AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score in the database?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT holds a significantly higher average benchmark score of 58,392 compared to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile's 43,667. The AMD card also sits at the 88th percentile among all GPUs, while the mobile NVIDIA chip lands at the 84th percentile.

Q: How many head-to-head benchmark wins does each GPU secure?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT wins 6 of the 9 recorded head-to-head tests, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile wins the remaining 3 tests.

Q: What is the largest performance gap in the head-to-head results?

A: The largest gap is a 15% win for the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT in the Passmark GPU Compute test, where it scores 14,199 versus 12,347 for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile.

Q: Which GPU shows a higher raw FP32 compute figure?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile leads in FP32 performance with 32.98 TFLOPS, compared to 23.65 TFLOPS for the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT.

Q: Do both GPUs share the same memory configuration?

A: Yes, both feature 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering identical bandwidth of 576.0 GB/s and the same 18 Gbps effective memory clock.

Q: Which GPU has a higher transistor density despite its smaller die?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile, built on a 5 nm process, packs 121.1M transistors per mm² across a 379 mm² die, while the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT on 7 nm has 51.5M per mm² on a 520 mm² die.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT is built on RDNA 2.0 architecture with the Navi 21 chip, manufactured by TSMC on a 7 nm process node. It packs 26,800 million transistors on a 520 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 51.5M per mm². The GPU belongs to the Navi II generation within the Radeon RX 6000 series.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile uses Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD103 chip, also fabricated by TSMC but on a newer 5 nm node. This chip contains 45,900 million transistors on a much smaller 379 mm² die, resulting in a dramatically higher density of 121.1M per mm². It belongs to the GeForce 40 Mobile generation of the GeForce 40-series.

The AMD card allocates its compute resources across 5,120 shading units, 320 texture mapping units, and 128 render output units. It includes 80 ray tracing cores but no dedicated tensor cores. Its pixel rate is 295.7 GPixel/s and texture rate is 739.2 GTexel/s. The FP16 throughput is listed at 47.31 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio relative to FP32.

The NVIDIA mobile GPU employs 9,728 shading units, 304 TMUs, and 112 ROPs. It features 76 ray tracing cores and 304 tensor cores, the latter being a notable architectural advantage for AI-accelerated workloads. Its pixel rate is 189.8 GPixel/s and texture rate is 515.3 GTexel/s. Interestingly, its FP16 performance equals its FP32 at 32.98 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio, meaning no rate advantage for half-precision work.

Both GPUs support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Both use a PCIe 4.0 x16 bus interface. The power characteristics differ sharply: the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT carries a 335 W TDP with dual 8-pin power connectors and a suggested 700 W PSU, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile draws just 120 W and requires no external power connectors, being an integrated GPU for portable devices.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT dominates in compute-heavy and traditional rasterization workloads. Its wins span OpenCL compute, DirectX 11, DirectX 12, 2D graphics, and overall 3D performance. The 15% lead in GPU compute and 14.5% lead in DirectX 11 suggest the RDNA 2 architecture handles legacy API paths and raw compute tasks with particular efficiency. The 8% advantage in 2D tests also indicates strong memory subsystem performance.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile wins in Vulkan, DirectX 10, and DirectX 9 tests. The Vulkan victory, even at a modest 3.3% margin, points to better driver optimization for that API on the Ada Lovelace architecture. The DirectX 9 and DirectX 10 wins, while small at 2.3% and 5.2% respectively, show the mobile chip holds its own in older API scenarios despite its lower power envelope.

For real-world use cases, the AMD card suits desktop systems where power is not a constraint and maximum compute throughput is desired. Its higher average benchmark score and 88th percentile ranking make it the stronger overall performer in the database. The NVIDIA mobile GPU fits portable devices, offering a substantial share of performance at just over one-third of the TDP, with tensor cores available for AI features that the AMD card cannot match.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across several key specifications. The process node shows 7 nm for AMD versus 5 nm for NVIDIA. Transistor counts are 26,800 million versus 45,900 million, with die sizes of 520 mm² versus 379 mm². Transistor density is 51.5M versus 121.1M per mm².

Clock speeds differ notably. The AMD card runs a 1860 MHz base clock and 2310 MHz boost, with a 2100 MHz game clock. The NVIDIA mobile GPU has a 1335 MHz base and 1695 MHz boost, with no game clock listed. Memory clocks are identical at 2250 MHz with 18 Gbps effective.

Compute unit counts vary: 5,120 versus 9,728 shading units, 320 versus 304 TMUs, and 128 versus 112 ROPs. Ray tracing cores number 80 versus 76, and tensor cores are absent on AMD but number 304 on NVIDIA. Pixel rate is 295.7 versus 189.8 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 739.2 versus 515.3 GTexel/s. FP32 is 23.65 versus 32.98 TFLOPS, and FP16 is 47.31 versus 32.98 TFLOPS.

Power and physical dimensions diverge completely. The AMD card has a 335 W TDP, is triple-slot wide, uses 2x 8-pin connectors, and requires a 700 W PSU. It measures 267 mm in length, 120 mm in height, and 50 mm in width. The NVIDIA mobile GPU has a 120 W TDP, is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with no power connectors, no suggested PSU, and no listed dimensions. Display outputs are 1x HDMI 2.1 and 2x DisplayPort 1.4a for AMD, while NVIDIA lists "Portable Device Dependent."

Production status differs as well: the AMD card is end-of-life, while the NVIDIA chip is active. Release dates are May 2022 for AMD and January 2023 for NVIDIA. The AMD card has a launch MSRP of 1,099 USD; the NVIDIA mobile GPU has no launch MSRP listed.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The data reveals a clear pattern across the nine recorded tests. The AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT wins six tests, with its largest victories in GPU compute (15% ahead, 14,199 versus 12,347) and DirectX 11 (14.5% ahead, 300 versus 262). These substantial margins indicate the AMD architecture excels when processing parallel compute workloads and when running through the DirectX 11 pipeline, which remains relevant for many game titles.

The AMD card also takes DirectX 12 with a 6.5% lead (114 versus 107), 2D graphics by 8% (1,063 versus 984), and overall 3D performance by 3.2% (28,070 versus 27,212). The OpenCL test shows a 13.9% advantage for AMD (205,998 versus 180,831), reinforcing its compute leadership.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile counters with three wins. Its Vulkan score of 170,774 beats AMD's 165,212 by 3.3%, a meaningful result for cross-platform graphics APIs. The DirectX 10 test shows a 5.2% lead (173 versus 164), and DirectX 9 shows a 2.3% edge (310 versus 303).

The overall average benchmark score gap is substantial: 58,392 for AMD versus 43,667 for NVIDIA, a difference of roughly 34%. This aligns with the AMD card's higher percentile ranking of 88 versus 84. The nearest rival data places the AMD card among desktop-class GPUs like the NVIDIA P102-100 (within 0.2%) and AMD Radeon PRO V710 (within 0.5%), while the NVIDIA mobile chip competes with older workstation cards like the Quadro M6000 (within 0.8%) and the RTX A6000 (within 0.9%).

The Verdict

The AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT is the stronger performer in the database. Its higher average benchmark score, 88th percentile standing, and six head-to-head wins make it the clear choice for raw performance. The 15% compute advantage and 14.5% DirectX 11 lead demonstrate particular strength in workloads that leverage parallel processing and legacy API paths. The 8% 2D graphics win also suggests excellent memory bandwidth utilization in everyday desktop tasks.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile is the appropriate selection for portable systems. Despite its lower benchmark scores, it delivers competitive Vulkan performance within 3.3% of the desktop AMD card, and its 120 W TDP represents a fraction of the AMD card's 335 W requirement. The presence of 304 tensor cores gives it capabilities the AMD card lacks entirely, making it suitable for AI-accelerated applications in mobile form factors.

The benchmark data tells a clear story: the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT wins on absolute performance, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile wins on efficiency and portability. Users building desktop systems with available power headroom should favor the AMD card. Users needing a laptop GPU with strong API coverage and tensor core support should choose the NVIDIA solution. The 16 GB GDDR6 memory and identical 576.0 GB/s bandwidth on both cards ensure memory capacity is not a differentiating factor.