AMD Radeon Vega 8 vs NVIDIA TITAN V CEO Edition Comparison
AMD Radeon Vega 8
TITAN V CEO Edition
PERFORMANCE BENCHMARKS
Analysis: AMD Radeon Vega 8 vs NVIDIA TITAN V CEO Edition
The AMD Radeon Vega 8 and NVIDIA TITAN V CEO Edition represent extreme ends of the GPU spectrum, yet benchmark data places them in a surprisingly similar percentile bracket. The Vega 8, an integrated processor graphics solution, achieves an average benchmark score of 9221, while the TITAN V CEO Edition scores 9037. Both sit at the 45th percentile among all GPUs, but this parity is deceptive; the two cards achieve their scores through radically different workloads and architectural philosophies, making direct comparison a study in contrasts rather than equivalence.
Head-to-Head Benchmarks
The benchmark data shows no shared test suite between the two GPUs, so a direct apples-to-apples comparison is not possible from the available figures. Instead, the evidence comes from their respective benchmark sets and how they stack against their nearest rivals. The AMD Radeon Vega 8 delivers its strongest showing in Geekbench Metal with a score of 10706, followed by 8822 in Geekbench OpenCL and 8134 in Geekbench Vulkan. These numbers place it within a razor-thin margin of its closest competitors: it is 0.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon 890M (9210) and only 0.6% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 (9273). The consistency across these three API tests suggests a balanced compute architecture that performs predictably regardless of the workload interface.
The NVIDIA TITAN V CEO Edition, by contrast, posts its results in PassMark tests: a G3D score of 16988 and a G2D score of 1086. Its average score of 9037 places it 0.2% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 (9022) and 1.3% ahead of the AMD Radeon 550X (8918), while trailing the AMD Radeon 890M by 1.9%. The G3D score of 16988 is a massive figure, but when averaged with the relatively modest G2D score of 1086, the overall result drops dramatically. This indicates that the TITAN V CEO Edition excels at 3D rendering tasks but shows a significant gap in 2D performance, a profile that drags its average down substantially.
The biggest wins are therefore asymmetric. The Vega 8 wins on API versatility, showing strong and consistent performance across Metal, OpenCL, and Vulkan benchmarks. The TITAN V CEO Edition wins decisively on raw 3D compute, as evidenced by its G3D score, which is nearly 16 times higher than its G2D output. However, the overall average scores tell a cautionary tale: the TITAN V CEO Edition’s 9037 average is actually lower than the Vega 8’s 9221, despite the enormous hardware disparity between the two. This is because the TITAN V CEO Edition’s benchmark profile is heavily skewed, whereas the Vega 8’s scores cluster tightly together.
The Verdict
The data supports a clear verdict: the AMD Radeon Vega 8 is the better all-round performer in benchmark averages, while the NVIDIA TITAN V CEO Edition is a specialist tool for 3D-heavy workloads. Anyone looking at average scores alone would pick the Vega 8, which leads by 184 points (9221 vs 9037). The Vega 8 also shows greater benchmark stability, with its three scores ranging from 8134 to 10706, a spread of 2572 points. The TITAN V CEO Edition’s two scores span 15902 points, indicating extreme variance between test types.
However, the verdict must be nuanced by workload. The TITAN V CEO Edition’s G3D score of 16988 is the single highest benchmark figure recorded for either GPU, and it outperforms the Vega 8’s best score (10706) by 58.7%. For users whose primary metric is 3D rendering performance, the TITAN V CEO Edition is the clear choice. The Vega 8, meanwhile, offers a more balanced profile that avoids the TITAN V CEO Edition’s 2D weakness. The data does not support a blanket recommendation for either; instead, it suggests the Vega 8 for general compute tasks and the TITAN V CEO Edition for dedicated 3D work.
Architecture Differences
The architectural gap between the two GPUs is vast. The AMD Radeon Vega 8 uses the GCN 5.0 architecture on a 14 nm process from GlobalFoundries, while the NVIDIA TITAN V CEO Edition uses the Volta architecture on a 12 nm process from TSMC. The Vega 8 packs 4,940 million transistors on a 210 mm² die, yielding a density of 23.5M per mm². The TITAN V CEO Edition contains 21,100 million transistors on an 815 mm² die, with a density of 25.9M per mm².
The TITAN V CEO Edition’s memory subsystem is fundamentally different. It features 32 GB of HBM2 memory on a 4096-bit bus, delivering 868.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The Vega 8 uses system-shared memory with system-dependent bandwidth, meaning its performance scales with the host system’s RAM. The TITAN V CEO Edition also includes 640 tensor cores, a feature entirely absent from the Vega 8. Both support DirectX 12 (12_1) and OpenGL 4.6, but the TITAN V CEO Edition supports Vulkan 1.4 while the Vega 8 supports Vulkan 1.3.
The clock speeds tell a similar story. The Vega 8 operates at a base of 300 MHz with a boost of 1100 MHz, while the TITAN V CEO Edition runs at 1200 MHz base and 1455 MHz boost. The TITAN V CEO Edition’s memory clock is listed at 848 MHz with 1696 Mbps effective speed, whereas the Vega 8’s memory clock is system-shared. Physically, the Vega 8 is an IGP with no slot width, power connectors, or bus interface beyond the integrated variety, while the TITAN V CEO Edition is a dual-slot card measuring 267 mm in length, requiring a 600 W suggested PSU and one 6-pin plus one 8-pin power connector.
FAQ
Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?
A: The AMD Radeon Vega 8, with an average score of 9221, is 184 points higher than the NVIDIA TITAN V CEO Edition’s 9037.
Q: What is the TITAN V CEO Edition’s best benchmark result?
A: Its PassMark G3D score of 16988 is its highest recorded figure, far exceeding its G2D score of 1086.
Q: How does the Vega 8 compare to the AMD Radeon 890M?
A: The Vega 8 is 0.1% ahead of the Radeon 890M, with scores of 9221 and 9210 respectively.
Q: What is the memory configuration of each GPU?
A: The TITAN V CEO Edition has 32 GB of HBM2 memory with a 4096-bit bus and 868.4 GB/s bandwidth. The Vega 8 uses system-shared memory with system-dependent bandwidth.
Q: Which GPU supports Vulkan 1.4?
A: The NVIDIA TITAN V CEO Edition supports Vulkan 1.4, while the AMD Radeon Vega 8 supports Vulkan 1.3.
Q: Are both GPUs in the same performance percentile?
A: Yes, both the Vega 8 and the TITAN V CEO Edition are recorded at the 45th percentile among all GPUs.
Where Each One Wins
The AMD Radeon Vega 8 wins in overall average score, API diversity, and benchmark consistency. Its Geekbench Metal score of 10706 is its strongest result, and it also posts credible OpenCL (8822) and Vulkan (8134) scores. This makes it the more versatile choice for heterogeneous compute environments where different APIs may be encountered. Its performance relative to its nearest rivals is also tightly clustered, with a maximum delta of only 0.9% against the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M (9302) and 0.1% against the Radeon 890M.
The NVIDIA TITAN V CEO Edition wins decisively in 3D compute, as shown by its PassMark G3D score of 16988. This is its primary strength and the reason its average remains competitive despite a weak G2D score of 1086. It also holds a narrow edge over the Vega 8 in its nearest rival comparisons, being 0.2% ahead of the GTX 660 and 1.3% ahead of the Radeon 550X, though it lags the Radeon 890M by 1.9%. For tasks that stress 3D rendering pipelines, the TITAN V CEO Edition’s raw output is unmatched by the Vega 8.
Specification Differences
The specification sheets diverge on nearly every measurable field. The Vega 8 has 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 8 ROPs, while the TITAN V CEO Edition has 5120 shading units, 320 TMUs, and 128 ROPs. Pixel rates are 8.800 GPixel/s for the Vega 8 versus 186.2 GPixel/s for the TITAN V CEO Edition. Texture rates are 35.20 GTexel/s versus 465.6 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 1,126.4 GFLOPS versus 14.90 TFLOPS, and FP16 is 2.253 TFLOPS versus 29.80 TFLOPS, both at a 2:1 ratio.
The TDP figures are 25 W for the Vega 8 and 250 W for the TITAN V CEO Edition. The Vega 8 is an IGP with no power connectors, while the TITAN V CEO Edition is dual-slot, requires a 600 W suggested PSU, and uses one 6-pin plus one 8-pin connector. The bus interface is IGP for the Vega 8 and PCIe 3.0 x16 for the TITAN V CEO Edition. Display outputs are motherboard-dependent for the Vega 8, while the TITAN V CEO Edition offers 1x HDMI 2.0 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The TITAN V CEO Edition has 640 tensor cores; the Vega 8 has none. Transistor counts differ massively (4,940 million vs 21,100 million), as do die sizes (210 mm² vs 815 mm²). The Vega 8 was released on 2018-02-11, while the TITAN V CEO Edition followed on 2018-06-20. Both are end-of-life products, with the Vega 8 succeeding GCN 3.0 IGP and preceding Vega II IGP, while the TITAN V CEO Edition succeeds GeForce 900 and precedes GeForce 20.