AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE vs AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data presents a clear, though narrowly sampled, picture of two AMD graphics cards separated by nearly eight years of architecture evolution. The AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE wins the only head-to-head benchmark recorded in the database, the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, with a score of 2336 against the RX Vega 56's 1501. That is a 55.6% advantage for the newer card, a decisive margin that establishes the RX 7650 GRE as the stronger performer in modern DirectX 12 workloads.

The RX Vega 56, however, does not cede every category. In the Geekbench compute tests, the two cards take different paths. The RX 7650 GRE scores 83109 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the RX Vega 56 scores 73512 in Geekbench Metal. These are different API tests, so a direct comparison is not apples-to-apples, but the Vega 56's Metal score of 73512 is notable because it shows the older architecture still holds its own in Apple's compute framework. The RX 7650 GRE has no recorded Metal score, and the Vega 56 has no recorded OpenCL score, so the database does not provide a like-for-like compute comparison between them.

Where the RX 7650 GRE clearly wins is in raw throughput metrics derived from its architecture. Its FP32 compute reaches 22.08 TFLOPS, more than double the Vega 56's 10.54 TFLOPS. Its pixel rate of 172.5 GPixel/s exceeds the Vega 56's 94.14 GPixel/s by a wide margin. Its texture rate of 345.0 GTexel/s edges out the Vega 56's 329.5 GTexel/s, a smaller but still meaningful lead. The RX 7650 GRE also brings hardware ray tracing with 32 RT cores, a feature the Vega 56 lacks entirely.

The Vega 56 does have one significant advantage in memory bandwidth. Its HBM2 memory runs on a 2048-bit bus, delivering 409.6 GB/s of bandwidth, compared to the RX 7650 GRE's 288.0 GB/s over a 128-bit GDDR6 bus. That is a 42.2% bandwidth advantage for the older card. In bandwidth-sensitive scenarios, such as high-resolution texture streaming or certain compute workloads, the Vega 56's memory subsystem could theoretically offset some of its compute deficit. The database does not include a test that isolates memory-bound performance, so this remains an inference from the specifications rather than a measured result.

The average benchmark scores in the database also favor the RX 7650 GRE. Its average benchmark score is 42723, placing it in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs. The Vega 56's average is 37507, in the 81st percentile. The newer card sits 13.9% higher in average score, and its nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER at 43223 (1.2% higher), the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB at 43262 (1.2% higher), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile at 43268 (1.3% higher). The Vega 56's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla P4 at 37628 (0.3% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 at 37648 (0.4% higher), and the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 at 37157 (0.9% lower).

The Verdict

The data supports a straightforward conclusion: the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE is the superior performer in modern graphics workloads. Its 55.6% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 is the only direct head-to-head measurement in the database, and that margin is substantial enough to define the relationship between these two cards. For anyone choosing between them for current-generation gaming or DirectX 12 applications, the RX 7650 GRE is the clear pick.

The RX Vega 56 remains relevant only in specific contexts. Its 409.6 GB/s memory bandwidth is unmatched by the RX 7650 GRE, and its Metal compute score of 73512 shows it can still handle compute tasks in Apple ecosystems. But its architecture lacks ray tracing, its FP32 throughput is less than half that of the newer card, and its production status is end-of-life. The Vega 56 was released in August 2017, while the RX 7650 GRE arrived in February 2025, a gap that explains the architectural gulf between them.

The percentile rankings reinforce this. The RX 7650 GRE sits in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs, while the Vega 56 sits in the 81st. That two-percentile gap understates the performance difference in the head-to-head test, but the average benchmark scores tell the same story: 42723 versus 37507, a 13.9% advantage for the newer card.

For a user with an existing Vega 56 system who primarily plays older titles or uses Metal-based compute, the Vega 56 may still be adequate. For anyone building a new system or upgrading for modern gaming, the RX 7650 GRE is the only rational choice from this data. The 55.6% lead in the one direct comparison is decisive, and the architectural advantages in ray tracing, FP32 throughput, and pixel rate only widen the gap.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records exactly one direct benchmark between these two cards: 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. The RX 7650 GRE scores 2336, and the RX Vega 56 scores 1501. The delta is 55.6% in favor of the RX 7650 GRE. This is a modern DirectX 12 test, which stresses the GPU's ability to handle geometry, shading, and compute in a contemporary rendering pipeline. The RX 7650 GRE's RDNA 3.0 architecture is built for exactly this kind of workload, while the Vega 56's GCN 5.0 design predates many of the features that modern engines rely on.

The magnitude of this win is worth emphasizing. A 55.6% advantage is not a marginal improvement; it is a generational leap. The RX 7650 GRE's FP32 throughput of 22.08 TFLOPS versus the Vega 56's 10.54 TFLOPS helps explain the gap, as does the newer card's 32 RT cores and support for DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) versus the Vega 56's DirectX 12 (12_1). The Vega 56's higher memory bandwidth, 409.6 GB/s versus 288.0 GB/s, did not rescue it in this test. The 3DMark Steel Nomad workload apparently does not favor bandwidth over compute throughput, or the Vega 56's bandwidth advantage was insufficient to overcome its compute deficit.

The Geekbench results are not directly comparable because they use different APIs, but they are informative. The RX 7650 GRE's OpenCL score of 83109 and the Vega 56's Metal score of 73512 both sit in the same general range. If we treat these as rough proxies for compute capability, the RX 7650 GRE still leads, but by a much smaller margin than the 3DMark result suggests. This could indicate that the Vega 56's high bandwidth helps in certain compute patterns, or that the Metal API on the Vega 56 is particularly well optimized. Without a shared test, the database cannot resolve this ambiguity.

The average benchmark scores add another layer. The RX 7650 GRE averages 42723, while the Vega 56 averages 37507. The newer card's nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER, scores 43223, just 1.2% higher. The Vega 56's nearest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla P4, scores 37628, just 0.3% higher. This places the RX 7650 GRE in a performance tier that is competitive with recent NVIDIA offerings, while the Vega 56 sits alongside much older or lower-tier hardware.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE scores 2336, which is 55.6% higher than the RX Vega 56's 1501.

Q: Does the RX Vega 56 have any advantages over the RX 7650 GRE?

A: Yes, the Vega 56 has significantly higher memory bandwidth at 409.6 GB/s compared to 288.0 GB/s, thanks to its 2048-bit HBM2 memory bus versus the 128-bit GDDR6 bus on the RX 7650 GRE.

Q: Which card supports ray tracing?

A: Only the RX 7650 GRE supports ray tracing, with 32 dedicated RT cores. The RX Vega 56 has no RT cores listed in the database.

Q: What are the average benchmark scores for each card?

A: The RX 7650 GRE has an average benchmark score of 42723, while the RX Vega 56 averages 37507. The RX 7650 GRE sits in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs, and the Vega 56 sits in the 81st.

Q: Which card is more power-efficient based on the data?

A: The RX 7650 GRE has a TDP of 170 W, while the RX Vega 56 has a TDP of 210 W. The newer card delivers higher performance with lower power consumption, though the database does not provide efficiency ratios.

Q: What is the production status of each card?

A: The RX 7650 GRE is listed as active production, while the RX Vega 56 is end-of-life.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two cards is vast. The RX 7650 GRE uses the Navi 33 chip built on RDNA 3.0 architecture, with the codename "Hotpink Bonefish." It is manufactured on a 6 nm process at TSMC, with 13,300 million transistors packed into a 204 mm² die. That yields a transistor density of 65.2 million transistors per square millimeter. The RX Vega 56 uses the Vega 10 chip on GCN 5.0 architecture, built on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. It has 12,500 million transistors spread across a much larger 495 mm² die, giving a density of just 25.3 million transistors per square millimeter. The newer process node allows the RX 7650 GRE to fit roughly the same number of transistors into less than half the die area.

The compute configurations differ dramatically. The RX 7650 GRE has 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, 64 ROPs, and 32 RT cores. The RX Vega 56 has 3584 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, but no RT cores. Despite having fewer shading units, the RX 7650 GRE achieves higher FP32 throughput because of its much higher clock speeds. The RX 7650 GRE boosts to 2695 MHz with a base clock of 1720 MHz and a game clock of 2350 MHz. The RX Vega 56 boosts to just 1471 MHz with a base clock of 1156 MHz. The clock advantage, combined with architectural efficiency improvements in RDNA 3.0, allows the smaller chip to outperform the larger one.

Memory architecture is another fundamental split. The RX 7650 GRE uses 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, with memory clocks at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) and bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s. The RX Vega 56 uses 8 GB of HBM2 on a 2048-bit bus, with memory clocks at 800 MHz (1600 Mbps effective) and bandwidth of 409.6 GB/s. The Vega 56's HBM2 solution provides 42.2% more bandwidth, but the RX 7650 GRE's GDDR6 is clocked much higher and benefits from newer memory controller designs.

API support also differs. The RX 7650 GRE supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The RX Vega 56 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The newer card's DirectX 12 Ultimate support enables features like ray tracing and mesh shaders that the Vega 56 cannot access.

Specification Differences

The two cards diverge on nearly every specification field. The RX 7650 GRE belongs to the Radeon RX 7000 series and the Navi III (RX 7000) generation, while the RX Vega 56 belongs to the Vega (RX Vega) generation. The RX 7650 GRE uses a 6 nm TSMC process, while the Vega 56 uses a 14 nm GlobalFoundries process. Transistor counts are close, 13,300 million versus 12,500 million, but die size differs hugely: 204 mm² versus 495 mm². Transistor density is 65.2M per mm² versus 25.3M per mm².

Clock speeds favor the RX 7650 GRE across the board. Its base clock is 1720 MHz versus 1156 MHz, its boost clock is 2695 MHz versus 1471 MHz, and it has a game clock of 2350 MHz that the Vega 56 lacks. Memory clocks are 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) versus 800 MHz (1600 Mbps effective). Both cards have 8 GB of memory, but the type differs: GDDR6 versus HBM2. Bus width is 128 bit versus 2048 bit, and bandwidth is 288.0 GB/s versus 409.6 GB/s.

Shading units favor the Vega 56 at 3584 versus 2048, and TMUs favor it at 224 versus 128. ROPs are equal at 64. The RX 7650 GRE has 32 RT cores; the Vega 56 has none. Pixel rate favors the RX 7650 GRE at 172.5 GPixel/s versus 94.14 GPixel/s, as does texture rate at 345.0 GTexel/s versus 329.5 GTexel/s. FP32 is 22.08 TFLOPS versus 10.54 TFLOPS. FP16 is 22.08 TFLOPS (1:1) versus 21.09 TFLOPS (2:1).

Power and connectivity also differ. The RX 7650 GRE has a TDP of 170 W and requires a single 8-pin power connector with a 450 W suggested PSU. The Vega 56 has a TDP of 210 W, requires two 8-pin connectors, and suggests a 550 W PSU. The RX 7650 GRE uses PCIe 4.0 x8, while the Vega 56 uses PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs are 1x HDMI 2.1a and 3x DisplayPort 2.1 on the newer card, versus 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a on the older one. The RX 7650 GRE measures 204 mm in length and 115 mm in height, while the Vega 56 measures 280 mm in length, 111 mm in height, and 40 mm in width. The RX 7650 GRE was released in February 2025, while the Vega 56 was released in August 2017. The RX 7650 GRE's launch MSRP was 279 USD, and the Vega 56's was 399 USD.