AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT vs NVIDIA P106-100 Comparison

The Verdict

The database comparison between the NVIDIA P106-100 and the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT presents two distinctly different products. The RX 6650 XT is the clear winner for modern gaming and DirectX 12 workloads, delivering more than double the performance in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test. The P106-100, despite being an older mining-focused part, retains a surprising advantage in OpenCL compute workloads, where it outperforms the RX 6650 XT by a wide margin.

For gamers, the choice is unambiguous: the Radeon RX 6650 XT dominates in the two most relevant benchmarks for gaming, 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 and Geekbench Vulkan. Its 2,048 shading units, 32 ray tracing cores, and 8 GB of GDDR6 memory make it a far more capable modern graphics card. The data shows a 106.7% higher score in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 (1859 vs 899) and a 147.2% higher score in Geekbench Vulkan (81306 vs 32897).

For compute-focused users, specifically those running OpenCL workloads, the P106-100 is the better choice based on available data. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 35951 is 255.6% higher than the RX 6650 XT's 10111. This is a dramatic difference, likely stemming from the P106-100's architecture being optimized for mining compute tasks. However, the P106-100 has no display outputs, making it unsuitable as a primary desktop GPU.

The RX 6650 XT also offers a more complete feature set with modern connectivity. It includes 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, while the P106-100 has no outputs at all. The RX 6650 XT supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the P106-100 only supports DirectX 12 (12_1). The RX 6650 XT also has a higher percentile ranking relative to all GPUs in the database at 68 percent, compared to the P106-100's 65 percent, despite the P106-100 having a higher average benchmark score of 23249 versus 19765.

The verdict is straightforward: the Radeon RX 6650 XT is the superior product for any user needing a functional graphics card with display output, modern API support, and strong gaming performance. The P106-100 is a niche compute accelerator that excels in OpenCL but lacks the versatility and modern feature set of the RX 6650 XT. The RX 6650 XT's launch MSRP was 399 USD.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in DirectX 12 gaming workloads?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT is significantly faster. In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark, it scores 1859 compared to the P106-100's 899, a delta of -51.6% for the NVIDIA card.

Q: Does the P106-100 have any performance advantages?

A: Yes, in OpenCL compute workloads. The P106-100 scores 35951 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 255.6% higher than the RX 6650 XT's 10111.

Q: Can the P106-100 be used as a standard desktop graphics card?

A: No. The P106-100 has no display outputs, meaning it cannot connect to a monitor. The RX 6650 XT, by contrast, offers 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference between the two cards?

A: The P106-100 has 6 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 192.2 GB/s bandwidth. The RX 6650 XT has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 280.3 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card supports newer graphics APIs?

A: The RX 6650 XT supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and has 32 dedicated ray tracing cores. The P106-100 only supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and has no ray tracing cores.

Q: How do the average benchmark scores compare?

A: The P106-100 has a higher average benchmark score of 23249, while the RX 6650 XT averages 19765. However, the RX 6650 XT has a higher percentile ranking among all GPUs at 68 percent versus 65 percent.

Architecture Differences

The architecture gap between these two GPUs is substantial, reflecting different design eras and purposes. The NVIDIA P106-100 uses the Pascal architecture, built on TSMC's 16 nm process node. It is based on the GP106 chip, which contains 4,400 million transistors on a 200 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 22.0M per mm². The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT uses the RDNA 2.0 architecture, built on TSMC's 7 nm process node. It is based on the Navi 23 chip, which packs 11,060 million transistors onto a 237 mm² die, achieving a much higher transistor density of 46.7M per mm².

The compute architecture differs fundamentally. The P106-100 has 1,280 shading units, 80 texture mapping units, and 48 render output units. It has no ray tracing cores and no tensor cores. The RX 6650 XT has 2,048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, along with 32 dedicated ray tracing cores. This gives the RX 6650 XT a significant advantage in raw shading throughput and in ray-traced workloads.

The memory subsystem also reflects architectural choices. The P106-100 uses 6 GB of GDDR5 with a 192-bit bus, while the RX 6650 XT uses 8 GB of GDDR6 with a 128-bit bus. Despite the narrower bus, the RX 6650 XT achieves higher bandwidth at 280.3 GB/s versus 192.2 GB/s due to the faster memory clock. The P106-100's memory runs at 2002 MHz (8 Gbps effective), while the RX 6650 XT's memory runs at 2190 MHz (17.5 Gbps effective).

The API support differs as well. The P106-100 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The RX 6650 XT supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), which includes features like mesh shaders and variable rate shading, along with OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4. The RX 6650 XT also has a higher pixel rate at 168.6 GPixel/s versus 82.03 GPixel/s, and a higher texture rate at 337.3 GTexel/s versus 136.7 GTexel/s.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every major specification field. The process node is a key differentiator: the P106-100 is built on 16 nm, while the RX 6650 XT is built on 7 nm, both by TSMC. Transistor count differs dramatically, with the RX 6650 XT using 11,060 million transistors versus 4,400 million for the P106-100. Die size is 237 mm² for the RX 6650 XT and 200 mm² for the P106-100.

Clock speeds are significantly higher on the RX 6650 XT. The base clock is 2055 MHz versus 1506 MHz, and the boost clock is 2635 MHz versus 1709 MHz. The RX 6650 XT also has a game clock of 2410 MHz, a spec the P106-100 lacks. Memory clocks also differ: the RX 6650 XT runs at 2190 MHz (17.5 Gbps effective) compared to the P106-100's 2002 MHz (8 Gbps effective).

Memory configuration shows a trade-off between bus width and capacity. The P106-100 has 6 GB on a 192-bit bus, while the RX 6650 XT has 8 GB on a 128-bit bus. The RX 6650 XT wins on bandwidth with 280.3 GB/s versus 192.2 GB/s. Compute units differ as well: the RX 6650 XT has 2,048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, while the P106-100 has 1,280 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. The RX 6650 XT also has 32 RT cores, which the P106-100 lacks.

Power and connectivity specs diverge. The P106-100 has a TDP of 120 W with a 1x 6-pin power connector and a suggested PSU of 300 W. The RX 6650 XT has a TDP of 176 W with a 1x 8-pin connector and a suggested PSU of 450 W. The bus interface differs: PCIe 1.0 x16 for the P106-100 versus PCIe 4.0 x8 for the RX 6650 XT. Display outputs are the most stark difference: the P106-100 has none, while the RX 6650 XT has 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The P106-100 measures 250 mm (9.8 inches) in length, while the RX 6650 XT's dimensions are not recorded.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head results show a split personality between these two GPUs. The most significant win for the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT comes in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, a modern DirectX 12 gaming benchmark. The RX 6650 XT scores 1859, while the P106-100 scores 899. This represents a delta of -51.6% for the NVIDIA card, meaning the RX 6650 XT is more than twice as fast. This result aligns with the architectural advantages: the RX 6650 XT has 60% more shading units (2048 vs 1280), 60% more TMUs (128 vs 80), and 33% more ROPs (64 vs 48). Its FP32 throughput of 10.79 TFLOPS is 146.9% higher than the P106-100's 4.375 TFLOPS.

The second win for the RX 6650 XT comes in the Geekbench Vulkan benchmark. The AMD card scores 81306, while the NVIDIA card scores 32897. This is a delta of -59.5% for the P106-100, giving the RX 6650 XT a 147.2% higher score. Vulkan is a low-level graphics API used in many modern games, and the RX 6650 XT's RDNA 2.0 architecture with its dedicated ray tracing hardware clearly handles it much better. The RX 6650 XT's FP16 throughput of 21.59 TFLOPS (2:1 rate) also dwarfs the P106-100's FP16 figure of 68.36 GFLOPS (1:64 rate), which is exceptionally slow due to the Pascal architecture's poor FP16 support.

The sole win for the NVIDIA P106-100 comes in the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark. The P106-100 scores 35951, while the RX 6650 XT scores 10111. This is a delta of 255.6% in favor of the NVIDIA card. This result is remarkable, given the RX 6650 XT's superior raw specs. The P106-100 was designed for mining, which relies heavily on compute workloads, and the Pascal architecture appears to have a much more efficient OpenCL implementation. This 255.6% advantage is the largest delta in the entire head-to-head comparison, more than offsetting the RX 6650 XT's wins in the other two tests.

The win tally shows 2 wins for the RX 6650 XT and 1 win for the P106-100. However, the practical significance of these wins is not equal. The 3DMark and Vulkan tests represent gaming workloads, which are far more common for consumer GPUs. The OpenCL test represents compute workloads, which are more niche. The RX 6650 XT's wins are in the categories that matter most for a general-purpose graphics card, while the P106-100's win is in a specific compute scenario. The RX 6650 XT also has display outputs, making it usable as a primary GPU, while the P106-100 cannot output video at all.