AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE vs AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a clear overall winner in direct comparisons, with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE taking both available head-to-head tests. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 6600 LE scores 69,229 against the RX Vega 64’s 62,552, a decisive 10.7% advantage. The Vulkan test repeats the pattern: the RX 6600 LE posts 72,428 versus 67,032 for the RX Vega 64, an 8% lead. These are not marginal differences; they represent a consistent performance gap across two distinct API workloads.

The average benchmark scores tell a more complicated story, however. The RX 6600 LE has an average benchmark score of 70,829, while the RX Vega 64’s average is 50,001. That 20,828-point gap is substantial, but it is importantly the RX Vega 64’s average includes a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 result of 1,669 and a Geekbench Metal score of 68,750, which skew the overall figure downward relative to its OpenCL and Vulkan results. The RX 6600 LE has no Metal or 3DMark entries in the database, so the averages are not directly comparable across identical test suites.

When placed against their respective nearest rivals, both cards occupy different performance tiers. The RX 6600 LE sits at the 91st percentile among all GPUs, with its closest competitor being the AMD Radeon RX 6650M, which averages 71,768 and trails the RX 6600 LE by 1.3%. The NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile is nearly tied at 70,140 (1% behind), and the NVIDIA Quadro P6000 at 69,986 is 1.2% behind. The RX 6600 LE’s nearest rival cluster is extremely tight, with all four competitors within a 1.4% band. This indicates that the RX 6600 LE is a highly competitive mid-range part where small architectural differences decide the outcome.

The RX Vega 64, by contrast, sits at the 86th percentile, and its nearest rivals are a mixed group. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti averages 49,957, essentially tied at 0.1% behind the RX Vega 64. The Intel Arc A550M is 0.5% behind at 49,737, the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT is 1.9% ahead at 50,951, and the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT is 3.1% behind at 48,477. The RX Vega 64’s average score of 50,001 places it in a strange position: it is competitive with modern cards in some tests but far behind in others, likely due to the mix of API support and driver maturity.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 6600 LE wins in both compute-oriented and graphics-oriented synthetic workloads. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 69,229 is higher than the RX Vega 64’s 62,552, meaning that for general-purpose compute tasks using OpenCL, the newer RDNA 2.0 architecture delivers better raw throughput despite having far fewer shading units. The RX 6600 LE has 1,792 shading units versus 4,096 on the RX Vega 64, yet it still outperforms in OpenCL. This is a direct result of the clock speed advantage: the RX 6600 LE boosts to 2,495 MHz, while the RX Vega 64 tops out at 1,546 MHz.

In Vulkan, the RX 6600 LE again takes the lead with 72,428 versus 67,032. Vulkan is a low-overhead API that benefits from architectural efficiency, and the data shows that RDNA 2.0’s design, with 28 ray tracing cores and a 12 Ultimate feature set, translates into better real-world gaming performance expectations. The RX Vega 64 has no ray tracing cores and supports DirectX 12 (12_1), not 12 Ultimate, so it lacks the hardware features that modern titles increasingly leverage.

However, the RX Vega 64 does have some strong points that the head-to-head tests do not capture. Its Geekbench Metal score of 68,750 is notable, although the RX 6600 LE has no Metal result in the database, so no direct comparison is possible. The RX Vega 64 also has significantly higher memory bandwidth: 483.8 GB/s from its 2048-bit HBM2 interface, versus 224.0 GB/s from the RX 6600 LE’s 128-bit GDDR6 bus. For bandwidth-bound workloads, such as high-resolution texture streaming or certain compute kernels, the RX Vega 64’s memory subsystem is far superior. The texture rate also favors the RX Vega 64: 395.8 GTexel/s versus 279.4 GTexel/s, a 41.7% advantage, and its FP32 throughput of 12.66 TFLOPS is 41.6% higher than the RX 6600 LE’s 8.942 TFLOPS.

The RX Vega 64 also supports 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, scoring 1,669, which the RX 6600 LE does not have recorded. This suggests that in pure rasterization workloads that are not limited by memory bandwidth, the older GCN 5.0 architecture can still hold its own, especially given its massive shading unit count.

The Verdict

The data points clearly to the AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE as the better card for modern workloads. It wins both head-to-head tests with margins of 10.7% and 8%, and its average benchmark score of 70,829 is 41.7% higher than the RX Vega 64’s 50,001. The RX 6600 LE also ranks higher in the overall GPU percentile at 91 versus 86. For users running OpenCL or Vulkan applications, the choice is unambiguous: the RX 6600 LE delivers superior performance per test, and its architectural advantages, including ray tracing support and a newer API feature set, make it future-proof.

The RX Vega 64 is not without merit, but its strengths are narrow. Its higher FP32 throughput, texture rate, and memory bandwidth are real, yet these advantages do not translate into wins in the two recorded head-to-head tests. The RX Vega 64’s 295 W TDP and 600 W suggested PSU also represent a much larger power footprint, and its 14 nm process from GlobalFoundries is two generations behind the 7 nm TSMC node used by the RX 6600 LE. The RX Vega 64 is end-of-life, while the RX 6600 LE is still in active production.

For anyone choosing between these two, the RX 6600 LE is the recommended pick for general compute and modern gaming APIs. The RX Vega 64 might still appeal to users with specific bandwidth-hungry workloads or those needing Metal performance, but the recorded benchmark data does not show a single head-to-head win for it. The RX 6600 LE’s higher percentile ranking and superior test scores make it the objectively stronger product.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher Geekbench OpenCL score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE scores 69,229, which is 10.7% higher than the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64’s 62,552.

Q: Does the RX Vega 64 outperform the RX 6600 LE in any recorded benchmark?

A: No. In the two head-to-head tests (Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan), the RX 6600 LE wins both. The RX Vega 64 does have a Geekbench Metal score of 68,750, but the RX 6600 LE has no Metal result to compare against.

Q: How do the two cards compare in average benchmark score?

A: The RX 6600 LE averages 70,829, while the RX Vega 64 averages 50,001. That is a 41.7% difference in favor of the RX 6600 LE.

Q: What are the closest competitors to each card?

A: For the RX 6600 LE, the nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 6650M at 71,768 (1.3% behind). For the RX Vega 64, the nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti at 49,957 (0.1% behind).

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: The RX Vega 64 has 4,096 shading units, more than double the RX 6600 LE’s 1,792. However, the RX 6600 LE still wins in compute benchmarks due to higher clock speeds.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The RX Vega 64 has 483.8 GB/s from its 2048-bit HBM2 memory, while the RX 6600 LE has 224.0 GB/s from its 128-bit GDDR6 memory. The RX Vega 64’s bandwidth is 116% higher.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from entirely different architectural eras. The AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE uses the Navi 23 chip built on RDNA 2.0 architecture, manufactured on a 7 nm process at TSMC. It packs 11,060 million transistors into a 237 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 46.7 million per square millimeter. The RX Vega 64 uses the Vega 10 chip with GCN 5.0 architecture, built on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. It has 12,500 million transistors on a much larger 495 mm² die, giving a density of only 25.3 million per square millimeter.

Clock speeds differ dramatically. The RX 6600 LE has a base clock of 1,626 MHz and a boost clock of 2,495 MHz, with a game clock of 2,045 MHz. The RX Vega 64 operates at a 1,247 MHz base and 1,546 MHz boost. Memory clocks also differ: the RX 6600 LE runs its GDDR6 at 1,750 MHz (14 Gbps effective), while the RX Vega 64’s HBM2 runs at 945 MHz (1,890 Mbps effective).

The compute units tell a story of trade-offs. The RX Vega 64 has 4,096 shading units, 256 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs, versus the RX 6600 LE’s 1,792 shading units, 112 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The RX Vega 64’s FP32 throughput is 12.66 TFLOPS, and its texture rate is 395.8 GTexel/s. The RX 6600 LE delivers 8.942 TFLOPS and 279.4 GTexel/s. Despite the lower raw numbers, the RX 6600 LE’s pixel rate is higher at 159.7 GPixel/s versus 98.94 GPixel/s, a 61.4% advantage.

Feature support diverges significantly. The RX 6600 LE supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), Vulkan 1.4, and includes 28 ray tracing cores. The RX Vega 64 supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.3, with no ray tracing cores. Both support OpenGL 4.6. The RX 6600 LE uses PCIe 4.0 x8, while the RX Vega 64 uses PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs are similar in count but the RX 6600 LE has HDMI 2.1, while the RX Vega 64 has HDMI 2.0b; both have three DisplayPort 1.4a outputs.

Power and physical specifications favor the newer card. The RX 6600 LE has a TDP of 132 W with a single 8-pin power connector and a 300 W suggested PSU. It is 190 mm long, 110 mm tall, and 40 mm wide. The RX Vega 64 has a 295 W TDP, dual 8-pin connectors, a 600 W suggested PSU, and measures 280 mm in length, 111 mm in height, and 40 mm in width. The RX 6600 LE is 90 mm shorter, making it far easier to fit in compact cases. The RX Vega 64 was released in August 2017 with a launch MSRP of 499 USD, while the RX 6600 LE launched in December 2023 and is still in active production. The RX Vega 64 is end-of-life.