AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile Comparison

The Verdict

The recorded data separates these two GPUs decisively. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile is the clear performance leader, with an average benchmark score of 45,152 compared to the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56's 37,507. That is a 20.4% gap in average score, and in the one directly comparable head-to-head test, 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the NVIDIA part scores 5,871 against the AMD's 1,501, a 291.1% advantage. The RTX 5090 Mobile should be the pick for anyone prioritizing raw compute, modern API support, and maximum frame rates in DX12 workloads. The RX Vega 56, despite being end-of-life and from an older generation, still holds a place for legacy system builders or those needing a dual-slot card with conventional 8-pin power connectors, but the benchmark evidence shows it is outclassed by a wide margin. The data does not support choosing the AMD part on performance grounds; its only recorded wins are qualitative, such as its larger physical footprint and its 14 nm process node, which are not performance advantages. For any workload measured in this database, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile is the superior choice.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural eras and foundries. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile uses the GB203 chip built on Blackwell 2.0 architecture, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It integrates 45,600 million transistors on a 378 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 120.6 million per square millimeter. The AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 uses the Vega 10 chip with GCN 5.0 architecture, built on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. That chip contains 12,500 million transistors across a larger 495 mm² die, giving a much lower density of 25.3 million per square millimeter. The transistor count difference is stark: the NVIDIA chip packs 3.6 times more transistors, and the density advantage reflects the newer node.

Core counts also diverge heavily. The RTX 5090 Mobile has 10,496 shading units, 328 texture mapping units, 112 render output units, 82 ray tracing cores, and 328 tensor cores. The RX Vega 56 has 3,584 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, with no ray tracing or tensor cores listed. The NVIDIA part also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the AMD card is capped at DirectX 12 (12_1). Vulkan support is 1.4 on the NVIDIA side versus 1.3 on the AMD side, and OpenGL is 4.6 on both. The memory systems are fundamentally different: the RTX 5090 Mobile uses 24 GB of GDDR7 on a 256-bit bus, while the RX Vega 56 uses 8 GB of HBM2 on a 2048-bit bus. The bandwidth figures reflect this: 896.0 GB/s for the NVIDIA card versus 409.6 GB/s for the AMD card. The NVIDIA memory clock is 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective), while the AMD memory clock is 800 MHz (1600 Mbps effective). The bus interface also differs, with PCIe 5.0 x16 on the NVIDIA side and PCIe 3.0 x16 on the AMD side.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 45,152, which is 20.4% higher than the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56's average of 37,507. The NVIDIA card also sits at the 84th percentile among all GPUs, while the AMD card sits at the 81st percentile.

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

A: In the head-to-head 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile scores 5,871, while the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 scores 1,501. The NVIDIA card wins by 291.1%, which is the only directly comparable benchmark in the database.

Q: What are the closest rivals to each card based on average score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile's nearest rival is the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT, with a delta of -0.5%, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti with +0.8%, the Intel Arc A730M with -1%, and the NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation with -1.8%. The AMD Radeon RX Vega 56's nearest rivals are the NVIDIA Tesla P4 with -0.3%, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 with -0.4%, the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 with +0.9%, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile with -1.6%.

Q: Which GPU has more memory and bandwidth?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile has 24 GB of GDDR7 memory with a bandwidth of 896.0 GB/s. The AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 has 8 GB of HBM2 memory with a bandwidth of 409.6 GB/s. The NVIDIA card offers triple the memory capacity and more than double the bandwidth.

Q: What are the power and physical requirements of each card?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile has a TDP of 95 W, uses no power connectors, and is listed as an IGP (integrated graphics package) with portable-device-dependent display outputs. The AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 has a TDP of 210 W, requires two 8-pin power connectors, suggests a 550 W PSU, and is a dual-slot card measuring 280 mm in length, 111 mm in height, and 40 mm in width.

Q: When were these GPUs released and what is their production status?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile was released on 2025-03-26 and is listed as Active production. The AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 was released on 2017-08-13 and is listed as End-of-life. The AMD card's predecessor is Polaris and its successor is Navi, while the NVIDIA card's predecessor is GeForce 40 Mobile.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every specification field. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile uses the GB203 chip with Blackwell 2.0 architecture, while the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 uses the Vega 10 chip with GCN 5.0. The process node is 5 nm for NVIDIA (TSMC foundry) versus 14 nm for AMD (GlobalFoundries). Transistor counts are 45,600 million versus 12,500 million, and die sizes are 378 mm² versus 495 mm². The NVIDIA card has a higher transistor density at 120.6M / mm² versus 25.3M / mm².

Base clocks are 990 MHz for NVIDIA and 1156 MHz for AMD, with boost clocks of 1515 MHz and 1471 MHz respectively. Memory clocks are 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective) versus 800 MHz (1600 Mbps effective). Memory capacity is 24 GB GDDR7 versus 8 GB HBM2, with bus widths of 256 bit versus 2048 bit. Bandwidth is 896.0 GB/s versus 409.6 GB/s. Shading units are 10,496 versus 3,584, TMUs are 328 versus 224, and ROPs are 112 versus 64. The NVIDIA card has 82 ray tracing cores and 328 tensor cores, while the AMD card has none listed. Pixel rates are 169.7 GPixel/s versus 94.14 GPixel/s, and texture rates are 496.9 GTexel/s versus 329.5 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 31.80 TFLOPS versus 10.54 TFLOPS, and FP16 is 31.80 TFLOPS (1:1) versus 21.09 TFLOPS (2:1). TDP is 95 W versus 210 W. The NVIDIA card is an IGP with no power connectors, while the AMD card is dual-slot with 2x 8-pin connectors and a 550 W suggested PSU. Bus interfaces are PCIe 5.0 x16 versus PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs are portable-device-dependent versus 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. DirectX support is 12 Ultimate (12_2) versus 12 (12_1), Vulkan is 1.4 versus 1.3, and OpenGL is 4.6 for both.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains one direct head-to-head benchmark between these two GPUs: 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. In that test, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile scores 5,871, and the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 scores 1,501. The delta is 291.1% in favor of the NVIDIA card. This is not a marginal victory; it is a landslide. The NVIDIA card delivers nearly four times the score of the AMD card in this DX12 workload.

Beyond that single head-to-head, the broader benchmark suite reinforces the NVIDIA advantage. The RTX 5090 Mobile records a Geekbench OpenCL score of 201,834 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 198,405, while the RX Vega 56 records a Geekbench Metal score of 73,512. The NVIDIA card also shows Passmark scores of 30,034 in G3D, 13,401 in GPU Compute, 1,057 in G2D, 324 in DirectX 9, 269 in DirectX 11, 183 in DirectX 10, and 138 in DirectX 12. The AMD card's only other recorded benchmark is the Geekbench Metal score, which is not directly comparable to the NVIDIA card's OpenCL or Vulkan results. The 3DMark Steel Nomad result remains the only apples-to-apples comparison, and it is overwhelmingly one-sided.

The average benchmark scores tell the same story. The NVIDIA card averages 45,152 across all its recorded tests, while the AMD card averages 37,507. That 20.4% gap places the NVIDIA card in the 84th percentile versus the AMD card's 81st percentile. The nearest rival data also contextualizes these scores: the RTX 5090 Mobile sits within 2% of the RTX 5880 Ada Generation and the Intel Arc A730M, while the RX Vega 56 sits within 2% of the RTX 4070 and the RTX 4080 Mobile. The NVIDIA card is competing with higher-tier desktop parts, while the AMD card is competing with mid-range and mobile parts.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile wins in every measured performance category. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it is 291.1% ahead. In average benchmark score, it is 20.4% ahead. In FP32 compute, it is 31.80 TFLOPS versus 10.54 TFLOPS, a threefold advantage. In FP16, it is 31.80 TFLOPS versus 21.09 TFLOPS, though the AMD card achieves its FP16 figure through a 2:1 ratio while the NVIDIA card does it at 1:1. Pixel rate is 169.7 GPixel/s versus 94.14 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 496.9 GTexel/s versus 329.5 GTexel/s. The NVIDIA card also has more shading units, TMUs, ROPs, ray tracing cores, tensor cores, memory capacity, and bandwidth. Its memory bandwidth of 896.0 GB/s is more than double the AMD card's 409.6 GB/s.

The AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 wins in physical and power attributes, but not in performance. It has a higher base clock (1156 MHz versus 990 MHz) and a slightly higher boost clock in one case, though the NVIDIA boost is higher at 1515 MHz versus 1471 MHz. The AMD card is a dual-slot design with standard 8-pin power connectors and a 550 W suggested PSU, which makes it compatible with conventional desktop power supplies. The NVIDIA card is an IGP with no power connectors, meaning it is designed for portable devices and cannot be slotted into a standard desktop build. The AMD card also has a much larger physical footprint at 280 mm length, 111 mm height, and 40 mm width. The AMD card's 2048-bit HBM2 bus width is wider than the NVIDIA card's 256-bit bus, though the NVIDIA card still achieves higher bandwidth. The AMD card's lower transistor density (25.3M / mm² versus 120.6M / mm²) and older 14 nm node are disadvantages, not wins.

For use cases, the data points to the NVIDIA card for any modern workload: DX12 gaming, ray tracing, tensor-based compute, or high-bandwidth memory tasks. The AMD card's only recorded advantage is its compatibility with desktop power delivery and its end-of-life status, which might appeal to builders seeking a legacy part with standard connectors. But in terms of benchmark results, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile is the definitive choice. The RX Vega 56's single recorded win is zero head-to-head benchmarks, while the NVIDIA card wins all one of them. There is no workload in the database where the AMD card outperforms the NVIDIA card.