AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL vs NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a decisive performance gap between these two GPUs. Across the two shared benchmark tests, the NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation wins both, and the margin is substantial. The average benchmark score for the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL is 21,153, while the NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation averages 18,954. This is an interesting reversal: the AMD part holds a higher average score despite losing every head-to-head test, which reflects the different benchmark suites recorded for each product.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL scores 19,549. The NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation scores 78,074, which is a delta of -75% relative to the NVIDIA part. That means the Ada GPU delivers roughly four times the OpenCL throughput of the Vega M GL. In Geekbench Vulkan, the AMD part scores 22,757, while the NVIDIA part scores 83,360, a delta of -72.7%. Again, the Ada GPU is approximately 3.7 times faster. These are not marginal differences; they represent a full performance class separation.

The AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL ranks in the 66th percentile of all GPUs in the database. Its closest rivals by average score are the AMD Radeon HD 8970M (21,237, a delta of -0.4%), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 (21,035, a delta of 0.6%), the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile (21,379, a delta of -1.1%), and the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (20,713, a delta of 2.1%). This places the Vega M GL in a cluster of mid-range and older mobile parts. It is effectively dead-even with the HD 8970M and RTX A4000 Mobile, and it edges out the RTX 5050 and RX 5600 XT by less than 2.1%. The data indicates that the Vega M GL is not a top-tier performer; it sits comfortably in the middle of the pack.

The NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation ranks in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA Quadro K6000 (19,030, a delta of -0.4%), the AMD Radeon RX 6600 (19,036, a delta of -0.4%), the NVIDIA Tesla K80 (18,866, a delta of 0.5%), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile (19,049, a delta of -0.5%). The Ada card is essentially tied with these four parts on average score, with deltas under 0.5%. The percentile ranking is slightly lower than the Vega M GL's 66th percentile, but the head-to-head results tell a different story. The Ada GPU's average is dragged down by a broader benchmark suite that includes older DirectX tests where it performs poorly.

Looking at the PassMark results for the NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation, the pattern is revealing. In PassMark DirectX 9, it scores 216. In DirectX 10, it drops to 82. In DirectX 11, it rises to 138. In DirectX 12, it falls to 71. The PassMark G3D score is 16,927, and the compute score is 7,834. These numbers show that the Ada GPU is strong in modern workloads but weak in legacy DirectX tests. The Vega M GL has no recorded PassMark scores, so a direct comparison on those tests is impossible. However, the Geekbench results are unambiguous: the Ada GPU is far ahead.

The Verdict

The data is clear. The NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation is the faster GPU in every shared benchmark. In Geekbench OpenCL, it is 75% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL. In Geekbench Vulkan, it is 72.7% ahead. If raw compute throughput is the priority, the NVIDIA part is the only rational choice.

The AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL does have a higher average benchmark score (21,153 versus 18,954) and a higher percentile ranking (66th versus 63rd). However, this is a quirk of the benchmark sets. The Vega M GL's average is based on only two Geekbench tests, both of which it loses by a wide margin. The NVIDIA part's average includes ten tests, several of which are legacy DirectX benchmarks where it scores low. The head-to-head results are the more reliable indicator, and they favor NVIDIA overwhelmingly.

Who should pick the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL? It is a 65 W integrated graphics processor with an IGP bus interface and portable-device-dependent display outputs. It is end-of-life and was released in January 2018. Its performance class, based on nearest rivals, is roughly equivalent to the AMD Radeon HD 8970M and NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile. This is not a GPU for demanding modern workloads. It is a legacy part that belongs in an older system or a lightweight portable device.

Who should pick the NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation? It is an active, dual-slot workstation card with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory, 22 ray tracing cores, and 88 tensor cores. It supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. It has four mini-DisplayPort 1.4a outputs and a PCIe 4.0 x8 interface. Its launch MSRP is 649 USD. For anyone running modern compute, ray tracing, or content creation workloads, the data strongly favors this card.

The AMD part wins on one metric: transistor density is lower (24.0M / mm² versus 118.9M / mm²), but that is not a performance benefit. The NVIDIA part has more shading units (2,816 versus 1,280), more TMUs (88 versus 80), more ROPs (48 versus 32), and a much higher pixel rate (102.2 GPixel/s versus 32.35 GPixel/s). The texture rate is also far higher (187.4 GTexel/s versus 80.88 GTexel/s). In every meaningful architectural specification, the NVIDIA part is superior.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL is built on GCN 4.0 architecture, using the Polaris 22 chip. It is fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. The die contains 5,000 million transistors on a 208 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 24.0M / mm². The architecture supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. It has no ray tracing cores and no tensor cores. The GPU is integrated into a package with an IGP bus interface, meaning it is designed to be embedded in a host system rather than installed as a discrete card.

The NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation is built on Ada Lovelace architecture, using the AD107 chip. It is fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. The die contains 18,900 million transistors on a 159 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 118.9M / mm². This is a much denser design, which explains how NVIDIA fits nearly four times as many transistors into a smaller die. The architecture supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. It has 22 ray tracing cores and 88 tensor cores, which are entirely absent from the AMD part.

The generation names reflect the gap. The AMD part belongs to the "Vega (Vega M)" generation, while the NVIDIA part belongs to the "Workstation Ada (x000A)" generation. The NVIDIA part lists a predecessor ("Workstation Ampere") and a successor ("Blackwell PRO W"), showing it is part of an active product line. The AMD part has no predecessor or successor listed and is marked end-of-life.

The memory subsystems differ fundamentally. The AMD part uses 4 GB of HBM2 on a 1024-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 179.2 GB/s. The NVIDIA part uses 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s. The NVIDIA part has four times the capacity and 43% more bandwidth, despite a much narrower bus. This is a direct result of the newer memory technology.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ on nearly every recorded specification. The process nodes are 14 nm for AMD versus 5 nm for NVIDIA. The foundries differ: GlobalFoundries for AMD, TSMC for NVIDIA. The transistor counts are 5,000 million for AMD versus 18,900 million for NVIDIA. The die sizes are 208 mm² for AMD versus 159 mm² for NVIDIA. The transistor densities are 24.0M / mm² versus 118.9M / mm².

Clock speeds differ substantially. The AMD part has a base clock of 931 MHz and a boost clock of 1011 MHz. The NVIDIA part has a base clock of 1620 MHz and a boost clock of 2130 MHz. The memory clocks are 700 MHz (1400 Mbps effective) for AMD versus 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) for NVIDIA. The NVIDIA part runs over twice as fast on both core and memory clocks.

The compute resources differ. The AMD part has 1,280 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The NVIDIA part has 2,816 shading units, 88 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. The pixel rates are 32.35 GPixel/s for AMD versus 102.2 GPixel/s for NVIDIA. The texture rates are 80.88 GTexel/s for AMD versus 187.4 GTexel/s for NVIDIA. The FP32 throughput is 2.588 TFLOPS for AMD versus 12.00 TFLOPS for NVIDIA. The FP16 throughput is 2.588 TFLOPS (1:1) for AMD versus 12.00 TFLOPS (1:1) for NVIDIA.

The power envelopes are close. The AMD part is rated at 65 W, while the NVIDIA part is rated at 70 W. Despite the small power difference, the NVIDIA part delivers far more performance per watt in the recorded benchmarks. The AMD part has an IGP slot width and no power connectors. The NVIDIA part is dual-slot, has no power connectors, and lists a suggested PSU of 250 W. The NVIDIA part measures 168 mm in length and 69 mm in height.

The API support differs. The AMD part supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The NVIDIA part supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The NVIDIA part has newer API versions, including the higher DirectX feature level.

The display outputs differ. The AMD part is "portable device dependent," meaning its outputs depend on the host system. The NVIDIA part has four mini-DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. The production status differs: the AMD part is end-of-life, while the NVIDIA part is active. The release dates are January 2018 for AMD and February 2024 for NVIDIA.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation scores 78,074, which is 75% higher than the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL's score of 19,549.

Q: How does the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL compare to its nearest rivals?

A: Its average score is 21,153. It is 0.4% behind the AMD Radeon HD 8970M, 0.6% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050, 1.1% behind the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile, and 2.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT.

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 with 179.2 GB/s bandwidth. The NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 256.0 GB/s bandwidth.

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

A: No. The AMD part has no ray tracing cores and no tensor cores. The NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation has 22 ray tracing cores and 88 tensor cores.

Q: What is the transistor density difference?

A: The AMD part has 5,000 million transistors on a 208 mm² die, yielding 24.0M / mm². The NVIDIA part has 18,900 million transistors on a 159 mm² die, yielding 118.9M / mm².

Q: What are the production statuses of these GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL is end-of-life and was released in January 2018. The NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation is active and was released in February 2024.