AMD Radeon Vega 11 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data splits these two cards cleanly by era and workload. The AMD Radeon Vega 11 takes the only direct head-to-head test recorded in the database, the Geekbench OpenCL compute benchmark, with a score of 13,392 against the GTX 590’s 12,830. That is a 4.4% margin, a narrow but decisive win for the integrated part.

The Vega 11 also appears in three separate benchmark entries: Geekbench Metal at 17,392, Geekbench OpenCL at 13,392, and Geekbench Vulkan at 12,273. Its average benchmark score across all recorded tests is 14,352. The GTX 590, by contrast, has only one recorded entry, Geekbench OpenCL at 12,830, giving it an average score of 12,830. The Vega 11’s average is 1,522 points higher, which places it in the 56th percentile of all GPUs in the database versus the GTX 590’s 52nd percentile.

Where each one wins depends on what you are measuring. The Vega 11 wins on raw compute throughput in the OpenCL test, and it supports a broader set of modern APIs, including Vulkan 1.3 and DirectX 12 (12_1). The GTX 590 has no recorded Vulkan result and only supports DirectX 12 (11_0). For any workload that leverages Vulkan or Metal, the Vega 11 is the only one of the two with recorded data. The GTX 590’s lone OpenCL score is competitive but still trails.

The GTX 590 does hold advantages in memory bandwidth and pixel throughput, but those do not translate into a benchmark win in the recorded data. Its pixel rate of 19.46 GPixel/s is nearly double the Vega 11’s 11.20 GPixel/s, and its 164.0 GB/s memory bandwidth is far ahead of the Vega 11’s system-dependent shared memory. Yet in the only compute test where both have scores, the Vega 11 wins. This suggests the GTX 590’s architectural strengths are not reflected in the OpenCL workload measured here.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from opposite ends of the hardware spectrum. The AMD Radeon Vega 11 is an integrated graphics processor built on the Picasso chip, using the GCN 5.0 architecture on a 12 nm process from GlobalFoundries. It packs 4,940 million transistors into a 210 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 23.5 million per mm². The GTX 590 is a dual-GPU flagship from NVIDIA, built on the GF110 chip using the Fermi 2.0 architecture on a 40 nm process from TSMC. It contains 3,000 million transistors spread across a 520 mm² die, with a density of just 5.8 million per mm². The Vega 11 is roughly four times denser in terms of transistors per square millimeter.

The compute configurations differ significantly. The Vega 11 has 704 shading units, 44 texture mapping units, and 8 render output units. The GTX 590 has 512 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. Despite fewer shading units, the GTX 590 has more TMUs and six times the ROP count. The Vega 11’s FP32 throughput is 1.971 TFLOPS, while the GTX 590’s is 1,244.2 GFLOPS, which is roughly 1.244 TFLOPS. The Vega 11 also supports FP16 at 3.942 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio, while the GTX 590 has no recorded FP16 capability.

Memory is the starkest divide. The Vega 11 uses system-shared memory, with its size, type, bus width, and bandwidth all dependent on the host system. The GTX 590 has dedicated 1536 MB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, delivering 164.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX 590’s memory clock is listed at 854 MHz with 3.4 Gbps effective. The Vega 11’s memory clock is also system shared, meaning there is no fixed figure.

Power and physical design are equally contrasting. The Vega 11 is an IGP with a 15 W TDP, no power connectors, and a slot width of "IGP." The GTX 590 is a dual-slot card measuring 279 mm in length, 111 mm in height, and 40 mm in width, with a 365 W TDP, two 8-pin power connectors, and a suggested power supply of 750 W. The Vega 11’s display outputs are motherboard dependent, while the GTX 590 offers three DVI ports and one mini-DisplayPort. The GTX 590 uses a PCIe 2.0 x16 interface, while the Vega 11 is integrated into the system bus.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct comparison in the database is the Geekbench OpenCL test. The AMD Radeon Vega 11 scores 13,392, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 scores 12,830. The Vega 11 wins by 562 points, a 4.4% delta. That is a modest but clear margin, and it is the sole recorded head-to-head result, so the win count stands at one for Vega 11 and zero for GTX 590.

Looking at the broader benchmark landscape, the Vega 11’s average score of 14,352 places it in a tight cluster of rivals. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN averages 14,373, just 0.1% higher. The AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 averages 14,385, 0.2% higher. The Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics averages 14,315, 0.3% lower. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M averages 14,404, 0.4% higher. The Vega 11 sits right in the middle of this group, within a fraction of a percent of each rival.

The GTX 590’s average score of 12,830 places it against a different set of rivals. The AMD Radeon Pro 455 averages 12,831, essentially identical with a 0% delta. The AMD FirePro W5100 averages 12,847, 0.1% higher. The AMD Radeon 740M averages 12,870, 0.3% higher. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 averages 12,773, 0.4% lower. The GTX 590 is also tightly grouped, but its entire cluster sits roughly 1,500 points below the Vega 11’s cluster.

The Vega 11’s best recorded result is its Metal score of 17,392, which is far above its OpenCL and Vulkan scores. That Metal result likely inflates its average relative to the GTX 590, which has no Metal entry. The Vulkan score of 12,273 is actually slightly below the GTX 590’s OpenCL score, but the Vega 11 still wins the OpenCL comparison outright.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon Vega 11 has an average benchmark score of 14,352, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 has an average of 12,830.

Q: How much faster is the Vega 11 in the OpenCL benchmark?

A: The Vega 11 scores 13,392 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 4.4% higher than the GTX 590’s 12,830.

Q: Does the GTX 590 support Vulkan?

A: No recorded Vulkan result exists for the GTX 590. The Vega 11 has a Geekbench Vulkan score of 12,273 and supports Vulkan 1.3.

Q: What is the memory configuration of each card?

A: The GTX 590 has 1536 MB of GDDR5 memory on a 384-bit bus with 164.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Vega 11 uses system-shared memory, so its size, type, bus width, and bandwidth are all system dependent.

Q: How do the power requirements compare?

A: The Vega 11 has a 15 W TDP and no power connectors. The GTX 590 has a 365 W TDP, requires two 8-pin power connectors, and needs a suggested 750 W power supply.

Q: Which card sits in a higher performance percentile?

A: The Vega 11 is in the 56th percentile of all GPUs in the database, while the GTX 590 is in the 52nd percentile.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear choice for modern workloads: the AMD Radeon Vega 11. It wins the only head-to-head benchmark, has a higher average score, supports Vulkan 1.3 and DirectX 12 (12_1), and does so at a tiny fraction of the power draw. Its 15 W TDP versus the GTX 590’s 365 W TDP is a difference of 350 W, and it requires no power connectors or dedicated power supply rating. The GTX 590, by contrast, demands a 750 W power supply and dual 8-pin connectors.

For raw pixel pushing, the GTX 590 has the edge on paper. Its 19.46 GPixel/s pixel rate and 164.0 GB/s memory bandwidth are far superior to the Vega 11’s 11.20 GPixel/s and system-dependent bandwidth. Its 48 ROPs dwarf the Vega 11’s 8. But those specifications do not produce a win in the recorded compute benchmark, and the GTX 590’s lack of Vulkan support and older DirectX 12 (11_0) feature level make it a poor fit for current software.

The Vega 11’s nearest rivals cluster tightly around its average score, with the GTX TITAN, RX Vega 11, Iris Xe MAX, and GTX 965M all within 0.4% of its 14,352 average. That means the Vega 11 is not a standout in absolute terms, but it is comfortably ahead of the GTX 590’s 12,830 average. The GTX 590’s own rivals, including the Radeon Pro 455 and GTX 670, sit within 0.4% of its score, confirming it belongs in a lower performance tier.

The verdict is straightforward. If the choice is between these two specific cards, the AMD Radeon Vega 11 is the better performer in the recorded data, with a higher average score, a head-to-head win, modern API support, and dramatically lower power requirements. The GTX 590 is an older, power-hungry design whose only recorded benchmark trails the Vega 11. Its dedicated memory and higher pixel throughput are real advantages, but they do not translate into a single benchmark victory in this database. For anyone comparing these two, the Vega 11 is the one to pick.