AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Comparison

AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 are both end-of-life graphics cards that deliver surprisingly close overall performance, yet they achieve their results through very different architectural approaches. The RX 6650 XT, a 7 nm RDNA 2.0 part, wins seven of the ten head-to-head benchmark comparisons, while the RTX 2070, a 12 nm Turing chip, takes the remaining three. The data reveals a clear split: the AMD card dominates in traditional rasterization and compute workloads, while the NVIDIA card shows strength in specific API-level tests, particularly OpenCL and Vulkan scenarios.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 6650 XT establishes its dominance in the most common gaming and graphics workloads. In the PassMark suite, it wins the DirectX 11 test by a substantial 31% margin, the DirectX 12 test by 3.3%, and the DirectX 9 test by 1.9%. It also takes the PassMark G3D score with a 6.7% advantage, which aggregates overall 3D rendering performance. The compute-focused PassMark GPU Compute test shows a 17.5% lead for the AMD card, suggesting stronger general-purpose throughput. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark, which represents modern gaming loads, shows the RX 6650 XT ahead by 18.5%, a significant victory in a test that stresses contemporary rendering techniques.

The RTX 2070 wins the Geekbench OpenCL test by an enormous margin, scoring 79,966 versus 10,111, a delta of -87.4% from the AMD card’s perspective. This result is anomalous and likely reflects a driver or workload-specific advantage in that particular benchmark. The NVIDIA card also edges out the AMD card in Geekbench Vulkan by 1.5% and in PassMark DirectX 10 by 1.8%. These wins are narrow, suggesting that the RTX 2070’s advantage is confined to specific API implementations rather than broad performance superiority.

Architecture Differences

The two cards represent fundamentally different design philosophies. The RX 6650 XT uses the Navi 23 chip on TSMC’s 7 nm process, packing 11,060 million transistors into a 237 mm² die. This yields a transistor density of 46.7 million per mm². The RTX 2070 uses the TU106 chip on TSMC’s 12 nm process, with 10,800 million transistors spread across a much larger 445 mm² die, giving a density of just 24.3 million per mm². The AMD card’s smaller, denser design allows for higher clock speeds: its base clock is 2055 MHz and boost clock is 2635 MHz, compared to the RTX 2070’s 1410 MHz base and 1620 MHz boost.

Memory configurations also differ significantly. Both cards have 8 GB of GDDR6, but the RX 6650 XT uses a 128-bit bus with 280.3 GB/s bandwidth, while the RTX 2070 uses a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. The NVIDIA card’s wider bus provides 60% more bandwidth, which could benefit certain memory-intensive workloads. The RX 6650 XT compensates with its higher clocks, achieving a pixel rate of 168.6 GPixel/s versus 103.7 GPixel/s for the RTX 2070, and a texture rate of 337.3 GTexel/s versus 233.3 GTexel/s.

The compute architectures differ in their core counts. The RX 6650 XT has 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, along with 32 ray tracing cores. The RTX 2070 has 2304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, plus 36 ray tracing cores and 288 tensor cores. Despite having fewer shading units, the AMD card achieves higher FP32 throughput at 10.79 TFLOPS versus 7.465 TFLOPS. The RTX 2070’s tensor cores are unique to the NVIDIA card and are absent from the AMD specification, suggesting a focus on AI-accelerated features that the RX 6650 XT lacks.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test provides the clearest signal of modern gaming performance. The RX 6650 XT scores 1859 against the RTX 2070’s 1569, an 18.5% advantage. This is a substantial margin that indicates the AMD card handles DX12 workloads more efficiently despite its narrower memory bus. The PassMark DirectX 11 test shows an even larger gap: 169 versus 129, a 31% lead for the AMD card. This result suggests that the RX 6650 XT excels in the most widely used gaming API, which could translate to better performance in many current titles.

The compute tests tell a similar story in favor of AMD. The PassMark GPU Compute score of 7532 versus 6411 represents a 17.5% advantage. The Geekbench OpenCL result is the outlier, with the RTX 2070 scoring 79,966 against the RX 6650 XT’s 10,111. This -87.4% delta is so extreme that it suggests either a benchmark anomaly or a fundamental difference in how the two cards handle OpenCL workloads. The Geekbench Vulkan test is much closer, with the RTX 2070 winning 82,521 to 81,306, a narrow 1.5% margin.

In the DirectX legacy tests, the RX 6650 XT wins DirectX 12 by 3.3% (62 versus 60) and DirectX 9 by 1.9% (215 versus 211). The RTX 2070 wins DirectX 10 by 1.8% (111 versus 109). The PassMark G2D test, which measures 2D graphics performance, goes to the AMD card by 12.1% (918 versus 819). The overall PassMark G3D score, which aggregates 3D performance, gives the RX 6650 XT a 6.7% win (17,166 versus 16,094).

The Verdict

The data consistently favors the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT in most workloads. Its wins in DirectX 11, DirectX 12, 3DMark Steel Nomad, and compute benchmarks indicate better raw graphics performance and general-purpose throughput. The 31% advantage in DirectX 11 is particularly notable, as this API remains the most commonly used in PC gaming. The 18.5% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad suggests that the AMD card is better prepared for future DX12 titles as well.

The RTX 2070’s wins are concentrated in specific areas. The massive OpenCL advantage is difficult to interpret without more context, but it could indicate superior performance in compute-heavy professional applications that leverage OpenCL. The narrow Vulkan win suggests the NVIDIA card has a slight edge in that API, though the margin is small enough that real-world differences would be minimal. The DirectX 10 win is largely irrelevant for modern use, given that most current games use DX11 or DX12.

For gamers, the RX 6650 XT is the clear choice based on benchmark results. Its higher pixel and texture rates, combined with lower power draw at 176 W versus 175 W (essentially equal), make it a more efficient performer. The RTX 2070’s tensor cores could be valuable for AI workloads or DLSS support, but the FACT PACK shows no benchmark data for these features. Based strictly on the numbers, the RX 6650 XT wins 7 out of 10 comparisons and has a higher average benchmark score of 19,765 versus 18,789.

FAQ

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT has an average benchmark score of 19,765, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 has an average of 18,789, giving the AMD card a 5.2% advantage.

Q: How do the cards compare in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test?

A: The RX 6650 XT scores 1859, which is 18.5% higher than the RTX 2070’s 1569, indicating superior DX12 gaming performance.

Q: What is the most significant benchmark win for the RTX 2070?

A: The RTX 2070 wins the Geekbench OpenCL test with a score of 79,966 versus 10,111, a massive delta of -87.4% from the AMD card’s perspective.

Q: Do both cards have the same amount of memory?

A: Yes, both the RX 6650 XT and RTX 2070 have 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, though the RTX 2070 has a wider 256-bit bus versus the RX 6650 XT’s 128-bit bus.

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 has 2304 shading units, while the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT has 2048, yet the AMD card achieves higher FP32 throughput.

Q: What is the transistor density difference between the two cards?

A: The RX 6650 XT has a transistor density of 46.7 million per mm² on a 7 nm process, while the RTX 2070 has 24.3 million per mm² on a 12 nm process.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 |

|----------------|------------------------|--------------------------|

| Architecture | RDNA 2.0 | Turing |

| Process Node | 7 nm | 12 nm |

| Transistors | 11,060 million | 10,800 million |

| Die Size | 237 mm² | 445 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 46.7M / mm² | 24.3M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 2055 MHz | 1410 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2635 MHz | 1620 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 2190 MHz (17.5 Gbps effective) | 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Bus Width | 128 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 280.3 GB/s | 448.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 2048 | 2304 |

| TMUs | 128 | 144 |

| RT Cores | 32 | 36 |

| Tensor Cores | None | 288 |

| Pixel Rate | 168.6 GPixel/s | 103.7 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 337.3 GTexel/s | 233.3 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 10.79 TFLOPS | 7.465 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 21.59 TFLOPS (2:1) | 14.93 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x8 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, 2x DisplayPort 1.4a, 1x USB Type-C |

| Dimensions | Not specified | 229 mm x 113 mm x 35 mm |

| Release Date | 2022-05-09 | 2018-10-16 |

| Launch MSRP | 399 USD | 499 USD |