AMD Radeon Vega 8 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon Vega 8 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost occupy very different positions in the performance spectrum, and the benchmark data reflects that split clearly. The Radeon Vega 8 wins decisively in one API workload, while the GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost takes the other two tests by a narrower but still meaningful margin.

The Radeon Vega 8 dominates in the Geekbench Metal test. It scores 10,706 points against the GTX 650 Ti Boost's 4,858 points, a 120.4% advantage. This is a massive gap, more than doubling the NVIDIA card's result. The Metal API is Apple's graphics interface, and the Vega 8's GCN 5.0 architecture appears far better optimized for this workload. For any application or game that runs through Metal, the integrated Radeon part is the clear choice.

The GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost wins the Geekbench OpenCL test, scoring 9,302 points versus the Vega 8's 8,822 points. That is a 5.2% lead. OpenCL is a cross-platform compute API, and here the discrete NVIDIA card's higher shading unit count and dedicated memory bandwidth give it a modest edge. The margin is not huge, but it is consistent with the card's higher thermal design power and dedicated VRAM.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the GTX 650 Ti Boost extends its lead further. It scores 10,041 points against 8,134 points for the Vega 8, a 19% difference. Vulkan is a low-level graphics API that rewards raw hardware throughput, and the Kepler architecture's 768 shaders and 64 texture mapping units outperform the Vega 8's 512 shaders and 32 TMUs in this test. The result indicates that for modern Vulkan-based titles, the discrete GTX 650 Ti Boost holds a clear advantage.

Looking at overall averages, the Vega 8 posts an average benchmark score of 9,221 points, which places it at the 45th percentile of all GPUs in the database. The GTX 650 Ti Boost averages 8,067 points, sitting at the 42nd percentile. Despite the NVIDIA card winning two of three head-to-head tests, its poor Metal showing drags down its overall average. The Vega 8's single massive win in Metal lifts its average above the NVIDIA card's average, even though the GTX 650 Ti Boost wins the other two tests.

The use case split is straightforward: for Metal-centric workloads, the Radeon Vega 8 is overwhelmingly superior; for OpenCL and Vulkan tasks, the GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost performs better, with the Vulkan advantage being the more substantial of the two.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon Vega 8 has an average benchmark score of 9,221 points, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost averages 8,067 points. The Vega 8 sits at the 45th percentile of all GPUs, compared to the GTX 650 Ti Boost's 42nd percentile.

Q: How large is the Vega 8's win in the Metal benchmark?

A: The Vega 8 scores 10,706 points in Geekbench Metal, while the GTX 650 Ti Boost scores 4,858 points. That represents a 120.4% advantage for the AMD part, more than doubling the NVIDIA card's result.

Q: In which benchmarks does the GTX 650 Ti Boost win?

A: The GTX 650 Ti Boost wins in Geekbench OpenCL with 9,302 points versus 8,822 points for the Vega 8 (a 5.2% lead), and in Geekbench Vulkan with 10,041 points versus 8,134 points (a 19% lead).

Q: How does the Vega 8 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Vega 8's average score of 9,221 is 0.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon 890M (9,210), 0.6% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 (9,273), 0.8% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 465 (9,294), and 0.9% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M (9,302).

Q: How does the GTX 650 Ti Boost compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GTX 650 Ti Boost's average score of 8,067 is 0.2% behind the NVIDIA GRID K2 (8,080), 0.2% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti (8,053), 0.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M (8,040), and 0.3% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro P5000 (8,039).

Q: What is the memory configuration difference between the two cards?

A: The Vega 8 uses system-shared memory with bandwidth that is system dependent. The GTX 650 Ti Boost has 2 GB of dedicated GDDR5 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 144.2 GB/s of bandwidth.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The three recorded head-to-head benchmark results show a clear divergence between the two GPUs. The most dramatic result is in Geekbench Metal, where the AMD Radeon Vega 8 scores 10,706 points against the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost's 4,858 points. The 120.4% delta is the largest margin in either direction across all three tests. This is not a marginal difference; the Vega 8 delivers more than twice the Metal performance of the GTX 650 Ti Boost. The result is striking because the Vega 8 is an integrated graphics processor with a 25 W TDP, while the GTX 650 Ti Boost is a dual-slot discrete card with a 134 W TDP and its own power connector.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the situation reverses, but the margin is much smaller. The GTX 650 Ti Boost scores 9,302 points, while the Vega 8 scores 8,822 points. The 5.2% delta is modest and within the range of run-to-run variation that might be expected on different driver versions. Still, the result indicates that the NVIDIA card holds a slight edge in OpenCL compute workloads, likely due to its higher shading unit count (768 versus 512) and dedicated memory subsystem with 144.2 GB/s bandwidth.

The Geekbench Vulkan test shows a more pronounced NVIDIA advantage. The GTX 650 Ti Boost scores 10,041 points, while the Vega 8 scores 8,134 points, a 19% delta. This is the second-largest margin in the head-to-head set. Vulkan's low-level nature tends to favor hardware with more raw throughput, and the GTX 650 Ti Boost's 64 texture mapping units and 24 raster output units substantially exceed the Vega 8's 32 TMUs and 8 ROPs. The pixel rate of the NVIDIA card is 16.51 GPixel/s versus 8.80 GPixel/s for the AMD part, and the texture rate is 66.05 GTexel/s versus 35.20 GTexel/s. These hardware advantages translate directly into the Vulkan score difference.

The win tally is 1 for the Vega 8 and 2 for the GTX 650 Ti Boost. However, the magnitude of the Vega 8's Metal victory is so large that its average benchmark score (9,221) ends up higher than the GTX 650 Ti Boost's average (8,067). A user prioritizing Metal compatibility or performance would find the Vega 8 vastly superior, while a user focused on Vulkan gaming would prefer the GTX 650 Ti Boost by a solid margin. OpenCL users would see only a small difference favoring the NVIDIA card.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every physical and electrical specification. The AMD Radeon Vega 8 is built on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost uses a 28 nm process at TSMC. The Vega 8 integrates 4,940 million transistors on a 210 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 23.5 million per mm². The GTX 650 Ti Boost has 2,540 million transistors on a 221 mm² die, for a density of 11.5 million per mm². The smaller process node allows the Vega 8 to pack nearly twice the transistor count into a slightly smaller die.

Clock speeds also differ substantially. The Vega 8 runs at a 300 MHz base clock and boosts to 1100 MHz. The GTX 650 Ti Boost has a 980 MHz base clock and a 1032 MHz boost clock. The NVIDIA card's clocks are much higher at the base level, but the Vega 8's boost clock is actually higher than the NVIDIA card's boost clock. However, the Vega 8's memory clock is system shared, while the GTX 650 Ti Boost uses 1502 MHz memory with 6 Gbps effective data rate.

Memory configuration is a major differentiator. The Vega 8 has no dedicated VRAM; it uses system-shared memory with a system-dependent bus width and bandwidth. The GTX 650 Ti Boost has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 192-bit bus with 144.2 GB/s of bandwidth. This dedicated memory is a critical advantage for the NVIDIA card in many workloads, as it does not compete with the CPU for memory bandwidth.

The compute unit counts are significantly different. The Vega 8 has 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 8 ROPs. The GTX 650 Ti Boost has 768 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 24 ROPs. These differences explain the NVIDIA card's higher pixel rate (16.51 GPixel/s versus 8.80 GPixel/s) and texture rate (66.05 GTexel/s versus 35.20 GTexel/s). The FP32 compute is 1.585 TFLOPS for the GTX 650 Ti Boost versus 1,126.4 GFLOPS for the Vega 8. The Vega 8 does offer FP16 support at 2.253 TFLOPS (2:1), while the GTX 650 Ti Boost has no FP16 capability listed.

Power and physical characteristics are also polar opposites. The Vega 8 is an IGP with a 25 W TDP, no power connectors, and a motherboard-dependent display output configuration. The GTX 650 Ti Boost is a dual-slot card with a 134 W TDP, a single 6-pin power connector, a suggested 300 W power supply, and a PCIe 3.0 x16 bus interface. Its dimensions are 241 mm (9.5 inches) in length. The Vega 8 has no length listed because it is integrated into the motherboard. The NVIDIA card's display outputs include 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 1x DisplayPort 1.2.

API support differs in detail as well. The Vega 8 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The GTX 650 Ti Boost supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175. The Vega 8 has a higher DirectX feature level and a newer Vulkan version.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two GPUs is fundamental. The AMD Radeon Vega 8 uses the GCN 5.0 architecture on the Raven chip, belonging to the Vega IGP generation (Raven Ridge). It is fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries with 4,940 million transistors. The architecture is designed for integrated graphics, with the GPU sharing the memory subsystem with the CPU. Its predecessor is GCN 3.0 IGP, and its successor is Vega II IGP. The production status is end-of-life, with a release date of February 2018.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost uses the Kepler architecture on the GK106 chip, belonging to the GeForce 600 generation. It is fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC with 2,540 million transistors. Kepler is a discrete GPU architecture designed for dedicated graphics cards, with its own memory interface and power delivery. Its predecessor is the GeForce 500 series, and its successor is the GeForce 700 series. The production status is end-of-life, with a release date of March 2013.

The transistor count difference is notable: the Vega 8 has 4,940 million transistors versus 2,540 million for the GTX 650 Ti Boost, despite the Vega 8 being an integrated part. This is possible because of the more advanced 14 nm process node. The die sizes are similar (210 mm² for Vega 8, 221 mm² for GTX 650 Ti Boost), but the transistor density is roughly double on the AMD part.

The shading architecture differs in scale. The Vega 8 uses 512 shading units, while the GTX 650 Ti Boost uses 768. The TMU count is 32 versus 64, and the ROP count is 8 versus 24. These differences reflect the GTX 650 Ti Boost's design as a discrete card with more dedicated rasterization and texturing hardware. The Vega 8's lower ROP count (8) is particularly limiting for fill-rate-bound workloads, which is visible in its 8.80 GPixel/s pixel rate.

Memory architecture is the most consequential difference. The Vega 8 has no dedicated VRAM; it depends entirely on system memory, with bandwidth that varies by system configuration. The GTX 650 Ti Boost has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus delivering 144.2 GB/s. This dedicated memory bandwidth is a structural advantage that no driver or software update can overcome for the Vega 8.

The feature sets also differ. The Vega 8 supports FP16 compute at 2.253 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio), while the GTX 650 Ti Boost lists no FP16 capability. The Vega 8 supports Vulkan 1.3 and DirectX 12 (12_1), whereas the GTX 650 Ti Boost supports Vulkan 1.2.175 and DirectX 12 (11_0). Both support OpenGL 4.6. The Vega 8's newer API versions and FP16 support reflect its more recent release (2018 versus 2013), while the GTX 650 Ti Boost's raw throughput advantages stem from its larger shader array and dedicated memory.