AMD Radeon RX 6650M vs NVIDIA RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a decisive victory for the NVIDIA RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation across both benchmark workloads. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the NVIDIA card scored 124812 against 65800 for the AMD Radeon RX 6650M, a commanding 89.7% advantage. That is nearly double the compute output, and it reflects the NVIDIA card's far higher raw FP32 throughput of 19.17 TFLOPS versus 8.659 TFLOPS for the AMD part. The gap narrows in the Vulkan test but remains substantial: the RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation posted 109364, while the RX 6650M managed 77735, a 40.7% lead for NVIDIA. Both results place the NVIDIA card in a different performance tier entirely.

The average benchmark score reinforces this hierarchy. The RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation averages 117088 across all recorded tests, placing it in the 95th percentile of all GPUs in the database. The RX 6650M averages 71768, which lands in the 91st percentile. While both are high-performing parts, the NVIDIA card sits clearly above its rival. To put the NVIDIA result in context, the database shows its nearest rival is the NVIDIA GB10 with an average score of 117393, a negligible 0.3% difference. The AMD Radeon PRO W7700 trails by 1.6%, and the NVIDIA Tesla V100 SXM2 16 GB and RTX A5500 Mobile are 2.4% and 2.8% behind, respectively. The RX 6650M's closest competitors are older high-end cards: the NVIDIA TITAN X Pascal is 0.5% behind, the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 is 0.8% behind, and the AMD Radeon Vega Frontier Edition is 2.2% ahead. This shows the RX 6650M is competitive with flagship GPUs from earlier generations, but the RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation operates in a different league altogether.

The wins are clean: 2 for NVIDIA, 0 for AMD. There is no benchmark in the database where the AMD card comes out ahead. The largest single delta is the 89.7% OpenCL margin, which dwarfs the 40.7% Vulkan margin. This suggests the NVIDIA architecture has a particularly strong advantage in compute-oriented OpenCL workloads, while the Vulkan gap, though still large, is less extreme. For any user comparing these two cards purely on benchmark performance, the data leaves no ambiguity.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation averages 117088 across all recorded tests, compared to 71768 for the AMD Radeon RX 6650M. The NVIDIA card also sits in the 95th percentile of all GPUs, while the AMD card sits in the 91st percentile.

Q: How large is the performance gap in the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The NVIDIA card scored 124812, which is 89.7% higher than the AMD card's 65800. This is the largest margin between the two in any recorded benchmark.

Q: Does the AMD card win any benchmark?

A: No. The database records 2 benchmark wins for the NVIDIA RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation and 0 for the AMD Radeon RX 6650M. The closest the AMD card comes is the Vulkan test, where it trails by 40.7%.

Q: How does the RX 6650M compare to its own nearest rivals?

A: The RX 6650M's average score of 71768 puts it within 2.2% of the AMD Radeon Vega Frontier Edition, which scores 73370. It is 0.5% ahead of the NVIDIA TITAN X Pascal and 0.8% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64. This suggests it performs like a high-end GPU from a previous generation.

Q: What is the difference in memory capacity?

A: The NVIDIA RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation comes with 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, delivering 280.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The AMD Radeon RX 6650M has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 224.0 GB/s.

Q: Which GPU has higher FP32 compute?

A: The NVIDIA card achieves 19.17 TFLOPS FP32, while the AMD card achieves 8.659 TFLOPS. The NVIDIA card's FP16 output is also 19.17 TFLOPS at a 1:1 ratio, whereas the AMD card reaches 17.32 TFLOPS FP16 at a 2:1 ratio.

The Verdict

The data supports a clear conclusion: the NVIDIA RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation is the superior performer in every recorded benchmark. It leads by 89.7% in OpenCL and 40.7% in Vulkan, and its average score of 117088 is roughly 63% higher than the AMD card's 71768. Anyone prioritizing raw compute or graphics performance should choose the NVIDIA card without hesitation.

The AMD Radeon RX 6650M is not without merit, however. Its 91st percentile ranking shows it is still a strong GPU, and its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA TITAN X Pascal and AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64, both of which were flagship-tier cards in their time. For users who need a capable mobile GPU and do not require the absolute highest scores, the RX 6650M remains a viable option.

That said, the NVIDIA card's advantages extend beyond raw scores. It offers 20 GB of memory versus 8 GB, higher memory bandwidth at 280.0 GB/s versus 224.0 GB/s, and a much larger transistor count of 35,800 million versus 11,060 million. It also has a lower TDP of 70 W versus 120 W, meaning it achieves its superior performance while consuming less power. The RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation is the clear winner for any workload where benchmark scores matter.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every major specification category. The NVIDIA RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation uses the AD104 chip built on a 5 nm process at TSMC, while the AMD Radeon RX 6650M uses the Navi 23 chip on a 7 nm process, also at TSMC. The NVIDIA card integrates 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 121.8M per mm². The AMD card has 11,060 million transistors on a 237 mm² die, with a density of 46.7M per mm².

Clock speeds tell a different story. The AMD card runs much higher clocks: a base of 2068 MHz and a boost of 2416 MHz, with a game clock of 2222 MHz. The NVIDIA card has a base clock of 720 MHz and a boost of 1560 MHz. Despite the lower clocks, the NVIDIA card achieves far higher performance because it has 6144 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, versus 1792 shading units, 112 TMUs, and 64 ROPs on the AMD card. The NVIDIA card also has 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores, while the AMD card has 28 RT cores and no tensor cores.

Memory configurations differ substantially. The NVIDIA card offers 20 GB of GDDR6 on a 160-bit bus with 280.0 GB/s bandwidth. The AMD card offers 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth. Both run their memory at 1750 MHz, which translates to 14 Gbps effective. The NVIDIA card has a pixel rate of 99.84 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 299.5 GTexel/s, while the AMD card has a pixel rate of 154.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 270.6 GTexel/s.

Power and physical characteristics also diverge. The NVIDIA card has a TDP of 70 W, is a dual-slot design, requires no power connectors, and suggests a 250 W power supply. It measures 168 mm in length and 69 mm in height. The AMD card has a TDP of 120 W, is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) form factor, and requires no power connectors. The AMD card has no listed dimensions. The NVIDIA card uses a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface and outputs 4x mini-DisplayPort 1.4a, while the AMD card uses PCIe 4.0 x8 and its display outputs are listed as portable device dependent. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide is fundamental. The NVIDIA RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture, while the AMD Radeon RX 6650M uses RDNA 2.0. The NVIDIA card is part of the Workstation Ada generation, with a predecessor in Workstation Ampere and a successor in Blackwell PRO W. The AMD card belongs to the Navi Mobile generation within the RX 6000M series, with a predecessor in Polaris Mobile and no listed successor.

The manufacturing process difference is significant: the NVIDIA card uses a 5 nm node, while the AMD card uses 7 nm. Both are fabricated by TSMC, but the smaller node allows the NVIDIA card to pack 121.8M transistors per mm² versus 46.7M per mm² for the AMD card. This density advantage, combined with a larger die, gives the NVIDIA card more than three times the transistor count of its rival.

Compute features diverge sharply. The NVIDIA card has 6144 shading units, 192 TMUs, 64 ROPs, 48 RT cores, and 192 tensor cores. The AMD card has 1792 shading units, 112 TMUs, 64 ROPs, 28 RT cores, and no tensor cores. The NVIDIA card's FP32 and FP16 throughput are identical at 19.17 TFLOPS, indicating a 1:1 ratio. The AMD card achieves 8.659 TFLOPS FP32 but 17.32 TFLOPS FP16 at a 2:1 ratio, showing it can double its throughput on half-precision workloads but falls far short in full precision.

The RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation also features a dedicated tensor core array, which the AMD card lacks entirely. This makes the NVIDIA card better suited for AI and machine learning workloads that rely on tensor operations. The AMD card's RT core count is lower at 28 versus 48, suggesting weaker ray tracing throughput. The NVIDIA card's memory subsystem is larger in both capacity and bandwidth, which matters for large datasets and high-resolution textures.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation wins in every category where data exists. In compute-heavy OpenCL workloads, it dominates with an 89.7% lead. In the Vulkan graphics test, it leads by 40.7%. Its 20 GB memory capacity and 280.0 GB/s bandwidth make it the clear choice for tasks that require large memory pools, such as complex 3D scenes, machine learning inference, or professional visualization. The presence of 192 tensor cores further cements its position for AI-related workloads, while its 48 RT cores provide stronger ray tracing capability than the AMD card's 28.

The NVIDIA card also wins on efficiency. Its 70 W TDP is significantly lower than the AMD card's 120 W, and it uses a dual-slot design with no external power connectors. This makes it suitable for compact workstation builds where power and space are constrained. Its PCIe 4.0 x16 interface provides double the lane width of the AMD card's PCIe 4.0 x8.

The AMD Radeon RX 6650M has fewer clear advantages, but the data does show some areas where it is not far behind. Its pixel rate of 154.6 GPixel/s is actually higher than the NVIDIA card's 99.84 GPixel/s, which could benefit certain fill-rate-bound scenarios. Its texture rate of 270.6 GTexel/s is close to the NVIDIA card's 299.5 GTexel/s. It also runs at much higher clock speeds, with a boost of 2416 MHz versus 1560 MHz, and it is an IGP form factor, which means it is designed for integration into portable devices.

For users who need a mobile GPU with decent performance and do not require the extreme compute or memory capacity of the NVIDIA card, the RX 6650M is a reasonable choice. Its 91st percentile ranking and proximity to cards like the NVIDIA TITAN X Pascal show it is no slouch. However, for anyone who needs maximum benchmark scores, large memory capacity, tensor core support, or lower power consumption, the NVIDIA RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation is the definitive pick. The database records 2 wins for NVIDIA and 0 for AMD, and every metric except pixel rate and clock speed favors the NVIDIA card.