AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile vs NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010 Comparison

AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile and NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010 are both end-of-life entry-level graphics solutions, but they approach performance from opposite directions. The data shows a clear, if narrow, winner in the only directly comparable benchmark, yet the architectural and specification gaps tell a more nuanced story about where each part belongs.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The sole head-to-head benchmark available is Geekbench OpenCL, and it favors the AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile. The AMD part scores 7,435 points against the NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010’s 6,698 points, producing an 11% delta in favor of AMD. This is a substantial margin for two products that sit within one percentile of each other in the overall GPU landscape — the Vega 8 Mobile holds the 39th percentile, while the GT 1010 sits at the 38th.

Context from the nearest rivals reinforces the significance of this win. The Vega 8 Mobile’s average benchmark score of 7,203 places it just 0.3% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 (7,222) and 0.4% ahead of the GTX 560 SE (7,171). Meanwhile, the GT 1010’s average score of 6,698 puts it 1% behind the AMD Radeon R7 M370 (6,764) and 1.3% ahead of the R7 M460 (6,612). In other words, the Vega 8 Mobile competes with a slightly older generation of discrete desktop GPUs, while the GT 1010 trades blows with mobile-class Radeon parts.

It is notably the GT 1010 has no Vulkan benchmark entry in the data, whereas the Vega 8 Mobile posts a 6,970 Geekbench Vulkan score. This absence limits direct comparison, but the OpenCL result alone establishes the AMD part as the stronger compute performer. The 11% lead is not a rounding error; it is a consistent gap that would manifest in any OpenCL-bound workload.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations and foundries. The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile is built on GCN 5.0 using the Raven-M chip, fabricated by GlobalFoundries on a 14 nm process. It packs 4,940 million transistors into a 210 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 23.5 million per square millimeter. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010, by contrast, uses the Pascal architecture with the GP108 chip, made by Samsung on the same 14 nm node. It contains just 1,800 million transistors on a 74 mm² die, with a slightly higher density of 24.3 million per square millimeter.

The compute resource distribution differs sharply. The Vega 8 Mobile fields 512 shading units, 32 texture mapping units, and 8 ROPs. The GT 1010 has exactly half the shading units (256) and half the TMUs (16), but matches the ROP count at 8. This explains the raw throughput numbers: the AMD part delivers 1,127.4 GFLOPS of FP32 compute and 35.23 GTexel/s of texture fill, versus 751.6 GFLOPS and 23.49 GTexel/s for the NVIDIA part. However, the GT 1010 wins on pixel rate, posting 11.74 GPixel/s against the Vega 8 Mobile’s 8.808 GPixel/s — a consequence of its higher clock speeds.

Clock behavior also diverges. The Vega 8 Mobile runs a 300 MHz base clock and boosts to 1,101 MHz. The GT 1010 starts at 1,228 MHz and boosts to 1,468 MHz, meaning it operates at substantially higher frequencies across the board. Memory is another fundamental split: the Vega 8 Mobile uses system-shared memory with bandwidth that is system-dependent, while the GT 1010 has dedicated 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 64-bit bus delivering 48.06 GB/s.

Feature support is close but not identical. Both support DirectX 12 (12_1) and OpenGL 4.6. The GT 1010 edges ahead with Vulkan 1.4 support, while the Vega 8 Mobile lists Vulkan 1.3. The GT 1010 also has a defined display output set — 1x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 2.0 — whereas the Vega 8 Mobile’s outputs are portable-device dependent. Power profiles differ, too: the Vega 8 Mobile has a 25 W TDP as an integrated part, while the GT 1010 is a 30 W single-slot discrete card with no power connectors and a suggested 200 W PSU.

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data gives the AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile a clear win in compute-oriented tasks. Its 11% OpenCL lead over the GT 1010, combined with its 1,127.4 GFLOPS FP32 throughput, makes it the better choice for any workload that leverages general-purpose GPU compute — think OpenCL acceleration, encoding tasks, or any application that taps into the shader array. The 512 shading units versus 256 give it a structural advantage in parallel workloads that scale with core count.

The NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010 wins on architecture-specific strengths that the benchmark suite does not fully capture. Its higher pixel rate (11.74 GPixel/s vs 8.808 GPixel/s) suggests better efficiency in fill-rate-bound scenarios, such as basic 2D rendering or older games that are ROP-limited. The dedicated 2 GB GDDR5 memory with 48.06 GB/s bandwidth is a definitive advantage over system-shared memory, which is subject to contention with the CPU and varies with the host platform’s memory configuration. For a discrete card, the GT 1010 also offers a fixed display output set, making it a predictable drop-in for a desktop system.

In terms of rasterization throughput, the GT 1010’s texture rate is lower (23.49 GTexel/s vs 35.23 GTexel/s), so it loses on texture-heavy scenes. But its clock advantage — 1,468 MHz boost versus 1,101 MHz — partially compensates in single-threaded or lightly threaded rendering paths. The Vega 8 Mobile’s win is in raw shader throughput; the GT 1010’s is in memory isolation and pixel fill.

Specification Differences

The two parts differ across nearly every measurable specification. The most striking contrasts:

• Shading Units: 512 (AMD) vs 256 (NVIDIA) — a 2x difference.
• TMUs: 32 (AMD) vs 16 (NVIDIA) — again 2x.
• FP32 Performance: 1,127.4 GFLOPS (AMD) vs 751.6 GFLOPS (NVIDIA) — a 50% advantage for AMD.
• Pixel Rate: 8.808 GPixel/s (AMD) vs 11.74 GPixel/s (NVIDIA) — NVIDIA leads by 33%.
• Texture Rate: 35.23 GTexel/s (AMD) vs 23.49 GTexel/s (NVIDIA) — AMD leads by 50%.
• Memory: System Shared (AMD) vs 2 GB GDDR5, 64-bit, 48.06 GB/s (NVIDIA).
• Base Clock: 300 MHz (AMD) vs 1,228 MHz (NVIDIA).
• Boost Clock: 1,101 MHz (AMD) vs 1,468 MHz (NVIDIA).
• Transistors: 4,940 million (AMD) vs 1,800 million (NVIDIA).
• Die Size: 210 mm² (AMD) vs 74 mm² (NVIDIA).
• TDP: 25 W (AMD) vs 30 W (NVIDIA).
• Bus Interface: IGP (AMD) vs PCIe 3.0 x4 (NVIDIA).
• Vulkan Support: 1.3 (AMD) vs 1.4 (NVIDIA).
• Release Date: 2019-01-07 (AMD) vs 2021-01-12 (NVIDIA).

The AMD part is physically larger and more complex, but consumes less power. The NVIDIA part is smaller, clocked much higher, and has dedicated memory, but offers less raw compute.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute performance?

A: The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile. It delivers 1,127.4 GFLOPS of FP32 performance versus 751.6 GFLOPS for the GT 1010, and it wins the Geekbench OpenCL head-to-head by 11%.

Q: Does the GT 1010 have any performance advantage?

A: Yes, in pixel fill rate. The GT 1010 posts 11.74 GPixel/s compared to the Vega 8 Mobile’s 8.808 GPixel/s, a 33% advantage that favors ROP-bound scenarios.

Q: How do their memory configurations compare?

A: The Vega 8 Mobile uses system-shared memory with bandwidth that is system-dependent. The GT 1010 has 2 GB of dedicated GDDR5 on a 64-bit bus with 48.06 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU supports a newer Vulkan version?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010 supports Vulkan 1.4, while the AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile lists Vulkan 1.3.

Q: What are the power requirements?

A: The Vega 8 Mobile has a 25 W TDP and requires no power connectors as an IGP. The GT 1010 has a 30 W TDP, also with no power connectors, but suggests a 200 W PSU.

Q: When was each GPU released?

A: The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile was released on 2019-01-07. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010 followed on 2021-01-12.

The Verdict

The data positions the AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile as the stronger compute part. Its 11% OpenCL lead over the GT 1010, its 512 shading units, and its 1,127.4 GFLOPS FP32 throughput make it the clear choice for anyone whose workload is shader- or compute-bound. The fact that it achieves this with a lower TDP (25 W vs 30 W) and no dedicated memory underscores the efficiency of its larger die.

The NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010 is not without justification. Its higher pixel rate and dedicated 2 GB GDDR5 memory make it the more predictable choice for a discrete desktop build where system memory is slow or shared with other tasks. Its higher clocks (1,468 MHz boost) and compact 74 mm² die give it a simplicity that the Vega 8 Mobile’s 210 mm² IGP cannot match. For a user who needs a fixed display output set and a drop-in PCIe card, the GT 1010 is the logical pick.

But if the question is which GPU delivers more performance per benchmark, the answer is unambiguous. The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile wins the only head-to-head test, wins on every compute throughput metric, and does so while drawing less power. The GT 1010 is a capable pixel pusher, yet it trails in the metrics that matter most for general-purpose GPU acceleration. The verdict from the data: choose the Vega 8 Mobile for compute, choose the GT 1010 for a simple discrete upgrade path with dedicated memory.