AMD Radeon RX Vega 64
AMD graphics card specifications and benchmark scores
At a Glance
AMDAMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Specifications
Radeon RX Vega 64 GPU Core
Shader units and compute resources
The AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 GPU core specifications define its raw processing power for graphics and compute workloads. Shading units (also called CUDA cores, stream processors, or execution units depending on manufacturer) handle the parallel calculations required for rendering. TMUs (Texture Mapping Units) process texture data, while ROPs (Render Output Units) handle final pixel output. Higher shader counts generally translate to better GPU benchmark performance, especially in demanding games and 3D applications.
RX Vega 64 Clock Speeds
GPU and memory frequencies
Clock speeds directly impact the Radeon RX Vega 64's performance in GPU benchmarks and real-world gaming. The base clock represents the minimum guaranteed frequency, while the boost clock indicates peak performance under optimal thermal conditions. Memory clock speed affects texture loading and frame buffer operations. The Radeon RX Vega 64 by AMD dynamically adjusts frequencies based on workload, temperature, and power limits to maximize performance while maintaining stability.
AMD's Radeon RX Vega 64 Memory
VRAM capacity and bandwidth
VRAM (Video RAM) is dedicated memory for storing textures, frame buffers, and shader data. The Radeon RX Vega 64's memory capacity determines how well it handles high-resolution textures and multiple displays. Memory bandwidth, measured in GB/s, affects how quickly data moves between the GPU and VRAM. Higher bandwidth improves performance in memory-intensive scenarios like 4K gaming. The memory bus width and type (GDDR6, GDDR6X, HBM) significantly influence overall GPU benchmark scores.
Radeon RX Vega 64 by AMD Cache
On-chip cache hierarchy
On-chip cache provides ultra-fast data access for the RX Vega 64, reducing the need to fetch data from slower VRAM. L1 and L2 caches store frequently accessed data close to the compute units. AMD's Infinity Cache (L3) dramatically increases effective bandwidth, improving GPU benchmark performance without requiring wider memory buses. Larger cache sizes help maintain high frame rates in memory-bound scenarios and reduce power consumption by minimizing VRAM accesses.
RX Vega 64 Theoretical Performance
Compute and fill rates
Theoretical performance metrics provide a baseline for comparing the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 against other graphics cards. FP32 (single-precision) performance, measured in TFLOPS, indicates compute capability for gaming and general GPU workloads. FP64 (double-precision) matters for scientific computing. Pixel and texture fill rates determine how quickly the GPU can render complex scenes. While real-world GPU benchmark results depend on many factors, these specifications help predict relative performance levels.
GCN 5.0 Architecture & Process
Manufacturing and design details
The AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 is built on AMD's GCN 5.0 architecture, which defines how the GPU processes graphics and compute workloads. The manufacturing process node affects power efficiency, thermal characteristics, and maximum clock speeds. Smaller process nodes pack more transistors into the same die area, enabling higher performance per watt. Understanding the architecture helps predict how the RX Vega 64 will perform in GPU benchmarks compared to previous generations.
AMD's Radeon RX Vega 64 Power & Thermal
TDP and power requirements
Power specifications for the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 determine PSU requirements and thermal management needs. TDP (Thermal Design Power) indicates the heat output under typical loads, guiding cooler selection. Power connector requirements ensure adequate power delivery for stable operation during demanding GPU benchmarks. The suggested PSU wattage accounts for the entire system, not just the graphics card. Efficient power delivery enables the Radeon RX Vega 64 to maintain boost clocks without throttling.
Radeon RX Vega 64 by AMD Physical & Connectivity
Dimensions and outputs
Physical dimensions of the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 are critical for case compatibility. Card length, height, and slot width determine whether it fits in your chassis. The PCIe interface version affects bandwidth for communication with the CPU. Display outputs define monitor connectivity options, with modern cards supporting multiple high-resolution displays simultaneously. Verify these specifications against your case and motherboard before purchasing to ensure a proper fit.
AMD API Support
Graphics and compute APIs
API support determines which games and applications can fully utilize the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64. DirectX 12 Ultimate enables advanced features like ray tracing and variable rate shading. Vulkan provides cross-platform graphics capabilities with low-level hardware access. OpenGL remains important for professional applications and older games. CUDA (NVIDIA) and OpenCL enable GPU compute for video editing, 3D rendering, and scientific applications. Higher API versions unlock newer graphical features in GPU benchmarks and games.
Radeon RX Vega 64 Product Information
Release and pricing details
The AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 is manufactured by AMD as part of their graphics card lineup. Release date and launch pricing provide context for comparing GPU benchmark results with competing products from the same era. Understanding the product lifecycle helps evaluate whether the Radeon RX Vega 64 by AMD represents good value at current market prices. Predecessor and successor information aids in tracking generational improvements and planning future upgrades.
Radeon RX Vega 64 Benchmark Scores
3dmark_3dmark_steel_nomad_dx12Source
3DMark Steel Nomad is the latest GPU benchmark running at native 4K with DirectX 12. It's roughly 3x more demanding than Time Spy, testing AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 with cutting-edge rendering techniques. The benchmark uses state-of-the-art graphics technologies to stress modern hardware.
Top 5 Performers
Top 5 PerformersNearby Performers
Nearby Performersgeekbench_metalSource
Geekbench Metal tests GPU compute using Apple's Metal API. This shows how AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 performs in macOS and iOS applications that leverage GPU acceleration. Metal provides low-overhead access to Apple silicon GPUs. Creative applications on Mac heavily utilize Metal for rendering and video processing.
Top 5 Performers
Nearby Performers
geekbench_openclSource
Geekbench OpenCL tests GPU compute performance using the cross-platform OpenCL API. This shows how AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 handles parallel computing tasks like video encoding and scientific simulations. OpenCL is widely supported across different GPU vendors and platforms.
Top 5 Performers
Nearby Performers
geekbench_vulkanSource
Geekbench Vulkan tests GPU compute using the modern low-overhead Vulkan API. This shows how AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 performs with next-generation graphics and compute workloads. Vulkan offers better CPU efficiency than older APIs like OpenGL. Modern games and applications increasingly use Vulkan for cross-platform GPU acceleration.
Top 5 Performers
Nearby Performers
About AMD Radeon RX Vega 64
The AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 holds a percentile rank of 83 among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 39,879. Its nearest rivals cluster tightly around this figure, with performance deltas of less than 1%, indicating that the Vega 64 sits at a precise performance tier where architectural differences translate into negligible real-world separation. The data shows a card that remains competitive in aggregate scoring, though its individual workload results reveal specific strengths and weaknesses that define its position.
How It Compares
vs. AMD Radeon Pro 575X: The Vega 64 leads by a razor-thin 0.1% margin, with an average score of 39,879 against the Pro 575X's 39,836. This delta is statistically insignificant, meaning the two cards are effectively interchangeable in overall benchmark terms. The Pro 575X's workstation-oriented driver optimizations do not yield a measurable advantage in the aggregate metrics captured here.
vs. AMD Radeon Pro 575: A 0.4% advantage over the Pro 575 (39,703) places the Vega 64 marginally ahead. While the Pro 575 trails by 176 points, this gap falls well within typical run-to-run variance for GPU benchmarks. Users upgrading from the Pro 575 to the Vega 64 should expect no perceptible change in framerates or compute throughput based on this data.
vs. AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT: The Vega 64 edges out the RX 9070 XT by 0.6%, scoring 39,879 versus 39,647. This is a notable result given the generational gap between the two architectures. The RX 9070 XT's newer design does not translate into a higher aggregate score, suggesting that the Vega 64's raw compute resources remain competitive against a much more recent product.
vs. NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile: The Vega 64 outperforms the RTX A500 Mobile by 0.8%, with scores of 39,879 and 39,568 respectively. This 311-point gap is the largest among the four nearest rivals, yet still represents a sub-1% difference. The mobile nature of the RTX A500 likely contributes to its lower standing, as power constraints limit sustained performance.
Ray Tracing and Feature Set
The Vega 64 implements no dedicated ray tracing cores and no tensor cores; the `rtCores` and `tensorCores` fields in the specification are null. This is consistent with its GCN 5.0 architecture, which predates the hardware-accelerated ray tracing found in later generations. The card relies entirely on traditional rasterization pipelines for 3D rendering, with shading units (4,096), texture mapping units (256), and render output units (64) handling all graphics workloads.
API support includes DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The DirectX 12_1 feature level provides support for conservative rasterization and rasterizer-ordered views, but lacks the DirectX Raytracing (DXR) tier found on newer hardware. Vulkan 1.3 support enables access to the latest Vulkan extensions for compute and graphics, though again without ray tracing extensions that require dedicated hardware. In practice, the Vega 64 is a rasterization-only card; any ray-traced effects in games must be computed via software fallbacks, which will produce significantly lower performance than dedicated RT hardware.
Who Should Consider It
Based on the benchmark data, the Vega 64's aggregate score of 39,879 places it in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs. This suggests it is well-suited for 1440p gaming at high settings, where its 12.66 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 483.8 GB/s memory bandwidth provide sufficient throughput for demanding titles. At 4K resolution, the card will handle less demanding games and esports titles comfortably, but newer AAA releases may require reduced settings to maintain playable framerates.
The 8 GB HBM2 memory capacity, while modest by modern standards, is adequate for 1440p textures and most 4K scenarios when settings are tuned. Users targeting maximum settings at 4K with high-resolution texture packs should consider the memory limitation a potential bottleneck. The card's 98.94 GPixel/s pixel rate and 395.8 GTexel/s texture rate indicate strong fill-rate capabilities, which benefit high-resolution rendering and texture-heavy scenes.
For compute workloads, the 25.33 TFLOPS FP16 performance (at 2:1 ratio) offers substantial throughput for applications that leverage half-precision arithmetic. This makes the Vega 64 a viable option for users running machine learning inference or scientific simulations that support FP16, though the lack of tensor cores means no dedicated acceleration for these tasks.
FAQ
Q: How does the Vega 64 compare to the RX 9070 XT in benchmark scores?
A: The Vega 64 achieves an average score of 39,879, which is 0.6% higher than the RX 9070 XT's 39,647. Despite being an older architecture, the Vega 64 holds a slight edge in aggregate performance.
Q: Does the Vega 64 support hardware ray tracing?
A: No. The Vega 64 has no ray tracing cores (rtCores is null) and no tensor cores. It relies on software-based ray tracing if such effects are enabled, which will result in lower performance compared to dedicated RT hardware.
Q: What is the memory bandwidth of the Vega 64?
A: The card features 8 GB of HBM2 memory on a 2048-bit bus, delivering 483.8 GB/s of bandwidth. Memory operates at 945 MHz, with 1890 Mbps effective data rate.
Q: What power supply is recommended for the Vega 64?
A: AMD recommends a 600 W power supply. The card itself has a TDP of 295 W and requires two 8-pin power connectors.
Q: What display outputs does the Vega 64 offer?
A: The card provides one HDMI 2.0b port and three DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, supporting multiple monitor configurations.
Q: Is the Vega 64 still in production?
A: No, the production status is end-of-life. It was released on August 6, 2017, with Polaris as its predecessor and Navi as its successor.
Benchmark Performance
The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test yields a score of 1,669 for the Vega 64, while the Geekbench Metal test produces 78,088. The average benchmark score of 39,879 is heavily influenced by the Geekbench result, which contributes the majority of the aggregate figure. The Steel Nomad score, being a newer and more demanding workload, indicates that the Vega 64's DX12 performance is competitive but not exceptional relative to its overall percentile standing.
Against the nearest rivals, the Vega 64's deltas are uniformly positive but small: +0.1% over the Pro 575X, +0.4% over the Pro 575, +0.6% over the RX 9070 XT, and +0.8% over the RTX A500 Mobile. These margins are all below 1%, meaning that in blind testing, users would be hard-pressed to distinguish between these cards based on performance alone. The tight clustering suggests that the Vega 64's age has not eroded its competitive position among mid-range to upper-mid-range GPUs.
The 83rd percentile ranking places the Vega 64 above the majority of GPUs in the benchmark database. This is a strong showing for a 2017 card, indicating that its 12.66 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 4096 shading units continue to deliver respectable performance in modern workloads. However, the lack of ray tracing hardware and the 8 GB memory capacity are clear limitations that the benchmark scores do not fully capture.
Power and Cooling
The Vega 64 has a TDP of 295 W, which is substantial for a card of its era. AMD recommends a 600 W power supply, leaving headroom for the rest of the system components. The card requires two 8-pin power connectors, which is a standard configuration for high-end GPUs of this generation. Users with older power supplies may need to verify they have sufficient PCIe power cables available.
Cooling is handled by a dual-slot design, which is typical for a card with this power draw. The physical dimensions are 280 mm in length (11 inches), 111 mm in height (4.4 inches), and 40 mm in width (1.6 inches). This makes the card compatible with most mid-tower and full-tower cases, though compact builds may face clearance issues. The 14 nm process node from GlobalFoundries contributes to the high power consumption relative to newer, more efficient architectures.
Given the end-of-life status, users acquiring a Vega 64 should ensure their cooling solution is adequate for sustained loads. The card's thermal output will be significant under full load, and case airflow should be planned accordingly. The dual-slot cooler is a capable air cooler, but it is not designed for overclocking headroom beyond the factory boost clock of 1546 MHz.
Memory Subsystem
The Vega 64 is equipped with 8 GB of HBM2 memory, a significant advantage at launch due to HBM2's high bandwidth and low power consumption compared to GDDR5. The memory operates on a 2048-bit bus, which is exceptionally wide, enabling a bandwidth of 483.8 GB/s. This is a key strength of the card, as memory bandwidth is often a bottleneck for high-resolution gaming and compute workloads.
At 4K resolution, the 483.8 GB/s bandwidth provides sufficient throughput for high-resolution textures and large frame buffers. However, the 8 GB capacity may become a limiting factor in games that require more than 8 GB of VRAM at maximum settings. Users playing at 1440p will find the memory subsystem more than adequate, with headroom for texture quality and anti-aliasing settings. The HBM2 type also offers better power efficiency than traditional GDDR5, which partially mitigates the card's high TDP.
The memory clock of 945 MHz (1890 Mbps effective) is relatively modest by modern standards, but the wide bus compensates for the lower clock speed. This design prioritizes bandwidth over clock frequency, which is beneficial for the Vega architecture's compute-heavy workloads. In aggregate, the memory subsystem remains one of the Vega 64's enduring strengths, even as newer cards offer larger capacities and faster speeds.
The NVIDIA Equivalent of Radeon RX Vega 64
Looking for a similar graphics card from NVIDIA? The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 offers comparable performance and features in the NVIDIA lineup.
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