AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 D Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 D and the AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo represent two very different approaches to high-end graphics, separated by architecture, target platform, and generation. The RTX 4090 D, built on NVIDIA's Ada Lovelace architecture, is a monolithic powerhouse designed for PCIe systems, while the W6800X Duo is a dual-GPU RDNA 2.0 solution tailored for Apple's MPX interface. Benchmark data shows the RTX 4090 D holds a commanding lead in raw compute performance, with an average benchmark score of 178,050 compared to the AMD card's 135,774, placing them in the 98th and 96th percentiles of all GPUs, respectively. The following analysis breaks down their architectural differences, head-to-head results, and the specific scenarios where each card excels based solely on the provided data.

FAQ

Q: Which card has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 D achieves an average benchmark score of 178,050, which is significantly higher than the AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo's average score of 135,774. This places the RTX 4090 D in the 98th percentile of all GPUs, while the W6800X Duo sits in the 96th percentile.

Q: How does the RTX 4090 D perform in OpenCL compared to the W6800X Duo?

A: In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the RTX 4090 D scores 278,621, while the W6800X Duo scores 124,335. This results in a delta of 124.1%, meaning the NVIDIA card is more than twice as fast in this specific compute workload.

Q: What is the difference in memory capacity and bandwidth between the two cards?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo has a larger memory capacity of 32 GB of GDDR6, but the NVIDIA RTX 4090 D has a higher bandwidth. The RTX 4090 D features 24 GB of GDDR6X with a 384-bit bus, delivering 1.01 TB/s, whereas the W6800X Duo uses a 256-bit bus and provides 512.0 GB/s.

Q: Which card has higher boost clock speeds?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 D has a boost clock of 2520 MHz, which is higher than the AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo's boost clock of 1967 MHz. The base clocks are 2280 MHz and 1800 MHz, respectively.

Q: Are these cards still in production?

A: No, both cards are listed as end-of-life in their production status. The RTX 4090 D was released on December 27, 2023, while the W6800X Duo was released earlier on August 2, 2021.

Q: Which card has more shading units and ray tracing cores?

A: The NVIDIA RTX 4090 D has 14,592 shading units and 114 ray tracing cores. The AMD W6800X Duo has 3,840 shading units and 60 ray tracing cores. The NVIDIA card also features 456 tensor cores, while the AMD card has no tensor cores listed.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on fundamentally different architectures and process nodes. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 D uses the AD102 chip with the Ada Lovelace architecture, manufactured on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It integrates 76,300 million transistors on a 609 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 125.3M per mm². In contrast, the AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo uses the Navi 21 chip with the RDNA 2.0 architecture, also from TSMC but on a larger 7 nm process. It has 26,800 million transistors on a 520 mm² die, giving a much lower transistor density of 51.5M per mm².

The memory subsystems differ substantially. The RTX 4090 D uses 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, achieving a bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s. The W6800X Duo offers 32 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 512.0 GB/s — exactly half the NVIDIA card's throughput. Clock speeds also favor NVIDIA, with the RTX 4090 D boosting to 2520 MHz versus 1967 MHz for the AMD card. The core configurations are lopsided: NVIDIA has 14,592 shading units, 456 TMUs, and 176 ROPs, while AMD has 3,840 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The RTX 4090 D also includes 456 tensor cores and 114 ray tracing cores, compared to 60 ray tracing cores and no tensor cores on the AMD side.

The cards target different physical and electrical environments. The NVIDIA card is a triple-slot design with a 1x 16-pin power connector and a 425 W TDP, while the AMD card is a quad-slot design with a 400 W TDP and no specified power connectors, using the Apple MPX bus interface instead of PCIe 4.0 x16. The RTX 4090 D outputs via 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the W6800X Duo uses 1x HDMI 2.1 and 4x Thunderbolt. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The RTX 4090 D measures 304 mm in length, 137 mm in height, and 61 mm in width, while the W6800X Duo is shorter at 267 mm and 120 mm in height.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head data includes two benchmark tests, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 D wins both outright. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the RTX 4090 D scores 278,621 against the W6800X Duo's 124,335. This represents a delta of 124.1%, meaning NVIDIA's card is over twice as fast in this compute-heavy workload. The scale of this margin is not a minor edge — it is a dominant performance gap that aligns with the massive difference in shading units and FP32 throughput.

In the Geekbench Vulkan test, the RTX 4090 D again takes the win with a score of 246,941, while the W6800X Duo scores 125,622. The delta here is 96.6%, meaning the NVIDIA card is nearly 97% faster. While the percentage is slightly lower than in OpenCL, it still represents a near-doubling of performance in graphics API workloads. The W6800X Duo's best showing in the benchmark suite comes from the Geekbench Metal test, where it scores 157,365, but there is no comparable Metal result for the RTX 4090 D in the data, so this cannot be used as a direct head-to-head comparison.

The RTX 4090 D also has a higher average benchmark score of 178,050, compared to the W6800X Duo's 135,774. When looking at nearest rivals, the RTX 4090 D sits slightly below the NVIDIA RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell (182,109) by -2.2%, and below the A100 SXM4 80 GB (183,725) by -3.1%. The W6800X Duo, meanwhile, is nearly tied with the AMD Radeon PRO W6800 (135,396) at a +0.3% delta, and ahead of the NVIDIA A10M (135,230) by +0.4%. This context shows that while the W6800X Duo is competitive within its immediate peer group, it operates in a lower performance tier than the RTX 4090 D.

The Verdict

The data paints a clear picture for raw performance: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 D is the superior card in every direct comparison available. It wins both head-to-head benchmarks by margins of 124.1% and 96.6%, and its average benchmark score is 31.2% higher than the AMD card's. The RTX 4090 D also leads in every relevant specification — higher clock speeds, more shading units, more ray tracing cores, higher memory bandwidth, and a smaller process node. For anyone prioritizing compute or graphics performance in a PCIe-based system, the RTX 4090 D is the definitive choice based on this data.

However, the AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo is not without its own merits. It offers a larger 32 GB memory pool, which could be relevant for workloads that require more capacity than the RTX 4090 D's 24 GB. Its Apple MPX bus interface and 4x Thunderbolt outputs indicate it is designed specifically for Mac Pro systems, where the RTX 4090 D may not be compatible. The W6800X Duo also has a lower TDP of 400 W versus 425 W, and its 96th percentile ranking still places it in the top tier of all GPUs. For users locked into the Apple ecosystem, the W6800X Duo is the only viable option between the two, as the RTX 4090 D's PCIe interface and lack of Thunderbolt outputs would exclude it from that platform.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 D | AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | Ada Lovelace | RDNA 2.0 |

| Process Node | 5 nm | 7 nm |

| Transistors | 76,300 million | 26,800 million |

| Die Size | 609 mm² | 520 mm² |

| Base Clock | 2280 MHz | 1800 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2520 MHz | 1967 MHz |

| Memory Size | 24 GB | 32 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6X | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus | 384 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 1.01 TB/s | 512.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 14592 | 3840 |

| TMUs | 456 | 240 |

| ROPs | 176 | 96 |

| Ray Tracing Cores | 114 | 60 |

| Tensor Cores | 456 | None |

| Pixel Rate | 443.5 GPixel/s | 188.8 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 1,149.1 GTexel/s | 472.1 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 73.54 TFLOPS | 15.11 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 73.54 TFLOPS (1:1) | 30.21 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 425 W | 400 W |

| Slot Width | Triple-slot | Quad-slot |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x16 | Apple MPX |

| Display Outputs | 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a | 1x HDMI 2.1, 4x Thunderbolt |

| Dimensions (LxH) | 304 mm x 137 mm | 267 mm x 120 mm |

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 D wins decisively in raw computational throughput. Its FP32 performance of 73.54 TFLOPS is nearly five times the W6800X Duo's 15.11 TFLOPS, and its FP16 performance of 73.54 TFLOPS (1:1) more than doubles the AMD card's 30.21 TFLOPS (2:1). This translates directly to its benchmark victories in OpenCL and Vulkan, where it scores 124.1% and 96.6% higher, respectively. The RTX 4090 D also wins in texture and pixel processing, with rates of 1,149.1 GTexel/s and 443.5 GPixel/s against 472.1 GTexel/s and 188.8 GPixel/s. For users running compute-heavy applications, AI workloads (thanks to 456 tensor cores), or high-resolution gaming on a PCIe platform, the RTX 4090 D is the clear winner.

The AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo wins in the domain of memory capacity and platform integration. Its 32 GB of GDDR6 memory is 33% larger than the RTX 4090 D's 24 GB, which can be a deciding factor for datasets that exceed the NVIDIA card's capacity. The W6800X Duo's Apple MPX bus interface and 4x Thunderbolt outputs make it the only card in this comparison that fits into Apple's Mac Pro ecosystem. It also has a slightly lower TDP of 400 W, which may be advantageous in thermally constrained environments. While it loses every direct benchmark in the data, its 96th percentile ranking and near-tie with the AMD Radeon PRO W6800 (+0.3%) show it is still a capable performer for its intended market. For Mac users needing maximum VRAM and Thunderbolt connectivity, the W6800X Duo is the appropriate pick.