AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 vs NVIDIA GB10 Comparison

FAQ

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in overall benchmark scores?

A: The NVIDIA GB10 records an average benchmark score of 117,393, while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 averages 63,693. The GB10 sits in the 95th percentile of all GPUs, whereas the Vega 56 lands in the 89th percentile.

Q: What are the biggest performance gaps between the two in specific tests?

A: In Geekbench OpenCL, the NVIDIA GB10 scores 120,137 against 61,930 for the AMD, a 94% advantage. In Geekbench Vulkan, the GB10 posts 114,648 versus 66,004, a 73.7% lead.

Q: Which GPU has more memory and what type?

A: The NVIDIA GB10 features 128 GB of LPDDR5X on a 256-bit bus with 273.2 GB/s bandwidth. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 has 8 GB of HBM2 on a 2048-bit bus with 402.4 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: How do their architectures differ?

A: The GB10 uses Blackwell 2.0 architecture on a 5 nm process from TSMC, while the Vega 56 uses GCN 5.0 architecture on a 14 nm process from GlobalFoundries. The GB10 integrates 48 RT cores and 384 tensor cores; the Vega 56 has neither.

Q: What is the production status and release timeframe for each?

A: The NVIDIA GB10 is listed as Active production, released on October 14, 2025. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 is End-of-life, released on August 13, 2017.

Q: Which GPU supports more modern APIs?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The NVIDIA GB10 lists N/A for DirectX, OpenGL, and Vulkan in the database.

Architecture Differences

The NVIDIA GB10 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture, manufactured on a 5 nm process at TSMC. Its die measures 382 mm² with transistor count listed as unknown. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 uses GCN 5.0 architecture on a 14 nm process from GlobalFoundries, with 12,500 million transistors packed into a 495 mm² die. The transistor density for the Vega 56 is recorded at 25.3M per mm²; no density figure is available for the GB10.

The GB10 belongs to the Server Blackwell (Bxx) generation, while the Vega 56 is part of the Radeon Pro Mac (Vega Series) generation. The GB10 operates with a base clock of 1665 MHz and boost clock of 2418 MHz, significantly higher than the Vega 56's 1138 MHz base and 1250 MHz boost. Memory clocks also differ: the GB10 runs at 1067 MHz with 8.5 Gbps effective, while the Vega 56 runs at 786 MHz with 1572 Mbps effective.

Compute resources show a stark contrast. The GB10 has 6144 shading units, 384 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output units. The Vega 56 has 3584 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The GB10 also includes 48 RT cores and 384 tensor cores, features entirely absent from the Vega 56. Pixel rate for the GB10 is 116.1 GPixel/s versus 80.00 GPixel/s for the AMD part. Texture rate measures 928.5 GTexel/s for the GB10 against 280.0 GTexel/s for the Vega 56.

The GB10 delivers 29.71 TFLOPS FP32 and the same 29.71 TFLOPS FP16 with a 1:1 ratio. The Vega 56 provides 8.960 TFLOPS FP32 and 17.92 TFLOPS FP16 at a 2:1 ratio. Power draw differs as well: the GB10 has a TDP of 140 W with a suggested PSU of 300 W, while the Vega 56 has a 210 W TDP with no suggested PSU listed. Both use IGP slot width and no power connectors. The GB10 uses PCIe 5.0 x16, the Vega 56 uses PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs are minimal on both: the GB10 has 1x HDMI, the Vega 56 has 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows two head-to-head comparisons, and the NVIDIA GB10 wins both. In Geekbench OpenCL, the GB10 scores 120,137 against the Vega 56's 61,930. That is a 94% delta, meaning the GB10 delivers nearly double the compute throughput in this workload. The gap is substantial enough that the Vega 56 would need multiple passes to match a single GB10 result.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the GB10 posts 114,648 while the Vega 56 manages 66,004. The 73.7% delta is still decisive, though slightly narrower than the OpenCL gap. The Vulkan result suggests the GB10's architectural advantages, including its RT cores and tensor cores, translate into strong graphics API performance even without native API support listed for Vulkan.

The wins tally stands at 2 for the GB10 and 0 for the Vega 56. The average benchmark scores reinforce this: 117,393 for the GB10 versus 63,693 for the Vega 56, a difference of roughly 84%. The GB10's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation at 117,088 (0.3% behind), the AMD Radeon PRO W7700 at 118,976 (1.3% ahead), the NVIDIA Tesla V100 SXM2 16 GB at 114,395 (2.6% behind), and the NVIDIA RTX A5500 Mobile at 113,944 (3% behind). The Vega 56's nearest rivals are much closer in score: the AMD Radeon RX 7600M at 63,775 (0.1% ahead), the AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT LP at 63,830 (0.2% ahead), the NVIDIA CMP 30HX at 63,842 (0.2% ahead), and the AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100 at 64,212 (0.8% ahead).

The data indicates the GB10 operates in a completely different performance tier. Its closest competitors are modern workstation and server GPUs with scores in the 113,000 to 119,000 range. The Vega 56 competes with mobile and entry-level cards in the 63,000 to 64,000 range. The percentile ranking of 95 versus 89 places the GB10 near the top of the database while the Vega 56 sits somewhat above median but far from flagship territory.

The Verdict

The benchmark data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GB10 outperforms the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 by a wide margin in every recorded test. The OpenCL score difference of 94% and Vulkan difference of 73.7% show that the GB10 is not just faster, but fundamentally in a higher performance class. The GB10's average score of 117,393 places it among the top 5% of all GPUs in the database, while the Vega 56's 63,693 average places it in the 89th percentile.

The Vega 56 does retain advantages in certain specifications. Its HBM2 memory provides 402.4 GB/s bandwidth compared to the GB10's 273.2 GB/s, and its 2048-bit bus is eight times wider than the GB10's 256-bit bus. The Vega 56 also supports a full set of modern APIs including DirectX 12, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3, while the GB10 lists no API support. For applications that depend on these APIs, the Vega 56 remains functional where the GB10 may not be applicable.

However, for raw compute performance, the GB10's 29.71 TFLOPS FP32 and 29.71 TFLOPS FP16 dwarf the Vega 56's 8.960 TFLOPS FP32 and 17.92 TFLOPS FP16. The GB10 also has substantially more shading units (6144 versus 3584), more TMUs (384 versus 224), and dedicated RT and tensor cores. The GB10 is the clear choice for workloads that leverage its compute capabilities, particularly given its 128 GB memory capacity versus 8 GB on the Vega 56.

The production status tells part of the story: the GB10 is Active while the Vega 56 is End-of-life. The release dates, 2025 for the GB10 versus 2017 for the Vega 56, reflect the generational gap. The GB10's launch MSRP is 3,999 USD.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every specification category. The process node is 5 nm for the GB10 versus 14 nm for the Vega 56. Foundry is TSMC for the GB10 and GlobalFoundries for the Vega 56. Die size is 382 mm² for the GB10 and 495 mm² for the Vega 56. Transistor count is unknown for the GB10 but 12,500 million for the Vega 56, with density only listed for the Vega 56 at 25.3M per mm².

Base clocks are 1665 MHz for the GB10 and 1138 MHz for the Vega 56. Boost clocks are 2418 MHz versus 1250 MHz. Memory clocks are 1067 MHz with 8.5 Gbps effective for the GB10 and 786 MHz with 1572 Mbps effective for the Vega 56. Memory size is 128 GB versus 8 GB. Memory type is LPDDR5X versus HBM2. Bus width is 256 bit versus 2048 bit. Bandwidth is 273.2 GB/s versus 402.4 GB/s.

Shading units are 6144 versus 3584. TMUs are 384 versus 224. ROPs are 48 versus 64. RT cores exist only on the GB10 at 48. Tensor cores exist only on the GB10 at 384. Pixel rate is 116.1 GPixel/s versus 80.00 GPixel/s. Texture rate is 928.5 GTexel/s versus 280.0 GTexel/s. FP32 is 29.71 TFLOPS versus 8.960 TFLOPS. FP16 is 29.71 TFLOPS (1:1) versus 17.92 TFLOPS (2:1). TDP is 140 W versus 210 W. Suggested PSU is 300 W for the GB10 and null for the Vega 56. Bus interface is PCIe 5.0 x16 versus PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs are 1x HDMI versus 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. API support is N/A for the GB10 versus DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3 for the Vega 56. Dimensions are listed only for the GB10 at 150 mm length, 51 mm height, and 150 mm width. Production status is Active versus End-of-life. The GB10 has a predecessor (Server Hopper) and successor (Server Rubin); the Vega 56 has neither.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GB10 wins in every benchmark category recorded in the database. Its OpenCL score of 120,137 and Vulkan score of 114,648 place it far ahead of the Vega 56. The GB10 is the right choice for compute-heavy workloads such as large-scale data processing, machine learning inference, and any task that can utilize its 384 tensor cores. Its 128 GB memory capacity supports massive datasets that would not fit in the Vega 56's 8 GB frame buffer. The GB10's 29.71 TFLOPS FP32 and FP16 throughput, combined with its 6144 shading units, make it suitable for high-resolution rendering and simulation workloads. Its 48 RT cores provide hardware acceleration for ray tracing, a feature the Vega 56 lacks entirely.

The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 wins in no benchmark comparison, but it does hold specification advantages in certain areas. Its 402.4 GB/s memory bandwidth and 2048-bit bus provide faster memory throughput than the GB10's 273.2 GB/s, which could benefit workloads that are memory-bandwidth bound rather than compute bound. Its 64 ROPs exceed the GB10's 48, potentially offering better fill-rate performance in specific rasterization scenarios. The Vega 56's full API support for DirectX 12, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3 makes it the only one of the two with documented compatibility for those interfaces. Its lower shading unit count and clock speeds limit its overall compute capability, but its 17.92 TFLOPS FP16 at 2:1 ratio still provides reasonable half-precision throughput. The Vega 56's 210 W TDP is higher than the GB10's 140 W, but both use IGP form factor with no power connectors.

For users with workloads that rely on established graphics APIs, the Vega 56 offers a functional path. For users who need maximum compute performance, modern tensor cores, RT acceleration, and large memory capacity, the GB10 is the only viable choice based on the recorded data.