AMD Radeon Pro Vega II vs NVIDIA RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation Comparison

NVIDIA RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation and AMD Radeon Pro Vega II occupy different corners of the workstation GPU market. The data shows a clear split: the NVIDIA card wins both shared benchmark tests, but the AMD card holds advantages in memory capacity and raw bandwidth. Across the two head-to-head tests, the RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation wins 2-0, with an average benchmark score of 117,088 compared to 109,617 for the Radeon Pro Vega II. Both cards sit near the top of the GPU hierarchy, with the NVIDIA card in the 95th percentile of all GPUs and the AMD card in the 94th percentile.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most decisive result comes in Geekbench OpenCL, where the NVIDIA RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation scores 124,812 against 99,048 for the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II. That is a 26% advantage, the largest gap between the two cards in any shared test. The OpenCL result reflects raw compute throughput, and the NVIDIA card's 19.17 TFLOPS of FP32 performance outpaces the AMD card's 14.09 TFLOPS by a substantial margin. The RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation also delivers higher shading unit efficiency, with 6,144 shading units compared to 4,096 on the Radeon Pro Vega II, though the AMD card compensates with more texture mapping units (256 vs 192) and a higher texture rate (440.3 GTexel/s vs 299.5 GTexel/s).

In Geekbench Vulkan, the NVIDIA card wins again but by a narrower margin. The RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation scores 109,364 versus 99,621 for the Radeon Pro Vega II, a 9.8% difference. This smaller gap suggests the AMD card's architecture handles the Vulkan API relatively better than OpenCL, though it still trails in absolute performance. The Vulkan result also highlights the NVIDIA card's hardware ray tracing advantage: the RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation features 48 RT cores, while the Radeon Pro Vega II has no dedicated RT cores at all. Similarly, the NVIDIA card includes 192 tensor cores for AI workloads, a feature entirely absent from the AMD card.

The AMD Radeon Pro Vega II's only benchmark win comes in Geekbench Metal, where it scores 130,183. This test was not run on the NVIDIA card, but the score exceeds both of the NVIDIA card's benchmark results, indicating strong performance in Apple's graphics API. This is consistent with the AMD card's positioning as a Radeon Pro Mac product, designed for the macOS ecosystem. The AMD card's average benchmark score of 109,617 is below the NVIDIA card's 117,088, but the Metal result shows it has strengths in specific environments.

Architecture Differences

The two cards represent fundamentally different design philosophies separated by four years of GPU evolution. The NVIDIA RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation uses the AD104 chip built on TSMC's 5 nm process, packing 35,800 million transistors into a 294 mm² die. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega II uses the Vega 20 chip on TSMC's 7 nm process, with 13,230 million transistors spread across a 331 mm² die. The transistor density difference is stark: 121.8 million transistors per square millimeter on the NVIDIA card versus 40.0 million on the AMD card. This explains how the NVIDIA card achieves higher compute performance with a smaller, more efficient chip.

The memory subsystems could not be more different. The NVIDIA card uses 20 GB of GDDR6 on a 160-bit bus, delivering 280.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The AMD card uses 32 GB of HBM2 on a 4096-bit bus, delivering 825.3 GB/s. The AMD card has 60% more memory capacity and nearly 3x the memory bandwidth. However, the NVIDIA card's memory runs at 14 Gbps effective, while the AMD card's memory runs at 1612 Mbps effective, reflecting the different memory technologies. For workloads that are bandwidth-bound, the Radeon Pro Vega II has a clear theoretical advantage.

Architecturally, the NVIDIA card is built on Ada Lovelace, the latest generation of NVIDIA's workstation architecture, while the AMD card uses GCN 5.1, an older design. The NVIDIA card supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the AMD card is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.3. Both support OpenGL 4.6. The NVIDIA card also has a significant power efficiency advantage: its TDP is 70 W versus 475 W for the AMD card. The NVIDIA card draws power from the PCIe slot with no external connectors, while the AMD card requires a massive 850 W suggested power supply. This makes the NVIDIA card suitable for compact systems, with its 168 mm length and dual-slot design, while the AMD card uses a quad-slot form factor and the proprietary Apple MPX bus interface.

FAQ

Q: Which card has higher raw compute performance?

A: The NVIDIA RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation delivers 19.17 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, compared to 14.09 TFLOPS for the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II. In FP16, the AMD card actually leads with 28.18 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio) versus 19.17 TFLOPS (1:1) for the NVIDIA card.

Q: How do the memory configurations compare?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro Vega II has 32 GB of HBM2 memory on a 4096-bit bus with 825.3 GB/s bandwidth. The NVIDIA RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation has 20 GB of GDDR6 on a 160-bit bus with 280.0 GB/s bandwidth. The AMD card offers both more capacity and significantly higher bandwidth.

Q: Which card supports hardware ray tracing?

A: Only the NVIDIA RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation has dedicated ray tracing hardware, with 48 RT cores. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega II has no RT cores listed in its specifications. The NVIDIA card also includes 192 tensor cores for AI acceleration, which the AMD card lacks entirely.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The NVIDIA RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation has a 70 W TDP and requires a 250 W suggested power supply, drawing power entirely from the PCIe slot. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega II has a 475 W TDP and requires an 850 W suggested power supply, with a quad-slot design.

Q: Which card is better suited for Apple Mac systems?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro Vega II is explicitly part of the Radeon Pro Mac generation and uses the Apple MPX bus interface. It achieved a Geekbench Metal score of 130,183, which is higher than either benchmark score for the NVIDIA card. The NVIDIA card uses PCIe 4.0 x16 and has no Metal benchmark results recorded.

Q: How do the cards compare in overall benchmark standings?

A: The NVIDIA RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation has an average benchmark score of 117,088 and sits in the 95th percentile of all GPUs. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega II has an average score of 109,617 and sits in the 94th percentile. The NVIDIA card is 0.3% behind the NVIDIA GB10, while the AMD card is 1% behind the AMD Radeon PRO W7900.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every major specification category. The NVIDIA RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation uses a 5 nm process node, while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II uses 7 nm. Transistor counts are 35,800 million versus 13,230 million, with die sizes of 294 mm² and 331 mm² respectively. The base clock on the AMD card is substantially higher at 1574 MHz versus 720 MHz, and the boost clock is 1720 MHz versus 1560 MHz. Memory type, size, bus width, and bandwidth all differ: GDDR6 20 GB 160-bit 280.0 GB/s versus HBM2 32 GB 4096-bit 825.3 GB/s.

Shading units favor the NVIDIA card at 6,144 versus 4,096, but TMUs favor the AMD card at 256 versus 192. Both have 64 ROPs. The NVIDIA card has 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores; the AMD card has neither. Pixel rates are similar (99.84 GPixel/s for NVIDIA, 110.1 GPixel/s for AMD), but texture rates differ (299.5 GTexel/s vs 440.3 GTexel/s). FP32 performance is 19.17 TFLOPS for NVIDIA versus 14.09 TFLOPS for AMD. TDP is 70 W versus 475 W. The NVIDIA card is dual-slot with no power connectors; the AMD card is quad-slot with an Apple MPX interface. Display outputs are 4x mini-DisplayPort 1.4a versus 1x HDMI 2.0b and 4x Thunderbolt. The NVIDIA card supports PCIe 4.0 x16, while the AMD card uses Apple MPX. The NVIDIA card is 168 mm long and 69 mm high; the AMD card has no listed dimensions. Release dates are March 20, 2023 for NVIDIA and June 2, 2019 for AMD. The NVIDIA card is Active, while the AMD card is End-of-life. The AMD card has a launch MSRP of 2,199 USD.

The Verdict

The data points to different buyers for each card. The NVIDIA RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation is the better choice for compute-heavy workloads that rely on OpenCL or Vulkan, where it leads by 26% and 9.8% respectively. Its 70 W power draw, dual-slot design, and lack of external power connectors make it suitable for compact workstations. The inclusion of RT cores and tensor cores positions it for ray-traced rendering and AI-accelerated tasks. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega II is the better choice for memory-intensive workloads, offering 32 GB of HBM2 with 825.3 GB/s bandwidth. Its leadership in Geekbench Metal (130,183) and its Apple MPX interface make it the clear pick for macOS environments. The AMD card's FP16 performance of 28.18 TFLOPS also exceeds the NVIDIA card's 19.17 TFLOPS, benefiting applications that use mixed-precision math.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation wins in raw compute benchmarks, with a 26% lead in OpenCL and a 9.8% lead in Vulkan. It also wins on power efficiency, using 70 W versus 475 W, and on modern API support, with DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4. It is the only card with hardware ray tracing and tensor cores, making it the choice for ray-traced rendering and AI inference. Its 5 nm process node and higher transistor density (121.8M / mm² vs 40.0M / mm²) indicate a more advanced design. The card's compact dimensions and lack of power connectors make it suitable for small form factor systems.

The AMD Radeon Pro Vega II wins on memory capacity and bandwidth, with 32 GB versus 20 GB and 825.3 GB/s versus 280.0 GB/s. It also wins in Geekbench Metal with a score of 130,183, which is higher than either of the NVIDIA card's benchmark scores. Its higher base clock (1574 MHz vs 720 MHz) and boost clock (1720 MHz vs 1560 MHz) suggest better clock-for-clock performance in certain workloads. The card's FP16 throughput of 28.18 TFLOPS is 47% higher than the NVIDIA card's 19.17 TFLOPS. Its pixel rate of 110.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 440.3 GTexel/s exceed the NVIDIA card's 99.84 GPixel/s and 299.5 GTexel/s, indicating stronger fill-rate performance. The AMD card is also the only one with Thunderbolt display outputs and HDMI support, offering more flexible display connectivity for Apple-centric workflows.