AMD Radeon RX 560 XT vs AMD Radeon RX 6800M Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a decisive sweep for the AMD Radeon RX 6800M across the two shared benchmark tests. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 6800M scores 87,621 against the RX 560 XT’s 31,387, a margin of 64.2% in favor of the mobile part. The gap is nearly as wide in Geekbench Vulkan, where the RX 6800M posts 94,766 versus 36,879 for the RX 560 XT, a 61.1% advantage. These are not marginal wins; the RX 6800M more than doubles the output of the RX 560 XT in both compute and graphics API workloads.

The RX 6800M’s average benchmark score across its full test suite is 28,874, which places it in the 74th percentile of all GPUs in the database. The RX 560 XT, despite having only two recorded tests, averages 34,133 and sits in the 79th percentile. That percentile inversion is notable: the older card ranks higher relative to the entire GPU population, but in direct head-to-head comparison it loses by a wide margin. The explanation lies in the test mix. The RX 6800M’s suite includes many specialized DirectX and compute tests where its scores are modest, pulling its average down, while the RX 560 XT’s two tests are both compute-heavy workloads where it performs respectably for its generation.

Looking at the nearest rivals for each card clarifies the competitive landscape. The RX 560 XT trades blows with the NVIDIA RTX A2000 12 GB (average score 34,154, delta -0.1%), the NVIDIA RTX A1000 (34,207, delta -0.2%), the AMD Radeon RX 480 (33,997, delta +0.4%), and the AMD Radeon HD 7950 (33,951, delta +0.5%). The RX 6800M, by contrast, sits among much older and lower-tier parts: the AMD Radeon RX 570 (28,766, delta +0.4%), the AMD Radeon RX 470 (28,996, delta -0.4%), the AMD Radeon R9 M295X (28,580, delta +1%), and the Intel Arc A370M (29,175, delta -1%). The RX 6800M’s rivals are all from an earlier era or a lower performance class, which underscores how its benchmark average is dragged down by tests that do not reflect its peak capabilities.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from completely different architectural generations, separated by a process node jump and a fundamental design philosophy shift. The RX 560 XT uses the Ellesmere chip built on GCN 4.0 architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. It packs 5,700 million transistors into a 232 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 24.6 million per square millimeter. The RX 6800M, in contrast, uses the Navi 22 chip on RDNA 2.0 architecture, built on a 7 nm process at TSMC. It contains 17,200 million transistors across a 335 mm² die, achieving a density of 51.3 million per square millimeter, more than double the RX 560 XT’s density.

Clock speeds tell a similar story of generational progress. The RX 560 XT runs at a base clock of 1074 MHz and a boost clock of 1226 MHz, with memory clocked at 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective). The RX 6800M starts at 2116 MHz base, boosts to 2390 MHz, and has a game clock of 2300 MHz. Its memory runs at 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective). The RX 6800M’s boost clock is nearly double the RX 560 XT’s base clock, and its memory speed is more than double the effective rate.

Core configurations differ substantially. The RX 560 XT has 1,792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, and 32 raster operations units. The RX 6800M scales up to 2,560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The RX 6800M also adds 40 ray tracing cores, a feature completely absent from the GCN 4.0 part. Neither GPU has tensor cores. The RX 6800M’s pixel rate is 153.0 GPixel/s and texture rate is 382.4 GTexel/s, versus 39.23 GPixel/s and 137.3 GTexel/s for the RX 560 XT. FP32 compute is 12.24 TFLOPS for the RX 6800M against 4.394 TFLOPS for the RX 560 XT. The RX 6800M also doubles FP16 throughput to 24.47 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio, while the RX 560 XT is capped at 4.394 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio.

Memory subsystems are equally divergent. The RX 560 XT uses 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, yielding 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 6800M uses 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, yielding 384.0 GB/s. The RX 6800M achieves higher bandwidth despite a narrower bus thanks to faster memory. The RX 6800M supports PCIe 4.0 x16, while the RX 560 XT is limited to PCIe 3.0 x16. API support also differs: the RX 6800M reaches DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, whereas the RX 560 XT stops at DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3. Both support OpenGL 4.6.

Power and physical design highlight the different target platforms. The RX 560 XT has a 150 W TDP, a dual-slot cooler, a single 6-pin power connector, and a suggested PSU of 450 W. It is a 241 mm (9.5 inches) add-in card with 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. The RX 6800M is an integrated GPU for laptops, with a 145 W TDP, no power connectors, no slot width (listed as IGP), and display outputs dependent on the portable device. Its release dates differ by roughly two years: the RX 560 XT launched on 2019-03-12, the RX 6800M on 2021-05-30. Both are end-of-life products. The RX 560 XT’s predecessor is Arctic Islands and its successor is Vega; the RX 6800M’s predecessor is Polaris Mobile with no listed successor.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 6800M wins outright in raw compute performance. Its Geekbench Vulkan score of 94,766 is 61.1% ahead of the RX 560 XT’s 36,879, and its OpenCL score of 87,621 is 64.2% ahead of 31,387. In any workload that leverages compute shaders, physics simulation, or general GPU compute, the RX 6800M is the clear choice. The ray tracing cores also give it a feature advantage for games that support hardware-accelerated ray tracing, something the RX 560 XT cannot offer at all.

The RX 560 XT’s strengths are more contextual. Its 79th percentile ranking against all GPUs is higher than the RX 6800M’s 74th percentile, meaning that within its own benchmark set it performs closer to the top of the field. Its nearest rivals include professional workstation cards like the RTX A2000 and RTX A1000, with deltas under 0.5%, indicating that it trades blows with those parts in compute tests. For a desktop user with a PCIe 3.0 system and a 450 W PSU, the RX 560 XT is a drop-in solution with standard display outputs. The RX 6800M, being an IGP, requires a laptop or a proprietary mobile platform and cannot be installed in a desktop.

For legacy API compatibility, the RX 6800M’s PassMark scores show strength in older DirectX versions: 147 in DirectX 9, 127 in DirectX 11, 101 in DirectX 10, and 65 in DirectX 12. Its PassMark G3D score is 13,261 and GPU compute score is 5,032. These numbers are not directly comparable to the RX 560 XT’s Geekbench results, but they indicate that the RX 6800M handles a broad range of API workloads without regression. The RX 560 XT has no recorded scores for those tests, so its behavior there is undocumented.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute performance?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6800M. It scores 87,621 in Geekbench OpenCL versus 31,387 for the RX 560 XT, and 94,766 in Geekbench Vulkan versus 36,879. The deltas are 64.2% and 61.1% respectively.

Q: Are these GPUs from the same architecture?

A: No. The RX 560 XT uses GCN 4.0 on a 14 nm process (chip Ellesmere), while the RX 6800M uses RDNA 2.0 on a 7 nm process (chip Navi 22).

Q: Does the RX 6800M support ray tracing?

A: Yes, it has 40 ray tracing cores. The RX 560 XT has no ray tracing cores.

Q: How do their memory configurations compare?

A: The RX 560 XT has 4 GB GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RX 6800M has 12 GB GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus with 384.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The RX 560 XT has an average score of 34,133, while the RX 6800M averages 28,874. However, this is due to different test suites; in direct head-to-head tests, the RX 6800M wins both.

Q: What is the form factor difference?

A: The RX 560 XT is a dual-slot desktop card, 241 mm long, with a 6-pin power connector and a 450 W suggested PSU. The RX 6800M is an integrated GPU (IGP) for portable devices with no power connectors.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon RX 560 XT | AMD Radeon RX 6800M |

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

| Chip | Ellesmere | Navi 22 |

| Architecture | GCN 4.0 | RDNA 2.0 |

| Generation | Polaris (RX 500) | Navi Mobile (RX 6000M) |

| Process Node | 14 nm | 7 nm |

| Foundry | GlobalFoundries | TSMC |

| Transistors | 5,700 million | 17,200 million |

| Die Size | 232 mm² | 335 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 24.6M / mm² | 51.3M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1074 MHz | 2116 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1226 MHz | 2390 MHz |

| Game Clock | None | 2300 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective) | 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 4 GB | 12 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus Width | 256 bit | 192 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 224.0 GB/s | 384.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 1792 | 2560 |

| TMUs | 112 | 160 |

| ROPs | 32 | 64 |

| Ray Tracing Cores | None | 40 |

| Pixel Rate | 39.23 GPixel/s | 153.0 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 137.3 GTexel/s | 382.4 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 4.394 TFLOPS | 12.24 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 4.394 TFLOPS (1:1) | 24.47 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 150 W | 145 W |

| Slot Width | Dual-slot | IGP |

| Power Connectors | 1x 6-pin | None |

| Suggested PSU | 450 W | None |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 1x HDMI 2.0b, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a | Portable Device Dependent |

| DirectX Support | 12 (12_0) | 12 Ultimate (12_2) |

| Vulkan Support | 1.3 | 1.4 |

| OpenGL Support | 4.6 | 4.6 |

| Length | 241 mm (9.5 inches) | None |

| Release Date | 2019-03-12 | 2021-05-30 |

| Predecessor | Arctic Islands | Polaris Mobile |

| Successor | Vega | None |