AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX vs AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL Comparison

# AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL vs AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX

The AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL and the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX occupy opposite ends of AMD’s GPU spectrum, separated by four years of architecture evolution and a chasm in raw compute capability. The Vega M GL is a 14 nm integrated graphics processor from 2018, while the 7900 XTX is a 5 nm flagship discrete card from 2022. Benchmark data shows the 7900 XTX dominating in every head-to-head test, yet the Vega M GL’s own percentile ranking reveals it was no slouch in its intended mobile niche.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX in Geekbench OpenCL compared to the RX Vega M GL?

A: The 7900 XTX scores 50,465 in Geekbench OpenCL versus the Vega M GL’s 19,549, a delta of -61.3% from the 7900 XTX’s perspective — meaning the 7900 XTX delivers roughly 2.58 times the OpenCL score.

Q: Which GPU has the higher percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The Vega M GL sits at the 66th percentile, while the 7900 XTX is at the 64th percentile. Despite the 7900 XTX’s overwhelming benchmark wins, the data places the Vega M GL slightly higher in percentile terms.

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

A: The Vega M GL averages 21,153 across its tests, while the 7900 XTX averages 19,410 across its broader test suite. The 7900 XTX’s average is dragged down by low DirectX 9/10/12 Passmark scores (330, 166, and 131, respectively).

Q: Do both GPUs support ray tracing?

A: No. The RX 7900 XTX includes 96 ray tracing cores and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the RX Vega M GL has no ray tracing cores and only supports DirectX 12 (12_0).

Q: What is the memory configuration difference between the two?

A: The Vega M GL has 4 GB of HBM2 on a 1024-bit bus (179.2 GB/s bandwidth), while the 7900 XTX has 24 GB of GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus (960.0 GB/s bandwidth).

Q: Which GPU has a higher boost clock?

A: The 7900 XTX boosts to 2498 MHz, more than double the Vega M GL’s 1011 MHz boost clock.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are separated by two full architecture generations. The RX Vega M GL uses GCN 4.0 on a 14 nm process from GlobalFoundries, built around the Polaris 22 chip. The RX 7900 XTX uses RDNA 3.0 on a 5 nm process from TSMC, built around the Navi 31 chip (codename Plum Bonito). The transistor counts tell a story of scale: the Vega M GL packs 5,000 million transistors on a 208 mm² die (24.0 million per mm²), while the 7900 XTX crams 57,700 million transistors onto a 529 mm² die (109.1 million per mm²) — over 4.5 times the transistor density.

Shader resources differ massively. The Vega M GL has 1,280 shading units, 80 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The 7900 XTX has 6,144 shading units (4.8x), 384 TMUs (4.8x), and 192 ROPs (6x). The 7900 XTX also adds 96 ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent from the Vega M GL. FP32 compute scales from 2.588 TFLOPS on the Vega M GL to 61.39 TFLOPS on the 7900 XTX — a 23.7x increase. FP16 performance shows an even wider gap: the Vega M GL manages 2.588 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio), while the 7900 XTX hits 122.8 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio).

Memory architecture reflects their different roles. The Vega M GL uses 4 GB of HBM2 on a 1024-bit bus, yielding 179.2 GB/s bandwidth. The 7900 XTX uses 24 GB of GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus, delivering 960.0 GB/s — 5.4x the bandwidth and 6x the capacity. Pixel rates diverge from 32.35 GPixel/s on the Vega M GL to 479.6 GPixel/s on the 7900 XTX (14.8x), while texture rates jump from 80.88 GTexel/s to 959.2 GTexel/s (11.9x).

API support also differs. The Vega M GL supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The 7900 XTX supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The 7900 XTX also carries a 2x 8-pin power connector and requires a suggested 750 W PSU, while the Vega M GL is an integrated GPU with no power connectors.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head data contains only two shared benchmarks, and the 7900 XTX wins both decisively. In Geekbench OpenCL, the 7900 XTX scores 50,465 against the Vega M GL’s 19,549, a delta of -61.3%. This means the Vega M GL achieves only about 38.7% of the 7900 XTX’s OpenCL performance. In Geekbench Vulkan, the gap widens further: the 7900 XTX scores 85,612 versus 22,757, a delta of -73.4%. The Vega M GL manages just 26.6% of the 7900 XTX’s Vulkan score.

The Vulkan delta is notably worse for the Vega M GL than the OpenCL delta, suggesting the RDNA 3.0 architecture scales more efficiently with Vulkan’s lower-level API access. The 7900 XTX’s advantage in raw compute (61.39 TFLOPS vs 2.588 TFLOPS) translates into a 2.6x OpenCL lead but a 3.8x Vulkan lead — an interesting discrepancy that hints at architectural efficiency differences beyond raw shader counts.

Looking at the 7900 XTX’s broader benchmark suite, its Passmark scores paint a mixed picture. It scores 31,238 in Passmark G3D, 17,689 in GPU Compute, and 1,267 in G2D. However, legacy DirectX tests show low scores: 166 in DirectX 10, 356 in DirectX 11, and 330 in DirectX 9. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 6,841. These numbers suggest the 7900 XTX’s modern architecture prioritizes current APIs over legacy paths.

The Verdict

The data presents a clear hierarchy: the RX 7900 XTX is categorically superior in raw performance, with 2.6x to 3.8x advantages in the shared benchmarks. Its 24 GB memory, 6,144 shading units, and 61.39 TFLOPS FP32 place it in an entirely different performance class. The Vega M GL, by contrast, was designed for integrated use in portable devices, with a 65 W TDP and IGP bus interface.

However, the percentile data complicates the simple "newer is better" narrative. The Vega M GL ranks at the 66th percentile among all GPUs, while the 7900 XTX ranks at the 64th. This counterintuitive result likely stems from the 7900 XTX’s low legacy DirectX scores dragging down its average — its Passmark DirectX 9 score of 330 and DirectX 10 score of 166 are far below its modern API results. The Vega M GL’s average benchmark score of 21,153 actually exceeds the 7900 XTX’s average of 19,410, despite losing both head-to-head tests.

For users prioritizing modern workloads, ray tracing, and high-resolution gaming, the 7900 XTX is the obvious choice. For those constrained by power and form factor, the Vega M GL’s integrated design offers legitimate performance — its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 (0.6% faster) and AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (2.1% slower), showing it held its own against dedicated mobile GPUs.

Specification Differences

| Specification | RX Vega M GL | RX 7900 XTX |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | GCN 4.0 | RDNA 3.0 |

| Process Node | 14 nm | 5 nm |

| Foundry | GlobalFoundries | TSMC |

| Transistors | 5,000 million | 57,700 million |

| Die Size | 208 mm² | 529 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 24.0M / mm² | 109.1M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 931 MHz | 1929 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1011 MHz | 2498 MHz |

| Game Clock | N/A | 2365 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1400 Mbps effective | 20 Gbps effective |

| Memory Size | 4 GB | 24 GB |

| Memory Type | HBM2 | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus | 1024 bit | 384 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 179.2 GB/s | 960.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 1280 | 6144 |

| TMUs | 80 | 384 |

| ROPs | 32 | 192 |

| RT Cores | N/A | 96 |

| Pixel Rate | 32.35 GPixel/s | 479.6 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 80.88 GTexel/s | 959.2 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 2.588 TFLOPS | 61.39 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 2.588 TFLOPS (1:1) | 122.8 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 65 W | 355 W |

| Slot Width | IGP | Dual-slot |

| Power Connectors | N/A | 2x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | N/A | 750 W |

| Bus Interface | IGP | PCIe 4.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | Portable Device Dependent | 1x HDMI 2.1a, 2x DisplayPort 2.1, 1x USB Type-C |

| DirectX | 12 (12_0) | 12 Ultimate (12_2) |

| Vulkan | 1.3 | 1.4 |

| Dimensions | N/A | 287 mm x 110 mm x 51 mm |

Where Each One Wins

The RX 7900 XTX wins decisively in every shared benchmark category. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 50,465 and Vulkan score of 85,612 dwarf the Vega M GL’s 19,549 and 22,757, respectively. The 7900 XTX also brings ray tracing support, a feature the Vega M GL cannot offer. For compute-heavy workloads, modern game engines, and high-refresh-rate 4K gaming, the 7900 XTX is the clear winner. Its 24 GB memory capacity and 960.0 GB/s bandwidth make it suitable for large datasets and high-resolution textures.

The Vega M GL’s wins are more subtle but real. Its 66th percentile ranking exceeds the 7900 XTX’s 64th, and its average benchmark score of 21,153 beats the 7900 XTX’s 19,410. The Vega M GL’s nearest rivals — the AMD Radeon HD 8970M (-0.4%), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 (+0.6%), and AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (+2.1%) — indicate it competes with mid-range discrete GPUs despite being integrated. Its 65 W TDP and IGP form factor make it suitable for thin-and-light laptops where the 355 W, 287 mm-long 7900 XTX physically cannot fit. The Vega M GL also supports Vulkan 1.3 and DirectX 12 (12_0), offering modern API support despite its age.

The data suggests two different design philosophies: the Vega M GL maximizes performance within a 65 W integrated envelope, while the 7900 XTX pursues absolute performance regardless of power or size. Users needing portability and efficiency get a capable integrated solution in the Vega M GL; users needing maximum frame rates and ray tracing get that in the 7900 XTX. Neither GPU serves the other’s use case well, and benchmark scores reflect their respective priorities.