AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 and AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE occupy entirely different tiers of the graphics card market, and the benchmark data reflects a gulf in performance that is almost unprecedented. In the two directly comparable tests, the RTX 5090 delivers scores that are roughly four to five times higher than the RX 6600 LE, establishing it as a dominant force for high-end compute and rendering workloads. The RX 6600 LE, while a capable entry-level card in its own right, is simply outclassed in raw throughput, making this comparison less a contest and more a demonstration of architectural scale.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The data available for direct comparison is limited to two synthetic tests, but the results are decisive. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 scores 334,370, while the AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE manages 69,229. This represents a delta of 383% in favor of the RTX 5090. This is not a marginal victory; it is a generational and segment-defining gap. The RTX 5090 is not just faster; it is operating in a different performance dimension, likely due to its massive shader count and memory bandwidth.

The second test, Geekbench Vulkan, shows an even more pronounced disparity. The RTX 5090 achieves a score of 376,728, compared to the RX 6600 LE's 72,428. The delta here is 420.1%, the largest margin of any metric in the comparison. This suggests that the RTX 5090's architecture scales exceptionally well with the low-level, multi-threaded nature of the Vulkan API. While the RX 6600 LE's score is respectable for its class, the data indicates it cannot compete with the raw compute resources of the GB202 chip.

When looking at the aggregate benchmark scores, the picture remains consistent. The RTX 5090 holds an average benchmark score of 79,842 across all its tested workloads, while the RX 6600 LE averages 70,829. While this average gap is smaller than the Geekbench deltas, it is important to note that the RTX 5090's average is pulled down by its inclusion of older DirectX 9, 10, and 11 tests where its modern architecture may not be fully utilized. For instance, the RTX 5090 scores 395 in Passmark DirectX 9 and 226 in Passmark DirectX 10, which are relatively low compared to its modern workload scores. The RX 6600 LE, having only two benchmark entries, does not have this drag on its average.

The percentile rankings tell a subtle story. The RTX 5090 ranks in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, while the RX 6600 LE sits just one point lower at the 91st percentile. This close ranking despite the massive performance gap suggests that the RX 6600 LE is still a highly capable card relative to the entire market, but it also highlights the extreme performance density of the RTX 5090. A 383% performance advantage translates to only a 1 percentile difference, indicating that the RTX 5090 is at the very apex of the performance curve, while the RX 6600 LE is near the top of the mid-range segment.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 5090 wins every head-to-head benchmark in the data. There is no test where the RX 6600 LE comes out ahead. The only question is the magnitude of the victory. In OpenCL, a compute-oriented API, the RTX 5090's 383% lead suggests it is the undisputed choice for GPU-accelerated computing, machine learning inference, and any workload that leverages raw FP32 or FP16 throughput. Its FP32 performance is listed at 104.8 TFLOPS, compared to the RX 6600 LE's 8.942 TFLOPS, a difference that directly translates to the benchmark results.

In Vulkan, the RTX 5090's 420.1% lead points to superiority in modern gaming and real-time rendering applications that utilize this API. The RTX 5090's higher texture rate (1,636.8 GTexel/s vs 279.4 GTexel/s) and pixel rate (423.6 GPixel/s vs 159.7 GPixel/s) provide it with the raw fill-rate capabilities needed to drive high-resolution displays with demanding graphical effects. The RX 6600 LE, with its 8 GB of memory, is more suited for 1080p gaming where its 224.0 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient, but it cannot match the RTX 5090's 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth for 4K texture streaming and large dataset handling.

For the RX 6600 LE, its wins are not in performance but in efficiency and accessibility. The data shows a TDP of 132 W for the RX 6600 LE versus 575 W for the RTX 5090. This means the RX 6600 LE is a practical choice for systems with a 300 W suggested PSU, while the RTX 5090 requires a 950 W PSU. The RX 6600 LE's smaller physical footprint (190 mm length vs 304 mm) also makes it compatible with a wider range of small form factor cases. Its "Active" production status and later release date of December 2023, compared to the RTX 5090's January 2025 release, suggest it is a more recent fixture in the budget segment, though the data does not indicate a performance advantage in any workload.

The Verdict

The choice between these two cards is not a difficult one for most users. The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is the superior performer by a colossal margin. Anyone requiring maximum compute throughput, high-resolution gaming performance, or professional rendering capabilities should choose the RTX 5090. Its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory, 512-bit bus, and 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance make it a workstation-class tool. The benchmark scores, particularly the 420.1% lead in Vulkan, confirm that it is the top-tier option for any graphics-intensive task.

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE is the appropriate pick for users with modest performance needs and strict power or space constraints. While it loses every benchmark, its 91st percentile ranking shows it is not a weak card. It is a competent solution for 1080p gaming and basic compute tasks, and its 132 W TDP makes it an attractive option for a low-power build. The data suggests that if the priority is frame rates or compute time, the RTX 5090 is the only logical choice. If the priority is a low-profile, efficient card for a secondary system, the RX 6600 LE is a valid, data-backed option, but it is not a competitor to the RTX 5090 in any measurable way.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 in the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The RTX 5090 scores 334,370, which is 383% higher than the RX 6600 LE's score of 69,229.

Q: Which card has a higher percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The RTX 5090 ranks in the 92nd percentile, while the RX 6600 LE ranks in the 91st percentile. Despite the massive performance gap, they are only one percentile apart.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE win any of the benchmark comparisons?

A: No. The data shows the RTX 5090 wins both head-to-head tests (Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan), with a total of 2 wins for the RTX 5090 and 0 wins for the RX 6600 LE.

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

A: The RTX 5090 has a memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s, while the RX 6600 LE has a bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s. The RTX 5090's bandwidth is significantly higher.

Q: Which card has a lower total board power (TDP)?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE has a TDP of 132 W, which is much lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090's TDP of 575 W.

Q: What is the average benchmark score for each card?

A: The RTX 5090 has an average benchmark score of 79,842, while the RX 6600 LE has an average score of 70,829.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on fundamentally different architectures. The RTX 5090 uses the Blackwell 2.0 architecture on a 5 nm process at TSMC, featuring the GB202 chip. It packs 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 122.9M per mm². In contrast, the RX 6600 LE uses the RDNA 2.0 architecture on a 7 nm process, also at TSMC, with the Navi 23 chip. It has 11,060 million transistors on a 237 mm² die, for a density of 46.7M per mm². This difference in process node and die size explains the massive disparity in compute resources.

The RTX 5090 is equipped with 21,760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs, alongside 170 RT cores and 680 tensor cores. This configuration enables its 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. The RX 6600 LE is far more modest, with 1,792 shading units, 112 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, along with 28 RT cores. It has no tensor cores listed, and its FP32 performance is 8.942 TFLOPS. The RTX 5090 also supports FP16 at a 1:1 ratio with FP32, while the RX 6600 LE's FP16 is 2:1, indicating a different compute focus. Both cards support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, but the hardware executing these APIs is vastly different in capability.

Specification Differences

The most glaring specification difference is in memory. The RTX 5090 features 32 GB of GDDR7 on a 512-bit bus, delivering 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. The RX 6600 LE has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, providing 224.0 GB/s. The RTX 5090's memory clock is listed as 1750 MHz with 28 Gbps effective, while the RX 6600 LE's memory clock is also 1750 MHz but with 14 Gbps effective.

The clock speeds also differ. The RTX 5090 has a base clock of 2017 MHz and a boost clock of 2407 MHz. The RX 6600 LE has a base clock of 1626 MHz, a game clock of 2045 MHz, and a boost clock of 2495 MHz. Despite the RX 6600 LE having a slightly higher boost clock, the RTX 5090's massive core count makes its effective performance far superior.

Power and physical requirements are also distinct. The RTX 5090 has a TDP of 575 W, requires a 950 W suggested PSU, and uses a 1x 16-pin power connector. It measures 304 mm in length, 137 mm in height, and 40 mm in width. The RX 6600 LE has a TDP of 132 W, a 300 W suggested PSU, and uses a 1x 8-pin connector. It is smaller, at 190 mm in length, 110 mm in height, and 40 mm in width. Both are dual-slot cards. The bus interface differs as well, with the RTX 5090 using PCIe 5.0 x16 and the RX 6600 LE using PCIe 4.0 x8. Display outputs are similar in count, but the RTX 5090 offers HDMI 2.1b and DisplayPort 2.1b, while the RX 6600 LE has HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4a.