AMD Radeon Pro Vega II vs AMD Radeon Pro VII Comparison

Both the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II and the AMD Radeon Pro VII are built on the same fundamental Vega 20 silicon, but they are configured differently to target distinct workstation niches. The benchmark data shows a clear performance hierarchy, with the older Pro Vega II holding a consistent lead across all tested workloads, while the Pro VII counters with a significantly smaller physical footprint and lower power requirements. This analysis breaks down the measured differences, architectural nuances, and the resulting implications for hardware selection.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head results are unambiguous: the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II wins all three benchmark comparisons. The largest margin is in Geekbench Metal, where the Pro Vega II scores 130,183 against the Pro VII's 108,383. That is a 20.1% advantage, a substantial gap that indicates the Pro Vega II's higher shading unit count and clock speeds translate directly into compute-heavy Metal workloads. This is the most significant delta between the two cards.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the gap narrows considerably. The Pro Vega II posts a score of 99,048, while the Pro VII achieves 90,148. The 9.9% delta shows that while the Pro Vega II remains ahead, the advantage is roughly half of what it is in Metal. This suggests that OpenCL workloads may be more sensitive to memory bandwidth or other factors where the Pro VII's higher bandwidth (1.02 TB/s vs. 825.3 GB/s) partially compensates for its fewer compute units.

The closest contest is in Geekbench Vulkan. Here, the Pro Vega II scores 99,621 against the Pro VII's 92,862, a 7.3% lead. Vulkan performance tends to scale with raw geometry throughput and driver efficiency; both cards share the same architecture, so the difference is attributable to the Pro Vega II's higher texture rate (440.3 GTexel/s vs. 408.0 GTexel/s) and pixel rate (110.1 GPixel/s vs. 108.8 GPixel/s). The Pro VII is not without merit, but it never manages to close the gap to within a single-digit percentage in either of the other tests.

Looking at the broader competitive landscape, the Pro Vega II's average benchmark score of 109,617 places it in the 94th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon PRO W7900, scores 110,725, a delta of -1%, meaning the Pro Vega II is essentially tied with that newer card. The Pro VII, with an average score of 97,131, sits in the 93rd percentile. Its closest competitor is the AMD Radeon RX 7900M at 97,487, a delta of -0.4%, which puts the Pro VII on par with that mobile chip. The data suggests that while the Pro Vega II competes with modern workstation flagships, the Pro VII is positioned closer to high-end gaming or prosumer mobile parts.

FAQ

Q: Which card has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro Vega II, with an average benchmark score of 109,617, is significantly ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro VII, which averages 97,131. This represents a difference of roughly 12.9% in favor of the Pro Vega II.

Q: How large is the performance gap in the Geekbench Metal test?

A: The Pro Vega II scores 130,183 in Geekbench Metal, while the Pro VII scores 108,383. This gives the Pro Vega II a 20.1% advantage, which is the largest single-test margin between the two cards.

Q: Does the Pro VII have any advantage in memory bandwidth?

A: Yes. Despite having half the memory capacity (16 GB vs. 32 GB), the Pro VII features a higher memory bandwidth of 1.02 TB/s, compared to the Pro Vega II's 825.3 GB/s. This is due to a higher memory clock speed of 1000 MHz (2 Gbps effective) versus 806 MHz (1612 Mbps effective).

Q: What are the power consumption differences?

A: The Pro Vega II has a TDP of 475 W and requires a suggested PSU of 850 W. In contrast, the Pro VII has a TDP of 250 W and a suggested PSU of 600 W. The Pro VII is nearly half the power draw.

Q: How do these cards compare to their nearest rivals?

A: The Pro Vega II is 1% slower than the AMD Radeon PRO W7900 (110,725 avg) but 2.1% faster than the AMD Radeon Pro W6600X (107,342 avg). The Pro VII is 0.4% slower than the AMD Radeon RX 7900M (97,487 avg) but 5% faster than the AMD Radeon Instinct MI60 (92,466 avg).

Q: Which card is physically smaller?

A: The Pro VII is a dual-slot card with a length of 305 mm (12 inches) and a height of 111 mm (4.4 inches), using a standard PCIe 4.0 x16 interface. The Pro Vega II is a quad-slot card with an Apple MPX bus interface, making it substantially larger and designed for a different chassis type.

Architecture Differences

Both cards share the same fundamental architecture: GCN 5.1, built on the Vega 20 chip using a 7 nm process at TSMC. They have identical transistor counts (13,230 million) and die sizes (331 mm²), with the same transistor density of 40.0M / mm². The API support is also identical, with DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. Neither card has dedicated ray tracing or tensor cores, which is expected for this generation of GCN architecture.

The primary architectural divergence lies in the compute configuration. The Pro Vega II is equipped with 4096 shading units, 256 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 64 raster operations pipelines (ROPs). The Pro VII scales this down to 3840 shading units and 240 TMUs, while retaining the same 64 ROPs. This reduction of 256 shading units and 16 TMUs is the core reason for the Pro Vega II's higher theoretical compute throughput.

Clock speeds also differ significantly. The Pro Vega II runs at a base clock of 1574 MHz and a boost clock of 1720 MHz. The Pro VII operates at a lower base clock of 1400 MHz, with a boost clock of 1700 MHz. The higher clocks on the Pro Vega II compound with its larger shader array to produce a peak FP32 performance of 14.09 TFLOPS, versus 13.06 TFLOPS for the Pro VII. Similarly, FP16 performance is 28.18 TFLOPS (2:1) for the Pro Vega II and 26.11 TFLOPS (2:1) for the Pro VII.

Memory configuration is another major differentiator. The Pro Vega II features 32 GB of HBM2 memory across a 4096-bit bus, while the Pro VII halves the capacity to 16 GB on the same bus width. However, the Pro VII's memory is clocked higher, achieving 1.02 TB/s of bandwidth. The Pro Vega II's memory clock is lower, resulting in 825.3 GB/s. The Pro VII also uses a standard PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, whereas the Pro Vega II uses the proprietary Apple MPX bus, which is a fundamental compatibility difference.

The Verdict

The benchmark data is decisive for raw performance: the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II is the faster card. It wins all three head-to-head tests, with a commanding 20.1% lead in Metal, a 9.9% lead in OpenCL, and a 7.3% lead in Vulkan. Its average benchmark score of 109,617 places it in the 94th percentile, and it is competitive with the modern AMD Radeon PRO W7900. For users whose priority is maximum compute throughput in Metal-based workflows, the Pro Vega II is the clear choice based on the numbers.

The AMD Radeon Pro VII, while trailing in every benchmark, is not without a rationale. Its average score of 97,131 is still in the 93rd percentile, and it matches the performance of the AMD Radeon RX 7900M. The Pro VII's advantages are physical and practical: it is a dual-slot card with a 250 W TDP and a 600 W suggested PSU, making it far easier to integrate into a standard PC workstation. The Pro Vega II, with its 475 W TDP, 850 W suggested PSU, and quad-slot Apple MPX form factor, is restricted to Apple Mac Pro environments.

The choice hinges on the target platform. If the system is an Apple Mac Pro, the Pro Vega II is unambiguously the better performer and is the only one of the two that matches that interface. If the build is a standard PC with a PCIe 4.0 x16 slot, the Pro VII is the only viable option between the two, and its 16 GB of memory and higher bandwidth (1.02 TB/s) make it a capable workstation card. The data shows a performance hierarchy, but it also shows a clear separation in intended use cases. The Pro Vega II is the performance leader; the Pro VII is the adaptable, lower-power alternative.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon Pro Vega II | AMD Radeon Pro VII |

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

| Base Clock | 1574 MHz | 1400 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1720 MHz | 1700 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 806 MHz (1612 Mbps effective) | 1000 MHz (2 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 32 GB | 16 GB |

| Memory Bandwidth | 825.3 GB/s | 1.02 TB/s |

| Shading Units | 4096 | 3840 |

| TMUs | 256 | 240 |

| Pixel Rate | 110.1 GPixel/s | 108.8 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 440.3 GTexel/s | 408.0 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 14.09 TFLOPS | 13.06 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 28.18 TFLOPS (2:1) | 26.11 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 475 W | 250 W |

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

| Power Connectors | Not specified | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 850 W | 600 W |

| Bus Interface | Apple MPX | PCIe 4.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 1x HDMI 2.0b, 4x Thunderbolt | 6x mini-DisplayPort 1.4a |

| Release Date | 2019-06-02 | 2020-05-12 |

| Launch MSRP | 2,199 USD | 1,899 USD |

| Predecessor | Not specified | Radeon Pro Polaris |

| Successor | Not specified | Radeon Pro Navi |