AMD Radeon Pro Vega II Duo vs NVIDIA L40 Comparison

The NVIDIA L40 and AMD Radeon Pro Vega II Duo represent two very different eras of professional GPU design. The L40 is a modern server accelerator built on Ada Lovelace, while the Vega II Duo is a dual-GPU Mac-focused card from 2019. The benchmark data shows a massive performance gap, but the architecture and feature differences tell a more nuanced story.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head results are lopsided. In Geekbench OpenCL, the NVIDIA L40 scores 330,926 against the Vega II Duo’s 98,432. That is a 236.2% advantage for the L40. In Geekbench Vulkan, the L40 scores 237,295 versus the Vega II Duo’s 99,296, a 139% lead. Both wins go to NVIDIA, and the margins are substantial enough to define the entire comparison.

The average benchmark score tells a similar story. The L40 averages 284,111 across its recorded tests, placing it in the 99th percentile of all GPUs in the database. The Vega II Duo averages 106,750, which sits in the 94th percentile. While both are high-end parts historically, the L40 operates in a completely different performance tier.

Looking at the nearest rivals for each card reinforces this separation. The L40’s closest competitor is the NVIDIA RTX 6000 Ada Generation, which scores 287,237 on average, just 1.1% higher. The L40 also trails the L40S by 3.9% (295,763) but beats the AMD Instinct MI300X by 10.7% (317,994 is the rival’s score, so the L40 is behind) and leads the NVIDIA L20 by 13.1% (251,147). For the Vega II Duo, its nearest rival is the AMD Radeon Pro W6600X at 107,342, only 0.6% higher. The Vega II Duo also sits 2.6% below the Radeon Pro Vega II (109,617) and 3.6% below the Radeon PRO W7900 (110,725), while beating the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000 by 4.8% (101,872).

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA L40 wins every recorded benchmark category. In OpenCL, its 330,926 score is more than triple the Vega II Duo’s 98,432. This suggests a massive advantage in general compute workloads that use OpenCL, which includes many scientific and engineering applications. The Vulkan result, 237,295 versus 99,296, shows the L40 also dominates in graphics-oriented tasks that leverage Vulkan’s modern API features.

The Vega II Duo has no wins in the head-to-head data. However, the recorded benchmarks do not include Metal, which is the primary graphics and compute API on Apple platforms. The Vega II Duo scores 122,522 in Geekbench Metal, a test not run on the L40. This is the only area where the AMD card shows a strength, but since there is no direct L40 Metal score in the database, it cannot be compared head-to-head. The Vega II Duo’s design as an Apple MPX module card targeting Mac Pro systems means its relevance is tied to that ecosystem, not to raw cross-platform compute.

For users working in Windows or Linux environments with OpenCL or Vulkan workloads, the L40 is the clear choice. For those locked into a Mac Pro with the MPX form factor, the Vega II Duo is the only option among these two, despite its lower scores.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on different nodes and designs. The NVIDIA L40 uses the AD102 chip on a 5 nm TSMC process, with 76,300 million transistors on a 609 mm² die. That translates to a transistor density of 125.3 million per mm². The AMD Radeon Pro Vega II Duo uses the Vega 20 chip on a 7 nm TSMC process, with 13,230 million transistors on a 331 mm² die, giving a density of 40.0 million per mm². The L40 packs more than five times the transistors into a die that is less than twice the size.

The memory subsystems differ dramatically. The L40 has 48 GB of GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus, delivering 864.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Vega II Duo has 32 GB of HBM2 on a 4096-bit bus, delivering 1.02 TB/s. Despite the narrower bus, the L40’s higher memory clock (2250 MHz, 18 Gbps effective) cannot overcome the Vega II Duo’s wider bus, so the AMD card actually has higher raw bandwidth. However, the L40’s memory capacity is 50% larger, which matters for large model inference or rendering scenes.

Compute resources are where the L40 pulls ahead decisively. The L40 has 18,176 shading units, 568 TMUs, and 192 ROPs. The Vega II Duo has 4,096 shading units, 256 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The L40 also includes 142 ray tracing cores and 568 tensor cores, while the Vega II Duo has neither (the fields are null). This means the L40 supports hardware-accelerated ray tracing and tensor operations, while the Vega II Duo relies on compute shaders for any such work.

Clock speeds tell an interesting story. The Vega II Duo has a base clock of 1400 MHz and a boost of 1720 MHz, much higher than the L40’s 735 MHz base and 2490 MHz boost. The L40’s boost clock is far higher, but its base clock is nearly half. The L40’s pixel rate is 478.1 GPixel/s versus 110.1 GPixel/s for the Vega II Duo. Its texture rate is 1,414.3 GTexel/s versus 440.3 GTexel/s. The L40’s FP32 throughput is 90.52 TFLOPS versus 14.09 TFLOPS for the AMD card. The Vega II Duo does have a higher FP16 rate relative to FP32 (28.18 TFLOPS at 2:1 ratio), but the L40’s FP16 is 90.52 TFLOPS at a 1:1 ratio, meaning it does not sacrifice precision.

Power requirements differ significantly. The L40 has a TDP of 300 W and requires a suggested PSU of 700 W. The Vega II Duo has a TDP of 475 W and a suggested PSU of 850 W. The L40 is dual-slot with a single 16-pin connector, while the Vega II Duo is quad-slot with no listed power connectors (it uses the Apple MPX interface for power delivery). The L40 is 267 mm long, while the Vega II Duo has no listed dimensions, reflecting its proprietary MPX design.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute throughput?

A: The NVIDIA L40 has 90.52 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II Duo has 14.09 TFLOPS. The L40 also offers 90.52 TFLOPS of FP16, versus 28.18 TFLOPS for the Vega II Duo.

Q: Is the Vega II Duo’s memory bandwidth actually higher than the L40’s?

A: Yes. The Vega II Duo has 1.02 TB/s of bandwidth from its 4096-bit HBM2 interface, while the L40 has 864.0 GB/s from a 384-bit GDDR6 interface. The AMD card wins on bandwidth despite having half the memory capacity (32 GB versus 48 GB).

Q: Does the L40 support ray tracing hardware?

A: Yes, the L40 has 142 ray tracing cores. The Vega II Duo has no ray tracing cores listed in the database, meaning it lacks dedicated hardware for this task.

Q: What API levels does each card support?

A: The L40 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The Vega II Duo supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3.

Q: Which card is newer?

A: The NVIDIA L40 was released on 2022-10-12, while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II Duo was released on 2019-06-02. Both are marked as end-of-life in the database.

Q: What is the form factor difference?

A: The L40 is a dual-slot PCIe 4.0 x16 card with a 16-pin power connector. The Vega II Duo is a quad-slot card using the Apple MPX interface, with no standard PCIe power connectors, and it outputs via 1x HDMI 2.0b and 4x Thunderbolt.

The Verdict

The data points to one clear conclusion for most workloads: the NVIDIA L40 is the superior GPU. It wins both head-to-head tests by margins of 236.2% and 139%. Its average benchmark score of 284,111 places it in the 99th percentile, while the Vega II Duo’s 106,750 sits at the 94th percentile. The L40 offers more memory (48 GB versus 32 GB), faster compute (90.52 TFLOPS versus 14.09 TFLOPS), and dedicated ray tracing and tensor hardware, all at a lower TDP (300 W versus 475 W).

The Radeon Pro Vega II Duo’s only advantages are raw memory bandwidth (1.02 TB/s versus 864.0 GB/s), a higher base clock (1400 MHz versus 735 MHz), and its compatibility with Apple’s MPX ecosystem. For users building a Mac Pro system, the Vega II Duo might be the only option among these two, given the L40 uses PCIe 4.0 x16 and cannot fit an MPX slot. But for any cross-platform or Linux/Windows deployment, the L40 is the only sensible choice based on the recorded benchmarks.

The Vega II Duo’s dual-GPU design does not help it in the recorded tests, as both OpenCL and Vulkan scores are far below the L40. Its Metal score of 122,522 is respectable, but without a comparable L40 Metal result, it cannot be used to argue for AMD’s card. The verdict is straightforward: choose the L40 for performance, choose the Vega II Duo only if the Apple MPX form factor is a hard requirement.

Specification Differences

| Feature | NVIDIA L40 | AMD Radeon Pro Vega II Duo |

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

| Chip | AD102 | Vega 20 |

| Architecture | Ada Lovelace | GCN 5.1 |

| Process Node | 5 nm | 7 nm |

| Transistors | 76,300 million | 13,230 million |

| Die Size | 609 mm² | 331 mm² |

| Base Clock | 735 MHz | 1400 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2490 MHz | 1720 MHz |

| Memory Size | 48 GB | 32 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | HBM2 |

| Memory Bus | 384 bit | 4096 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 864.0 GB/s | 1.02 TB/s |

| Shading Units | 18,176 | 4,096 |

| TMUs | 568 | 256 |

| ROPs | 192 | 64 |

| Ray Tracing Cores | 142 | None |

| Tensor Cores | 568 | None |

| FP32 | 90.52 TFLOPS | 14.09 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 90.52 TFLOPS (1:1) | 28.18 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| Pixel Rate | 478.1 GPixel/s | 110.1 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 1,414.3 GTexel/s | 440.3 GTexel/s |

| TDP | 300 W | 475 W |

| Slot Width | Dual-slot | Quad-slot |

| Power Connectors | 1x 16-pin | None (Apple MPX) |

| Suggested PSU | 700 W | 850 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x16 | Apple MPX |

| Display Outputs | 4x DisplayPort 1.4a | 1x HDMI 2.0b, 4x Thunderbolt |

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

| Vulkan | 1.4 | 1.3 |

| Release Date | 2022-10-12 | 2019-06-02 |

| Launch MSRP | None listed | 4,399 USD |