AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 vs AMD Radeon Pro W5700X Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 records an average benchmark score of 72379, while the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X averages 54828. The Vega 64 sits in the 91st percentile of all GPUs, compared to the W5700X at the 87th percentile.

Q: How does the Vega 64 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Vega 64 is 0.4% ahead of the NVIDIA TITAN X Pascal (72098) and 0.9% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6650M (71768). It trails the AMD Radeon Vega Frontier Edition (73370) by 1.4% and leads the AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE (70829) by 2.2%.

Q: What is the W5700X's standing among its competitors?

A: The W5700X is 1.1% ahead of both the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 (54247) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER (54209). It is 1.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (55698) and 1.7% behind the AMD Radeon 8060S (55757).

Q: Which card wins the Metal benchmark?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X wins Geekbench Metal with a score of 75427 versus 71868 for the Vega 64, a 4.7% advantage.

Q: Which card wins the OpenCL and Vulkan benchmarks?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 wins both. It scores 71094 in OpenCL versus 43810 for the W5700X, a 62.3% lead. In Vulkan, it scores 74174 versus 45246, a 63.9% lead.

Q: What are the process node and memory type differences?

A: The Vega 64 uses a 14 nm process from GlobalFoundries with HBM2 memory, while the W5700X uses TSMC's 7 nm process with GDDR6 memory.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 and AMD Radeon Pro W5700X represent two distinct architectural generations from AMD. The Vega 64 is built on GCN 5.0 with the Vega 10 chip, while the W5700X uses RDNA 1.0 with the Navi 10 chip. This architectural split explains much of the behavioral divergence in the benchmark data.

The manufacturing process differs sharply. The Vega 64 uses a 14 nm node at GlobalFoundries, while the W5700X uses a 7 nm node at TSMC. The die sizes reflect this: the Vega 10 die measures 495 mm² with 12,500 million transistors, giving a transistor density of 25.3M per mm². The Navi 10 die is far smaller at 251 mm² with 10,300 million transistors, yielding a density of 41.0M per mm². The W5700X packs more transistors per square millimeter, a direct consequence of the denser 7 nm process.

Shader resources differ significantly. The Vega 64 carries 4096 shading units, 256 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. The W5700X has 2560 shading units and 160 TMUs, but retains 64 ROPs. Despite having fewer shaders, the W5700X reaches higher clock speeds, which changes the performance profile. The Vega 64 runs at a 1250 MHz base clock and 1350 MHz boost, while the W5700X has a 1243 MHz base but a much higher 2040 MHz boost.

Memory architecture is a major differentiator. The Vega 64 uses 16 GB of HBM2 on a 2048-bit bus, delivering 402.4 GB/s of bandwidth at 786 MHz (1572 Mbps effective). The W5700X uses 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, with a memory clock of 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) and bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The W5700X has the higher bandwidth despite the narrower bus, thanks to the faster GDDR6 signaling.

Feature support shows a notable version difference. Both cards support DirectX 12 (12_1) and OpenGL 4.6. The Vega 64 supports Vulkan 1.3, while the W5700X supports Vulkan 1.4. Neither card includes ray tracing cores or tensor cores, as both predate those additions in AMD's consumer lineups.

The physical design also diverges. The Vega 64 is an integrated graphics package (IGP) with no power connectors and a slot width listed as IGP. The W5700X is a quad-slot card with a 305 mm (12 inch) length, using the Apple MPX bus interface, and it lists a suggested PSU of 550 W. The Vega 64 uses PCIe 3.0 x16, while the W5700X uses Apple MPX. Display outputs differ as well: the Vega 64 is portable device dependent, while the W5700X offers 1x HDMI 2.0b and 4x Thunderbolt.

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark results split cleanly by API. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 dominates in OpenCL and Vulkan workloads. Its OpenCL score of 71094 is 62.3% higher than the W5700X's 43810, and its Vulkan score of 74174 is 63.9% higher than the W5700X's 45246. This makes the Vega 64 the stronger choice for compute-oriented tasks, general GPU compute, and cross-platform graphics workloads that leverage Vulkan.

The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X wins the Metal benchmark. Its score of 75427 tops the Vega 64's 71868 by 4.7%. Metal is Apple's graphics API, and the W5700X's advantage there suggests it is better suited for Metal-native applications, which includes much of the macOS creative software ecosystem. The W5700X also carries the newer Vulkan 1.4 API support, though its actual Vulkan score is far lower in practice.

The W5700X also offers higher memory bandwidth at 448.0 GB/s compared to 402.4 GB/s for the Vega 64, which can benefit bandwidth-sensitive workloads even though the benchmark averages do not reflect that advantage. The Vega 64 counters with higher raw FP32 throughput at 11.06 TFLOPS versus 10.44 TFLOPS, and higher texture rate at 345.6 GTexel/s versus 326.4 GTexel/s.

Pixel throughput favors the W5700X, which reaches 130.6 GPixel/s against the Vega 64's 86.40 GPixel/s. This suggests the W5700X has an edge in fill-rate-bound scenarios, such as heavy rasterization at high resolutions, even though its overall compute throughput is lower.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 | AMD Radeon Pro W5700X |

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

| Architecture | GCN 5.0 | RDNA 1.0 |

| Process Node | 14 nm | 7 nm |

| Foundry | GlobalFoundries | TSMC |

| Transistors | 12,500 million | 10,300 million |

| Die Size | 495 mm² | 251 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 25.3M / mm² | 41.0M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1250 MHz | 1243 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1350 MHz | 2040 MHz |

| Memory Type | HBM2 | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus Width | 2048 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 402.4 GB/s | 448.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 4096 | 2560 |

| TMUs | 256 | 160 |

| Pixel Rate | 86.40 GPixel/s | 130.6 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 345.6 GTexel/s | 326.4 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 11.06 TFLOPS | 10.44 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 22.12 TFLOPS (2:1) | 20.89 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 250 W | 205 W |

| Slot Width | IGP | Quad-slot |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | Apple MPX |

| Vulkan API | 1.3 | 1.4 |

| Release Date | 2017-06-26 | 2019-12-10 |

The Vega 64 has a higher TDP at 250 W, while the W5700X draws less at 205 W. The W5700X lists a 550 W suggested PSU rating acknowledges its power supply requirements, while the Vega 64 does not list one. The W5700X uses a 305 mm (12 inch) length, while no length is recorded for the Vega 64. The Vega 64 has no power connectors, while the W5700X lists none recorded for its power connectors in the database. Both cards have 16 GB of memory and 64 ROPs. Both are end-of-life products. Neither has a recorded launch MSRP is listed for the W5700X; no launch MSRP is listed for the Vega 64.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head data contains three benchmark comparisons, with the two GPUs splitting wins two to one in favor of the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64.

The largest win for the Vega 64 comes in Geekbench Vulkan. The Vega 64 scores 74174 against 45246 for the W5700X, a delta of 63.9%. This is the single biggest performance gap in the comparison. The Vega 64's Vulkan performance is also higher than its own OpenCL and Metal scores, indicating that its GCN architecture handles the Vulkan workload particularly well. In the context of its nearest rivals, the Vega 64's average score of 72379 places it just 0.4% above the NVIDIA TITAN X Pascal, meaning this Vulkan result is representative of its overall standing.

The second major win for the Vega 64 is in Geekbench OpenCL. It scores 71094 versus 43810 for the W5700X, a 62.3% delta. The W5700X's OpenCL score is its weakest of the three tests, far below its own Metal result of 75427 and its Vulkan result of 45246. This pattern is consistent with the W5700X's overall average of 54828, which sits only 1.1% above the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, confirming that the OpenCL deficit is a genuine weakness rather than an outlier.

The W5700X's only win is in Geekbench Metal. It posts 75427 against 71868 for the Vega 64, a 4.7% advantage. This is the narrowest delta of the three tests. The W5700X's Metal score is its best result, and in fact the Vega 64's Metal score of 71868 is its lowest of its three benchmarks, so this win represents a reversal of the cards' usual hierarchy.

Looking at throughput metrics beyond the benchmarks, the Vega 64 holds advantages in texture rate (345.6 GTexel/s versus 326.4 GTexel/s) and FP32 compute (11.06 TFLOPS versus 10.44 TFLOPS. The W5700X counters with higher bandwidth (448.0 GB/s versus 402.4 GB/s and higher pixel rate (130.6 GPixel/s versus 86.40 GPixel/s. The W5700X also boosts to 2040 MHz versus 1350 MHz for the Vega 64.

The Verdict

The data shows two GPUs with different strengths that serve different workloads. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 is the compute specialist. It wins OpenCL by 62.3% and Vulkan by 63.9%, and it holds higher FP32 throughput at 11.06 TFLOPS. Anyone prioritizing OpenCL-based rendering, Vulkan-heavy applications, or raw compute throughput should choose the Vega 64. Its average score of 72379 and 91st percentile standing reinforce this. The Vega 64 is also ahead of the AMD Radeon Vega Frontier Edition's average of 73370 by 1.4% and ahead of the TITAN X Pascal by 0.4% in average score.

The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X is the Metal-first option. It wins Metal by 4.7%, and it delivers higher memory bandwidth at 448.0 GB/s and a much higher pixel rate at 130.6 GPixel/s. It also runs on the newer 7 nm process and supports Vulkan 1.4. For Metal-native macOS workflows, the W5700X is the better pick, despite its lower average of 54828 and 87th percentile. Its nearest rival comparison places it just 1.1% ahead of the RTX 4080 and RTX 4080 SUPER, which shows the W5700X's average is competitive in its own tier.

The two cards occupy different positions in the database. The Vega 64's overall average is 72379, which is 17551 points higher than the W5700X's 54828. That gap is driven by the W5700X's weak OpenCL and Vulkan scores. However, the W5700X's Metal result of 75427 is the highest single score between the two cards, so the choice depends entirely on the API and application environment.

For users on macOS with Metal-centric software, the W5700X is the data-backed pick. For users running OpenCL or Vulkan workloads, the Vega 64 is the clear winner by a wide margin. The Vega 64 also offers more shading units (4096 versus 2560), more TMUs (256 versus 160), and a wider memory bus (2048 bit versus 256 bit). The W5700X counters with higher clocks (2040 MHz boost versus 1350 MHz), higher bandwidth (448.0 GB/s versus 402.4 GB/s), and a smaller, denser die (251 mm² versus 495 mm²). Neither card is universally better; the benchmark data points to a workload-specific verdict.