AMD Radeon Pro Vega II vs NVIDIA L20 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data presents a decisive outcome: the NVIDIA L20 wins both recorded head-to-head tests against the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II. In Geekbench OpenCL, the L20 scores 274,276 against 99,048 for the Vega II, a delta of 176.9%. In Geekbench Vulkan, the L20 scores 228,018 against 99,621, a delta of 128.9%. These are not marginal victories; they represent a generational and architectural chasm between the two cards.

The OpenCL result is particularly stark. The L20's score of 274,276 places it in the 99th percentile of all GPUs in the database, while the Vega II's OpenCL score of 99,048 is well below that mark. The 176.9% advantage means the L20 delivers nearly 2.8 times the raw compute throughput in this workload. This aligns with the raw specifications: the L20's FP32 throughput is 59.35 TFLOPS versus 14.09 TFLOPS for the Vega II, a 4.2x gap in theoretical peak performance. The actual benchmark delta is smaller than the theoretical peak suggests, but the direction is unmistakable.

In Vulkan, the L20's 228,018 score against 99,621 gives a 128.9% advantage. Interestingly, the Vega II's Vulkan score (99,621) is slightly higher than its OpenCL score (99,048), while the L20's OpenCL score (274,276) is higher than its Vulkan score (228,018). This suggests the Vega II's GCN architecture handles Vulkan's lower-level API somewhat better relative to its OpenCL performance, but it still cannot close the gap. The L20 also has a Metal benchmark recorded in the database for the Vega II (130,183), but no comparable Metal score exists for the L20, so no direct comparison is possible in that API.

The average benchmark score tells the same story. The L20 averages 251,147 across its recorded tests, while the Vega II averages 109,617. The L20's nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA L40 (284,111, 11.6% higher) and the RTX 6000 Ada Generation (287,237, 12.6% higher), meaning the L20 sits just below those top-tier Ada cards. The Vega II's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon PRO W7900 (110,725, only 1% higher) and the Radeon Pro Vega II Duo (106,750, 2.7% lower), showing the Vega II is clustered with cards of similar vintage and capability. The L20 also outperforms the NVIDIA PG506-232 by 11.6% and the AMD Radeon PRO W7900D by 14.2%, both of which are significantly faster than the Vega II's peer group.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA L20 wins in both compute-oriented workloads recorded: OpenCL and Vulkan. For professionals running general-purpose GPU compute, machine learning inference, or rendering tasks that leverage these APIs, the L20's advantage is overwhelming. The 176.9% OpenCL lead and 128.9% Vulkan lead mean the L20 completes tasks in roughly half the time or less in these workloads. The L20's 48 GB of GDDR6 memory with 864.0 GB/s bandwidth versus the Vega II's 32 GB of HBM2 with 825.3 GB/s bandwidth means the L20 also holds a capacity advantage, a critical factor for large datasets that exceed 32 GB.

The AMD Radeon Pro Vega II does hold one recorded win: it has a Metal benchmark score of 130,183, which is a test the L20 does not appear in. Metal is Apple's graphics and compute API, and the Vega II is specifically a Radeon Pro Mac product with an Apple MPX bus interface. This is a niche advantage: in macOS environments using Metal, the Vega II is a functional option, whereas the L20's database entry lists no Metal result and uses PCIe 4.0 x16, not Apple MPX. Outside of that Apple-specific ecosystem, the data shows no workload where the Vega II outperforms the L20.

For tasks that rely on Vulkan specifically, the Vega II's 99,621 score is nearly identical to its OpenCL score, suggesting the architecture does not gain much from Vulkan's explicit control model. The L20, by contrast, shows a significant drop from OpenCL to Vulkan (274,276 to 228,018, about 17% lower), yet still maintains a lead of over 128%. This indicates the L20's Ada Lovelace architecture is strong across both APIs, while the Vega II's GCN 5.1 design is consistently limited regardless of API choice.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural eras. The NVIDIA L20 uses the AD102 chip built on Ada Lovelace architecture, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It contains 76,300 million transistors on a 609 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 125.3 million per mm². The AMD Radeon Pro Vega II uses the Vega 20 chip based on GCN 5.1 architecture, also fabricated at TSMC but on a 7 nm process. It contains 13,230 million transistors on a 331 mm² die, for a density of 40.0 million per mm². The L20 packs nearly 5.8 times the transistor count into less than double the die area, a direct consequence of the newer process node.

The compute configuration is dramatically different. The L20 has 11,776 shading units, 368 texture mapping units, and 128 render output units. The Vega II has 4,096 shading units, 256 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The L20 also has 92 ray tracing cores and 368 tensor cores, while the Vega II has none of either. This means the L20 supports hardware-accelerated ray tracing and tensor operations, while the Vega II relies entirely on shader-based compute. The L20's pixel rate is 322.6 GPixel/s versus 110.1 GPixel/s for the Vega II, and its texture rate is 927.4 GTexel/s versus 440.3 GTexel/s.

Clock speeds tell a nuanced story. The Vega II has a higher base clock (1574 MHz versus 1440 MHz) and a lower boost clock (1720 MHz versus 2520 MHz). The L20's boost clock is 46.5% higher, which contributes to its massive performance lead despite the lower base. Memory also differs fundamentally: the L20 uses 48 GB of GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus with 18 Gbps effective speed, delivering 864.0 GB/s. The Vega II uses 32 GB of HBM2 on a 4096-bit bus with 1612 Mbps effective speed, delivering 825.3 GB/s. The L20 has slightly higher bandwidth and 50% more capacity, while the Vega II's HBM2 uses a much wider bus to achieve comparable bandwidth.

Power and physical design differ sharply. The L20 has a 275 W TDP with a suggested 600 W PSU, is dual-slot, and uses a single 16-pin connector. The Vega II has a 475 W TDP with a suggested 850 W PSU, is quad-slot, and lists no power connector specification (it uses Apple MPX). The L20 is 267 mm long and 111 mm tall; the Vega II has no recorded dimensions. The L20 is still in active production with a release date of 2023, while the Vega II is end-of-life with a 2019 release date. API support also differs: the L20 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the Vega II supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.3.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw FP32 compute?

A: The NVIDIA L20, at 59.35 TFLOPS, is 4.2 times the Vega II's 14.09 TFLOPS. This directly explains the OpenCL benchmark gap, where the L20 leads by 176.9%.

Q: Does the Vega II have any ray tracing or tensor cores?

A: No. The Vega II lists no ray tracing cores and no tensor cores. The L20 has 92 ray tracing cores and 368 tensor cores, enabling hardware acceleration for those workloads.

Q: How do the memory configurations compare?

A: The L20 has 48 GB of GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus with 864.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Vega II has 32 GB of HBM2 on a 4096-bit bus with 825.3 GB/s bandwidth. The L20 offers 50% more capacity and slightly higher bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU is better for Apple Mac systems?

A: The Vega II is a Radeon Pro Mac product with an Apple MPX bus interface and a recorded Metal benchmark score of 130,183. The L20 uses PCIe 4.0 x16 and has no Metal benchmark in the database, so it is not designed for that ecosystem.

Q: What are the power requirements?

A: The L20 has a 275 W TDP and suggests a 600 W PSU. The Vega II has a 475 W TDP and suggests an 850 W PSU. The L20 requires less power despite being substantially faster in the recorded benchmarks.

Q: Is the L20 still being produced?

A: Yes, the L20's production status is Active, with a release date of 2023. The Vega II is marked End-of-life, with a 2019 release date.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA L20 | AMD Radeon Pro Vega II |

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

| 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 |

| Transistor density | 125.3M / mm² | 40.0M / mm² |

| Base clock | 1440 MHz | 1574 MHz |

| Boost clock | 2520 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 | 825.3 GB/s |

| Shading units | 11776 | 4096 |

| TMUs | 368 | 256 |

| ROPs | 128 | 64 |

| Ray tracing cores | 92 | None |

| Tensor cores | 368 | None |

| Pixel rate | 322.6 GPixel/s | 110.1 GPixel/s |

| Texture rate | 927.4 GTexel/s | 440.3 GTexel/s |

| FP32 performance | 59.35 TFLOPS | 14.09 TFLOPS |

| FP16 performance | 59.35 TFLOPS (1:1) | 28.18 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 275 W | 475 W |

| Slot width | Dual-slot | Quad-slot |

| Power connector | 1x 16-pin | None listed |

| Suggested PSU | 600 W | 850 W |

| Bus interface | PCIe 4.0 x16 | Apple MPX |

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

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

| Vulkan support | 1.4 | 1.3 |

| Production status | Active | End-of-life |

| Release date | 2023-11-15 | 2019-06-02 |

| Launch MSRP | None listed | 2,199 USD |

The Verdict

The NVIDIA L20 is the clear choice for any workload covered by the recorded benchmarks. It wins both head-to-head tests by margins of 176.9% and 128.9%, holds a 4.2x FP32 advantage, offers 50% more memory, includes ray tracing and tensor core hardware, consumes 200 W less power, and is still in active production. The database shows the L20 sits in the 99th percentile of all GPUs, while the Vega II sits in the 94th percentile, and the L20's nearest rivals are faster Ada-generation cards like the L40 and RTX 6000 Ada, not the Vega II's peers.

The AMD Radeon Pro Vega II's only recorded advantage is its Metal benchmark score of 130,183, a test absent for the L20, and its Apple MPX bus interface. For users locked into Apple Mac Pro environments that require Metal, the Vega II is a functional part, and its 32 GB of HBM2 with 825.3 GB/s bandwidth remains respectable for its era. However, it is end-of-life, draws 475 W, requires a quad-slot design, and its compute performance is dwarfed by the L20 in every shared test.

The verdict is straightforward: the NVIDIA L20 is the superior GPU for OpenCL and Vulkan compute workloads, with a generational lead in architecture, memory capacity, feature set, and efficiency. The Vega II is only preferable in the specific Apple MPX/Metal ecosystem, where the L20 has no presence. For anyone choosing between these two for general compute, the data points entirely to the L20.