AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 vs AMD Radeon VII Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The recorded data leaves no ambiguity: the AMD Radeon VII wins every benchmark in the head-to-head comparison, four out of four tests. The AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 does not claim a single victory in any of the measured workloads. This is a clean sweep, and the margins are substantial across the board.

The Radeon VII's dominance is most pronounced in compute-oriented workloads. In OpenCL, it outperforms the RX Vega 64 by 47%, a gap that speaks to fundamental architectural improvements rather than minor clock adjustments. The Vulkan result tells a similar story, with the Radeon VII leading by 36.9%. These are not marginal wins; they are generation-level leaps in raw throughput.

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, which represents a modern DirectX 12 gaming workload, shows the Radeon VII scoring 2304 against 1669 for the RX Vega 64, a 38% advantage. This indicates that the newer card does not merely excel in abstract compute tasks; it also translates that advantage into actual rendering performance.

Geekbench Metal, an Apple-centric API test, shows a tighter but still decisive gap. The Radeon VII scores 77975 versus 68750 for the RX Vega 64, a 13.4% lead. This is the closest result of the four, but it still places the Radeon VII firmly ahead.

The average benchmark score reinforces this hierarchy. The Radeon VII sits at 66004, while the RX Vega 64 trails at 50001. That is a 32% difference in aggregate performance, and the percentile rankings reflect it: the Radeon VII lands in the 90th percentile of all GPUs, while the RX Vega 64 lands in the 86th. The data indicates a clear performance tier separation, with the Radeon VII occupying a higher standing in the overall distribution.

Architecture Differences

The two cards share the GCN family name, but they represent distinct iterations of it. The Radeon VII is built on GCN 5.1, while the RX Vega 64 uses GCN 5.0. This is not a trivial revision number; it accompanies a manufacturing process change that alters the fundamental character of the chip.

The Radeon VII uses a 7 nm process at TSMC, while the RX Vega 64 is fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. The transistor counts are relatively close: 13,230 million for the Radeon VII versus 12,500 million for the RX Vega 64. However, the die sizes differ dramatically. The Radeon VII packs those transistors into a 331 mm² die, while the RX Vega 64 spreads its transistors across a much larger 495 mm² die. The resulting transistor density is 40.0M per mm² for the Radeon VII versus 25.3M per mm² for the RX Vega 64. The density advantage is a direct consequence of the node shrink, and it allows the Radeon VII to deliver more performance in a physically smaller package.

Clock speeds reflect the process advantage. The Radeon VII runs at a 1400 MHz base clock and boosts to 1750 MHz. The RX Vega 64 operates at 1247 MHz base and 1546 MHz boost. The Radeon VII achieves higher frequencies despite the denser integration, proof of the efficiency of the 7 nm node.

Memory configurations also diverge significantly. The Radeon VII carries 16 GB of HBM2 across a 4096-bit bus, yielding 1.02 TB/s of bandwidth. The RX Vega 64 has 8 GB of HBM2 on a 2048-bit bus, producing 483.8 GB/s of bandwidth. The Radeon VII more than doubles the memory bandwidth, which is a critical factor in high-resolution rendering and compute workloads that saturate memory interfaces.

The compute unit configurations present an interesting inversion. The RX Vega 64 actually has more shading units at 4096, compared to the Radeon VII's 3840. Similarly, the RX Vega 64 has 256 texture mapping units versus 240 on the Radeon VII. Both cards have 64 ROPs. Despite having fewer shading units and TMUs, the Radeon VII achieves higher pixel and texture rates. Its pixel rate is 112.0 GPixel/s against 98.94 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 420.0 GTexel/s against 395.8 GTexel/s. The clock speed advantage overcomes the unit-count deficit.

The FP32 throughput tells the same story. The Radeon VII delivers 13.44 TFLOPS, while the RX Vega 64 delivers 12.66 TFLOPS. The FP16 figures are 26.88 TFLOPS and 25.33 TFLOPS respectively, both at a 2:1 ratio. The Radeon VII leads in every throughput metric despite having fewer execution units.

Physical dimensions are nearly identical. Both cards are 280 mm long and 40 mm wide, with a dual-slot profile. The Radeon VII is slightly taller at 125 mm versus 111 mm for the RX Vega 64. Both use two 8-pin power connectors and require a 600 W power supply. The TDP is 295 W for both cards, so the performance gains of the Radeon VII come without an additional power burden.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 result is the most gaming-relevant data point. The Radeon VII scores 2304, and the RX Vega 64 scores 1669. The delta is 38%, which is a decisive margin in a real-world rendering workload. This test exercises DirectX 12 features and modern geometry processing, and the Radeon VII's advantage here suggests that its architectural improvements translate directly into frame-relevant performance.

The Geekbench OpenCL test shows the largest gap between the two cards. The Radeon VII scores 91947, while the RX Vega 64 scores 62552. The 47% delta is the biggest of any benchmark in the comparison. OpenCL is a general-purpose compute API, and this result indicates that the Radeon VII has a substantial advantage in non-graphics workloads such as physics simulation, data processing, or any task that offloads parallel computation to the GPU.

Geekbench Vulkan shows a 36.9% lead for the Radeon VII, with scores of 91788 and 67032. Vulkan is a low-overhead graphics and compute API, and the Radeon VII's advantage here is consistent with its OpenCL lead. This suggests that the card's compute-oriented strengths carry over to Vulkan-based applications, which include many modern game engines.

The Geekbench Metal test is the outlier in terms of margin. The Radeon VII scores 77975, and the RX Vega 64 scores 68750, a 13.4% delta. Metal is Apple's graphics API, and while both cards are AMD products, the Radeon VII's lead is narrower here than in other APIs. This could reflect driver maturity differences or the specific nature of Metal's workload patterns, but the result still favors the Radeon VII.

When comparing to their respective nearest rivals, the two cards occupy different competitive positions. The Radeon VII's closest rival is the NVIDIA Tesla T4, which averages 66733, just 1.1% ahead of the Radeon VII's 66004. The Radeon VII also sits 1.4% ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla P40, 2.8% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100, and 3.4% ahead of the NVIDIA CMP 30HX. These are all narrow margins, placing the Radeon VII in a tightly contested band of professional and workstation-class GPUs.

The RX Vega 64's nearest rivals are a different group. It sits 0.1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, 0.5% ahead of the Intel Arc A550M, 1.9% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT, and 3.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT. These deltas are also small, but the RX Vega 64 is competing with consumer gaming cards rather than professional compute cards. Its 50001 average score places it in a lower performance class than the Radeon VII, which aligns with the 13-point percentile gap between them.

The Verdict

The data supports a clear conclusion: the AMD Radeon VII is the superior card in every measured dimension. It wins all four head-to-head benchmarks, with deltas ranging from 13.4% to 47%. Its average benchmark score is 32% higher, and it sits in the 90th percentile of all GPUs compared to the 86th percentile for the RX Vega 64.

The Radeon VII's advantages are rooted in its architecture. The 7 nm process node delivers higher transistor density, which enables higher clock speeds and better memory bandwidth despite a smaller die. The 16 GB memory configuration with 1.02 TB/s of bandwidth is a generational leap over the 8 GB and 483.8 GB/s of the RX Vega 64. Even though the RX Vega 64 has more shading units and TMUs, the Radeon VII's clock speed advantage wins out in every throughput metric.

The RX Vega 64 does have one structural advantage: its larger number of shading units and texture units. In workloads that scale purely with unit count rather than clock speed or memory bandwidth, the RX Vega 64 could theoretically close the gap. But the recorded data shows no such workload among the tested benchmarks. In every test, the Radeon VII wins, often by wide margins.

For buyers choosing between these two cards, the Radeon VII is the clear choice if performance is the sole criterion. It offers a substantial lead in gaming and compute workloads, and it does so without increasing power consumption or physical size. The RX Vega 64 remains a capable card, but it is firmly in a lower performance tier.

The Radeon VII's nearest rivals are professional cards like the NVIDIA Tesla T4 and Tesla P40, which suggests it is positioned for compute-heavy use cases. The RX Vega 64's nearest rivals are consumer gaming cards like the RTX 5070 Ti and the RX 6900 XT, which places it in a different market segment. The data indicates that the Radeon VII is the appropriate choice for users who prioritize raw compute and rendering performance, while the RX Vega 64 is more aligned with mainstream gaming workloads where its 86th percentile standing is still respectable.

FAQ

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon VII has an average benchmark score of 66004, which is 32% higher than the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64's average of 50001.

Q: How much faster is the Radeon VII in OpenCL compute workloads?

A: The Radeon VII scores 91947 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the RX Vega 64 scores 62552, giving the Radeon VII a 47% lead.

Q: Do both cards use the same manufacturing process?

A: No. The Radeon VII uses a 7 nm process at TSMC, while the RX Vega 64 uses a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. The Radeon VII achieves a transistor density of 40.0M per mm² versus 25.3M per mm² for the RX Vega 64.

Q: Which card has more memory bandwidth?

A: The Radeon VII has 1.02 TB/s of bandwidth across a 4096-bit bus, while the RX Vega 64 has 483.8 GB/s across a 2048-bit bus. The Radeon VII offers more than double the memory bandwidth.

Q: Does the RX Vega 64 have any advantage in compute unit count?

A: Yes, the RX Vega 64 has 4096 shading units and 256 TMUs, while the Radeon VII has 3840 shading units and 240 TMUs. However, the Radeon VII still achieves higher pixel and texture rates due to its higher clock speeds.

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

A: The Radeon VII scores 2304, and the RX Vega 64 scores 1669. The Radeon VII leads by 38% in this DirectX 12 gaming workload.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon VII | AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 |

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

| Architecture | GCN 5.1 | GCN 5.0 |

| Process Node | 7 nm | 14 nm |

| Foundry | TSMC | GlobalFoundries |

| Transistors | 13,230 million | 12,500 million |

| Die Size | 331 mm² | 495 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 40.0M / mm² | 25.3M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1400 MHz | 1247 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1750 MHz | 1546 MHz |

| Memory Size | 16 GB | 8 GB |

| Memory Bandwidth | 1.02 TB/s | 483.8 GB/s |

| Memory Bus Width | 4096 bit | 2048 bit |

| Shading Units | 3840 | 4096 |

| Texture Mapping Units | 240 | 256 |

| Pixel Rate | 112.0 GPixel/s | 98.94 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 420.0 GTexel/s | 395.8 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 13.44 TFLOPS | 12.66 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 26.88 TFLOPS (2:1) | 25.33 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| Height | 125 mm | 111 mm |

Both cards share identical specifications in several areas: 64 ROPs, 295 W TDP, dual-slot width, 2x 8-pin power connectors, 600 W suggested PSU, PCIe 3.0 x16 interface, 280 mm length, 40 mm width, and the same display outputs of 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. Both support DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. Both are end-of-life products, and both use HBM2 memory. The Radeon VII's launch MSRP is 699 USD, while the RX Vega 64's launch MSRP is 499 USD. The Radeon VII was released on 2019-02-06, while the RX Vega 64 was released on 2017-08-06.