AMD Radeon RX 7600 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 represent two distinct eras of GPU design, separated by over a decade of architectural evolution. The data shows a fundamental mismatch in performance, with the RX 7600 dominating every benchmark where both cards have comparable results. In the shared Geekbench OpenCL test, the RX 7600 scores 88,051 points against the GTX 680’s 16,906, a 420.8% advantage. The Vulkan results tell a similar story: 34,401 for the RX 7600 versus 17,646 for the GTX 680, a 95% lead. These are not marginal gains but generational leaps, reflecting the shift from NVIDIA’s Kepler architecture to AMD’s RDNA 3.0.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most striking disparity appears in compute workloads. Geekbench OpenCL shows the RX 7600 achieving a 420.8% higher score than the GTX 680. That is a 5.2x improvement in raw throughput, driven by the AMD card’s 21.75 TFLOPS FP32 performance compared to the GTX 680’s 3.250 TFLOPS. The RX 7600 also has 2,048 shading units versus 1,536, and while the GTX 680 uses a wider 256-bit memory bus, the RX 7600’s 288.0 GB/s bandwidth still eclipses the 192.3 GB/s of the older card.

In Vulkan, the RX 7600’s 34,401 score is 95% higher than the GTX 680’s 17,646. This narrower margin still represents a near-doubling of performance, with the RX 7600’s modern API support (Vulkan 1.4 versus 1.2.175) contributing to better driver overhead management. The GTX 680’s only benchmark wins come in tests the RX 7600 does not share, such as Geekbench Metal where it scores 7,897, but those results are irrelevant to a direct comparison.

The average benchmark scores reinforce the hierarchy. The RX 7600 averages 15,171 points across its suite, placing it in the 57th percentile of all GPUs. The GTX 680 averages 14,150 points, sitting in the 55th percentile. The RX 7600’s nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM (15,199, -0.2%) and AMD Radeon 680M (15,270, -0.7%), showing it sits in a competitive mid-range bracket. The GTX 680, meanwhile, competes with the NVIDIA Tesla K10 (14,029, +0.9%) and Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics (14,315, -1.2%), a clear sign of its age.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 7600 wins everywhere both cards are tested. In compute-heavy tasks like OpenCL, its advantage is overwhelming. The 420.8% delta means any GPU-accelerated rendering, scientific simulation, or machine learning workload will finish in a fraction of the time on the RX 7600. For gaming, the Vulkan result indicates the RX 7600 handles modern graphics APIs with far greater efficiency, a critical factor for titles built on Vulkan or DirectX 12 Ultimate (which the RX 7600 supports at version 12_2).

The GTX 680 has no outright wins in shared benchmarks, but it retains relevance in legacy scenarios. Its 2 GB GDDR5 memory and 256-bit bus, while tiny by modern standards, are sufficient for older DirectX 11 titles. The card’s DirectX 12 (11_0) support is minimal, so any game requiring newer API features will struggle. The GTX 680’s 32 ROPs and 128 TMUs are half the TMU count of the RX 7600 (128 vs 128, actually equal), but its pixel rate of 33.86 GPixel/s is dwarfed by the RX 7600’s 169.9 GPixel/s. Texture rate tells the same story: 135.4 GTexel/s versus 339.8 GTexel/s.

For users with legacy software that only supports OpenGL 4.6 (both cards match here) or older Vulkan versions, the GTX 680 can still function. But the RX 7600’s 8 GB memory is four times larger, allowing higher resolution textures and more complex scenes. The GTX 680’s end-of-life production status suggests no further driver optimizations, while the RX 7600 remains active with ongoing support.

Architecture Differences

The architectural chasm between these two GPUs is immense. The RX 7600 uses the Navi 33 chip on TSMC’s 6 nm process, packing 13,300 million transistors into a 204 mm² die. That yields a transistor density of 65.2M / mm². The GTX 680 uses the GK104 chip on TSMC’s 28 nm process, with 3,540 million transistors on a 294 mm² die, giving a density of just 12.0M / mm². The RX 7600 fits more than 3.7x the transistors into a smaller physical area.

Clock speeds reflect the process advantage. The RX 7600 runs at a 1720 MHz base and 2655 MHz boost, with a game clock of 2250 MHz. The GTX 680’s base clock is 1006 MHz with a 1058 MHz boost. Even the GTX 680’s boost clock is 60% lower than the RX 7600’s base clock. Memory speeds differ similarly: the RX 7600 uses 2250 MHz GDDR6 (18 Gbps effective) while the GTX 680 uses 1502 MHz GDDR5 (6 Gbps effective).

Feature support is where the generational gap becomes a canyon. The RX 7600 includes 32 ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent from the GTX 680. The RX 7600 supports PCIe 4.0 x8, while the GTX 680 uses PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs differ drastically: the RX 7600 offers 1x HDMI 2.1a and 3x DisplayPort 2.1, whereas the GTX 680 provides 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 1x DisplayPort 1.2. The RX 7600 also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) versus the GTX 680’s DirectX 12 (11_0).

Power requirements break the usual pattern. The RX 7600 has a 165 W TDP with a single 8-pin connector, while the GTX 680 draws 195 W with two 6-pin connectors. Both suggest a 450 W PSU. The RX 7600 achieves higher performance with lower power draw, proof of the efficiency of RDNA 3.0 over Kepler. Physical dimensions also favor the newer card: the RX 7600 is 204 mm long and 115 mm tall, versus the GTX 680’s 256 mm length, 111 mm height, and 38 mm width.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute performance?

A: The RX 7600 delivers 21.75 TFLOPS FP32, while the GTX 680 offers 3.250 TFLOPS. This 6.7x difference is reflected in the 420.8% OpenCL benchmark lead for the RX 7600.

Q: How do memory capacities compare for modern games?

A: The RX 7600 has 8 GB GDDR6 with 288.0 GB/s bandwidth. The GTX 680 has 2 GB GDDR5 with 192.3 GB/s. The RX 7600’s larger capacity and higher bandwidth make it suitable for current titles, while the GTX 680’s 2 GB is restrictive.

Q: Does the GTX 680 support ray tracing?

A: No. The GTX 680 has no ray tracing cores. The RX 7600 includes 32 RT cores, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing in supported games.

Q: Which card is more power-efficient?

A: The RX 7600 has a 165 W TDP, lower than the GTX 680’s 195 W, despite delivering far higher performance. Both recommend a 450 W PSU, but the RX 7600 requires a single 8-pin connector versus the GTX 680’s two 6-pin connectors.

Q: What are the production statuses of these GPUs?

A: The RX 7600 is listed as Active in production, released on 2023-05-24. The GTX 680 is End-of-life, released on 2012-03-21, meaning it no longer receives manufacturing support.

Q: How do their API supports differ for future software?

A: The RX 7600 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The GTX 680 supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175, missing newer features like mesh shaders and variable rate shading.

The Verdict

The data leaves no ambiguity: the AMD Radeon RX 7600 is the superior GPU by every measurable metric. Its 420.8% OpenCL lead and 95% Vulkan lead over the GTX 680 make it the only choice for any modern workload. The RX 7600’s 8 GB memory, 32 ray tracing cores, and 21.75 TFLOPS FP32 performance place it firmly in the current mid-range tier, as evidenced by its 57th percentile ranking and rivalry with the RTX 3050 OEM.

The GTX 680, sitting in the 55th percentile, is a relic. Its 2 GB memory and 3.250 TFLOPS compute are insufficient for contemporary gaming or professional tasks. Its only advantages are a wider 256-bit memory bus and legacy DVI outputs, which matter only for vintage display setups. The GTX 680’s 195 W TDP is higher than the RX 7600’s 165 W, so it offers no efficiency benefit either.

Users with a GTX 680 should upgrade immediately if they engage in any GPU-intensive work. The RX 7600’s active production status ensures driver updates and software compatibility, while the GTX 680’s end-of-life status means it will only fall further behind. For new builds, the RX 7600 is a straightforward recommendation based on its benchmark dominance, lower power draw, and modern feature set. The GTX 680 belongs in a museum, not a gaming rig.