AMD Radeon RX 6700S vs AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX Comparison

# AMD Radeon RX 6700S vs AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX

The database comparison places the Radeon RX 6700S and the Radeon RX 7900 XTX in two distinct performance tiers. The RX 7900 XTX is the decisive winner in the aggregate data, taking 9 out of 10 head-to-head benchmark matchups. The RX 6700S, a mobile part, holds its own in one specific compute-oriented test, but the desktop-class RX 7900 XTX dominates across the board.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX is the stronger product. Its average benchmark score of 19,410 across all recorded tests is nearly 12% higher than the RX 6700S. More tellingly, the RX 7900 XTX wins 9 of the 10 direct comparisons. The RX 6700S is positioned as a capable mobile GPU, but it operates in a lower performance class. For users who prioritize raw performance and higher frame rates in modern workloads, the RX 7900 XTX is the clear choice.

The one area where the RX 6700S posts a win is in the Geekbench OpenCL test, where it leads by 40.6%. That result indicates the RX 6700S has a specific compute-oriented strength. However, the RX 7900 XTX counters with massive wins in the other tests, often by margins exceeding 50%. The RX 7900 XTX is the card for 4K gaming, high-refresh-rate displays, and any workload that scales with raw shader and pixel throughput.

Where Each One Wins

Looking at the head-to-head results, the AMD Radeon RX 6700S takes a single benchmark: Geekbench OpenCL. Here, the RX 6700S scores 70,965 versus 50,465 for the RX 7900 XTX, a 40.6% advantage. This is notable because it suggests that in certain compute-heavy, non-graphics workloads, the RX 6700S can outperform its larger sibling. This could be relevant for users running OpenCL-based compute tasks where the RX 6700S's architecture is more efficient.

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX wins the other nine benchmarks. The most lopsided result is in Passmark GPU Compute, where the RX 7900 XTX scores 17,689 versus 5,990, a 66.1% lead. The pattern is clear: the RX 7900 XTX is consistently faster in DirectX 10, DirectX 11, DirectX 12, Vulkan, and 3DMark Steel Nomad tests.

• Pick the RX 6700S if your priority is a specific OpenCL compute workload in a mobile form factor; the data shows it can handily beat the much larger desktop card in that niche.
• Pick the RX 7900 XTX for everything else, especially modern DirectX 12 Ultimate titles and heavy 3D rendering, where its performance lead is often over 50%. Its 79.0% faster in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 and 51.8% faster in Passmark G3D.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different generations of AMD's RDNA architecture. The RX 6700S is built on RDNA 2.0 with the Navi 23 chip, manufactured on a 7 nm process at TSMC. It uses a smaller die (237 mm²) with 11,060 million transistors, yielding a density of 46.7 million per mm².

The RX 7900 XTX uses the newer RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 31 chip (codename "Plum Bonito"). It is built on a 5 nm process at TSMC and packs 57,700 million transistors onto a 529 mm² die, a density of 109.1 million per mm². This is a 2.3x increase in density and over twice the die area, which explains the large performance gap.

The RX 7900 XTX also has significantly more resources: 6,144 shading units versus 1,792, 384 ROPs versus 64, and 96 ray accelerators versus 28. It also doubles the render output with 959.2 GTexel/s versus 224.0 GTexel/s. Its 61.39 TFLOPS FP32 and 122.8 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1) dwarf the 7.168 TFLOPS and 14.34 TFLOPS of the RX 6700S. The RX 7900 XTX memory subsystem is also much larger: 24 GB of GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus delivering 960.0 GB/s, versus 8 GB GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus at 224.0 GB/s.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster overall, the RX 6700S or RX 7900 XTX?

A: Across all recorded benchmarks, the RX 7900 XTX has a higher average score: 24,410 vs 22,154, a 10.2% advantage. It wins 9 of 10 direct comparisons.

Q: Does the RX 6700S win any benchmark?

A: Yes. It wins the Geekbench OpenCL test with a score of 70,965, beating the RX 7900 XTX's 50,465 by 40.04%.

Q: How big is the performance gap in DirectX 12?

A: The RX 7900 XTX is far faster. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it scores 6,841 versus 1,451 for the RX 6700S, a lead of 78.00%.

Q: What about the memory subsystem?

A: The RX 7900 XTX has 24 GB GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus (960.0 GB/s). The RX 6700S has 8 GB GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus (224.0 GB/s), so the XTX has 4.3x the bandwidth.

Q: What is the process node difference?

A: The RX 6700S uses a 7 nm process at TSMC, while the RX 7900 XTX uses a 5 nm process. The newer node allows for a much higher transistor density (109.1 million/mm² vs 46.7 million/mm²).

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most dominant win for the RX 7900 XTX is in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark. The RX 6700S scores 1,451, while the RX 7900 XTX posts 6,841. That is a stunning 78.8% lead, the largest delta in any test. This test is a modern, DirectX 12 ultimate workload, and the margin indicates how far ahead the RDNA 3 part is in geometry and feature complexity.

Another significant victory for the XTX is in Passmark G3D, where it scores 31,238 versus 15,066, a 51.8% lead. The Passmark DirectX 11 and DirectX 12 tests tell the same story: the 7900 XTX is 62.4% and 55.7% faster, respectively. In Passmark DirectX 9, it is 40.9% ahead, and in Passmark G2D, 41.7% ahead.

The RX 6700S's only win, the Geekbench OpenCL score, is a 40.6% lead, but it is an outlier. In the two DirectX 10 and 11 tests, the RX 7900 XTX is 47.6% and 62.4% ahead, respectively. In the Vulkan test, it is 11.1% ahead, and in GPU Compute, an enormous 66.1% ahead.

The evidence is conclusive. The RX 7900 XTX is the high-performance choice for desktop-class workloads, while the RX 6700S is a specialized mobile part with a niche compute advantage.

Specification Differences

| Field | AMD Radeon RX 6700S | AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX |

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

| Chip | Navi 23 | Navi 31 |

| Architecture | RDNA 2.0 | RDNA 3.0 |

| Process Node | 7 nm | 5 nm |

| Transistors | 11,060 million | 57,700 million |

| Die Size | 237 mm² | 529 mm² |

| Memory | 8 GB GDDR6 | 24 GB GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus | 128 bit | 384 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 224.0 GB/s | 960.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 1,792 | 6,144 |

| TMUs | 112 | 384 |

| ROPs | 64 | 192 |

| RT Cores | 28 | 96 |

| Pixel Rate | 128.0 GPixel/s | 479.6 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 224.0 GTexel/s | 959.2 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 7.168 TFLOPS | 61.39 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 14.34 TFLOPS (2:1) | 122.8 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 80 W | 355 W |

| Slot Width | IGP | Dual-slot |

| Power Connectors | None | 2x 8-pin |

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

| Display Outputs | Portable Device Dependent | 1x HDMI 2.1a, 2x DisplayPort 2.1, 1x USB Type-C |

| DirectX | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | 12 Ultimate (12_2) |

| OpenGL | 4.6 | 4.6 |

| Vulkan | 1.4 | 1.4 |

| Release Date | 2022-01-03 | 2022-11-02 |

| Production Status | End-of-life | End-of-life |

| Predecessor | Polaris Mobile | Navi II |

| Successor | None | Navi IV |