AMD Radeon RX 580 vs AMD Radeon Vega 11 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a decisive outcome in the head-to-head comparison between the AMD Radeon Vega 11 and the AMD Radeon RX 580. Across the three shared benchmark tests, the RX 580 wins every single contest, securing a 3-0 sweep. The Vega 11, an integrated graphics processor built on the Picasso chip, cannot match the dedicated Polaris 20-based RX 580 in any measured workload.

The most lopsided result appears in the Geekbench Vulkan test. The RX 580 scores 45,173, while the Vega 11 manages only 12,273. This gives the RX 580 an advantage of 72.8% in that specific API test. The gap is substantial enough that the Vega 11's score represents less than a third of the RX 580's output in Vulkan-bound scenarios. Since both cards support Vulkan 1.3 in their API lists, this is a direct comparison of raw execution capability under the same driver-level interface.

In Geekbench Metal, the RX 580 posts a score of 45,235 against the Vega 11's 17,392. The delta here is 61.6% in favor of the RX 580. While Metal is primarily associated with Apple platforms, the benchmark still exercises the GPU's compute and graphics pipelines, and the RX 580's larger shading unit count of 2,304 versus 704 for the Vega 11 shows up clearly in the result.

The Geekbench OpenCL test shows a similar pattern. The RX 580 achieves 37,453, while the Vega 11 records 13,392. That is a 64.2% difference. OpenCL is a compute-oriented API, and the RX 580's 6.175 TFLOPS of FP32 throughput dwarfs the Vega 11's 1.971 TFLOPS, which explains the magnitude of the gap. The data indicates that in every shared test, the RX 580 more than doubles the Vega 11's score, with the Vulkan delta being the largest of the three.

When placed against the broader field, the Vega 11 sits at the 56th percentile among all GPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 14,352. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN, averages 14,373, a difference of only 0.1%. The AMD Radeon RX Vega 11, a different part with a similar name, sits at 14,385, which is 0.2% above the Vega 11 in question. The Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics trails by 0.3%, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M is 0.4% ahead. These tight margins show that the Vega 11 is competitive with older mid-range discrete GPUs from several generations back, but it is firmly in that performance tier rather than above it.

The RX 580, by contrast, holds the 53rd percentile overall, with an average score of 12,928. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile, averages 12,940, a 0.1% gap. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is 0.4% ahead, while the AMD Radeon 740M is 0.5% behind and the AMD FirePro W5100 trails by 0.6%. The RX 580's percentile ranking is slightly lower than the Vega 11's, which may seem counterintuitive given the head-to-head results. The explanation lies in the benchmark mix: the RX 580's average includes a wide range of Passmark tests where its scores vary significantly. For instance, it posts 8,813 in Passmark G3D but only 43 in Passmark DirectX 12 and 46 in Passmark DirectX 10. These low API-specific scores drag down the average, even though the Geekbench tests show overwhelming dominance.

The Verdict

The benchmark data is unambiguous: the AMD Radeon RX 580 is the superior performer in every shared test. The Vega 11 wins no head-to-head contests, and the deltas are not marginal. In Geekbench Metal, the RX 580 leads by 61.6%; in OpenCL, by 64.2%; in Vulkan, by 72.8%. No amount of driver optimization or system configuration can close a gap of that size, given the underlying hardware differences.

The RX 580 offers 2,304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs, compared to the Vega 11's 704 shading units, 44 TMUs, and 8 ROPs. The pixel rate tells the story clearly: the RX 580 produces 42.88 GPixel/s, while the Vega 11 manages 11.20 GPixel/s. Texture rate follows the same pattern, with 193.0 GTexel/s for the RX 580 versus 61.60 GTexel/s for the Vega 11. FP32 compute is 6.175 TFLOPS versus 1.971 TFLOPS. These are not close numbers, and the benchmark scores reflect them directly.

For anyone choosing between these two based strictly on performance, the RX 580 is the only rational pick. The Vega 11 is an integrated GPU with system-shared memory, and its bandwidth is listed as system dependent. That means its real-world performance can vary based on the host system's RAM configuration, which introduces a variable that the RX 580, with its dedicated 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus delivering 256.0 GB/s, does not face.

However, the RX 580's advantages come with trade-offs that the data also shows. It has a TDP of 185 W, requires a 1x 8-pin power connector, and needs a 450 W suggested PSU. It is a dual-slot card measuring 241 mm (9.5 inches) in length. The Vega 11, as an IGP, has a TDP of 15 W, uses no power connectors, and takes no slot space. For a system builder prioritizing energy efficiency or compactness, the Vega 11 has a role, but it is not a performance-oriented role.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 580 wins in all performance-centric scenarios. Its Geekbench scores across Metal, OpenCL, and Vulkan are between 2.6 and 3.7 times higher than the Vega 11's. For gaming, GPU-accelerated rendering, or compute workloads that use these APIs, the RX 580 is clearly the stronger option. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, which the RX 580 completes with a score of 1,005, is another data point in its favor, though the Vega 11 has no comparable result in the database. The RX 580 also shows strength in Passmark G3D with 8,813, a measure of general 3D graphics performance, and in GPU compute with 3,488.

The Vega 11's wins are not in raw performance but in integration and power envelope. With a 15 W TDP, it consumes a fraction of the RX 580's 185 W. It requires no power connector and no PSU upgrade, and it occupies no expansion slot. For a thin-and-light laptop, a mini PC, or any system where the GPU must share the motherboard with the CPU, the Vega 11 is the only one of the two that can physically fit. The RX 580's dual-slot footprint and 241 mm length rule it out for such compact builds.

The Vega 11 also has a transistor density advantage in one narrow sense: at 23.5 million transistors per square millimeter on a 12 nm process, it edges out the RX 580's 24.6M / mm² figure in density per area, though the RX 580's absolute transistor count of 5,700 million is higher than the Vega 11's 4,940 million. This does not translate into performance, but it does indicate that the Vega 11 packs a substantial number of transistors into a small, low-power design.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon Vega 11 has an average benchmark score of 14,352, while the AMD Radeon RX 580 averages 12,928. The Vega 11's average is higher, despite losing all head-to-head tests, because the RX 580's average includes several low Passmark scores such as 43 in DirectX 12 and 46 in DirectX 10.

Q: What is the largest performance gap between the two in a shared test?

A: The largest gap is in the Geekbench Vulkan test, where the RX 580 scores 45,173 against the Vega 11's 12,273, a difference of 72.8% in favor of the RX 580.

Q: How do the two compare in terms of power consumption?

A: The Vega 11 has a TDP of 15 W and uses no power connectors. The RX 580 has a TDP of 185 W, requires a 1x 8-pin power connector, and has a suggested PSU of 450 W.

Q: Does the Vega 11 have any advantage in memory bandwidth?

A: No, the Vega 11's memory is system shared and its bandwidth is listed as system dependent. The RX 580 has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus with 256.0 GB/s of dedicated bandwidth.

Q: Are both GPUs still in production?

A: No, both are end-of-life products. The Vega 11 was released in 2019 and the RX 580 was released in 2017.

Q: Which GPU supports a higher DirectX version?

A: The Vega 11 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the RX 580 supports DirectX 12 (12_0). The Vega 11 has a slightly higher feature level in this regard.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different generations of AMD's Graphics Core Next architecture. The Vega 11 uses GCN 5.0 and is built on the Picasso chip, while the RX 580 uses GCN 4.0 on the Polaris 20 chip. This generational split explains several differences in their feature sets and design priorities.

The process nodes differ: the Vega 11 is fabbed on a 12 nm process, while the RX 580 uses a 14 nm process. Both are manufactured by GlobalFoundries. The smaller node allows the Vega 11 to achieve a higher transistor density of 23.5 million transistors per square millimeter, though the RX 580's larger die of 232 mm² still accommodates more total transistors at 5,700 million versus 4,940 million. The Vega 11's die is 210 mm².

The shading unit counts are starkly different. The Vega 11 has 704 shading units, while the RX 580 has 2,304. This is a 3.27-to-1 ratio in favor of the RX 580, which directly drives the compute throughput differences. The texture mapping units follow suit: 44 for the Vega 11 versus 144 for the RX 580. ROP counts are 8 versus 32, which explains the pixel rate gap of 11.20 GPixel/s versus 42.88 GPixel/s.

Clock speeds present an interesting contrast. The Vega 11 has a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 1,400 MHz. The RX 580 has a base of 1,257 MHz and a boost of 1,340 MHz. The Vega 11's boost clock is actually higher than the RX 580's, but its much lower shading unit count means the higher clock cannot compensate for the lack of parallel execution units.

FP16 support differs between the two. The Vega 11 offers FP16 at 3.942 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio relative to FP32. The RX 580 provides FP16 at 6.175 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio, meaning it does not gain a throughput advantage in half-precision work. This makes the Vega 11 relatively better suited to FP16-heavy workloads than its FP32 numbers would suggest, though its absolute FP16 output is still lower than the RX 580's.

The bus interface reflects their fundamentally different roles. The Vega 11 is an IGP with a system-shared memory architecture and motherboard-dependent display outputs. The RX 580 is a discrete card using PCIe 3.0 x16 with 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. The RX 580's memory is dedicated GDDR5, while the Vega 11 relies entirely on system memory.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every specification field in the database. The most consequential differences are in execution resources: the RX 580 has 2,304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, while the Vega 11 has 704 shading units, 44 TMUs, and 8 ROPs.

Memory configuration is another major differentiator. The RX 580 uses 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 256.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Vega 11 has system-shared memory with system dependent bandwidth. The RX 580's memory clock is 2,000 MHz (8 Gbps effective), while the Vega 11's memory clock is listed as system shared.

Clock speeds differ in structure: the Vega 11 has a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost of 1,400 MHz, while the RX 580 has a base of 1,257 MHz and a boost of 1,340 MHz. The Vega 11's boost clock is higher, but its idle base clock is much lower.

Pixel and texture rates show the RX 580's dominance: 42.88 GPixel/s and 193.0 GTexel/s versus 11.20 GPixel/s and 61.60 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 6.175 TFLOPS for the RX 580 versus 1.971 TFLOPS for the Vega 11. FP16 is 6.175 TFLOPS (1:1) for the RX 580 versus 3.942 TFLOPS (2:1) for the Vega 11.

Power and physical specifications are polar opposites. The Vega 11 has a 15 W TDP, no power connectors, and an IGP slot width. The RX 580 has a 185 W TDP, a 1x 8-pin power connector, a suggested PSU of 450 W, and a dual-slot width. The RX 580 is 241 mm (9.5 inches) long, while the Vega 11 has no length specification due to its integrated nature.

DirectX support differs slightly: the Vega 11 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the RX 580 supports DirectX 12 (12_0). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.3. The RX 580 has additional Passmark benchmark results covering DirectX 9, 10, 11, and 12, as well as G2D, G3D, and GPU compute tests, which the Vega 11 lacks in the database. The RX 580 also has a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1,005, absent for the Vega 11.