AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X vs AMD Radeon VII Comparison

# AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X vs AMD Radeon VII

The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X and AMD Radeon VII are two end-of-life Vega-family GPUs that split the benchmark results almost exactly evenly. The Pro Vega 64X, built for Apple's Mac Pro ecosystem, takes the Metal test decisively, while the Radeon VII, AMD's short-lived consumer flagship, dominates in OpenCL and adds Vulkan and DirectX 12 results that the Pro card lacks entirely. The data shows a 1–1 head-to-head split, with each card winning by a wide margin in its preferred API.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X is the clear winner in Apple-centric Metal workloads. Its Geekbench Metal score of 83,450 beats the Radeon VII's 77,975 by a 7% margin, making it the stronger choice for macOS-based rendering and compute tasks that leverage Metal. This is reinforced by its 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs, two points higher than the Radeon VII's 90th percentile. The Pro card's average benchmark score of 80,959 across its two tests also sits well above the Radeon VII's 66,004 average, though that gap is inflated by the Radeon VII's additional lower-scoring tests.

The AMD Radeon VII takes the crown in OpenCL and general-purpose compute. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 91,947 crushes the Pro Vega 64X's 78,467, a 14.7% advantage that represents the largest single-test delta between the two cards. The Radeon VII also posts a Geekbench Vulkan score of 91,788 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2,304, giving it coverage across three APIs compared to the Pro card's two. For users targeting OpenCL, Vulkan, or DirectX 12 environments, the Radeon VII is the only viable option of the two.

Architecture Differences

The two cards represent two successive iterations of AMD's GCN architecture. The Pro Vega 64X uses the Vega 10 chip with GCN 5.0, fabricated on GlobalFoundries' 14 nm process with 12,500 million transistors on a 495 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 25.3 million per mm². The Radeon VII uses the larger Vega 20 chip with GCN 5.1, built on TSMC's 7 nm process with 13,230 million transistors packed into a much smaller 331 mm² die, achieving 40.0 million transistors per mm². This node shrink is the fundamental architectural difference: the Radeon VII delivers roughly 6% more transistors in 33% less die area.

Compute resources differ in an interesting direction. The Pro Vega 64X has more shading units (4,096 vs 3,840), more texture mapping units (256 vs 240), and the same 64 ROPs as the Radeon VII. Yet the Radeon VII compensates with substantially higher clocks: 1,400 MHz base and 1,750 MHz boost versus the Pro card's 1,250 MHz base and 1,468 MHz boost. The result is that the Radeon VII achieves higher pixel rate (112.0 GPixel/s vs 93.95 GPixel/s), higher texture rate (420.0 GTexel/s vs 375.8 GTexel/s), and higher FP32 throughput (13.44 TFLOPS vs 12.03 TFLOPS) despite having fewer execution units. FP16 performance follows the same pattern: 26.88 TFLOPS (2:1) for the Radeon VII versus 24.05 TFLOPS (2:1) for the Pro Vega 64X.

Memory architecture also diverges sharply. Both cards feature 16 GB of HBM2 at 1000 MHz (2 Gbps effective), but the Radeon VII uses a 4096-bit bus delivering 1.02 TB/s bandwidth, while the Pro Vega 64X uses a 2048-bit bus delivering 512.0 GB/s. That is exactly double the memory bandwidth on the Radeon VII, a critical advantage for memory-bound workloads. Power and physical design differ as well: the Pro Vega 64X is an integrated GPU (IGP) with no power connectors and a 250 W TDP, while the Radeon VII is a dual-slot, 295 W card requiring 2x 8-pin connectors and a 600 W suggested PSU, measuring 280 mm by 125 mm by 40 mm.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two shared benchmarks tell a clear story of API-specific dominance. In Geekbench Metal, the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X scores 83,450 against the Radeon VII's 77,975, a 7% advantage that aligns with the Pro card's positioning as a Mac Pro component. This is notable because the Radeon VII actually has higher raw compute specs—more TFLOPS, more memory bandwidth, higher clocks—yet still loses in Metal. The result suggests that driver optimization and architectural tuning for Metal on the Vega 10 chip outweigh the Radeon VII's theoretical advantages in this specific API.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the tables turn dramatically. The AMD Radeon VII scores 91,947 versus the Pro Vega 64X's 78,467, a 14.7% margin that is more than double the Pro card's Metal lead. This is the single largest performance gap in either direction, and it aligns closely with the Radeon VII's compute advantages: 13.44 TFLOPS FP32 versus 12.03 TFLOPS, and 1.02 TB/s memory bandwidth versus 512.0 GB/s. The OpenCL result validates that the Radeon VII's higher clocks and doubled memory bus deliver real-world compute benefits when the software stack is not tied to Apple's Metal framework.

The Radeon VII also brings two additional benchmark results to the table. Its Geekbench Vulkan score of 91,788 nearly matches its OpenCL score, indicating consistent performance across heterogeneous compute APIs. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2,304 provides the only DirectX 12 data point in this comparison, giving the Radeon VII a broader testing footprint. The Pro Vega 64X has no corresponding Vulkan or DX12 results, so those workloads can only be assessed on the Radeon VII.

Looking at nearest rivals provides additional context. The Pro Vega 64X's average score of 80,959 places it 1.3% ahead of the AMD Radeon PRO W6600 (81,995) and 1.4% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 (79,842), with the NVIDIA Tesla P100 variants trailing by 1.7% and 2.0%. The Radeon VII's average of 66,004 sits 1.1% below the NVIDIA Tesla T4 (66,733) and 1.4% above the NVIDIA Tesla P40 (65,095), with the AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100 at 2.8% behind and the NVIDIA CMP 30HX at 3.4% behind. These rankings show that the Pro Vega 64X competes in a higher performance tier overall, despite the Radeon VII's wins in individual tests.

The Verdict

The data supports a clear split based on workload and platform. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X is the pick for Metal-centric macOS environments. Its 7% Metal lead over the Radeon VII, combined with its 92nd percentile ranking and integrated form factor (IGP, no power connectors, 250 W TDP), makes it the logical choice for Mac Pro systems where the card is designed to operate. The Pro card's lower TDP and lack of external power requirements also make it easier to integrate into pre-configured systems, even though its compute specs are lower across the board.

The AMD Radeon VII is the pick for OpenCL, Vulkan, and DirectX 12 workloads on standard PC platforms. Its 14.7% OpenCL advantage is the largest head-to-head delta in this comparison, and its additional Vulkan and DX12 benchmark results give it broader API coverage. The Radeon VII's doubled memory bandwidth (1.02 TB/s vs 512.0 GB/s), higher FP32 throughput (13.44 TFLOPS vs 12.03 TFLOPS), and faster pixel and texture rates make it the stronger compute card in raw specifications. Its 90th percentile ranking is only slightly below the Pro card's 92nd, and its launch MSRP of 699 USD reflects its consumer-oriented positioning.

Users who need maximum performance in a specific API should follow the benchmark winners: Metal users get 7% more performance from the Pro Vega 64X, while OpenCL users get 14.7% more from the Radeon VII. Users who need Vulkan or DirectX 12 support have no choice but the Radeon VII, as the Pro Vega 64X has no recorded results in those APIs. The Radeon VII's higher TDP (295 W vs 250 W) and dual-slot, 2x 8-pin power requirement are the trade-offs for its performance advantages. Both cards are end-of-life, so availability and driver support should be verified before purchase, but the benchmark data is unambiguous about where each card excels.

FAQ

Q: Which card performs better in Geekbench Metal?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X scores 83,450 in Geekbench Metal, which is 7% higher than the AMD Radeon VII's 77,975.

Q: Which card performs better in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The AMD Radeon VII scores 91,947 in Geekbench OpenCL, beating the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X's 78,467 by 14.7%.

Q: Does the Radeon VII support Vulkan or DirectX 12 benchmarks?

A: Yes, the AMD Radeon VII has a Geekbench Vulkan score of 91,788 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2,304. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X has no recorded Vulkan or DX12 benchmark results in the data.

Q: How do the two cards compare in memory bandwidth?

A: The AMD Radeon VII has a 4096-bit memory bus delivering 1.02 TB/s bandwidth, while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X has a 2048-bit bus delivering 512.0 GB/s. The Radeon VII has exactly double the memory bandwidth.

Q: What is the transistor and process node difference between the two cards?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X uses a 14 nm GlobalFoundries process with 12,500 million transistors on a 495 mm² die. The AMD Radeon VII uses a 7 nm TSMC process with 13,230 million transistors on a 331 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 40.0M per mm² versus 25.3M per mm².

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X has an average benchmark score of 80,959, while the AMD Radeon VII has an average of 66,004. However, the Radeon VII's average includes additional Vulkan and DX12 tests that the Pro card does not have.