AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 vs Intel Arc Pro A60 Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The recorded data splits these two GPUs almost perfectly down the middle, with one benchmark win apiece. The Intel Arc Pro A60 takes the Geekbench OpenCL test, while the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 dominates the Geekbench Vulkan test. This split reveals a clear use-case distinction: the Intel card is better suited for OpenCL compute workloads, while the AMD card is the stronger choice for Vulkan-based applications and games.

The OpenCL result favors Intel by a narrow 1.5% margin, with the Arc Pro A60 scoring 63485 against the Vega 64's 62552. That slim lead is well within the sort of run-to-run variance seen across GPU testing, so the Intel card's advantage in OpenCL is real but modest. For users running OpenCL-accelerated productivity tools, the Arc Pro A60 is the safer pick, and it also carries a much higher percentile ranking at 88 versus the Vega 64's 86, indicating it sits higher in the overall distribution of all GPUs in the database.

The Vulkan result is a different story entirely. The Vega 64 scores 67032, which is 14.7% higher than the Arc Pro A60's 57166. That is a comprehensive victory for AMD in Vulkan workloads. The delta is nearly ten times larger than the OpenCL gap, so the Vega 64's Vulkan advantage is far more decisive. For gaming through Vulkan APIs, or for any Vulkan-based rendering or compute tasks, the RX Vega 64 is clearly the better choice of these two.

The broader benchmark context reinforces this split. The Arc Pro A60's average benchmark score is 60326, while the Vega 64's average is 50001, a substantial gap of over 20%. However, that average includes a much wider set of workloads, and the Vega 64's entry into the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test (1669) is not matched by the Arc Pro A60 in the head-to-head data. Neither card is a universal winner. The Arc Pro A60 wins the compute-style OpenCL test, the Vega 64 wins the graphics-oriented Vulkan test, and the average score favors Intel overall. Users should choose based on their specific workload rather than expecting one card to dominate everything.

Specification Differences

The two cards come from different eras and different design philosophies. The Intel Arc Pro A60 is built on the DG2-256 chip using the Xe-HPG architecture, while the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 uses the Vega 10 chip with GCN 5.0 architecture. The Intel card is a 6 nm TSMC part with 11,500 million transistors on a 269 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 42.8M per mm². The AMD card is a 14 nm GlobalFoundries part with 12,500 million transistors on a much larger 495 mm² die, for a lower density of 25.3M per mm². The Intel chip packs more transistors per square millimeter due to the smaller process node.

Clock speeds differ significantly. The Arc Pro A60 runs at a 900 MHz base and 2050 MHz boost, while the Vega 64 runs at 1247 MHz base and 1546 MHz boost. The Intel card has a much higher boost clock, over 500 MHz higher, while the AMD card has a higher base clock. Memory speeds also differ: the Intel card uses 2000 MHz memory with 16 Gbps effective, while the AMD card uses 945 MHz memory with 1890 Mbps effective. The AMD figure is markedly slower in raw memory clock terms.

Memory capacity and type are major differentiators. The Arc Pro A60 has 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 384.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Vega 64 has 8 GB of HBM2 memory on a 2048-bit bus, delivering 483.8 GB/s of bandwidth. The Vega 64 wins on bandwidth by a wide margin thanks to the massive 2048-bit HBM2 bus, even if capacity favors Intel by 4 GB. The Intel card's shading units also differ: 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs on the Intel side, compared to 4096 shading units, 256 TMUs, and 64 ROPs on the AMD side. The Vega 64 has exactly double the shading units and TMUs, but equal ROPs.

Compute throughput figures tell a mixed story. The Vega 64 hits 12.66 TFLOPS FP32 and 25.33 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1), while the Arc Pro A60 reaches 8.397 TFLOPS FP32 and 16.79 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1). The AMD card has a large lead in raw compute throughput. However, the Intel card counters with 16 ray tracing cores, which the Vega 64 lacks entirely. Pixel rates also differ: the Arc Pro A60 outputs 131.2 GPixel/s versus the Vega 64's 98.94 GPixel/s, while texture rates are 262.4 GTexel/s versus 395.8 GTexel/s, favoring AMD.

Power and physical specs differ considerably. The Arc Pro A60 is rated at 130 W TDP with a 300 W suggested PSU, single-slot design, and no power connectors listed. The Vega 64 is rated at 295 W TDP with a 600 W suggested PSU, dual-slot design, and dual 8-pin power connectors. The Intel card is far more power-efficient. Bus interfaces also differ: PCIe 4.0 x16 on the Intel card versus PCIe 3.0 x16 on the AMD card. Display outputs are 4x DisplayPort 2.0 on the Intel card versus 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a on the AMD card. Release dates are far apart: the Intel card launched in June 2023 and is still active, while the AMD card launched in August 2017 and is end-of-life. The Vega 64 had a launch MSRP of 499 USD.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The Intel Arc Pro A60 has a higher average benchmark score of 60326, compared to the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64's 50001. The Intel card also ranks higher in the overall percentile distribution at 88 versus 86.

Q: How do the two cards compare in OpenCL performance?

A: The Intel Arc Pro A60 wins the Geekbench OpenCL test with a score of 63485, which is 1.5% higher than the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64's 62552.

Q: Which card is better for Vulkan workloads?

A: The AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 is significantly better in Vulkan. It scores 67032 in the Geekbench Vulkan test, which is 14.7% higher than the Intel Arc Pro A60's 57166.

Q: What are the memory differences between the two cards?

A: The Intel Arc Pro A60 has 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 384.0 GB/s bandwidth. The AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 has 8 GB of HBM2 memory on a 2048-bit bus with 483.8 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Does the Intel card support ray tracing?

A: Yes, the Intel Arc Pro A60 has 16 ray tracing cores. The AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 has no ray tracing cores.

Q: Which card has a smaller power footprint?

A: The Intel Arc Pro A60 has a 130 W TDP and a 300 W suggested PSU, while the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 has a 295 W TDP and a 600 W suggested PSU. The Intel card is the more power-efficient option.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two recorded head-to-head benchmarks showcase the split nature of this comparison. In Geekbench OpenCL, the Intel Arc Pro A60 wins with a score of 63485 against the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64's 62552. The 1.5% delta is a close result, but it does give the Intel card the edge in this compute API. The Intel card's higher average score of 60326 versus 50001 also suggests it is the more consistent performer across the broader benchmark suite, even though this specific test only shows a small margin.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 takes a commanding victory. The AMD card scores 67032, which is 14.7% higher than the Intel Arc Pro A60's 57166. That is a massive swing in the opposite direction. The 14.7% delta is nearly ten times larger than the OpenCL gap, making this the most decisive result in the comparison. The Vega 64's Vulkan performance is clearly a strength, and this result aligns with its higher raw compute throughput of 12.66 TFLOPS FP32 versus the Intel card's 8.397 TFLOPS.

The Intel card does have its own strengths in the measured data. Its pixel rate of 131.2 GPixel/s exceeds the Vega 64's 98.94 GPixel/s, and its boost clock of 2050 MHz is far higher than the AMD card's 1546 MHz. The Intel card also has a higher transistor density at 42.8M per mm² versus 25.3M per mm², reflecting its more modern 6 nm process node. However, the AMD card wins on texture rate with 395.8 GTexel/s versus 262.4 GTexel/s, and it has double the shading units (4096 versus 2048) and TMUs (256 versus 128).

Looking at the nearest rivals data adds context. The Arc Pro A60's average score of 60326 sits within a tight cluster: it is essentially tied with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 at 60347 (0% delta), 0.3% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 at 60140, 2.5% behind the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M at 61896, and 2.8% ahead of the AMD Radeon PRO V710 at 58657. The Vega 64's average score of 50001 also sits in a tight group: 0.1% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti at 49957, 0.5% ahead of the Intel Arc A550M at 49737, 1.9% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT at 50951, and 3.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT at 48477. Both cards are competitive within their respective performance tiers.

The average benchmark scores reveal a substantial overall gap. The Arc Pro A60's 60326 average is 20.7% higher than the Vega 64's 50001. Yet the head-to-head results show only one win for Intel and one win for AMD. The average score gap may reflect differences in the benchmark suites each card was tested with, particularly since the Vega 64 has an additional 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 result (1669) and a Geekbench Metal result (68750) that the Intel card does not have in the recorded data.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two cards is generational. The Intel Arc Pro A60 uses the Xe-HPG architecture on the DG2-256 chip, belonging to the Alchemist generation of Intel's Pro Series. The AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 uses the GCN 5.0 architecture on the Vega 10 chip, from the Vega generation of the RX Vega lineup. The Intel architecture is significantly newer, having launched in June 2023, while the AMD card launched in August 2017.

The manufacturing process differs dramatically. Intel uses a 6 nm TSMC process with 11,500 million transistors on a 269 mm² die. AMD uses a 14 nm GlobalFoundries process with 12,500 million transistors on a 495 mm² die. The Intel die is roughly 46% smaller while packing nearly as many transistors, resulting in a transistor density of 42.8M per mm² versus 25.3M per mm². This density advantage is a direct result of the more advanced process node.

Core configurations differ significantly. The Intel card has 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The AMD card has 4096 shading units, 256 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The Vega 64 has exactly double the shading units and TMUs, but the same number of ROPs. The AMD card's higher shading unit count contributes to its higher FP32 throughput of 12.66 TFLOPS versus the Intel card's 8.397 TFLOPS. However, the Intel card includes 16 dedicated ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent from the Vega 64. This is a fundamental architectural difference: the Intel card is built for modern DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) workloads with ray tracing support, while the AMD card is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1) without ray tracing.

Memory architecture is another fundamental difference. The Intel card uses 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, while the AMD card uses 8 GB of HBM2 on a 2048-bit bus. The HBM2 implementation gives the Vega 64 higher bandwidth at 483.8 GB/s versus 384.0 GB/s, but the Intel card offers more capacity. The memory clock speeds also differ: the Intel card runs at 2000 MHz with 16 Gbps effective, while the AMD card runs at 945 MHz with 1890 Mbps effective.

Feature support shows the generational gap. The Intel card supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), Vulkan 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6. The AMD card supports DirectX 12 (12_1), Vulkan 1.3, and OpenGL 4.6. The Intel card also uses a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface versus the AMD card's PCIe 3.0 x16. The display outputs differ as well: the Intel card has 4x DisplayPort 2.0, while the AMD card has 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The Intel card is single-slot with no power connectors listed and a 130 W TDP, while the AMD card is dual-slot with 2x 8-pin power connectors and a 295 W TDP. The Intel card's predecessor and successor are not listed, while the AMD card's predecessor is Polaris and its successor is Navi. The Vega 64 also holds a launch MSRP of 499 USD, a fact noted once here.