AMD Radeon Vega 11 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti Comparison

FAQ

Q: How does the AMD Radeon Vega 11 compare to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti in average benchmark scores?

A: The two cards sit nearly identically in the aggregate. The Vega 11 has an average benchmark score of 14352, while the GTX 1070 Ti scores 14277 — a difference of only 0.5% in favor of the AMD part. Both occupy the 56th percentile among all GPUs.

Q: Which card wins in Geekbench Vulkan performance?

A: The GTX 1070 Ti dominates, scoring 61006 versus 12273 for the Vega 11 — a 79.9% advantage. This is the largest delta between the two in any shared benchmark.

Q: What is the transistor count difference between these two GPUs?

A: The GTX 1070 Ti packs 7,200 million transistors on a 314 mm² die, while the Vega 11 integrates 4,940 million transistors on a 210 mm² die. The NVIDIA chip has roughly 46% more transistors.

Q: Are these cards similar in memory bandwidth?

A: No. The GTX 1070 Ti uses 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus delivering 256.3 GB/s. The Vega 11 uses system-shared memory, with bandwidth listed as "System Dependent" — meaning it varies entirely by the host platform's memory configuration.

Q: Which GPU has the higher boost clock?

A: The GTX 1070 Ti boosts to 1683 MHz, while the Vega 11 boosts to 1400 MHz. That's a 283 MHz difference in favor of the NVIDIA card.

Q: Do both cards support DirectX 12?

A: Yes, both support DirectX 12 with feature level 12_1. They also both support OpenGL 4.6. However, the GTX 1070 Ti supports Vulkan 1.4, while the Vega 11 supports Vulkan 1.3.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Radeon Vega 11 is built on GCN 5.0 architecture using a 12 nm process at GlobalFoundries, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti uses the older Pascal architecture on a 16 nm process from TSMC. Despite the process node disadvantage, NVIDIA's chip is substantially larger: 314 mm² versus 210 mm², with 7,200 million transistors compared to 4,940 million. Interestingly, transistor density is nearly identical — 22.9M per mm² for NVIDIA and 23.5M per mm² for AMD.

The compute configurations differ dramatically. The Vega 11 has 704 shading units, 44 texture mapping units, and only 8 ROPs. The GTX 1070 Ti has 2432 shading units, 152 TMUs, and 64 ROPs — roughly 3.5x the shaders, 3.5x the TMUs, and 8x the ROPs. These are not minor differences; they represent entirely different performance tiers in raw pixel throughput and geometry processing.

Memory architecture is another fundamental split. The Vega 11 is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) with system-shared memory, making its bandwidth entirely dependent on the host CPU and motherboard. The GTX 1070 Ti is a discrete dual-slot card with dedicated 8 GB GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, delivering a fixed 256.3 GB/s. The Vega 11's memory clock is listed as "System Shared" with no fixed frequency; the GTX 1070 Ti runs its memory at 2002 MHz (8 Gbps effective).

Power delivery tells the same story. The Vega 11 is a 15 W IGP with no power connectors, while the GTX 1070 Ti is a 180 W dual-slot card requiring a single 8-pin power connector and a 450 W suggested PSU. The NVIDIA card also has a physical footprint: 267 mm long, 112 mm tall, and 40 mm wide, with display outputs of 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The Vega 11's outputs are motherboard-dependent.

FP16 compute reveals a notable architectural choice. The Vega 11 delivers 3.942 TFLOPS at a 2:1 ratio (half of its FP32 rate), while the GTX 1070 Ti offers only 127.9 GFLOPS at a 1:64 ratio — meaning NVIDIA heavily de-emphasizes FP16. For workloads leveraging FP16, the AMD IGP has a theoretical advantage despite its overall compute disadvantage. The Vega 11's FP32 throughput is 1.971 TFLOPS versus 8.186 TFLOPS for the GTX 1070 Ti.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The shared benchmark suite consists of three Geekbench tests: Metal, OpenCL, and Vulkan. The GTX 1070 Ti wins all three, but the margins vary enormously.

In Geekbench Metal, the GTX 1070 Ti scores 22180 versus 17392 for the Vega 11. That's a 21.6% advantage for NVIDIA. This is the closest contest between the two, suggesting that Metal performance is relatively more favorable to the AMD architecture — though still decisively in NVIDIA's favor.

Geekbench OpenCL shows a much wider gap. The GTX 1070 Ti scores 49219, while the Vega 11 manages 13392. The delta is 72.8% in favor of NVIDIA. This aligns with the raw compute specifications: the GTX 1070 Ti has roughly 4.2x the FP32 throughput (8.186 TFLOPS versus 1.971 TFLOPS), and OpenCL workloads tend to scale with raw shader count and memory bandwidth.

Geekbench Vulkan is the most lopsided result. The GTX 1070 Ti posts 61006 versus 12273 for the Vega 11 — a 79.9% margin. Vulkan's low-overhead nature likely exposes the Vega 11's system-shared memory bottleneck and limited ROP count. The GTX 1070 Ti's dedicated 256.3 GB/s of bandwidth is a massive advantage in this API.

The overall win tally is 3-0 in favor of the GTX 1070 Ti. No benchmark in the head-to-head suite favors the AMD part. However, the average benchmark scores tell a different story — the Vega 11 actually edges out the GTX 1070 Ti by 0.5% in aggregate (14352 versus 14277). This discrepancy arises because the aggregate includes other benchmark types beyond the three shared tests. The GTX 1070 Ti's PassMark G3D score is 14674, while its PassMark G2D is 876 and GPU compute is 7165 — none of which have direct Vega 11 counterparts in the data.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon Vega 11 | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti |

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

| Architecture | GCN 5.0 | Pascal |

| Process node | 12 nm | 16 nm |

| Foundry | GlobalFoundries | TSMC |

| Transistors | 4,940 million | 7,200 million |

| Die size | 210 mm² | 314 mm² |

| Base clock | 300 MHz | 1607 MHz |

| Boost clock | 1400 MHz | 1683 MHz |

| Memory size | System Shared | 8 GB |

| Memory type | System Shared | GDDR5 |

| Memory bus | System Shared | 256 bit |

| Memory bandwidth | System Dependent | 256.3 GB/s |

| Shading units | 704 | 2432 |

| TMUs | 44 | 152 |

| ROPs | 8 | 64 |

| Pixel rate | 11.20 GPixel/s | 107.7 GPixel/s |

| Texture rate | 61.60 GTexel/s | 255.8 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 1.971 TFLOPS | 8.186 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 3.942 TFLOPS (2:1) | 127.9 GFLOPS (1:64) |

| TDP | 15 W | 180 W |

| Slot width | IGP | Dual-slot |

| Power connectors | None | 1x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | None | 450 W |

| Bus interface | IGP | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

| Vulkan | 1.3 | 1.4 |

| Release date | 2019-09-29 | 2017-11-01 |

The launch MSRP for the GTX 1070 Ti was 399 USD. The Vega 11 has no launch MSRP listed, as it is an integrated part rather than a standalone card.

The Verdict

The data presents an unusual situation. In every head-to-head benchmark, the GTX 1070 Ti wins decisively — by 21.6% in Metal, 72.8% in OpenCL, and 79.9% in Vulkan. The NVIDIA card has 3.5x the shading units, 8x the ROPs, and 4.2x the FP32 throughput. It has dedicated memory with fixed bandwidth versus a system-dependent implementation. By any conventional measure of discrete GPU performance, the GTX 1070 Ti is the superior product.

Yet the average benchmark scores show the Vega 11 slightly ahead at 14352 versus 14277, a 0.5% edge. Both cards sit at the 56th percentile of all GPUs. The nearest rivals tell the same story: the GTX 1070 Ti is 0.3% behind the Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics, while the Vega 11 is 0.3% ahead of that same Intel part. The two cards are effectively bracketing the same performance tier in aggregate terms.

The resolution to this paradox lies in the benchmark mix. The head-to-head tests are all compute-oriented Geekbench workloads, which heavily favor the GTX 1070 Ti's raw resources. The aggregate average includes other benchmark types — the GTX 1070 Ti's PassMark results range from 51 in DirectX 12 to 207 in DirectX 9, with a G3D score of 14674. These varied workloads pull the NVIDIA card's average down relative to its Geekbench dominance.

For practical purposes, the choice depends on the workload. The GTX 1070 Ti is the clear pick for any task that leverages its compute advantages — which includes most modern gaming and GPU-accelerated applications. The Vega 11 is an integrated solution that cannot be purchased as a standalone card; it comes with a Picasso-series APU. The GTX 1070 Ti is a discrete card with its own 8 GB of GDDR5 memory.

Where Each One Wins

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti:

• Vulkan workloads: 79.9% ahead of the Vega 11
• OpenCL compute: 72.8% ahead
• Metal performance: 21.6% ahead
• Raw pixel throughput: 107.7 GPixel/s versus 11.20 GPixel/s
• Texture fill rate: 255.8 GTexel/s versus 61.60 GTexel/s
• Memory bandwidth: 256.3 GB/s fixed versus system-dependent
• FP32 compute: 8.186 TFLOPS versus 1.971 TFLOPS
• Any workload requiring a dedicated 8 GB frame buffer

AMD Radeon Vega 11:

• Aggregate average benchmark score: 14352 versus 14277 (0.5% higher)
• FP16 compute: 3.942 TFLOPS versus 127.9 GFLOPS
• Power efficiency: 15 W TDP versus 180 W TDP
• Physical footprint: IGP with no slot width versus dual-slot 267 mm card
• No power connector required versus 1x 8-pin
• Transistor density: 23.5M / mm² versus 22.9M / mm²
• Newer release date: 2019 versus 2017

The GTX 1070 Ti wins every head-to-head benchmark and every meaningful performance specification. The Vega 11's advantages are in efficiency, integration, and one narrow compute niche (FP16). If the workload is known to be Vulkan or OpenCL-heavy, the NVIDIA card is the only rational choice. If the priority is minimal power draw and no discrete card footprint, the Vega 11 IGP holds a unique position — but it cannot match the GTX 1070 Ti in any shared test.