AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000) vs AMD Radeon RX 580 (Laptop)

AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000)

The AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 is an integrated GPU for notebooks. It is used for the Ryzen 5 APUs, which were launched in the end of 2017. The GPU is based on the Vega architecture (5th generation GCN) and has 8 CUs (= 512 of the 704 shaders) clocked at up to 1100 MHz (Ryzen 5 2500U). The performance depends on the configured TDP (12-25 W at launch), the clocks, the cooling, and the memory configuration). The GPU should benefit from fast dual-channel DDR4-2400 RAM (contrary to DDR4-2133 single-channel, which is also possible).

The Vega architecture offers some improvements over the Polaris generation and now supports DirectX 12 Feature Level 12_1. More information is available in our dedicated article about the Raven Ridge architecture.

AMD's reference design GPU is sitting between the GeForce 940MX / Radeon Pro 450 and GeForce MX150 / Radeon Pro 555. It can handle smooth gameplay in simple titles like League of Legends (med), Dota 2 (low), Overwatch (low), CS:GO (med), and Quake Champions (high) in 720p up to 1080p according to AMD.

Thanks to the 14nm process and clever power-saving features, the power consumption is comparatively low (according to AMD), so the graphics card can also be used for slim and light notebooks.

AMD Radeon RX 580 (Laptop)

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is a high-end graphics card for laptops. It is based on the Polaris 20 chip. Compared to the Polaris 10 in the similar RX 480, the Polaris 20 is manufacted in an improved 14nm process (LPP+) for higher clock speeds and some power efficiency improvements in idle. The performance in laptops depends on the used clock speeds and should be similar to the desktop RX 470 (see for gaming benchmarks) or even RX 480.

More information on the Polaris architecture and its features can be found here.