AMD Radeon HD 7950 vs AMD Radeon RX 6800 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records only one directly comparable benchmark between these two cards: Geekbench Metal. The results are not close. The AMD Radeon RX 6800 scores 153,635, while the AMD Radeon HD 7950 scores 33,951. That is a 77.9% deficit for the older card, meaning the RX 6800 delivers roughly 4.5 times the Metal performance. In percentage terms, the HD 7950 trails by 77.9%, a margin that places the two cards in entirely different performance tiers.

Looking at the broader database context, the HD 7950's single benchmark average is 33,951, which puts it at the 78th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are remarkably close: the AMD Radeon RX 480 sits at 33,997 (a 0.1% advantage for the RX 480), the AMD Radeon RX 7700S scores 33,849 (0.3% behind the HD 7950), the AMD Radeon RX 560 XT hits 34,133 (0.5% ahead), and the NVIDIA RTX A2000 12 GB reaches 34,154 (0.6% ahead). These deltas are tiny, often within a fraction of a percent, which suggests the HD 7950, despite its age, still lands in a dense cluster of modern and near-modern GPUs in this particular workload.

The RX 6800, by contrast, has a much richer benchmark profile. Its average benchmark score across 11 recorded tests is 30,095, placing it at the 75th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti at 29,945 (0.5% behind the RX 6800), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile at 29,928 (0.6% behind), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti at 29,783 (1.0% behind), and the AMD Radeon RX 6700 at 30,433 (1.1% ahead). The RX 6800's average is pulled down by some low scores in specific legacy tests, but its headline Metal result is what matters for this comparison.

The head-to-head table shows only one entry, and the RX 6800 wins it outright. The HD 7950 has zero wins in the matched test set; the RX 6800 has one. That is a clean sweep, though it is based on a single workload. Still, the magnitude of the delta is so large that no amount of test diversity would plausibly flip the overall outcome. The RX 6800 is not merely faster; it is in a different league in Metal compute.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 6800 wins the only shared benchmark, Geekbench Metal, by a decisive margin. That workload is heavily compute-oriented, and the RX 6800's modern architecture handles it far better. The HD 7950, despite its high percentile ranking among all GPUs, cannot compete in raw Metal throughput.

Where the HD 7950 might still hold appeal is in its position within the nearest-rival cluster. It is within 0.6% of the NVIDIA RTX A2000 12 GB and within 0.5% of the AMD Radeon RX 560 XT in the database's average scoring. That means, for users constrained to older PCIe 3.0 platforms or those seeking a card with a 384-bit memory bus and 3 GB of GDDR5, the HD 7950 remains a functional option in lightweight or legacy workloads. Its 78th percentile ranking is actually higher than the RX 6800's 75th percentile, a quirk of the database's all-GPU distribution, but that percentile reflects the HD 7950's single test score against a broader field, not a head-to-head advantage.

The RX 6800, meanwhile, wins in every scenario where modern APIs, higher resolutions, or compute-heavy tasks are involved. Its benchmark suite includes DirectX 12, Vulkan, OpenCL, and multiple Passmark tests, and while some of those scores are modest (Passmark DirectX 10 at 128, DirectX 12 at 89), the card's Geekbench Metal score of 153,635 and Geekbench Vulkan score of 115,107 show where its strengths lie. The HD 7950 has no recorded scores in those other tests, so the database cannot confirm how it would fare in DirectX 9, DirectX 10, or OpenCL, but its lone Metal result suggests it would be far behind.

For users who prioritize compute performance, the RX 6800 is the clear choice. For users who only need a legacy card for older games or non-demanding compute, the HD 7950's tight clustering with modern midrange cards means it is not obsolete, just outclassed.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different eras of AMD design. The HD 7950 uses the Tahiti chip built on GCN 1.0 architecture, manufactured on a 28 nm process at TSMC. The RX 6800 uses the Navi 21 chip built on RDNA 2.0, manufactured on a 7 nm process, also at TSMC. The process node difference is substantial: 28 nm versus 7 nm, which directly impacts transistor density. The HD 7950 packs 4,313 million transistors on a 352 mm² die, yielding a density of 12.3M transistors per mm². The RX 6800 packs 26,800 million transistors on a 520 mm² die, yielding 51.5M per mm². That is a density advantage of roughly 4.2 times for the newer card.

Memory configurations differ sharply. The HD 7950 has 3 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, delivering 240.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 6800 has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 512.0 GB/s. Despite the narrower bus, the RX 6800 more than doubles the bandwidth thanks to faster memory clocks: 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) versus 1250 MHz (5 Gbps effective) for the HD 7950.

Compute resources are also vastly different. The HD 7950 has 1,792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The RX 6800 has 3,840 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The RX 6800 also features 60 ray tracing cores, which the HD 7950 lacks entirely. Pixel rate jumps from 25.60 GPixel/s on the HD 7950 to 202.1 GPixel/s on the RX 6800. Texture rate jumps from 89.60 GTexel/s to 505.2 GTexel/s. FP32 compute goes from 2.867 TFLOPS to 16.17 TFLOPS. The RX 6800 also supports FP16 at 32.33 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio), while the HD 7950 has no recorded FP16 capability.

API support differs as well. The HD 7950 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The RX 6800 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The RX 6800 also has a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, while the HD 7950 uses PCIe 3.0 x16. Power requirements scale accordingly: the HD 7950 has a 200 W TDP with two 6-pin connectors and a suggested 550 W PSU, while the RX 6800 has a 250 W TDP with two 8-pin connectors and a suggested 600 W PSU.

Physical dimensions are similar. The HD 7950 is 278 mm long, 111 mm tall, and 38 mm wide. The RX 6800 is 267 mm long, 120 mm tall, and 40 mm wide. Both are dual-slot cards. Display outputs differ: the HD 7950 offers 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.2, while the RX 6800 offers 1x HDMI 2.1, 2x DisplayPort 1.4a, and 1x USB Type-C.

The Verdict

The data points to a single conclusion: the AMD Radeon RX 6800 is the superior card in every measurable way that matters for modern workloads. Its Geekbench Metal score of 153,635 dwarfs the HD 7950's 33,951, a 77.9% advantage. Its memory bandwidth, compute throughput, ray tracing support, and API compatibility all favor the newer card. The HD 7950's 78th percentile ranking and tight clustering with cards like the RX 480 and RX 7700S show that it remains competitive in its own weight class, but that class is not the RX 6800's.

The RX 6800's nearest rivals, including the RTX 3070 Ti and RTX 2080 Ti, sit within 1% of its average score. That places it firmly in the high-end tier of the database. The HD 7950's nearest rivals sit within 0.6% of its average score, but that average is less than a quarter of the RX 6800's Metal result. No configuration of the HD 7950, whether overclocked or paired with faster memory, could close a gap of that size.

Pick the RX 6800 if you need modern API support, ray tracing, high bandwidth, or any compute workload that leverages Metal, Vulkan, or DirectX 12 Ultimate. Pick the HD 7950 only if you are building a retro system, need PCIe 3.0 compatibility, or require a card with a 384-bit bus and 3 GB of GDDR5 for a specific legacy application. The HD 7950 is not a bad card by the numbers; it is simply outmatched.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the RX 6800 than the HD 7950 in Geekbench Metal?

A: The RX 6800 scores 153,635, while the HD 7950 scores 33,951. The RX 6800 leads by 77.9%.

Q: Which card has more memory bandwidth?

A: The RX 6800 has 512.0 GB/s from 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus. The HD 7950 has 240.0 GB/s from 3 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus.

Q: Does the HD 7950 support ray tracing?

A: No. The HD 7950 has no ray tracing cores. The RX 6800 has 60 ray tracing cores.

Q: How do the two cards compare in transistor density?

A: The HD 7950 has 12.3M transistors per mm² on a 28 nm process. The RX 6800 has 51.5M transistors per mm² on a 7 nm process.

Q: What API levels do the cards support?

A: The HD 7950 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The RX 6800 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score in the database?

A: The HD 7950 has an average score of 33,951 across one test, while the RX 6800 has an average score of 30,095 across 11 tests. The HD 7950's average is higher only because it has a single recorded benchmark, not because it is faster overall.