AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data presents a decisive picture in favor of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti. Across the three shared benchmarks, the NVIDIA card secures a clean sweep, winning all tests with margins that range from roughly double to more than two and a half times the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT's output.

In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, a demanding modern gaming workload, the RTX 3090 Ti scores 5,741 points. The RX 6850M XT manages 2,257 points. The delta here is the largest of the three comparisons, with NVIDIA leading by 154.4%. This is not a narrow victory; it is a dominant performance gap in a primary gaming benchmark.

The Geekbench OpenCL test shows a similar story. The RTX 3090 Ti posts a score of 174,441, while the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT reaches 85,040. The resulting performance advantage for the NVIDIA part is 105.1%, meaning it more than doubles the AMD card's score in this general-purpose compute test.

The Vulkan API benchmark, which often scales well across different hardware, continues the trend. The NVIDIA card scores 215,633, against 99,483 for the AMD part. This yields a 116.8% delta in favor of the RTX 3090 Ti. The margin is substantial, indicating a consistent advantage across different graphics API workloads.

The overall average benchmark score, computed by the database, tells a similar tale. The RTX 3090 Ti has an average score of 131,938, while the RX 6850M XT sits at 78,940. When comparing these averages to their respective nearest rivals, the positioning becomes more nuanced. The NVIDIA card is near the top of its performance tier, sitting at the 95th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada Generation with a score of 135,218, which is 2.4% higher, and the AMD Radeon PRO W6800 at 135,396, which is 2.6% higher. The RTX 3090 Ti is essentially at parity with these, just a few percentage points below them.

The AMD RX 6850M XT, while winning no head-to-head tests, still holds a respectable 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs. Its average score of 78,940 puts it in close competition with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090, which scores 79,842 and is 1.1% ahead. It is also competitive with the NVIDIA RTX 5090 D, which scores 77,712 and is 1.6% behind. This places the mobile AMD part in a different performance class, one that is aimed at a different use case than the flagship desktop NVIDIA part.

The Verdict

The data indicates a clear choice for those who prioritize raw compute and gaming frame rates above all else. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti is the definitive performance winner in every single metric recorded in the database. Its lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad is over 150%, and it doubles or more than doubles the AMD's score in both OpenCL and Vulkan workloads. There is no benchmark result that suggests the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT can compete with the RTX 3090 Ti on raw speed.

Users should pick the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti if their primary need is maximum performance in a desktop system. The benchmark scores show it is a high-end part, sitting in the 95th percentile, and capable of outputting a significant amount of work in parallel tasks. The data indicates it is a top-tier GPU for heavy workloads like high-fidelity gaming and professional compute.

The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT, on the other hand, is a mobile chip. Its existence in a portable device, marked as an IGP with no power connectors, suggests a completely different use case. The data shows it is still a powerful GPU, ranking in the 92nd percentile, but it is in a different performance league. Its benchmark scores are closer to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090, a modern part, than to the older, high-end desktop card.

Therefore, the recommendation is straightforward: the desktop RTX 3090 Ti is for those who need the highest performance. The mobile RX 6850M XT is for those who need a high-end performance in a portable form factor, where the trade-off in power consumption and physical size is acceptable. The data will not recommend one over the other for the same use case, as they are designed for entirely different classes of machines.

Architecture Differences

The two cards are built on radically different architectures, which explains their performance differences. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti uses the Ampere architecture, specifically the GA102 chip. The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT uses the RDNA 2.0 architecture, with a Navi 22 chip.

The manufacturing processes are distinct. The NVIDIA card is built by Samsung on an 8 nm process, while the AMD card is built by TSMC on a 7 nm process. The die sizes differ significantly, with the NVIDIA having a larger die at 628 mm², while the AMD is 335 mm². The NVIDIA has more transistors, at 28,300 million, compared to the AMD's 17,200 million. Interestingly, the AMD has a higher transistor density, at 51.3M per mm², while the NVIDIA has 45.1M per mm², which is a direct result of the smaller die and more modern process node.

The internal cores are very different. The NVIDIA card features 10,752 shading units, 336 texture mapping units, and 112 render output units. It also has dedicated hardware for ray tracing, with 84 RT cores, and for AI acceleration, with 336 tensor cores. The AMD card has far fewer of these general-purpose units, with 2,560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. It also has 40 RT cores, but it has no tensor cores, a key feature that is absent from the RDNA 2.0 architecture.

This difference in core counts is a major factor in the performance gap. The NVIDIA has more than four times the shading units, a gap that directly correlates with its higher fill rates and compute throughput. The AMD's lack of tensor cores means it cannot accelerate AI-driven tasks like DLSS, whereas the NVIDIA can use its tensor cores for such features.

The memory subsystems are also from different eras. The NVIDIA card uses GDDR6X memory, with a 384-bit bus. The AMD uses GDDR6, with a 192-bit bus. The NVIDIA has a larger memory pool of 24 GB, while the AMD has 12 GB. This leads to a massive difference in bandwidth, with the NVIDIA having over twice the memory bandwidth of the AMD.

The process node difference means the AMD chip is denser and more power-efficient per area, but it does not have the raw throughput of the larger NVIDIA chip.

Specification Differences

The most prominent specification difference is the memory capacity and technology. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti has 24 GB of GDDR6X memory, while the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT has 12 GB of GDDR6. This also leads to a difference in memory bus width: the bus is 384 bit for the NVIDIA and 192 bit for the AMD. The recorded bandwidth is 1.01 TB/s for the NVIDIA card, while the AMD is at 432.0 GB/s. This is a massive difference, directly affecting texture loading and high-resolution performance.

The clock speeds are not directly comparable due to the different architectures. The NVIDIA card has a base clock of 1560 MHz and a boost clock of 1860 MHz. The AMD card has a base clock of 2321 MHz and a boost clock of 2581 MHz, with a game clock of 2463 MHz. The AMD runs at a higher clock speed, but the NVIDIA's performance advantage comes from its wider architecture, not from clock speed.

The power and physical characteristics vary wildly. The NVIDIA is a desktop card with a TDP of 450 W and a triple-slot width, requiring a 1x 16-pin power connector and an 850 W power supply. The AMD is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) for a mobile device. It has a TDP of 165 W, a slot width of "IGP", and uses no power connectors. It also has no suggested PSU, as it is intended for a laptop. The NVIDIA's dimensions are listed as 336 mm in length, 140 mm in height, and 61 mm in width, while the AMD has no physical dimensions listed, as it is a chip on a board.

The NVIDIA has a specific set of display outputs (1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a), while the AMD's display outputs are "Portable Device Dependent". The NVIDIA also has a 1.0 TB/s memory bandwidth, a major spec.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a better score in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti is the winner, with a score of 5,741 points, which is 154.4% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT's score of 2,257 points.

Q: What is the difference in the Geekbench Vulkan benchmark?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti scores 215,633, while the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT scores 99,483. This results in a 116.8% higher score for the NVIDIA card.

Q: Which GPU has more memory bandwidth?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti has a memory bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s. The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT has a bandwidth of 432.0 GB/s. The NVIDIA card has a significantly higher bandwidth.

Q: What are the TDP differences between the two?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti has a TDP of 450 W. The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT has a TDP of 165 W.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT have tensor cores?

A: The recorded data shows that the AMD card has no tensor cores. The NVIDIA card has 336 tensor cores.

Q: How does the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT compare to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT has an average benchmark score of 78,940. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 has a score of 79,842, which is 1.1% higher, making the AMD a close competitor.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti wins in all recorded benchmarks. It has the highest score in every test, from the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 graphics test to the OpenCL and Vulkan compute tests. This makes it the clear winner for users who need maximum performance in 3D rendering, high-resolution gaming, or general compute workloads.

The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT wins in a different category: it is a mobile part. It is the better choice for a laptop, where its lower TDP, lack of power connectors, and compact size are essential. The data shows it is a powerful part for its class, ranking in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs. It offers a high level of performance for a mobile device, and its performance is comparable to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090, which is a similar mobile part.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti is the winner for any use case that requires raw performance over portability. The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT is the winner for a gaming laptop, where power and size are constraints. The data shows that the AMD is a high-end mobile chip, not a competitor to the desktop NVIDIA card. The user should base their decision on the performance numbers and their specific hardware needs.