AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 represent two distinct generations of GPU design, with the former built on RDNA 2.0 and the latter on Blackwell 2.0. Benchmark data shows the RTX 5060 winning 8 of 10 head-to-head tests, while the RX 6700 XT claims 2 wins, yet both cards sit at the 72nd percentile among all GPUs, indicating a closer overall standing than the win count suggests. The RTX 5060’s average benchmark score is 26,331, while the RX 6700 XT averages 27,425, a difference of roughly 4% in favor of the older AMD card.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 5060 dominates modern, compute-heavy workloads and newer API tests. Its largest victory comes in Geekbench OpenCL, where it scores 112,787 against the RX 6700 XT’s 44,152, a 60.9% advantage that reflects a massive gap in general-purpose compute throughput. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the RTX 5060 posts 3,628 versus 2,435, a 32.9% lead that highlights its strength in current-generation gaming loads. The NVIDIA card also wins Geekbench Vulkan with 113,321 compared to 93,500, a 17.5% margin, and Passmark G2D with 1,154 versus 951, a 17.6% advantage in 2D and desktop operations.

The RX 6700 XT’s wins are narrower and concentrated in legacy or specific scenarios. It edges out the RTX 5060 in Passmark DirectX 9 with 242 versus 225, a 7.6% lead, and ties in Passmark DirectX 12 at 77 points each, with the AMD card awarded the win due to rounding. These victories suggest the RX 6700 XT retains competence in older DirectX titles, but its overall profile points to a card that was designed for an earlier era of gaming. The RTX 5060’s wins span from DirectX 10 (127 vs 124, a 2.4% margin) through DirectX 11 (200 vs 173, a 13.5% lead) and into compute (10,899 vs 9,336, a 14.3% advantage), showing a consistent edge across most of the test suite.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs diverge fundamentally in process technology and die design. The RX 6700 XT uses a 7 nm process with 17,200 million transistors on a 335 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 51.3M per mm². The RTX 5060 employs a 5 nm process with 21,900 million transistors on a much smaller 181 mm² die, achieving 121.0M per mm² — more than double the density. This architectural shift allows the RTX 5060 to pack more compute units into less space, explaining its higher raw throughput despite fewer physical resources in some areas.

Core counts tell a nuanced story. The RTX 5060 has 3,840 shading units versus 2,560 on the RX 6700 XT, a 50% increase, but the AMD card counters with 160 texture mapping units and 64 ROPs against NVIDIA’s 120 TMUs and 48 ROPs. The RTX 5060 also carries 120 tensor cores, which the RX 6700 XT lacks entirely, while the AMD card has 40 ray tracing cores versus 30 on the NVIDIA part. Clock speeds are similar — the RX 6700 XT boosts to 2,581 MHz and the RTX 5060 to 2,497 MHz — but the NVIDIA card’s higher shader count translates to 19.18 TFLOPS FP32 versus 13.21 TFLOPS, a 45% advantage in peak compute.

Memory configurations differ sharply. The RX 6700 XT offers 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus with 384.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the RTX 5060 provides 8 GB of GDDR7 on a 128-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 5060’s memory runs at 28 Gbps effective versus 16 Gbps, giving it higher bandwidth despite a narrower interface. Pixel and texture rates favor the AMD card: 165.2 GPixel/s and 413.0 GTexel/s against 119.9 GPixel/s and 299.6 GTexel/s, respectively, reflecting its larger ROP and TMU counts.

Power and connectivity also separate the two. The RX 6700 XT draws 230 W with a 550 W suggested PSU and dual connectors (1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin), while the RTX 5060 consumes 145 W with a 300 W suggested PSU and a single 8-pin connector. The RTX 5060 uses PCIe 5.0 x8, whereas the RX 6700 XT runs PCIe 4.0 x16. Display outputs differ as well: the AMD card has 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the NVIDIA card offers 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1b.

The Verdict

The data points to the RTX 5060 as the stronger performer for most users, particularly those focused on modern gaming and compute workloads. Its 32.9% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 and 60.9% advantage in Geekbench OpenCL are decisive, and it wins the aggregate Passmark G3D test with 20,891 versus 19,786, a 5.3% margin. The RTX 5060 also benefits from a lower TDP of 145 W versus 230 W, a single power connector, and a smaller physical footprint at 241 mm length versus 267 mm.

The RX 6700 XT’s case rests on specific strengths. It offers 12 GB of memory versus 8 GB, which matters for capacity-sensitive applications, and it wins the legacy DirectX 9 test by 7.6%. Its higher pixel and texture rates suggest it may handle certain rasterization-heavy tasks better, though the benchmark data does not isolate these scenarios. The AMD card’s average benchmark score of 27,425 exceeds the RTX 5060’s 26,331 by about 4%, indicating that in aggregate multi-test performance, the older card still holds a slight edge.

For a new purchase, the RTX 5060 is the data-backed choice due to its superior modern API performance, higher FP32 throughput, and lower power draw. The RX 6700 XT remains relevant for users prioritizing memory capacity or running older DirectX 9 titles, but its end-of-life production status and narrower wins make it harder to recommend for forward-looking workloads. The RTX 5060’s active production status and newer architecture (Blackwell 2.0 vs RDNA 2.0) reinforce this positioning.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT averages 27,425 across all benchmarks, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 averages 26,331, a difference of about 4% in favor of the AMD card.

Q: How much faster is the RTX 5060 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12?

A: The RTX 5060 scores 3,628 versus 2,435 for the RX 6700 XT, representing a 32.9% advantage for the NVIDIA card.

Q: Does the RX 6700 XT win any benchmark tests?

A: Yes, the RX 6700 XT wins Passmark DirectX 9 with 242 versus 225 (a 7.6% lead) and Passmark DirectX 12 with a tie at 77 points, where it is recorded as the winner due to the 0% delta.

Q: What are the memory specifications for each card?

A: The RX 6700 XT has 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus with 384.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the RTX 5060 has 8 GB of GDDR7 on a 128-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: How do the power requirements compare?

A: The RX 6700 XT has a TDP of 230 W and suggests a 550 W PSU, whereas the RTX 5060 has a TDP of 145 W and suggests a 300 W PSU.

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: The RTX 5060 has 3,840 shading units, while the RX 6700 XT has 2,560, giving the NVIDIA card a 50% higher count.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The Geekbench OpenCL test delivers the most lopsided result. The RTX 5060 posts 112,787 against the RX 6700 XT’s 44,152, a 60.9% gap that dwarfs every other delta in the suite. This single test accounts for the largest portion of the RTX 5060’s compute advantage and reflects its higher shader count and tensor core support. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the RTX 5060 extends its lead to 32.9% with 3,628 versus 2,435, confirming its strength in modern DirectX 12 workloads that stress geometry and ray tracing.

The RTX 5060’s other wins show consistent but smaller margins. Geekbench Vulkan favors it by 17.5% (113,321 vs 93,500), Passmark G2D by 17.6% (1,154 vs 951), and Passmark GPU Compute by 14.3% (10,899 vs 9,336). Passmark DirectX 11 comes in at 13.5% (200 vs 173), while DirectX 10 is a narrow 2.4% margin (127 vs 124). The aggregate Passmark G3D test shows a 5.3% lead for the RTX 5060 with 20,891 versus 19,786, a modest victory that aligns with the cards’ shared 72nd percentile ranking.

The RX 6700 XT’s two wins are less decisive. Its Passmark DirectX 9 score of 242 beats 225 by 7.6%, and the DirectX 12 tie at 77 points gives it a nominal win with a 0% delta. These results indicate the AMD card retains some advantage in legacy DirectX paths, but the pattern is clear: the RTX 5060 outperforms in every modern API and compute test, while the RX 6700 XT only leads in older or tied scenarios. The overall win count of 8-2 in favor of NVIDIA aligns with the deltaPct values, which show the RTX 5060 ahead by double digits in four of the ten tests.

Specification Differences

The process node is the most fundamental difference: the RX 6700 XT uses 7 nm while the RTX 5060 uses 5 nm, both from TSMC. Transistor counts follow suit, with 17,200 million on the AMD card versus 21,900 million on the NVIDIA card. Die size reverses the expected trend, as the RX 6700 XT measures 335 mm² against the RTX 5060’s 181 mm², resulting in transistor densities of 51.3M/mm² and 121.0M/mm², respectively.

Shading units differ by 50%: 2,560 on the RX 6700 XT versus 3,840 on the RTX 5060. Texture mapping units favor AMD at 160 versus 120, as do ROPs at 64 versus 48. The RTX 5060 has 120 tensor cores while the RX 6700 XT has none, and the ray tracing core counts are 40 for AMD and 30 for NVIDIA. FP32 compute is 13.21 TFLOPS on the RX 6700 XT versus 19.18 TFLOPS on the RTX 5060, with FP16 at 26.43 TFLOPS (2:1) and 19.18 TFLOPS (1:1), respectively.

Memory sizes are 12 GB for the RX 6700 XT and 8 GB for the RTX 5060, with bus widths of 192-bit and 128-bit. Bandwidth favors the NVIDIA card at 448.0 GB/s versus 384.0 GB/s, driven by its 28 Gbps effective GDDR7 speed versus 16 Gbps GDDR6. Pixel rate is 165.2 GPixel/s on AMD versus 119.9 GPixel/s on NVIDIA, and texture rate is 413.0 GTexel/s versus 299.6 GTexel/s. Power draw is 230 W versus 145 W, with suggested PSUs of 550 W and 300 W. The RX 6700 XT uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while the RTX 5060 uses PCIe 5.0 x8. Display outputs are 1x HDMI 2.1 + 3x DisplayPort 1.4a on AMD versus 1x HDMI 2.1b + 3x DisplayPort 2.1b on NVIDIA. Production status shows the RX 6700 XT as end-of-life and the RTX 5060 as active, with launch MSRPs of 479 USD and 299 USD, respectively.