AMD Radeon RX 7800M vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 7800M and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 represent two fundamentally different approaches to high-end graphics, yet their average benchmark scores sit nearly identical. The RTX 3090, a 2020-era desktop flagship, and the RX 7800M, a 2024 mobile part, both land at the 73rd percentile among all GPUs, with average scores of 27,565 and 27,883 respectively. This statistical tie masks a dramatic split in workload behavior: the RTX 3090 dominates nine of ten head-to-head tests, while the RX 7800M wins one test by a staggering margin. The data suggests these are not direct competitors in the traditional sense, but rather two very different products that happen to converge on similar overall performance.

The Verdict

The benchmark data paints a clear picture for different use cases. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 is the superior choice for the vast majority of compute and legacy graphics workloads. It wins 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 by 41.5% (5118 vs 2994), OpenCL by 30.1% (172758 vs 120778), and Passmark GPU Compute by 39.2% (15356 vs 9342). For users running DirectX 9, 10, 11, or 12 legacy titles, the RTX 3090 leads by margins ranging from 19.1% to 45.6%. Its Passmark G3D score of 26645 is 33.9% higher than the RX 7800M's 17613.

The AMD Radeon RX 7800M is the pick for Vulkan-heavy applications. Its Geekbench Vulkan score of 126668 crushes the RTX 3090's 53927, a 134.9% advantage. This is the single largest delta in the entire comparison. However, this one massive win cannot compensate for the RTX 3090's sweeping victories elsewhere. The data indicates the RTX 3090 is the more versatile and consistently faster card. The RX 7800M's niche Vulkan strength makes it interesting only for specialized workloads, while the RTX 3090's broader dominance makes it the default recommendation for general high-end use. The RTX 3090 is end-of-life production status, while the RX 7800M remains active, but that does not alter the performance conclusions.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on radically different architectures and process nodes. The AMD Radeon RX 7800M uses the Navi 32 chip built on RDNA 3.0 architecture, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 uses the GA102 chip with Ampere architecture, fabricated on an 8 nm process at Samsung. The transistor counts are nearly identical — 28,100 million for AMD versus 28,300 million for NVIDIA — but the die sizes differ massively. The RX 7800M packs those transistors into a 346 mm² die (81.2 million transistors per mm²), while the RTX 3090 spreads them across a 628 mm² die (45.1 million per mm²). This means AMD achieved comparable transistor density at a much smaller physical footprint.

The core configurations diverge sharply. The RX 7800M has 3840 shading units, 240 TMUs, 96 ROPs, and 60 ray tracing cores. The RTX 3090 has 10496 shading units, 328 TMUs, 112 ROPs, and 82 ray tracing cores. Critically, the RTX 3090 also includes 328 tensor cores, which the RX 7800M lacks entirely. Despite having 2.7 times fewer shading units, the RX 7800M achieves nearly identical FP32 throughput: 35.87 TFLOPS versus 35.58 TFLOPS for the RTX 3090. The FP16 performance is also a 1:1 match at 35.87 and 35.58 TFLOPS respectively. This reflects the higher clock speeds of the AMD part — its 2335 MHz boost clock versus the RTX 3090's 1695 MHz boost.

Memory subsystems are equally divergent. The RX 7800M uses 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, delivering 432.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 3090 uses 24 GB of GDDR6X on a 384-bit bus, delivering 936.2 GB/s bandwidth — more than double. The RX 7800M has no power connectors and is an IGP (integrated graphics package) with a 180 W TDP. The RTX 3090 is a triple-slot card requiring a 1x 12-pin connector, a 750 W suggested PSU, and consumes 350 W. The RX 7800M's display outputs are portable-device dependent, while the RTX 3090 offers 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The RTX 3090 wins nine of ten head-to-head tests, and the margins are often substantial. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the RTX 3090 scores 5118 against the RX 7800M's 2994, a 41.5% lead. This is a modern DX12 workload, and the NVIDIA card dominates. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 3090 posts 172758 versus 120778, a 30.1% advantage. The Passmark suite shows consistent NVIDIA superiority: DirectX 9 (268 vs 174, +35.1%), DirectX 10 (182 vs 99, +45.6%), DirectX 11 (220 vs 176, +20%), and DirectX 12 (110 vs 89, +19.1%). The 2D performance also favors NVIDIA, with Passmark G2D at 1063 versus 892, a 16.1% lead.

The compute-heavy Passmark GPU Compute test shows a 39.2% NVIDIA win (15356 vs 9342). The overall Passmark G3D score of 26645 versus 17613 represents a 33.9% gap. These are not close contests; the RTX 3090 is decisively faster across almost every measured category.

The single AMD victory is staggering in its magnitude. Geekbench Vulkan shows the RX 7800M scoring 126668 against the RTX 3090's 53927 — a 134.9% advantage. This is the only test where AMD wins, but it wins by more than NVIDIA wins any other test. This suggests the RDNA 3.0 architecture has an exceptional Vulkan driver implementation or hardware path, while the Ampere Vulkan performance is comparatively weak. The RX 7800M's win in this test is so large that it brings the average benchmark scores nearly level despite losing the other nine tests.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every measurable specification. The process node: 5 nm (TSMC) for AMD versus 8 nm (Samsung) for NVIDIA. The die size: 346 mm² versus 628 mm². The transistor density: 81.2M per mm² versus 45.1M per mm². Base clocks: 1295 MHz versus 1395 MHz. Boost clocks: 2335 MHz versus 1695 MHz. Memory: 12 GB GDDR6 on 192-bit bus versus 24 GB GDDR6X on 384-bit bus. Bandwidth: 432.0 GB/s versus 936.2 GB/s.

Shader resources differ significantly: 3840 shading units versus 10496, 240 TMUs versus 328, 96 ROPs versus 112, and 60 RT cores versus 82. The RTX 3090 has 328 tensor cores; the RX 7800M has zero. Pixel rates are 224.2 GPixel/s for AMD versus 189.8 GPixel/s for NVIDIA, while texture rates are nearly identical at 560.4 GTexel/s versus 556.0 GTexel/s. TDP: 180 W versus 350 W. Slot width: IGP versus triple-slot. Power connectors: none versus 1x 12-pin. The RTX 3090 has a suggested PSU of 750 W; the RX 7800M has none listed.

Release dates: September 10, 2024 for the RX 7800M versus August 31, 2020 for the RTX 3090. Production status: Active versus End-of-life. The RTX 3090 has a launch MSRP of 1,499 USD; the RX 7800M has no listed MSRP. Physical dimensions: the RTX 3090 is 336 mm long, 140 mm tall, and 61 mm wide; the RX 7800M has no listed dimensions. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, and both use PCIe 4.0 x16.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7800M has a slightly higher average benchmark score of 27,883 compared to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090's 27,565. The difference is only 1.1%, with the RX 7800M's nearest rivals showing deltas of 0.2% to -0.8%, and the RTX 3090's nearest rivals showing deltas of 0.5% to -1.1%.

Q: Why does the RX 7800M win the Vulkan test by such a large margin?

A: In Geekbench Vulkan, the RX 7800M scores 126668 versus the RTX 3090's 53927, a 134.9% advantage. This is the largest delta in any test, and it is the sole benchmark where AMD wins. The data does not explain the cause, but the magnitude suggests a fundamental architectural advantage in Vulkan execution on RDNA 3.0.

Q: How does the memory configuration compare?

A: The RTX 3090 has double the memory capacity at 24 GB of GDDR6X on a 384-bit bus, delivering 936.2 GB/s bandwidth. The RX 7800M has 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, delivering 432.0 GB/s. The RTX 3090's bandwidth is more than double that of the RX 7800M.

Q: Which card is more power-efficient based on the data?

A: The RX 7800M has a TDP of 180 W, while the RTX 3090 has a TDP of 350 W. Despite the 170 W difference, the RX 7800M achieves nearly identical FP32 performance (35.87 TFLOPS vs 35.58 TFLOPS) and a slightly higher average benchmark score, indicating significantly better performance per watt.

Q: What are the production statuses of these GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7800M is listed as Active production, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 is listed as End-of-life. The RTX 3090's successor is the GeForce 40 series, and its predecessor was GeForce 20. The RX 7800M's predecessor is Polaris Mobile, and it has no successor listed.

Q: How do the core counts and compute performance compare?

A: The RTX 3090 has 10496 shading units, 328 TMUs, 112 ROPs, 82 RT cores, and 328 tensor cores. The RX 7800M has 3840 shading units, 240 TMUs, 96 ROPs, and 60 RT cores, with no tensor cores. Despite having 2.7 times fewer shading units, the RX 7800M's FP32 performance of 35.87 TFLOPS is slightly higher than the RTX 3090's 35.58 TFLOPS.