AMD Radeon RX 6800M vs NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 6800M and NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 represent two very different philosophies in GPU design: one is a mobile-first RDNA 2.0 part aimed at high-end laptops, the other a desktop Turing-based workstation behemoth. The benchmark data shows a decisive, across-the-board victory for the NVIDIA card, which wins all nine head-to-head tests, though the margin varies wildly depending on the workload. This analysis breaks down exactly where each GPU excels, who should buy which, and what the specification sheets reveal about their divergent architectures.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 outperforms the AMD Radeon RX 6800M in every single benchmark test recorded. The largest gap appears in compute-heavy workloads, where the RTX 8000’s advantage is staggering. In the Passmark GPU Compute test, the NVIDIA card scores 9,992 against the AMD’s 5,032, a delta of -49.6% for the Radeon. This means the Quadro delivers nearly double the raw compute throughput, a critical factor for rendering, simulation, and AI inference tasks. Similarly, in the Passmark DirectX 11 test, the RTX 8000 posts 188 versus the RX 6800M’s 127, a 32.4% deficit for the AMD part, reinforcing the pattern that NVIDIA holds a significant edge in legacy DirectX API performance.

The Vulkan and OpenCL results tell a similar story, though with slightly narrower margins. In Geekbench Vulkan, the RTX 8000 scores 122,637 against the RX 6800M’s 94,766, a 22.7% advantage. The Geekbench OpenCL test shows the NVIDIA card at 101,883 versus 87,621 for AMD, a 14% lead. These results suggest that even in modern, low-level APIs where AMD’s RDNA 2.0 is generally competitive, the Quadro’s sheer scale—more shaders, more memory bandwidth, and higher power envelope—overwhelms the mobile chip. The gap narrows further in the Passmark DirectX 12 test, where the RTX 8000 wins with 79 points against 65, a 17.7% margin, indicating that the RX 6800M is relatively strongest in the most contemporary graphics API.

The most one-sided results outside of compute come from the DirectX 9 and G2D tests. In DirectX 9, the RTX 8000 scores 211 versus 147 for the AMD card, a 30.3% lead. The G2D (2D graphics) test shows the largest percentage gap of all: the RTX 8000 reaches 866 while the RX 6800M manages only 538, a 37.9% deficit. This suggests the NVIDIA card has far superior 2D and desktop composition performance, likely due to its higher fill rates and more robust display engine. The Passmark G3D test, a synthetic overall 3D graphics measure, confirms the trend with the RTX 8000 at 19,799 versus 13,261 for the Radeon, a 33% difference.

It is worth remembering while the RTX 8000 wins every test, the RX 6800M is not a weak performer in absolute terms. Its 74th percentile ranking among all GPUs matches the Quadro’s exactly, and its average benchmark score of 28,874 is actually slightly higher than the RTX 8000’s 28,421. This is because the AMD card’s scores are more consistent across its benchmark suite, while the NVIDIA card’s massive compute wins are offset by relatively lower scores in other tests. The nearest rivals for the RX 6800M include the AMD Radeon RX 570 (deltaPct 0.4%) and the AMD Radeon RX 470 (deltaPct -0.4%), showing it sits firmly in the mid-range desktop GPU tier. The RTX 8000’s nearest rivals are similarly positioned, with the AMD Radeon R9 M295X (deltaPct -0.6%) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti (deltaPct 1.4%) showing that its average score is comparable to older high-end parts, despite its workstation pedigree.

The Verdict

The data presents a clear choice based on intended use case. The NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 is the superior performer in every measured benchmark, and the margins are not trivial. For workloads that rely on compute throughput, the RTX 8000 is in a different league, offering nearly double the Passmark GPU Compute score of the RX 6800M. Its 48 GB of memory and 672 GB/s of bandwidth provide a massive advantage for large datasets, and its 576 tensor cores make it a far more capable platform for AI and machine learning tasks. If the job requires maximum raw processing power and unlimited VRAM, the RTX 8000 is the clear choice, despite its higher power draw and dual-slot form factor.

However, the RX 6800M is not without its merits. The data shows it is a modern, capable GPU that sits at the 74th percentile of all GPUs, and its average benchmark score is slightly higher than the RTX 8000’s. Its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory and 384 GB/s bandwidth are respectable for a mobile part. The Radeon’s advantage lies in its efficiency and form factor: it is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with no power connectors, drawing 145 W compared to the RTX 8000’s 260 W. For a laptop user who needs solid 3D performance without the bulk and power requirements of a desktop workstation card, the RX 6800M is the practical choice. It also supports PCIe 4.0, which offers double the bandwidth of the RTX 8000’s PCIe 3.0 interface, a benefit for future-proofing. In short, the RTX 8000 is the workstation champion, while the RX 6800M is the high-performance mobile option.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6800M has a slightly higher average benchmark score of 28,874, compared to the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000’s 28,421.

Q: What is the largest performance gap between the two cards?

A: The largest gap is in the Passmark GPU Compute test, where the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 scores 9,992 versus 5,032 for the AMD Radeon RX 6800M, a 49.6% difference.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon RX 6800M win any benchmark tests?

A: No. In the head-to-head benchmark comparison, the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 wins all 9 tests, with the AMD card trailing in every instance.

Q: What is the memory capacity difference between the two cards?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 has 48 GB of GDDR6 memory, while the AMD Radeon RX 6800M has 12 GB of GDDR6 memory.

Q: How do the two cards compare in terms of DirectX 12 performance?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 leads in the Passmark DirectX 12 test with a score of 79, while the AMD Radeon RX 6800M scores 65, a 17.7% advantage for NVIDIA.

Q: What is the release date difference between the two products?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6800M was released on May 30, 2021, while the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 was released earlier on August 12, 2018.

Specification Differences

The specification sheets reveal fundamental differences in design philosophy. The NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 is a massive desktop card, measuring 267 mm in length and 111 mm in height, and it is a dual-slot design. In contrast, the AMD Radeon RX 6800M is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with no dimensions listed, designed to be soldered onto a laptop motherboard. This form factor difference dictates power delivery: the RTX 8000 requires a 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin power connector and a 600 W suggested PSU, while the RX 6800M has no power connectors and draws its power from the motherboard.

The memory subsystems are starkly different. The RTX 8000 offers 48 GB of GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus, yielding 672 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 6800M has 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, providing 384 GB/s. The NVIDIA card’s memory clock is 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective), while the AMD card runs at 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective), though the wider bus on the RTX 8000 gives it a decisive bandwidth advantage. The bus interface also differs: the RX 6800M uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while the RTX 8000 uses PCIe 3.0 x16.

In terms of display outputs, the RTX 8000 offers 4x DisplayPort 1.4a and 1x USB Type-C, while the RX 6800M’s outputs are listed as “Portable Device Dependent,” reflecting its mobile nature. The TDP is another major differentiator: the RTX 8000 consumes 260 W, nearly double the RX 6800M’s 145 W. Finally, the launch MSRP for the RTX 8000 is 9,999 USD, while the RX 6800M has no listed launch MSRP.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two GPUs is profound, rooted in different process nodes and design goals. The AMD Radeon RX 6800M is built on RDNA 2.0 architecture using a 7 nm process at TSMC, with a die size of 335 mm² and 17,200 million transistors. The NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 uses the older Turing architecture on a 12 nm process, also at TSMC, but its die is much larger at 754 mm² with 18,600 million transistors. This results in vastly different transistor densities: the AMD chip packs 51.3 million transistors per mm², while the NVIDIA chip has just 24.7 million per mm², reflecting the process node advantage of the RDNA 2.0 part.

The compute resources are heavily skewed toward the NVIDIA card. The RTX 8000 has 4,608 shading units, 288 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, compared to the RX 6800M’s 2,560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The RTX 8000 also has 72 RT cores and 576 tensor cores, while the RX 6800M has 40 RT cores and no tensor cores at all. This explains the massive compute benchmark disparity. Clock speeds tell a different story: the RX 6800M runs at a base of 2116 MHz and a boost of 2390 MHz, far higher than the RTX 8000’s 1395 MHz base and 1770 MHz boost. The AMD card also has a game clock of 2300 MHz, a feature the NVIDIA card lacks.

These architectural differences manifest in theoretical performance figures. The RTX 8000 achieves 16.31 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 32.62 TFLOPS of FP16, while the RX 6800M delivers 12.24 TFLOPS FP32 and 24.47 TFLOPS FP16. The pixel rates are similar (169.9 GPixel/s for NVIDIA vs 153.0 GPixel/s for AMD), but the texture rate favors NVIDIA at 509.8 GTexel/s versus 382.4 GTexel/s. Both cards support the same API levels (DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, Vulkan 1.4), but the NVIDIA card’s tensor cores give it a unique capability for AI workloads that the AMD card cannot match. The RX 6800M’s predecessor is Polaris Mobile, while the RTX 8000’s is Quadro Volta, with the NVIDIA card’s successor being Workstation Ampere, a lineage that highlights its role as a top-tier professional tool.