 | GDDR7 |

| Memory Bus | 2048 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 402.4 GB/s | 896.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 3072 | 10496 |

| TMUs | 192 | 328 |

| ROPs | 64 | 112 |

| RT Cores | None | 82 |

| Tensor Cores | None | 328 |

| Pixel Rate | 76.80 GPixel/s | 169.7 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 230.4 GTexel/s | 496.9 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 7.373 TFLOPS | 31.80 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 14.75 TFLOPS (2:1) | 31.80 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | Not recorded | 95 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 5.0 x16 |

| DirectX | 12 (12_1) | 12 Ultimate (12_2) |

| Vulkan | 1.3 | 1.4 |

| Production Status | End-of-life | Active |

| Release Date | 2019-03-18 | 2025-03-26 |

| Predecessor | None | GeForce 40 Mobile |