AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT vs NVIDIA CMP 40HX Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two GPUs split their shared benchmark suite evenly, with one win apiece in the two tests where both were measured. In Geekbench OpenCL, the NVIDIA CMP 40HX posts 93,395 points against the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT’s 85,040, a 9.8% advantage. This is a substantial margin in a compute-heavy workload, placing the CMP 40HX comfortably ahead in raw general-purpose GPU throughput on this particular test. The AMD part’s deficit here is notable because its higher FP32 and FP16 peak rates would suggest it should be competitive, yet the data shows the Turing-based card winning decisively.

The situation reverses sharply in Geekbench Vulkan. The RX 6850M XT scores 99,483, while the CMP 40HX manages only 77,879 — a 21.7% gap in AMD’s favor. This is a much larger swing than the OpenCL result, indicating that the AMD architecture handles Vulkan’s explicit, low-overhead API considerably better. The CMP 40HX’s 77,879 score is its weaker result across both benchmarks, while the RX 6850M XT’s Vulkan score is its strongest. Across the two shared tests, the average benchmark score tells a different story: the CMP 40HX averages 85,637 versus 78,940 for the RX 6850M XT, a 8.5% difference. However, this average includes only the OpenCL and Vulkan results for the NVIDIA card, while AMD’s average also incorporates a Metal score (128,981) and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 result (2,257) that the CMP 40HX does not have.

The percentile rankings are nearly identical: the CMP 40HX sits at the 93rd percentile of all GPUs, while the RX 6850M XT is at the 92nd. Given the divergent benchmark sets, this parity suggests that each card excels in different environments — NVIDIA in OpenCL, AMD in Vulkan and Metal. A buyer targeting OpenCL compute would prefer the CMP 40HX, while anyone focused on Vulkan gaming or Metal-based workloads should favor the RX 6850M XT.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins in Geekbench OpenCL, and by how much?

A: The NVIDIA CMP 40HX wins with 93,395 points versus 85,040 for the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT, a 9.8% advantage.

Q: What is the margin in Geekbench Vulkan?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT wins with 99,483 points against 77,879 for the NVIDIA CMP 40HX, a 21.7% lead.

Q: How do their average benchmark scores compare?

A: The NVIDIA CMP 40HX has an average benchmark score of 85,637, while the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT averages 78,940. However, the AMD card’s average includes two additional tests (Metal and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12) not run on the NVIDIA part.

Q: Which GPU has the higher percentile ranking?

A: The NVIDIA CMP 40HX ranks at the 93rd percentile of all GPUs, slightly ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT at the 92nd percentile.

Q: What is the transistor density difference between the two chips?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT’s Navi 22 chip has a transistor density of 51.3M per mm², more than double the NVIDIA CMP 40HX’s TU106 at 24.3M per mm².

Q: Do both GPUs support the same DirectX version?

A: Yes, both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from fundamentally different design philosophies. The NVIDIA CMP 40HX uses the TU106 chip on the Turing architecture, manufactured on TSMC’s 12 nm process. The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT uses the Navi 22 chip with RDNA 2.0 architecture, built on TSMC’s 7 nm node. The process difference is stark: 12 nm versus 7 nm, which directly explains the transistor density gap. The NVIDIA chip packs 10,800 million transistors on a 445 mm² die, yielding 24.3 million per mm². The AMD chip fits 17,200 million transistors on a smaller 335 mm² die, achieving 51.3 million per mm² — over twice the density.

Shading unit counts are relatively close: the CMP 40HX has 2,304 shading units, while the RX 6850M XT has 2,560. Texture mapping units also favor AMD, 160 versus 144, while both have 64 ROPs. The RT core counts are similar — 36 for NVIDIA, 40 for AMD — but the CMP 40HX additionally has 288 tensor cores, which the AMD card lacks entirely. Memory configurations differ: the CMP 40HX uses 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 6850M XT has 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, with slightly lower bandwidth at 432.0 GB/s. The AMD card compensates with higher effective memory speed: 18 Gbps versus 14 Gbps.

Clock speeds heavily favor AMD. The RX 6850M XT has a base clock of 2321 MHz and a boost of 2581 MHz, with a game clock of 2463 MHz. The CMP 40HX runs at 1470 MHz base and 1650 MHz boost. These clocks drive the FP32 throughput: 13.21 TFLOPS for AMD versus 7.603 TFLOPS for NVIDIA. FP16 also favors AMD by a similar ratio, 26.43 TFLOPS versus 15.21 TFLOPS. The pixel rate is 165.2 GPixel/s for AMD versus 105.6 for NVIDIA, and the texture rate is 413.0 GTexel/s versus 237.6.

The board designs are completely different. The CMP 40HX is a dual-slot card, 229 mm long, 111 mm tall, and 35 mm wide, requiring a 450 W PSU with a single 8-pin connector. It has no display outputs — a mining-specific design. The RX 6850M XT is an integrated GPU (IGP) for laptops, with no dimensions listed, no power connectors, and display outputs described as "portable device dependent." Its TDP is lower at 165 W versus 185 W. The bus interfaces also differ: the CMP 40HX uses PCIe 1.0 x4 (oddly outdated), while the RX 6850M XT uses PCIe 4.0 x16.

The Verdict

The data presents a clear split based on workload. For OpenCL compute tasks, the NVIDIA CMP 40HX is the stronger choice, with its 9.8% lead in Geekbench OpenCL and a higher average score (85,637 versus 78,940). It also holds a marginal edge in percentile ranking (93rd versus 92nd). However, this card is end-of-life, uses older 12 nm technology, and has no display outputs, making it unsuitable for any visual output purposes.

For Vulkan-based applications, and likely gaming given the RX 6850M XT’s 21.7% Vulkan advantage, the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT is clearly superior. Its 12 GB memory capacity, higher clocks, and over 70% higher FP32 throughput give it a modern edge. The RX 6850M XT also benefits from a more advanced 7 nm process and higher transistor density, suggesting better efficiency per die area. Its Metal score of 128,981 further indicates strong Apple ecosystem performance, though no direct comparison exists for the CMP 40HX.

The nearest rival comparisons contextualize the field: the CMP 40HX sits between the AMD Radeon PRO W7600 (87,108, 1.7% higher) and the AMD Radeon PRO W6600 (81,995, 4.4% lower). The RX 6850M XT’s closest rival is the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB at 79,396, a 0.6% difference — effectively a tie — while the GeForce RTX 5090 is 1.1% higher. Neither card is a clear overall winner; the choice depends entirely on the target API and whether compute or graphics matters more.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA CMP 40HX | AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT |

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

| Architecture | Turing | RDNA 2.0 |

| Process node | 12 nm | 7 nm |

| Transistors | 10,800 million | 17,200 million |

| Die size | 445 mm² | 335 mm² |

| Transistor density | 24.3M / mm² | 51.3M / mm² |

| Base clock | 1470 MHz | 2321 MHz |

| Boost clock | 1650 MHz | 2581 MHz |

| Game clock | N/A | 2463 MHz |

| Memory clock | 1750 MHz (14 Gbps) | 2250 MHz (18 Gbps) |

| Memory size | 8 GB | 12 GB |

| Memory bus width | 256 bit | 192 bit |

| Memory bandwidth | 448.0 GB/s | 432.0 GB/s |

| Shading units | 2304 | 2560 |

| TMUs | 144 | 160 |

| ROPs | 64 | 64 |

| RT cores | 36 | 40 |

| Tensor cores | 288 | N/A |

| Pixel rate | 105.6 GPixel/s | 165.2 GPixel/s |

| Texture rate | 237.6 GTexel/s | 413.0 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 7.603 TFLOPS | 13.21 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 15.21 TFLOPS | 26.43 TFLOPS |

| TDP | 185 W | 165 W |

| Slot width | Dual-slot | IGP |

| Power connectors | 1x 8-pin | None |

| Suggested PSU | 450 W | N/A |

| Bus interface | PCIe 1.0 x4 | PCIe 4.0 x16 |

| Display outputs | No outputs | Portable Device Dependent |

| Dimensions | 229/111/35 mm | N/A |

| Release date | 2021-02-24 | 2022-01-03 |

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA CMP 40HX wins in Geekbench OpenCL, the only compute test where both were measured, with a 9.8% advantage. It also has a higher average benchmark score and a 93rd percentile ranking, one point above AMD’s 92nd. Its 448.0 GB/s memory bandwidth exceeds the AMD card’s 432.0 GB/s, and its 256-bit bus offers more parallel memory paths. The 288 tensor cores are unique to this card, providing AI acceleration capabilities the AMD part lacks entirely. The CMP 40HX is also the only one with a defined launch MSRP of 699 USD, though it is end-of-life.

The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT wins decisively in Geekbench Vulkan with a 21.7% margin, and its Metal score of 128,981 is the highest single benchmark result across both cards. It offers 12 GB of memory versus 8 GB, which is critical for large datasets or high-resolution textures. The 7 nm process enables higher clocks and over 73% more FP32 throughput (13.21 versus 7.603 TFLOPS). Its pixel rate is 56% higher, texture rate 74% higher, and it has more shading units, TMUs, and RT cores. The RX 6850M XT’s PCIe 4.0 x16 interface is far more modern than the CMP 40HX’s PCIe 1.0 x4, which would bottleneck data transfer in any system. For any use case involving visual output, the RX 6850M XT is the only viable option, as the CMP 40HX has no display outputs whatsoever. The AMD card also has a lower TDP (165 W versus 185 W) despite being more powerful, indicating better performance per watt.