AMD Radeon Pro Vega II vs AMD Radeon Pro W6900X Comparison

The Verdict

The benchmark database places the AMD Radeon Pro W6900X firmly ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II across every recorded test. The W6900X wins all three head-to-head benchmarks, with an average benchmark score of 168,574 compared to 109,617 for the Vega II, a difference of roughly 54%. The W6900X also sits in the 97th percentile of all GPUs, while the Vega II sits in the 94th percentile, so both are high-end parts, but the gap between them is substantial.

For users working in Metal-accelerated applications, the W6900X is the clear choice. Its Geekbench Metal score of 226,821 versus 130,183 for the Vega II represents a 74.2% advantage, which is the largest margin in any test. For OpenCL and Vulkan workloads, the W6900X also leads, by 31.3% and 49.4% respectively. The data suggests that anyone selecting between these two for a Mac Pro should choose the W6900X unless the Vega II's specific characteristics, such as its HBM2 memory with higher bandwidth, are mission-critical. That said, the Vega II remains a capable card in its own right, as its 94th percentile ranking and average score of 109,617 place it near the AMD Radeon PRO W7900, which scores 110,725, a 1% difference.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different architectural generations. The W6900X uses the Navi 21 chip built on RDNA 2.0, while the Vega II uses the Vega 20 chip built on GCN 5.1. Both are manufactured by TSMC on a 7 nm process, but the transistor counts differ sharply. The W6900X packs 26,800 million transistors on a 520 mm² die, giving a density of 51.5 million transistors per square millimeter. The Vega II has 13,230 million transistors on a 331 mm² die, for a density of 40.0 million per square millimeter. That means the W6900X has more than double the transistor count and a higher density, which partly explains its performance lead.

Clock speeds also differ. The W6900X runs at a base clock of 1825 MHz and a boost clock of 2171 MHz, while the Vega II runs at 1574 MHz base and 1720 MHz boost. The memory subsystems are radically different. The W6900X uses 32 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth at a memory clock of 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective). The Vega II uses 32 GB of HBM2 on a 4096-bit bus, delivering 825.3 GB/s of bandwidth at 806 MHz (1612 Mbps effective). So the Vega II has 61% more memory bandwidth, but the W6900X compensates with higher clocks and more compute units.

The compute configuration favors the W6900X. It has 5120 shading units, 320 texture mapping units, 128 render output units, and 80 ray tracing cores. The Vega II has 4096 shading units, 256 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, with no ray tracing cores listed. The pixel rate for the W6900X is 277.9 GPixel/s versus 110.1 GPixel/s for the Vega II, and the texture rate is 694.7 GTexel/s versus 440.3 GTexel/s. The FP32 throughput is 22.23 TFLOPS for the W6900X versus 14.09 TFLOPS for the Vega II, while FP16 is 44.46 TFLOPS versus 28.18 TFLOPS, both at a 2:1 ratio.

API support also differs. The W6900X supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The Vega II supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The W6900X has a newer DirectX feature level and a higher Vulkan version. Both cards use the Apple MPX bus interface, and both have display outputs of 1x HDMI and 4x Thunderbolt, though the Vega II lists HDMI 2.0b while the W6900X lists HDMI 2.1.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head data shows a clean sweep for the W6900X. In Geekbench Metal, the W6900X scores 226,821 against 130,183 for the Vega II, a delta of 74.2%. This is the most decisive result in the comparison. The W6900X's RDNA 2.0 architecture with its higher shading unit count and clock speeds appears to translate directly into Metal performance, which matters for macOS-based creative workloads.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the W6900X scores 130,035 versus 99,048 for the Vega II, a delta of 31.3%. This is the smallest margin of the three tests, but it is still a clear win. OpenCL workloads may be less sensitive to the architectural differences, but the W6900X's higher raw FP32 throughput (22.23 TFLOPS versus 14.09 TFLOPS) still carries it ahead.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the W6900X scores 148,865 versus 99,621 for the Vega II, a delta of 49.4%. The W6900X also has Vulkan 1.4 support versus 1.3 on the Vega II, which may contribute to the improved result. Across all three tests, the W6900X wins 3-0, with an average delta of roughly 51.6% when averaging the three deltas (74.2, 31.3, 49.4).

FAQ

Q: Which card has higher memory bandwidth?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro Vega II has higher memory bandwidth at 825.3 GB/s, compared to 512.0 GB/s for the AMD Radeon Pro W6900X. This comes from the Vega II's 4096-bit HBM2 bus versus the W6900X's 256-bit GDDR6 bus.

Q: What is the average benchmark score difference between the two?

A: The W6900X has an average benchmark score of 168,574, while the Vega II has an average score of 109,617. The W6900X is roughly 54% higher, and it sits in the 97th percentile of all GPUs compared to the 94th percentile for the Vega II.

Q: Does the W6900X support ray tracing?

A: Yes, the W6900X lists 80 ray tracing cores. The Vega II does not list any ray tracing cores, indicating no hardware ray tracing support.

Q: Which card has a higher boost clock?

A: The W6900X has a boost clock of 2171 MHz, while the Vega II has a boost clock of 1720 MHz. The base clocks are 1825 MHz and 1574 MHz, respectively.

Q: Are both cards end-of-life?

A: Yes, both the AMD Radeon Pro W6900X and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II have a production status of end-of-life. The W6900X was released on 2021-08-02, and the Vega II on 2019-06-02.

Q: How do the nearest rivals compare for each card?

A: The W6900X's nearest rival is the NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation, which scores 166,094, a 1.5% difference. The Vega II's nearest rival is the AMD Radeon PRO W7900, which scores 110,725, a 1% difference in the Vega II's favor.

Where Each One Wins

The W6900X wins in every benchmark category recorded. In Metal, it has a 74.2% advantage, making it the preferred choice for applications that rely on Apple's Metal API, which is common in macOS creative software such as video editing and 3D rendering. In Vulkan, the 49.4% advantage suggests it is also better for cross-platform graphics workloads, and the newer Vulkan 1.4 support adds a feature-level benefit. In OpenCL, the 31.3% advantage is smaller but still decisive, so even compute-oriented tasks that favor OpenCL will see better performance on the W6900X.

The Vega II does have one clear hardware advantage: memory bandwidth. At 825.3 GB/s versus 512.0 GB/s, the Vega II offers 61% more bandwidth, which could matter for workloads that are heavily memory-bound, such as large dataset processing or certain scientific simulations, even though the recorded benchmarks do not show a win in any test. The Vega II also has a lower TDP at 475 W versus 300 W for the W6900X, but that is a power draw figure, not a performance metric. The Vega II's nearest rival data shows it is close to the AMD Radeon PRO W7900, which suggests it remains competitive within its own generation.

For users who prioritize raw compute throughput, the W6900X's FP32 of 22.23 TFLOPS versus 14.09 TFLOPS is a 58% advantage. For those who need the highest possible memory bandwidth on a 4096-bit bus, the Vega II is the only option between these two. But for any benchmark-driven purchasing decision, the W6900X is the winner across the board.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every core specification. The chip and architecture differ: Navi 21 on RDNA 2.0 for the W6900X versus Vega 20 on GCN 5.1 for the Vega II. The W6900X has 26,800 million transistors on a 520 mm² die; the Vega II has 13,230 million on a 331 mm² die. Transistor density is 51.5M per mm² versus 40.0M per mm².

Clock speeds differ: base 1825 MHz versus 1574 MHz, boost 2171 MHz versus 1720 MHz. Memory type differs: GDDR6 versus HBM2. Bus width is 256-bit versus 4096-bit. Memory bandwidth is 512.0 GB/s versus 825.3 GB/s. Shading units are 5120 versus 4096. TMUs are 320 versus 256. ROPs are 128 versus 64. The W6900X has 80 ray tracing cores; the Vega II has none. Pixel rate is 277.9 GPixel/s versus 110.1 GPixel/s. Texture rate is 694.7 GTexel/s versus 440.3 GTexel/s. FP32 is 22.23 TFLOPS versus 14.09 TFLOPS. FP16 is 44.46 TFLOPS versus 28.18 TFLOPS.

TDP differs significantly: 300 W for the W6900X versus 475 W for the Vega II. The suggested PSU is 700 W versus 850 W. The Vega II is a quad-slot card; the W6900X lists no slot width. Display outputs are both 1x HDMI and 4x Thunderbolt, but the W6900X has HDMI 2.1 versus HDMI 2.0b on the Vega II. API support differs in DirectX (12 Ultimate versus 12) and Vulkan (1.4 versus 1.3). The release dates differ: 2021-08-02 for the W6900X versus 2019-06-02 for the Vega II. The launch MSRP for the W6900X is 5,999 USD, and for the Vega II it is 2,199 USD.