AMD Radeon Pro VII vs AMD Radeon VII Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The Geekbench results provide a clear, if narrow, split between these two Vega 20 cards. The most dramatic gap appears in the Metal API, where the AMD Radeon Pro VII posts a score of 108,383 against the Radeon VII's 77,975. That is a 39% advantage for the Pro card, the single largest delta in any shared test. This is not a marginal lead; it is a decisive margin that suggests the Pro VII's firmware and driver stack are heavily optimized for Apple's Metal framework, likely reflecting its intended workstation deployment in macOS environments.

The OpenCL test flips the result, though by a much smaller amount. The Radeon VII scores 91,947 while the Pro VII trails at 90,148, a 2% deficit. This is within the range of run-to-run variance for many GPUs, but the data records it as a win for the consumer card. The Radeon VII also carries a slightly higher boost clock of 1750 MHz versus 1700 MHz on the Pro VII, which plausibly explains the small edge in a compute workload that scales with raw shader throughput.

The Vulkan benchmark is nearly a tie. The Pro VII edges ahead with 92,862 against 91,788, a 1.2% lead. Both cards share the same 4096-bit memory bus and 1.02 TB/s bandwidth, so the difference here is more likely attributable to clock behavior or driver scheduling than to any fundamental hardware gap. Across the three recorded tests, the Pro VII wins two and the Radeon VII wins one, but the magnitude of the Pro VII's Metal victory dominates the overall picture.

When placing these cards against their nearest rivals in the database, the context sharpens. The Pro VII's average benchmark score of 97,131 places it 0.4% behind the AMD Radeon RX 7900M (97,487) and 4.7% behind the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000 (101,872). It sits 5% ahead of the AMD Radeon Instinct MI60 (92,466) and 6% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX A4500 (91,671). The Radeon VII's average score of 66,004 is 1.1% behind the NVIDIA Tesla T4 (66,733) and 1.4% ahead of the Tesla P40 (65,095). It leads the Radeon Pro WX 9100 by 2.8% and the NVIDIA CMP 30HX by 3.4%. The two cards occupy different tiers in the database: the Pro VII sits at the 93rd percentile of all GPUs, while the Radeon VII sits at the 90th.

The average benchmark scores deserve careful reading. The Pro VII's 97,131 average is derived from three Geekbench tests, all of which are compute-oriented. The Radeon VII's 66,004 average includes a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 result of 2,304, a gaming workload that drags its average down relative to the compute-only tests. In direct head-to-head comparisons, the gap between the two is far smaller than the averages suggest. The Metal test is the outlier; the OpenCL and Vulkan tests show the cards within 2% of each other.

The Verdict

The data points to different buyers for each card, but it does not support a blanket recommendation for either. The AMD Radeon Pro VII is the choice for Metal-centric workflows. Its 39% lead in Geekbench Metal is the single most decisive number in this comparison, and it aligns with the card's professional positioning, including six mini-DisplayPort outputs and a 250 W TDP. The Radeon VII, by contrast, offers a slight edge in OpenCL, a 2% margin that is real but modest, and it does so with a higher 295 W TDP and two 8-pin power connectors.

The Pro VII's 93rd percentile ranking versus the Radeon VII's 90th reinforces the overall hierarchy. The Pro VII also sits closer to substantially more powerful rivals in the database: it is only 0.4% below the RX 7900M and 4.7% below the Quadro RTX 6000, while the Radeon VII's nearest comparables are the Tesla T4 and Tesla P40, both of which are more specialized or older parts. For users who prioritize Metal performance, the Pro VII is the clear winner. For users who prioritize OpenCL throughput, the Radeon VII is marginally better, but the difference is small enough that other factors, such as the Pro VII's lower power draw, could tip the balance.

There is no gaming benchmark shared between the two cards in the recorded data, so any claim about gaming superiority would be unsupported. The Radeon VII does have a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2,304, but the Pro VII has no equivalent result, making a direct comparison impossible. The verdict from the database is therefore compute-focused: the Pro VII wins on Metal and Vulkan, the Radeon VII wins on OpenCL, and the magnitudes favor the Pro VII.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon Pro VII wins in environments where Metal is the primary API. The 39% delta in Geekbench Metal is the standout result, and it suggests that macOS users, or developers targeting Apple platforms, will see substantially better performance from the Pro VII. The Pro VII also holds a narrow Vulkan lead of 1.2%, which is small but consistent with a workstation card that has undergone additional driver validation. Its 93rd percentile ranking and an average score of 97,131 place it in a higher performance class than its consumer sibling.

The AMD Radeon VII wins in OpenCL workloads, posting a 2% higher score than the Pro VII. This is the only test where the consumer card comes out ahead, and it aligns with the Radeon VII's higher boost clock of 1750 MHz and higher peak FP32 throughput of 13.44 TFLOPS versus 13.06 TFLOPS for the Pro VII. The Radeon VII also has a higher pixel rate (112.0 GPixel/s versus 108.8 GPixel/s) and texture rate (420.0 GTexel/s versus 408.0 GTexel/s), which are consistent with its clock advantage. For users running OpenCL-heavy compute tasks, the Radeon VII is the better performer on paper.

The Radeon VII also has the only recorded DX12 result in this comparison: a 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 2,304. The Pro VII has no corresponding entry, so it cannot be declared better or worse in DX12 from the database. The Radeon VII's 90th percentile ranking and average score of 66,004 are lower than the Pro VII's, but that is partly due to the inclusion of the gaming benchmark in its average. In pure compute terms, the two cards are much closer than the averages imply.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in Metal benchmarks?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro VII is significantly faster, scoring 108,383 in Geekbench Metal against 77,975 for the Radeon VII. That is a 39% advantage.

Q: Does the Radeon VII win any benchmark against the Pro VII?

A: Yes, the Radeon VII wins the Geekbench OpenCL test with 91,947 versus 90,148, a 2% margin. It also has a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2,304, though the Pro VII has no comparable DX12 result in the database.

Q: How do the two cards compare in Vulkan?

A: The Pro VII leads with 92,862 against 91,788, a 1.2% difference. The result is close enough that it is unlikely to be decisive in real workloads.

Q: What are the memory specifications for each card?

A: Both cards have 16 GB of HBM2 memory on a 4096-bit bus with 1.02 TB/s bandwidth. The memory clock is 1000 MHz with 2 Gbps effective speed on both.

Q: Which card has a higher boost clock?

A: The Radeon VII has a boost clock of 1750 MHz, while the Pro VII has a boost clock of 1700 MHz. The base clock is 1400 MHz on both.

Q: How do their power requirements differ?

A: The Pro VII has a 250 W TDP and uses one 6-pin and one 8-pin power connector. The Radeon VII has a 295 W TDP and uses two 8-pin connectors. Both have a suggested PSU of 600 W.

Architecture Differences

Both cards are built on the same Vega 20 silicon with the GCN 5.1 architecture, manufactured on TSMC's 7 nm process. The transistor count is identical at 13,230 million, and the die size is the same at 331 mm², yielding a transistor density of 40.0M per mm². The fundamental compute resources are also identical: 3840 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units. Neither card has dedicated ray tracing cores or tensor cores.

The differences begin with clocks. The Radeon VII boosts to 1750 MHz, while the Pro VII boosts to 1700 MHz. Base clocks are the same at 1400 MHz. This 50 MHz gap produces small but measurable differences in peak throughput: the Radeon VII reaches 13.44 TFLOPS FP32 and 26.88 TFLOPS FP16, while the Pro VII reaches 13.06 TFLOPS FP32 and 26.11 TFLOPS FP16. Pixel rate is 112.0 GPixel/s on the Radeon VII versus 108.8 GPixel/s on the Pro VII, and texture rate is 420.0 GTexel/s versus 408.0 GTexel/s.

Memory is identical in capacity, type, bus width, and bandwidth: 16 GB of HBM2 on a 4096-bit interface with 1.02 TB/s. The memory clock is 1000 MHz with 2 Gbps effective speed on both cards. The power profiles diverge, with the Pro VII rated at 250 W and the Radeon VII at 295 W. The Pro VII uses a single 6-pin and a single 8-pin connector, while the Radeon VII uses two 8-pin connectors. Both suggest a 600 W power supply.

The bus interface differs: the Pro VII uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while the Radeon VII uses PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs also differ. The Pro VII offers six mini-DisplayPort 1.4a connections, while the Radeon VII offers one HDMI 2.0b and three DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. The Pro VII is longer at 305 mm (12 inches) versus 280 mm (11 inches) for the Radeon VII, but the Radeon VII is taller at 125 mm (4.9 inches) versus 111 mm (4.4 inches). The Radeon VII has a recorded width of 40 mm (1.6 inches); the Pro VII's width is not listed in the database. Both are dual-slot cards.

The API support is the same: DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The release dates differ, with the Radeon VII launching on 2019-02-06 and the Pro VII on 2020-05-12. Both are end-of-life. The Pro VII's predecessor is the Radeon Pro Polaris and its successor is the Radeon Pro Navi. The Radeon VII's predecessor is Vega and its successor is Navi. The Pro VII carries a launch MSRP of 1,899 USD, while the Radeon VII carries a launch MSRP of 699 USD.