AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 vs Intel Arc A580 Comparison

The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 and Intel Arc A580 represent two very different approaches to GPU design, separated by six years of architectural evolution. The data available shows a clear performance hierarchy, with the Intel Arc A580 winning both head-to-head benchmark comparisons by substantial margins. In Geekbench OpenCL, the Intel part scores 91657 against the AMD's 61930, a 32.4% deficit for the older card. The Vulkan results tell a similar story: Intel leads with 79381 versus 66004, a 16.9% gap. These are not marginal differences; they indicate a generational leap in raw compute throughput that the AMD card cannot bridge, despite its higher placement in the overall percentile ranking.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only two shared benchmark tests in the data are Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan, and Intel wins both decisively. The OpenCL result is particularly lopsided. Intel's Arc A580 posts a score of 91657, while the Radeon Pro Vega 56 manages just 61930. The deltaPct of -32.4% means the AMD card is nearly a third slower in this workload. This is a massive gulf for cards that both target the mainstream segment. OpenCL is often used for compute tasks like video encoding and scientific simulations, so this result suggests the Intel card is the far more capable compute accelerator.

The Vulkan test narrows the gap slightly but still favors Intel. Here, the Arc A580 scores 79381, and the Vega 56 scores 66004. The deltaPct is -16.9%, meaning the AMD card is about 17% behind. Vulkan is a lower-level API that can expose hardware inefficiencies, so Intel's win here indicates its architecture is not just faster in raw floating-point but also better at translating that power into real-world frame rates in modern games and applications. The fact that Intel wins by a larger margin in OpenCL than in Vulkan suggests its compute scheduler is particularly efficient, while the AMD card's GCN architecture shows its age in both tests.

Looking at the broader context, the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 has an average benchmark score of 63693 across all its tested workloads, placing it in the 89th percentile of all GPUs. The Intel Arc A580, by contrast, has an average score of 57756, placing it in the 87th percentile. This is a curious inversion: the AMD card scores higher on average and ranks higher in the percentile list, yet loses both head-to-head tests. The explanation lies in the test suite. The AMD card's average includes its Geekbench Metal score of 63145, a test that the Intel card does not appear in. Metal is Apple's proprietary API, and the Vega 56's strong showing there (it is a Radeon Pro card designed for Mac Pro systems) inflates its average. The Intel card, lacking any Metal results, relies solely on its OpenCL and Vulkan scores, which are higher but do not compensate for the missing Metal test in the average calculation.

The nearest rivals for each card further illustrate this divergence. The AMD Vega 56's closest competitor is the AMD Radeon RX 7600M, which averages 63775, a mere 0.1% difference. The Intel Arc A580's nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM, averaging 58085, just 0.6% away. This suggests that in the broader market, the Vega 56 sits in a slightly higher performance tier than the Arc A580, despite losing the direct comparison. The data implies that the Vega 56's Metal performance is its saving grace, allowing it to compete with much newer cards in that specific ecosystem, while the Arc A580 is a more general-purpose performer that lacks Apple support.

The Verdict

The benchmark data is unambiguous: the Intel Arc A580 is the faster GPU in shared workloads. It wins both OpenCL and Vulkan tests, with margins of 32.4% and 16.9% respectively. For any user running applications that utilize these APIs, the Intel card is the clear choice. The data shows no scenario where the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 wins a head-to-head comparison; it has zero wins against the Intel card's two.

However, the verdict is not entirely one-sided. The AMD card holds a higher percentile ranking (89th versus 87th) and a higher average benchmark score (63693 versus 57756). This is driven entirely by its Geekbench Metal score of 63145, which is not available for the Intel card. For users working within Apple's ecosystem, specifically on Mac Pro systems where the Vega 56 is designed to operate, the AMD card is the only option of the two. The Intel Arc A580 has no Metal results and is not designed for that platform. Therefore, the verdict depends on the user's software environment: for Windows/Linux users, Intel wins; for macOS users, AMD is the only viable choice.

The production status also matters. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 is listed as end-of-life, while the Intel Arc A580 is active. This means the Intel card is still being manufactured and supported, while the AMD card is a legacy product. For new system builds, the Intel card is the more future-proof option, especially given its support for DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4, versus the AMD card's DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.3. The data suggests the Intel card is not just faster but also more current in terms of software feature support.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins the Geekbench OpenCL test, and by how much?

A: The Intel Arc A580 wins with a score of 91657, while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 scores 61930. The AMD card is 32.4% slower in this test.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 have any benchmark win over the Intel Arc A580?

A: No. In the two shared head-to-head benchmarks (Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan), the Intel Arc A580 wins both. The AMD card has zero wins in the data.

Q: How do the two cards compare in overall GPU percentile ranking?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 ranks in the 89th percentile of all GPUs, while the Intel Arc A580 ranks in the 87th percentile. This is despite Intel's wins in the direct comparison tests.

Q: What explains the AMD card's higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD card's average score of 63693 includes a Geekbench Metal score of 63145, which is a test the Intel Arc A580 does not have. The Intel card's average of 57756 is based only on its OpenCL and Vulkan scores.

Q: Which card has a higher transistor density, and what does that indicate?

A: The Intel Arc A580 has a transistor density of 53.4M per mm², compared to the AMD card's 25.3M per mm². This indicates a much more modern manufacturing process, as Intel uses a 6nm node versus AMD's 14nm node.

Q: Are both cards suitable for modern gaming APIs?

A: The Intel Arc A580 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4, making it more current. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.3, which are older versions of these APIs.

Specification Differences

The most obvious difference is the process node. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 is built on a 14nm process, while the Intel Arc A580 uses a 6nm process. This is a massive generational leap, reflected in the transistor counts: the AMD card has 12,500 million transistors on a 495 mm² die, while the Intel card has 21,700 million transistors on a smaller 406 mm² die. The transistor density tells the story: 25.3M per mm² for AMD versus 53.4M per mm² for Intel.

Clock speeds also differ significantly. The AMD card has a base clock of 1138 MHz and a boost clock of 1250 MHz. The Intel card runs much faster, with a base of 1700 MHz and a boost of 2000 MHz. Memory configurations are different as well. The AMD card uses 8 GB of HBM2 memory with a 2048-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 402.4 GB/s. The Intel card uses 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, which achieves a higher bandwidth of 512.0 GB/s. The memory clock speeds are 786 MHz (1572 Mbps effective) for AMD and 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) for Intel.

Power consumption and physical design show a reversal. The AMD card has a TDP of 210 W but is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with no power connectors and a slot width of "IGP". The Intel card has a lower TDP of 175 W but is a dual-slot card requiring two 8-pin power connectors and a suggested 450 W power supply. The bus interface also differs: AMD uses PCIe 3.0 x16, while Intel uses PCIe 4.0 x16. Display outputs are different too, with AMD offering 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, while Intel offers 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 2.0.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide is fundamental. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 is based on the Vega 10 chip using GCN 5.0 architecture, a design that dates back to the era of 14nm manufacturing. It has 3584 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The Intel Arc A580 uses the DG2-512 chip with Xe-HPG architecture, a much newer design. It has fewer shading units (3072) and TMUs (192) but more ROPs (96). The Intel card also features 24 dedicated ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent from the AMD card.

The AMD card's compute capabilities are expressed in its FP32 throughput of 8.960 TFLOPS and FP16 of 17.92 TFLOPS (2:1). The Intel card is significantly faster, with FP32 at 12.29 TFLOPS and FP16 at 24.58 TFLOPS (2:1). Pixel and texture rates reflect this as well: AMD manages 80.00 GPixel/s and 280.0 GTexel/s, while Intel achieves 192.0 GPixel/s and 384.0 GTexel/s. The Intel card's pixel rate is more than double, a consequence of its higher ROP count and clock speeds.

API support differs, with Intel supporting DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while AMD only supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.3. Both support OpenGL 4.6. The Intel card's ray tracing cores are a major architectural addition, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing that the AMD card cannot perform. The Intel card is part of the Alchemist generation, with a predecessor of Xe Graphics and a successor of Battlemage, indicating an active product line. The AMD card is from the Radeon Pro Mac series, is end-of-life, and has no successor listed.

Where Each One Wins

The Intel Arc A580 wins in every shared benchmark category. In Geekbench OpenCL, it is 32.4% faster, and in Geekbench Vulkan, it is 16.9% faster. This makes it the clear winner for compute-heavy workloads like OpenCL-based video rendering, scientific computation, and Vulkan-based gaming. Its higher FP32 and FP16 throughput, along with its ray tracing cores, make it the superior choice for modern gaming and content creation on Windows or Linux platforms. The card's active production status and support for DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4 ensure it can handle the latest software features.

The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 wins in a different arena entirely: Apple's Metal API. Its Geekbench Metal score of 63145 is not directly comparable to the Intel card, which has no Metal results, but it is the only card of the two that can even run Metal. This makes it the sole choice for users building or upgrading a Mac Pro system that requires a Radeon Pro card. Its higher percentile ranking (89th) and average score (63693) are entirely due to this Metal performance. For any macOS user, the AMD card is the only option, despite its age and end-of-life status. Its lower power draw of 210 W and IGP form factor might also suit a niche build where a discrete card cannot fit, though the Intel card's 175 W TDP is lower in absolute terms.