AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 20282, compared to 19765 for the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT. That puts the NVIDIA card roughly 2.6% ahead in overall average performance, though both sit at the 65th percentile among all GPUs.

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

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT wins that test with a score of 1859, versus 1651 for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER. That is an 11.2% margin in favor of AMD in this specific DirectX 12 workload.

Q: Which card performs better in Vulkan?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER scores 90637 in Geekbench Vulkan, beating the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT’s 81306. The NVIDIA card leads by 11.5% in that API test.

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

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT uses a 7 nm process with 46.7 million transistors per mm², while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER uses a 12 nm process with 25.0 million transistors per mm². AMD’s chip is nearly twice as dense.

Q: Which GPU has the higher boost clock?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT boosts to 2635 MHz, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER boosts to 1770 MHz. AMD’s clock is substantially higher, which contributes to its higher pixel and texture rates.

Q: Do both cards support the same DirectX version?

A: Yes, both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), along with OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4. They are identical in API support.

Architecture Differences

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture with the TU104 chip, fabricated on a 12 nm process at TSMC. The die measures 545 mm² and packs 13,600 million transistors, yielding a transistor density of 25.0 million per mm². This is a large, power-hungry design with a 215 W TDP. The card includes 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. It also carries 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores, giving it dedicated hardware for ray tracing and AI-accelerated workloads. The memory subsystem uses an 8 GB GDDR6 frame buffer on a 256-bit bus, producing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with the Navi 23 chip, fabricated on a 7 nm process at TSMC. The die is much smaller at 237 mm², containing 11,060 million transistors for a density of 46.7 million per mm². This is a more efficient design with a 176 W TDP. The card has 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. It includes 32 RT cores but has no tensor cores, reflecting AMD’s different approach to acceleration. Memory is 8 GB GDDR6 on a narrower 128-bit bus, yielding 280.3 GB/s of bandwidth — notably less than the NVIDIA card.

The architectural differences are stark. NVIDIA’s Turing is a larger, older-node chip with more shading units and wider memory bus, while AMD’s RDNA 2.0 is a smaller, newer-node chip with higher clocks and more transistor density. The RT core counts differ (40 vs 32), and only NVIDIA has tensor cores. The NVIDIA card uses PCIe 3.0 x16, while AMD uses PCIe 4.0 x8. Display outputs also differ: NVIDIA offers 1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, and 1x USB Type-C, while AMD provides 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head results show a split across workloads. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER wins 7 of 10 benchmarks, while the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT wins 3.

The largest NVIDIA victory is in Geekbench OpenCL, where it scores 83358 against AMD’s 10111. That is a 724.4% advantage — an extreme outlier that likely reflects a driver or test anomaly for the AMD card, but the data is what it is. The NVIDIA card also leads Geekbench Vulkan by 11.5% (90637 vs 81306), Passmark DirectX 10 by 21.1% (132 vs 109), Passmark DirectX 12 by 8.1% (67 vs 62), Passmark DirectX 9 by 3.7% (223 vs 215), Passmark G3D by 5.8% (18169 vs 17166), and Passmark GPU Compute by a razor-thin 0.3% (7557 vs 7532).

The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT wins 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 decisively, scoring 1859 versus 1651 — an 11.2% margin. It also wins Passmark DirectX 11 by 10.7% (169 vs 151) and Passmark G2D by 4.4% (918 vs 878).

Interpretation: the NVIDIA card dominates compute-style and legacy API workloads, while AMD’s newer architecture takes the modern DX12 Steel Nomad test and the 2D rasterization test. The G3D result — the closest to a general gaming proxy — favors NVIDIA by 5.8%, but the margin is modest. The compute delta of 0.3% is essentially a tie, meaning raw shader throughput is similar despite the different architectures.

Specification Differences

• Process node: 12 nm (NVIDIA) vs 7 nm (AMD)
• Transistor count: 13,600 million vs 11,060 million
• Die size: 545 mm² vs 237 mm²
• Transistor density: 25.0M / mm² vs 46.7M / mm²
• Base clock: 1605 MHz vs 2055 MHz
• Boost clock: 1770 MHz vs 2635 MHz
• Game clock: not applicable vs 2410 MHz
• Memory clock: 1750 MHz / 14 Gbps effective vs 2190 MHz / 17.5 Gbps effective
• Memory bus width: 256 bit vs 128 bit
• Memory bandwidth: 448.0 GB/s vs 280.3 GB/s
• Shading units: 2560 vs 2048
• TMUs: 160 vs 128
• RT cores: 40 vs 32
• Tensor cores: 320 vs none
• Pixel rate: 113.3 GPixel/s vs 168.6 GPixel/s
• Texture rate: 283.2 GTexel/s vs 337.3 GTexel/s
• FP32 performance: 9.062 TFLOPS vs 10.79 TFLOPS
• FP16 performance: 18.12 TFLOPS vs 21.59 TFLOPS
• TDP: 215 W vs 176 W
• Power connectors: 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin vs 1x 8-pin
• Suggested PSU: 550 W vs 450 W
• Bus interface: PCIe 3.0 x16 vs PCIe 4.0 x8
• Display outputs: 1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, 1x USB Type-C vs 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a
• Release date: 2019-07-08 vs 2022-05-09
• Launch MSRP: 499 USD vs 399 USD

The Verdict

The data indicates a close contest with a slight edge to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER. Its average benchmark score of 20282 exceeds AMD’s 19765, and it wins 7 of 10 head-to-head tests. The NVIDIA card is particularly strong in OpenCL, Vulkan, and legacy DirectX workloads, with its biggest margin being 724.4% in OpenCL and 21.1% in DirectX 10. However, the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT is no slouch — it wins the modern 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test by 11.2% and DirectX 11 by 10.7%.

For buyers prioritizing modern DX12 gaming performance, the AMD card’s Steel Nomad win is relevant. For those who need Vulkan performance or broad API compatibility, NVIDIA holds the advantage. The compute scores are nearly identical, so neither card dominates raw throughput. The NVIDIA card also has tensor cores, which the AMD card lacks entirely — a feature that matters for AI-accelerated workloads, though the benchmark data does not directly test it.

The launch MSRP difference (499 USD for NVIDIA vs 399 USD for AMD) is a fact, but the performance data suggests the AMD card offers competitive results in several key tests despite the lower price point. The NVIDIA card’s higher average score and more benchmark wins make it the default choice for general-purpose use, while the AMD card’s wins in Steel Nomad and DirectX 11 make it appealing for specific workloads.

Where Each One Wins

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER:

• Compute-heavy tasks: The OpenCL score of 83358 is dramatically higher than AMD’s 10111, a 724.4% advantage.
• Vulkan workloads: The 11.5% lead in Geekbench Vulkan (90637 vs 81306) makes this card better for Vulkan-based applications.
• Older DirectX titles: Wins in DirectX 9 (3.7%), DirectX 10 (21.1%), and DirectX 12 (8.1%) show broad legacy API strength.
• General 3D performance: The Passmark G3D win of 5.8% (18169 vs 17166) indicates better overall rasterization.
• AI-accelerated features: The presence of 320 tensor cores gives this card capabilities the AMD card cannot match, though no benchmark in the data directly measures this.

AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT:

• Modern DX12 gaming: The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1859 versus 1651 is an 11.2% win, suggesting stronger performance in current DirectX 12 titles.
• DirectX 11: The 10.7% lead (169 vs 151) in Passmark DirectX 11 is notable for games still using that API.
• 2D rasterization: The 4.4% win in Passmark G2D (918 vs 878) indicates better 2D performance.
• Efficiency-oriented builds: The 7 nm process, 176 W TDP, and 450 W suggested PSU make this card less demanding on power delivery, though the data does not include direct efficiency measurements.
• Higher clocks: The 2635 MHz boost clock and 2410 MHz game clock are substantially higher than NVIDIA’s 1770 MHz boost, which helps in clock-sensitive workloads.