AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile Comparison

# Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile and AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 sit remarkably close in aggregate performance, with the RTX 4080 Mobile averaging 38,135 points across all benchmarks versus 37,507 for the Vega 56 — a slim 1.6% margin. Both GPUs occupy the 81st percentile among all graphics cards, placing them in the same performance tier despite their vastly different architectures and release eras.

The GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile's strongest showing comes in compute-heavy workloads. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 159,575 dwarfs anything the Vega 56 can produce, though direct cross-referencing is limited by the fact that the two cards share no common benchmark results in the data set. The RTX 4080 Mobile also posts a Passmark GPU Compute score of 11,191, demonstrating formidable parallel processing capability. In DirectX 11 testing, the RTX 4080 Mobile scores 244 in Passmark, while its DirectX 10 result stands at 157 and DirectX 9 at 286. The DirectX 12 Passmark score of 96 rounds out its API-specific results.

The Radeon RX Vega 56, for its part, delivers strong results in the benchmarks where it has data. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1,501 shows capable modern API performance, while its Geekbench Metal score of 73,512 highlights solid cross-platform compute ability. The Vega 56's nearest rival comparisons show it trailing the RTX 4080 Mobile by 1.6% in average score, but leading the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 by 0.9%. Meanwhile, the RTX 4080 Mobile sits just 0.4% behind the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 and 0.6% behind the RTX 5080 Mobile, while edging out the RTX 4070 by 1.3% and the Tesla P4 by the same margin.

The data reveals a fascinating dynamic: these two GPUs achieve near-identical average scores through entirely different means. The RTX 4080 Mobile leverages its 7,424 shading units and 24.72 TFLOPS FP32 throughput, while the Vega 56 counters with 3,584 shading units and 10.54 TFLOPS FP32. The RTX 4080 Mobile's transistor density of 121.8 million per square millimeter on a 5 nm TSMC process gives it a massive efficiency advantage, but raw performance lands in the same ballpark.

# Where Each One Wins

The RTX 4080 Mobile establishes clear superiority in modern feature support. It carries 58 ray tracing cores and 232 tensor cores, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing and DLSS capabilities that the Vega 56 simply cannot match — the AMD card has no ray tracing or tensor core equivalents. The RTX 4080 Mobile also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the Vega 56 tops out at DirectX 12 (12_1). For Vulkan, the NVIDIA card supports version 1.4 versus the Vega 56's 1.3, giving the newer card better forward-looking API compatibility.

Memory architecture heavily favors the RTX 4080 Mobile in terms of capacity and efficiency. The NVIDIA card offers 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 432.0 GB/s bandwidth, compared to the Vega 56's 8 GB of HBM2 on a much wider 2048-bit bus with 409.6 GB/s bandwidth. While the Vega 56's HBM2 memory achieves nearly comparable bandwidth despite its lower 800 MHz clock, the RTX 4080 Mobile's 18 Gbps effective memory speed and larger capacity make it better suited for texture-heavy workloads at high resolutions.

Power efficiency is a decisive differentiator. The RTX 4080 Mobile consumes 110 W TDP, while the Vega 56 draws 210 W — an 100 W difference. The RTX 4080 Mobile achieves higher performance while using nearly half the power, a direct consequence of its 5 nm process node versus the Vega 56's 14 nm GlobalFoundries process. The NVIDIA card requires no power connectors and fits as an IGP (integrated graphics package), while the Vega 56 demands two 8-pin connectors and a 550 W suggested power supply.

For legacy and compatibility scenarios, the Vega 56 retains relevance through its OpenGL 4.6 support, matching the RTX 4080 Mobile's OpenGL version. The AMD card also offers a triple DisplayPort 1.4a and HDMI 2.0b output configuration, though the RTX 4080 Mobile's display outputs are portable-device dependent, reflecting its mobile nature.

# The Verdict

Data-driven conclusions point to the RTX 4080 Mobile for nearly every modern use case. Its 24.72 TFLOPS FP32 throughput is more than double the Vega 56's 10.54 TFLOPS, and it matches that figure in FP16 with a 1:1 ratio, while the Vega 56's FP16 of 21.09 TFLOPS comes at a 2:1 penalty. The RTX 4080 Mobile's higher pixel rate of 133.2 GPixel/s versus 94.14 GPixel/s, and texture rate of 386.3 GTexel/s versus 329.5 GTexel/s, give it the edge in both fill-rate-bound and texture-bound scenarios.

The RTX 4080 Mobile is the pick for gamers and creators who can leverage its ray tracing cores, tensor cores, and 12 GB VRAM. The Vega 56 offers no hardware ray tracing, no tensor acceleration, and half the memory capacity. With the RTX 4080 Mobile delivering comparable average scores at 110 W versus 210 W, the efficiency argument alone settles most debates.

However, the Vega 56 remains a viable option for users on legacy platforms with PCIe 3.0, given its 280 mm length, dual-slot design, and 399 USD launch MSRP. Its end-of-life production status and 2017 release date mean it occupies a different market position, but benchmark parity with the RTX 4080 Mobile in aggregate scoring means it can still handle demanding workloads. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1,501 indicates solid modern API performance despite its age.

For most buyers, the RTX 4080 Mobile wins on features, efficiency, and future-proofing. The Vega 56 wins only in scenarios where its specific output configuration, HBM2 memory, or legacy driver ecosystem matters more than raw capability.

# FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute performance?

A: The RTX 4080 Mobile delivers 24.72 TFLOPS FP32 and 24.72 TFLOPS FP16, while the Vega 56 delivers 10.54 TFLOPS FP32 and 21.09 TFLOPS FP16. The NVIDIA card has more than double the FP32 throughput.

Q: How do their memory configurations compare?

A: The RTX 4080 Mobile features 12 GB GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus with 432.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the Vega 56 has 8 GB HBM2 on a 2048-bit bus with 409.6 GB/s bandwidth. The NVIDIA card offers more capacity; the AMD card uses a wider bus.

Q: Which GPU is more power-efficient?

A: The RTX 4080 Mobile has a 110 W TDP and needs no power connectors, while the Vega 56 has a 210 W TDP and requires two 8-pin connectors plus a 550 W suggested power supply.

Q: Does either GPU support hardware ray tracing?

A: Only the RTX 4080 Mobile has ray tracing capabilities, with 58 dedicated RT cores. The Vega 56 has no RT core specification in its architecture.

Q: What are their API support differences?

A: The RTX 4080 Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The Vega 56 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3.

Q: How close are their average benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 4080 Mobile averages 38,135 points versus 37,507 for the Vega 56, a 1.6% difference. Both sit in the 81st percentile among all GPUs.

# Architecture Differences

The RTX 4080 Mobile uses the AD104 chip built on NVIDIA's Ada Lovelace architecture, manufactured on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It integrates 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 121.8 million per square millimeter. The Vega 56 uses the Vega 10 chip based on AMD's GCN 5.0 architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. It contains 12,500 million transistors on a much larger 495 mm² die, with a density of just 25.3 million per square millimeter.

Core configurations differ dramatically. The RTX 4080 Mobile packs 7,424 shading units, 232 texture mapping units, 80 raster output units, 58 ray tracing cores, and 232 tensor cores. The Vega 56 offers 3,584 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, with no dedicated ray tracing or tensor hardware. Clock speeds favor the NVIDIA chip, with a 1290 MHz base and 1665 MHz boost, versus the Vega 56's 1156 MHz base and 1471 MHz boost.

Memory technology represents a fundamental architectural split. The RTX 4080 Mobile uses 12 GB GDDR6 at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) on a 192-bit bus, delivering 432.0 GB/s. The Vega 56 uses 8 GB HBM2 at 800 MHz (1600 Mbps effective) on a 2048-bit bus, delivering 409.6 GB/s. The HBM2's massive bus width compensates for its low clock speed, but the GDDR6 implementation in the RTX 4080 Mobile still achieves higher bandwidth.

Physical and platform characteristics also diverge sharply. The RTX 4080 Mobile is an IGP with no power connectors and portable-device-dependent display outputs, connecting via PCIe 4.0 x16. The Vega 56 is a dual-slot card measuring 280 mm by 111 mm by 40 mm, requiring two 8-pin power connectors and a 550 W suggested power supply, connecting via PCIe 3.0 x16. It offers 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs.

Production status reflects their lifecycles: the RTX 4080 Mobile is active, released in January 2023, succeeding the GeForce 30 Mobile and preceding the GeForce 50 Mobile. The Vega 56 is end-of-life, released in August 2017, succeeding Polaris and preceding Navi. The RTX 4080 Mobile's 110 W TDP versus the Vega 56's 210 W TDP underscores the efficiency gains from newer process technology and architecture design.