AMD Radeon Vega 11 Embedded

AMD Radeon Vega 11 Embedded

AMD Radeon Vega 11 Embedded: A Compact Solution for Basic Tasks and Enthusiasts of Low-Power Systems

April 2025


Introduction

In an era where discrete graphics cards with ray tracing and neural network technologies dominate the market, embedded solutions remain in demand for niche scenarios. The AMD Radeon Vega 11 Embedded is a GPU designed for systems where compactness, energy efficiency, and moderate performance are important. This article will explore who this graphics card is suitable for, how it handles modern tasks, and what sets it apart from its competitors.


Architecture and Key Features

Vega Architecture: AMD's Legacy

The Vega 11 Embedded is built on the Vega architecture (5th generation GCN), which debuted back in 2017. However, in 2025, it remains relevant for embedded systems due to optimizations and low power consumption. The chip is manufactured using GlobalFoundries' 14nm process technology, which explains its affordability but also limits its potential for high workloads.

Technologies and Functions

- FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR): Support for FSR 2.2 improves gaming performance through upscaling.

- FreeSync: Synchronization with monitors to minimize screen tearing.

- Lack of Hardware Ray Tracing: Unlike NVIDIA RTX, ray tracing is implemented only via software, significantly reducing FPS.

Conclusion: Vega 11 Embedded is a solution for basic tasks where stability is more critical than cutting-edge effects.


Memory: Modest Capabilities

Type and Size

Vega 11 Embedded utilizes DDR4 system memory (less frequently LPDDR4), which limits bandwidth. The amount of VRAM allocated can be adjusted through the BIOS (up to 2GB by default, but can be expanded to 4GB).

Bandwidth

With a memory clock of 2400 MHz, the bandwidth reaches 38.4 GB/s — 3-4 times lower than discrete cards with GDDR6. This creates a "bottleneck" in games and applications that heavily use textures.

Tip: For better performance, use dual-channel DDR4-3200 memory.


Gaming Performance: Modest Expectations

1080p: Basic Gaming

- CS:GO: 80-100 FPS on medium settings.

- Fortnite: 45-55 FPS (FSR Quality + low settings).

- Cyberpunk 2077: 20-25 FPS (FSR Performance + minimum settings).

1440p and 4K: Non-target Resolutions

Even with FSR, rendering at 1440p reduces FPS by 30-40%. 4K is virtually unavailable for modern AAA titles.

Ray Tracing: Not for Vega 11

Software emulation (for example, via DirectX 12 Ultimate) gives less than 10 FPS in simple scenes.

Recommendation: Choose this card for indie games, emulators, and projects from the 2010s.


Professional Tasks: Minimal Capabilities

Video Editing and Rendering

- DaVinci Resolve: Working with 1080p/30fps projects is possible, but rendering will take 2-3 times longer than on an NVIDIA GTX 1650.

- Blender: OpenCL support allows GPU rendering, but efficiency is lower than that of CUDA accelerators.

3D Modeling

Autodesk Maya and SolidWorks can run, but complex scenes cause lag.

Summary: Vega 11 Embedded is suitable for learning and simple tasks, but not for professional work.


Power Consumption and Thermal Output

TDP and Cooling

The chip's TDP is 15-25 W, allowing for passive cooling or compact coolers.

Case Recommendations

- Mini-PCs (e.g., ASUS PN or Minisforum): Ventilation from the back is essential.

- DIY Builds: Cases with power supplies of 150-200 W (e.g., InWin Chopin).

Warning: Prolonged loads may cause throttling in poorly ventilated cases.


Comparison with Competitors

AMD Ryzen 5 8600G (Radeon 760M)

The integrated RDNA 3 graphics in the latest AMD APU is 30-50% faster than Vega 11 and supports AV1 decoding.

Intel Core i5-14400P (Iris Xe 80EU)

Comparable in gaming but performs better in video encoding thanks to Quick Sync.

NVIDIA GeForce MX550

A discrete card with GDDR6: 60-70% faster in games but requires separate cooling and power.

Conclusion: Vega 11 Embedded lags behind modern solutions but excels in price and availability for OEM manufacturers.


Practical Tips

Power Supply

A 250-300 W power supply is sufficient. For systems with a processor TDP up to 65 W, even a PicoPSU format power supply will be adequate.

Compatibility

- Platforms: Compatible with AM4 motherboards (for embedded solutions) and specialized single-board computers.

- Drivers: Regularly update Adrenalin Edition — the latest versions improve FSR stability.

Hack: For gaming on Linux, use the Mesa firmware with open drivers — they are often more optimized than official ones.


Pros and Cons

Advantages

- Low price (systems with Vega 11 Embedded start from $250).

- Energy efficiency.

- Compactness and noiselessness (in passive builds).

Disadvantages

- Weak performance in modern games.

- Dependence on system memory.

- Lack of hardware ray tracing and AI accelerators.


Final Conclusion: Who is Vega 11 Embedded Suitable For?

This graphics card is a choice for those looking for:

1. Budget HTPC: Streaming 4K video (with hardware HEVC decoding), media centers.

2. Office and Educational PCs: Document work, browsing, light graphic editing.

3. Retro Game Enthusiasts: Running classics and indie projects without investing in discrete graphics.

If you plan to play AAA titles or engage in 3D modeling, consider modern AMD APUs or budget discrete cards like the Radeon RX 7600S.


Conclusion

The AMD Radeon Vega 11 Embedded is an example of a balance between price, power consumption, and basic performance. In 2025, it finds its niche in the world of compact and specialized systems, reminding us that not all tasks require top-tier hardware.

Basic

Label Name
AMD
Platform
Integrated
Launch Date
February 2018
Model Name
Radeon Vega 11 Embedded
Generation
Great Horned Owl
Base Clock
300MHz
Boost Clock
1301MHz
Bus Interface
IGP
Transistors
4,940 million
Compute Units
11
TMUs
?
Texture Mapping Units (TMUs) serve as components of the GPU, which are capable of rotating, scaling, and distorting binary images, and then placing them as textures onto any plane of a given 3D model. This process is called texture mapping.
44
Foundry
GlobalFoundries
Process Size
14 nm
Architecture
GCN 5.0

Memory Specifications

Memory Size
System Shared
Memory Type
System Shared
Memory Bus
?
The memory bus width refers to the number of bits of data that the video memory can transfer within a single clock cycle. The larger the bus width, the greater the amount of data that can be transmitted instantaneously, making it one of the crucial parameters of video memory. The memory bandwidth is calculated as: Memory Bandwidth = Memory Frequency x Memory Bus Width / 8. Therefore, when the memory frequencies are similar, the memory bus width will determine the size of the memory bandwidth.
System Shared
Memory Clock
SystemShared
Bandwidth
?
Memory bandwidth refers to the data transfer rate between the graphics chip and the video memory. It is measured in bytes per second, and the formula to calculate it is: memory bandwidth = working frequency × memory bus width / 8 bits.
System Dependent

Theoretical Performance

Pixel Rate
?
Pixel fill rate refers to the number of pixels a graphics processing unit (GPU) can render per second, measured in MPixels/s (million pixels per second) or GPixels/s (billion pixels per second). It is the most commonly used metric to evaluate the pixel processing performance of a graphics card.
10.41 GPixel/s
Texture Rate
?
Texture fill rate refers to the number of texture map elements (texels) that a GPU can map to pixels in a single second.
57.24 GTexel/s
FP16 (half)
?
An important metric for measuring GPU performance is floating-point computing capability. Half-precision floating-point numbers (16-bit) are used for applications like machine learning, where lower precision is acceptable. Single-precision floating-point numbers (32-bit) are used for common multimedia and graphics processing tasks, while double-precision floating-point numbers (64-bit) are required for scientific computing that demands a wide numeric range and high accuracy.
3.664 TFLOPS
FP64 (double)
?
An important metric for measuring GPU performance is floating-point computing capability. Double-precision floating-point numbers (64-bit) are required for scientific computing that demands a wide numeric range and high accuracy, while single-precision floating-point numbers (32-bit) are used for common multimedia and graphics processing tasks. Half-precision floating-point numbers (16-bit) are used for applications like machine learning, where lower precision is acceptable.
114.5 GFLOPS
FP32 (float)
?
An important metric for measuring GPU performance is floating-point computing capability. Single-precision floating-point numbers (32-bit) are used for common multimedia and graphics processing tasks, while double-precision floating-point numbers (64-bit) are required for scientific computing that demands a wide numeric range and high accuracy. Half-precision floating-point numbers (16-bit) are used for applications like machine learning, where lower precision is acceptable.
1.795 TFLOPS

Miscellaneous

Shading Units
?
The most fundamental processing unit is the Streaming Processor (SP), where specific instructions and tasks are executed. GPUs perform parallel computing, which means multiple SPs work simultaneously to process tasks.
704
TDP
35W
Vulkan Version
?
Vulkan is a cross-platform graphics and compute API by Khronos Group, offering high performance and low CPU overhead. It lets developers control the GPU directly, reduces rendering overhead, and supports multi-threading and multi-core processors.
1.2
OpenCL Version
2.1
OpenGL
4.6
DirectX
12 (12_1)
Power Connectors
None
Shader Model
6.4
ROPs
?
The Raster Operations Pipeline (ROPs) is primarily responsible for handling lighting and reflection calculations in games, as well as managing effects like anti-aliasing (AA), high resolution, smoke, and fire. The more demanding the anti-aliasing and lighting effects in a game, the higher the performance requirements for the ROPs; otherwise, it may result in a sharp drop in frame rate.
8

Benchmarks

FP32 (float)
Score
1.795 TFLOPS

Compared to Other GPU

FP32 (float) / TFLOPS
1.828 +1.8%
1.705 -5%
1.645 -8.4%