AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT vs NVIDIA A100 PCIe 40 GB Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data contains two direct benchmark comparisons between the NVIDIA A100 PCIe 40 GB and the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT. The NVIDIA part wins both, and the margin is substantial in one test and decisive in the other.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the A100 scores 178,627 points against 85,040 for the RX 6850M XT. That is a delta of 110.1% in favor of NVIDIA, meaning the A100 delivers more than double the raw compute throughput in this workload. The RX 6850M XT’s score is closer to the A100’s nearest rivals than to the A100 itself. For context, the A100’s nearest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro W6800X, averages 160,671 points, which is only 1.1% behind the A100. The RX 6850M XT’s OpenCL result of 85,040 is roughly half of what the A100 achieves, placing it far outside the competitive cluster the A100 sits in.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the A100 leads again, posting 146,380 points versus 99,483 for the AMD part. The delta here is 47.1%, a large but less extreme gap than OpenCL. The RX 6850M XT’s Vulkan score is still respectable, but it falls well short of the A100’s result. Notably, the RX 6850M XT also has a Geekbench Metal score of 128,981, but the A100 has no Metal result in the database, so that comparison cannot be made directly.

The win count is 2 for the A100 and 0 for the RX 6850M XT across the shared tests. The A100’s average benchmark score of 162,504 sits at the 97th percentile against all GPUs, while the RX 6850M XT averages 78,940, which lands at the 92nd percentile. Both are high-ranking parts, but the A100 is in a different performance tier. The A100’s nearest rivals, such as the NVIDIA RTX A5500 at 165,217 and the NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation at 166,094, are all within a few percent of the A100. The RX 6850M XT’s nearest rivals, including the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB at 79,396 and the GeForce RTX 5090 at 79,842, are similarly clustered around its average score. This shows each part is competitive within its own segment, but the segments are far apart.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The NVIDIA A100 PCIe 40 GB wins decisively with a score of 178,627 versus 85,040 for the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT, a delta of 110.1%.

Q: How large is the Vulkan performance gap?

A: The A100 scores 146,380 in Geekbench Vulkan, while the RX 6850M XT scores 99,483. That gives the A100 a 47.1% advantage.

Q: Are these GPUs in the same performance tier?

A: No. The A100 has an average benchmark score of 162,504 and sits at the 97th percentile among all GPUs. The RX 6850M XT averages 78,940 and is at the 92nd percentile. The nearest rivals for each part confirm the separation: the A100 competes with cards like the NVIDIA RTX A5500, while the RX 6850M XT is near the Tesla P100 and GeForce RTX 5090.

Q: Does the AMD GPU have any benchmark result the NVIDIA card lacks?

A: Yes. The RX 6850M XT has a Geekbench Metal score of 128,981 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2,257. The A100 has no Metal or 3DMark results recorded in the database.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference?

A: The A100 uses 40 GB of HBM2e on a 5120-bit bus with 1.56 TB/s bandwidth. The RX 6850M XT uses 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus with 432.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU has higher raw FP32 throughput?

A: The A100 delivers 19.49 TFLOPS of FP32, while the RX 6850M XT delivers 13.21 TFLOPS. The A100 also leads in FP16, with 77.97 TFLOPS (4:1) versus 26.43 TFLOPS (2:1).

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural lineages. The NVIDIA A100 PCIe 40 GB is built on the GA100 chip using the Ampere architecture, belonging to the Server Ampere generation. It is fabricated on a 7 nm process at TSMC, with 54,200 million transistors on a die size of 826 mm². The transistor density works out to 65.6 million per square millimeter. The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT uses the Navi 22 chip with RDNA 2.0 architecture, from the Navi Mobile RX 6000M generation. It is also on a 7 nm TSMC process, but with 17,200 million transistors on a 335 mm² die, giving a density of 51.3 million per square millimeter.

The compute resources differ sharply. The A100 has 6,912 shading units, 432 texture mapping units, and 160 raster operation units. It also has 432 tensor cores, but no dedicated ray tracing cores are listed. The RX 6850M XT has 2,560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, plus 40 ray tracing cores. It has no tensor cores listed. The A100’s tensor core array is a key architectural feature for matrix math workloads, while the RX 6850M XT’s ray accelerator hardware targets real-time ray tracing.

The memory subsystem is another fundamental split. The A100 uses HBM2e memory with a 5120-bit bus and 1.56 TB/s of bandwidth. The RX 6850M XT uses GDDR6 with a 192-bit bus and 432.0 GB/s. The A100’s bandwidth is roughly 3.6 times higher, which matters for large data movement in server workloads. The A100’s 40 GB capacity also dwarfs the RX 6850M XT’s 12 GB.

Clock behavior differs as well. The A100 runs at a 765 MHz base clock and 1410 MHz boost. The RX 6850M XT runs far higher, with a 2321 MHz base, 2463 MHz game clock, and 2581 MHz boost. The AMD part’s higher clocks compensate somewhat for its smaller compute unit count, but the A100’s raw shader count and tensor core array still give it the overall throughput lead.

The A100 has no display outputs, while the RX 6850M XT’s outputs are listed as portable device dependent, reflecting its mobile nature. The A100 is dual-slot with an 8-pin EPS power connector and a 250 W TDP, with a suggested 600 W power supply. The RX 6850M XT is an integrated graphics package (IGP) with no power connectors and a 165 W TDP. The A100’s API support for DirectX, OpenGL, and Vulkan is not specified, whereas the RX 6850M XT lists DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Specification Differences

The key specification differences are straightforward. The A100 has 40 GB of HBM2e memory, the RX 6850M XT has 12 GB of GDDR6. The A100’s bus width is 5120 bits versus 192 bits, and bandwidth is 1.56 TB/s versus 432.0 GB/s. The A100 has 6,912 shading units, 432 TMUs, and 160 ROPs; the RX 6850M XT has 2,560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The A100 has 432 tensor cores, while the RX 6850M XT has 40 ray tracing cores. The A100’s base clock is 765 MHz with a 1410 MHz boost; the RX 6850M XT’s base is 2321 MHz with a 2581 MHz boost. The A100’s FP32 throughput is 19.49 TFLOPS, the RX 6850M XT’s is 13.21 TFLOPS. FP16 is 77.97 TFLOPS (4:1) versus 26.43 TFLOPS (2:1). The A100 has a 250 W TDP and is dual-slot with an 8-pin EPS connector; the RX 6850M XT has a 165 W TDP and is an IGP with no connectors. The A100 measures 267 mm in length and 111 mm in height; the RX 6850M XT has no recorded dimensions. The A100’s transistor count is 54,200 million on an 826 mm² die; the RX 6850M XT has 17,200 million on 335 mm². The A100’s release date is June 21, 2020; the RX 6850M XT’s is January 3, 2022. Both are end-of-life products.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA A100 PCIe 40 GB wins in every shared benchmark, and its strengths point to compute-heavy server environments. Its 432 tensor cores, 40 GB of HBM2e memory, and 1.56 TB/s bandwidth make it suited for large-scale matrix operations, deep learning training, and data center inference tasks where memory capacity and bandwidth are critical. The 110.1% OpenCL lead over the RX 6850M XT reflects the A100’s sheer compute density, and the 47.1% Vulkan lead shows it also holds up in graphics-adjacent workloads despite having no display outputs. The A100’s 97th percentile ranking and its tight clustering with professional server cards like the RTX A5500 and RTX 4500 Ada Generation reinforce its position as a server-class accelerator.

The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT wins in the categories that are not shared benchmarks. It has a Geekbench Metal score of 128,981 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2,257, neither of which the A100 has recorded. Its 40 ray tracing cores and DirectX 12 Ultimate support make it architecturally ready for ray-traced gaming loads, and its portable device dependent display outputs confirm its mobile focus. The RX 6850M XT also has a significantly higher boost clock at 2581 MHz versus the A100’s 1410 MHz, which helps in latency-sensitive, single-threaded graphics tasks. Its 165 W TDP and IGP form factor mean it can fit into laptops where the A100’s dual-slot, 250 W design with an EPS connector would be impossible. The RX 6850M XT’s 92nd percentile ranking is still high, and its nearest rivals include the GeForce RTX 5090, showing it competes with top-tier consumer and prosumer parts.

In practical terms, the choice depends on the environment. For a server rack with power delivery and cooling for a dual-slot card, the A100 is the clear performer, with more than double the OpenCL throughput and a 47.1% Vulkan edge. For a mobile workstation or gaming laptop, the RX 6850M XT is the only viable option of the two, given its IGP design and lower power draw. The data shows no overlap in the benchmark results where the AMD part closes the gap; the A100 wins outright in every test they share. The RX 6850M XT’s unique Metal and Steel Nomad results, however, give it coverage in workloads the A100 cannot address at all.