AMD Radeon RX 580 vs AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data presents a decisive outcome. Across all three recorded head-to-head tests, the AMD Radeon RX 580 outperforms the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 by a substantial margin. The RX 580 wins every single comparison, with the database recording 3 wins for the discrete card and 0 for the integrated processor graphics.

In the Geekbench Metal test, the RX 580 scores 45,235, while the RX Vega 11 manages 17,086. This represents a 62.2% advantage for the RX 580, a massive gap in raw graphics performance. The RX 580's score places it in a different performance tier entirely, nearly tripling the output of the integrated solution.

The Geekbench OpenCL results tell a similar story. The RX 580 records 37,453 points, compared to the RX Vega 11's 12,525. The delta here is 66.6% in favor of the RX 580, an even wider margin than the Metal test. This suggests the RX 580's compute capabilities are significantly more robust, likely due to its much larger shading unit count and dedicated memory subsystem.

The Vulkan benchmark shows the largest relative difference. The RX 580 achieves 45,173, while the RX Vega 11 trails far behind at 13,543. This 70% deficit for the Vega 11 indicates that the discrete card handles modern cross-platform graphics APIs with far greater efficiency. Vulkan is often used in newer game engines and demanding workloads, so this gap is particularly meaningful for real-world gaming scenarios.

Looking at the broader average benchmark scores, the RX Vega 11 sits at 14,385, which is actually slightly higher than the RX 580's average of 12,928. This apparent contradiction stems from the different benchmark suites included in each product's average calculation. The RX Vega 11's average draws from its three Geekbench results, while the RX 580's average includes a wider range of tests, including PassMark DirectX 9, 10, 11, and 12 tests, plus G2D, G3D, and compute tests. The PassMark DirectX 9 score of 124 and DirectX 10 score of 46, while positive, pull down the RX 580's overall average despite its dominant head-to-head wins.

The percentile rankings confirm the mixed picture. The RX Vega 11 ranks at the 56th percentile among all GPUs, while the RX 580 sits at the 53rd percentile. Despite the RX 580's overwhelming head-to-head victories, the Vega 11 actually holds a higher overall percentile when compared against the entire database of graphics cards. This is a notable data point, though it does not diminish the clear performance hierarchy established in the direct comparisons.

The nearest rivals for each card provide context. The RX Vega 11's closest competitor is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN, which scores 14,373, a delta of 0.1%. The AMD Radeon Vega 11, a name variant, sits at 14,352, just 0.2% behind. For the RX 580, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile is the closest rival at 12,940, a 0.1% delta, followed by the GTX 1660 SUPER at 12,986, a 0.4% delta. These rival comparisons show that both cards occupy competitive positions within their respective performance brackets, even if they are far apart from each other.

The Verdict

The data leaves little room for ambiguity. The AMD Radeon RX 580 is the superior product in every head-to-head benchmark recorded. If the requirement is maximum graphics throughput, particularly for gaming or GPU-accelerated workloads, the RX 580 is the clear choice. Its 62.2% to 70% advantages across Metal, OpenCL, and Vulkan represent a generational leap in capability that cannot be overcome by the integrated Vega 11.

The RX Vega 11, however, has its own rationale. Its 15 W TDP versus the RX 580's 185 W TDP makes it suitable for systems where power consumption and heat generation are critical constraints. It requires no power connectors, occupies no expansion slot, and relies on system shared memory. This makes it a functional option for basic computing, light media playback, and older or less demanding games. The benchmark results indicate it holds its own against the GTX TITAN and GTX 965M, which is respectable for an integrated solution.

Users who already own a motherboard with the Vega 11 IGP and need occasional graphics capability may find it sufficient. Those building a system with the explicit goal of gaming or content creation should choose the RX 580 without hesitation. The RX 580's 8 GB of GDDR5 memory and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth provide a dedicated memory pool that the Vega 11 cannot match, as its memory is system dependent. The RX 580 also offers a 450 W suggested PSU, indicating it requires a proper power supply, but delivers far higher frame rates in return.

The verdict is straightforward: the RX 580 for performance, the Vega 11 for low-power integrated scenarios. There is no overlap in their intended use cases, and the benchmark data reinforces this separation.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 580 scores 37,453, while the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 scores 12,525. The RX 580 wins by 66.6%.

Q: How large is the performance gap in Vulkan?

A: The RX 580 records 45,173 points in Geekbench Vulkan, compared to 13,543 for the RX Vega 11, a 70% difference in favor of the RX 580.

Q: Does the RX Vega 11 have any benchmark where it beats the RX 580?

A: No. In the recorded head-to-head tests (Geekbench Metal, OpenCL, and Vulkan), the RX 580 wins all three. The wins count is 3 for the RX 580 and 0 for the RX Vega 11.

Q: What is the average benchmark score for each card?

A: The RX Vega 11 has an average benchmark score of 14,385, while the RX 580 has an average of 12,928. The RX 580's average is lower because it includes additional PassMark tests that the Vega 11 does not have.

Q: How does each card rank compared to all GPUs?

A: The RX Vega 11 ranks at the 56th percentile among all GPUs, while the RX 580 ranks at the 53rd percentile. The Vega 11 holds a slightly higher overall percentile despite losing head-to-head.

Q: What is the TDP difference between the two cards?

A: The RX Vega 11 has a TDP of 15 W, while the RX 580 has a TDP of 185 W. The RX 580 consumes significantly more power, which is reflected in its need for a 1x 8-pin power connector and a 450 W suggested PSU.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every core specification. The RX Vega 11 uses a Picasso chip on a 12 nm process node, while the RX 580 uses a Polaris 20 chip on a 14 nm process. The Vega 11 has 4,940 million transistors on a 210 mm² die, whereas the RX 580 has 5,700 million transistors on a 232 mm² die. Transistor density is also slightly different: 23.5M per mm² for the Vega 11 versus 24.6M per mm² for the RX 580.

Clock speeds show a notable inversion. The Vega 11 has a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 1400 MHz. The RX 580 has a higher base clock of 1257 MHz but a lower boost clock of 1340 MHz. This means the Vega 11 boosts to a higher frequency, but the RX 580 runs at a much higher sustained base rate.

Memory configurations are entirely different. The Vega 11 uses system shared memory with system-dependent bandwidth. The RX 580 has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock for the RX 580 is 2000 MHz, or 8 Gbps effective.

The compute unit counts differ significantly. The Vega 11 has 704 shading units, 44 texture mapping units, and 8 raster output units. The RX 580 has 2304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. These numbers directly explain the performance gap in the benchmark results.

Pixel and texture rates follow the hardware counts. The Vega 11 produces 11.20 GPixel/s and 61.60 GTexel/s. The RX 580 produces 42.88 GPixel/s and 193.0 GTexel/s. Floating point performance shows the RX 580 at 6.175 TFLOPS for FP32, while the Vega 11 manages 1.971 TFLOPS. The FP16 rates are 6.175 TFLOPS for the RX 580 (1:1 ratio) and 3.942 TFLOPS for the Vega 11 (2:1 ratio).

Physical and interface specifications also diverge. The Vega 11 is an IGP with no slot width, no power connectors, and a motherboard-dependent display output. The RX 580 is a dual-slot card measuring 241 mm or 9.5 inches in length, requiring a 1x 8-pin power connector and a 450 W suggested PSU. It uses a PCIe 3.0 x16 interface and offers 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. The DirectX support differs as well: the Vega 11 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the RX 580 supports DirectX 12 (12_0).

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide is fundamental. The RX Vega 11 is built on GCN 5.0 architecture, part of the Vega IGP generation under the Picasso chip. The RX 580 uses GCN 4.0 architecture, part of the Polaris generation under the Polaris 20 chip. These are distinct GPU generations with different design priorities.

The process technology differs: the Vega 11 uses a 12 nm node, while the RX 580 uses a 14 nm node. Both are fabricated by GlobalFoundries, but the smaller node gives the Vega 11 a manufacturing advantage in transistor density, despite having fewer total transistors. The Vega 11 packs 4,940 million transistors into 210 mm², while the RX 580 fits 5,700 million into 232 mm².

The Vega 11 is an integrated processor graphics solution, sharing memory with the system. This architecture is designed for low power consumption at 15 W, with no dedicated VRAM. The RX 580 is a discrete graphics card with its own 8 GB GDDR5 memory pool, operating at 185 W. This fundamental difference in memory architecture is the single largest factor in their performance disparity.

Neither card includes ray tracing cores or tensor cores, as both predate those features. The Vega 11's predecessor is listed as GCN 3.0 IGP, and its successor is Vega II IGP. The RX 580's predecessor is Arctic Islands, and its successor is Vega. The release dates reflect this generational split: the Vega 11 launched on July 6, 2019, while the RX 580 launched on April 17, 2017. The RX 580 is the older, larger, more powerful card, while the Vega 11 is a newer, smaller, more efficient integrated solution. Both are marked as end-of-life in the database.