AMD Radeon RX 6800 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile Comparison

# AMD Radeon RX 6800 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile

This comparison pits a desktop-oriented Radeon RX 6800 against a mobile GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile, two GPUs built for very different physical environments. The recorded benchmark data shows the AMD card winning 8 of 9 head-to-head tests, with the NVIDIA part taking a single, though significant, victory. The average benchmark score for the RX 6800 sits at 30095, placing it in the 75th percentile of all GPUs, while the RTX 4070 Mobile averages 27435, good for the 73rd percentile. These are close in percentile terms, but the raw score gap of roughly 9.7% tells a clearer story about sustained performance.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 6800 dominates the traditional rasterization and compute workload categories. In the PassMark suite, it wins every DirectX generation test: DirectX 9 by 15.2%, DirectX 10 by 10.3%, DirectX 11 by 19.6%, and DirectX 12 by 4.7%. The largest margins come in less graphics-specific tests: PassMark G2D shows a 29.8% advantage, and PassMark GPU Compute shows a 29.3% lead. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3188 for the RX 6800 further reinforces its strength in modern API workloads, though the RTX 4070 Mobile has no comparable score in the database.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile wins exactly one head-to-head test, but it is a decisive one: GeekBench OpenCL. The RTX 4070 Mobile scores 109197 versus the RX 6800's 24508, a massive 77.6% difference in NVIDIA's favor. This is not a small edge; it is a category-defining result. However, in GeekBench Vulkan, the RX 6800 strikes back with 115107 against 108367, a 6.2% win. The pattern here is clear: NVIDIA's OpenCL implementation is exceptional, while AMD's Vulkan path remains competitive. For buyers targeting OpenCL-heavy applications, the RTX 4070 Mobile is the obvious choice; for everything else in the benchmark suite, the RX 6800 leads.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations and are built for different power envelopes. The AMD Radeon RX 6800 uses the Navi 21 chip based on RDNA 2.0, manufactured on a 7 nm process at TSMC. It packs 26,800 million transistors into a 520 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 51.5M per mm². The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile uses the AD106 chip based on Ada Lovelace, also from TSMC but on a 5 nm node. It contains 22,900 million transistors on a much smaller 188 mm² die, giving a density of 121.8M per mm². The density difference is stark: NVIDIA fits nearly the same transistor count into less than half the die area.

The memory subsystems diverge sharply. The RX 6800 offers 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 4070 Mobile has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, halving bandwidth to 256.0 GB/s. Both run memory at 2000 MHz with 16 Gbps effective, so the bus width is the sole differentiator. The RX 6800's 16 GB capacity is double the NVIDIA part, and its bandwidth is exactly double as well. For texture-heavy workloads, the AMD card's 240 TMUs versus 144 TMUs and 96 ROPs versus 48 ROPs provide substantial fill-rate advantages: 505.2 GTexel/s versus 244.1 GTexel/s, and 202.1 GPixel/s versus 81.36 GPixel/s.

Shader and ray tracing configurations also differ. The RX 6800 has 3840 shading units, 60 RT cores, and no tensor cores, with FP32 throughput of 16.17 TFLOPS and FP16 at 32.33 TFLOPS using a 2:1 ratio. The RTX 4070 Mobile has 4608 shading units, 36 RT cores, and 144 tensor cores, with FP32 at 15.62 TFLOPS and FP16 at the same 15.62 TFLOPS using a 1:1 ratio. The AMD card has higher raw FP32 and FP16 numbers, but the NVIDIA part's tensor cores add dedicated AI acceleration that the RX 6800 lacks entirely.

Physical and power characteristics are where the two parts diverge most dramatically. The RX 6800 is a dual-slot desktop card with 2x 8-pin power connectors, a 250 W TDP, and a suggested 600 W PSU. It measures 267 mm in length, 120 mm in height, and 40 mm in width. The RTX 4070 Mobile is an IGP form factor with no power connectors, a 115 W TDP, and no suggested PSU, with dimensions listed as portable device dependent. The RX 6800 uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while the RTX 4070 Mobile uses PCIe 4.0 x8. Display outputs differ as well: the RX 6800 offers 1x HDMI 2.1, 2x DisplayPort 1.4a, and 1x USB Type-C, while the RTX 4070 Mobile is portable device dependent.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw FP32 performance?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6800 leads with 16.17 TFLOPS, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile trails at 15.62 TFLOPS. The difference is small, only about 3.5%, but it favors the desktop card.

Q: How do the memory capacities compare?

A: The RX 6800 offers 16 GB of GDDR6 with 512.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the RTX 4070 Mobile has 8 GB of GDDR6 with 256.0 GB/s bandwidth. The AMD card doubles both capacity and bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU is better for OpenCL workloads?

A: The RTX 4070 Mobile wins decisively in GeekBench OpenCL, scoring 109197 versus 24508 for the RX 6800. That is a 77.6% advantage for NVIDIA, making it the clear choice for OpenCL-focused applications.

Q: Does the RX 6800 support ray tracing?

A: Yes, the RX 6800 includes 60 RT cores. However, the RTX 4070 Mobile has 36 RT cores alongside 144 tensor cores, which may provide additional acceleration paths for certain workloads.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The RX 6800 has a 250 W TDP and requires 2x 8-pin power connectors and a 600 W PSU. The RTX 4070 Mobile has a 115 W TDP with no power connectors, reflecting its mobile IGP design.

Q: Which GPU has a higher pixel fill rate?

A: The RX 6800 achieves 202.1 GPixel/s, while the RTX 4070 Mobile reaches 81.36 GPixel/s. The AMD card is nearly 2.5 times faster in this metric.

Specification Differences

The table below lists only the fields where the two parts differ, based on the recorded data.

| Specification | AMD Radeon RX 6800 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile |

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

| Chip | Navi 21 | AD106 |

| Architecture | RDNA 2.0 | Ada Lovelace |

| Generation | Navi II (RX 6000) | GeForce 40 Mobile |

| Process Node | 7 nm | 5 nm |

| Transistors | 26,800 million | 22,900 million |

| Die Size | 520 mm² | 188 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 51.5M / mm² | 121.8M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1700 MHz | 1395 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2105 MHz | 1695 MHz |

| Game Clock | 1815 MHz | N/A |

| Memory Size | 16 GB | 8 GB |

| Memory Bus Width | 256 bit | 128 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 512.0 GB/s | 256.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 3840 | 4608 |

| TMUs | 240 | 144 |

| ROPs | 96 | 48 |

| RT Cores | 60 | 36 |

| Tensor Cores | N/A | 144 |

| Pixel Rate | 202.1 GPixel/s | 81.36 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 505.2 GTexel/s | 244.1 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 16.17 TFLOPS | 15.62 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 32.33 TFLOPS (2:1) | 15.62 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 250 W | 115 W |

| Slot Width | Dual-slot | IGP |

| Power Connectors | 2x 8-pin | None |

| Suggested PSU | 600 W | N/A |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x8 |

| Display Outputs | 1x HDMI 2.1, 2x DP 1.4a, 1x USB-C | Portable Device Dependent |

| Production Status | End-of-life | Active |

| Release Date | 2020-10-27 | 2023-01-02 |

| Predecessor | Navi | GeForce 30 Mobile |

| Successor | Navi III | GeForce 50 Mobile |

| Launch MSRP | 579 USD | N/A |

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most lopsided result in the entire comparison is GeekBench OpenCL, where the RTX 4070 Mobile posts 109197 against the RX 6800's 24508, a 77.6% margin. This single result skews the overall narrative, but it is worth emphasizing that no other test comes close to this gap. The RX 6800 wins every other head-to-head test, though the margins vary widely.

In GeekBench Vulkan, the RX 6800 scores 115107 versus 108367, a 6.2% lead. This shows that in API-level graphics workloads, the two are closely matched, with AMD holding a modest edge. The PassMark DirectX tests paint a more favorable picture for AMD: DirectX 11 shows a 19.6% win (214 versus 179), DirectX 9 shows 15.2% (257 versus 223), DirectX 10 shows 10.3% (128 versus 116), and DirectX 12 shows 4.7% (89 versus 85). The DirectX 12 margin is the smallest of the group, suggesting that as APIs modernize, the gap narrows.

The largest AMD wins come in the 2D and compute categories. PassMark G2D has the RX 6800 at 990 versus 763, a 29.8% advantage. PassMark GPU Compute shows 10864 versus 8399, a 29.3% lead. The PassMark G3D score of 22067 for the RX 6800 versus 19587 for the RTX 4070 Mobile is a 12.7% win, which aligns closely with the overall average benchmark score gap. The RX 6800's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3188 has no direct counterpart in the RTX 4070 Mobile's recorded data, but it reinforces the AMD card's capability in modern DX12 titles.

The Verdict

The data separates these two GPUs by use case and physical constraints. The AMD Radeon RX 6800 is the stronger performer in almost every recorded benchmark, winning 8 of 9 head-to-head tests and posting higher average scores (30095 versus 27435). It offers double the memory capacity and bandwidth, higher pixel and texture rates, and superior FP32 throughput. For a desktop builder with space for a dual-slot card, a 250 W TDP budget, and a 600 W PSU, the RX 6800 is the clear choice. Its 75th percentile ranking versus the RTX 4070 Mobile's 73rd percentile confirms that it sits slightly higher in the overall GPU hierarchy.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile is a different animal entirely. It is an IGP with a 115 W TDP, no power connectors, and no suggested PSU, making it suitable only for portable devices. Its single benchmark win is in GeekBench OpenCL, where it crushes the RX 6800 by 77.6%. If your workload is OpenCL-centric, the RTX 4070 Mobile is not just competitive; it is overwhelmingly superior. The presence of 144 tensor cores also gives it a feature the RX 6800 lacks entirely, though no benchmark in the recorded data directly measures tensor performance.

Who should pick which? Desktop users with power headroom and a need for 16 GB of VRAM should take the RX 6800. It wins in DirectX across all generations, in Vulkan, in 2D, and in compute. Mobile users with OpenCL-heavy applications should take the RTX 4070 Mobile, despite its lower overall average score. The RX 6800 is end-of-life, while the RTX 4070 Mobile remains active, which may factor into long-term availability. The RX 6800 launched at 579 USD MSRP, a figure worth noting for historical context, but the RTX 4070 Mobile has no recorded launch MSRP. The verdict is simple: raw performance favors AMD, but the NVIDIA part wins the one test that matters for OpenCL users, and it does so by a landslide.