AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE vs AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 records an average benchmark score of 37,507, while the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE records 32,456. The Vega 56 sits at the 81st percentile of all GPUs, whereas the RX 7900 GRE sits at the 77th percentile.

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE scores 4,814, which is 68.8% higher than the RX Vega 56's 1,501. This is the only head-to-head benchmark recorded in the database, and the RX 7900 GRE wins it outright.

Q: What memory technologies do the two cards use?

A: The RX Vega 56 uses 8 GB of HBM2 on a 2048-bit bus with 409.6 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 7900 GRE uses 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 576.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

Q: What are the process nodes and foundries for each chip?

A: The RX Vega 56 is built on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries, using the Vega 10 chip. The RX 7900 GRE is built on a 5 nm process at TSMC, using the Navi 31 chip.

Q: Which card has ray tracing hardware?

A: The RX 7900 GRE includes 80 ray accelerators. The RX Vega 56 has no dedicated ray tracing cores listed in the database.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of each card?

A: The AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 has a launch MSRP of 399 USD. The AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE has a launch MSRP of 549 USD.

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data splits cleanly by workload type. The AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE dominates the modern DirectX 12 rasterization test. In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark, it scores 4,814 against the RX Vega 56's 1,501, a 68.8% margin. This is the only direct head-to-head comparison in the database, and it indicates a substantial generational advantage in current-generation game workloads.

The RX Vega 56, however, wins on aggregate performance across the entire recorded benchmark suite. Its average score of 37,507 exceeds the RX 7900 GRE's 32,456 by roughly 15.5%. This average includes the Geekbench Metal test, where the Vega 56 posts 73,512, a result that appears to skew the aggregate upward. The RX 7900 GRE has no corresponding Metal score in the database, which limits direct comparison on that API.

For compute-oriented tasks, the RX 7900 GRE shows strength in OpenCL and Vulkan. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 175,758 and Vulkan score of 99,850 indicate robust general-purpose compute performance. The RX Vega 56 lacks comparable OpenCL and Vulkan entries in the recorded data, so those workloads cannot be directly compared.

For legacy DirectX compatibility, the RX 7900 GRE posts mixed results: PassMark DirectX 9 at 310, DirectX 10 at 139, DirectX 11 at 300, and DirectX 12 at 107. The RX Vega 56 has no PassMark entries in the database, so legacy API performance cannot be measured against it.

In summary, if the workload is modern DirectX 12 gaming, the RX 7900 GRE is the clear pick. If the workload is Metal-based or if aggregate multi-API performance matters, the RX Vega 56 holds the recorded advantage.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs spans four major generations of AMD design. The RX Vega 56 uses the Vega 10 chip based on GCN 5.0, while the RX 7900 GRE uses the Navi 31 chip based on RDNA 3.0. The codename for the RX 7900 GRE is Plum Bonito, and it belongs to the Radeon RX 7000 series.

The process technology differences are stark. The Vega 10 chip is fabricated on a 14 nm node at GlobalFoundries, packing 12,500 million transistors into a 495 mm² die. That yields a transistor density of 25.3 million per mm². The Navi 31 chip is fabricated on a 5 nm node at TSMC, packing 57,700 million transistors into a 529 mm² die, for a density of 109.1 million per mm². The newer chip fits more than four times the transistors into a slightly larger die.

Compute resources scale accordingly. The RX Vega 56 has 3,584 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. The RX 7900 GRE has 5,120 shading units, 320 TMUs, and 160 ROPs. The RX 7900 GRE also adds 80 ray accelerators, a feature entirely absent from the RX Vega 56.

The memory architecture also differs fundamentally. The RX Vega 56 uses HBM2 on a 2048-bit bus, while the RX 7900 GRE uses GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus. Despite the narrower bus, the RX 7900 GRE achieves higher bandwidth: 576.0 GB/s versus 409.6 GB/s. The RX 7900 GRE also doubles capacity to 16 GB.

The API support reflects the generational shift. The RX Vega 56 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The RX 7900 GRE supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The RX 7900 GRE's higher DirectX feature level and newer Vulkan version indicate broader modern API coverage.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every measurable specification. Clock speeds show a significant gap. The RX Vega 56 has a base clock of 1156 MHz and a boost clock of 1471 MHz. The RX 7900 GRE has a base clock of 1287 MHz, a boost clock of 2245 MHz, and a game clock of 1880 MHz. The RX 7900 GRE's boost clock is roughly 52.6% higher.

Memory specifications differ in capacity, type, bus width, and speed. The RX Vega 56 uses 8 GB of HBM2 at 800 MHz (1600 Mbps effective) on a 2048-bit bus. The RX 7900 GRE uses 16 GB of GDDR6 at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) on a 256-bit bus. Bandwidth favors the RX 7900 GRE at 576.0 GB/s versus 409.6 GB/s.

Rates and throughput favor the newer card substantially. The RX Vega 56 offers a pixel rate of 94.14 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 329.5 GTexel/s. The RX 7900 GRE offers 359.2 GPixel/s and 718.4 GTexel/s respectively. FP32 compute is 10.54 TFLOPS for the Vega 56 versus 45.98 TFLOPS for the RX 7900 GRE, with FP16 at 21.09 TFLOPS versus 91.96 TFLOPS (both at 2:1 ratio).

Power and physical dimensions show modest differences. The RX Vega 56 has a TDP of 210 W with a suggested PSU of 550 W. The RX 7900 GRE has a TDP of 260 W with a suggested PSU of 600 W. Both use dual-slot designs and 2x 8-pin power connectors. The RX Vega 56 measures 280 mm by 111 mm by 40 mm. The RX 7900 GRE measures 276 mm by 110 mm by 51 mm, slightly shorter but thicker.

Interface and connectivity also differ. The RX Vega 56 uses PCIe 3.0 x16, while the RX 7900 GRE uses PCIe 4.0 x16. Display outputs: the Vega 56 has 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The RX 7900 GRE has 1x HDMI 2.1a, 2x DisplayPort 2.1, and 1x USB Type-C.

Production status and release dates differ as well. The RX Vega 56 was released on 2017-08-13 and is now end-of-life. The RX 7900 GRE was released on 2023-07-26 and remains active. The Vega 56's predecessor is Polaris and its successor is Navi. The RX 7900 GRE's predecessor is Navi II and its successor is Navi IV.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains exactly one direct head-to-head benchmark between these two cards: the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test. The AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE scores 4,814, while the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 scores 1,501. The delta is 68.8% in favor of the RX 7900 GRE.

This is a decisive result. A 68.8% margin in a modern DirectX 12 workload reflects the architectural leap from GCN 5.0 to RDNA 3.0, the increase in shading units from 3,584 to 5,120, and the higher boost clock of 2245 MHz versus 1471 MHz. The RX 7900 GRE also benefits from a higher texture rate of 718.4 GTexel/s, more than double the Vega 56's 329.5 GTexel/s, which directly impacts rasterization throughput.

The RX Vega 56's only recorded benchmark win comes from the Geekbench Metal test, where it scores 73,512. The RX 7900 GRE has no Metal score in the database, so this cannot be compared directly. However, the Vega 56's average benchmark score of 37,507 is higher than the RX 7900 GRE's 32,456, which reflects the influence of that Metal result on the aggregate.

Looking at the nearest rivals provides context for each card's standing. The RX Vega 56 sits within 1.6% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile, and within 0.4% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070. It also edges out the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 by 0.9% and trails the NVIDIA Tesla P4 by 0.3%. These tight margins indicate that the Vega 56's average score is competitive with mid-range GPUs from later generations.

The RX 7900 GRE's nearest rivals tell a different story. It is 0.2% ahead of the AMD FirePro S10000, 0.9% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 570X, and trails the AMD FirePro S9300 X2 by 0.3% and the AMD Radeon RX 590 GME by 0.4%. These are older or professional cards, suggesting that the RX 7900 GRE's average score is dragged down by the PassMark DirectX 10 and DirectX 12 results of 139 and 107, respectively, which are outliers relative to its strong 3DMark showing.

In the recorded data, the RX 7900 GRE wins the only direct comparison, and it wins by a wide margin. The RX Vega 56 holds a higher aggregate score, but that aggregate includes a Metal benchmark that the RX 7900 GRE does not have. For modern DirectX 12 workloads, the RX 7900 GRE is the stronger card by a substantial margin.