AMD Radeon HD 7950 vs AMD Radeon RX 6700 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded database contains a single direct head-to-head comparison between the AMD Radeon HD 7950 and the AMD Radeon RX 6700: the Geekbench Metal test. The results are decisive. The RX 6700 scores 122,223 points, while the HD 7950 manages 33,951 points. This puts the RX 6700 ahead by 72.2%, a massive performance gap that underscores the generational divide between the two cards. In this benchmark, the RX 6700 wins the only direct comparison, giving it a 1-0 record in head-to-head tests.

The HD 7950 does not have additional head-to-head data points beyond Metal. Its only recorded benchmark is that same Geekbench Metal score of 33,951. The RX 6700, however, has a broader benchmark profile. Beyond its Metal result, it posts scores in Geekbench OpenCL (97,841), Geekbench Vulkan (83,974), and multiple Passmark tests. Its Passmark G3D score is 18,931, and its GPU Compute score is 8,240. For DirectX workloads, the RX 6700 shows 250 in Passmark DirectX 9, 166 in DirectX 11, 115 in DirectX 10, and 71 in DirectX 12. These additional results do not have corresponding HD 7950 measurements, so direct comparisons for those workloads are unavailable. Still, the Metal data alone illustrates the scale of the RX 6700's advantage.

Context from the nearest rivals further clarifies the HD 7950's standing. The HD 7950's average benchmark score is 33,951, placing it in the 78th percentile of all GPUs. Its closest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 480 (average score 33,997, delta of -0.1%), the AMD Radeon RX 7700S (average score 33,849, delta of +0.3%), the AMD Radeon RX 560 XT (average score 34,133, delta of -0.5%), and the NVIDIA RTX A2000 12 GB (average score 34,154, delta of -0.6%). These deltas are all within 0.6 percentage points, meaning the HD 7950 sits in a tight cluster of comparable performers. It is neither meaningfully faster nor slower than these contemporaries, despite its age.

The RX 6700, by contrast, holds a 75th percentile ranking with an average benchmark score of 30,433. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA CMP 70HX (average score 30,476, delta of -0.1%), the NVIDIA Tesla M60 (average score 30,490, delta of -0.2%), the AMD Radeon RX 6800 (average score 30,095, delta of +1.1%), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti (average score 29,945, delta of +1.6%). The RX 6700 is essentially even with the CMP 70HX and Tesla M60, while it sits about 1.1% ahead of the RX 6800 and 1.6% ahead of the RTX 3070 Ti in average score. This positions the RX 6700 as a solid mid-range performer that trades blows with much newer and more expensive cards.

The disparity between the two cards' average scores is notable. The RX 6700's average of 30,433 is actually lower than the HD 7950's 33,951, but that is because the average includes all recorded benchmarks for each card, and the RX 6700 has many more tests, some of which (like Passmark DirectX 9 at 250) are not directly comparable. The head-to-head Metal result is the cleanest apples-to-apples comparison, and it heavily favors the RX 6700.

FAQ

Q: Which card wins the only direct head-to-head benchmark?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6700 wins the Geekbench Metal test with a score of 122,223 versus 33,951 for the AMD Radeon HD 7950, a delta of -72.2% for the older card.

Q: How does the HD 7950 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The HD 7950's average score of 33,951 is within 0.6% of its closest competitors: the AMD Radeon RX 480 (-0.1%), AMD Radeon RX 7700S (+0.3%), AMD Radeon RX 560 XT (-0.5%), and NVIDIA RTX A2000 12 GB (-0.6%).

Q: What is the RX 6700's standing among its nearest rivals?

A: The RX 6700's average score of 30,433 puts it slightly ahead of the NVIDIA CMP 70HX (-0.1%) and NVIDIA Tesla M60 (-0.2%), while leading the AMD Radeon RX 6800 by 1.1% and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti by 1.6%.

Q: Does the HD 7950 have any benchmark results other than Metal?

A: No. The database records only one benchmark for the HD 7950: Geekbench Metal with a score of 33,951.

Q: What is the RX 6700's best recorded benchmark score?

A: The RX 6700's highest recorded score is 122,223 in Geekbench Metal. Its next best are 97,841 in Geekbench OpenCL and 83,974 in Geekbench Vulkan.

Q: How do the two cards' DirectX capabilities compare in recorded data?

A: The HD 7950 has no recorded DirectX benchmark scores. The RX 6700 has Passmark DirectX scores of 250 (DX9), 166 (DX11), 115 (DX10), and 71 (DX12), which are not directly comparable to any HD 7950 figure.

Architecture Differences

The two cards belong to entirely different architectural generations. The AMD Radeon HD 7950 is built on GCN 1.0 architecture with the Tahiti chip, part of the Southern Islands generation (HD 7900 series). The AMD Radeon RX 6700 uses RDNA 2.0 architecture with the Navi 22 chip, belonging to the Navi II generation (RX 6000 series). This architectural shift is fundamental: GCN 1.0 was designed for the early 2010s, while RDNA 2.0 is a modern gaming architecture with significant efficiency and feature improvements.

The manufacturing process tells a similar story. The HD 7950 uses a 28 nm process at TSMC, while the RX 6700 uses a 7 nm process at the same foundry. Transistor counts reflect this: the HD 7950 packs 4,313 million transistors on a 352 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 12.3 million per square millimeter. The RX 6700 integrates 17,200 million transistors on a slightly smaller 335 mm² die, achieving a density of 51.3 million per square millimeter. That is over four times the density, which explains how the newer card fits vastly more logic into a similar physical footprint.

Compute resources differ sharply. The HD 7950 has 1,792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The RX 6700 has 2,304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The RX 6700 also introduces 36 ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent from the HD 7950. This is a major functional difference: the RX 6700 can handle hardware-accelerated ray tracing, while the HD 7950 cannot. The RX 6700 also has a 2:1 FP16 rate of 22.58 TFLOPS, whereas the HD 7950 has no recorded FP16 capability.

API support diverges as well. The HD 7950 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The RX 6700 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The newer card's DirectX 12 Ultimate feature set includes advanced capabilities like mesh shaders and variable rate shading, which the older card cannot access. Display outputs also differ: the HD 7950 has 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.2, while the RX 6700 has 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a.

Specification Differences

The most obvious specification gap is memory. The HD 7950 has 3 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, delivering 240.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 6700 has 10 GB of GDDR6 on a 160-bit bus, delivering 320.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Despite the narrower bus, the newer memory type and higher clock speed give the RX 6700 more bandwidth. Memory clock rates reflect this: the HD 7950 runs at 1250 MHz (5 Gbps effective), while the RX 6700 runs at 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective).

Clock speeds are only recorded for the RX 6700. It has a base clock of 1941 MHz, a boost clock of 2450 MHz, and a game clock of 2174 MHz. The HD 7950 has no base, boost, or game clock values in the database, making direct clock comparison impossible. However, the raw throughput numbers tell the story. The HD 7950's pixel rate is 25.60 GPixel/s and its texture rate is 89.60 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance of 2.867 TFLOPS. The RX 6700's pixel rate is 156.8 GPixel/s, its texture rate is 352.8 GTexel/s, and its FP32 performance is 11.29 TFLOPS. The RX 6700 is roughly 6x faster in pixel throughput, nearly 4x faster in texture throughput, and about 4x faster in FP32.

Power and physical specifications also differ. The HD 7950 has a TDP of 200 W and requires a 550 W power supply, with power delivered via 2x 6-pin connectors. The RX 6700 has a lower TDP of 175 W, a 450 W suggested PSU, and a single 8-pin connector. The RX 6700 is also slightly shorter at 267 mm (10.5 inches) versus 278 mm (10.9 inches) for the HD 7950, with nearly identical height (110 mm versus 111 mm) and width (40 mm versus 38 mm). Both are dual-slot cards. The bus interface differs too: PCIe 3.0 x16 for the HD 7950, PCIe 4.0 x16 for the RX 6700.

Release dates are far apart: the HD 7950 launched on 2012-01-30, while the RX 6700 launched on 2021-06-08. The HD 7950 had a launch MSRP of 449 USD; the RX 6700 has no recorded launch MSRP. Both are end-of-life products. The HD 7950's predecessor is Northern Islands and its successor is Sea Islands; the RX 6700's predecessor is Navi and its successor is Navi III.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear conclusion: the AMD Radeon RX 6700 is the superior card by a wide margin. In the only direct benchmark, Geekbench Metal, the RX 6700 scores 72.2% higher than the HD 7950. This is not a marginal improvement; it is a generational leap. The RX 6700 also offers 10 GB of GDDR6 memory versus 3 GB of GDDR5, higher bandwidth (320.0 GB/s versus 240.0 GB/s), more shading units (2,304 versus 1,792), more TMUs (144 versus 112), double the ROPs (64 versus 32), and 36 ray tracing cores where the HD 7950 has none. Its FP32 throughput of 11.29 TFLOPS is nearly four times the HD 7950's 2.867 TFLOPS.

The HD 7950's only recorded advantage is its percentile ranking (78th versus 75th for the RX 6700) and its average benchmark score (33,951 versus 30,433), but that average is skewed by the RX 6700's broader test suite. In the apples-to-apples Metal comparison, the newer card dominates. The HD 7950's nearest rivals are all within 0.6% of its score, meaning it is competitive with cards from its own era, but that era has passed.

Who should pick which? From the data alone, the RX 6700 is the obvious choice for anyone who wants modern performance, ray tracing support, higher memory capacity, and faster bandwidth, all while consuming less power (175 W versus 200 W) and requiring a smaller PSU (450 W versus 550 W). The HD 7950 might appeal to someone specifically seeking a card from the Southern Islands generation for legacy compatibility, but the benchmark results offer no reason to prefer it on performance grounds. The RX 6700 wins the head-to-head, and the architecture and specification differences all reinforce that verdict.