AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The recorded data splits these two GPUs along very clear lines. The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT dominates the legacy and compute-oriented benchmark suite, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile takes the modern DirectX 12 and API-agnostic compute tests. Out of ten head-to-head comparisons, AMD wins seven, NVIDIA wins three.

AMD’s victories are concentrated in the PassMark suite. The RX 6700 XT leads by 42.4% in DirectX 9, 18.5% in DirectX 11, and 6.9% in DirectX 12. It also posts a 21.2% advantage in PassMark G3D and a 28.3% lead in PassMark GPU Compute. The 2D test is a blowout: AMD scores 951 versus NVIDIA’s 637, a 49.3% margin. For users running older DirectX titles, legacy OpenGL workloads, or compute tasks that stress raw shader throughput, the RX 6700 XT is the clear pick.

NVIDIA’s wins are fewer but significant. The RTX 3080 Mobile takes 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 by 7.9%, and its Geekbench results are dominant. The OpenCL gap is enormous: NVIDIA scores 104,831 against AMD’s 44,152, a 57.9% advantage. Vulkan is also NVIDIA’s, at 104,066 versus 93,500, a 10.2% margin. These results indicate that for modern cross-platform compute APIs and current-generation rasterization workloads, the RTX 3080 Mobile has the edge.

The use-case split is therefore straightforward. AMD wins on the aggregate benchmark average and on most traditional rasterization metrics. NVIDIA wins specifically where the workload is modern, API-heavy, or compute-centric. The RX 6700 XT is the better all-rounder across the recorded test suite; the RTX 3080 Mobile is the specialist for contemporary API performance.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different design philosophies. AMD uses the Radeon RX 6000 series architecture, specifically RDNA 2.0, built on a 7 nm TSMC process. NVIDIA uses the Ampere architecture, built on an 8 nm Samsung process. The node difference is small in process name but matters in density: AMD packs 17,200 million transistors into 335 mm², yielding 51.3 million transistors per mm². NVIDIA has 17,400 million transistors across a larger 392 mm² die, giving 44.4 million per mm². AMD’s denser layout is a direct result of the more advanced process.

The compute configurations diverge sharply. The RX 6700 XT has 2,560 shading units, 160 TMUs, 64 ROPs, and 40 ray tracing cores. It has no tensor cores. NVIDIA’s RTX 3080 Mobile fields 6,144 shading units, 192 TMUs, 96 ROPs, 48 RT cores, and 192 tensor cores. NVIDIA’s raw shading unit count is more than double AMD’s, but AMD compensates with much higher clocks. The RX 6700 XT boosts to 2,581 MHz and has a game clock of 2,424 MHz. NVIDIA boosts to just 1,545 MHz with a base of 1,110 MHz. This clock disparity explains why the FP32 throughput gap is narrower than the core count gap: AMD delivers 13.21 TFLOPS, NVIDIA 18.98 TFLOPS.

Memory is another clear differentiator. AMD uses 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, yielding 384.0 GB/s of bandwidth. NVIDIA uses 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, yielding 448.0 GB/s. NVIDIA has more bandwidth but less capacity. AMD’s memory runs at 16 Gbps effective, NVIDIA’s at 14 Gbps. For capacity-sensitive workloads, AMD wins; for bandwidth-bound tasks, NVIDIA leads.

Power and physical design also differ. AMD’s card is a dual-slot desktop unit with a 230 W TDP, requiring a 550 W power supply and a 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin connector. NVIDIA’s mobile part is rated at 115 W TDP with no power connectors, as it is designed for laptop integration. The RX 6700 XT measures 267 mm in length, 110 mm in height, and 40 mm in width. NVIDIA’s dimensions are not recorded, as they depend on the portable device. Both support PCIe 4.0 x16, DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. AMD offers 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, while NVIDIA’s outputs are portable-device dependent.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The biggest win for AMD is in PassMark G2D, where it scores 951 against 637, a 49.3% margin. This is a 2D graphics test, not typically a gaming metric, but it shows AMD’s rasterization engine handles legacy paths with far more efficiency. The DirectX 9 test is similarly lopsided: AMD scores 242, NVIDIA 170, a 42.4% advantage. For any application still using DirectX 9, the RX 6700 XT is almost half again as fast.

PassMark GPU Compute shows AMD ahead by 28.3%, with scores of 9,336 versus 7,276. This is notable because NVIDIA’s Geekbench OpenCL result is so much higher, suggesting the two compute benchmarks measure very different workloads. The PassMark G3D result gives AMD a 21.2% lead, 19,786 versus 16,321. DirectX 11 is another AMD win at 18.5%, 173 versus 146. Even the modern DirectX 12 path in PassMark favors AMD, albeit narrowly: 77 versus 72, a 6.9% margin.

NVIDIA’s largest win is Geekbench OpenCL, where it scores 104,831 against 44,152. The 57.9% delta is the largest in the entire comparison. This single result dominates the compute narrative, indicating that in OpenCL-heavy applications, the RTX 3080 Mobile is in a different class. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test goes to NVIDIA by 7.9%, 2,644 versus 2,435, showing NVIDIA’s modern rasterization pipeline is stronger. Geekbench Vulkan is NVIDIA’s third win, 104,066 versus 93,500, a 10.2% margin.

The average benchmark scores reflect this split. AMD’s average is 27,425, which puts it in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs. NVIDIA’s average is 23,628, placing it in the 69th percentile. AMD’s nearest rival by average score is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile at 27,435, a 0% delta, making the two effectively tied. NVIDIA’s nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z at 23,736, a -0.5% delta. These percentiles confirm that AMD sits in a slightly higher performance tier overall, despite losing the modern API tests.

The Verdict

The data supports a clear conclusion: pick the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT for broad compatibility and legacy performance, pick the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile for modern API workloads. AMD wins seven of ten head-to-head tests and has a higher average benchmark score, 27,425 versus 23,628. Its wins are decisive in DirectX 9, DirectX 10, DirectX 11, DirectX 12, G2D, G3D, and GPU Compute. For anyone running older games, using PassMark for validation, or needing strong 2D performance, AMD is the superior choice.

NVIDIA’s three wins are concentrated where the industry is moving. The 57.9% OpenCL advantage and 10.2% Vulkan lead suggest that for compute-heavy applications, scientific workloads, or modern game engines using these APIs, the RTX 3080 Mobile is the better tool. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 win, while modest at 7.9%, indicates that NVIDIA has the edge in current-generation rasterization.

The capacity difference matters too. AMD’s 12 GB frame buffer versus NVIDIA’s 8 GB means AMD can handle larger textures and higher resolutions without hitting memory limits. NVIDIA’s higher bandwidth, 448.0 GB/s versus 384.0 GB/s, helps in bandwidth-bound scenarios. The RTX 3080 Mobile’s 192 tensor cores are absent on the AMD card, so any workload leveraging tensor cores, such as certain AI or DLSS tasks, is NVIDIA-only.

There is no universal winner. The RX 6700 XT is the higher-tier card by percentile and average score, but the RTX 3080 Mobile is the stronger modern API performer. Choose based on the software you actually run. The database shows AMD for the legacy suite, NVIDIA for the modern compute suite.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT, with an average score of 27,425, versus 23,628 for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile. AMD sits in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs, NVIDIA in the 69th.

Q: What is the largest single benchmark margin between the two?

A: The Geekbench OpenCL test, where the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile scores 104,831 against 44,152 for the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT, a 57.9% advantage.

Q: How do the memory configurations compare?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT has 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus with 384.0 GB/s bandwidth. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU wins the modern DirectX 12 benchmarks?

A: It is split. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile wins 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 by 7.9%, scoring 2,644 versus 2,435. The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT wins PassMark DirectX 12 by 6.9%, scoring 77 versus 72.

Q: What are the transistor counts and process nodes?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT has 17,200 million transistors on a 7 nm TSMC process with a 335 mm² die. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile has 17,400 million transistors on an 8 nm Samsung process with a 392 mm² die.

Q: Does the NVIDIA card have tensor cores, and what does that mean?

A: Yes, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile has 192 tensor cores. The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT has no tensor cores, so any workload that relies on tensor core acceleration is exclusive to the NVIDIA card.