AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data contains two direct benchmark comparisons between the AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080, and in both cases the NVIDIA card delivers a commanding victory. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the RTX 5080 scores 235901 against the RX 6600 LE's 69229, a margin of 70.7% in favor of the NVIDIA part. The Vulkan result tells a similar story: the RTX 5080 posts 255450 while the RX 6600 LE manages 72428, a 71.6% gap. These are not close contests by any measure, and the data suggests the RTX 5080 operates in a completely different performance tier.

The average benchmark score across all recorded tests further illustrates the divide. The RX 6600 LE holds an average score of 70829, while the RTX 5080 averages 56083 across its wider benchmark suite. This apparent contradiction deserves scrutiny: the RTX 5080's average is dragged down by its PassMark DirectX tests, which score unusually low relative to its other results. The DirectX 10 score of 208, DirectX 11 score of 324, DirectX 12 score of 151, and DirectX 9 score of 389 are far below what the GPU's Geekbench numbers would suggest. The PassMark G3D score of 36565 and GPU compute score of 21789 are more consistent with the card's overall capability profile.

The percentile rankings also warrant careful reading. The RX 6600 LE sits at the 91st percentile among all GPUs in the database, while the RTX 5080 ranks at the 87th percentile. This ranking reflects the full distribution of scores across all recorded GPUs, not just the head-to-head results. The RTX 5080's lower percentile is influenced by its underwhelming PassMark DirectX entries, which may indicate driver or workload-specific behavior rather than raw compute weakness. The Geekbench results, which are the only truly comparable metrics between the two cards, show the RTX 5080 ahead by roughly 70% in both OpenCL and Vulkan workloads.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations and process nodes. The RX 6600 LE uses AMD's RDNA 2.0 architecture on a 7 nm process at TSMC, while the RTX 5080 employs NVIDIA's Blackwell 2.0 architecture on a 5 nm process, also at TSMC. The transistor counts differ dramatically: the RX 6600 LE packs 11,060 million transistors on a 237 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 46.7 million per square millimeter. The RTX 5080 contains 45,600 million transistors on a 378 mm² die, achieving 120.6 million per square millimeter. The newer process node and denser packing give the RTX 5080 more than four times the transistor count in less than double the silicon area.

Memory configurations also diverge sharply. The RX 6600 LE offers 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth and 14 Gbps effective memory speed. The RTX 5080 doubles the capacity to 16 GB of GDDR7 on a 256-bit bus, with 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth and 30 Gbps effective speed. That is more than four times the memory bandwidth, a critical factor for high-resolution textures and compute workloads.

Core counts tell a similar story of generational scaling. The RX 6600 LE has 1792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation pipelines, along with 28 ray tracing cores. The RTX 5080 scales this up to 10752 shading units, 336 TMUs, 112 ROPs, 84 RT cores, and 336 tensor cores. The NVIDIA card also carries dedicated tensor cores, which the AMD part lacks entirely. Clock speeds favor the RTX 5080 as well: its base clock runs at 2295 MHz and boost at 2617 MHz, compared to the RX 6600 LE's 1626 MHz base and 2495 MHz boost. The AMD card does list a game clock of 2045 MHz, a metric the NVIDIA card does not report.

Compute throughput figures reflect the architectural gulf. The RX 6600 LE delivers 8.942 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 17.88 TFLOPS of FP16 at a 2:1 ratio. The RTX 5080 produces 56.28 TFLOPS of FP32 and 56.28 TFLOPS of FP16 at a 1:1 ratio, meaning its FP16 throughput matches its FP32 rather than halving it. Pixel and texture rates follow the same pattern: the AMD card manages 159.7 GPixel/s and 279.4 GTexel/s, while the NVIDIA card reaches 293.1 GPixel/s and 879.3 GTexel/s.

Power and connectivity also differ. The RX 6600 LE carries a 132 W TDP with a single 8-pin connector and a 300 W suggested power supply. The RTX 5080 demands 360 W, uses a 16-pin connector, and recommends a 750 W power supply. Both are dual-slot cards, and both support PCIe connectivity, but the RX 6600 LE uses PCIe 4.0 x8 while the RTX 5080 uses PCIe 5.0 x16. Display outputs differ as well: the AMD card provides one HDMI 2.1 and three DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, while the NVIDIA card offers one HDMI 2.1b and three DisplayPort 2.1b outputs. Physical dimensions diverge notably, with the RX 6600 LE measuring 190 mm in length versus the RTX 5080's 304 mm, though both share the same 40 mm width.

The Verdict

The data presents a clear hierarchy. The RTX 5080 outperforms the RX 6600 LE by roughly 70% in both recorded Geekbench metrics, with substantially higher compute throughput, memory bandwidth, and core counts across every category. The RX 6600 LE does hold a higher percentile ranking at 91 versus 87, but this appears to be an artifact of the RTX 5080's anomalous PassMark DirectX scores pulling its average down. The comparable benchmarks, Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan, show no ambiguity about which card is faster.

The RTX 5080 is the choice for anyone prioritizing raw performance, high-bandwidth memory, or tensor-accelerated workloads. Its 16 GB of GDDR7 memory and 960.0 GB/s bandwidth provide headroom the 8 GB RX 6600 LE cannot approach. The RX 6600 LE, meanwhile, offers a lower power draw at 132 W versus 360 W and a smaller physical footprint at 190 mm versus 304 mm. For compact builds or systems with modest power supply requirements, the AMD card is the more practical option. The RTX 5080 carries a launch MSRP of 999 USD, a figure that reflects its position at the top of this comparison.

The release dates also tell a story of generational separation. The RX 6600 LE launched in December 2023, while the RTX 5080 arrived in January 2025. The architecture gap, RDNA 2.0 versus Blackwell 2.0, spans two distinct eras of GPU design. Neither card appears to be discontinued, as both carry an active production status.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins in Geekbench OpenCL performance?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 wins with a score of 235901 against the AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE's 69229, a 70.7% advantage.

Q: How much memory does each card have?

A: The RX 6600 LE has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, while the RTX 5080 has 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The RX 6600 LE provides 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth, while the RTX 5080 provides 960.0 GB/s, a difference of more than four times.

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: The RTX 5080 has 10752 shading units, compared to 1792 on the RX 6600 LE.

Q: What are the TDP requirements for each card?

A: The RX 6600 LE has a 132 W TDP with a 300 W suggested power supply, while the RTX 5080 has a 360 W TDP with a 750 W suggested power supply.

Q: Does either card support ray tracing?

A: Both cards support ray tracing. The RX 6600 LE has 28 RT cores, and the RTX 5080 has 84 RT cores.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 5080 wins decisively in every direct benchmark comparison. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 235901 and Vulkan score of 255450 dwarf the RX 6600 LE's 69229 and 72428 respectively. For compute-heavy workloads such as rendering, machine learning inference, or large data processing, the RTX 5080's 56.28 TFLOPS of FP32 and 56.28 TFLOPS of FP16 performance positions it as the superior tool. Its 336 tensor cores add capabilities the RX 6600 LE cannot offer at all. The 16 GB GDDR7 memory pool with 960.0 GB/s bandwidth also gives it a substantial edge for texture-heavy or memory-intensive applications.

The RX 6600 LE does not win any recorded benchmark, but it holds advantages in efficiency and physical design. Its 132 W TDP is less than half the RTX 5080's 360 W, and its 300 W suggested power supply requirement is far more accommodating for existing systems. The card's 190 mm length and 110 mm height make it suitable for smaller cases, whereas the RTX 5080's 304 mm length demands more chassis space. For users with power constraints, compact builds, or workloads that do not stress GPU compute heavily, the RX 6600 LE remains a viable option despite its performance deficit.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every specification category. The process node shifts from 7 nm on the RX 6600 LE to 5 nm on the RTX 5080, both fabricated by TSMC. Transistor counts scale from 11,060 million to 45,600 million, and die size grows from 237 mm² to 378 mm². Transistor density jumps from 46.7 million per square millimeter to 120.6 million per square millimeter.

Clock speeds differ across the board. The RX 6600 LE operates at a 1626 MHz base clock, 2045 MHz game clock, and 2495 MHz boost clock, with memory at 1750 MHz or 14 Gbps effective. The RTX 5080 runs at 2295 MHz base and 2617 MHz boost, with memory at 1875 MHz or 30 Gbps effective. Memory capacity doubles from 8 GB to 16 GB, type changes from GDDR6 to GDDR7, bus width doubles from 128-bit to 256-bit, and bandwidth increases from 224.0 GB/s to 960.0 GB/s.

Core configurations scale substantially. Shading units increase from 1792 to 10752, TMUs from 112 to 336, ROPs from 64 to 112, and RT cores from 28 to 84. The RTX 5080 adds 336 tensor cores, a feature absent from the RX 6600 LE. Pixel rate rises from 159.7 GPixel/s to 293.1 GPixel/s, texture rate from 279.4 GTexel/s to 879.3 GTexel/s, FP32 from 8.942 TFLOPS to 56.28 TFLOPS, and FP16 from 17.88 TFLOPS at a 2:1 ratio to 56.28 TFLOPS at a 1:1 ratio.

Power and connectivity also diverge. TDP increases from 132 W to 360 W, power connectors change from a single 8-pin to a single 16-pin, and suggested power supply jumps from 300 W to 750 W. The bus interface moves from PCIe 4.0 x8 to PCIe 5.0 x16. Display outputs differ, with the AMD card offering HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4a, while the NVIDIA card offers HDMI 2.1b and DisplayPort 2.1b. Physical dimensions change from 190 mm by 110 mm by 40 mm to 304 mm by 137 mm by 40 mm. Both cards are dual-slot designs. Release dates differ by over a year, with the RX 6600 LE launching in December 2023 and the RTX 5080 in January 2025. The RX 6600 LE has no launch MSRP recorded, while the RTX 5080 carries a launch MSRP of 999 USD.