AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE vs NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data presents a decisive matchup. The AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE wins eight of the nine head-to-head comparisons, with the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 taking only a single victory. The results are not just a matter of winning, but of margin; the AMD card frequently doubles or nearly doubles the performance of its rival in specific workloads.

The most significant gap appears in the Geekbench OpenCL test, where the RX 7900 GRE scores 175,758 against the Quadro RTX 8000's 101,883. This represents a 72.5% advantage for the AMD card, a massive lead in general-purpose compute throughput. Similarly, in the Passmark GPU Compute test, the AMD card scores 15,016 versus 9,992, a 50.3% delta, reinforcing its dominance in raw computational tasks.

The pattern continues across the DirectX API benchmarks. In Passmark DirectX 11, the RX 7900 GRE scores 300 versus the Quadro's 188, a 59.6% lead. The DirectX 9 test shows a 46.9% advantage (310 vs. 211), and DirectX 12 results in a 35.4% gap (107 vs. 79). Even in DirectX 10, where the scores are closest, the AMD card wins by 1.5% (139 vs. 137). The 2D performance also favors AMD, with a Passmark G2D score of 1,180 versus 866, a 36.3% difference.

The overall 3D performance, as measured by Passmark G3D, shows the RX 7900 GRE at 27,089 versus the Quadro RTX 8000 at 19,799, a 36.8% lead. This is a substantial margin in traditional rasterization workloads. The sole victory for the NVIDIA card comes in the Geekbench Vulkan test, where it scores 122,637 against the AMD card's 99,850, a delta of 18.6% in NVIDIA's favor. This indicates a specific strength in Vulkan API performance for the older Turing architecture.

When looking at the average benchmark scores, the RX 7900 GRE sits at 32,456, placing it in the 77th percentile of all GPUs. The Quadro RTX 8000 averages 28,421, placing it in the 74th percentile. The data shows a clear overall performance hierarchy, with the AMD card holding a significant and consistent edge across most tested workloads.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE has a higher average benchmark score of 32,456, compared to the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000's average of 28,421.

Q: What is the single largest performance delta in the head-to-head tests?

A: The largest delta is in the Geekbench OpenCL test, where the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE leads by 72.5% over the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000.

Q: In which test does the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 outperform the AMD card?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 wins the Geekbench Vulkan test, scoring 122,637 against the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE's 99,850, a margin of 18.6%.

Q: How many head-to-head benchmarks does each card win?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE wins 8 benchmarks, while the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 wins 1 benchmark.

Q: How does the Passmark DirectX 11 performance compare between the two?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE scores 300 in Passmark DirectX 11, which is 59.6% higher than the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000's score of 188.

Q: What is the difference in their percentile rankings among all GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE is in the 77th percentile, while the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 is in the 74th percentile.

Architecture Differences

The two cards are built on fundamentally different architectures and process nodes. The AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE uses the RDNA 3.0 architecture, implemented on a 5 nm process at TSMC. Its chip, codenamed Plum Bonito, is part of the Navi III generation. In contrast, the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 uses the Turing architecture, built on a 12 nm process, also at TSMC. Its chip is the TU102, belonging to the Quadro Turing generation.

This process difference is stark. The AMD chip, Navi 31, packs 57,700 million transistors onto a 529 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 109.1M per mm². The NVIDIA chip, TU102, contains 18,600 million transistors on a larger 754 mm² die, giving it a much lower density of 24.7M per mm². The 5 nm node allows AMD to integrate nearly three times as many transistors in a smaller physical area.

The compute configurations also differ significantly. The RX 7900 GRE has 5,120 shading units, 320 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 160 render output units (ROPs). It also features 80 ray tracing cores. The Quadro RTX 8000 has fewer shading units at 4,608, 288 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, along with 72 ray tracing cores. However, the NVIDIA card includes 576 tensor cores, a feature that is absent (null) in the AMD card's specifications.

These architectural differences lead to vastly different theoretical performance metrics. The AMD card's pixel rate is 359.2 GPixel/s and texture rate is 718.4 GTexel/s, while the NVIDIA card's rates are 169.9 GPixel/s and 509.8 GTexel/s. In terms of floating point performance, the RX 7900 GRE delivers 45.98 TFLOPS for FP32 and 91.96 TFLOPS for FP16 (2:1). The Quadro RTX 8000 is rated at 16.31 TFLOPS FP32 and 32.62 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1). These figures show the AMD card's clear advantage in raw compute throughput.

The memory subsystems also reflect different design philosophies. The RX 7900 GRE uses a 256-bit bus with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory, while the Quadro RTX 8000 uses a wider 384-bit bus with 48 GB of GDDR6 memory. The NVIDIA card's larger memory pool and wider bus give it a bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s, which is higher than the AMD card's 576.0 GB/s. The AMD card's memory runs at an effective speed of 18 Gbps, while the NVIDIA card's memory runs at 14 Gbps effective.

Specification Differences

The specifications reveal a product designed for different priorities. The AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE is a current, active product released on 2023-07-26, while the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 is end-of-life, released on 2018-08-12. Their production statuses and release dates set them apart in the market lifecycle.

Memory capacity and bandwidth are major differentiators. The RX 7900 GRE offers 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, yielding 576.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Quadro RTX 8000 offers a much larger 48 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus, providing 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth. While the NVIDIA card has more capacity and bandwidth, the AMD card's memory operates at a higher effective speed of 18 Gbps versus 14 Gbps.

The clock speeds show the AMD card's aggressive tuning. Its base clock is 1287 MHz, with a game clock of 1880 MHz and a boost clock of 2245 MHz. The NVIDIA card has a base clock of 1395 MHz and a boost clock of 1770 MHz, but no specified game clock. The power draw for both cards is identical at 260 W TDP, with a suggested power supply of 600 W. However, their power connectors differ: the AMD card uses 2x 8-pin, while the NVIDIA card uses 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin.

The bus interfaces reflect different generations. The RX 7900 GRE uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while the Quadro RTX 8000 uses PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs also differ: the AMD card provides 1x HDMI 2.1a, 2x DisplayPort 2.1, and 1x USB Type-C, while the NVIDIA card provides 4x DisplayPort 1.4a and 1x USB Type-C.

Physical dimensions show minor differences. The AMD card is 276 mm long, 110 mm high, and 51 mm wide. The NVIDIA card is 267 mm long and 111 mm high, with no width listed. Both are dual-slot cards. The API support is identical, with both supporting DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The transistor counts, die sizes, and densities are also noted as key differences, with the AMD chip being more dense.

The Verdict

The data directs a clear verdict for most use cases. The AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE is the superior performer in the vast majority of tested workloads. Its victories in OpenCL and Passmark compute tests, alongside its wins in DirectX 11, 12, and 9, make it the logical choice for users prioritizing raw processing power and gaming or graphics workloads. Its 72.5% lead in OpenCL and 50.3% lead in GPU compute are particularly compelling for compute-intensive tasks.

The NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000's only advantage lies in the Geekbench Vulkan test, where it leads by 18.6%. This suggests that for applications heavily reliant on the Vulkan API, the NVIDIA card may have a specific edge. However, this single win does not offset the AMD card's broader dominance. The Quadro's larger 48 GB memory pool and higher 672.0 GB/s bandwidth are notable specifications that could be critical for specific professional workloads requiring massive datasets, but the benchmark data does not show this translating into superior performance in the recorded tests.

For users seeking a card with a higher average benchmark score, the RX 7900 GRE is the clear choice, sitting at 32,456 versus the Quadro's 28,421. The AMD card also represents a newer generation with a smaller process node and a more power-efficient transistor density. The NVIDIA card is end-of-life, while the AMD card remains active. Based strictly on the recorded performance data, the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE is the recommended choice for most scenarios, with the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 only being preferable for specific Vulkan-centric workflows or those requiring its unique memory capacity.