AMD Radeon RX 6600 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile and AMD Radeon RX 6600 are both end-of-life graphics solutions from the same era, but they target very different physical and performance profiles. One is a mobile chip designed for laptops, while the other is a desktop card meant for a Dual-slot expansion slot. Across the ten head-to-head benchmark tests, the NVIDIA part wins seven, while the AMD card takes three, with the decisive margins varying from a razor-thin 1.4% to a massive 222.1%. The data reveals a clear split: NVIDIA dominates modern API workloads and raw compute, while AMD counters in legacy DirectX tests and 2D performance.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile scores 2380, which is 59.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6600’s 1492 in this demanding DX12 workload.

Q: How do the two cards compare in overall average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 20534, placing it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs. The AMD Radeon RX 6600 averages 19036, sitting in the 63rd percentile, a gap of roughly 7.9% in raw average performance.

Q: Does the AMD card win any benchmark tests?

A: Yes, the AMD Radeon RX 6600 wins three of the ten tests: Passmark DirectX 11 (152 vs 138), Passmark DirectX 9 (197 vs 160), and Passmark G2D (889 vs 641). Its largest win is a 27.9% margin in the G2D test.

Q: What is the biggest performance gap in either direction?

A: The largest margin is in the Geekbench OpenCL test, where the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile scores 92939 against the AMD Radeon RX 6600’s 28850, a 222.1% advantage for NVIDIA.

Q: Which card has a higher boost clock speed?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6600 has a significantly higher boost clock of 2491 MHz, compared to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile’s 1560 MHz. The AMD card also runs a higher base clock at 1626 MHz versus 1110 MHz.

Q: Are both cards using the same manufacturing process?

A: No. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile uses an 8 nm process from Samsung, while the AMD Radeon RX 6600 uses a 7 nm process from TSMC.

Architecture Differences

The architectural split between these two is fundamental. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile is built on the Ampere architecture with the GA104 chip, fabricated on Samsung’s 8 nm process. It packs 17,400 million transistors into a 392 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 44.4 million per mm². In contrast, the AMD Radeon RX 6600 uses the RDNA 2.0 architecture with the Navi 23 chip, built on TSMC’s 7 nm node. It contains 11,060 million transistors on a smaller 237 mm² die, achieving a slightly higher density of 46.7 million per mm². This means AMD fits more transistors per area, but NVIDIA has the overall larger and more complex chip.

The execution resources differ dramatically. The NVIDIA part has 5120 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 80 ROPs, while the AMD card offers 1792 shading units, 112 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. NVIDIA also fields 40 dedicated ray tracing cores and 160 tensor cores; AMD has 28 ray accelerators and no tensor core equivalent. The NVIDIA GPU’s FP32 throughput is 15.97 TFLOPS, nearly double the AMD card’s 8.928 TFLOPS. However, the AMD card has a 2:1 FP16 ratio, delivering 17.86 TFLOPS, whereas NVIDIA’s FP16 is 1:1 at 15.97 TFLOPS.

Memory architecture is another major divergence. Both use 8 GB of GDDR6, but the NVIDIA part runs a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, while the AMD card is constrained to a 128-bit bus offering only 224.0 GB/s. The NVIDIA chip also has a lower TDP of 115 W compared to the AMD’s 132 W, and it uses no external power connectors since it is portable-device dependent. The AMD card, being a desktop part, requires a single 8-pin connector and lists a 300 W suggested PSU. The bus interface also differs: NVIDIA uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while AMD uses PCIe 4.0 x8.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear winner for modern gaming and compute workloads: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile. It leads in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test by 59.5%, and its average benchmark score of 20534 is 7.9% higher than the AMD’s 19036. For users running DX12 titles, Vulkan applications, or OpenCL compute tasks, the NVIDIA card is the definitive choice based on the benchmark results. Its 28.3% lead in Geekbench Vulkan and 222.1% lead in Geekbench OpenCL are decisive, and even in the more balanced Passmark G3D test it edges ahead by 1.4%.

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 is the pick only for specific legacy scenarios. It wins in Passmark DirectX 9 (197 vs 160) and DirectX 11 (152 vs 138), suggesting better compatibility with older game engines. Its 27.9% win in Passmark G2D also makes it the better option for 2D desktop workloads. However, these wins are in low-level or legacy tests, and the AMD card loses ground in every modern API benchmark. The AMD part also has a higher boost clock (2491 MHz vs 1560 MHz) and a smaller die, but the NVIDIA chip’s superior shader count and memory bandwidth translate to better real-world performance in the data. For anyone prioritizing current DX12/Vulkan gaming or compute, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile is the superior product. The AMD Radeon RX 6600 only makes sense if the workload is strictly older DirectX versions or 2D graphics.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ on nearly every major specification. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile uses the GA104 chip on an 8 nm Samsung process, while the AMD Radeon RX 6600 uses Navi 23 on 7 nm TSMC. Transistor counts are 17,400 million versus 11,060 million, with die sizes of 392 mm² and 237 mm² respectively. Base clocks are 1110 MHz for NVIDIA and 1626 MHz for AMD; boost clocks are 1560 MHz versus 2491 MHz. The AMD card also has a defined game clock of 2044 MHz, while the NVIDIA part lists none.

Memory configurations are similar in capacity but not in bandwidth: both have 8 GB GDDR6, but the NVIDIA bus is 256-bit with 448.0 GB/s, while AMD’s is 128-bit with 224.0 GB/s. Shading units, TMUs, and ROPs all favor NVIDIA: 5120/160/80 against AMD’s 1792/112/64. NVIDIA has 40 RT cores and 160 tensor cores; AMD has 28 RT cores and no tensor cores. Pixel rate is higher on AMD at 159.4 GPixel/s versus 124.8 GPixel/s, and texture rate is also higher on AMD at 279.0 GTexel/s versus 249.6 GTexel/s. FP32 output is 15.97 TFLOPS for NVIDIA versus 8.928 TFLOPS for AMD.

The power profiles differ: NVIDIA is 115 W with no power connectors, while AMD is 132 W requiring a 1x 8-pin connector and a 300 W PSU. The AMD card is a Dual-slot design measuring 190 mm x 110 mm x 40 mm, whereas the NVIDIA part has no listed dimensions. Bus interfaces are PCIe 4.0 x16 for NVIDIA and PCIe 4.0 x8 for AMD. Display outputs are portable-device dependent on NVIDIA, while AMD offers 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The AMD Radeon RX 6600 has a launch MSRP of 329 USD; the NVIDIA card has no listed launch MSRP.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most lopsided result is in Geekbench OpenCL, where the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile scores 92939 against the AMD Radeon RX 6600’s 28850. That is a 222.1% advantage, reflecting the NVIDIA chip’s much larger shader count and tensor core infrastructure. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test also shows a decisive NVIDIA win: 2380 versus 1492, a 59.5% margin. This indicates the Ampere architecture handles modern DX12 rendering far better than RDNA 2.0 in this comparison.

In Geekbench Vulkan, NVIDIA wins again with 86768 versus 67623, a 28.3% lead. The Passmark DX12 test goes to NVIDIA at 64 versus 51, a 25.5% win. The Passmark DX10 test also favors NVIDIA at 113 versus 95, an 18.9% margin. The Passmark G3D test is the closest overall, with NVIDIA scoring 15309 and AMD scoring 15096, a marginal 1.4% NVIDIA win. Passmark GPU Compute also goes to NVIDIA at 6827 versus 6554, a 4.2% difference.

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 takes its wins in less demanding or older APIs. The Passmark G2D test is its biggest victory: 889 versus 641, a 27.9% swing toward AMD. Passmark DirectX 9 goes to AMD at 197 versus 160, an 18.8% win. Passmark DirectX 11 is the narrowest AMD win: 152 versus 138, a 9.2% margin. These results suggest AMD retains an edge in legacy DirectX 9/11 paths and 2D operations, but cannot compete in modern compute or DX12/Vulkan scenarios.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile wins in every modern compute and graphics scenario tested. It dominates OpenCL compute with a 222.1% lead, making it the clear choice for GPU-accelerated workloads that rely on OpenCL. It also leads in DX12 via both the 3DMark Steel Nomad test (59.5%) and Passmark DX12 (25.5%), so any current-generation DX12 game will favor the NVIDIA chip. Vulkan performance is also NVIDIA’s territory, with a 28.3% advantage in Geekbench Vulkan. Even in the older DX10 API, NVIDIA holds an 18.9% lead. The Passmark G3D result, a general 3D performance aggregate, goes to NVIDIA by 1.4%, confirming its overall 3D superiority. For users running machine learning or tensor-based tasks, the presence of 160 tensor cores on the NVIDIA part, absent on AMD, gives it a structural advantage, though no specific tensor benchmark is listed.

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 wins in three narrow but distinct areas. Its 27.9% lead in Passmark G2D makes it the superior choice for 2D desktop work, image manipulation that is not GPU-compute heavy, or any workload that stresses 2D rasterization. The AMD card also wins in DirectX 9 by 18.8%, suggesting better compatibility and performance in older games built on DX9. Its DirectX 11 win of 9.2% indicates a slight edge in the DX11 era, though this is the smallest margin of its three victories. The AMD card also has a higher pixel rate (159.4 GPixel/s vs 124.8 GPixel/s) and texture rate (279.0 GTexel/s vs 249.6 GTexel/s), which may contribute to its wins in these specific legacy tests. However, these wins are isolated to older APIs and 2D operations, and the AMD card’s lower average benchmark score (19036 vs 20534) and lower percentile ranking (63rd vs 65th) confirm it is the weaker overall performer.