AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X vs NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile Comparison

# AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X vs NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile

The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X and NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile represent two fundamentally different approaches to professional graphics, separated by two years of architectural evolution and targeting entirely different physical form factors. The head-to-head data shows a narrow victory for the NVIDIA part in the single shared benchmark, yet the broader specification sheet reveals a more complex story about capability, efficiency, and design priorities.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only directly comparable benchmark between these two GPUs is Geekbench OpenCL, and the results are remarkably close. The NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile scores 79,091, narrowly edging out the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X's 78,467 — a delta of just -0.8% from AMD's perspective. That is a margin well within typical run-to-run variance, effectively placing the two products at performance parity in this compute-oriented workload.

The near-tie in OpenCL is striking given how different these architectures are. The Vega 64X achieves its score with a 1,468 MHz boost clock and 12.03 TFLOPS of FP32 throughput, while the RTX A3000 Mobile relies on a much lower 1,230 MHz boost but still manages to pull ahead slightly. This suggests that NVIDIA's Ampere architecture extracts more useful compute per clock than AMD's GCN 5.0 design, even at a 16% clock disadvantage.

Looking at the surrounding competitive landscape, the Vega 64X's average benchmark score of 80,959 places it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon PRO W6600, scores 81,995 (1.3% higher), while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 sits 1.4% behind at 79,842. The NVIDIA Tesla P100 variants follow closely at 79,605 and 79,396, respectively. The RTX A3000 Mobile, meanwhile, holds an average score of 70,140 and sits in the 91st percentile, with its closest competitors — the AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE (70,829, -1%), NVIDIA Quadro P6000 (69,986, +0.2%), AMD Radeon Pro WX 8200 (69,870, +0.4%), and NVIDIA CMP 90HX (69,000, +1.7%) — all clustered within a narrow band.

It is important to recognize that the RTX A3000 Mobile's average score is dragged down by its Vulkan result of 61,189, which is substantially lower than its OpenCL showing. The Vega 64X has no Vulkan benchmark recorded, so direct comparison across APIs is impossible. In the one test where both participate, the difference is negligible — a statistical tie rather than a decisive victory for either side.

Architecture Differences

These GPUs could hardly be more different under the hood. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X uses the Vega 10 chip built on GCN 5.0 architecture, fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. The die measures 495 mm² and packs 12,500 million transistors, yielding a transistor density of 25.3 million per square millimeter. In contrast, the NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile uses the GA104 chip with Ampere architecture, manufactured by Samsung on an 8 nm process. Its die is smaller at 392 mm² but contains significantly more transistors — 17,400 million — resulting in a density of 44.4 million per square millimeter, a 75% improvement over AMD's older process.

Memory configurations diverge sharply. The Vega 64X carries 16 GB of HBM2 on a 2048-bit bus, delivering 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX A3000 Mobile has just 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, providing 264.0 GB/s — slightly more than half the bandwidth. The Vega 64X also operates its memory at a higher effective speed of 2 Gbps versus 11 Gbps for the NVIDIA part, though the GDDR6's higher per-pin throughput cannot compensate for the narrower bus.

The compute resources tell a nuanced story. Both GPUs have 4,096 shading units, but the similarity ends there. The Vega 64X deploys 256 texture mapping units and 64 ROPs, while the RTX A3000 Mobile has 128 TMUs and 64 ROPs. The NVIDIA part adds 32 RT cores and 128 tensor cores — hardware that simply does not exist on the Vega 64X. This reflects Ampere's focus on ray tracing and AI-accelerated workloads, areas where GCN 5.0 has no answer.

Clock speeds favor AMD substantially. The Vega 64X runs at a 1,250 MHz base and 1,468 MHz boost, while the RTX A3000 Mobile operates at just 600 MHz base and 1,230 MHz boost. Despite this, the AMD card achieves 12.03 TFLOPS FP32 versus 10.08 TFLOPS for NVIDIA, and the pixel rate also favors AMD at 93.95 GPixel/s versus 78.72 GPixel/s. The texture rate gap is even wider: 375.8 GTexel/s versus 157.4 GTexel/s. However, FP16 performance tells a different story — the Vega 64X hits 24.05 TFLOPS using a 2:1 ratio, while the RTX A3000 Mobile delivers 10.08 TFLOPS at 1:1, meaning NVIDIA's card does not accelerate half-precision at all.

Power consumption reveals the most dramatic difference. The Vega 64X is rated at 250 W TDP, while the RTX A3000 Mobile draws just 70 W — a 257% higher power draw for the AMD part. This is partly explained by form factor: the Vega 64X is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) with no power connectors, likely designed for Apple's Mac Pro modules, while the RTX A3000 Mobile is a laptop part with "Portable Device Dependent" display outputs. The NVIDIA card also uses PCIe 4.0 x16 versus PCIe 3.0 x16 on the AMD side.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute throughput?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X leads in FP32 performance with 12.03 TFLOPS versus 10.08 TFLOPS for the NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile. In FP16, AMD's 24.05 TFLOPS (2:1) dwarfs NVIDIA's 10.08 TFLOPS (1:1), since the Ampere GPU does not accelerate half-precision operations.

Q: How do their memory subsystems compare?

A: The Vega 64X offers 16 GB of HBM2 across a 2048-bit bus with 512.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the RTX A3000 Mobile has 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus with 264.0 GB/s. AMD's solution provides nearly double the bandwidth and more than double the capacity.

Q: Does the RTX A3000 Mobile support ray tracing?

A: Yes. The NVIDIA Ampere architecture includes 32 dedicated RT cores and 128 tensor cores, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI workloads. The AMD Vega 64X has no such dedicated hardware, as GCN 5.0 predates ray tracing acceleration.

Q: Which GPU is more power-efficient?

A: The RTX A3000 Mobile is dramatically more efficient, rated at 70 W TDP versus 250 W for the Vega 64X. This aligns with their intended form factors — the NVIDIA part is a mobile GPU, while the AMD part is an integrated processor for desktop-class systems.

Q: What API support differences exist?

A: The Vega 64X supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The RTX A3000 Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. NVIDIA's card offers newer API versions and DirectX 12 Ultimate features.

Q: When were these products released?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X launched on March 18, 2019, while the NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile arrived on April 11, 2021. Both are now end-of-life products.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X | NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile |

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

| Architecture | GCN 5.0 | Ampere |

| Process Node | 14 nm | 8 nm |

| Foundry | GlobalFoundries | Samsung |

| Transistors | 12,500 million | 17,400 million |

| Die Size | 495 mm² | 392 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 25.3M / mm² | 44.4M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1250 MHz | 600 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1468 MHz | 1230 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1000 MHz (2 Gbps effective) | 1375 MHz (11 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 16 GB | 6 GB |

| Memory Type | HBM2 | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus Width | 2048 bit | 192 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 512.0 GB/s | 264.0 GB/s |

| TMUs | 256 | 128 |

| RT Cores | None | 32 |

| Tensor Cores | None | 128 |

| Pixel Rate | 93.95 GPixel/s | 78.72 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 375.8 GTexel/s | 157.4 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 12.03 TFLOPS | 10.08 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 24.05 TFLOPS (2:1) | 10.08 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 250 W | 70 W |

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

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

| Vulkan Support | 1.3 | 1.4 |

| Release Date | 2019-03-18 | 2021-04-11 |

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X wins decisively in memory capacity and bandwidth. Its 16 GB HBM2 configuration with 512.0 GB/s throughput is ideal for large datasets, high-resolution textures, and compute workloads that demand fast access to substantial working sets. The 2048-bit bus provides a 94% bandwidth advantage over the RTX A3000 Mobile, making the Vega 64X the better choice for memory-bound professional applications. Its higher pixel rate (93.95 vs 78.72 GPixel/s) and nearly 2.4x texture rate (375.8 vs 157.4 GTexel/s) also give it an edge in traditional rasterization-heavy tasks. The FP16 advantage (24.05 vs 10.08 TFLOPS) matters for workloads that can exploit half-precision math, provided the application supports the 2:1 rate.

The NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile wins on efficiency and modern features. Its 70 W TDP versus 250 W makes it viable in laptops where the Vega 64X could never operate. The 32 RT cores enable hardware ray tracing, while 128 tensor cores accelerate AI inference and DLSS-style workloads — capabilities entirely absent from the AMD part. The newer 8 nm Samsung process delivers 44.4M transistors per mm² versus 25.3M, and the card supports PCIe 4.0 for faster host communication. Its Vulkan 1.4 and DirectX 12 Ultimate support indicate better forward compatibility with modern game engines and graphics APIs. The RTX A3000 Mobile also edges out the Vega 64X in the only shared benchmark, Geekbench OpenCL, by 0.8% — a slim but real victory that hints at better architectural efficiency despite lower clocks and fewer TMUs.

The choice between these two ultimately hinges on workload and platform. For desktop-class compute with massive memory requirements, the Vega 64X's 16 GB frame buffer and 512.0 GB/s bandwidth are compelling. For mobile workstations requiring ray tracing, tensor acceleration, and reasonable power draw, the RTX A3000 Mobile is the only option that fits. Both GPUs now sit in the 91st-92nd percentile of all GPUs, but they serve different masters — one a desktop IGP from the Mac ecosystem, the other a mobile part for Windows-based professional laptops.