AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE vs AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE decisively outperforms the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 across every shared benchmark metric, establishing itself as the superior modern GPU. The data reveals a generational leap in raw compute and efficiency, with the RX 9070 GRE delivering a 225% higher score in 3DMark Steel Nomad and a 74.7% advantage in Geekbench OpenCL, while consuming 75W less power and using a significantly smaller process node.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The single most dramatic result comes from the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, where the RX 9070 GRE scores 5,424 against the RX Vega 64's 1,669. This represents a 225% performance advantage for the newer card, meaning it delivers more than three times the frame throughput in this modern DirectX 12 workload. The RX Vega 64's score of 1,669 places it firmly in a different performance tier, closer to entry-level modern cards than to the RX 9070 GRE.

In the Geekbench OpenCL compute benchmark, the RX 9070 GRE again takes a commanding lead with 109,309 points versus 62,552 for the RX Vega 64. The 74.7% delta here reflects a substantial advantage in general-purpose compute workloads, though the gap is narrower than in the gaming-focused Steel Nomad test. This suggests the RX Vega 64's high shading unit count (4,096) still provides some raw compute capability, but it is hamstrung by its older architecture and lower clock speeds.

The RX 9070 GRE wins both head-to-head matchups, securing 2 wins to the RX Vega 64's 0. Notably, the RX Vega 64 does have additional benchmark data points not shared with the RX 9070 GRE: it scores 68,750 in Geekbench Metal and 67,032 in Geekbench Vulkan. These results, while not directly comparable, indicate the Vega 64's strengths in cross-API compatibility, though they remain far below the RX 9070 GRE's OpenCL figure.

Context from the nearest rivals list reinforces the RX 9070 GRE's positioning. Its average benchmark score of 57,367 sits within 1.8% of the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT and is essentially tied with the Intel Arc A580 (deltaPct of -0.7%). This places the RX 9070 GRE in upper-midrange territory, well above its predecessor class. The RX Vega 64, with an average score of 50,001, is remarkably close to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti (deltaPct of 0.1%) and the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (3.1% better), showing that while it is old, it still occupies a respectable performance band.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the RX 9070 GRE in gaming workloads?

A: In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, the RX 9070 GRE scores 5,424 versus 1,669 for the RX Vega 64, a 225% advantage. This indicates the RX 9070 GRE delivers over three times the gaming performance in this modern DirectX 12 benchmark.

Q: Does the RX Vega 64 win any benchmark comparisons?

A: No. In the two shared head-to-head benchmarks (3DMark Steel Nomad and Geekbench OpenCL), the RX 9070 GRE wins both. The RX Vega 64's only unique results are Geekbench Metal (68,750) and Geekbench Vulkan (67,032), which have no corresponding RX 9070 GRE scores for comparison.

Q: How do these cards compare to their nearest rivals?

A: The RX 9070 GRE's average score of 57,367 is within 1.8% of the RX 6950 XT and 0.7% below the Intel Arc A580. The RX Vega 64's average of 50,001 is within 0.1% of the RTX 5070 Ti and 3.1% above the RX 6800 XT, showing both cards sit at competitive mid-range positions relative to their contemporaries.

Q: What are the power consumption differences?

A: The RX 9070 GRE has a TDP of 220W, while the RX Vega 64 has a TDP of 295W. The newer card draws 75W less power, a significant reduction given its much higher performance output.

Q: Which card has better memory bandwidth?

A: The RX Vega 64 has slightly higher memory bandwidth at 483.8 GB/s compared to the RX 9070 GRE's 432.0 GB/s. However, the RX 9070 GRE uses 12GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, while the RX Vega 64 uses 8GB of HBM2 on a 2048-bit bus.

Q: Are both cards still in production?

A: No. The RX 9070 GRE is listed as "Active" production status, while the RX Vega 64 is marked "End-of-life." This means the RX 9070 GRE is the current, supported option.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is vast, representing nearly a decade of evolution. The RX 9070 GRE uses the Navi 48 chip built on RDNA 4.0 architecture, fabricated on a 4 nm process at TSMC. It packs 53,900 million transistors into a 357 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 151.0M / mm². In contrast, the RX Vega 64 uses the Vega 10 chip with GCN 5.0 architecture, built on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. It contains 12,500 million transistors across a larger 495 mm² die, with a density of only 25.3M / mm².

The RX Vega 64 actually has more raw shading units (4,096 versus 3,072) and more texture mapping units (256 versus 192), but the RX 9070 GRE compensates with dramatically higher clock speeds. The RX 9070 GRE boosts to 2,790 MHz with a base clock of 1,420 MHz and a game clock of 2,220 MHz, while the RX Vega 64 is limited to a 1,546 MHz boost and 1,247 MHz base. This clock advantage explains the RX 9070 GRE's superior FP32 throughput of 34.28 TFLOPS versus 12.66 TFLOPS for the Vega 64.

Memory architectures also diverge sharply. The RX 9070 GRE uses 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, delivering 432.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RX Vega 64 uses 8 GB of HBM2 on a 2048-bit bus, achieving 483.8 GB/s. Despite the Vega's wider bus and higher bandwidth, the RX 9070 GRE's newer memory technology and larger capacity provide better overall memory flexibility. The RX Vega 64 also supports FP16 at a 2:1 ratio (25.33 TFLOPS), while the RX 9070 GRE maintains a 1:1 ratio (34.28 TFLOPS), indicating different compute priorities.

Feature support further separates them. The RX 9070 GRE includes 48 ray tracing cores, which the RX Vega 64 lacks entirely. It also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the Vega 64 is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.3. Connectivity improves with the newer card: the RX 9070 GRE offers PCIe 5.0 x16, HDMI 2.1b, and DisplayPort 2.1a, versus the Vega 64's PCIe 3.0 x16, HDMI 2.0b, and DisplayPort 1.4a.

The Verdict

The data unambiguously favors the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE. It wins both shared benchmarks by massive margins (225% and 74.7%), has a higher percentile ranking (87th versus 86th), and is the only card with an active production status. The RX 9070 GRE also achieves this with a lower TDP (220W versus 295W), suggesting superior performance-per-watt.

The RX Vega 64's only statistical advantages are its slightly higher memory bandwidth (483.8 GB/s versus 432.0 GB/s) and its larger shading unit count (4,096 versus 3,072). However, these do not translate into benchmark wins, as the Vega 64's older architecture and lower clocks cannot compete with the RX 9070 GRE's modern RDNA 4.0 design.

For any user choosing between these two, the RX 9070 GRE is the clear performance pick. Its 225% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad and 74.7% lead in Geekbench OpenCL, combined with lower power draw and modern feature support, make it the superior GPU in every practical sense. The RX Vega 64 remains a functional card—its average benchmark score of 50,001 is competitive with the RTX 5070 Ti—but it is an end-of-life product that cannot match the RX 9070 GRE's capabilities.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE | AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 |

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

| Architecture | RDNA 4.0 | GCN 5.0 |

| Process Node | 4 nm | 14 nm |

| Transistors | 53,900 million | 12,500 million |

| Die Size | 357 mm² | 495 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 151.0M / mm² | 25.3M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1420 MHz | 1247 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2790 MHz | 1546 MHz |

| Memory Size | 12 GB | 8 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | HBM2 |

| Memory Bus Width | 192 bit | 2048 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 432.0 GB/s | 483.8 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 3072 | 4096 |

| TMUs | 192 | 256 |

| ROPs | 96 | 64 |

| RT Cores | 48 | None |

| Pixel Rate | 267.8 GPixel/s | 98.94 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 535.7 GTexel/s | 395.8 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 34.28 TFLOPS | 12.66 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 34.28 TFLOPS (1:1) | 25.33 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 220 W | 295 W |

| Suggested PSU | 550 W | 600 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 5.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 1x HDMI 2.1b, 3x DisplayPort 2.1a | 1x HDMI 2.0b, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a |

| DirectX | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | 12 (12_1) |

| Vulkan | 1.4 | 1.3 |

| Production Status | Active | End-of-life |

Where Each One Wins

AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE: The RX 9070 GRE wins in every modern gaming and compute scenario. Its 225% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 makes it the definitive choice for DirectX 12 gaming, particularly at higher resolutions where its 12 GB memory capacity provides more headroom. The 74.7% lead in Geekbench OpenCL indicates strong performance in general-purpose compute tasks like video encoding and physics simulation. Its 48 ray tracing cores unlock hardware-accelerated ray tracing, a feature the Vega 64 cannot offer. The lower 220W TDP and active production status make it the practical choice for new system builds.

AMD Radeon RX Vega 64: The RX Vega 64 wins only in specific legacy scenarios. Its 483.8 GB/s memory bandwidth exceeds the RX 9070 GRE's 432.0 GB/s, which could theoretically benefit memory-bandwidth-bound workloads, though no benchmark in the data confirms this advantage. Its 4,096 shading units provide raw compute capacity that, while slower in practice, may be relevant for certain older applications optimized for GCN architecture. The Vega 64 also supports Geekbench Metal and Vulkan benchmarks, giving it a broader API testing footprint, though its scores (68,750 and 67,032) are far below the RX 9070 GRE's OpenCL result. For users with legacy software that specifically requires GCN support, the Vega 64 remains functional, but it is otherwise a relic of a previous generation.