AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER Comparison

The Verdict

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER is the clear performance leader in this comparison, winning both head-to-head benchmark entries by massive margins. The recorded data shows a 407.6% advantage in Geekbench OpenCL and a 389% advantage in Geekbench Vulkan. This is not a close contest; the RTX 2080 SUPER is in a different performance tier entirely. The AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL, by contrast, is an integrated graphics solution (IGP) designed for portability, not raw throughput. The RTX 2080 SUPER should be chosen by anyone seeking discrete, high-end desktop performance for demanding workloads. The RX Vega M GL is only relevant for compact, power-constrained systems where the GPU is embedded, and even then, the benchmark data indicates it sits far behind the GeForce part in compute and graphics tasks.

The average benchmark scores reinforce this gap. The RTX 2080 SUPER posts an average score of 24170, while the RX Vega M GL averages 21153. Interestingly, the RTX 2080 SUPER's percentile ranking among all GPUs is 69, only three points higher than the RX Vega M GL's 66. This suggests that while the absolute performance gap is enormous, the RX Vega M GL still outperforms a significant portion of the GPU population, likely because many older or entry-level discrete GPUs are even slower. However, for any user comparing these two specific products, the choice is unambiguous: the RTX 2080 SUPER dominates every measured metric.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two GPUs is substantial. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture, fabricated by TSMC on a 12 nm process. It uses the TU104 chip, which contains 13,600 million transistors on a 545 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 25.0M per mm². The AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL uses the GCN 4.0 architecture (Vega generation), fabricated by GlobalFoundries on a 14 nm process. Its Polaris 22 chip contains 5,000 million transistors on a 208 mm² die, with a density of 24.0M per mm². The RTX 2080 SUPER has nearly three times the transistor count and more than double the die area.

The memory subsystems are completely different. The RTX 2080 SUPER uses 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 495.9 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX Vega M GL uses 4 GB of HBM2 memory on a 1024-bit bus, but its bandwidth is only 179.2 GB/s. Despite the wider bus, the HBM2 implementation in the Vega M GL operates at a much lower effective speed (1400 Mbps versus 15.5 Gbps effective for the RTX 2080 SUPER), resulting in the large bandwidth deficit.

Shading and compute resources also differ sharply. The RTX 2080 SUPER has 3072 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. It also includes 48 RT cores and 384 tensor cores, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI workloads. The RX Vega M GL has 1280 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, with no RT cores or tensor cores. This translates to a raw FP32 throughput of 11.15 TFLOPS for the RTX 2080 SUPER versus 2.588 TFLOPS for the AMD part. The NVIDIA GPU also supports FP16 at a 2:1 rate (22.30 TFLOPS), while the AMD GPU offers FP16 at 1:1 (2.588 TFLOPS), meaning no half-rate advantage.

Clock speeds differ as well. The RTX 2080 SUPER runs at a base clock of 1650 MHz and boost up to 1815 MHz. The RX Vega M GL runs at a base of 931 MHz and boosts to 1011 MHz. The NVIDIA part also has a higher pixel rate (116.2 GPixel/s versus 32.35 GPixel/s) and texture rate (348.5 GTexel/s versus 80.88 GTexel/s). Power consumption is not comparable in a meaningful sense: the RTX 2080 SUPER is a dual-slot, 250 W discrete card requiring a 600 W suggested PSU, while the RX Vega M GL is an IGP with a 65 W TDP and no power connectors, depending on the host system.

The API support also differs. The RTX 2080 SUPER supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), Vulkan 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6. The RX Vega M GL supports DirectX 12 (12_0), Vulkan 1.3, and OpenGL 4.6. The RTX 2080 SUPER's display outputs include 1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, and 1x USB Type-C, while the AMD part's outputs are listed as "Portable Device Dependent."

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 2080 SUPER wins in every benchmark category for which data exists. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 99226 against the RX Vega M GL's 19549, a 407.6% lead. In Geekbench Vulkan, it scores 111284 against 22757, a 389% lead. There are no benchmark categories where the AMD GPU wins; the head-to-head count is 2 wins for NVIDIA and 0 for AMD.

The RTX 2080 SUPER is the only choice for compute-heavy tasks such as ray tracing, AI inference (thanks to its tensor cores), high-resolution texture work, and any application that benefits from its 495.9 GB/s memory bandwidth. The RX Vega M GL, with its 65 W TDP and integrated form factor, is suited only for ultra-portable systems where power efficiency and space are paramount, but even then, the performance data shows it cannot compete with any discrete GPU in the RTX 2080 SUPER's class.

For users constrained to a Vega M GL system (e.g., a laptop with an embedded GPU), the data suggests it can still handle basic graphics and compute, but it will fall far behind in any demanding workload. The RTX 2080 SUPER's FP32 throughput of 11.15 TFLOPS is over four times the AMD part's 2.588 TFLOPS, which directly correlates with the benchmark deltas observed.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute performance?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER has 11.15 TFLOPS FP32, while the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL has 2.588 TFLOPS FP32. The RTX 2080 SUPER also has 3072 shading units versus 1280 for the AMD part.

Q: How much faster is the RTX 2080 SUPER in OpenCL?

A: The RTX 2080 SUPER scores 99226 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 407.6% higher than the RX Vega M GL's 19549.

Q: Do both GPUs support hardware ray tracing?

A: No. The RTX 2080 SUPER has 48 RT cores and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2). The RX Vega M GL has no RT cores and supports only DirectX 12 (12_0).

Q: What are the memory specifications?

A: The RTX 2080 SUPER has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 495.9 GB/s bandwidth. The RX Vega M GL has 4 GB of HBM2 on a 1024-bit bus with 179.2 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The RTX 2080 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 24170, while the RX Vega M GL has 21153. The RTX 2080 SUPER sits at the 69th percentile among all GPUs, the RX Vega M GL at the 66th.

Q: What are the power requirements?

A: The RTX 2080 SUPER has a TDP of 250 W, uses a dual-slot cooler, and requires 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin power connectors with a 600 W suggested PSU. The RX Vega M GL has a 65 W TDP, is an IGP, and requires no power connectors.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head data contains only two entries, both favoring the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER by overwhelming margins.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 2080 SUPER scores 99226, while the RX Vega M GL scores 19549. The delta is 407.6%, meaning the NVIDIA GPU delivers roughly five times the OpenCL performance. This test reflects general-purpose GPU compute, where the RTX 2080 SUPER's 3072 shading units, 384 tensor cores, and 11.15 TFLOPS FP32 throughput provide a massive advantage. The AMD part's 1280 shading units and 2.588 TFLOPS cannot bridge this gap, despite its HBM2 memory with a 1024-bit bus.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the RTX 2080 SUPER scores 111284, and the RX Vega M GL scores 22757. The delta is 389%, again a nearly five-fold difference. Vulkan performance relies on both raw compute and memory bandwidth. The RTX 2080 SUPER's 495.9 GB/s bandwidth versus the RX Vega M GL's 179.2 GB/s directly contributes to this outcome. The NVIDIA GPU also supports Vulkan 1.4, while the AMD part supports Vulkan 1.3, and the newer API version may allow better driver-level optimizations in the recorded tests.

The average benchmark score comparison further contextualizes these wins. The RTX 2080 SUPER's 24170 average is 14.3% higher than the RX Vega M GL's 21153. However, this average includes tests where the AMD part has no recorded data, so the head-to-head deltas are the more reliable indicator of direct performance differences. Both GPUs are end-of-life products, but the RTX 2080 SUPER launched on 2019-07-22 with a launch MSRP of 699 USD, while the RX Vega M GL launched earlier on 2018-01-31 with no recorded MSRP.

The nearest rivals for each GPU also show different competitive positioning. The RTX 2080 SUPER sits within 1.1% of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti (delta -0.3%), the GTX 1630 (-0.4%), and the AMD Radeon RX 6800S (+0.4%), while trailing the RX 6600 XT by 1.1%. The RX Vega M GL is within 2.1% of the AMD Radeon HD 8970M (-0.4%), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 (+0.6%), the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile (-1.1%), and the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (+2.1%). This data shows that the RTX 2080 SUPER competes with mid-range discrete GPUs from later generations, while the RX Vega M GL is positioned near older mobile and entry-level parts.

Ultimately, the benchmark data is unambiguous: the RTX 2080 SUPER outperforms the RX Vega M GL by a factor of roughly five in both recorded graphics and compute tests. The architecture, memory, and feature set all favor the NVIDIA product. The only advantage the AMD part holds is its 65 W TDP and integrated form factor, which are irrelevant for any user comparing discrete desktop performance.