AMD Radeon RX 6800 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 6800 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile occupy the same performance tier, with average benchmark scores of 30095 and 29928 respectively, a difference of just 0.6%. Both sit at the 75th percentile among all GPUs, and the data places them as direct competitors: the RX 6800 is 1% ahead of the RTX 2080 Ti, while the RTX 5070 Mobile is 0.5% ahead of that same card. The RTX 3070 Ti sits between them with a score of 29945, trailing the RX 6800 by 0.5% and leading the RTX 5070 Mobile by 0.1%. These are statistical ties, so the head-to-head benchmark breakdown is essential to understand where each card's strengths actually lie.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most dramatic divergence appears in Geekbench OpenCL, where the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile scores 122238 against the AMD Radeon RX 6800's 24508. That is an 80% advantage for the mobile part, and it is by far the largest margin in any test. This result is not mirrored in the Vulkan API, however, where the RTX 5070 Mobile leads by only 1.6%, scoring 116960 versus 115107. The OpenCL gap suggests the RTX 5070 Mobile has a substantial compute-oriented advantage in that specific workload, while the Vulkan result indicates that the two are nearly equivalent in cross-platform graphics compute.

In DirectX legacy tests, the RX 6800 takes clear victories. In PassMark DirectX 9, the AMD card scores 257 versus 214 for the RTX 5070 Mobile, a 20.1% lead. The DirectX 11 result is closer but still favors AMD: 214 versus 192, an 11.5% margin. These older API tests show the RDNA 2.0 architecture handling legacy workloads more efficiently than the newer Blackwell part. The RTX 5070 Mobile counters in DirectX 12, winning 93 to 89, a 4.3% edge, and in DirectX 10, winning 129 to 128, a negligible 0.8% margin.

The PassMark G3D test, which is a general 3D graphics benchmark, goes to the RX 6800 by 8.4%, with scores of 22067 and 20355. The AMD card also wins the PassMark G2D test, 990 to 896, a 10.5% advantage. The largest single win for the RX 6800 comes in PassMark GPU Compute, where it scores 10864 versus 8279 for the RTX 5070 Mobile, a 31.2% lead. This is notable because it contrasts sharply with the Geekbench OpenCL result, where the RTX 5070 Mobile dominates. The discrepancy between these two compute tests highlights how workload-specific performance can be, and neither card can claim universal compute superiority.

Counting the wins across the nine head-to-head benchmarks, the RX 6800 takes five and the RTX 5070 Mobile takes four. However, the magnitudes matter. The RTX 5070 Mobile's OpenCL win is enormous at 80%, while its other three victories are all under 5%. The RX 6800's wins range from 8.4% to 31.2%, with only one under 10%. In aggregate, the AMD card has wider margins in its favored tests, while the NVIDIA card has one dominant outlier and several narrow wins.

The Verdict

The data shows two cards that are effectively equal in average score, but with distinct performance profiles. The AMD Radeon RX 6800 is the stronger choice for legacy DirectX workloads and general 3D rendering, winning DirectX 9 by 20.1%, DirectX 11 by 11.5%, and the PassMark G3D test by 8.4%. It also holds a decisive 31.2% lead in PassMark GPU Compute, which is relevant for users running compute-heavy tasks under that benchmark suite. For anyone prioritizing these specific workloads, the RX 6800 is the clear pick.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile is the better option for OpenCL compute, where its 80% lead is the single largest margin in the entire comparison. It also edges ahead in DirectX 12 by 4.3%, which is the modern graphics API most relevant for current games. The RTX 5070 Mobile's DirectX 12 win, combined with its Vulkan near-parity (1.6% lead), suggests it is slightly better positioned for contemporary gaming workloads. However, the RX 6800's DirectX 11 and DirectX 9 leads indicate that the AMD card handles a broader range of older titles with more headroom.

Given the near-identical average scores, the decision rests on workload. Users targeting modern DirectX 12 games and OpenCL compute should favor the RTX 5070 Mobile. Users dealing with DirectX 9/11 titles, general 3D rendering, or PassMark-based compute tasks should favor the RX 6800. The RTX 5070 Mobile also operates at a 50 W TDP, which is far lower than the RX 6800's 250 W, making it the appropriate choice for power-constrained systems. The RX 6800 is a dual-slot card requiring two 8-pin connectors and a 600 W PSU, while the RTX 5070 Mobile is an IGP with no power connectors, designed for portable devices.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6800 has an average benchmark score of 30095, which is 0.6% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile's 29928.

Q: How large is the difference in Geekbench OpenCL performance?

A: The RTX 5070 Mobile scores 122238 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the RX 6800 scores 24508, giving the NVIDIA card an 80% advantage.

Q: Which card performs better in DirectX 12?

A: The RTX 5070 Mobile wins the PassMark DirectX 12 test with a score of 93 versus 89 for the RX 6800, a 4.3% margin.

Q: What is the RX 6800's largest winning margin?

A: The RX 6800's biggest win is in PassMark GPU Compute, where it scores 10864 against 8279 for the RTX 5070 Mobile, a 31.2% lead.

Q: How do the two cards compare in memory capacity?

A: The RX 6800 has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory, while the RTX 5070 Mobile has 8 GB of GDDR7 memory.

Q: Which card has a higher transistor density?

A: The RTX 5070 Mobile has a transistor density of 121.0M per mm², which is more than double the RX 6800's 51.5M per mm².

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every core specification. The RX 6800 has a 7 nm process node, while the RTX 5070 Mobile uses 5 nm. The RX 6800 has 26,800 million transistors on a 520 mm² die, whereas the RTX 5070 Mobile has 21,900 million transistors on a 181 mm² die. Clock speeds diverge significantly: the RX 6800 runs at a 1700 MHz base and 2105 MHz boost, while the RTX 5070 Mobile runs at 907 MHz base and 1425 MHz boost.

Memory configurations are starkly different. The RX 6800 features 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 512.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 5070 Mobile features 8 GB of GDDR7 on a 128-bit bus with 384.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RX 6800 has 3840 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, while the RTX 5070 Mobile has 4608 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. The RX 6800 has 60 RT cores and no tensor cores, while the RTX 5070 Mobile has 36 RT cores and 144 tensor cores.

Pixel and texture rates favor the RX 6800, with 202.1 GPixel/s and 505.2 GTexel/s versus 68.40 GPixel/s and 205.2 GTexel/s for the RTX 5070 Mobile. FP32 performance is 16.17 TFLOPS for the RX 6800 and 13.13 TFLOPS for the RTX 5070 Mobile. FP16 performance is 32.33 TFLOPS for the RX 6800 and 13.13 TFLOPS for the RTX 5070 Mobile. The TDP is 250 W for the RX 6800 and 50 W for the RTX 5070 Mobile. The RX 6800 is dual-slot with two 8-pin connectors and a 600 W suggested PSU, while the RTX 5070 Mobile is an IGP with no power connectors. The RX 6800 uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while the RTX 5070 Mobile uses PCIe 5.0 x16. The RX 6800's display outputs include HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4a, and USB Type-C, while the RTX 5070 Mobile's outputs are portable device dependent.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide is generational. The RX 6800 is built on RDNA 2.0, part of the Radeon RX 6000 series, while the RTX 5070 Mobile is built on Blackwell 2.0, part of the GeForce 50-series. The RX 6800 uses the Navi 21 chip, while the RTX 5070 Mobile uses the GB206 chip. The RX 6800's generation is Navi II (RX 6000), and the RTX 5070 Mobile's generation is GeForce 50 Mobile.

The RX 6800 was released on 2020-10-27 and is end-of-life, with its predecessor being Navi and its successor being Navi III. The RTX 5070 Mobile was released on 2025-04-14 and is active production, with its predecessor being GeForce 40 Mobile and no successor listed. The RX 6800 has a launch MSRP of 579 USD, while the RTX 5070 Mobile has no launch MSRP listed.

Both cards support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The key architectural differences are in the compute and memory subsystems: the RX 6800 relies on a larger GDDR6 memory pool with higher bandwidth, while the RTX 5070 Mobile uses GDDR7 with fewer ROPs and TMUs but more shading units and dedicated tensor cores. The RTX 5070 Mobile's 144 tensor cores are a feature entirely absent from the RX 6800, which has none. The RX 6800's FP16 throughput is 2:1 relative to FP32, while the RTX 5070 Mobile's FP16 is 1:1. The process node difference (7 nm versus 5 nm) and die size difference (520 mm² versus 181 mm²) reflect the mobile part's integration focus, while the RX 6800's larger die provides higher raw throughput in several rasterization tests.