AMD Radeon RX 5600M vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Comparison

# Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti wins all three shared benchmark comparisons by substantial margins. The largest single-test gap appears in Geekbench Vulkan, where the RTX 3080 Ti scores 192,697 against the RX 5600M's 48,843, a delta of -74.7% for the AMD part. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the NVIDIA card posts 5,077 points versus 1,320 for the RX 5600M, a -74% difference. The Geekbench OpenCL result is slightly closer but still decisive: 170,037 versus 59,589, a -65% gap.

These deltas indicate that the RTX 3080 Ti is roughly three to four times faster in each of these workloads. The consistency of the margin across different API types—DX12, Vulkan, and OpenCL—suggests that the performance advantage is not workload-specific but rather reflects a fundamental throughput difference. The RTX 3080 Ti's win count of 3 against 0 for the RX 5600M leaves no ambiguity in the aggregate results.

When placed in the broader context of each card's average benchmark score, the gap narrows slightly but remains decisive. The RX 5600M has an average benchmark score of 46,601, while the RTX 3080 Ti averages 41,187. This inversion—where the RTX 3080 Ti wins every shared test yet has a lower average score—reflects the different benchmark suites each card was tested with. The RTX 3080 Ti's benchmark list includes several PassMark legacy tests (DirectX 9, 10, 11, 12, G2D, G3D, GPU Compute) that pull its average down, whereas the RX 5600M's list is shorter and focused on modern APIs.

The percentile rankings are nearly identical: the RX 5600M sits at the 85th percentile of all GPUs, while the RTX 3080 Ti sits at the 83rd percentile. Despite the massive performance gap in head-to-head tests, both cards occupy similar positions in the overall distribution because the RX 5600M's limited benchmark set may not fully stress its capabilities, or because the percentile calculation weights a broader mix of synthetic and real-world tests.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs represent fundamentally different design philosophies separated by roughly one generation of process technology. The AMD Radeon RX 5600M is built on the RDNA 1.0 architecture using TSMC's 7 nm process node, packing 10,300 million transistors into a 251 mm² die. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti uses the Ampere architecture on Samsung's 8 nm node, with 28,300 million transistors across a 628 mm² die. The transistor density figures are close—41.0M per mm² for AMD versus 45.1M per mm² for NVIDIA—but the absolute scale is dramatically different, with NVIDIA packing nearly three times the transistors.

The compute resource disparity is stark. The RX 5600M offers 2,304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units. The RTX 3080 Ti counters with 10,240 shading units, 320 TMUs, and 112 ROPs. NVIDIA's card also includes 80 ray tracing cores and 320 tensor cores, while the AMD part has none of either. This hardware gap translates directly to theoretical throughput: the RTX 3080 Ti delivers 34.10 TFLOPS FP32 and 34.10 TFLOPS FP16 (1:1 ratio), while the RX 5600M manages 5.829 TFLOPS FP32 and 11.66 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1 ratio). The pixel rate differs by a factor of 2.3 (186.5 GPixel/s versus 80.96 GPixel/s), and the texture rate by a factor of 2.9 (532.8 GTexel/s versus 182.2 GTexel/s).

Memory architecture reinforces the separation. The RTX 3080 Ti uses 12 GB of GDDR6X on a 384-bit bus, yielding 912.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 5600M has 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus for 288.0 GB/s. Clock speeds tell a nuanced story: the NVIDIA card runs at 1365 MHz base and 1665 MHz boost, while the AMD card runs at 1035 MHz base and 1265 MHz boost. The RTX 3080 Ti's memory clock is 1188 MHz (19 Gbps effective) versus 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective) for the RX 5600M.

API support also differs. The RTX 3080 Ti supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), whereas the RX 5600M supports DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4. The physical design reflects the power envelope: the RX 5600M is an IGP with no power connectors and a 150 W TDP, while the RTX 3080 Ti is a dual-slot card measuring 285 mm long, 112 mm tall, and 40 mm wide, requiring a single 12-pin connector and a 750 W suggested PSU, with a 350 W TDP.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 3080 Ti wins everywhere the two cards share a benchmark. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, its 5,077 score versus 1,320 represents a 74% advantage, indicating superior raw rasterization and DX12 feature utilization. In Geekbench Vulkan, the 192,697 versus 48,843 result shows that the NVIDIA card handles Vulkan's low-level API overhead far more effectively, likely due to its dedicated ray tracing and tensor hardware that can offload compute tasks. The Geekbench OpenCL win (170,037 versus 59,589, a 65% margin) confirms that the advantage extends to general-purpose GPU compute.

For the RX 5600M, the data offers no benchmark victories in direct comparison. Its strengths must be inferred from its architecture and positioning. As an IGP with a 150 W TDP, it is designed for mobile platforms where power and thermal constraints dominate. Its 6 GB of GDDR6 memory and 192-bit bus are adequate for 1080p gaming but not for the 4K or high-refresh workloads the RTX 3080 Ti targets. The RX 5600M's percentile ranking of 85 versus the RTX 3080 Ti's 83 suggests that in a broader benchmark universe, the AMD card holds its own relative to the full GPU population, but the head-to-head data shows no scenario where it outpaces the NVIDIA part.

The RTX 3080 Ti's PassMark results provide additional context for its strengths. Its G3D score of 26,896 and GPU compute score of 15,282 indicate strong performance in both graphics and compute workloads. The DirectX 11 score of 223 versus DirectX 12 score of 110 shows that the card is significantly better optimized for modern APIs, which aligns with its DX12 Ultimate designation. The RX 5600M has no comparable legacy benchmark data, making it difficult to assess its performance in older API scenarios.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has more raw compute power?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti delivers 34.10 TFLOPS FP32 and 34.10 TFLOPS FP16, while the AMD Radeon RX 5600M provides 5.829 TFLOPS FP32 and 11.66 TFLOPS FP16. The NVIDIA card is approximately 5.85 times stronger in FP32 throughput.

Q: How do their memory subsystems compare?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti has 12 GB of GDDR6X on a 384-bit bus with 912.4 GB/s bandwidth. The RX 5600M has 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus with 288.0 GB/s. The NVIDIA card offers twice the capacity and over three times the bandwidth.

Q: Do both cards support ray tracing?

A: No. The RTX 3080 Ti includes 80 dedicated ray tracing cores and 320 tensor cores. The RX 5600M has no ray tracing cores or tensor cores, meaning it must rely on traditional rasterization methods.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The RX 5600M has a 150 W TDP and uses no power connectors as an IGP. The RTX 3080 Ti has a 350 W TDP, requires a single 12-pin power connector, and carries a suggested PSU rating of 750 W.

Q: Which card performs better in Vulkan?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti scores 192,697 in Geekbench Vulkan versus 48,843 for the RX 5600M, a 74.7% advantage for the NVIDIA card.

Q: How do their physical sizes differ?

A: The RX 5600M is an IGP (integrated graphics package) with no defined dimensions. The RTX 3080 Ti is a dual-slot card measuring 285 mm in length, 112 mm in height, and 40 mm in width.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti outperforms the AMD Radeon RX 5600M in every shared benchmark by margins ranging from 65% to 74.7%. The RTX 3080 Ti's architecture—with 10,240 shading units, 80 ray tracing cores, 320 tensor cores, and 912.4 GB/s of memory bandwidth—provides a level of compute and graphics capability that the RX 5600M's 2,304 shading units and 288.0 GB/s cannot approach. The NVIDIA card's win count of 3-0 in head-to-head tests, combined with its superiority in both modern APIs (DX12, Vulkan) and compute workloads (OpenCL), leaves no scenario in the data where the AMD part is competitive.

The RX 5600M's strengths are contextual rather than absolute. As an IGP with a 150 W TDP and no power connectors, it is designed for compact mobile systems where the RTX 3080 Ti's 285 mm dual-slot form factor and 350 W power draw are physically impossible. Its 85th percentile ranking shows it is a capable performer within its class, but the RTX 3080 Ti's 83rd percentile—despite a lower average benchmark score due to legacy test inclusion—underscores that the NVIDIA card is in a different performance tier.

For users who need maximum frame rates, ray tracing, or compute throughput, the RTX 3080 Ti is the clear choice. Its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 34.10 TFLOPS FP32 throughput make it suitable for demanding 4K gaming and professional workloads. For users constrained to a mobile form factor with limited power and thermal headroom, the RX 5600M offers a reasonable 1080p experience, though it lacks the RTX 3080 Ti's feature set entirely. The data shows no scenario where the RX 5600M wins, so the decision rests entirely on whether the RTX 3080 Ti's form factor and power requirements are acceptable for the intended use case. If they are, the NVIDIA card is the only rational choice. If not, the RX 5600M is a serviceable fallback, but it is not a competitor in the same segment.