AMD Radeon Vega 3 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only directly comparable benchmark in the database is Geekbench OpenCL, and the results show a clear, decisive margin for the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M. In this test, the GTX 560M scores 4855 against 3963 for the AMD Radeon Vega 3, a difference of 22.5%. This is not a marginal lead; it is a substantial performance gap that places the two GPUs in different tiers of compute capability when running OpenCL workloads.

The GTX 560M's score of 4855 places it at the 28th percentile among all GPUs in the database. Its nearest rivals are tightly clustered around it: the NVIDIA GeForce 940MX scores 4844 (0.2% behind), the AMD Radeon R6 M255DX scores 4867 (0.2% ahead), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 scores 4893 (0.8% ahead). This clustering indicates that the GTX 560M is operating at a very consistent level with its direct contemporaries, neither outpacing nor being outpaced by more than a fraction of a percent.

The AMD Radeon Vega 3, by contrast, averages 4268 across all of its recorded benchmarks, which places it at the 25th percentile. Its nearest rivals in the database are the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M at 4282 (0.3% ahead), the AMD FirePro W2100 at 4295 (0.6% ahead), and the NVIDIA Quadro K3000M at 4241 (0.6% behind). The Vega 3 sits comfortably within this group, but it is notably the OpenCL score of 3963 is lower than its average, meaning the OpenCL result is one of its weaker showings.

Looking at the Vega 3's other benchmark results, it scores 4880 in Geekbench Metal and 3961 in Geekbench Vulkan. The Metal result is particularly interesting because it exceeds the GTX 560M's OpenCL score of 4855. However, these are different API tests, and the GTX 560M has no recorded Metal or Vulkan scores in the database, so no direct cross-API comparison can be made. What the data does show is that the Vega 3's performance is heavily API-dependent, with Metal delivering roughly 23% more performance than either OpenCL or Vulkan.

The head-to-head table confirms the overall picture: the GTX 560M wins the only shared test by 22.5%. This is a decisive victory in raw compute terms, but the full story requires examining the architectural and specification differences between the two parts, as well as their respective strengths in different use cases.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from completely different architectural lineages. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M is built on the GF116 chip using the Fermi 2.0 architecture, part of the GeForce 500M generation. It is manufactured on a 40 nm process at TSMC, with 1,170 million transistors packed into a 238 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 4.9 million transistors per square millimeter.

The AMD Radeon Vega 3 is a much more modern design. It uses the Picasso chip with GCN 5.0 architecture, belonging to the Vega IGP (Picasso) generation. It is built on a 12 nm process at GlobalFoundries, and while the die is slightly smaller at 210 mm², it contains far more transistors: 4,940 million. This gives it a transistor density of 23.5 million per square millimeter, roughly 4.8 times denser than the GTX 560M. This density difference reflects the eight years of process technology advancement between the two parts, as the GTX 560M was released in May 2011 and the Vega 3 in November 2019.

The shading unit count is identical at 192 for both GPUs, but the rest of the execution pipeline differs markedly. The GTX 560M has 32 texture mapping units and 24 render output units, while the Vega 3 has only 12 TMUs and 4 ROPs. This is a significant structural difference: the GTX 560M has 2.7 times the texture units and 6 times the ROP count of the Vega 3. These resources directly affect fill-rate bound workloads, and the numbers confirm it. The GTX 560M achieves a pixel rate of 6.200 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 24.80 GTexel/s, while the Vega 3 manages 4.400 GPixel/s and 13.20 GTexel/s respectively.

The memory subsystems are fundamentally different in kind. The GTX 560M has 1536 MB of dedicated GDDR5 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 60.00 GB/s of bandwidth. Its memory clock is 625 MHz, or 2.5 Gbps effective. The Vega 3, being an integrated graphics processor, uses system shared memory. Its memory size, type, and bus width are all listed as "System Shared," with bandwidth described as "System Dependent." This means the Vega 3's memory performance is entirely contingent on the host system's RAM configuration, whereas the GTX 560M has a fixed, dedicated memory pipeline.

The Vega 3 has a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 1100 MHz, whereas the GTX 560M has no base or boost clock listed in the database. The Vega 3 also supports half-precision floating point with 844.8 GFLOPS FP16 (2:1 ratio), a feature that is absent from the GTX 560M's recorded specifications. The GTX 560M's FP32 output is 595.2 GFLOPS, while the Vega 3 delivers 422.4 GFLOPS, meaning the older NVIDIA part is about 41% ahead in single-precision compute, which aligns with its OpenCL benchmark advantage.

Power consumption is another major divide. The GTX 560M is rated at 75 W TDP and uses an MXM Module slot width with an MXM-B (3.0) bus interface. The Vega 3 is rated at just 15 W TDP and is an IGP with no power connectors. The Vega 3's display outputs are motherboard dependent, while the GTX 560M's are portable device dependent, reflecting its mobile MXM form factor.

Where Each One Wins

The GTX 560M wins decisively in the only shared benchmark, the Geekbench OpenCL test, with a 22.5% advantage. This is a clear indicator that for OpenCL compute workloads, whether they involve general-purpose GPU computing, image processing, or other tasks that leverage the OpenCL API, the GTX 560M is the stronger performer. Its dedicated memory subsystem with 60.00 GB/s of bandwidth likely plays a significant role here, as does its higher FP32 throughput of 595.2 GFLOPS.

The Vega 3's advantages lie elsewhere. Its Metal score of 4880 shows that in Apple's Metal API, it can achieve performance that exceeds the GTX 560M's OpenCL result. For users or systems where Metal is the primary API, the Vega 3 is the more capable part. Its Vulkan score of 3961, while lower than its Metal result, still demonstrates support for modern graphics APIs, and its DirectX 12 (12_1) support is more advanced than the GTX 560M's DirectX 12 (11_0) capability.

The Vega 3 also has a massive efficiency advantage. Its 15 W TDP is one fifth of the GTX 560M's 75 W TDP, making it far better suited to thin-and-light laptops, fanless designs, or any system where power draw and heat output are primary constraints. The GTX 560M, with its MXM Module form factor and 75 W TDP, requires a more substantial cooling solution and power delivery system.

In terms of fill-rate bound workloads, the GTX 560M is the clear winner. Its pixel rate of 6.200 GPixel/s and texture rate of 24.80 GTexel/s are 41% and 88% higher than the Vega 3's respective 4.400 GPixel/s and 13.20 GTexel/s. Games or applications that are heavily dependent on texture fetching or pixel fill will favor the NVIDIA part.

However, the Vega 3 has a significant advantage in transistor count and process node. Its 4,940 million transistors on a 12 nm process versus the GTX 560M's 1,170 million on 40 nm means the Vega 3 has access to far more compute resources, even if its memory and fill-rate limitations hold it back in certain workloads. The Vega 3 also supports FP16 computation, which can be a major advantage in modern workloads that utilize half-precision arithmetic, such as certain machine learning inference tasks or image processing pipelines.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every specification category. The GTX 560M is a discrete mobile GPU using the GF116 chip and Fermi 2.0 architecture, while the Vega 3 is an integrated GPU using the Picasso chip and GCN 5.0 architecture. The process node favors the Vega 3 at 12 nm versus 40 nm, and the foundry differs as well: TSMC for NVIDIA, GlobalFoundries for AMD.

Transistor counts are vastly different, with the Vega 3 containing 4,940 million transistors versus 1,170 million for the GTX 560M. Die size is similar at 210 mm² for the Vega 3 and 238 mm² for the GTX 560M, but transistor density heavily favors the Vega 3 at 23.5M / mm² versus 4.9M / mm².

Clock behavior is different in kind. The Vega 3 has a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 1100 MHz, while the GTX 560M has no base or boost clock recorded. The GTX 560M has a fixed memory clock of 625 MHz (2.5 Gbps effective), while the Vega 3's memory is system shared with system dependent bandwidth.

Memory configuration is entirely different: 1536 MB of GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus with 60.00 GB/s bandwidth for the GTX 560M, versus system shared memory with no fixed size, type, bus width, or bandwidth for the Vega 3. The GTX 560M has 32 TMUs and 24 ROPs, while the Vega 3 has 12 TMUs and 4 ROPs. Both have 192 shading units.

Compute rates differ substantially. The GTX 560M delivers 595.2 GFLOPS FP32, 6.200 GPixel/s pixel rate, and 24.80 GTexel/s texture rate. The Vega 3 delivers 422.4 GFLOPS FP32, 844.8 GFLOPS FP16, 4.400 GPixel/s pixel rate, and 13.20 GTexel/s texture rate.

Power and form factor differ drastically. The GTX 560M has a 75 W TDP, MXM Module slot width, MXM-B (3.0) bus interface, and no power connectors. The Vega 3 has a 15 W TDP, IGP slot width, IGP bus interface, and no power connectors. Display outputs are portable device dependent for the GTX 560M and motherboard dependent for the Vega 3.

API support shows the Vega 3's modernity: DirectX 12 (12_1) versus DirectX 12 (11_0), Vulkan 1.3 versus no Vulkan support, and OpenGL 4.6 for both. The GTX 560M has no FP16 support recorded, while the Vega 3 has 844.8 GFLOPS FP16.

Release dates are far apart: May 2011 for the GTX 560M, November 2019 for the Vega 3. Both are end-of-life products. The GTX 560M's predecessor is GeForce 400M and its successor is GeForce 600M. The Vega 3's predecessor is GCN 3.0 IGP and its successor is Vega II IGP.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in OpenCL benchmarks?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M scores 4855 in Geekbench OpenCL, compared to 3963 for the AMD Radeon Vega 3, giving the GTX 560M a 22.5% advantage in this test.

Q: How does the AMD Radeon Vega 3 perform in other benchmark APIs?

A: The Vega 3 scores 4880 in Geekbench Metal and 3961 in Geekbench Vulkan. Its Metal score is notably higher than its OpenCL and Vulkan scores.

Q: What are the memory configurations of these two GPUs?

A: The GTX 560M has 1536 MB of dedicated GDDR5 memory on a 192-bit bus with 60.00 GB/s bandwidth. The Vega 3 uses system shared memory, with its size, type, bus width, and bandwidth all dependent on the host system.

Q: How do their power requirements compare?

A: The GTX 560M has a TDP of 75 W, while the Vega 3 has a TDP of 15 W. The Vega 3 is an integrated GPU with no power connectors, while the GTX 560M is an MXM module also without power connectors.

Q: Which GPU has better fill-rate performance?

A: The GTX 560M has a pixel rate of 6.200 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 24.80 GTexel/s. The Vega 3 has a pixel rate of 4.400 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 13.20 GTexel/s, making the GTX 560M faster in both fill-rate metrics.

Q: What are the architectural differences between the two GPUs?

A: The GTX 560M uses the GF116 chip with Fermi 2.0 architecture on a 40 nm process, while the Vega 3 uses the Picasso chip with GCN 5.0 architecture on a 12 nm process. The Vega 3 has 4,940 million transistors versus 1,170 million for the GTX 560M, but the GTX 560M has more TMUs (32 vs 12) and ROPs (24 vs 4).