AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti and the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 occupy vastly different eras of GPU design. The RTX 5070 Ti is a current-generation Blackwell 2.0 part built on a 5 nm process, while the RX Vega 56 is an end-of-life GCN 5.0 product from the Vega generation on a 14 nm node. The database shows an average benchmark score of 49,957 for the NVIDIA card versus 37,507 for the AMD card, placing the RTX 5070 Ti in the 86th percentile of all GPUs and the RX Vega 56 in the 81st percentile. These numbers alone suggest a significant gap, but the individual test results reveal a more nuanced story about where each card excels and what architectural choices drive those differences.

Where Each One Wins

The recorded data gives the RTX 5070 Ti a clean sweep in the single head-to-head benchmark available, but that test only scratches the surface. The RTX 5070 Ti records a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6,604 against the RX Vega 56's 1,501, a 340% advantage. This is a modern DirectX 12 workload that heavily favors the newer architecture. However, the RX Vega 56 has its own strengths in other recorded tests that are not part of the direct comparison.

Looking at the full benchmark suite, the RTX 5070 Ti dominates in compute and modern API workloads. It posts 212,363 in Geekbench OpenCL and 225,122 in Geekbench Vulkan, both tests that stress parallel processing and driver efficiency. The RX Vega 56 has no corresponding OpenCL or Vulkan entries in the database, but it does record a Geekbench Metal score of 73,512, a test the RTX 5070 Ti does not have. This suggests the AMD card retains some relevance in Apple-centric or Metal-optimized environments, though the lack of comparable tests makes direct inference limited.

In legacy DirectX tests, the RTX 5070 Ti shows mixed results. Its PassMark DirectX 9 score of 351 and DirectX 10 score of 192 are respectable, but the DirectX 11 score of 300 and DirectX 12 score of 127 indicate that older API paths may not be fully optimized. The RX Vega 56 has no PassMark entries, so no direct comparison is possible there. The RTX 5070 Ti's PassMark G3D score of 32,974 and GPU compute score of 20,203 further reinforce its compute-heavy profile, while its PassMark G2D score of 1,332 suggests strong 2D acceleration.

The wins for the RTX 5070 Ti are concentrated in modern, high-throughput workloads: ray tracing, tensor operations, and next-gen graphics. The RX Vega 56, despite its age, still holds its own in Metal-based scenarios, which is notable given that its architecture predates dedicated ray tracing hardware entirely.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is generational. The RTX 5070 Ti uses the GB203 chip with Blackwell 2.0 architecture, built on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It contains 45,600 million transistors on a 378 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 120.6 million per mm². The RX Vega 56 uses the Vega 10 chip with GCN 5.0 architecture, fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. It has 12,500 million transistors spread across a much larger 495 mm² die, giving a density of just 25.3 million per mm².

The memory subsystems are fundamentally different. The RTX 5070 Ti has 16 GB of GDDR7 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 896.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX Vega 56 has 8 GB of HBM2 on a massive 2048-bit bus, but the lower clock speed (800 MHz, 1600 Mbps effective) limits its bandwidth to 409.6 GB/s. The RTX 5070 Ti offers more than twice the memory capacity and more than double the bandwidth, a critical advantage in high-resolution textures and large datasets.

The compute resources tell a similar story. The RTX 5070 Ti has 8,960 shading units, 280 texture mapping units, and 96 ROPs. It also includes 70 dedicated ray tracing cores and 280 tensor cores, features entirely absent from the RX Vega 56, which has 3,584 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, with no ray tracing or tensor hardware. The RTX 5070 Ti's FP32 throughput is 43.94 TFLOPS, with FP16 matching at 43.94 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio). The RX Vega 56 delivers 10.54 TFLOPS FP32 and 21.09 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1 ratio), meaning even its half-precision peak is below the RTX 5070 Ti's full-precision output.

Clock speeds also differ substantially. The RTX 5070 Ti runs at 2295 MHz base and 2452 MHz boost, while the RX Vega 56 sits at 1156 MHz base and 1471 MHz boost. The NVIDIA card's higher clocks, combined with its architectural efficiency, produce pixel rates of 235.4 GPixel/s and texture rates of 686.6 GTexel/s, versus 94.14 GPixel/s and 329.5 GTexel/s for the AMD card.

Power and connectivity further differentiate the two. The RTX 5070 Ti has a 300 W TDP with a single 16-pin connector and a recommended 700 W power supply. The RX Vega 56 has a 210 W TDP, two 8-pin connectors, and a 550 W suggested PSU. The RTX 5070 Ti uses PCIe 5.0 x16, while the RX Vega 56 uses PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs favor the newer card with HDMI 2.1b and DisplayPort 2.1b, versus HDMI 2.0b and DisplayPort 1.4a on the older card.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct head-to-head test recorded is 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. The RTX 5070 Ti scores 6,604, while the RX Vega 56 scores 1,501. The delta is 340%, meaning the NVIDIA card is 4.4 times faster in this specific workload. Steel Nomad is a demanding next-generation test that stresses ray tracing, mesh shaders, and advanced DX12 features, all areas where the RTX 5070 Ti's dedicated hardware gives it an insurmountable lead.

This single benchmark tells a clear story. The RX Vega 56 was released in 2017 and lacks any form of ray tracing acceleration. Its GCN architecture relies on raw shader throughput, which is now dwarfed by Blackwell's efficiency. The 340% gap is not just a clock speed difference; it reflects a fundamental shift in how GPUs are designed. The RTX 5070 Ti's 70 ray tracing cores and 280 tensor cores handle workloads that the RX Vega 56 cannot even process in hardware, forcing fallback to compute shaders that are orders of magnitude slower.

The absence of other shared benchmarks in the database limits the comparison, but the available data is decisive. In the one test where both cards appear, the RTX 5070 Ti does not just win; it obliterates the RX Vega 56. This result is consistent with the average benchmark scores, which show a 33% gap in favor of the NVIDIA card.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the RTX 5070 Ti in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12?

A: The RTX 5070 Ti scores 6,604 versus 1,501 for the RX Vega 56, a 340% advantage.

Q: Does the RX Vega 56 have any ray tracing or tensor cores?

A: No. The database lists null values for both RT cores and tensor cores on the RX Vega 56, while the RTX 5070 Ti has 70 ray tracing cores and 280 tensor cores.

Q: What are the memory configurations of each card?

A: The RTX 5070 Ti has 16 GB of GDDR7 on a 256-bit bus with 896.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RX Vega 56 has 8 GB of HBM2 on a 2048-bit bus with 409.6 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card has a higher boost clock?

A: The RTX 5070 Ti boosts to 2452 MHz, while the RX Vega 56 boosts to 1471 MHz.

Q: What is the average benchmark score difference?

A: The RTX 5070 Ti averages 49,957 across all recorded tests, while the RX Vega 56 averages 37,507, a difference of 12,450 points or roughly 33%.

Q: Which card supports newer display outputs?

A: The RTX 5070 Ti supports HDMI 2.1b and DisplayPort 2.1b. The RX Vega 56 supports HDMI 2.0b and DisplayPort 1.4a.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear conclusion: the RTX 5070 Ti is the superior card in every measured metric. Its 340% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 is the most dramatic example, but the average benchmark scores support the same narrative. The RTX 5070 Ti's 49,957 average places it in the 86th percentile of all GPUs, while the RX Vega 56's 37,507 average puts it in the 81st percentile. The nearest rival to the RTX 5070 Ti is the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 with an average score of 50,001, just 0.1% higher, followed by the Intel Arc A550M at 49,737 (0.4% lower), the RX 6900 XT at 50,951 (2% lower), and the RX 6800 XT at 48,477 (3.1% higher). For the RX Vega 56, its closest competitors are the NVIDIA Tesla P4 at 37,628 (0.3% lower), the RTX 4070 at 37,648 (0.4% lower), the Radeon PRO W6400 at 37,157 (0.9% higher), and the RTX 4080 Mobile at 38,135 (1.6% lower).

Who should pick the RTX 5070 Ti? Anyone running modern DirectX 12 games, ray tracing workloads, or compute-heavy applications. Its 16 GB of GDDR7 memory, 896.0 GB/s bandwidth, and 43.94 TFLOPS FP32 performance make it a tool for high-resolution gaming and professional rendering. The 70 ray tracing cores and 280 tensor cores are non-negotiable for current-gen graphics features.

Who should pick the RX Vega 56? The data offers little support. Its sole recorded advantage is a Geekbench Metal score of 73,512, a test the RTX 5070 Ti does not have, suggesting it may still function in Metal-optimized environments. However, with only 8 GB of HBM2 memory, 10.54 TFLOPS FP32, and no ray tracing hardware, it is a legacy part for legacy workloads. Its 81st percentile ranking is respectable for a 2017 card, but the RTX 5070 Ti outperforms it in every shared test. The RX Vega 56 is end-of-life, and the database shows no scenario where it beats the RTX 5070 Ti.

Specification Differences

The following fields differ between the two cards:

| Specification | RTX 5070 Ti | RX Vega 56 |

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

| Process node | 5 nm | 14 nm |

| Foundry | TSMC | GlobalFoundries |

| Transistors | 45,600 million | 12,500 million |

| Die size | 378 mm² | 495 mm² |

| Transistor density | 120.6M / mm² | 25.3M / mm² |

| Base clock | 2295 MHz | 1156 MHz |

| Boost clock | 2452 MHz | 1471 MHz |

| Memory size | 16 GB | 8 GB |

| Memory type | GDDR7 | HBM2 |

| Memory bus | 256 bit | 2048 bit |

| Memory bandwidth | 896.0 GB/s | 409.6 GB/s |

| Shading units | 8960 | 3584 |

| TMUs | 280 | 224 |

| ROPs | 96 | 64 |

| RT cores | 70 | null |

| Tensor cores | 280 | null |

| Pixel rate | 235.4 GPixel/s | 94.14 GPixel/s |

| Texture rate | 686.6 GTexel/s | 329.5 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 43.94 TFLOPS | 10.54 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 43.94 TFLOPS (1:1) | 21.09 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 300 W | 210 W |

| Power connectors | 1x 16-pin | 2x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 700 W | 550 W |

| Bus interface | PCIe 5.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

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

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

| Vulkan support | 1.4 | 1.3 |

| Production status | Active | End-of-life |

| Release date | 2025-02-19 | 2017-08-13 |

| Launch MSRP | 749 USD | 399 USD |

| Dimensions | 304 mm x 137 mm x 48 mm | 280 mm x 111 mm x 40 mm |