520 vs VII

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Combined performance score

Radeon VII
43.06
+2021%

VII outperforms 520 by 2021% in our combined benchmark results.

General info

GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.

Place in performance ranking75836
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Value for money65.922.09
ArchitectureVega (2017−2021)GCN 1.0 (2012−2020)
GPU code nameVega 20Oland
Market segmentDesktopLaptop
Release date7 February 2019 (5 years old)21 March 2017 (7 years old)
Launch price (MSRP)$699 no data
Current price$160 (0.2x MSRP)$140
Value for money

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

Radeon VII has 3054% better value for money than Radeon 520.

Technical specs

General performance parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. These parameters indirectly speak of performance, but for precise assessment you have to consider their benchmark and gaming test results. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores3840320
Core clock speed1400 MHz1030 MHz
Boost clock speed1750 MHzno data
Number of transistors13,230 million1,040 million
Manufacturing process technology7 nm28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)295 Watt50 Watt
Texture fill rate420.020.60
Floating-point performanceno data659.2 gflops

Size and compatibility

Information on Radeon VII and Radeon 520 compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop video cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility). For notebook video cards it's notebook size, connection slot and bus, if the video card is inserted into a slot instead of being soldered to the notebook motherboard.

InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x8
Length305 mmno data
Width2-slotno data
Supplementary power connectors2x 8-pinNone

Memory

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory typeHBM2DDR3, GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount16 GB2 GB
Memory bus width4096 Bit64 Bit
Memory clock speed1000 MHz2250 MHz
Memory bandwidth1024 GB/s16 GB/s
Shared memoryno data-

Video outputs and ports

Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.

Display Connectors1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x VGA
HDMI++

API support

List of supported graphics and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX12 (12_1)12.0
Shader Model6.45.0
OpenGL4.64.6
OpenCL2.01.2
Vulkan1.2.131+

Synthetic benchmark performance

Non-gaming benchmark performance comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.


Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark performance score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

Radeon VII 43.06
+2021%
Radeon 520 2.03

VII outperforms 520 by 2021% in our combined benchmark results.


Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark, part of Passmark PerformanceTest suite. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.

Benchmark coverage: 25%

Radeon VII 16690
+2021%
Radeon 520 787

VII outperforms 520 by 2021% in Passmark.

3DMark Vantage Performance

3DMark Vantage is an outdated DirectX 10 benchmark using 1280x1024 screen resolution. It taxes the graphics card with two scenes, one depicting a girl escaping some militarized base located within a sea cave, the other displaying a space fleet attack on a defenseless planet. It was discontinued in April 2017, and Time Spy benchmark is now recommended to be used instead.

Benchmark coverage: 17%

Radeon VII 62128
+1080%
Radeon 520 5266

VII outperforms 520 by 1080% in 3DMark Vantage Performance.

3DMark 11 Performance GPU

3DMark 11 is an obsolete DirectX 11 benchmark by Futuremark. It used four tests based on two scenes, one being few submarines exploring the submerged wreck of a sunken ship, the other is an abandoned temple deep in the jungle. All the tests are heavy with volumetric lighting and tessellation, and despite being done in 1280x720 resolution, are relatively taxing. Discontinued in January 2020, 3DMark 11 is now superseded by Time Spy.

Benchmark coverage: 17%

Radeon VII 37881
+1779%
Radeon 520 2017

VII outperforms 520 by 1779% in 3DMark 11 Performance GPU.

3DMark Fire Strike Graphics

Fire Strike is a DirectX 11 benchmark for gaming PCs. It features two separate tests displaying a fight between a humanoid and a fiery creature made of lava. Using 1920x1080 resolution, Fire Strike shows off some realistic graphics and is quite taxing on hardware.

Benchmark coverage: 14%

Radeon VII 27449
+1981%
Radeon 520 1319

VII outperforms 520 by 1981% in 3DMark Fire Strike Graphics.

3DMark Cloud Gate GPU

Cloud Gate is an outdated DirectX 11 feature level 10 benchmark that was used for home PCs and basic notebooks. It displays a few scenes of some weird space teleportation device launching spaceships into unknown, using fixed resolution of 1280x720. Just like Ice Storm benchmark, it has been discontinued in January 2020 and replaced by 3DMark Night Raid.

Benchmark coverage: 14%

Radeon VII 146094
+1637%
Radeon 520 8413

VII outperforms 520 by 1637% in 3DMark Cloud Gate GPU.

3DMark Ice Storm GPU

Ice Storm Graphics is an obsolete benchmark, part of 3DMark suite. Ice Storm was used to measure entry level laptops and Windows-based tablets performance. It utilizes DirectX 11 feature level 9 to display a battle between two space fleets near a frozen planet in 1280x720 resolution. Discontinued in January 2020, it is now superseded by 3DMark Night Raid.

Benchmark coverage: 8%

Radeon VII 430170
+455%
Radeon 520 77543

VII outperforms 520 by 455% in 3DMark Ice Storm GPU.

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

Average FPS across all PC games

Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:

Full HD121
+707%
15
−707%
1440p76
+2433%
3−4
−2433%
4K57
+2750%
2−3
−2750%

Performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 75−80
+1440%
5−6
−1440%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 76
+3700%
2−3
−3700%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 99
+2375%
4−5
−2375%
Battlefield 5 136
+4433%
3−4
−4433%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 148
+1245%
10−12
−1245%
Cyberpunk 2077 75−80
+1440%
5−6
−1440%
Far Cry 5 99
+4850%
2−3
−4850%
Far Cry New Dawn 95
+9400%
1−2
−9400%
Forza Horizon 4 163
+3975%
4−5
−3975%
Hitman 3 130−140
+4500%
3−4
−4500%
Horizon Zero Dawn 121
+3933%
3−4
−3933%
Red Dead Redemption 2 126
+2420%
5−6
−2420%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 120
+1400%
8−9
−1400%
Watch Dogs: Legion 113
+2160%
5−6
−2160%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 70
+3400%
2−3
−3400%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 82
+2633%
3−4
−2633%
Battlefield 5 137
+4467%
3−4
−4467%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 127
+1055%
10−12
−1055%
Cyberpunk 2077 75−80
+1440%
5−6
−1440%
Far Cry 5 95
+4650%
2−3
−4650%
Far Cry New Dawn 92
+9100%
1−2
−9100%
Forza Horizon 4 157
+3825%
4−5
−3825%
Hitman 3 130−140
+4500%
3−4
−4500%
Horizon Zero Dawn 96
+3100%
3−4
−3100%
Metro Exodus 88
+2833%
3−4
−2833%
Red Dead Redemption 2 70
+1300%
5−6
−1300%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 113
+1313%
8−9
−1313%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 139
+1290%
10
−1290%
Watch Dogs: Legion 99
+2375%
4−5
−2375%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 63
+3050%
2−3
−3050%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 72
+2300%
3−4
−2300%
Battlefield 5 127
+4133%
3−4
−4133%
Cyberpunk 2077 75−80
+1440%
5−6
−1440%
Far Cry 5 91
+4450%
2−3
−4450%
Far Cry New Dawn 83
+8200%
1−2
−8200%
Forza Horizon 4 130
+3150%
4−5
−3150%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 75
+1150%
6
−1150%
Watch Dogs: Legion 63
+3050%
2−3
−3050%

1440p
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 91
+2175%
4−5
−2175%
Hitman 3 80−85
+1540%
5−6
−1540%
Horizon Zero Dawn 72
+700%
9−10
−700%
Metro Exodus 56 0−1
Red Dead Redemption 2 46
+4500%
1−2
−4500%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 65−70
+1240%
5−6
−1240%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 45−50
+2250%
2−3
−2250%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 57
+2750%
2−3
−2750%
Battlefield 5 85−90
+2100%
4−5
−2100%
Cyberpunk 2077 35−40
+3500%
1−2
−3500%
Far Cry 5 80−85
+2567%
3−4
−2567%
Far Cry New Dawn 83
+2667%
3−4
−2667%
Forza Horizon 4 90−95
+2200%
4−5
−2200%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 65−70
+3150%
2−3
−3150%
Watch Dogs: Legion 48
+2300%
2−3
−2300%

4K
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 52
+2500%
2−3
−2500%
Hitman 3 40−45
+2100%
2−3
−2100%
Horizon Zero Dawn 21
+163%
8−9
−163%
Metro Exodus 37
+3600%
1−2
−3600%
Red Dead Redemption 2 30
+2900%
1−2
−2900%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 44
+2100%
2−3
−2100%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 54
+2600%
2−3
−2600%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 44
+4300%
1−2
−4300%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 35
+3400%
1−2
−3400%
Battlefield 5 73
+2333%
3−4
−2333%
Cyberpunk 2077 16−18 0−1
Far Cry 5 59
+1867%
3−4
−1867%
Far Cry New Dawn 61
+1120%
5−6
−1120%
Forza Horizon 4 77
+2467%
3−4
−2467%
Watch Dogs: Legion 29
+2800%
1−2
−2800%

This is how Radeon VII and Radeon 520 compete in popular games:

1080p resolution:

  • Radeon VII is 707% faster than Radeon 520

1440p resolution:

  • Radeon VII is 2433% faster than Radeon 520

4K resolution:

  • Radeon VII is 2750% faster than Radeon 520

Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:

  • in Far Cry New Dawn, with 1080p resolution and the Medium Preset, the Radeon VII is 9400% faster than the Radeon 520.

All in all, in popular games:

  • Without exception, Radeon VII surpassed Radeon 520 in all 48 of our tests.

Advantages and disadvantages


Performance score 43.06 2.03
Recency 7 February 2019 21 March 2017
Maximum RAM amount 16 GB 2 GB
Chip lithography 7 nm 28 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 295 Watt 50 Watt

The Radeon VII is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon 520 in performance tests.

Be aware that Radeon VII is a desktop card while Radeon 520 is a notebook one.


Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

User ratings

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AMD Radeon VII
Radeon VII
AMD Radeon 520
Radeon 520

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