AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 vs AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT 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 RX 6900 XT records 50951. However, this average is skewed by the fact that the RX 6900 XT has many more benchmark entries, including lower DirectX and Passmark scores, while the Pro Vega 64 only has Geekbench results.

Q: How do the two cards compare in Geekbench Metal?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT scores 177021 in Geekbench Metal, which is 59.4% higher than the Pro Vega 64's 71868. This is the largest relative gap among the shared tests.

Q: Which card has better Vulkan performance?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT wins in Geekbench Vulkan with a score of 148525 versus 74174 for the Pro Vega 64, a delta of 50.1% in favor of the newer card.

Q: What is the process node difference?

A: The Pro Vega 64 uses a 14 nm process from GlobalFoundries, while the RX 6900 XT uses a 7 nm process from TSMC. The RX 6900 XT also packs more transistors: 26,800 million versus 12,500 million.

Q: Does the RX 6900 XT support ray tracing?

A: Yes, the RX 6900 XT has 80 ray tracing cores. The Pro Vega 64 has no ray tracing cores listed, as it is based on the older GCN 5.0 architecture.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the RX 6900 XT?

A: The launch MSRP is 999 USD. The Pro Vega 64 has no launch MSRP recorded in the database.

Architecture Differences

The two cards represent fundamentally different eras of AMD GPU design. The Radeon Pro Vega 64 is built on the Vega 10 chip using the GCN 5.0 architecture, fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. It packs 12,500 million transistors on a 495 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 25.3 million per mm². The RX 6900 XT, by contrast, uses the Navi 21 chip with RDNA 2.0 architecture, built on TSMC's 7 nm process. It contains 26,800 million transistors on a slightly larger 520 mm² die, achieving a density of 51.5 million per mm², more than double the older chip.

The compute layout differs substantially. The Pro Vega 64 has 4096 shading units, 256 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The RX 6900 XT scales up to 5120 shading units, 320 TMUs, and 128 ROPs. The newer card also adds 80 ray tracing cores, a feature completely absent from the GCN-based Pro Vega 64. Clock speeds reflect the architectural leap: the Pro Vega 64 runs at a base of 1250 MHz and boost of 1350 MHz, while the RX 6900 XT runs at 1825 MHz base and 2250 MHz boost, with a game clock of 2015 MHz.

Memory architecture is another clear divergence. The Pro Vega 64 uses 16 GB of HBM2 on a 2048-bit bus, yielding 402.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 6900 XT uses 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, but achieves higher bandwidth at 512.0 GB/s thanks to much faster memory clocks (16 Gbps effective versus 1572 Mbps effective). The RX 6900 XT also supports PCIe 4.0 x16, while the Pro Vega 64 is limited to PCIe 3.0 x16.

API support also separates them. The Pro Vega 64 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The RX 6900 XT supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The newer card's DirectX 12 Ultimate designation reflects its ray tracing and mesh shader capabilities.

The Verdict

The data clearly favors the RX 6900 XT in every shared benchmark. In Geekbench Metal, OpenCL, and Vulkan, the RX 6900 XT wins all three head-to-head tests. The Pro Vega 64 wins zero. If you need maximum compute performance in these APIs, the RX 6900 XT is the obvious choice.

However, the Pro Vega 64 holds a surprising advantage in the database's overall percentile ranking. It sits at the 91st percentile versus the RX 6900 XT's 86th percentile. This is because the Pro Vega 64's average score of 72379 is much higher than the RX 6900 XT's 50951, which is dragged down by its many Passmark entries. The RX 6900 XT's Passmark G3D score is 26732, and its DirectX scores range from 113 to 279, which are far lower than its Geekbench results. The Pro Vega 64 has no such low-scoring tests recorded.

The RX 6900 XT is the better choice for anyone running Geekbench-style workloads or modern DirectX 12 Ultimate games. Its shading unit count, ROP count, and clock speeds are all higher, and its memory bandwidth is 27% greater. The Pro Vega 64, despite being older and built on a larger process node, still performs respectably in compute tasks, as shown by its 91st percentile ranking. But for raw performance in the measured tests, the RX 6900 XT dominates.

The Pro Vega 64 is end-of-life, as is the RX 6900 XT. The RX 6900 XT was released in October 2020, while the Pro Vega 64 came out in June 2017. The newer card has a higher TDP of 300 W versus 250 W, and requires a 700 W suggested PSU with two 8-pin connectors. The Pro Vega 64 is an integrated graphics package with no power connectors and a slot width of IGP, making it suitable for portable devices rather than desktop builds.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 | AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT |

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

| Architecture | GCN 5.0 | RDNA 2.0 |

| Process Node | 14 nm | 7 nm |

| Foundry | GlobalFoundries | TSMC |

| Transistors | 12,500 million | 26,800 million |

| Die Size | 495 mm² | 520 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 25.3M / mm² | 51.5M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1250 MHz | 1825 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1350 MHz | 2250 MHz |

| Game Clock | Not listed | 2015 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1572 Mbps effective | 16 Gbps effective |

| Memory Type | HBM2 | GDDR6 |

| Bus Width | 2048 bit | 256 bit |

| Bandwidth | 402.4 GB/s | 512.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 4096 | 5120 |

| TMUs | 256 | 320 |

| ROPs | 64 | 128 |

| RT Cores | Not listed | 80 |

| Pixel Rate | 86.40 GPixel/s | 288.0 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 345.6 GTexel/s | 720.0 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 11.06 TFLOPS | 23.04 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 22.12 TFLOPS (2:1) | 46.08 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 250 W | 300 W |

| Slot Width | IGP | Triple-slot |

| Power Connectors | None | 2x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | Not listed | 700 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x16 |

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

| Vulkan | 1.3 | 1.4 |

| Release Date | 2017-06-26 | 2020-10-27 |

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The RX 6900 XT wins all three shared benchmark tests, but the margins vary significantly. The smallest gap is in Geekbench Vulkan, where the RX 6900 XT scores 148525 versus 74174, a delta of 50.1%. The largest gap is in Geekbench OpenCL, where the RX 6900 XT scores 187673 versus 71094, a delta of 62.1%. Geekbench Metal falls in between, with the RX 6900 XT's 177021 beating the Pro Vega 64's 71868 by 59.4%.

These results align with the architectural differences. The RX 6900 XT has 25% more shading units, double the ROPs, and nearly double the FP32 throughput (23.04 TFLOPS versus 11.06 TFLOPS). Its texture rate of 720.0 GTexel/s is more than double the Pro Vega 64's 345.6 GTexel/s. The pixel rate gap is even larger: 288.0 GPixel/s versus 86.40 GPixel/s, a factor of 3.33.

The memory bandwidth advantage is significant but less dramatic. The RX 6900 XT's 512.0 GB/s is 27% higher than the Pro Vega 64's 402.4 GB/s. The newer card's GDDR6 memory at 16 Gbps effective is far faster per pin than the HBM2 at 1572 Mbps effective, but the Pro Vega 64 compensates with a much wider 2048-bit bus versus 256-bit.

In the nearest rivals comparison, the Pro Vega 64 sits close to the NVIDIA TITAN X Pascal, which averages 72098, a delta of only 0.4%. It also edges out the AMD Radeon RX 6650M by 0.9% and the RX 6600 LE by 2.2%, while trailing the Vega Frontier Edition by 1.4%. The RX 6900 XT, meanwhile, is nearly tied with the NVIDIA CMP 50HX, which averages 51790, a delta of 1.6% in favor of the AMD card. It beats the RX Vega 64 by 1.9% and the RTX 5070 Ti by 2.0%, and leads the Intel Arc A550M by 2.4%.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 6900 XT wins in every measured compute benchmark. If you are running Geekbench Metal, OpenCL, or Vulkan workloads, the newer card is between 50.1% and 62.1% faster. Its higher shading unit count, clock speeds, and memory bandwidth make it the superior choice for modern compute tasks. The RX 6900 XT also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, ray tracing with 80 RT cores, and Vulkan 1.4, making it far more future-proof for gaming and professional applications that leverage these features.

The Pro Vega 64, despite losing all head-to-head tests, holds a higher percentile ranking at 91 versus 86. This is due to its cleaner benchmark profile: it only has three Geekbench entries, all above 71000, while the RX 6900 XT's average is dragged down by its Passmark DirectX scores, which range from 113 to 279. For users who rely on Geekbench as their primary metric, the Pro Vega 64 actually looks better on paper, but that is a artifact of the limited test set.

The Pro Vega 64's integrated package (IGP slot width, no power connectors) makes it a plausible option for portable or all-in-one systems where discrete power delivery is unavailable. Its 250 W TDP is lower than the RX 6900 XT's 300 W, and it does not require a suggested PSU. The RX 6900 XT, with its triple-slot cooler and 2x 8-pin connectors, is a desktop-only part that needs a 700 W power supply.

For gaming, the RX 6900 XT is the clear winner based on its DirectX 12 Ultimate support and ray tracing hardware. For professional compute workloads that favor OpenCL or Vulkan, the RX 6900 XT again wins decisively. The only scenario where the Pro Vega 64 makes sense is if you need a high-performance GPU in a portable form factor with no external power connectors, and even then, its 91st percentile ranking is impressive for a 2017 part. But for any measurable performance comparison in the database, the RX 6900 XT is the stronger card.