AMD Radeon 8060S vs AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT Comparison

The AMD Radeon 8060S and the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT represent two radically different philosophies within AMD’s lineup: one is a power-sipping integrated graphics processor (IGP) built for the mobile space, while the other is a massive, discrete add-in board designed for desktop dominance. The data shows a clear performance hierarchy, but the context of power, architecture, and intended use-case paints a more nuanced picture than raw benchmark scores alone.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT is the undisputed performance king in every head-to-head benchmark recorded. It wins all three direct comparisons, with its most significant victory coming in the Geekbench OpenCL test, where it scores 171304 against the 8060S’s 84626. This represents a 50.6% lead for the discrete card, a massive gap that underscores the physical and thermal advantages of a 300 W dual-slot card with 2x 8-pin power connectors.

The RX 6800 XT also dominates in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, scoring 3689 versus 2162 for the 8060S, a 41.4% advantage. Its Geekbench Vulkan score of 136875 is similarly 41.2% higher than the 8060S’s 80483. Across these three benchmarks, the RX 6800 XT’s victory is absolute, with its lowest win margin still exceeding 41%.

The AMD Radeon 8060S, however, wins in a category that isn’t captured by raw performance metrics: efficiency and form factor. With a TDP of just 55 W, the 8060S consumes a fraction of the power that the RX 6800 XT requires. It is an IGP, meaning it occupies no slot space, requires no power connectors, and is integrated directly into the system. For thin-and-light laptops or compact portable devices, the 8060S is the only viable option of the two; the RX 6800 XT, with its 267 mm length and dual-slot profile, cannot physically exist in such systems. The 8060S also uses system memory, making its bandwidth "System Dependent," whereas the RX 6800 XT has dedicated 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two GPUs is generational and fundamental. The AMD Radeon 8060S is built on the RDNA 3.5 architecture, manufactured on a 4 nm process at TSMC. It uses the Strix Halo chip, which is notably smaller at 308 mm² compared to its rival. This newer process node allows for significantly higher clock speeds, with a boost clock of 2900 MHz and a base clock of 1295 MHz. The chip features 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, 64 ROPs, and 40 ray tracing cores. Its compute power is rated at 14.85 TFLOPS FP32 and 14.85 TFLOPS FP16 (1:1). Crucially, its memory configuration is entirely "System Shared," meaning it relies on the host system’s RAM rather than dedicated VRAM.

The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT is an older design, using the RDNA 2.0 architecture on a larger 7 nm process. Its Navi 21 chip is massive at 520 mm², housing 26,800 million transistors at a density of 51.5M / mm². Despite having a lower boost clock of 2250 MHz (and a base clock of 1825 MHz), it makes up for this with sheer scale: 4608 shading units, 288 TMUs, 128 ROPs, and 72 ray tracing cores. This translates to higher peak throughput of 20.74 TFLOPS FP32 and 41.47 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1). The RX 6800 XT also features dedicated 16 GB of GDDR6 memory clocked at 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective), delivering 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth over a 256-bit bus.

Other notable differences include the bus interface: the 8060S uses PCIe 5.0 x16, while the RX 6800 XT uses PCIe 4.0 x16. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The RX 6800 XT has a defined set of display outputs (1x HDMI 2.1, 2x DisplayPort 1.4a, 1x USB Type-C), whereas the 8060S’s outputs are "Portable Device Dependent." The RX 6800 XT is end-of-life, released in late 2020, while the 8060S is active and was released in early 2025.

The Verdict

The benchmark data is unambiguous: the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT is significantly faster in every measured metric. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it is 41.4% ahead. In Geekbench OpenCL, it is 50.6% ahead. In Geekbench Vulkan, it is 41.2% ahead. Its average benchmark score of 48477 places it in the 85th percentile of all GPUs, while the 8060S scores an average of 55757, placing it in the 87th percentile—a paradox explained by the different benchmark suites each GPU was tested with, skewing the average comparison.

For anyone building a desktop gaming rig where power draw and physical space are non-issues, the RX 6800 XT is the clear choice. Its raw performance, dedicated VRAM, and massive bandwidth make it a far superior option for high-resolution gaming and compute tasks. The data shows no scenario where the 8060S outperforms it in any of the recorded tests.

The AMD Radeon 8060S is not a competitor in the same arena; it is a different class of product entirely. With a 55 W TDP and an IGP form factor, it is designed for ultra-portable devices where a discrete card is impossible. Its average benchmark score of 55757 actually places it in the 87th percentile, which is notable given its power envelope. It sits within 0.6% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 in average score, a signal of the efficiency of the RDNA 3.5 architecture. However, this does not change the fact that in a direct head-to-head, the RX 6800 XT wins every single test. The 8060S is the right choice only when system power and space constraints are absolute, and the RX 6800 XT is the right choice for pure performance.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT is significantly faster, scoring 3689 compared to the 8060S’s 2162, a 41.4% advantage.

Q: How much more power does the RX 6800 XT consume?

A: The RX 6800 XT has a TDP of 300 W, whereas the Radeon 8060S has a TDP of just 55 W.

Q: Does the Radeon 8060S have dedicated video memory?

A: No, its memory configuration is "System Shared," meaning it uses the host system’s memory. The RX 6800 XT, in contrast, has 16 GB of dedicated GDDR6 memory with 512.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: What are the architectural differences between the two?

A: The 8060S uses the newer RDNA 3.5 architecture on a 4 nm process (Strix Halo chip), while the RX 6800 XT uses RDNA 2.0 on a 7 nm process (Navi 21 chip). The RX 6800 XT has more shading units (4608 vs 2560) and ray tracing cores (72 vs 40).

Q: Which GPU has a higher boost clock?

A: The AMD Radeon 8060S has a higher boost clock of 2900 MHz, compared to the RX 6800 XT’s 2250 MHz boost clock.

Q: In which benchmark does the RX 6800 XT have its largest lead?

A: Its largest lead is in the Geekbench OpenCL test, where it scores 171304 versus 84626 for the 8060S, a 50.6% difference.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head benchmark data consists of three tests, and the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT wins them all decisively.

The first test, 3dmark_3dmark_steel_nomad_dx12, shows the RX 6800 XT scoring 3689 against the 8060S’s 2162. This delta of -41.4% for the 8060S represents a significant performance gap in a modern DirectX 12 workload. This test likely stresses the raw compute and rasterization capabilities of the GPU, where the RX 6800 XT’s higher shading unit count (4608 vs 2560) and higher texture fill rate (648.0 GTexel/s vs 464.0 GTexel/s) provide a substantial advantage.

The second test, geekbench_opencl, is the most lopsided contest. The RX 6800 XT scores 171304, which is more than double the 8060S’s 84626. The -50.6% delta illustrates the RX 6800 XT’s massive lead in general-purpose compute workloads. This is likely due to its dedicated 512.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth, which is a critical factor for OpenCL tasks that are often memory-bound. The 8060S’s reliance on system-shared memory, whose bandwidth is "System Dependent," puts it at a severe disadvantage here.

The final test, geekbench_vulkan, follows the same pattern. The RX 6800 XT scores 136875, while the 8060S manages 80483, a 41.2% deficit. While the gap is slightly smaller than in OpenCL, it confirms the RX 6800 XT’s dominance in modern graphics APIs. The RX 6800 XT’s higher pixel rate (288.0 GPixel/s vs 185.6 GPixel/s) and FP32 throughput (20.74 TFLOPS vs 14.85 TFLOPS) give it the raw horsepower needed to win across the board.

In summary, the RX 6800 XT is consistently 41-51% faster across all three benchmark scenarios. There is no test in this dataset where the 8060S closes the gap or takes a win. The results underscore the physical and thermal advantage of a 300 W discrete card with a 520 mm² die over a 55 W integrated solution with a 308 mm² die.