AMD Radeon RX 7600M XT vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a decisive generational gap between these two GPUs. In the two shared benchmark tests, the AMD Radeon RX 7600M XT wins both, and the margins are substantial. Starting with Geekbench OpenCL, the AMD part scores 74,869 against the GTX 680's 16,906. That is a delta of 77.4% in favor of the RX 7600M XT. In practical terms, the newer card delivers roughly four and a half times the compute throughput in this workload. The Geekbench Vulkan result is closer but still one-sided: the AMD card scores 27,793 versus 17,646 for the GTX 680, a 36.5% advantage. Vulkan is a modern API that the older Kepler architecture was not designed around, so the gap is expected, but the magnitude still surprises.

The GTX 680 has no benchmark wins in the head-to-head set. Its average benchmark score across all recorded tests is 14,150, while the RX 7600M XT averages 12,710. That average is dragged down by the AMD card's Passmark results, which are oddly low for DirectX 10, 11, and 12 workloads (76, 137, and 58 respectively). Those numbers look like outliers or driver-related anomalies rather than representative performance. The AMD card's Passmark G3D score of 13,907 is close to its average, and its Passmark GPU Compute score of 7,140 is respectable. The GTX 680's best recorded scores are its Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan results at 16,906 and 17,646, plus a Geekbench Metal score of 7,897. The RX 7600M XT has no Metal score recorded, which makes sense given its target platform.

When placed against the broader database, the GTX 680 sits in the 55th percentile of all GPUs, while the RX 7600M XT sits in the 52nd percentile. The GTX 680's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla K10 (0.9% ahead), the GeForce GTX 1070 Ti (0.9% behind), and the Intel Iris Xe MAX (1.2% behind). The RX 7600M XT's nearest rivals are the GeForce GTX 670 (0.5% behind), the Tesla K20Xm (0.7% ahead), and the GeForce GTX 590 (0.9% behind). This puts the two cards in different performance classes despite the RX 7600M XT winning the head-to-head tests. The GTX 680 is trading blows with much newer mid-range parts, while the RX 7600M XT is surrounded by older high-end cards.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap here is enormous. The GTX 680 uses the GK104 chip, built on Kepler architecture, manufactured on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It packs 3,540 million transistors into a 294 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 12.0 million per mm². The RX 7600M XT uses the Navi 33 chip with RDNA 3.0 architecture, also fabricated by TSMC but on a 6 nm node. It houses 13,300 million transistors in a smaller 204 mm² die, achieving a density of 65.2 million per mm². That is more than five times the transistor density, which explains how AMD fits nearly four times as many transistors into a smaller area.

The compute resources differ sharply as well. The GTX 680 has 1,536 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 32 raster output units. The RX 7600M XT has 2,048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The AMD card also includes 32 ray accelerators, a feature class that did not exist when Kepler launched. The GTX 680 has no ray tracing hardware at all. Clock speeds tell a similar story: the GTX 680 runs at a 1,006 MHz base and 1,058 MHz boost, while the RX 7600M XT runs at 1,280 MHz base, 2,023 MHz game clock, and 2,469 MHz boost. The AMD card's boost clock is more than double the GTX 680's base clock.

Memory configurations are also night and day. The GTX 680 has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 192.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 7600M XT has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 288.0 GB/s. Despite having half the bus width, the AMD card offers about 50% more bandwidth thanks to faster memory running at 18 Gbps effective versus 6 Gbps effective. The pixel rate and texture rate reflect the same trend: the RX 7600M XT hits 158.0 GPixel/s and 316.0 GTexel/s, while the GTX 680 manages 33.86 GPixel/s and 135.4 GTexel/s. Floating point performance is even more lopsided. The RX 7600M XT delivers 20.23 TFLOPS FP32 and 40.45 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1 ratio). The GTX 680 delivers 3.250 TFLOPS FP32 and has no recorded FP16 capability.

API support also separates them. The GTX 680 supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175. The RX 7600M XT supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The AMD card also features PCIe 4.0 x16 connectivity versus PCIe 3.0 x16 on the GTX 680. Power requirements are surprisingly different: the GTX 680 has a 195 W TDP, dual-slot cooler, and two 6-pin power connectors, while the RX 7600M XT is rated at 120 W TDP, is an IGP-class part with no power connectors, and lists no suggested PSU. The GTX 680 measures 256 mm long, 111 mm high, and 38 mm wide. The RX 7600M XT has no listed dimensions because it is designed for portable devices.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 7600M XT wins in every head-to-head comparison recorded. Its OpenCL advantage of 77.4% over the GTX 680 indicates vastly superior compute throughput for tasks like GPU-accelerated rendering, machine learning inference, and scientific workloads. The 36.5% Vulkan lead matters for modern games that use Vulkan as their primary rendering API. The AMD card also has 8 GB of VRAM versus 2 GB, which is critical for modern textures and higher resolutions. The 288.0 GB/s bandwidth and 20.23 TFLOPS FP32 performance make it the clear choice for anything compute-heavy.

The GTX 680 retains relevance only in legacy contexts. Its 55th percentile ranking is slightly higher than the RX 7600M XT's 52nd percentile, and its average benchmark score of 14,150 beats the AMD card's 12,710. That average is inflated by the RX 7600M XT's anomalous Passmark DirectX scores, but the GTX 680's Geekbench Metal score of 7,897 indicates it still works for Apple-centric workflows that the AMD card cannot address. The GTX 680 also has physical display outputs (2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, 1x DisplayPort 1.2) whereas the RX 7600M XT's outputs are portable device dependent. For someone running a legacy desktop with old peripherals, the GTX 680 is the only one of these two that can plug into a standard monitor without adapters.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute performance?

A: The RX 7600M XT delivers 20.23 TFLOPS FP32 and 40.45 TFLOPS FP16, versus 3.250 TFLOPS FP32 for the GTX 680. The AMD card is roughly six times faster in FP32.

Q: Do both cards support ray tracing?

A: No. The RX 7600M XT has 32 ray accelerators and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2). The GTX 680 has no ray tracing hardware and only supports DirectX 12 (11_0).

Q: How do their memory capacities compare?

A: The RX 7600M XT has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 288.0 GB/s bandwidth. The GTX 680 has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 192.3 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card consumes less power?

A: The RX 7600M XT has a 120 W TDP and requires no power connectors. The GTX 680 has a 195 W TDP and needs two 6-pin connectors.

Q: Are these cards competitive in the database rankings?

A: They are close. The GTX 680 sits at the 55th percentile with an average score of 14,150, while the RX 7600M XT sits at the 52nd percentile with an average score of 12,710. The RX 7600M XT's nearest rival is the GTX 670, 0.5% behind.

Q: Which GPU is more modern?

A: The RX 7600M XT was released on 2023-01-03 and is based on RDNA 3.0 on a 6 nm process. The GTX 680 was released on 2012-03-21 and uses Kepler on a 28 nm process. The GTX 680 is end-of-life, while the RX 7600M XT is still active.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 | AMD Radeon RX 7600M XT |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | Kepler | RDNA 3.0 |

| Process Node | 28 nm | 6 nm |

| Transistors | 3,540 million | 13,300 million |

| Die Size | 294 mm² | 204 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 12.0M / mm² | 65.2M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1006 MHz | 1280 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1058 MHz | 2469 MHz |

| Memory Size | 2 GB | 8 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus | 256 bit | 128 bit |

| Bandwidth | 192.3 GB/s | 288.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 1536 | 2048 |

| ROPs | 32 | 64 |

| Ray Accelerators | None | 32 |

| Pixel Rate | 33.86 GPixel/s | 158.0 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 135.4 GTexel/s | 316.0 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 3.250 TFLOPS | 20.23 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | Not listed | 40.45 TFLOPS |

| TDP | 195 W | 120 W |

| Slot Width | Dual-slot | IGP |

| Power Connectors | 2x 6-pin | None |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x16 |

| DirectX | 12 (11_0) | 12 Ultimate (12_2) |

| Vulkan | 1.2.175 | 1.4 |

| Display Outputs | 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, 1x DisplayPort 1.2 | Portable Device Dependent |

| Dimensions | 256 mm x 111 mm x 38 mm | Not listed |

| Production Status | End-of-life | Active |

| Release Date | 2012-03-21 | 2023-01-03 |

| Launch MSRP | 499 USD | Not listed |

The Verdict

The data points toward a simple conclusion. The RX 7600M XT is the superior GPU by every measurable performance metric in the database. It wins both head-to-head tests, offers four times the VRAM, delivers more than six times the FP32 throughput, and does so at lower power draw with a smaller physical footprint. Its 36.5% Vulkan lead and 77.4% OpenCL lead make it the obvious pick for anyone running modern workloads.

The GTX 680 is a relic. Its only advantages are a slightly higher percentile ranking (55th versus 52nd), a higher average benchmark score (14,150 versus 12,710), and legacy connectivity options. Those advantages are largely artifacts of the RX 7600M XT's anomalous Passmark DirectX scores, which drag down its average. The GTX 680's 2 GB VRAM and 3.250 TFLOPS FP32 are simply insufficient for current software expectations.

Choose the RX 7600M XT if you need compute performance, modern API support, ray tracing, or more than 2 GB of VRAM. Choose the GTX 680 only if you require physical display outputs, run legacy software that predates modern APIs, or work in a Metal-based ecosystem where the GTX 680's Geekbench Metal score of 7,897 matters. For nearly every other scenario, the RX 7600M XT is the data-backed recommendation.