AMD Radeon RX 6800M vs NVIDIA RTX A1000 Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The recorded data splits cleanly along workload lines. The AMD Radeon RX 6800M wins every head-to-head benchmark in the database, taking all three comparisons outright. The NVIDIA RTX A1000 does not hold a single direct victory in the shared tests, but that does not mean it is without purpose.

In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the RX 6800M scores 2238 against the A1000's 969, a gap of 56.7%. This is the largest margin of the three comparisons and points to a clear advantage in modern DirectX 12 gaming workloads. The Geekbench Vulkan test shows a similar story: 94766 for the AMD part versus 49574 for the NVIDIA part, a 47.7% difference. OpenCL results narrow the gap somewhat, with the RX 6800M at 87621 and the A1000 at 52078, still a 40.6% lead for AMD.

The A1000's strengths lie outside these particular benchmarks. Its average benchmark score across all recorded tests is 34207, which places it in the 79th percentile of all GPUs. The RX 6800M, by contrast, sits at 28874 average and the 74th percentile. So while the AMD card wins the shared workload comparisons, the NVIDIA card shows a higher overall standing in the broader database. That suggests the A1000 performs relatively better in tests that are not part of the direct head-to-head set, likely compute or workstation-oriented tasks that favor its feature set.

The nearest rivals for each card reinforce this split. The A1000's closest competitor is the NVIDIA RTX A2000 12 GB, with an average score of 34154, effectively a tie at 0.2% delta. The RX 6800M's nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 570 at 28766, a 0.4% difference. Neither card is an outlier among its peers; both sit within a narrow band of similar performers.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from fundamentally different design philosophies. The NVIDIA RTX A1000 uses the GA107 chip built on Ampere architecture, manufactured by Samsung on an 8 nm process. It integrates 8,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 43.5 million per square millimeter. The AMD Radeon RX 6800M uses the Navi 22 chip on RDNA 2.0 architecture, built by TSMC on a 7 nm node. That chip packs 17,200 million transistors into a 335 mm² die, reaching 51.3 million transistors per square millimeter.

The transistor counts tell a story of scale. The AMD chip has nearly double the transistors of the NVIDIA chip and a larger die, which translates directly into more raw resources. The RX 6800M has 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units. The A1000 has 2304 shading units, 72 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. In every category except shader count, the AMD card has roughly double the hardware.

Ray tracing hardware also differs. The A1000 includes 18 RT cores and 72 tensor cores, while the RX 6800M has 40 RT cores and no tensor cores at all. This reflects their intended workloads: NVIDIA's tensor cores support AI and compute acceleration, while AMD's larger RT core count targets gaming ray tracing.

Clock speeds and memory configurations show further divergence. The A1000 runs at a base of 727 MHz and boosts to 1462 MHz, with memory at 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective). The RX 6800M operates much higher, with a base of 2116 MHz, a boost of 2390 MHz, and a game clock of 2300 MHz. Its memory runs at 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective). The AMD card pairs its 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus with 384.0 GB/s of bandwidth; the NVIDIA card offers 8 GB on a 128-bit bus with 192.0 GB/s.

Power consumption reflects the performance disparity. The A1000 is rated at 50 W TDP, while the RX 6800M draws 145 W. The NVIDIA card is single-slot with no power connectors and a suggested PSU of 250 W. The AMD card is listed as IGP (integrated graphics processor) with no power connectors and no suggested PSU figure. The A1000 uses PCIe 4.0 x8, the RX 6800M uses PCIe 4.0 x16.

The Verdict

The data points to a straightforward choice based on workload. The AMD Radeon RX 6800M is the clear winner for DirectX 12 and Vulkan gaming performance, as shown by its 56.7% lead in Steel Nomad and 47.7% lead in Vulkan. Its higher clock speeds, larger memory pool, and double the texture and pixel rates make it the better option for real-time graphics rendering.

The NVIDIA RTX A1000 serves a different purpose. Its 79th percentile ranking and average score of 34207, which exceeds the RX 6800M's 28874, indicate that its overall benchmark profile is stronger despite losing the shared tests. The presence of tensor cores and the 50 W TDP suggest a design optimized for efficiency and compute acceleration rather than raw gaming throughput. The A1000 also has a newer release date, April 2024 versus May 2021, and remains in active production, while the RX 6800M is end-of-life.

For a user prioritizing frame rates in modern game engines, the RX 6800M is the data-backed selection. For a user needing a low-power, single-slot GPU with AI acceleration and broad API support, the A1000 holds the edge in the broader database metrics. The A1000's nearest rival, the RTX A2000 12 GB, is essentially tied with it at 0.2% delta, suggesting that NVIDIA's workstation line offers consistent performance across its mobile options.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6800M wins with a score of 2238, leading the NVIDIA RTX A1000's 969 by 56.7%.

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A1000 has an average benchmark score of 34207, placing it in the 79th percentile. The AMD Radeon RX 6800M averages 28874, in the 74th percentile.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference?

A: The RTX A1000 has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 192.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RX 6800M has 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus with 384.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Does the NVIDIA GPU have tensor cores?

A: Yes, the RTX A1000 includes 72 tensor cores, while the AMD RX 6800M has no tensor cores listed.

Q: What are the power consumption figures?

A: The RTX A1000 is rated at 50 W TDP with a suggested PSU of 250 W. The RX 6800M is rated at 145 W TDP with no suggested PSU figure recorded.

Q: Which GPU is newer?

A: The RTX A1000 was released on April 15, 2024, and remains in active production. The RX 6800M was released on May 30, 2021, and is now end-of-life.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The direct comparisons in the database all favor the AMD Radeon RX 6800M. The largest win comes in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, where the RX 6800M scores 2238 against the RTX A1000's 969. The 56.7% delta represents a substantial performance gap in a modern DirectX 12 workload, one that would translate to noticeably smoother gaming in titles using that API.

The Geekbench Vulkan test shows a 47.7% lead for the AMD card, with scores of 94766 versus 49574. Vulkan is increasingly common in both games and professional applications, so this margin carries weight beyond pure gaming. The OpenCL result narrows the gap to 40.6%, with the RX 6800M at 87621 and the A1000 at 52078. OpenCL is often used in compute tasks, and while AMD still leads, the smaller delta suggests the NVIDIA card is relatively more competitive in this area.

Despite losing all three head-to-head tests, the RTX A1000's overall database standing is higher. Its average score of 34207 exceeds the RX 6800M's 28874 by about 18.5%. The A1000's nearest rival, the RTX A2000 12 GB, scores 34154, a 0.2% delta, meaning the A1000 essentially sits at the top of its immediate peer group. The RX 6800M's closest competitor, the RX 570, scores 28766, a 0.4% delta in favor of the 6800M. The RX 6800M also sits within 1% of the R9 M295X and within 1% of the Arc A370M, showing that its direct benchmark losses do not diminish its standing among similar-class GPUs.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every major specification category. The process node favors AMD, with a 7 nm TSMC fabrication versus NVIDIA's 8 nm Samsung process. Transistor counts are starkly different: 17,200 million for the RX 6800M against 8,700 million for the A1000, on die sizes of 335 mm² and 200 mm² respectively. Transistor density also favors AMD at 51.3 million per square millimeter versus 43.5 million.

Clock speeds show AMD's aggressive approach. The RX 6800M runs at a 2116 MHz base and 2390 MHz boost, with a game clock of 2300 MHz. The A1000 sits at 727 MHz base and 1462 MHz boost. Memory clocks differ as well: 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) for AMD, 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective) for NVIDIA.

Compute resources favor AMD in most counts. The RX 6800M has 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The A1000 has 2304 shading units, 72 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. Ray tracing cores favor AMD at 40 versus 18, while tensor cores exist only on the NVIDIA side at 72. Pixel rate is 153.0 GPixel/s for AMD versus 46.78 GPixel/s for NVIDIA. Texture rate is 382.4 GTexel/s versus 105.3 GTexel/s. FP32 throughput is 12.24 TFLOPS for AMD versus 6.737 TFLOPS for NVIDIA. FP16 also favors AMD at 24.47 TFLOPS (2:1) versus 6.737 TFLOPS (1:1).

Memory capacity, bus width, and bandwidth all favor AMD: 12 GB on 192-bit with 384.0 GB/s, versus 8 GB on 128-bit with 192.0 GB/s. Power consumption reverses the trend, with the A1000 at 50 W and the RX 6800M at 145 W. The A1000 is single-slot with four mini-DisplayPort 1.4a outputs; the RX 6800M has no fixed slot width and its display outputs are listed as portable device dependent. The A1000 uses PCIe 4.0 x8, the RX 6800M uses PCIe 4.0 x16. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.