AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 and AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 represent two distinct eras of GPU design, separated by nearly eight years of architectural evolution. The data shows a clear generational gap, but the RX Vega 56 remains an interesting historical baseline due to its high percentile ranking. The RTX 5070 scores 5077 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, a massive 238.2% ahead of the Vega 56’s 1501, yet both cards sit within 1 percentile of each other in the overall GPU hierarchy (82nd vs 81st percentile). This contrast — one card dominating a modern workload while both rank similarly against all GPUs — raises questions about how benchmark suites weight legacy versus current performance.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 has an average benchmark score of 40377, compared to the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56’s 37507. That is a difference of 2870 points, or roughly 7.7% higher for the RTX 5070.

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

A: The RTX 5070 scores 5077, while the RX Vega 56 scores 1501. The RTX 5070 wins by 238.2%, making this the only head-to-head benchmark available in the data.

Q: What are the nearest rivals for each card?

A: For the RTX 5070, the closest rival is the AMD Radeon Pro 580 with an average score of 40318 (0.1% delta). For the RX Vega 56, the closest rival is the NVIDIA Tesla P4 with an average score of 37628 (-0.3% delta).

Q: Which GPU has the larger die size?

A: The AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 has a die size of 495 mm², which is significantly larger than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070’s 263 mm². Despite being larger, the Vega 56 is built on an older 14 nm process versus the 5 nm node for the RTX 5070.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference?

A: The RTX 5070 uses 12 GB of GDDR7 on a 192-bit bus with 672.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RX Vega 56 uses 8 GB of HBM2 on a 2048-bit bus with 409.6 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card has a higher transistor density?

A: The RTX 5070 has a transistor density of 118.3M per mm², while the RX Vega 56 has 25.3M per mm². This reflects the much newer 5 nm manufacturing process used by NVIDIA.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is substantial. The RTX 5070 uses the GB205 chip with Blackwell 2.0 architecture, built on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It packs 31,100 million transistors into a 263 mm² die. In contrast, the RX Vega 56 uses the Vega 10 chip with GCN 5.0 architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries, containing 12,500 million transistors on a much larger 495 mm² die.

The RTX 5070 features 6144 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. It also includes 48 dedicated ray tracing cores and 192 tensor cores, which are entirely absent from the RX Vega 56 — the Vega 56 has no RT cores and no tensor cores listed. The Vega 56 counters with 3584 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, showing a different balance of compute resources.

The process node difference is stark: 5 nm versus 14 nm. This directly explains the transistor density gap (118.3M vs 25.3M per mm²) and contributes to the clock speed advantage. The RTX 5070 boosts to 2512 MHz, while the Vega 56 boosts to 1471 MHz. The RTX 5070 also supports newer API standards — DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) versus DirectX 12 (12_1) for the Vega 56, and Vulkan 1.4 versus 1.3.

Memory architecture differs fundamentally as well. The RTX 5070 uses 12 GB of GDDR7 with a 192-bit bus, while the Vega 56 uses 8 GB of HBM2 with a 2048-bit bus. The RTX 5070 achieves higher bandwidth (672.0 GB/s vs 409.6 GB/s) despite the narrower bus, due to faster memory clocks (1750 MHz vs 800 MHz).

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data is limited to a single shared test, but the results are decisive. The RTX 5070 wins the only head-to-head benchmark, 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, by 238.2%. This is the sole comparative data point, so the RTX 5070 takes the win in all available tests.

However, looking at the broader benchmark suites available for each card individually, the RTX 5070 shows strength across modern workloads. It scores 172660 in Geekbench OpenCL and 178923 in Geekbench Vulkan, along with a 29137 in Passmark G3D. The RX Vega 56 only has two individual benchmarks listed: 1501 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 and 73512 in Geekbench Metal. The Vega 56’s Metal score suggests it may retain some utility in Apple-centric workflows, but no direct comparison is possible since the RTX 5070 lacks a Metal benchmark result.

The RTX 5070 also wins on compute density. Its FP32 throughput of 30.87 TFLOPS dwarfs the Vega 56’s 10.54 TFLOPS. The pixel rate also favors NVIDIA: 201.0 GPixel/s versus 94.14 GPixel/s. The texture rate is 482.3 GTexel/s versus 329.5 GTexel/s. These are not direct benchmark wins but indicate where performance advantages will manifest in real workloads.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ on nearly every specification field. The RTX 5070 uses a 5 nm process; the Vega 56 uses 14 nm. Transistor count is 31,100 million versus 12,500 million. Die size is 263 mm² versus 495 mm². The base clock is 2325 MHz versus 1156 MHz, and boost clock is 2512 MHz versus 1471 MHz.

Memory differences are pronounced: 12 GB GDDR7 versus 8 GB HBM2, with bus widths of 192-bit versus 2048-bit. Bandwidth is 672.0 GB/s versus 409.6 GB/s. The memory clock is 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective) versus 800 MHz (1600 Mbps effective).

Compute resources differ: 6144 shading units versus 3584, 192 TMUs versus 224, 80 ROPs versus 64. The RTX 5070 has 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores; the Vega 56 has none. FP32 performance is 30.87 TFLOPS versus 10.54 TFLOPS. FP16 is 30.87 TFLOPS (1:1) versus 21.09 TFLOPS (2:1).

Power and connectivity differ too. The RTX 5070 has a TDP of 250 W with a single 16-pin connector and a suggested 600 W PSU. The Vega 56 has a 210 W TDP with two 8-pin connectors and a suggested 550 W PSU. The RTX 5070 uses PCIe 5.0 x16; the Vega 56 uses PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs are HDMI 2.1b and DisplayPort 2.1b for NVIDIA, versus HDMI 2.0b and DisplayPort 1.4a for AMD.

Physical dimensions also differ: the RTX 5070 is 245 mm long, 115 mm tall, and 40 mm wide. The Vega 56 is 280 mm long, 111 mm tall, and 40 mm wide. Both are dual-slot cards.

The production status differs as well — the RTX 5070 is Active, while the Vega 56 is End-of-life. The release dates are far apart, and the launch MSRP is 549 USD for the RTX 5070 versus 399 USD for the Vega 56.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The single head-to-head benchmark is 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, and the result is overwhelming. The RTX 5070 scores 5077, while the RX Vega 56 scores 1501. The delta is 238.2% in favor of NVIDIA. This means the RTX 5070 delivers more than three times the performance of the Vega 56 in this DirectX 12 workload.

The average benchmark scores reinforce this trend, though less dramatically. The RTX 5070 averages 40377 across all its benchmarks, while the Vega 56 averages 37507. That is a 7.7% advantage for the RTX 5070, a much smaller gap than the Steel Nomad result suggests. This discrepancy implies that the Vega 56 performs relatively better in older or less demanding workloads, while the RTX 5070 excels in modern DirectX 12 scenarios.

Looking at the nearest rivals adds context. The RTX 5070’s closest competitor is the AMD Radeon Pro 580 at 40318 (0.1% delta), meaning the RTX 5070 barely edges out that card. The Vega 56’s closest rival is the NVIDIA Tesla P4 at 37628 (-0.3% delta), meaning the Vega 56 falls slightly short of that card. Interestingly, the GeForce RTX 4070 appears as a rival to the Vega 56 with a score of 37648 (-0.4% delta), putting the Vega 56 just behind an older mainstream NVIDIA card.

The RTX 5070 also shows wins in its individual benchmarks. It scores 172660 in Geekbench OpenCL and 178923 in Geekbench Vulkan, indicating strong compute performance. The Passmark suite shows 29137 in G3D and 15787 in GPU Compute. The Vega 56’s only other benchmark is Geekbench Metal at 73512, which cannot be compared directly.

The Verdict

The data strongly favors the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 for anyone building a modern gaming or compute system. Its 238.2% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 is the defining metric, and its higher average benchmark score (40377 vs 37507) confirms overall superiority. The RTX 5070 also brings modern features like ray tracing cores, tensor cores, DirectX 12 Ultimate support, and PCIe 5.0, none of which the Vega 56 offers.

The AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 remains relevant only as a legacy option. Its 81st percentile ranking versus the RTX 5070’s 82nd shows it still outperforms most GPUs in the database, but its end-of-life status and older architecture limit its appeal. The Vega 56’s single benchmark win is absent — it loses the only head-to-head test. However, its Geekbench Metal score of 73512 suggests it may still serve in specific Apple ecosystem roles where NVIDIA drivers are less relevant.

For a gamer or content creator, the RTX 5070 is the clear choice based on benchmark data alone. The 3x performance in DirectX 12 workloads and the 7.7% higher average score make it the superior product. For a user constrained to older software or macOS environments, the Vega 56 might still function, but the data offers no evidence it wins anywhere against the RTX 5070. The verdict is unambiguous: the RTX 5070 wins every measurable comparison, and the Vega 56’s only virtue is its historical context as a once-competitive card that has been thoroughly surpassed.