AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT vs AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Comparison

The Verdict

The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT wins every recorded head-to-head benchmark against the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64, and the margins are not subtle. Across four tests, the RX 6850M XT takes all four wins, with deltas ranging from 35.2% to 87.6%. The database places the RX 6850M XT at the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, while the RX Vega 64 sits at the 86th percentile. That percentile gap translates into a clear performance hierarchy: the RX 6850M XT is the faster card in every measured scenario.

Choose the RX 6850M XT if you need maximum compute throughput in a mobile or compact platform. Its average benchmark score is 78,940, compared to 50,001 for the RX Vega 64, a lead of roughly 58%. The RX 6850M XT also delivers a far better result in Geekbench Metal, scoring 128,981 versus 68,750, an 87.6% advantage. For workloads that lean on Metal, this is not close.

Choose the RX Vega 64 only if you specifically need a desktop card with traditional display outputs and a dual-slot form factor. It offers 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, while the RX 6850M XT has portable-device-dependent outputs. The RX Vega 64 is also the only one of the two with a launch MSRP of 499 USD. But on raw performance, the RX Vega 64 falls behind in every benchmark in the database.

The nearest rivals in the database reinforce this split. The RX 6850M XT sits within 1.6% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D and within 1.1% of the RTX 5090, while the RX Vega 64 sits within 3.1% of the RX 6800 XT and within 1.9% of the RX 6900 XT. The RX 6850M XT is competing in a higher performance tier altogether.

Architecture Differences

The RX 6850M XT uses the Navi 22 chip built on RDNA 2.0 architecture, fabricated by TSMC on a 7 nm process. The RX Vega 64 uses the Vega 10 chip built on GCN 5.0 architecture, fabricated by GlobalFoundries on a 14 nm process. The process node difference is significant: 7 nm versus 14 nm, which explains much of the efficiency gap between the two.

Transistor counts tell an interesting story. The RX 6850M XT packs 17,200 million transistors on a 335 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 51.3 million per mm². The RX Vega 64 has 12,500 million transistors on a much larger 495 mm² die, yielding only 25.3 million per mm². The RX 6850M XT crams more than twice the transistor density into a smaller package.

The memory subsystems are fundamentally different. The RX 6850M XT uses 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, delivering 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX Vega 64 uses 8 GB of HBM2 on a 2048-bit bus, delivering 483.8 GB/s. Despite the much wider bus, the RX Vega 64 only achieves 12% more bandwidth, and it does so with half the capacity.

The RX 6850M XT brings 40 ray tracing cores, a feature the RX Vega 64 lacks entirely. It also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the RX Vega 64 is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.3. Both cards support OpenGL 4.6.

The power situation is reversed from what the desktop form factor might suggest. The RX 6850M XT, despite being an integrated-class part with no power connectors and an IGP slot width, carries a TDP of 165 W. The RX Vega 64, a dual-slot desktop card with 2x 8-pin power connectors and a suggested PSU of 600 W, has a TDP of 295 W. The RX 6850M XT delivers substantially more performance while drawing nearly half the power budget.

The RX Vega 64 uses PCIe 3.0 x16, while the RX 6850M XT uses PCIe 4.0 x16. The RX Vega 64 measures 280 mm in length, 111 mm in height, and 40 mm in width. The RX 6850M XT has no recorded dimensions because it is an IGP-class mobile part.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The RX 6850M XT has an average benchmark score of 78,940, while the RX Vega 64 has an average score of 50,001. That is a 57.9% advantage for the RX 6850M XT.

Q: Does the RX Vega 64 have any ray tracing hardware?

A: No. The RX Vega 64 has no ray tracing cores listed in the database. The RX 6850M XT has 40 ray tracing cores.

Q: How do the two compare in power consumption?

A: The RX 6850M XT is rated at 165 W TDP, while the RX Vega 64 is rated at 295 W TDP. The RX Vega 64 also requires 2x 8-pin power connectors and a 600 W suggested PSU, whereas the RX 6850M XT uses no power connectors.

Q: Which GPU has more memory bandwidth?

A: The RX Vega 64 has 483.8 GB/s of bandwidth, slightly higher than the RX 6850M XT's 432.0 GB/s. However, the RX 6850M XT has 12 GB of memory versus 8 GB on the RX Vega 64.

Q: How does the RX 6850M XT compare to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090?

A: The RX 6850M XT is 1.1% behind the RTX 5090 in average benchmark score. It is 1.6% ahead of the RTX 5090 D.

Q: How does the RX Vega 64 compare to the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT?

A: The RX Vega 64 is 3.1% ahead of the RX 6800 XT in average benchmark score. It is 1.9% behind the RX 6900 XT.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every major specification category.

The RX 6850M XT is built on a 7 nm process by TSMC, while the RX Vega 64 uses a 14 nm process by GlobalFoundries. Transistor count is 17,200 million versus 12,500 million. Die size is 335 mm² versus 495 mm². Transistor density is 51.3M per mm² versus 25.3M per mm².

The RX 6850M XT has a base clock of 2321 MHz and a boost clock of 2581 MHz, with a game clock of 2463 MHz. The RX Vega 64 has a base clock of 1247 MHz and a boost clock of 1546 MHz, with no game clock listed. Memory clocks are 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) for the RX 6850M XT versus 945 MHz (1890 Mbps effective) for the RX Vega 64.

Memory configuration: the RX 6850M XT has 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus with 432.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RX Vega 64 has 8 GB of HBM2 on a 2048-bit bus with 483.8 GB/s bandwidth.

Compute units differ in composition. The RX 6850M XT has 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The RX Vega 64 has 4096 shading units, 256 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. Despite having fewer shading units and TMUs, the RX 6850M XT produces higher pixel and texture rates: 165.2 GPixel/s and 413.0 GTexel/s versus 98.94 GPixel/s and 395.8 GTexel/s for the RX Vega 64.

FP32 compute is 13.21 TFLOPS for the RX 6850M XT versus 12.66 TFLOPS for the RX Vega 64. FP16 is 26.43 TFLOPS versus 25.33 TFLOPS, both at 2:1 ratio.

The RX 6850M XT has 40 ray tracing cores; the RX Vega 64 has none. The RX 6850M XT supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the RX Vega 64 supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.3.

TDP is 165 W for the RX 6850M XT versus 295 W for the RX Vega 64. The RX 6850M XT is an IGP slot width with no power connectors. The RX Vega 64 is dual-slot with 2x 8-pin power connectors and a 600 W suggested PSU.

Bus interface: PCIe 4.0 x16 versus PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs: the RX 6850M XT is portable-device dependent, while the RX Vega 64 has 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a.

Release timing: the RX 6850M XT released on 2022-01-03, while the RX Vega 64 released on 2017-08-06. Both are end-of-life.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The RX 6850M XT wins all four head-to-head benchmarks. The smallest margin is 35.2%, which is already a decisive victory.

In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the RX 6850M XT scores 2257 against 1669 for the RX Vega 64. That is a 35.2% lead. This is the closest result in the entire head-to-head, and it still represents a massive performance gap in a modern DirectX 12 workload.

In Geekbench Metal, the RX 6850M XT scores 128,981 against 68,750 for the RX Vega 64. The delta is 87.6%, the largest margin of any test. This suggests the RDNA 2.0 architecture has a substantial advantage in Apple's Metal API, likely due to the newer instruction set and memory architecture. The RX Vega 64 scores less than half of what the RX 6850M XT achieves here.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 6850M XT scores 85,040 against 62,552 for the RX Vega 64. The delta is 36%. This is a more traditional compute workload, and the RX 6850M XT still wins by a significant margin.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the RX 6850M XT scores 99,483 against 67,032 for the RX Vega 64. The delta is 48.4%. Vulkan is the cross-platform graphics API, and the RX 6850M XT extends its lead beyond what OpenCL shows.

The average benchmark scores tell the same story. The RX 6850M XT averages 78,940, while the RX Vega 64 averages 50,001. The RX 6850M XT's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB at 79,396 (0.6% ahead), the Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB at 79,605 (0.8% ahead), the RTX 5090 at 79,842 (1.1% ahead), and the RTX 5090 D at 77,712 (1.6% behind). The RX Vega 64's nearest rivals include the RTX 5070 Ti at 49,957 (0.1% ahead), the Intel Arc A550M at 49,737 (0.5% ahead), the RX 6900 XT at 50,951 (1.9% ahead), and the RX 6800 XT at 48,477 (3.1% behind). The RX 6850M XT is in a performance class that includes modern flagship desktop GPUs, while the RX Vega 64 is competing with mid-range and previous-generation parts.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 6850M XT wins in every benchmark category recorded in the database. There are no test results where the RX Vega 64 comes out ahead.

The RX 6850M XT is the clear choice for Metal-based workloads. Its 87.6% lead in Geekbench Metal is the single largest margin in the comparison, and it suggests that any application optimized for Apple's graphics stack will run dramatically better on the newer card.

For DirectX 12 gaming, the RX 6850M XT leads by 35.2% in 3DMark Steel Nomad. This is a modern DX12 test, and the RX 6850M XT's DirectX 12 Ultimate support with ray tracing cores gives it a feature set the RX Vega 64 cannot match.

For Vulkan compute and rendering, the RX 6850M XT leads by 48.4% in Geekbench Vulkan. The newer architecture handles the explicit graphics API more efficiently despite having fewer shading units.

For OpenCL compute, the RX 6850M XT leads by 36%. This is the closest compute result, but it is still a substantial win. The RX Vega 64's higher shading unit count (4096 versus 2560) does not overcome the clock speed and efficiency advantages of the RX 6850M XT.

The RX Vega 64 retains a few niche advantages. It offers 483.8 GB/s of memory bandwidth, which is 12% higher than the RX 6850M XT. It has a wider 2048-bit memory bus, which can matter in bandwidth-bound scenarios. It also has physical display outputs (1x HDMI 2.0b, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a) and a dual-slot desktop form factor, making it a plug-and-play card for existing desktop systems. But none of these advantages show up in the benchmark results.

The RX 6850M XT also wins on efficiency by a wide margin. Its 165 W TDP is nearly half the RX Vega 64's 295 W, yet it delivers between 35% and 88% more performance depending on the test. The RX Vega 64 requires a 600 W suggested PSU and 2x 8-pin power connectors, while the RX 6850M XT uses no power connectors at all.

For a builder choosing between these two, the database is unambiguous. The RX 6850M XT is the faster, more efficient, and more capable GPU in every measured metric. The RX Vega 64 is a legacy desktop part that has been surpassed by a mobile-class GPU from a newer generation. Pick the RX 6850M XT unless you specifically need a desktop card with standard display outputs and a traditional power connector layout.