AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX vs NVIDIA P106-100 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a complete sweep for the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX across all three shared benchmark tests, with no wins recorded for the NVIDIA P106-100. The most dramatic gap appears in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, where the RX 7900 XTX scores 6841 against the P106-100's 899, a delta of -86.9% from the AMD card's perspective. This is not a marginal difference; the AMD part delivers roughly 7.6 times the raw score in this particular workload, suggesting a fundamental gulf in modern API performance.

The Vulkan benchmark tells a similarly one-sided story. The RX 7900 XTX posts 85612, while the P106-100 manages only 32897, a -61.6% delta. In OpenCL, the gap narrows somewhat but remains decisive: 50465 versus 35951, a -28.8% delta. Even in the closest comparative result, the AMD card still leads by nearly a third, which indicates that the performance hierarchy holds across both low-level and high-level API paths.

Looking at the broader database context, the P106-100's average benchmark score of 23249 places it in the 68th percentile of all GPUs, with its nearest rivals clustering tightly around it. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16 sits at 23250 (0% delta), the RX 6600M at 23273 (-0.1%), and the R9 M290X at 23276 (-0.1%). This tight grouping suggests the P106-100 is very much a mid-pack performer in the overall database, despite its mining-oriented pedigree. The RX 7900 XTX, by contrast, has an average score of 19410, which places it in the 64th percentile, with nearest rivals including the GTX 1060 3 GB at 19334 (0.4% delta) and the TITAN Xp at 19177 (1.2%). Interestingly, the average score metric does not align with the head-to-head results, as the P106-100 actually has a higher average across all its recorded benchmarks than the RX 7900 XTX. This is likely due to the different benchmark suites each card was subjected to, with the RX 7900 XTX's PassMark scores (DirectX 9, 10, 11, 12, G2D, G3D, compute) dragging down its average.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs represent entirely different design philosophies and eras. The NVIDIA P106-100 is built on the Pascal architecture, fabricated on a 16 nm TSMC process, and uses the GP106 chip. It packs 4,400 million transistors on a 200 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 22.0M per mm². The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX, in contrast, uses the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 31 chip, manufactured on a 5 nm TSMC node. Its die measures 529 mm² and contains 57,700 million transistors, achieving a density of 109.1M per mm². This represents a near fivefold increase in transistor density, a direct consequence of the much smaller process node.

The compute resources differ by a factor of nearly five as well. The P106-100 has 1280 shading units, 80 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs. The RX 7900 XTX fields 6144 shading units, 384 TMUs, and 192 ROPs. The AMD card also includes 96 ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent from the Pascal part. Neither card has tensor cores listed in the database. Clock speeds also favor AMD: the P106-100 runs at a 1506 MHz base and 1709 MHz boost, while the RX 7900 XTX starts at 1929 MHz base, boosts to 2498 MHz, and has a game clock of 2365 MHz. The memory subsystem is another major divergence. The P106-100 uses 6 GB of GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus, delivering 192.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 7900 XTX uses 24 GB of GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus, with 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth, a fivefold increase in both capacity and bandwidth.

The interface and power specifications also reflect their different purposes. The P106-100 uses PCIe 1.0 x16 (a curious listing, as the card is from 2017), while the RX 7900 XTX uses PCIe 4.0 x16. The P106-100 has a 120 W TDP with a single 6-pin connector and a suggested 300 W PSU, while the RX 7900 XTX draws 355 W, requires two 8-pin connectors, and suggests a 750 W PSU. The P106-100 has no display outputs, which is consistent with its mining GPU classification, while the RX 7900 XTX offers 1x HDMI 2.1a, 2x DisplayPort 2.1, and 1x USB Type-C. Both cards support DirectX 12, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, though the P106-100 is listed at DirectX 12 (12_1) while the RX 7900 XTX supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2).

Where Each One Wins

Based strictly on the benchmark data, there is no workload category where the NVIDIA P106-100 emerges victorious. The RX 7900 XTX wins all three shared tests, covering DX12, Vulkan, and OpenCL. The closest margin is in OpenCL, where the AMD card leads by 28.8%, but this is still a comfortable advantage. In Vulkan, the lead extends to 61.6%, and in DX12 it becomes overwhelming at 86.9%. The data suggests that for any modern compute or graphics workload that exercises these APIs, the RX 7900 XTX is the clear choice.

The P106-100's role appears to be limited to its historical context as a mining-focused product. Its lack of display outputs means it cannot be used for conventional gaming or workstation tasks, and its performance profile, while respectable in the 68th percentile, is simply outclassed by the newer, larger AMD part. The RX 7900 XTX, with its 96 ray tracing cores and DirectX 12 Ultimate support, is positioned for contemporary gaming and compute workloads. Its PassMark scores, while not directly comparable to the P106-100 due to different test sets, show a balanced profile: 31238 in G3D, 17689 in GPU compute, 1267 in G2D, and lower scores in legacy DirectX tests (356 in DX11, 330 in DX9, 166 in DX10, 131 in DX12). This suggests the RX 7900 XTX is strongest in modern, compute-heavy tasks rather than legacy rasterization.

FAQ

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

A: The NVIDIA P106-100 has a higher average benchmark score of 23249, compared to the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX's 19410. However, this does not reflect head-to-head performance, as the two cards were tested on different benchmark suites.

Q: Does the P106-100 support ray tracing?

A: No. The P106-100 has no ray tracing cores listed in the database, while the RX 7900 XTX includes 96 ray tracing cores.

Q: What is the memory capacity difference between the two cards?

A: The P106-100 has 6 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 192-bit bus, while the RX 7900 XTX has 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus. The RX 7900 XTX also offers significantly higher bandwidth at 960.0 GB/s versus 192.2 GB/s.

Q: Which card has display outputs?

A: The RX 7900 XTX has 1x HDMI 2.1a, 2x DisplayPort 2.1, and 1x USB Type-C outputs. The P106-100 has no display outputs, consistent with its mining GPU classification.

Q: How do the power requirements compare?

A: The P106-100 has a 120 W TDP with a single 6-pin connector and a suggested 300 W PSU. The RX 7900 XTX has a 355 W TDP, requires two 8-pin connectors, and suggests a 750 W PSU.

Q: What is the release date difference?

A: The P106-100 was released on 2017-06-18, while the RX 7900 XTX was released on 2022-11-02. Both are now listed as end-of-life products.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every measurable specification. The P106-100 uses a 16 nm process with 4,400 million transistors on a 200 mm² die, while the RX 7900 XTX uses a 5 nm process with 57,700 million transistors on a 529 mm² die. Transistor density is 22.0M per mm² for NVIDIA and 109.1M per mm² for AMD. Clock speeds: the P106-100 has a 1506 MHz base and 1709 MHz boost; the RX 7900 XTX has a 1929 MHz base, 2498 MHz boost, and 2365 MHz game clock. Memory: 6 GB GDDR5 at 2002 MHz (8 Gbps effective) with 192.2 GB/s bandwidth versus 24 GB GDDR6 at 2500 MHz (20 Gbps effective) with 960.0 GB/s bandwidth. The P106-100 has 1280 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 48 ROPs; the RX 7900 XTX has 6144 shading units, 384 TMUs, and 192 ROPs. The RX 7900 XTX also has 96 ray tracing cores, while the P106-100 has none. Pixel rate is 82.03 GPixel/s versus 479.6 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 136.7 GTexel/s versus 959.2 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 4.375 TFLOPS versus 61.39 TFLOPS, and FP16 is 68.36 GFLOPS (1:64) versus 122.8 TFLOPS (2:1). The P106-100 has a 120 W TDP, 1x 6-pin connector, and 300 W suggested PSU; the RX 7900 XTX has a 355 W TDP, 2x 8-pin connectors, and 750 W suggested PSU. The P106-100 uses PCIe 1.0 x16 and has no display outputs; the RX 7900 XTX uses PCIe 4.0 x16 and has HDMI 2.1a, DisplayPort 2.1, and USB Type-C outputs. The P106-100 measures 250 mm (9.8 inches) in length; the RX 7900 XTX measures 287 mm (11.3 inches) in length, 110 mm (4.3 inches) in height, and 51 mm (2 inches) in width. The RX 7900 XTX has a listed launch MSRP of 999 USD.

The Verdict

The data presents a clear, if lopsided, picture. For any workload that utilizes the benchmarked APIs, the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX is the superior choice by a wide margin. It leads by 86.9% in DX12, 61.6% in Vulkan, and 28.8% in OpenCL. Its architectural advantages, including a 5 nm process, 96 ray tracing cores, 24 GB of memory, and 61.39 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, make it a far more capable modern GPU. The NVIDIA P106-100, with its 16 nm process, 6 GB of memory, and no display outputs, is a product of a different era and a different purpose, built for mining rather than general use. Its only statistical advantage in the database is a higher average benchmark score, which is an artifact of different test suites rather than actual performance superiority. Anyone choosing between these two cards should select the RX 7900 XTX for any task involving rendering, compute, or gaming, while the P106-100 remains relevant only as a historical data point in the database.