AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile represent two very different eras of mobile graphics, separated by a wide gap in architectural complexity and raw compute resources. Benchmark data shows the RTX 3070 Mobile is the dominant performer in the head-to-head tests, but the Vega M GL’s status as a 65 W integrated part in a specific niche makes it a distinct alternative. The data indicates that while the NVIDIA part wins every benchmark in the comparison, the AMD chip holds its own as a low-power solution that remains relevant in its own class.

Where Each One Wins

The head-to-head benchmark comparison shows a complete sweep for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, which wins both available tests. However, the nature of the wins reveals a clear split in use-case scenarios. The RTX 3070 Mobile is the clear choice for any workload demanding high-throughput compute or graphics acceleration. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, it scores 92,939 against the Vega M GL’s 19,549, a delta of -79% for the AMD part. This is a massive margin, indicating that the RTX 3070 Mobile is in a different performance league for general-purpose GPU compute tasks like rendering, machine learning inference, or video encoding.

The Vulkan API test tells a similar story, with the RTX 3070 Mobile scoring 86,768 versus the Vega M GL’s 22,757, a -73.8% delta. This suggests that for modern gaming titles that leverage Vulkan, the NVIDIA part offers a drastically smoother experience, particularly at higher resolutions or with advanced effects enabled. The Vega M GL, in contrast, is not a competitor in these scenarios. Its wins, if any, would be in power efficiency and thermal footprint, though no benchmark data is provided for those specific metrics. The AMD chip’s 65 W TDP compared to the RTX 3070 Mobile’s 115 W TDP suggests it is better suited for thinner, lighter laptops where sustained performance is secondary to battery life and heat management. In short, the RTX 3070 Mobile wins on raw performance; the Vega M GL wins on being a capable integrated solution for a much lower power envelope.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two GPUs is generational. The AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL is built on the GCN 4.0 architecture, using the Polaris 22 chip, and is fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. It packs 5,000 million transistors on a 208 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 24.0M / mm². Its compute configuration is modest: 1280 shading units, 80 texture mapping units, and 32 raster output pipelines. Memory is 4 GB of HBM2 on a 1024-bit bus, yielding 179.2 GB/s of bandwidth.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, by contrast, uses the Ampere architecture with the GA104 chip, built on an 8 nm process at Samsung. It is a much larger and more complex part, housing 17,400 million transistors on a 392 mm² die, with a transistor density of 44.4M / mm². The compute resources are dramatically higher: 5120 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. Crucially, it also includes dedicated hardware for ray tracing (40 RT cores) and tensor operations (160 Tensor cores), which are absent from the AMD part. Its memory subsystem features 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

These differences translate directly into raw throughput numbers. The RTX 3070 Mobile achieves 15.97 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, compared to just 2.588 TFLOPS for the Vega M GL. Pixel fill rate is 124.8 GPixel/s versus 32.35 GPixel/s, and texture fill rate is 249.6 GTexel/s versus 80.88 GTexel/s. The clock speeds also differ, with the NVIDIA part boosting to 1560 MHz versus the AMD part’s 1011 MHz boost. The RTX 3070 Mobile also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the Vega M GL only supports DirectX 12 (12_0). The NVIDIA part supports Vulkan 1.4, ahead of the AMD part’s Vulkan 1.3. The bus interface also differs, with the RTX 3070 Mobile using PCIe 4.0 x16, while the Vega M GL uses an IGP interface, reflecting its integrated nature.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two available benchmark comparisons show a one-sided contest. The first test, Geekbench OpenCL, is a general compute benchmark that stresses raw processing power. The RTX 3070 Mobile posts a score of 92,939, while the Vega M GL scores 19,549. The delta of -79% means the AMD part delivers only about a fifth of the NVIDIA part’s performance in this workload. This is not a marginal difference; it is a categorical gap. The RTX 3070 Mobile’s higher shading unit count, faster clocks, and wider memory bus all contribute to this result.

The second test, Geekbench Vulkan, measures graphics API performance, which is more relevant for gaming. Here, the RTX 3070 Mobile scores 86,768, and the Vega M GL scores 22,757, a delta of -73.8%. While the percentage gap is slightly smaller than in OpenCL, it is still enormous. The RTX 3070 Mobile’s dedicated RT and Tensor cores do not directly affect this specific test, but the sheer raw compute advantage is sufficient. For context, the Vega M GL’s average benchmark score across all tests is 21,153, putting it in the 66th percentile of all GPUs. The RTX 3070 Mobile’s average score is 20,534, which places it in the 65th percentile, despite its massive head-to-head wins. This suggests that the head-to-head tests are limited and that other factors, such as driver optimization or specific test conditions, influence the overall percentile ranking.

Looking at the nearest rivals for each card provides additional context. The Vega M GL sits near the AMD Radeon HD 8970M (average score 21,237, delta -0.4%) and the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile (average score 21,379, delta -1.1%). This indicates that in the broader benchmark database, the Vega M GL is grouped with older or lower-tier parts. The RTX 3070 Mobile, meanwhile, is bracketed by the Intel Arc B570 (average score 20,556, delta -0.1%) and the Intel Arc A750 (average score 20,582, delta -0.2%), showing that its average performance is competitive with modern mid-range desktop parts, even if its head-to-head scores are far higher than those of the Vega M GL.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile is the superior performer in every benchmark where the two are compared. Its wins in both OpenCL and Vulkan are by overwhelming margins, and its architectural advantages—more shading units, higher bandwidth, dedicated RT and Tensor cores—make it the clear choice for any user prioritizing performance. Gamers seeking high frame rates in modern titles, or professionals running compute-heavy workloads, should choose the RTX 3070 Mobile without hesitation.

That said, the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL is not without merit, but its appeal is strictly limited to scenarios where power consumption is paramount. Its 65 W TDP is nearly half that of the RTX 3070 Mobile’s 115 W, making it a viable option for ultra-portable designs where the RTX 3070 Mobile would be impractical due to thermal or battery constraints. The Vega M GL’s 4 GB of HBM2 memory, while smaller, offers high bandwidth for its class. However, its performance is so far behind that it is only suitable for light gaming, casual use, or as a baseline for legacy applications. Its percentile ranking of 66th places it above the RTX 3070 Mobile’s 65th percentile, but this is a statistical artifact of the broader database, not a reflection of relative performance in these tests.

Ultimately, the choice is simple. For anyone who needs maximum performance, the RTX 3070 Mobile is the only option. For anyone who needs a low-power integrated GPU that can handle basic tasks, the Vega M GL remains a functional, if dated, choice. The RTX 3070 Mobile is end-of-life, as is the Vega M GL, but the NVIDIA part offers a significantly better performance-per-watt ratio despite its higher absolute power draw.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile is significantly faster, scoring 92,939 compared to the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL’s 19,549, a delta of -79% for the AMD part.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL support ray tracing?

A: No. The Vega M GL does not have any RT cores listed in its specifications. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile has 40 dedicated RT cores.

Q: What is the memory configuration of each GPU?

A: The AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL has 4 GB of HBM2 on a 1024-bit bus, providing 179.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

Q: How do their average benchmark scores compare?

A: The AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL has an average benchmark score of 21,153, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile has an average score of 20,534. This puts the AMD part in the 66th percentile and the NVIDIA part in the 65th percentile of all GPUs.

Q: Which GPU has a higher transistor count?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile has 17,400 million transistors on a 392 mm² die, while the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL has 5,000 million transistors on a 208 mm² die.

Q: What is the power draw difference between the two?

A: The AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL has a TDP of 65 W, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile has a TDP of 115 W. The RTX 3070 Mobile uses significantly more power but delivers substantially higher performance.