AMD Radeon Pro Vega II vs AMD Radeon VII Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data records three direct comparisons between the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II and the AMD Radeon VII, and the Pro Vega II wins all three. The largest gap appears in Geekbench Metal, where the Pro Vega II scores 130183 against the Radeon VII's 77975, a 67% advantage. This is a decisive margin, indicating that in Metal-accelerated workloads, the Pro Vega II operates in a different performance class entirely. The Radeon VII's 77975 score places it well behind, and no amount of driver tuning or workload adjustment would close a gap of that size.

The other two tests are closer but still favor the Pro Vega II. In Geekbench OpenCL, the Pro Vega II records 99048 against 91947 for the Radeon VII, a 7.7% difference. In Geekbench Vulkan, the Pro Vega II scores 99621 against 91788, an 8.5% advantage. These margins are meaningful but not overwhelming. They suggest that in compute-oriented APIs, the two cards are broadly comparable, with the Pro Vega II holding a consistent edge. The pattern across all three tests is uniform: the Pro Vega II leads in every recorded workload, with the largest lead in Metal and smaller but consistent leads in OpenCL and Vulkan.

Looking at the broader database averages, the Pro Vega II has an average benchmark score of 109617, placing it in the 94th percentile of all GPUs. The Radeon VII has an average score of 66004, placing it in the 90th percentile. The difference between the two average scores is substantial, roughly 66%. The Radeon VII's nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA Tesla T4 at 66733 (1.1% higher), the NVIDIA Tesla P40 at 65095 (1.4% lower), the AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100 at 64212 (2.8% lower), and the NVIDIA CMP 30HX at 63842 (3.4% lower). This clustering shows that the Radeon VII sits in a competitive mid-range compute tier. The Pro Vega II, by contrast, sits alongside the AMD Radeon PRO W7900 at 110725 (1% higher), the AMD Radeon Pro W6600X at 107342 (2.1% lower), the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II Duo at 106750 (2.7% lower), and the NVIDIA RTX A5500 Mobile at 113944 (3.8% higher). The Pro Vega II is therefore positioned near the top of its performance class, while the Radeon VII is mid-pack.

Architecture Differences

Both cards are built on the Vega 20 chip using the GCN 5.1 architecture, fabricated on a 7 nm process at TSMC. They share the same transistor count of 13,230 million and the same die size of 331 mm², giving both a transistor density of 40.0M per mm². The underlying silicon is identical, but the two cards configure it differently.

The Pro Vega II has 4096 shading units, 256 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. The Radeon VII has 3840 shading units and 240 texture mapping units, also with 64 ROPs. The Pro Vega II therefore has 256 more shading units and 16 more TMUs. The ROP count is the same. These differences translate directly into throughput numbers. The Pro Vega II achieves a pixel rate of 110.1 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 440.3 GTexel/s. The Radeon VII achieves a pixel rate of 112.0 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 420.0 GTexel/s. Interestingly, the Radeon VII has a slightly higher pixel rate despite having the same ROP count, which is explained by its higher boost clock. The Pro Vega II has a base clock of 1574 MHz and a boost clock of 1720 MHz, while the Radeon VII has a base clock of 1400 MHz and a boost clock of 1750 MHz. The Radeon VII boosts 30 MHz higher, which is enough to edge out the Pro Vega II in pixel throughput, but the Pro Vega II's larger TMU count gives it the higher texture rate.

Compute throughput follows the shading unit counts. The Pro Vega II delivers 14.09 TFLOPS of FP32 and 28.18 TFLOPS of FP16 (2:1). The Radeon VII delivers 13.44 TFLOPS of FP32 and 26.88 TFLOPS of FP16 (2:1). The Pro Vega II leads by roughly 4.8% in both FP32 and FP16, which aligns with its higher shader count and clock profile.

Memory is where the two cards diverge most sharply. The Pro Vega II comes with 32 GB of HBM2 on a 4096-bit bus, delivering 825.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The Radeon VII has 16 GB of HBM2 on the same 4096-bit bus, but delivers 1.02 TB/s of bandwidth. The Radeon VII has the higher bandwidth, thanks to its memory clock of 1000 MHz (2 Gbps effective), while the Pro Vega II runs its memory at 806 MHz (1612 Mbps effective). So the Radeon VII has half the capacity but roughly 24% more bandwidth. This is a meaningful trade-off: the Pro Vega II can hold larger datasets in VRAM, while the Radeon VII moves data faster once it is resident.

The two cards also differ in power and physical configuration. The Pro Vega II has a TDP of 475 W, requires an 850 W power supply, and occupies a quad-slot form factor. The Radeon VII has a TDP of 295 W, requires a 600 W power supply, and occupies a dual-slot form factor. The Radeon VII also uses two 8-pin power connectors, while the Pro Vega II lists no standard power connectors. The bus interface differs as well: the Pro Vega II uses Apple MPX, while the Radeon VII uses PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs are different: the Pro Vega II has 1x HDMI 2.0b and 4x Thunderbolt, while the Radeon VII has 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear split between these two cards. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega II is the stronger performer in every recorded benchmark, with a 67% lead in Metal, a 7.7% lead in OpenCL, and an 8.5% lead in Vulkan. It also has double the memory capacity at 32 GB versus 16 GB, more shading units, more TMUs, and a higher average benchmark score of 109617 against 66004. The Pro Vega II is positioned in the 94th percentile of all GPUs, while the Radeon VII sits in the 90th percentile. For workloads that favor Metal, the Pro Vega II is overwhelmingly faster. For OpenCL and Vulkan, it is still faster, but the margin is modest.

However, the Radeon VII has its own advantages. It delivers higher memory bandwidth at 1.02 TB/s versus 825.3 GB/s, which benefits bandwidth-sensitive workloads. It boosts to a higher clock speed at 1750 MHz versus 1720 MHz, giving it a slightly higher pixel rate of 112.0 GPixel/s versus 110.1 GPixel/s. It is also far more efficient in power draw: 295 W versus 475 W, with a lower suggested power supply of 600 W versus 850 W. The Radeon VII is a dual-slot card with standard PCIe 3.0 x16 connectivity and conventional 2x 8-pin power connectors, making it far easier to integrate into a standard PC build. The Pro Vega II's Apple MPX interface and quad-slot design restrict it to Apple-specific platforms.

Users should choose the Pro Vega II if their priority is maximum compute performance, especially in Metal environments, and if they need the larger 32 GB frame buffer. The data shows it is competitive with the AMD Radeon PRO W7900 and the NVIDIA RTX A5500 Mobile, sitting within 3.8% of the latter. Users should choose the Radeon VII if they need higher memory bandwidth for streaming large data sets, prefer a lower-power card with standard PCIe connectivity, or want to avoid the physical footprint and power requirements of a quad-slot pro card. The Radeon VII's launch MSRP was 699 USD, compared to the Pro Vega II's launch MSRP of 2,199 USD.

Specification Differences

• Memory capacity: Pro Vega II has 32 GB HBM2, Radeon VII has 16 GB HBM2.
• Memory bandwidth: Pro Vega II delivers 825.3 GB/s, Radeon VII delivers 1.02 TB/s.
• Shading units: Pro Vega II has 4096, Radeon VII has 3840.
• TMUs: Pro Vega II has 256, Radeon VII has 240.
• Base clock: Pro Vega II runs at 1574 MHz, Radeon VII at 1400 MHz.
• Boost clock: Pro Vega II boosts to 1720 MHz, Radeon VII to 1750 MHz.
• Memory clock: Pro Vega II runs at 806 MHz (1612 Mbps effective), Radeon VII at 1000 MHz (2 Gbps effective).
• Pixel rate: Pro Vega II achieves 110.1 GPixel/s, Radeon VII achieves 112.0 GPixel/s.
• Texture rate: Pro Vega II achieves 440.3 GTexel/s, Radeon VII achieves 420.0 GTexel/s.
• FP32: Pro Vega II delivers 14.09 TFLOPS, Radeon VII delivers 13.44 TFLOPS.
• FP16: Pro Vega II delivers 28.18 TFLOPS (2:1), Radeon VII delivers 26.88 TFLOPS (2:1).
• TDP: Pro Vega II draws 475 W, Radeon VII draws 295 W.
• Slot width: Pro Vega II is quad-slot, Radeon VII is dual-slot.
• Power connectors: Pro Vega II has none listed, Radeon VII has 2x 8-pin.
• Suggested PSU: Pro Vega II requires 850 W, Radeon VII requires 600 W.
• Bus interface: Pro Vega II uses Apple MPX, Radeon VII uses PCIe 3.0 x16.
• Display outputs: Pro Vega II has 1x HDMI 2.0b and 4x Thunderbolt, Radeon VII has 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a.
• Dimensions: Pro Vega II has no recorded length, height, or width, Radeon VII is 280 mm long, 125 mm high, 40 mm wide.
• Release date: Pro Vega II released on 2019-06-02, Radeon VII on 2019-02-06.
• Predecessor: Pro Vega II has none recorded, Radeon VII has Vega.
• Successor: Pro Vega II has none recorded, Radeon VII has Navi.
• Launch MSRP: Pro Vega II at 2,199 USD, Radeon VII at 699 USD.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in Geekbench Metal?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro Vega II scores 130183 versus 77975 for the Radeon VII, a 67% advantage.

Q: How do the two cards compare in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The Pro Vega II scores 99048, which is 7.7% higher than the Radeon VII's 91947.

Q: Which card has more memory bandwidth?

A: The Radeon VII has 1.02 TB/s of bandwidth, while the Pro Vega II has 825.3 GB/s, making the Radeon VII roughly 24% faster in raw bandwidth.

Q: Which card has the higher boost clock?

A: The Radeon VII boosts to 1750 MHz, while the Pro Vega II boosts to 1720 MHz, a 30 MHz difference.

Q: What is the TDP difference between the two cards?

A: The Pro Vega II has a TDP of 475 W, while the Radeon VII has a TDP of 295 W, a difference of 180 W.

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: The Pro Vega II has 4096 shading units, while the Radeon VII has 3840, a difference of 256 units.