AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 vs Intel Arc A580 Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data splits cleanly between these two GPUs, and the verdict is not subtle. The Intel Arc A580 wins every head-to-head comparison recorded in the database. In the two shared tests, Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan, the Arc A580 takes both, with margins of 22.4% and 6.6% respectively. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64, despite its larger memory pool and higher transistor count, does not secure a single win in any directly comparable benchmark.

That said, the use-case picture is more nuanced than a simple sweep. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 holds a higher percentile ranking against all GPUs, sitting at the 91st percentile compared to the Arc A580's 87th. Its average benchmark score of 72,379 across its recorded tests also exceeds the Arc A580's average of 57,756. This suggests the Vega 64 is a more consistent performer across a broader set of workloads, even though the Arc A580 wins specifically where the two overlap. The database records show the Vega 64's scores clustering tightly between 71,094 and 74,174, while the Arc A580's average is dragged down by a single 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 result of 2,229, a test the Vega 64 never ran.

For compute-centric tasks using OpenCL, the Arc A580 is the clear choice. Its 91,657 OpenCL score is substantially ahead of the Vega 64's 71,094. For Vulkan-based workloads, the Arc A580 again leads, but the margin is far smaller, only 6.6%. The Vega 64 remains competitive in that API. The Arc A580 also brings hardware ray tracing cores, 24 of them, which the Vega 64 lacks entirely, making it the only option of the two for any ray-traced workload. The Vega 64, by contrast, offers 16 GB of HBM2 memory versus 8 GB of GDDR6, so scenarios that demand large memory capacity, such as high-resolution texture sets or large data buffers, favor the AMD part even if its raw compute scores lag.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains two directly comparable benchmark results, and the Intel Arc A580 wins both. In Geekbench OpenCL, the Arc A580 scores 91,657 against the Radeon Pro Vega 64's 71,094. That is a 22.4% advantage for Intel, a commanding lead in a compute-heavy API. The delta is large enough that no interpretation can soften it: for OpenCL workloads, the Arc A580 is in a different class.

The Vulkan result is closer but still favors Intel. The Arc A580 scores 79,381, while the Vega 64 scores 74,174, a 6.6% gap. This is a meaningful but not overwhelming margin. The Vega 64's Vulkan score is its highest recorded result across all three of its benchmarks, suggesting the GCN architecture responds well to Vulkan's explicit control model. Still, the Arc A580 beats it there too.

Context from the nearest rivals reinforces the picture. The Radeon Pro Vega 64's average score of 72,379 puts it 0.4% ahead of the NVIDIA TITAN X Pascal (72,098), 0.9% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6650M (71,768), and 2.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE (70,829). It trails the AMD Radeon Vega Frontier Edition by 1.4% (73,370). The Arc A580's average of 57,756 puts it 0.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM (58,085), 0.8% behind the Intel Arc A570M (58,239), and 1.1% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT (58,392). It sits 0.7% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE (57,367). So while the Arc A580 wins the direct head-to-head, its average score places it among a cluster of mid-range parts, whereas the Vega 64's average placement sits among far stronger company.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64, with an average benchmark score of 72,379, compared to the Intel Arc A580's 57,756.

Q: Does the Intel Arc A580 win every head-to-head benchmark?

A: Yes. The Arc A580 wins Geekbench OpenCL with a score of 91,657 versus 71,094, and Geekbench Vulkan with 79,381 versus 74,174.

Q: Which card has more memory?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 has 16 GB of HBM2 memory, while the Intel Arc A580 has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory.

Q: Does either card support hardware ray tracing?

A: Only the Intel Arc A580, which includes 24 ray tracing cores. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 has no ray tracing cores listed in the database.

Q: What is the percentile ranking of each card?

A: The Radeon Pro Vega 64 ranks in the 91st percentile against all GPUs, while the Arc A580 ranks in the 87th percentile.

Q: How much faster is the Arc A580 in OpenCL?

A: The Arc A580's OpenCL score of 91,657 is 22.4% higher than the Vega 64's 71,094.

Specification Differences

The two cards diverge sharply on nearly every hardware specification. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 uses a Vega 10 chip built on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries, with 12,500 million transistors on a 495 mm² die. The Intel Arc A580 uses a DG2-512 chip built on a 6 nm process at TSMC, with 21,700 million transistors on a 406 mm² die. The transistor density tells the story of the process gap: the Arc A580 packs 53.4 million transistors per mm², while the Vega 64 manages 25.3 million per mm².

Clock speeds favor Intel substantially. The Arc A580 has a base clock of 1700 MHz and a boost clock of 2000 MHz, while the Vega 64 runs at 1250 MHz base and 1350 MHz boost. Memory clocks also differ: the Arc A580's memory runs at 2000 MHz with 16 Gbps effective speed, while the Vega 64's memory runs at 786 MHz with 1572 Mbps effective speed.

Memory configuration is a major differentiator. The Vega 64 has 16 GB of HBM2 on a 2048-bit bus, delivering 402.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The Arc A580 has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Intel card has higher raw bandwidth despite half the capacity.

Compute unit counts favor AMD in raw shading hardware. The Vega 64 has 4,096 shading units, 256 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units. The Arc A580 has 3,072 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The Vega 64's pixel rate is 86.40 GPixel/s and texture rate is 345.6 GTexel/s, while the Arc A580's pixel rate is 192.0 GPixel/s and texture rate is 384.0 GTexel/s. The Arc A580's higher rates come from its much higher clocks and larger ROP count.

The Vega 64's FP32 throughput is 11.06 TFLOPS, with FP16 at 22.12 TFLOPS (2:1). The Arc A580's FP32 throughput is 12.29 TFLOPS, with FP16 at 24.58 TFLOPS (2:1). The Arc A580 leads in both.

Power and physical design differ completely. The Vega 64 has a 250 W TDP, is an integrated graphics package (IGP) with no power connectors, and uses a PCIe 3.0 x16 interface. The Arc A580 has a 175 W TDP, is a dual-slot card requiring two 8-pin power connectors, and a 450 W suggested power supply, using a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface.

API support differs. The Vega 64 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The Arc A580 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Display outputs also differ: the Vega 64's outputs are portable device dependent, while the Arc A580 has 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 2.0.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap is generational. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 uses GCN 5.0, AMD's Graphics Core Next architecture, released in 2017. The Intel Arc A580 uses Xe-HPG, Intel's high-performance gaming architecture, released in 2023. The Vega 64 belongs to the Radeon Pro Mac generation, while the Arc A580 belongs to the Alchemist generation within the Arc 5 series.

The manufacturing process is the most fundamental difference. The Vega 64 is built on a 14 nm node at GlobalFoundries, a mature process that limits transistor density. The Arc A580 is built on a 6 nm node at TSMC, allowing over twice the transistor density. The Arc A580 crams 21,700 million transistors into a smaller 406 mm² die, while the Vega 64 spreads 12,500 million transistors across a larger 495 mm² die.

The Vega 64 has no hardware ray tracing cores, and no tensor cores are listed for either card. The Arc A580 includes 24 dedicated ray tracing cores, making it the only one of the two capable of hardware-accelerated ray tracing. This is a categorical difference, not a matter of degree.

Memory architecture is also fundamentally different. The Vega 64 uses HBM2 on a 2048-bit bus, a wide-but-slower memory subsystem typical of high-end workstation parts of its era. The Arc A580 uses GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, a narrower but faster configuration. The Vega 64's 16 GB capacity is double the Arc A580's 8 GB, but the Arc A580's 512.0 GB/s bandwidth is 27% higher than the Vega 64's 402.4 GB/s.

The Vega 64 uses a PCIe 3.0 x16 interface, while the Arc A580 uses PCIe 4.0 x16, doubling the available bus bandwidth for data transfers. The Vega 64 is an integrated graphics package with no power connectors, reflecting its intended use in Apple Mac systems, while the Arc A580 is a dual-slot add-in card with two 8-pin power connectors.

The production status differs: the Vega 64 is end-of-life, while the Arc A580 is active. The Arc A580 has a listed predecessor (Xe Graphics) and successor (Battlemage), while the Vega 64 has neither listed in the database.

The Verdict

The data supports a clear split decision. For raw compute performance in OpenCL and Vulkan, the Intel Arc A580 is the superior card. It wins both head-to-head benchmarks, leads in FP32 and FP16 throughput, has higher clock speeds, more memory bandwidth, and the only hardware ray tracing capability between the two. Its 22.4% OpenCL lead is decisive, and its 6.6% Vulkan lead, while smaller, is still a win. Anyone choosing between these two for compute workloads should take the Arc A580.

The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 has one major advantage: memory capacity. Its 16 GB of HBM2 is double the Arc A580's 8 GB. For workloads that need to hold very large datasets in VRAM, the Vega 64 is the only option. Its 91st percentile ranking and higher average benchmark score also indicate that across the full range of tests in the database, it performs more consistently than the Arc A580, whose average is pulled down by its single 3DMark result.

The Arc A580 is the better overall GPU by most metrics. It is newer, faster in compute, more power-efficient on paper with a 175 W TDP versus 250 W, and supports more modern APIs including DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4. The Vega 64 is an end-of-life part from 2017, with no ray tracing, a PCIe 3.0 interface, and an integrated form factor that limits its use to specific portable devices.

Pick the Intel Arc A580 for compute performance, ray tracing, modern API support, and any workload where 8 GB of memory is sufficient. Pick the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 only if the workload absolutely requires 16 GB of VRAM, or if the system can only accommodate an integrated graphics solution. The benchmark results are unambiguous: the Arc A580 wins where it counts.