AMD Radeon PRO W7700 vs AMD Radeon VII Comparison

FAQ

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in raw compute performance?

A: The AMD Radeon PRO W7700 delivers 31.95 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, while the AMD Radeon VII outputs 13.44 TFLOPS. This gives the W7700 a 2.4x advantage in single-precision throughput, which is reflected in its benchmark scores.

Q: Which card has higher memory bandwidth, and how does that affect performance?

A: The Radeon VII has the higher bandwidth at 1.02 TB/s, using HBM2 across a 4096-bit bus. The Radeon PRO W7700 uses GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, achieving 576.0 GB/s. Despite this bandwidth deficit, the W7700 still wins decisively in the recorded benchmarks, indicating that its architecture is more efficient per byte of memory bandwidth.

Q: What is the performance percentiles of each card in the database?

A: The Radeon PRO W7700 sits at the 95th percentile of all GPUs, while the Radeon VII is at the 90th percentile. This places the W7700 in the top 5% of all recorded GPUs, whereas the Radeon VII sits in the top 10%.

Q: Which card supports newer API versions?

A: The Radeon PRO W7700 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The Radeon VII supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The W7700 has a clear advantage in API feature level support.

Q: How do the memory capacities compare, and does it matter for workloads?

A: Both cards have 16 GB of memory, so capacity is identical. The difference lies in memory type and bandwidth: the Radeon VII's HBM2 offers 1.02 TB/s, while the W7700's GDDR6 offers 576.0 GB/s. The W7700 still outperforms despite lower bandwidth.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The Radeon PRO W7700 has a 190 W TDP and requires a 450 W power supply. The Radeon VII has a 295 W TDP and recommends a 600 W power supply. The W7700 is significantly more power-efficient.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two AMD GPUs is substantial, spanning multiple generations of design philosophy. The Radeon PRO W7700 is built on the Navi 32 chip using RDNA 3.0 architecture, fabricated on TSMC's 5 nm process. The Radeon VII uses the Vega 20 chip with GCN 5.1 architecture, built on a 7 nm process. This process node difference, from 7 nm to 5 nm, enables the W7700 to pack 28,100 million transistors into a 346 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 81.2 million per mm². The Radeon VII, by contrast, contains 13,230 million transistors on a 331 mm² die, yielding a density of 40.0 million per mm².

The architectural differences extend to compute resources. The Radeon PRO W7700 features 3,072 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 96 ROPs. The Radeon VII has more shading units at 3,840, along with 240 TMUs, but fewer ROPs at 64. Despite having fewer shading units, the W7700 achieves far higher throughput due to the efficiency of RDNA 3.0. The W7700 also introduces 48 ray tracing cores, a feature completely absent from the Radeon VII, which has no dedicated RT hardware.

Clock speeds tell a similar story of generational progress. The Radeon PRO W7700 operates at a base clock of 1900 MHz and boosts to 2600 MHz. The Radeon VII runs at a base of 1400 MHz with a boost of 1750 MHz. This 850 MHz boost clock advantage for the W7700 directly contributes to its superior pixel rate of 249.6 GPixel/s versus the Radeon VII's 112.0 GPixel/s. Texture rates also favor the newer card: 499.2 GTexel/s versus 420.0 GTexel/s.

Memory architecture is where the Radeon VII retains a unique edge. It uses 16 GB of HBM2 across a massive 4096-bit bus, achieving 1.02 TB/s of bandwidth. The W7700 uses 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 576.0 GB/s. While the Radeon VII's bandwidth is nearly double, the W7700's memory operates at 18 Gbps effective versus 2 Gbps effective, showing how much faster the individual memory modules run.

The W7700 also brings modern connectivity features. It supports PCIe 4.0 x16, while the Radeon VII uses PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs differ as well: the W7700 offers 4x DisplayPort 2.1, while the Radeon VII has 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The W7700 also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, versus DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.3 on the VII.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded benchmark data shows a clear and consistent winner. In Geekbench OpenCL, the Radeon PRO W7700 scores 108,245 against the Radeon VII's 91,947. This represents a 17.7% advantage for the W7700. This margin is notable given that the Radeon VII has more shading units and significantly higher memory bandwidth. The result indicates that RDNA 3.0's architectural efficiency overcomes the raw resource advantages of the older GCN design.

The gap widens considerably in the Vulkan benchmark. The Radeon PRO W7700 achieves 129,706, while the Radeon VII scores 91,788. This is a 41.3% lead for the W7700. Vulkan is a low-level API that exposes hardware capabilities more directly, and the newer architecture clearly benefits from this. The W7700's support for Vulkan 1.4, compared to the Radeon VII's Vulkan 1.3, may also contribute to better driver-level optimization.

The database also records a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 result for the Radeon VII: 2,304. No comparable DX12 result is listed for the W7700 in the head-to-head data, but the W7700's DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) support versus the VII's DirectX 12 (12_1) suggests the newer card would handle modern DX12 workloads with more complete feature coverage.

Across the two shared benchmark tests, the W7700 wins both, giving it a 2-0 record in head-to-head comparisons. The average benchmark score in the database reinforces this dominance: the W7700 averages 118,976 across its recorded tests, while the Radeon VII averages 66,004. This overall average difference of roughly 80% reflects not just the two shared tests but also the broader benchmark suite where the newer card's capabilities shine.

The nearest rivals data provides additional context. The Radeon PRO W7700's closest competitor is the NVIDIA GB10 with an average score of 117,393, a mere 1.3% difference. The NVIDIA RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation trails by 1.6%, and the Tesla V100 SXM2 16 GB is 4% behind. For the Radeon VII, the nearest rival is the NVIDIA Tesla T4 at 66,733, which is 1.1% ahead. The NVIDIA Tesla P40 is 1.4% behind, and the AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100 is 2.8% behind. This positions the W7700 among much more modern competitors, while the Radeon VII competes with older professional cards.

The Verdict

The data points to a decisive recommendation. The AMD Radeon PRO W7700 is the superior performer in every recorded benchmark, with wins in both Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan. Its 17.7% and 41.3% leads respectively demonstrate that the RDNA 3.0 architecture provides meaningful performance gains over the older GCN 5.1 design, even when the older card has more raw compute units and double the memory bandwidth.

Professionals working with OpenCL-based workloads will see a solid improvement from the W7700, but those using Vulkan will experience a far more dramatic uplift. The W7700's 95th percentile ranking versus the Radeon VII's 90th percentile places both cards in the upper echelon, yet the gap between them is clear.

The Radeon VII has one area of technical superiority: memory bandwidth. Its 1.02 TB/s HBM2 implementation remains impressive, but the benchmark results show this advantage does not translate into real-world performance wins. The W7700's GDDR6 at 576.0 GB/s is sufficient for its workloads, and the architectural efficiency compensates for the bandwidth deficit.

For users with power constraints, the W7700 is the clear choice. Its 190 W TDP and 450 W suggested PSU represent significant savings over the Radeon VII's 295 W TDP and 600 W PSU requirement. The W7700 also uses a single 8-pin power connector versus two 8-pin connectors on the VII, simplifying installation.

The Radeon VII is marked as end-of-life in the database, while the W7700 has an active production status. This availability difference makes the choice even more straightforward for new purchases. The VII's predecessor was Vega, and its successor is Navi, which is the chip family the W7700 belongs to. This positions the W7700 as the direct modern replacement for the Radeon VII.

The W7700's support for DisplayPort 2.1 and PCIe 4.0 x16 ensures it is compatible with current and near-future display and platform technologies. The Radeon VII's DisplayPort 1.4a and PCIe 3.0 x16 are older standards that may limit connectivity options in modern systems.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon PRO W7700 | AMD Radeon VII |

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

| Chip | Navi 32 | Vega 20 |

| Architecture | RDNA 3.0 | GCN 5.1 |

| Process Node | 5 nm | 7 nm |

| Transistors | 28,100 million | 13,230 million |

| Die Size | 346 mm² | 331 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 81.2M / mm² | 40.0M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1900 MHz | 1400 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2600 MHz | 1750 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 2250 MHz, 18 Gbps effective | 1000 MHz, 2 Gbps effective |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | HBM2 |

| Memory Bus Width | 256 bit | 4096 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 576.0 GB/s | 1.02 TB/s |

| Shading Units | 3072 | 3840 |

| TMUs | 192 | 240 |

| ROPs | 96 | 64 |

| RT Cores | 48 | None |

| Pixel Rate | 249.6 GPixel/s | 112.0 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 499.2 GTexel/s | 420.0 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 31.95 TFLOPS | 13.44 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 63.90 TFLOPS (2:1) | 26.88 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 190 W | 295 W |

| Power Connectors | 1x 8-pin | 2x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 450 W | 600 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 4x DisplayPort 2.1 | 1x HDMI 2.0b, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a |

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

| Vulkan | 1.4 | 1.3 |

| Length | 241 mm (9.5 inches) | 280 mm (11 inches) |

| Height | 111 mm (4.4 inches) | 125 mm (4.9 inches) |

| Width | Not specified | 40 mm (1.6 inches) |

| Production Status | Active | End-of-life |

| Release Date | 2023-11-12 | 2019-02-06 |

| Launch MSRP | 999 USD | 699 USD |