AMD Radeon RX 6700 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Comparison

AMD Radeon RX 6700 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti is a generational clash between a compact RDNA 2 part and a flagship Turing GPU. The benchmark data shows a clear overall winner—the RTX 2080 Ti takes 8 of 10 head-to-head tests—yet the RX 6700 secures two notable victories, including one in a legacy API and one in 2D performance. Both cards sit at the 75th percentile among all GPUs, but their average benchmark scores diverge: the RX 6700 posts 30,433 against the RTX 2080 Ti’s 29,783, a margin of roughly 2.2%. That aggregate edge, however, masks the distribution of wins, where the older NVIDIA card dominates in modern and compute-heavy workloads.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The largest single delta favors the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, where it scores 3,537 versus the AMD Radeon RX 6700’s 2,014. That is a 43.1% deficit for the RX 6700, the widest gap in the entire comparison. This result underscores a fundamental performance separation in a demanding DX12 rasterization scene; the RTX 2080 Ti’s higher FP32 throughput (13.45 TFLOPS) and larger memory subsystem (616.0 GB/s bandwidth) translate directly into a commanding lead.

Vulkan performance tells a similar story. The RTX 2080 Ti scores 132,930 in Geekbench Vulkan, while the RX 6700 manages 83,974—a 36.8% shortfall. This is the second-largest margin in the dataset, reinforcing that the NVIDIA card holds a substantial advantage in cross-platform modern APIs. OpenCL results follow the same pattern: 128,171 for the RTX 2080 Ti versus 97,841 for the RX 6700, a 23.7% lead. These compute-oriented tests indicate that the Turing GPU’s 4,352 shading units and 544 tensor cores provide raw throughput that the RX 6700’s 2,304 shading units cannot match.

Legacy DirectX tests also favor NVIDIA, though by smaller margins. In Passmark DirectX 10, the RTX 2080 Ti leads 153 to 115 (24.8% ahead); in DirectX 11, it wins 190 to 166 (12.6% ahead); and in DirectX 12, it posts 84 versus 71 (15.5% ahead). The Passmark G3D score—a broad gaming composite—shows the RTX 2080 Ti at 21,548 against 18,931 for the RX 6700, a 12.1% advantage. Compute throughput in Passmark GPU Compute also goes NVIDIA’s way: 10,056 versus 8,240, an 18.1% gap.

The AMD Radeon RX 6700’s wins are narrower but real. In Passmark DirectX 9, it scores 250 versus 235 for the RTX 2080 Ti, a 6.4% lead—the only API test where AMD comes out ahead. The second win is in Passmark G2D, where the RX 6700 edges out 936 to 927, a marginal 1% difference. These results suggest that the RDNA 2 architecture retains an advantage in older, less complex rendering paths and in 2D rasterization, but the overall trend is unmistakable: the RTX 2080 Ti wins decisively in every modern or compute-heavy benchmark.

Where Each One Wins

Based on the data, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti is the clear choice for DX12 and Vulkan workloads. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3,537 and Geekbench Vulkan score of 132,930 represent the card’s strongest showings, and it also leads in OpenCL (128,171) and Passmark GPU Compute (10,056). Users targeting modern game engines, ray-traced titles, or GPGPU tasks will find the RTX 2080 Ti consistently faster, with deltas ranging from 12.1% to 43.1% across these tests.

The AMD Radeon RX 6700, conversely, shows its best relative performance in legacy DirectX 9 and 2D workloads. Its Passmark DirectX 9 score of 250 beats the RTX 2080 Ti by 6.4%, and its Passmark G2D score of 936 narrowly tops 927. For users running older titles or applications that rely on 2D acceleration, the RX 6700 offers a slight edge. However, these wins are isolated; the RX 6700 trails in every other benchmark, and its aggregate average score of 30,433 is only 2.2% higher than the RTX 2080 Ti’s 29,783, largely because the NVIDIA card’s losses in DirectX 9 and G2D are small in absolute terms.

Architecture Differences

The two cards represent distinct architectural generations. The AMD Radeon RX 6700 uses the Navi 22 chip on RDNA 2.0, built on a 7 nm TSMC process, with 17,200 million transistors on a 335 mm² die. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti uses the TU102 chip on Turing, fabricated on a 12 nm TSMC node, with 18,600 million transistors on a much larger 754 mm² die. The process advantage is clear: the RX 6700 achieves a transistor density of 51.3M per mm² versus 24.7M per mm² for the RTX 2080 Ti, meaning AMD packs more transistors into less space despite having fewer total transistors.

Memory configurations differ substantially. The RX 6700 has 10 GB of GDDR6 on a 160-bit bus, delivering 320.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 2080 Ti offers 11 GB of GDDR6 on a 352-bit bus, yielding 616.0 GB/s—nearly double the bandwidth. This explains the NVIDIA card’s dominance in bandwidth-sensitive benchmarks like 3DMark Steel Nomad. Clock speeds also favor AMD: the RX 6700 runs at a base of 1941 MHz and boosts to 2450 MHz, while the RTX 2080 Ti operates at 1350 MHz base and 1545 MHz boost. The RX 6700’s higher clocks partially compensate for its lower core count, but not enough to overcome the Turing GPU’s raw resources.

Shader and compute resources are heavily skewed toward NVIDIA. The RTX 2080 Ti has 4,352 shading units, 272 TMUs, and 88 ROPs, compared to 2,304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 64 ROPs on the RX 6700. Ray tracing cores follow suit: 68 on the NVIDIA card versus 36 on AMD. The RTX 2080 Ti also includes 544 tensor cores, which the RX 6700 lacks entirely. This yields higher peak rates: 13.45 TFLOPS FP32 and 26.90 TFLOPS FP16 for NVIDIA, versus 11.29 TFLOPS and 22.58 TFLOPS for AMD. Pixel and texture rates reinforce the pattern—the RTX 2080 Ti’s 420.2 GTexel/s exceeds the RX 6700’s 352.8 GTexel/s, though the RX 6700 counters with a higher pixel rate of 156.8 GPixel/s versus 136.0 GPixel/s.

Power and connectivity also differ. The RX 6700 has a 175 W TDP with a single 8-pin connector and a 450 W suggested PSU, while the RTX 2080 Ti draws 250 W via two 8-pin connectors and recommends a 600 W PSU. The RX 6700 supports PCIe 4.0 x16, whereas the RTX 2080 Ti uses PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs are similar, but the RTX 2080 Ti adds a USB Type-C port alongside its HDMI 2.0 and three DisplayPort 1.4a outputs; the RX 6700 offers HDMI 2.1 and three DisplayPort 1.4a.

FAQ

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6700 posts an average benchmark score of 30,433, compared to 29,783 for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti, a difference of about 2.2%.

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

A: The largest gap is in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, where the RTX 2080 Ti scores 3,537 against the RX 6700’s 2,014, giving NVIDIA a 43.1% lead.

Q: Does the RX 6700 win any benchmarks?

A: Yes, the RX 6700 wins Passmark DirectX 9 (250 versus 235, a 6.4% lead) and Passmark G2D (936 versus 927, a 1% lead).

Q: How do memory bandwidths compare?

A: The RTX 2080 Ti has 616.0 GB/s of bandwidth from its 352-bit bus, while the RX 6700 offers 320.0 GB/s via a 160-bit bus.

Q: Which card has more ray tracing cores?

A: The RTX 2080 Ti has 68 ray tracing cores; the RX 6700 has 36. The RTX 2080 Ti also includes 544 tensor cores, which the RX 6700 does not have.

Q: What are the process node differences?

A: The RX 6700 is built on TSMC’s 7 nm process, while the RTX 2080 Ti uses TSMC’s 12 nm process. The RX 6700 also has a higher transistor density at 51.3M per mm² versus 24.7M per mm².

The Verdict

The data points to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti as the stronger performer for most use cases. It wins 8 of 10 head-to-head benchmarks, with decisive margins in modern APIs: 43.1% in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, 36.8% in Geekbench Vulkan, and 23.7% in Geekbench OpenCL. Its higher FP32 throughput (13.45 TFLOPS), nearly double memory bandwidth, and additional tensor cores make it the superior choice for DX12 gaming, Vulkan titles, and compute-heavy applications. The RTX 2080 Ti also carries a launch MSRP of 999 USD, though that figure reflects its original positioning.

The AMD Radeon RX 6700, however, is not without merit. Its wins in Passmark DirectX 9 (6.4% ahead) and Passmark G2D (1% ahead) indicate an edge in legacy and 2D workloads. It also achieves a higher average benchmark score overall (30,433 versus 29,783), driven by its strong showing in Geekbench Metal (122,223), a test not available for the RTX 2080 Ti. The RX 6700’s 7 nm process yields higher clock speeds and a smaller die, and its lower TDP (175 W versus 250 W) suggests greater efficiency per watt, though power consumption numbers are not directly benchmarked here.

For users prioritizing modern gaming performance, ray tracing, or GPGPU compute, the RTX 2080 Ti is the clear pick from this dataset. For those working with older DirectX 9 applications, 2D interfaces, or seeking the higher aggregate score and Metal compute performance, the RX 6700 offers a viable alternative. The choice hinges on workload: NVIDIA dominates the present and future-facing APIs, while AMD retains a niche in backward compatibility and raw average throughput.