AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile Comparison

The Verdict

The benchmark database presents a fascinating clash between a desktop flagship from 2020 and a laptop GPU from 2025. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile wins 7 of the 10 head-to-head tests, while the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT takes 3. However, the average benchmark scores tell a different story: the AMD card posts an average score of 48477 against the NVIDIA's 38349, a substantial gap that reflects the different contexts of the two products. The RTX 5080 Mobile is a mobile part, drawing only 80 W, while the RX 6800 XT is a 300 W desktop card. The data suggests the AMD card is for desktop gamers with room for a large dual-slot card and a 700 W power supply, while the NVIDIA chip is for portable devices where power efficiency is paramount. The RTX 5080 Mobile's nearest rivals include the RTX 4080 Mobile (0.6% difference) and the MX570 (0.1%), showing it sits in a mid-range mobile tier. The RX 6800 XT's nearest rivals include the RTX 5070 Ti (3% behind) and the RX Vega 64 (3% behind), placing it in a higher absolute performance bracket despite its age.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from fundamentally different design philosophies. The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT uses the Navi 21 chip built on RDNA 2.0 architecture, fabricated on a 7 nm process at TSMC. It packs 26,800 million transistors across a 520 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 51.5 million per mm². The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile uses the GB203 chip with Blackwell 2.0 architecture, also from TSMC but on a 5 nm node. It crams 45,600 million transistors into a much smaller 378 mm² die, achieving a density of 120.6 million per mm², more than double the AMD part. This density advantage is typical of newer process nodes.

The memory subsystems differ dramatically. Both cards have 16 GB of memory and a 256-bit bus, but the AMD uses GDDR6 at 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) delivering 512.0 GB/s, while the NVIDIA uses GDDR7 at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective) for 896.0 GB/s, a 75% bandwidth advantage. The compute configurations are also distinct: the RX 6800 XT has 4608 shading units, 288 TMUs, and 128 ROPs, while the RTX 5080 Mobile has 7680 shading units but fewer TMUs (240) and ROPs (96). The AMD card has 72 RT cores and no tensor cores, while the NVIDIA part has 60 RT cores and 240 tensor cores, reflecting Blackwell's focus on AI workloads. The AMD card's FP32 throughput is 20.74 TFLOPS versus 23.04 TFLOPS for the NVIDIA, but the AMD's FP16 rate is 41.47 TFLOPS (2:1) while the NVIDIA's is 23.04 TFLOPS (1:1), showing the AMD's higher peak for half-precision. Clock speeds are wildly different, with the AMD boosting to 2250 MHz and the NVIDIA to just 1500 MHz, but the NVIDIA's higher shader count compensates. The AMD uses a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, while the NVIDIA uses PCIe 5.0 x16. The AMD is dual-slot with 2x 8-pin power connectors and a 300 W TDP, while the NVIDIA is an IGP (integrated graphics package) with no power connectors and an 80 W TDP.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The largest win for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile comes in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, where it scores 4952 against the AMD's 3689, a 25.5% advantage. This is a modern DX12 workload that likely favors the Blackwell architecture's newer feature set. The Vulkan test also shows a significant NVIDIA lead: 169754 versus 136875, a 19.4% gap. The NVIDIA also wins the Passmark DirectX 9 test (314 vs 265, 15.6% ahead), the DirectX 12 test (116 vs 100, 13.8% ahead), and the DirectX 10 test (171 vs 155, 9.4% ahead). In the Passmark G3D overall test, the NVIDIA scores 27711 against 24980, a 9.9% win. The G2D test shows a smaller NVIDIA edge: 1095 versus 1030, 5.9% ahead.

The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT takes its wins in compute-oriented and legacy API tests. The Geekbench OpenCL score is 171304 versus 166986, a modest 2.6% advantage for AMD. The Passmark DirectX 11 test goes to AMD at 264 versus 253, a 4.3% lead. The biggest AMD win is in Passmark GPU Compute, where it scores 13245 against 12134, a 9.2% margin. These results suggest that the AMD card retains an edge in raw compute throughput, likely due to its higher clock speeds and wider FP16 capability, while the NVIDIA part dominates in modern graphics APIs and rasterization tests.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher average benchmark scores?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT has an average benchmark score of 48477, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile averages 38349. The AMD sits at the 85th percentile of all GPUs, the NVIDIA at the 81st.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile has 896.0 GB/s bandwidth with GDDR7, while the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT has 512.0 GB/s with GDDR6. Both use a 256-bit bus and 16 GB capacity.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile has 7680 shading units, compared to 4608 on the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT. However, the AMD card has higher clock speeds, boosting to 2250 MHz versus 1500 MHz.

Q: What are the power requirements?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT has a 300 W TDP and requires a 700 W power supply with 2x 8-pin connectors. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile has an 80 W TDP and uses no power connectors.

Q: How do the RT cores compare?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT has 72 RT cores, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile has 60 RT cores. The NVIDIA part also includes 240 tensor cores, which the AMD lacks entirely.

Q: Which GPU is still in production?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile is listed as active production, while the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT is end-of-life. The AMD card was released in 2020, the NVIDIA in 2025.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile is the clear winner for modern graphics APIs and DirectX 12 workloads. Its 25.5% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad and 19.4% lead in Vulkan indicate strong performance in current and future game engines. The DirectX 12 test shows a 13.8% advantage, and the DirectX 9 legacy test shows a 15.6% lead, suggesting compatibility strength across API generations. The G3D overall score (9.9% ahead) and G2D (5.9% ahead) round out a comprehensive rasterization victory. The NVIDIA part also wins the DirectX 10 test by 9.4%. This GPU is suited for laptops and portable devices, confirmed by its IGP form factor and 80 W TDP. Its 240 tensor cores point toward AI-accelerated features, though the database does not list specific tensor benchmarks.

The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT wins in compute-heavy scenarios. The Passmark GPU Compute score is 9.2% higher, and the Geekbench OpenCL score is 2.6% higher. The DirectX 11 test shows a 4.3% advantage, indicating strength in older DirectX 11 games. The AMD card's 41.47 TFLOPS FP16 throughput (2:1 ratio) versus the NVIDIA's 23.04 TFLOPS (1:1) suggests the AMD can process half-precision data twice as fast, which explains its compute wins. The 512.0 GB/s bandwidth is lower, but the higher clock speeds (2250 MHz boost) help maintain performance. This GPU is for desktop builds with its dual-slot design, 2x 8-pin power, and 700 W power supply requirement. The AMD card also has a higher average benchmark score (48477 vs 38349) and sits at the 85th percentile versus the NVIDIA's 81st, making it the stronger overall performer despite losing the head-to-head majority.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs diverge on nearly every major specification. The process node is 7 nm for AMD versus 5 nm for NVIDIA. Transistor count is 26,800 million for AMD versus 45,600 million for NVIDIA. Die size is 520 mm² for AMD versus 378 mm² for NVIDIA, giving transistor densities of 51.5M/mm² and 120.6M/mm² respectively. Clock speeds: AMD base 1825 MHz, boost 2250 MHz, game 2015 MHz; NVIDIA base 975 MHz, boost 1500 MHz, no game clock listed. Memory type is GDDR6 for AMD versus GDDR7 for NVIDIA, with bandwidth of 512.0 GB/s versus 896.0 GB/s. The memory clock differs: 2000 MHz (16 Gbps) for AMD versus 1750 MHz (28 Gbps) for NVIDIA. Shading units: 4608 versus 7680. TMUs: 288 versus 240. ROPs: 128 versus 96. RT cores: 72 versus 60. Tensor cores: none versus 240. Pixel rate: 288.0 GPixel/s versus 144.0 GPixel/s. Texture rate: 648.0 GTexel/s versus 360.0 GTexel/s. FP32: 20.74 TFLOPS versus 23.04 TFLOPS. FP16: 41.47 TFLOPS (2:1) versus 23.04 TFLOPS (1:1). TDP: 300 W versus 80 W. Slot width: dual-slot versus IGP. Power connectors: 2x 8-pin versus none. Suggested PSU: 700 W versus null. Bus interface: PCIe 4.0 x16 versus PCIe 5.0 x16. Display outputs: AMD has 1x HDMI 2.1, 2x DisplayPort 1.4a, 1x USB Type-C; NVIDIA is portable device dependent. Dimensions: AMD is 267 mm long, 120 mm high, 50 mm wide; NVIDIA has no listed dimensions. Production status: AMD end-of-life, NVIDIA active. Release dates: AMD 2020, NVIDIA 2025. The AMD has a launch MSRP of 649 USD, while the NVIDIA has no launch MSRP listed. The AMD has a predecessor of Navi and successor of Navi III, while the NVIDIA's predecessor is GeForce 40 Mobile with no successor listed.