AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER are two high-end graphics cards from different generations, and the benchmark data shows a decisive performance gap. Out of ten head-to-head tests, the RTX 4070 SUPER wins every single one, making this comparison less about trading blows and more about measuring the size of NVIDIA's lead. The RX 6800 XT, built on RDNA 2.0, was a flagship in its day, but the RTX 4070 SUPER's Ada Lovelace architecture delivers consistently higher scores across every category tested. This analysis will break down the exact margins, where each card still holds relevance, and what the architectural differences explain about the results.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most significant victory for the RTX 4070 SUPER comes in the Geekbench Vulkan test, where it scores 205,624 against the RX 6800 XT's 136,875. That is a 33.4% difference, the largest margin in the entire comparison. This result highlights a major advantage for NVIDIA in modern, low-level graphics APIs, which are increasingly common in current game engines. The gap is substantial enough that it suggests the RTX 4070 SUPER is not just faster, but fundamentally more efficient at translating draw calls into rendered frames.

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test tells a similar story, with the RTX 4070 SUPER scoring 4,627 versus the RX 6800 XT's 3,689. This 20.3% deficit for AMD is another clear indicator of NVIDIA's generational advantage in DirectX 12 workloads. The PassMark G3D test, which is a more general measure of gaming performance, shows the RTX 4070 SUPER at 29,995 against 24,980, a 16.7% lead. These are not marginal wins; they represent a consistent performance tier separation.

Compute performance is another area where the RTX 4070 SUPER is dominant. In the PassMark GPU Compute test, it scores 17,108 compared to the RX 6800 XT's 13,245, a 22.6% advantage. This is supported by the Geekbench OpenCL score, where NVIDIA wins again, albeit by a much slimmer 0.9% margin (172,795 vs 171,304). The similarity in OpenCL results suggests that in some generic compute loads, the RX 6800 XT's raw specifications can still keep it competitive.

In legacy DirectX tests, the story is also one of NVIDIA superiority. The PassMark DirectX 9 test shows the RTX 4070 SUPER scoring 344 against 265, a 23% difference. The DirectX 10 test is closer, with scores of 167 and 155 (a 7.2% difference), and DirectX 11 shows 273 vs 264 (a 3.3% difference). The DirectX 12 test results in a 9.1% win for NVIDIA (110 vs 100). These older API tests show that even when the RX 6800 XT is at its most competitive, it still falls short.

The 2D performance test (PassMark G2D) is also won by the RTX 4070 SUPER, scoring 1,184 versus 1,030, a 13% difference. While not directly relevant to gaming frame rates, it does indicate that the newer card has faster basic display and memory operations. Overall, the data shows a clean sweep: zero wins for the RX 6800 XT and ten for the RTX 4070 SUPER. The deltas range from a negligible 0.9% in OpenCL to a decisive 33.4% in Vulkan, proving that the RTX 4070 SUPER is the faster card in every test scenario.

Where Each One Wins

Given the zero wins for the RX 6800 XT, it is impossible to identify any benchmark category where it comes out ahead. However, the data does allow us to identify where the two cards are closest, which is useful for understanding the RX 6800 XT's remaining strengths. The closest result is the Geekbench OpenCL test, where the RTX 4070 SUPER leads by only 0.9%. This suggests that in raw, generic compute tasks that do not heavily rely on vendor-specific optimizations, the RX 6800 XT's specifications can nearly match the newer card.

The RX 6800 XT also shows its best relative performance in the PassMark DirectX 11 and DirectX 10 tests, losing by 3.3% and 7.2% respectively. These are older APIs, and the smaller margins indicate that the RDNA 2.0 architecture is still quite capable in these workloads. For users running games that are built on DirectX 11 or earlier, the RX 6800 XT will be much closer to the RTX 4070 SUPER in performance than in newer titles.

For the RTX 4070 SUPER, its biggest wins are in Vulkan and DirectX 9, with leads of 33.4% and 23% respectively. The Vulkan advantage is particularly important for modern gaming, as it is the API used by many competitive shooters and is increasingly common in AAA titles. The DirectX 12 test also shows a solid 9.1% lead for NVIDIA. This pattern indicates that the RTX 4070 SUPER is the stronger choice for anyone playing the latest games that use modern rendering APIs.

In compute-heavy tasks, the RTX 4070 SUPER also holds a clear edge, with a 22.6% lead in the PassMark GPU Compute test. This makes it the better option for content creation, rendering, and other professional workloads that rely on GPU compute. The 3DMark Steel Nomad test, which is a modern DirectX 12 benchmark, also falls firmly in NVIDIA's favor with a 20.3% lead, reinforcing that the RX 6800 XT is outclassed in current-generation performance.

Architecture Differences

The core architectural differences explain much of the performance gap. The RTX 4070 SUPER is built on a 5 nm process node from TSMC, while the RX 6800 XT uses a larger 7 nm node from the same foundry. This smaller process allows the RTX 4070 SUPER to pack 35,800 million transistors into a die size of 294 mm², resulting in a transistor density of 121.8M / mm². In contrast, the RX 6800 XT has 26,800 million transistors on a much larger 520 mm² die, giving it a density of only 51.5M / mm². The higher density of the Ada Lovelace chip is a major factor in its superior efficiency and performance.

The memory subsystems also differ significantly. The RX 6800 XT has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 512.0 GB/s. The RTX 4070 SUPER has 12 GB of faster GDDR6X memory on a narrower 192-bit bus, resulting in a slightly lower bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. While the RX 6800 XT has a higher capacity and a small bandwidth advantage, the RTX 4070 SUPER's memory is of a newer, faster type, which contributes to its better performance in many tests.

The compute architectures are fundamentally different. The RX 6800 XT uses RDNA 2.0 with 4,608 shading units, 288 TMUs, and 128 ROPs. It also has 72 dedicated ray tracing cores. The RTX 4070 SUPER uses Ada Lovelace with 7,168 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. It has 56 ray tracing cores and, importantly, 224 tensor cores, which the RX 6800 XT lacks entirely. These tensor cores are crucial for NVIDIA's DLSS technology and AI-accelerated workloads. The higher shading unit count on the RTX 4070 SUPER contributes to its much higher FP32 performance of 35.48 TFLOPS, compared to the RX 6800 XT's 20.74 TFLOPS.

Clock speeds also differ, with the RTX 4070 SUPER having a base clock of 1980 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz, while the RX 6800 XT has a base of 1825 MHz and a boost of 2250 MHz. The RTX 4070 SUPER's higher clocks, combined with its more efficient architecture, give it a clear peak performance advantage. Notably, the FP16 performance of the RTX 4070 SUPER is 35.48 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio), while the RX 6800 XT's is 41.47 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio), showing a different approach to half-precision compute.

Other differences include power and physical design. The RTX 4070 SUPER has a TDP of 220 W and requires a single 16-pin power connector, with a suggested PSU of 550 W. The RX 6800 XT has a much higher TDP of 300 W, uses two 8-pin connectors, and requires a 700 W PSU. The RTX 4070 SUPER is also slightly shorter in height and width, though both are dual-slot cards. The RX 6800 XT offers a USB Type-C display output, while the RTX 4070 SUPER offers three DisplayPort 1.4a outputs instead of two.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is the superior graphics card. It wins every single benchmark test in the comparison, with margins ranging from 0.9% to 33.4%. This is not a close contest; the RTX 4070 SUPER is significantly faster in every measured category. Its wins are largest in modern APIs like Vulkan (33.4%) and DirectX 12 (9.1%), which are the most relevant for current and future games. It also offers a substantial lead in compute performance (22.6%), making it a better choice for both gaming and content creation.

The RX 6800 XT is not a bad card; it is simply an older one. Its closest performance to the RTX 4070 SUPER is in OpenCL compute (0.9% difference), indicating that in certain generic workloads, it can still hold its own. However, this is the exception, not the rule. In every other test, the gap is significant and in NVIDIA's favor. The RX 6800 XT's higher memory capacity (16 GB vs 12 GB) is its only clear specification advantage, but this does not translate into a performance win in any of the tested benchmarks.

For a user building a new PC or upgrading, the choice is clear. The RTX 4070 SUPER is the faster, more efficient card. It delivers a 20.3% higher score in the demanding 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test and a 16.7% higher score in the PassMark G3D test. Its lower TDP of 220 W versus 300 W also means it is easier to cool and requires a less powerful PSU. The RTX 4070 SUPER is the better purchase for anyone prioritizing performance in the latest games and applications. The RX 6800 XT is only worth considering if a specific workload requires its 16 GB of memory and is not sensitive to the performance deficit seen in the benchmarks.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is faster, scoring 4,627 compared to the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT's 3,689, a 20.3% advantage.

Q: How much of a lead does the RTX 4070 SUPER have in the Geekbench Vulkan test?

A: The RTX 4070 SUPER leads by a massive 33.4%, scoring 205,624 versus the RX 6800 XT's 136,875.

Q: Is there any benchmark where the RX 6800 XT wins?

A: No. The data shows the RX 6800 XT has zero wins out of ten head-to-head tests, while the RTX 4070 SUPER has ten.

Q: What is the difference in memory capacity between the two cards?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory.

Q: What are the power consumption requirements for each card?

A: The RX 6800 XT has a TDP of 300 W and requires a 700 W PSU, while the RTX 4070 SUPER has a TDP of 220 W and requires a 550 W PSU.

Q: Which card has a higher FP32 (single-precision) performance rating?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER has a higher FP32 rating of 35.48 TFLOPS, compared to the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT's 20.74 TFLOPS.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER |

| :--- | :--- | :--- |

| Architecture | RDNA 2.0 | Ada Lovelace |

| Process Node | 7 nm | 5 nm |

| Transistors | 26,800 million | 35,800 million |

| Die Size | 520 mm² | 294 mm² |

| Base Clock | 1825 MHz | 1980 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2250 MHz | 2475 MHz |

| Memory Size | 16 GB | 12 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR6X |

| Memory Bus Width | 256 bit | 192 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 512.0 GB/s | 504.2 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 4608 | 7168 |

| TMUs | 288 | 224 |

| ROPs | 128 | 80 |

| Ray Tracing Cores | 72 | 56 |

| Tensor Cores | N/A | 224 |

| Pixel Rate | 288.0 GPixel/s | 198.0 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 648.0 GTexel/s | 554.4 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 20.74 TFLOPS | 35.48 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 41.47 TFLOPS (2:1) | 35.48 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 300 W | 220 W |

| Power Connectors | 2x 8-pin | 1x 16-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 700 W | 550 W |

| Display Outputs | 1x HDMI 2.1, 2x DisplayPort 1.4a, 1x USB Type-C | 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a |

| Dimensions (H x W) | 120 mm x 50 mm | 112 mm x 42 mm |