AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER are both end-of-life graphics cards from different architectural generations, yet their aggregate benchmark scores place them in remarkably close proximity. The RX 5600 XT holds an average benchmark score of 20713, while the RTX 2070 SUPER trails slightly at 20282, a difference that places both cards within the 65th and 66th percentiles of all GPUs respectively. This near-parity in overall standing is surprising given the significant specification gap, and the head-to-head benchmark data reveals a more complex story than the aggregate scores suggest, with the NVIDIA card winning 9 out of 10 direct comparisons.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most striking result in the head-to-head data is the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, where the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT emerges victorious with a score of 1669 against the RTX 2070 SUPER's 1651, a 1.1% margin. This is the only benchmark win for the RX 5600 XT, and it is a meaningful one because it represents a modern, demanding DirectX 12 workload. The fact that the AMD card, with its smaller memory bus and lower raw compute throughput, can outpace the NVIDIA card in this specific test suggests that the RDNA 1.0 architecture's efficiency in newer rendering paths can overcome its hardware disadvantages.

Every other head-to-head comparison favors the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER, often by substantial margins. The largest delta appears in the Geekbench Vulkan test, where the RTX 2070 SUPER scores 90637 against the RX 5600 XT's 56218, a 38% advantage. This is a massive gap that underscores NVIDIA's strength in compute-heavy API workloads. Similarly, in the Passmark DirectX 10 test, the RTX 2070 SUPER's score of 132 is 44.7% higher than the RX 5600 XT's 73, representing the largest percentage difference in the entire dataset.

The performance gap narrows considerably in other tests. In Passmark DirectX 11, the RTX 2070 SUPER leads with 151 versus 96, a 36.4% difference, while in DirectX 12 the margin shrinks to 22.4% (67 versus 52). The Passmark G3D test, which is often considered a general gaming performance indicator, shows the RTX 2070 SUPER ahead at 18169 versus 13457, a 25.9% lead. The Geekbench OpenCL test shows a 17.8% NVIDIA advantage (83358 versus 68537), and the Passmark GPU Compute test reveals a 16.7% gap (7557 versus 6296). The smallest delta outside of the AMD win is in the Passmark G2D test, where the RTX 2070 SUPER's 878 barely edges out the RX 5600 XT's 870, a negligible 0.9% difference that effectively puts the two cards on par for 2D workloads.

Where Each One Wins

The data paints a clear picture of distinct strengths. The AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT's sole victory in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test indicates that it is competitive in modern, API-optimized gaming scenarios. This is a significant data point because it suggests that the card is not universally slower, but rather that its architecture is better suited to certain rendering techniques. For users prioritizing DirectX 12 gaming performance with a specific emphasis on modern titles, the RX 5600 XT demonstrates it can hold its own.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER, by contrast, dominates across the board in compute-heavy and legacy API workloads. Its 38% lead in Vulkan and 17.8% lead in OpenCL indicate that it is the superior choice for GPU compute tasks, such as rendering, scientific calculations, or other professional applications that leverage these APIs. The card's consistent wins across DirectX 10, 11, and 12 in the Passmark suite, with deltas ranging from 9.4% to 44.7%, suggest it offers more balanced performance across different software generations. The 25.9% lead in Passmark G3D is particularly notable, as this test aggregates multiple DirectX workloads and is often used as a proxy for overall gaming capability.

The near-tie in Passmark G2D (0.9% delta) shows that both cards are essentially equal for 2D desktop tasks. This means that for general productivity, web browsing, or media consumption, neither card holds a meaningful advantage. The RTX 2070 SUPER's win in Passmark GPU Compute (16.7%) reinforces the pattern of NVIDIA's superiority in non-gaming compute tasks.

Architecture Differences

The fundamental architectural divide between these two cards is substantial. The AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT uses the Navi 10 chip built on the RDNA 1.0 architecture, fabricated on a 7 nm process node at TSMC. This advanced process allows the chip to pack 10,300 million transistors into a die size of 251 mm², resulting in a transistor density of 41.0M per mm². In contrast, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER uses the TU104 chip based on the Turing architecture, built on a 12 nm process node, also at TSMC. This older process node requires a much larger die size of 545 mm² to accommodate 13,600 million transistors, yielding a significantly lower transistor density of 25.0M per mm².

The memory subsystems differ markedly as well. The RX 5600 XT has 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 2070 SUPER offers 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The NVIDIA card's 160 GB/s advantage in memory bandwidth is considerable and likely contributes to its performance lead in bandwidth-sensitive workloads.

Compute resources also favor the NVIDIA card. The RTX 2070 SUPER has 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs, compared to the RX 5600 XT's 2304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The NVIDIA card's FP32 throughput is 9.062 TFLOPS versus the AMD card's 7.188 TFLOPS, a 26% advantage. The RTX 2070 SUPER also features 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores, which the RX 5600 XT completely lacks, giving NVIDIA a hardware foundation for ray tracing and AI-accelerated features. The pixel rate of the RTX 2070 SUPER is 113.3 GPixel/s versus 99.84 GPixel/s for the RX 5600 XT, and the texture rate is 283.2 GTexel/s versus 224.6 GTexel/s.

The Verdict

The data indicates that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is the more capable card in the majority of tested scenarios, winning 9 out of 10 head-to-head benchmarks. Its advantages in memory bandwidth, compute throughput, and the presence of RT cores and tensor cores give it a clear edge in Vulkan, OpenCL, and most DirectX workloads. The 38% lead in Vulkan and 25.9% lead in Passmark G3D are substantial, suggesting that users seeking maximum performance in these areas should choose the NVIDIA card.

However, the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT's victory in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test is not an anomaly to be dismissed. It shows that in at least one modern DirectX 12 scenario, the AMD card can match or exceed the NVIDIA card despite its hardware disadvantage. This suggests that for users focused on a narrow set of modern games that leverage DirectX 12 efficiently, the RX 5600 XT can be a viable choice.

The aggregate scores, with the RX 5600 XT at 20713 and the RTX 2070 SUPER at 20282, show that the overall performance difference is smaller than the head-to-head deltas might suggest. The AMD card's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile with a 0.9% delta, while the RTX 2070 SUPER's nearest rivals include the same RTX 3070 Mobile at a -1.2% delta, placing both cards in a similar performance tier. This implies that while the RTX 2070 SUPER wins more individual tests, the RX 5600 XT is not far behind in overall capability, and the choice depends heavily on workload priorities. Users prioritizing compute performance or playing a wide range of games should pick the RTX 2070 SUPER. Users focused on specific modern DirectX 12 titles may find the RX 5600 XT's performance sufficient.

FAQ

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT has an average benchmark score of 20713, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER has an average score of 20282.

Q: In which benchmark does the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT beat the RTX 2070 SUPER?

A: The RX 5600 XT wins the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, scoring 1669 against the RTX 2070 SUPER's 1651, a 1.1% advantage.

Q: What is the largest performance gap between the two cards?

A: The largest gap is in the Passmark DirectX 10 test, where the RTX 2070 SUPER scores 132 against the RX 5600 XT's 73, a 44.7% difference.

Q: Does the RTX 2070 SUPER have dedicated ray tracing hardware?

A: Yes, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER features 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores, which the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT does not have.

Q: How do the cards compare in memory bandwidth?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER has 448.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth with an 8 GB GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, while the RX 5600 XT has 288.0 GB/s with 6 GB GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus.

Q: What is the difference in their percentiles among all GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT is in the 66th percentile, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is in the 65th percentile.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly all core specification fields. The process node is 7 nm for the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT versus 12 nm for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER. Transistor counts are 10,300 million for AMD and 13,600 million for NVIDIA, with die sizes of 251 mm² and 545 mm² respectively. The RX 5600 XT has a base clock of 1130 MHz and a boost clock of 1560 MHz, while the RTX 2070 SUPER has a base clock of 1605 MHz and a boost clock of 1770 MHz. Memory configurations differ with 6 GB GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus for AMD and 8 GB GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus for NVIDIA. Shading units are 2304 for AMD versus 2560 for NVIDIA, and TMUs are 144 versus 160. The RTX 2070 SUPER has 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores, while the RX 5600 XT has none. Pixel rates are 99.84 GPixel/s versus 113.3 GPixel/s, and texture rates are 224.6 GTexel/s versus 283.2 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 7.188 TFLOPS versus 9.062 TFLOPS. Power consumption is 150 W for the RX 5600 XT and 215 W for the RTX 2070 SUPER, with the AMD card using a 1x 8-pin connector and the NVIDIA card using 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin. The suggested PSU is 450 W for AMD and 550 W for NVIDIA. The bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x16 for AMD and PCIe 3.0 x16 for NVIDIA. The RTX 2070 SUPER has an additional USB Type-C display output. The DirectX support is 12 (12_1) for AMD and 12 Ultimate (12_2) for NVIDIA.