AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT vs NVIDIA CMP 40HX Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The recorded benchmark data splits cleanly between these two cards, though the sample of shared tests is narrow. The AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT wins both head-to-head tests in the database, taking the Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan comparisons outright. The NVIDIA CMP 40HX does not record a single win in any shared benchmark, but its profile still matters for specific workloads.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 6950 XT scores 205998 against the CMP 40HX's 93395. That is a 54.7% advantage for AMD, a decisive margin that points to much higher raw compute throughput. The CMP 40HX counters with a different strength: it is a mining-oriented card with no display outputs, so it fits scenarios where rendering to a monitor is irrelevant and the sole job is sustained compute. The RX 6950 XT, by contrast, includes a full display output suite with 1x HDMI 2.1 and 2x DisplayPort 1.4a, making it a general-purpose GPU.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the AMD card again leads with 165212 versus 77879, a 52.9% delta. This is a lower-level graphics API test, and the RX 6950 XT's larger shading array and higher clocks carry it. The CMP 40HX still supports Vulkan 1.4 and DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), so it is not API-limited, it is simply outclassed in raw throughput.

The use-case split is therefore stark. The RX 6950 XT wins for anyone needing a card that can game, render, and compute with strong API coverage. The CMP 40HX wins only for a narrow mining or headless compute role, where its dual-slot profile, single 8-pin connector, and 185 W TDP make it easier to pack into rigs, though the benchmark data does not show it beating the AMD card in any measured test.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations and foundry processes. The NVIDIA CMP 40HX uses the TU106 chip on a 12 nm TSMC process, built on the Turing architecture. The AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT uses the Navi 21 chip on a 7 nm TSMC process, built on RDNA 2.0. The process shrink is significant: 12 nm versus 7 nm, which partly explains the RX 6950 XT's much higher transistor count.

Transistor counts differ dramatically. The CMP 40HX packs 10,800 million transistors on a 445 mm² die, giving a density of 24.3M per mm². The RX 6950 XT packs 26,800 million transistors on a 520 mm² die, for a density of 51.5M per mm². The AMD chip is both larger in die area and more than twice as dense, reflecting the newer process node.

Compute resources also diverge. The CMP 40HX has 2304 shading units, 144 TMUs, 64 ROPs, 36 RT cores, and 288 tensor cores. The RX 6950 XT has 5120 shading units, 320 TMUs, 128 ROPs, and 80 RT cores, with no tensor cores listed. The AMD card has more than double the shading units, TMUs, and ROPs, plus more RT cores. Tensor cores are unique to the NVIDIA part, so the CMP 40HX retains an advantage for workloads that specifically use tensor operations, though no benchmark in the database directly measures that.

Clock behavior also differs. The CMP 40HX runs a 1470 MHz base and 1650 MHz boost. The RX 6950 XT runs a 1860 MHz base, a 2100 MHz game clock, and a 2310 MHz boost. Higher clocks on the AMD side compound its larger compute array, which is why its pixel rate reaches 295.7 GPixel/s versus 105.6 GPixel/s on the NVIDIA card, and its texture rate reaches 739.2 GTexel/s versus 237.6 GTexel/s.

Memory configurations are similar in bus width but not capacity or speed. Both use a 256-bit bus, but the CMP 40HX has 8 GB of GDDR6 at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) for 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RX 6950 XT has 16 GB of GDDR6 at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) for 576.0 GB/s bandwidth. Double the capacity and 28.6% more bandwidth favor AMD.

Power and physical design differ as well. The CMP 40HX is a dual-slot card with a 185 W TDP, one 8-pin connector, and a 450 W suggested PSU. The RX 6950 XT is a triple-slot card with a 335 W TDP, two 8-pin connectors, and a 700 W suggested PSU. The AMD card is also longer, taller, and wider: 267 mm by 120 mm by 50 mm versus 229 mm by 111 mm by 35 mm.

Bus interface is another major split. The CMP 40HX lists PCIe 1.0 x4, which is a peculiar specification for a modern GPU and likely reflects its mining-focused design. The RX 6950 XT lists PCIe 4.0 x16, a full-bandwidth interface. This affects how quickly data moves between CPU and GPU, though the benchmark scores do not isolate that factor.

The CMP 40HX has no display outputs, while the RX 6950 XT has a full set. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so API compatibility is not a differentiator. Release timing differs by roughly 14 months: the CMP 40HX launched on 2021-02-24, the RX 6950 XT on 2022-05-09. Both are end-of-life products.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT scores 205998 versus 93395 for the NVIDIA CMP 40HX, a 54.7% lead.

Q: Does the NVIDIA CMP 40HX have tensor cores?

A: Yes, it has 288 tensor cores. The AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT has no tensor cores listed in the database.

Q: How much memory does each card have?

A: The NVIDIA CMP 40HX has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. The AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 576.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Can the CMP 40HX output video to a display?

A: No, the NVIDIA CMP 40HX has no display outputs. The AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT includes 1x HDMI 2.1 and 2x DisplayPort 1.4a.

Q: What is the power requirement difference?

A: The CMP 40HX has a 185 W TDP with a 450 W suggested PSU and one 8-pin connector. The RX 6950 XT has a 335 W TDP with a 700 W suggested PSU and two 8-pin connectors.

Q: Which card has a higher percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The NVIDIA CMP 40HX sits at the 93rd percentile, while the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT sits at the 88th percentile. Despite that, the AMD card wins every shared benchmark in the database.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every major specification category.

Process and chip: the CMP 40HX uses TU106 on 12 nm TSMC with 10,800 million transistors on a 445 mm² die. The RX 6950 XT uses Navi 21 on 7 nm TSMC with 26,800 million transistors on a 520 mm² die.

Clocks: the CMP 40HX has a 1470 MHz base and 1650 MHz boost. The RX 6950 XT has a 1860 MHz base, 2100 MHz game clock, and 2310 MHz boost.

Memory: the CMP 40HX has 8 GB GDDR6 at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) for 448.0 GB/s. The RX 6950 XT has 16 GB GDDR6 at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) for 576.0 GB/s.

Compute units: the CMP 40HX has 2304 shading units, 144 TMUs, 64 ROPs, 36 RT cores, and 288 tensor cores. The RX 6950 XT has 5120 shading units, 320 TMUs, 128 ROPs, and 80 RT cores, with no tensor cores.

Rates: the CMP 40HX produces 105.6 GPixel/s and 237.6 GTexel/s, with 7.603 TFLOPS FP32 and 15.21 TFLOPS FP16. The RX 6950 XT produces 295.7 GPixel/s and 739.2 GTexel/s, with 23.65 TFLOPS FP32 and 47.31 TFLOPS FP16.

Power and cooling: the CMP 40HX is dual-slot, 185 W TDP, 1x 8-pin, 450 W suggested PSU. The RX 6950 XT is triple-slot, 335 W TDP, 2x 8-pin, 700 W suggested PSU.

Physical size: the CMP 40HX is 229 mm by 111 mm by 35 mm. The RX 6950 XT is 267 mm by 120 mm by 50 mm.

Bus and outputs: the CMP 40HX uses PCIe 1.0 x4 and has no display outputs. The RX 6950 XT uses PCIe 4.0 x16 and has 1x HDMI 2.1 plus 2x DisplayPort 1.4a.

Release dates: the CMP 40HX launched on 2021-02-24, the RX 6950 XT on 2022-05-09. Both are end-of-life.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records two direct comparisons between these cards, both won by the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT.

Geekbench OpenCL: the RX 6950 XT scores 205998, the CMP 40HX scores 93395. The delta is 54.7% in favor of AMD. This is the largest gap in the shared test set. The RX 6950 XT's FP32 throughput of 23.65 TFLOPS versus 7.603 TFLOPS explains the scale of the difference, as OpenCL workloads tend to scale with raw compute resources.

Geekbench Vulkan: the RX 6950 XT scores 165212, the CMP 40HX scores 77879. The delta is 52.9% in favor of AMD. Both cards support Vulkan 1.4, so the gap is not an API compatibility issue. The RX 6950 XT's higher shading unit count, TMU count, and clock speeds drive the result.

The CMP 40HX has zero wins in the head-to-head set, while the RX 6950 XT has two. The NVIDIA card's 93rd percentile ranking against all GPUs is higher than the AMD card's 88th percentile, but that ranking aggregates a broader set of tests and does not translate into a win in either shared benchmark. The RX 6950 XT's average benchmark score of 58392 is lower than the CMP 40HX's 85637, yet in the two tests where both were measured, the AMD card dominates. The CMP 40HX's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon PRO W7600 at 87108 average score (1.7% higher), the NVIDIA Quadro GP100 at 87445 (2.1% higher), the AMD Radeon PRO W6600 at 81995 (4.4% lower), and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X at 80959 (5.8% lower). The RX 6950 XT's nearest rivals cluster much closer: the NVIDIA P102-100 at 58528 (0.2% lower), the Intel Arc A570M at 58239 (0.3% higher), the AMD Radeon PRO V710 at 58657 (0.5% lower), and the AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM at 58085 (0.5% higher). The RX 6950 XT sits in a tightly contested band of GPUs with similar average scores, while the CMP 40HX sits in a slightly higher average-score band, but direct comparison shows the AMD card winning both recorded tests decisively.