AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti are both end-of-life graphics cards that shipped at the same launch MSRP, but the benchmark data shows they serve very different masters. The RX 5700 XT is a RDNA 1.0 part from the Radeon RX 5000 series, built on TSMC's 7nm process, while the RTX 3060 Ti is an Ampere part from the GeForce 30-series on Samsung's 8nm node. The data reveals a clear split: the RTX 3060 Ti dominates in modern DirectX workloads and compute, while the RX 5700 XT has a significant edge in Vulkan. Their average benchmark scores are nearly identical, with the RX 5700 XT at 16361 and the RTX 3060 Ti at 16129, a difference of only 1.4% in the AMD card's favor. Both occupy the 59th percentile among all GPUs, making them peers in overall performance, but the distribution of their wins tells a more nuanced story.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 3060 Ti is the clear winner for DirectX-based gaming and general compute. It takes 9 out of the 10 head-to-head benchmarks, including every PassMark DirectX test and the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 run. The most striking victory is in Geekbench OpenCL, where the RTX 3060 Ti scores 78927 against the RX 5700 XT's 9524, an 87.9% advantage. This is not a marginal lead; it indicates the NVIDIA card is in a different class for OpenCL compute workloads. For gaming, the PassMark G3D score of 20349 versus 16277 puts the RTX 3060 Ti 20% ahead, and the DirectX 11 test shows a 28.8% lead (163 vs 116). If you are building a system for modern DirectX 12 titles or any OpenCL-accelerated application, the RTX 3060 Ti is the data-backed choice.

The RX 5700 XT has exactly one head-to-head win, but it is a big one. In Geekbench Vulkan, it scores 68310 against 47784 for the RTX 3060 Ti, a 43% advantage. This is the single largest margin in either direction across all tests. For Vulkan-based games or applications, the RX 5700 XT is dramatically faster. Outside of that, the AMD card also posts a higher average benchmark score (16361 vs 16129) and a better Geekbench Metal score of 74647, though no Metal comparison is available for the RTX 3060 Ti in the data. The RX 5700 XT is the specialized tool for Vulkan workloads; the RTX 3060 Ti is the generalist that wins almost everywhere else.

FAQ

Q: Which card has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT, with an average benchmark score of 16361, is 1.4% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti's 16129.

Q: Is the RTX 3060 Ti better for DirectX 12 gaming?

A: Yes. The RTX 3060 Ti wins the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test with a score of 2626 versus 2134 for the RX 5700 XT, an 18.7% lead. It also wins PassMark DirectX 12 with 78 versus 64.

Q: How large is the RX 5700 XT's Vulkan advantage?

A: In Geekbench Vulkan, the RX 5700 XT scores 68310, which is 43% higher than the RTX 3060 Ti's 47784. This is the RX 5700 XT's only head-to-head benchmark win.

Q: What about compute performance outside of gaming?

A: The RTX 3060 Ti is overwhelmingly faster in OpenCL, scoring 78927 to the RX 5700 XT's 9524, an 87.9% difference. The RTX 3060 Ti also wins PassMark GPU Compute with 10006 versus 7650.

Q: Do both cards have the same memory configuration?

A: Yes, both have 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing identical 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

Q: Which card is longer physically?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT is 272 mm (10.7 inches) long, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is 242 mm (9.5 inches) long.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The RTX 3060 Ti's biggest win is in Geekbench OpenCL, where it scores 78927 against 9524. That is an 87.9% margin, and it dwarfs every other difference in the data. The gap is so large that it suggests architectural superiority in compute-heavy tasks, not just a minor clock advantage. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the RTX 3060 Ti wins 2626 to 2134, an 18.7% lead. PassMark G3D shows a similar story: 20349 for NVIDIA versus 16277 for AMD, a 20% difference. The DirectX 10 and 11 tests also favor NVIDIA by 26.5% (132 vs 97) and 28.8% (163 vs 116) respectively. Even the DirectX 9 test, which is the closest DirectX result, goes to the RTX 3060 Ti at 234 versus 226, a 3.4% margin.

The RX 5700 XT's single victory in Geekbench Vulkan is the outlier that matters. A 43% lead (68310 vs 47784) is not a small edge; it is a category-defining strength. For any workload that leverages Vulkan, the RX 5700 XT is the faster card by a wide margin. The PassMark G2D test is another NVIDIA win, 989 versus 922 (6.8% ahead), and PassMark GPU Compute goes to NVIDIA at 10006 versus 7650, a 23.5% lead. The data shows a pattern: NVIDIA wins every modern API test except Vulkan, where AMD has a commanding advantage. The average scores are close because the Vulkan win is large enough to offset some of NVIDIA's smaller wins, but the overall distribution is heavily weighted toward NVIDIA.

Specification Differences

The core specifications diverge significantly. The RX 5700 XT has 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, while the RTX 3060 Ti has 4864 shading units, 152 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. The NVIDIA card has nearly twice the shading units, which explains its massive OpenCL lead. However, the RX 5700 XT has a higher texture rate at 304.8 GTexel/s versus 253.1 GTexel/s for the RTX 3060 Ti. The RTX 3060 Ti has a higher pixel rate at 133.2 GPixel/s versus 121.9 GPixel/s. In terms of FP32 compute, the RTX 3060 Ti is rated at 16.20 TFLOPS, significantly higher than the RX 5700 XT's 9.754 TFLOPS. The FP16 figures also differ, with the RX 5700 XT at 19.51 TFLOPS (2:1) and the RTX 3060 Ti at 16.20 TFLOPS (1:1).

Clock speeds tell a different story. The RX 5700 XT has a base clock of 1605 MHz and a boost of 1905 MHz, while the RTX 3060 Ti has a lower base of 1410 MHz and boost of 1665 MHz. The RX 5700 XT also has a defined game clock of 1755 MHz, which the RTX 3060 Ti lacks. Memory is identical: both use 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus at 14 Gbps effective, yielding 448.0 GB/s. The RTX 3060 Ti has a lower TDP of 200 W versus 225 W for the RX 5700 XT, and it uses a single 12-pin power connector while the RX 5700 XT requires 1x 6-pin and 1x 8-pin. Both suggest a 550 W PSU. The RX 5700 XT is longer at 272 mm versus 242 mm, and the RTX 3060 Ti has one more HDMI port (2.1 vs 2.0b) while both feature 3x DisplayPort 1.4a.

Architecture Differences

The RX 5700 XT is built on RDNA 1.0 architecture using the Navi 10 chip, manufactured on TSMC's 7nm process. It has 10,300 million transistors on a 251 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 41.0M per mm². In contrast, the RTX 3060 Ti uses the Ampere architecture with the GA104 chip, manufactured on Samsung's 8nm process. It packs 17,400 million transistors onto a 392 mm² die, resulting in a density of 44.4M per mm². The NVIDIA card is larger and denser, which aligns with its higher shading unit count.

The most significant architectural difference is the inclusion of dedicated hardware in the RTX 3060 Ti. It has 38 RT cores and 152 tensor cores, features that the RX 5700 XT completely lacks. This means the RTX 3060 Ti supports hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI-accelerated tensor operations, while the RX 5700 XT does not. The API support also differs: the RTX 3060 Ti supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the RX 5700 XT only supports DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4. The RTX 3060 Ti's FP32 and FP16 are both 16.20 TFLOPS (1:1), whereas the RX 5700 XT's FP16 is 19.51 TFLOPS at a 2:1 ratio. The RX 5700 XT, released in 2019, is the older design, with the RTX 3060 Ti arriving a year and a half later in late 2020.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear recommendation for most users: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is the better all-around card. It wins 9 of 10 head-to-head benchmarks, including all DirectX tests and both compute tests. Its 20% lead in PassMark G3D and 18.7% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 make it the stronger choice for modern gaming. The 87.9% OpenCL advantage and 23.5% PassMark GPU Compute lead further cement it for productivity workloads. The inclusion of RT cores and tensor cores, absent on the RX 5700 XT, adds feature support for ray tracing and AI workloads. It is also shorter (242 mm vs 272 mm) and has a lower TDP (200 W vs 225 W), making it easier to fit and cool.

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT is the specialist's pick, strictly for Vulkan-heavy environments. Its 43% lead in Geekbench Vulkan is the single largest performance gap in the comparison, and it also holds a slightly higher average benchmark score (16361 vs 16129). For users who know their target applications run on Vulkan, the RX 5700 XT is the faster card. It also has a higher texture rate (304.8 GTexel/s) and a higher boost clock (1905 MHz). However, those strengths do not translate into wins in any other category. Given that both cards launched at 399 USD and both sit at the 59th percentile, the RTX 3060 Ti offers the broader performance envelope. The RX 5700 XT is a niche tool; the RTX 3060 Ti is the general-purpose choice. Unless Vulkan is your primary API, the data favors NVIDIA.