AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark results are decisive: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti wins 8 of 10 recorded head-to-head tests, while the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT takes only 2. The most lopsided margins appear in compute and Vulkan workloads. In PassMark GPU Compute, the RTX 4070 Ti scores 18,396 against the RX 6950 XT's 14,199, a 22.8% advantage. Similarly, in Geekbench Vulkan, NVIDIA leads 213,808 to 165,212, a 22.7% gap. These two tests show the RTX 4070 Ti's architecture pulling far ahead in tasks that stress parallel throughput and modern API efficiency.

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test also favors NVIDIA, with a score of 5,024 versus 4,235 for AMD, a 15.7% difference. This is a modern DirectX 12 workload, and the margin indicates that the RTX 4070 Ti handles current-generation rendering pipelines more effectively. Legacy DirectX tests show a mixed picture but still favor NVIDIA overall. In PassMark DirectX 9, NVIDIA wins 352 to 303, a 13.9% lead. PassMark DirectX 10 goes to NVIDIA 187 to 164, a 12.3% margin. PassMark DirectX 12 is nearly tied, with NVIDIA at 116 and AMD at 114, a slim 1.7% difference. PassMark G3D also lands on NVIDIA's side, 31,624 versus 28,070, an 11.2% edge. PassMark G2D shows NVIDIA ahead 1,200 to 1,063, an 11.4% gap.

The AMD card's two wins are notable for their contexts. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 6950 XT scores 205,998 versus 176,953 for NVIDIA, a 16.4% advantage. This is a substantial lead in a compute-oriented benchmark that often favors raw shader throughput. In PassMark DirectX 11, AMD wins narrowly, 300 to 288, a 4.2% margin. That result suggests the older DirectX 11 path still responds well to AMD's hardware design. Across the full suite, the average benchmark score tells a broader story: the RX 6950 XT averages 58,392 across all recorded tests, while the RTX 4070 Ti averages 44,795. That difference is driven largely by the AMD card's massive Geekbench OpenCL score and its presence in the PassMark suite, but head-to-head comparisons show NVIDIA winning in the majority of individual disciplines.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different manufacturing nodes and design philosophies. AMD builds the RX 6950 XT on TSMC's 7 nm process, while NVIDIA uses TSMC's 5 nm node for the RTX 4070 Ti. The transistor counts reflect this: AMD packs 26,800 million transistors on a 520 mm² die, yielding a density of 51.5 million transistors per square millimeter. NVIDIA fits 35,800 million transistors onto a much smaller 294 mm² die, achieving 121.8 million transistors per square millimeter, more than double AMD's density.

The core configurations diverge significantly. The RX 6950 XT uses the Navi 21 chip with RDNA 2.0 architecture, featuring 5,120 shading units, 320 texture mapping units, and 128 raster output units. It also carries 80 ray tracing cores. The RTX 4070 Ti uses the AD104 chip with Ada Lovelace architecture, offering 7,680 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. NVIDIA's card includes 60 ray tracing cores and 240 tensor cores, the latter being absent from AMD's specification list. The shading unit advantage for NVIDIA is clear, but AMD leads in TMUs and ROPs, which affects texture and pixel throughput. Pixel rate for AMD is 295.7 GPixel/s, while NVIDIA produces 208.8 GPixel/s. Texture rate favors AMD as well, at 739.2 GTexel/s versus 626.4 GTexel/s. However, FP32 compute flips the result: NVIDIA reaches 40.09 TFLOPS, while AMD delivers 23.65 TFLOPS. FP16 also differs, with NVIDIA achieving 40.09 TFLOPS at 1:1 ratio and AMD reaching 47.31 TFLOPS at 2:1 ratio.

Memory configurations are distinct. The RX 6950 XT uses 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, providing 576.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 4070 Ti uses 12 GB of GDDR6X on a 192-bit bus, yielding 504.2 GB/s. Clock speeds also differ: AMD's base clock is 1,860 MHz with a boost of 2,310 MHz and a game clock of 2,100 MHz, while NVIDIA starts at 2,310 MHz base and boosts to 2,610 MHz. Memory clocks show AMD at 18 Gbps effective and NVIDIA at 21 Gbps effective. Power consumption favors NVIDIA, with a TDP of 285 W versus AMD's 335 W. The slot design differs too: AMD is triple-slot with 2x 8-pin connectors, while NVIDIA is dual-slot with a single 16-pin connector. Suggested PSU is 700 W for AMD and 600 W for NVIDIA. Physical dimensions vary, with AMD measuring 267 mm in length, 120 mm in height, and 50 mm in width, while NVIDIA is 285 mm long, 112 mm tall, and 42 mm wide.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 4070 Ti dominates in compute-heavy and modern API workloads. The 22.8% lead in PassMark GPU Compute and 22.7% lead in Geekbench Vulkan indicate that NVIDIA's Ada Lovelace architecture is better suited for tasks that rely on parallel arithmetic and Vulkan's low-level access. The 15.7% margin in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 reinforces this, showing strength in current DirectX 12 rendering. Legacy DirectX performance is also mostly on NVIDIA's side, with wins in DirectX 9, DirectX 10, and a narrow DirectX 12 result. The G3D and G2D scores add to this picture: NVIDIA leads by 11.2% and 11.4% respectively, covering both 3D gaming and 2D desktop workloads.

The RX 6950 XT wins where raw shader throughput and older API paths matter. The 16.4% lead in Geekbench OpenCL suggests that AMD's 5,120 shading units, combined with its higher TMU and ROP counts, excel in OpenCL compute tasks. The 4.2% win in PassMark DirectX 11 is smaller but still meaningful, indicating that the RDNA 2.0 architecture retains an edge in that particular API. For users focused on OpenCL-based applications or DirectX 11 titles, the RX 6950 XT offers measurable advantages. The AMD card also provides more memory at 16 GB versus 12 GB, and higher bandwidth at 576.0 GB/s versus 504.2 GB/s, which could benefit texture-heavy workloads or high-resolution assets even if the benchmark suite does not directly capture that.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every major specification field. Process node: AMD uses 7 nm, NVIDIA uses 5 nm. Transistor count: AMD has 26,800 million, NVIDIA has 35,800 million. Die size: AMD is 520 mm², NVIDIA is 294 mm². Transistor density: AMD achieves 51.5 million per mm², NVIDIA achieves 121.8 million per mm². Base clock: AMD runs at 1,860 MHz, NVIDIA at 2,310 MHz. Boost clock: AMD boosts to 2,310 MHz, NVIDIA to 2,610 MHz. Memory size: AMD has 16 GB, NVIDIA has 12 GB. Memory type: AMD uses GDDR6, NVIDIA uses GDDR6X. Bus width: AMD uses 256-bit, NVIDIA uses 192-bit. Bandwidth: AMD delivers 576.0 GB/s, NVIDIA delivers 504.2 GB/s. Shading units: AMD has 5,120, NVIDIA has 7,680. TMUs: AMD has 320, NVIDIA has 240. ROPs: AMD has 128, NVIDIA has 80. Ray tracing cores: AMD has 80, NVIDIA has 60. Tensor cores: NVIDIA has 240, AMD has none listed. Pixel rate: AMD is 295.7 GPixel/s, NVIDIA is 208.8 GPixel/s. Texture rate: AMD is 739.2 GTexel/s, NVIDIA is 626.4 GTexel/s. FP32: AMD is 23.65 TFLOPS, NVIDIA is 40.09 TFLOPS. FP16: AMD is 47.31 TFLOPS, NVIDIA is 40.09 TFLOPS. TDP: AMD is 335 W, NVIDIA is 285 W. Slot width: AMD is triple-slot, NVIDIA is dual-slot. Power connectors: AMD uses 2x 8-pin, NVIDIA uses 1x 16-pin. Suggested PSU: AMD is 700 W, NVIDIA is 600 W. Display outputs: AMD has 1x HDMI 2.1 and 2x DisplayPort 1.4a, NVIDIA has 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. Dimensions: AMD is 267 mm long, 120 mm tall, 50 mm wide; NVIDIA is 285 mm long, 112 mm tall, 42 mm wide.

FAQ

Q: Which card wins in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti wins with a score of 5,024 against the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT's 4,235, a 15.7% advantage.

Q: How does the RX 6950 XT perform in OpenCL compute?

A: The RX 6950 XT leads in Geekbench OpenCL with a score of 205,998, which is 16.4% higher than the RTX 4070 Ti's 176,953.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference?

A: The RX 6950 XT has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 576.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the RTX 4070 Ti has 12 GB of GDDR6X on a 192-bit bus with 504.2 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card has higher FP32 compute?

A: The RTX 4070 Ti reaches 40.09 TFLOPS, while the RX 6950 XT delivers 23.65 TFLOPS.

Q: Are there any DirectX tests where AMD wins?

A: Yes, in PassMark DirectX 11, the RX 6950 XT scores 300 versus 288 for NVIDIA, a 4.2% win. All other DirectX tests in the suite favor NVIDIA.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The RX 6950 XT has a TDP of 335 W, while the RTX 4070 Ti has a TDP of 285 W. The suggested PSU is 700 W for AMD and 600 W for NVIDIA.

The Verdict

The recorded data points to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti as the stronger overall performer. It wins 8 of 10 head-to-head tests, including all major modern workloads: 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, Geekbench Vulkan, PassMark GPU Compute, and all legacy DirectX tests except DirectX 11. The 22.8% margin in compute and 22.7% margin in Vulkan are decisive, and the 15.7% lead in the DX12 Steel Nomad test confirms that NVIDIA handles current-generation rendering better. The RTX 4070 Ti also does this at lower power, with a TDP of 285 W versus 335 W, and in a smaller dual-slot design with a 600 W suggested PSU. The higher FP32 throughput of 40.09 TFLOPS versus 23.65 TFLOPS aligns with its compute wins. Users who prioritize modern gaming, Vulkan-based applications, or compute-heavy tasks should choose the RTX 4070 Ti.

The AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT is not without merit. Its 16.4% win in Geekbench OpenCL shows that it excels in that specific compute API, and its 4.2% DirectX 11 victory indicates compatibility with older titles. The 16 GB memory capacity and 576.0 GB/s bandwidth exceed NVIDIA's 12 GB and 504.2 GB/s, which could matter for memory-intensive scenarios, though the benchmark suite does not directly measure that. The higher TMU and ROP counts contribute to a pixel rate of 295.7 GPixel/s and texture rate of 739.2 GTexel/s, both above NVIDIA's figures. Users focused on OpenCL workloads or DirectX 11 compatibility might prefer the RX 6950 XT, but for the majority of tested scenarios, the data favors NVIDIA. The RTX 4070 Ti is the safer choice for a broad range of applications, while the RX 6950 XT serves a narrower set of compute and legacy API use cases.