AMD Radeon Vega 8 vs NVIDIA Quadro P5000 Comparison

AMD Radeon Vega 8 and NVIDIA Quadro P5000 occupy opposite ends of the GPU spectrum, and the recorded data reflects that divide clearly. The Vega 8 is an integrated processor graphics solution built for efficiency, while the Quadro P5000 is a professional workstation card with dedicated memory and a much larger silicon footprint. Benchmark results show a split decision: the Quadro crushes the Vega 8 in OpenCL compute, but the Vega 8 posts a decisive victory in Vulkan graphics. This page breaks down where each product wins, what separates their architectures, and how their recorded specifications and measurements stack up.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA Quadro P5000 is the clear winner in raw compute throughput. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the Quadro P5000 scores 52,509 against the Vega 8's 8,822, a delta of 83.2 percent in favor of the NVIDIA card. That is not a marginal lead; it is a six-fold advantage in raw number crunching. For workloads that rely heavily on OpenCL acceleration, such as scientific simulation, rendering, and data processing, the Quadro P5000 is the only rational choice between the two. Its 2560 shading units and 8.873 TFLOPS of FP32 performance provide the muscle that the Vega 8, with 512 shading units and 1,126.4 GFLOPS, simply cannot match.

The AMD Radeon Vega 8 wins the Vulkan graphics contest. In Geekbench Vulkan, the Vega 8 scores 8,134 versus the Quadro P5000's 6,342, a 28.3 percent advantage. This result is surprising given the Quadro's far higher peak specifications, but the recorded data is unambiguous. The Vega 8's GCN 5.0 architecture, paired with its 2.253 TFLOPS FP16 throughput (at a 2:1 ratio), appears to handle the Vulkan workload more efficiently. For gaming or Vulkan-based applications that favor this integrated GPU, the Vega 8 delivers a better experience despite being a 25 W IGP.

The average benchmark scores tell a more nuanced story. The Vega 8 has an average benchmark score of 9,221, while the Quadro P5000 averages 8,039. That puts the Vega 8 ahead by roughly 14.7 percent in the overall aggregate, despite losing the OpenCL test by a massive margin. However, this average is heavily influenced by the Quadro's inclusion of many low-scoring PassMark DirectX tests. The Quadro P5000 scores 77 in PassMark DirectX 10, 102 in DirectX 11, 44 in DirectX 12, and 170 in DirectX 9, while the Vega 8 has no recorded scores in those tests. The Quadro also has a PassMark G3D score of 12,634 and a PassMark GPU Compute score of 6,508. The Vega 8's average is built entirely on its three Geekbench results. In percentile terms, the Vega 8 sits at the 45th percentile of all GPUs, and the Quadro P5000 sits at the 41st percentile, so the database ranks them very close overall.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different manufacturers, different foundries, and different architectural generations. The AMD Radeon Vega 8 uses the Raven chip, built on GCN 5.0 architecture, with the generation labeled Vega IGP (Raven Ridge). It is manufactured by GlobalFoundries on a 14 nm process. The die contains 4,940 million transistors on a 210 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 23.5 million per square millimeter. The NVIDIA Quadro P5000 uses the GP104 chip, built on Pascal architecture, from the Quadro Pascal (Px000) generation. It is manufactured by TSMC on a 16 nm process. The die contains 7,200 million transistors on a 314 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 22.9 million per square millimeter. The Quadro's die is physically larger and packs more transistors, but the density is nearly identical due to the process node difference.

Memory architecture is a fundamental divide. The Vega 8 has no dedicated memory of its own; its memory size, type, and bus width are all listed as "System Shared," and bandwidth is "System Dependent." This means the integrated GPU relies on the host system's RAM, which limits performance based on the platform's memory configuration. The Quadro P5000, by contrast, has 16 GB of GDDR5X memory on a 256-bit bus, with 288.5 GB/s of bandwidth and a memory clock of 1127 MHz (9 Gbps effective). That dedicated memory pool and high bandwidth are critical for professional workloads that need to hold large datasets on the GPU.

The execution resources differ by a factor of five in shading units. The Vega 8 has 512 shading units, 32 texture mapping units, and 8 raster output units. The Quadro P5000 has 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. These translate into pixel rates of 8.800 GPixel/s and 110.9 GPixel/s, respectively, and texture rates of 35.20 GTexel/s and 277.3 GTexel/s. The Quadro's FP32 throughput is 8.873 TFLOPS, while the Vega 8 manages 1,126.4 GFLOPS. In FP16, the Vega 8 is stronger at 2.253 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio), while the Quadro P5000 is limited to 138.6 GFLOPS (1:64 ratio). Both support DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan, with the Quadro supporting Vulkan 1.4 and the Vega 8 supporting Vulkan 1.3.

Power and physical design also separate them. The Vega 8 is an IGP with a 25 W TDP, no power connectors, and no slot width because it is integrated into the motherboard. The Quadro P5000 is a dual-slot card with a 180 W TDP, a single 8-pin power connector, and a suggested PSU of 450 W. The Quadro measures 267 mm in length and 111 mm in height. The Vega 8's display outputs are motherboard dependent, while the Quadro offers 1x DVI and 4x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon Vega 8 has an average benchmark score of 9,221, while the NVIDIA Quadro P5000 averages 8,039. The Vega 8 also ranks at the 45th percentile of all GPUs, versus the Quadro's 41st percentile.

Q: How do the two compare in OpenCL performance?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro P5000 scores 52,509 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 83.2 percent higher than the AMD Radeon Vega 8's 8,822. This is the largest single-test gap between the two.

Q: Which GPU wins in Vulkan performance?

A: The AMD Radeon Vega 8 scores 8,134 in Geekbench Vulkan, beating the NVIDIA Quadro P5000's 6,342 by 28.3 percent.

Q: What memory configurations do they use?

A: The Vega 8 uses system shared memory with a system dependent bus width and bandwidth. The Quadro P5000 has 16 GB of GDDR5X memory on a 256-bit bus with 288.5 GB/s of bandwidth.

Q: What are the TDP requirements of each GPU?

A: The AMD Radeon Vega 8 has a 25 W TDP and is an IGP with no power connectors. The NVIDIA Quadro P5000 has a 180 W TDP, requires a single 8-pin power connector, and has a suggested PSU of 450 W.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro P5000 has 2560 shading units, compared to the AMD Radeon Vega 8's 512 shading units. The Quadro also has 160 TMUs and 64 ROPs, versus 32 TMUs and 8 ROPs on the Vega 8.

Specification Differences

The recorded specifications show a wide gap in nearly every performance-relevant field. The AMD Radeon Vega 8 uses a 14 nm GlobalFoundries process with 4,940 million transistors on a 210 mm² die. The NVIDIA Quadro P5000 uses a 16 nm TSMC process with 7,200 million transistors on a 314 mm² die. Transistor density is nearly identical: 23.5M per mm² for the Vega 8 and 22.9M per mm² for the Quadro. Clock speeds differ substantially, with the Vega 8 running at a 300 MHz base and 1100 MHz boost, while the Quadro P5000 runs at 1607 MHz base and 1733 MHz boost. The Vega 8's memory is system shared, while the Quadro P5000 has 16 GB of GDDR5X on a 256-bit bus with 288.5 GB/s bandwidth. The Vega 8 has 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 8 ROPs, while the Quadro P5000 has 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. Pixel rate is 8.800 GPixel/s for the Vega 8 and 110.9 GPixel/s for the Quadro. Texture rate is 35.20 GTexel/s versus 277.3 GTexel/s. FP32 output is 1,126.4 GFLOPS against 8.873 TFLOPS. FP16 output is 2.253 TFLOPS (2:1) versus 138.6 GFLOPS (1:64). TDP is 25 W versus 180 W. The Quadro P5000 is a dual-slot card with a 1x 8-pin power connector and a 450 W suggested PSU, while the Vega 8 is an IGP with no connectors. The Quadro supports Vulkan 1.4, while the Vega 8 supports Vulkan 1.3. The Quadro P5000 has a launch MSRP of 2,499 USD.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head results in the database cover only two shared tests, and they split cleanly. In Geekbench OpenCL, the NVIDIA Quadro P5000 scores 52,509 against the AMD Radeon Vega 8's 8,822. The delta is 83.2 percent in favor of the Quadro. This is the dominant win for the NVIDIA card and reflects its far larger execution resource pool: 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, plus dedicated GDDR5X memory with 288.5 GB/s of bandwidth. The Vega 8's shared memory and 512 shading units are simply outmatched in this compute-oriented test.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the AMD Radeon Vega 8 scores 8,134 against the Quadro P5000's 6,342, a 28.3 percent advantage for the AMD part. Despite having roughly one fifth the shading units and a fraction of the memory bandwidth, the Vega 8 posts a higher Vulkan score. This suggests that the GCN 5.0 architecture's driver and hardware scheduling handle the Vulkan workload more effectively than the Pascal-based Quadro. The Vega 8's FP16 throughput of 2.253 TFLOPS, delivered at a 2:1 ratio, may also play a role in graphics workloads that leverage half-precision math, whereas the Quadro's FP16 is limited to a 1:1 ratio at 138.6 GFLOPS.

Beyond the shared tests, the Quadro P5000 has a richer set of recorded PassMark results. Its PassMark G3D score is 12,634, and its PassMark GPU Compute score is 6,508. It also records PassMark DirectX scores of 170 in DirectX 9, 102 in DirectX 11, 77 in DirectX 10, and 44 in DirectX 12, along with a PassMark G2D score of 674. The Vega 8 has no recorded PassMark scores, so those numbers only appear on the Quadro's side of the ledger. The Vega 8 also has a Geekbench Metal score of 10,706, which the Quadro does not have recorded. The average benchmark averages, 9,221 for the Vega 8 and 8,039 for the Quadro, reflect the differing test sets as much as the underlying hardware. The Vega 8's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon 890M at 9,210 (0.1 percent delta), the GeForce GTX 960 at 9,273 ( 0.6 percent), the GeForce GTX 465 at 9,294 ( 0.8 percent), and the GeForce GTX 850M at 9,302 ( 0.9 percent). The Quadro P5000's nearest rivals include the GeForce GTX 880M at 8,040 (0 percent), the GeForce GTX 650 Ti at 8,053 ( 0.2 percent), the GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost at 8,067 ( 0.3 percent), and the NVIDIA GRID K2 at 8,080 ( 0.5 percent). These proximity rankings show that despite their architectural differences, both GPUs sit in a similar performance tier relative to the broader GPU population.