AMD Radeon Pro Vega II vs NVIDIA L4 Comparison

NVIDIA L4 decisively outperforms the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II in the shared benchmark suite, winning both head-to-head tests by substantial margins. The L4’s average benchmark score of 131,072 places it 19.6% ahead of the Vega II’s 109,617, and its percentile ranking (95th vs 94th) confirms a higher standing across the entire GPU landscape. The data points to a clear generational and architectural advantage for the L4, despite the Vega II’s larger memory pool and wider bus.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most significant victory for the NVIDIA L4 comes in the Geekbench OpenCL test, where it scores 140,838 against the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II’s 99,048. This represents a commanding 42.2% performance lead, a gap that underscores the fundamental efficiency differences between the two architectures. The L4’s score is not just a win; it is a dominant one that highlights the Vega II’s age and compute limitations in modern workloads.

In the Vulkan API test, the L4 again takes the top spot, posting 121,306 points versus the Vega II’s 99,621. The 21.8% delta here is smaller than in OpenCL but still a decisive margin. This result suggests that while the Vega II can hold its own better in graphics-oriented tasks, it still trails significantly in this cross-platform API. The L4’s consistency across both tests indicates a more balanced and capable compute profile.

Looking at the broader benchmark context, the L4’s average score of 131,072 places it within 0.7% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti (131,938) and 3.1% behind both the NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada Generation (135,218) and NVIDIA A10M (135,230). This positions the L4 as a high-end performer that trades blows with some of the most powerful GPUs available. In contrast, the Vega II’s average of 109,617 is 1% behind the AMD Radeon PRO W7900 (110,725) and 2.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W6600X (107,342), showing it sits in a lower performance tier.

The win count is lopsided: the L4 secures 2 wins, while the Vega II secures 0. This is a clean sweep in the head-to-head category, with no test showing the AMD card with an advantage. The data does not present a scenario where the Vega II is competitive in raw compute benchmarks.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins in Geekbench OpenCL performance?

A: The NVIDIA L4 wins decisively, scoring 140,838 points compared to the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II’s 99,048 points, a 42.2% advantage.

Q: How do the two cards compare in Vulkan benchmark scores?

A: The NVIDIA L4 leads again, achieving 121,306 points versus the Vega II’s 99,621 points, resulting in a 21.8% performance gap.

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

A: The NVIDIA L4 averages 131,072 points, while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II averages 109,617 points. The L4 is roughly 19.6% faster overall based on these averages.

Q: Are there any benchmark tests where the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II wins?

A: No. In the head-to-head comparison data, the AMD card wins 0 tests, while the NVIDIA L4 wins both available tests.

Q: How does each card rank among all GPUs based on percentile?

A: The NVIDIA L4 is in the 95th percentile, while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II is in the 94th percentile, indicating the L4 has a slightly higher overall standing.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II?

A: The launch MSRP of the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II is 2,199 USD.

Architecture Differences

The NVIDIA L4 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using the AD104 chip, manufactured on a 5 nm process at TSMC. This modern node allows for a transistor count of 35,800 million packed into a 294 mm² die, yielding a high transistor density of 121.8M per mm². The L4 features 7,424 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 80 ROPs, along with 60 RT cores and 240 tensor cores, making it a fully featured accelerator for ray tracing and AI workloads.

In contrast, the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II is based on the older GCN 5.1 architecture with the Vega 20 chip, built on a larger 7 nm process. It contains only 13,230 million transistors on a 331 mm² die, resulting in a much lower transistor density of 40.0M per mm². The Vega II has 4,096 shading units, 256 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, but it lacks dedicated RT cores and tensor cores entirely, reflecting its focus on traditional compute rather than modern AI or ray tracing features. The L4’s architectural advantage is evident in its ability to deliver higher FP32 throughput (30.29 TFLOPS) compared to the Vega II’s 14.09 TFLOPS.

The L4 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the Vega II is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.3. Both support OpenGL 4.6. The L4’s newer API support aligns with its more recent release (March 2023) versus the Vega II’s June 2019 launch. The L4 is also actively in production, whereas the Vega II is end-of-life.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ starkly in memory configuration. The NVIDIA L4 offers 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 300.1 GB/s of bandwidth. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega II provides 32 GB of HBM2 memory on a massive 4096-bit bus, achieving 825.3 GB/s of bandwidth. While the Vega II has a clear advantage in raw memory capacity and bandwidth, the L4’s modern memory technology is more power-efficient.

Clock speeds also diverge significantly. The L4 has a base clock of 795 MHz and a boost clock of 2040 MHz, while the Vega II runs at 1574 MHz base and 1720 MHz boost. The L4’s higher boost clock, combined with its architecture, drives its superior compute performance. Memory clocks differ as well: the L4 runs at 1563 MHz (12.5 Gbps effective), while the Vega II runs at 806 MHz (1612 Mbps effective).

Power and physical characteristics show a major contrast. The L4 has a TDP of just 72 W with no power connectors and a suggested PSU of 250 W, fitting in a single-slot design. The Vega II is a power-hungry quad-slot card with a 475 W TDP and a suggested PSU of 850 W. The L4 is also more compact at 169 mm in length and 56 mm in height, while the Vega II’s dimensions are not listed. The L4 uses a standard PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, whereas the Vega II uses the proprietary Apple MPX bus. The Vega II has display outputs (1x HDMI 2.0b and 4x Thunderbolt), while the L4 has no outputs, targeting server deployments.

The Verdict

The data clearly favors the NVIDIA L4 for any application requiring raw compute performance. With a 42.2% lead in OpenCL and a 21.8% lead in Vulkan, the L4 is the superior choice for general-purpose GPU computing, AI inference, and any workload that leverages modern APIs like DirectX 12 Ultimate. Its higher average benchmark score (131,072 vs 109,617) and better percentile rank (95th vs 94th) confirm this. The L4 achieves this with a fraction of the power draw (72 W vs 475 W), making it a far more efficient solution.

The AMD Radeon Pro Vega II, however, should be chosen for specific scenarios where its unique features are indispensable. Its 32 GB of HBM2 memory with 825.3 GB/s of bandwidth is a massive advantage for data sets that exceed the L4’s 24 GB capacity and require extremely high memory throughput. The Vega II also has display outputs, making it suitable for Mac Pro systems where output is needed. Its launch MSRP of 2,199 USD reflects its premium positioning at the time of release, but the data shows it is now outclassed in compute.

For most users, the L4 is the rational pick. It is faster, more efficient, and architecturally modern. The Vega II is only preferable when its memory size and bandwidth are critical, or when the Apple MPX form factor is required.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA L4 wins in all compute benchmark comparisons. It dominates the Geekbench OpenCL test with a 42.2% margin, showing a massive advantage in raw compute throughput. It also wins the Vulkan test by 21.8%, demonstrating better cross-platform graphics and compute performance. The L4 is the clear winner for tasks like machine learning inference, scientific simulation, and high-performance computing where FP32 throughput (30.29 TFLOPS vs 14.09 TFLOPS) and modern tensor cores are essential. Its low TDP of 72 W makes it ideal for dense server environments where power and cooling are limited.

The AMD Radeon Pro Vega II wins in no benchmark tests, but it has specific strengths in memory-centric workloads. Its 32 GB of HBM2 memory with 825.3 GB/s of bandwidth is nearly three times the L4’s bandwidth (300.1 GB/s), making it superior for large in-memory databases, certain data analytics tasks, and workloads that require massive memory buffers. The Vega II’s 4x Thunderbolt and HDMI outputs give it a unique advantage in Mac Pro systems where multiple high-resolution displays are needed. Its 2:1 FP16 ratio (28.18 TFLOPS) also provides competitive half-precision performance, though it lacks the tensor cores for AI-specific acceleration found in the L4. For users entrenched in the Apple ecosystem, the Vega II remains a viable option despite its age and power consumption.