AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT vs NVIDIA P102-100 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data contains two direct benchmark comparisons between the NVIDIA P102-100 and the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT. The AMD card wins both tests, and the margins are substantial. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT scores 171,304 against the NVIDIA P102-100's 49,602, a delta of 71% in favor of AMD. This is not a close contest; the AMD card more than triples the NVIDIA board's compute score in this workload.

The Geekbench Vulkan test tells a similar story, though the gap narrows somewhat. The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT posts 136,875, while the NVIDIA P102-100 reaches 67,454, a 50.7% advantage for AMD. While the percentage lead is smaller than in OpenCL, it remains a decisive margin. The NVIDIA P102-100 wins zero head-to-head comparisons in this dataset, while the AMD card wins both.

Context from the broader database helps interpret these figures. The NVIDIA P102-100's average benchmark score across all recorded tests is 58,528, placing it in the 88th percentile of all GPUs. The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT's average score is 48,477, which lands in the 85th percentile. This apparent contradiction, where the higher-percentile card loses both direct comparisons, reflects the different test suites available for each product. The AMD card has a much broader benchmark footprint, including DirectX, Metal, and PassMark tests, which pull its average down relative to the NVIDIA card's narrower set of results. The head-to-head tests, however, are unambiguous: in the two workloads where both cards have recorded scores, AMD wins decisively.

Examining the nearest rivals for each card provides additional calibration. The NVIDIA P102-100's closest competitor by average score is the AMD Radeon PRO V710 at 58,657, a negligible 0.2% difference. The AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT sits 0.2% above the P102-100, and the Intel Arc A570M trails by 0.5%. These tiny deltas indicate that the P102-100's average performance is tightly clustered with several other products, making its 88th percentile ranking a function of consistent, if not spectacular, scores across its limited test set.

The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT's nearest rivals show a wider spread. The NVIDIA RTX A1000 Mobile is 1.5% ahead, the Intel Arc A550M is 2.5% behind, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti is 3% behind, and the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 is 3% behind. The RX 6800 XT's average score is therefore bracketed by a range of roughly 5 percentage points, from 1.5% above to 3% below its nearest neighbors. This positioning, combined with its 85th percentile rank, suggests that the RX 6800 XT's average is dragged down by its inclusion of many older or lighter-weight tests, even though its raw performance in modern compute workloads is exceptional.

FAQ

Q: Which card wins in Geekbench OpenCL performance?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT wins decisively, scoring 171,304 compared to the NVIDIA P102-100's 49,602, a 71% advantage.

Q: How much faster is the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT in Geekbench Vulkan?

A: The AMD card scores 136,875 against the NVIDIA P102-100's 67,454, a lead of 50.7%.

Q: Does the NVIDIA P102-100 win any head-to-head benchmark in the database?

A: No. The recorded head-to-head results show zero wins for the NVIDIA P102-100 and two wins for the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference between the two cards?

A: The NVIDIA P102-100 has 5 GB of GDDR5X on a 320-bit bus with 440.3 GB/s bandwidth. The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 512.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: How do the transistor counts compare?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT contains 26,800 million transistors on a 520 mm² die, while the NVIDIA P102-100 has 11,800 million transistors on a 471 mm² die.

Q: What is the pixel rate difference?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT achieves 288.0 GPixel/s, more than double the NVIDIA P102-100's 134.6 GPixel/s.

Architecture Differences

The two cards represent fundamentally different architectural generations and design philosophies. The NVIDIA P102-100 is built on the Pascal architecture, using the GP102 chip, and was released in February 2018 as part of the Mining GPUs generation. The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT uses the RDNA 2.0 architecture with the Navi 21 chip, released in October 2020 within the Navi II (RX 6000) series. This three-year gap manifests in every major design decision.

The manufacturing process highlights the generational leap. The NVIDIA card uses TSMC's 16 nm node, while the AMD card uses TSMC's 7 nm node. This process shrink allows the AMD card to pack more than twice the transistors: 26,800 million versus 11,800 million. The die sizes are closer, at 520 mm² for AMD and 471 mm² for NVIDIA, but the transistor density tells the real story: AMD achieves 51.5 million transistors per square millimeter, while NVIDIA manages 25.1 million. The AMD card is not just denser; it is also larger overall, which combined with the superior node gives it a massive raw compute advantage.

The compute resources differ sharply. The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT features 4,608 shading units, 288 texture mapping units, and 128 render output units. The NVIDIA P102-100 has 3,200 shading units, 200 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. The AMD card also includes 72 dedicated ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent from the Pascal-based NVIDIA card. Neither card has tensor cores, so that comparison is moot. The FP32 throughput reflects the resource disparity: AMD delivers 20.74 TFLOPS against NVIDIA's 10.77 TFLOPS.

Memory architecture diverges markedly. The NVIDIA card uses 5 GB of GDDR5X on a 320-bit bus, producing 440.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The AMD card uses 16 GB of GDDR6 on a narrower 256-bit bus, yet achieves higher bandwidth at 512.0 GB/s due to faster effective memory clocks. The AMD card's memory clock runs at 16 Gbps effective, while the NVIDIA card runs at 11 Gbps effective. The 16 GB capacity is a significant advantage for modern workloads, particularly those involving large datasets or high-resolution textures.

API support also reflects the architectural differences. The AMD card supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the NVIDIA card only reaches DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4, but the DirectX feature-level gap matters for certain modern titles and effects. The NVIDIA card has no display outputs, a design choice consistent with its mining-oriented purpose, while the AMD card offers 1x HDMI 2.1, 2x DisplayPort 1.4a, and 1x USB Type-C.

Specification Differences

The specification sheets reveal several direct contrasts. Clock speeds differ notably: the NVIDIA P102-100 has a base clock of 1582 MHz and a boost clock of 1683 MHz, while the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT runs at a base of 1825 MHz, a game clock of 2015 MHz, and a boost clock of 2250 MHz. The AMD card is faster at every clock step.

Memory specifications diverge in capacity, type, bus width, and bandwidth. The NVIDIA card has 5 GB of GDDR5X on a 320-bit bus with 440.3 GB/s bandwidth. The AMD card has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 512.0 GB/s bandwidth. The AMD card's memory clock is 2000 MHz with 16 Gbps effective transfer, while the NVIDIA card runs at 1376 MHz with 11 Gbps effective.

Compute throughput numbers heavily favor AMD. The FP32 rate is 20.74 TFLOPS for AMD versus 10.77 TFLOPS for NVIDIA. The FP16 rates are even more divergent: AMD delivers 41.47 TFLOPS at a 2:1 ratio, while NVIDIA manages only 168.3 GFLOPS at a 1:64 ratio. This means the AMD card has roughly 246 times the FP16 throughput of the NVIDIA card, a staggering difference for any workload that benefits from half-precision math.

Pixel and texture rates follow the same pattern. The AMD card delivers 288.0 GPixel/s and 648.0 GTexel/s, while the NVIDIA card achieves 134.6 GPixel/s and 336.6 GTexel/s. The AMD card roughly doubles the NVIDIA card in both metrics.

Power and connectivity specifications differ. The NVIDIA card has a TDP of 250 W with a suggested PSU of 600 W, while the AMD card has a TDP of 300 W with a suggested PSU of 700 W. Both use dual-slot coolers and 2x 8-pin power connectors. The bus interface is a major point of divergence: the NVIDIA card uses PCIe 1.0 x4, which is severely limited, while the AMD card uses PCIe 4.0 x16, the modern standard. The NVIDIA card has no display outputs, while the AMD card has the full complement described earlier. Both cards are 267 mm long, but the AMD card adds height and width dimensions of 120 mm and 50 mm, respectively.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT wins in every direct benchmark comparison recorded, and its architectural advantages suggest broad superiority across most modern workloads. In raw compute performance, the AMD card's 20.74 TFLOPS FP32 and 41.47 TFLOPS FP16 dwarf the NVIDIA card's 10.77 TFLOPS and 168.3 GFLOPS. The 72 ray tracing cores give the AMD card a capability the NVIDIA card cannot offer at all. The 16 GB memory capacity and 512.0 GB/s bandwidth make the AMD card suitable for large datasets, high-resolution textures, and memory-intensive compute tasks. The modern PCIe 4.0 x16 interface ensures data transfers do not bottleneck the GPU, unlike the NVIDIA card's PCIe 1.0 x4 interface.

The NVIDIA P102-100 does have some theoretical advantages, though they are not reflected in benchmark wins. Its 320-bit memory bus is wider than the AMD card's 256-bit bus, though the AMD card compensates with faster memory clocks and higher overall bandwidth. The NVIDIA card draws less power at 250 W versus 300 W, and its suggested PSU requirement is lower at 600 W versus 700 W, which could matter for systems with limited power delivery. The NVIDIA card also has a higher transistor density in terms of die size relative to its transistor count, though this is a manufacturing metric rather than a performance one. Its 88th percentile rank versus the AMD card's 85th percentile indicates that within its narrower test set, the NVIDIA card performs consistently well relative to all other GPUs.

For use cases, the data points to distinct roles. The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT is the clear choice for any workload involving modern APIs, ray tracing, high FP16 throughput, or large memory footprints. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 171,304 and Vulkan score of 136,875 establish it as a high-performance compute and graphics card. The NVIDIA P102-100, with its mining-oriented design, no display outputs, and limited bus interface, appears suited only for tasks that do not require rendering output or modern connectivity. Its benchmark scores, while respectable in percentile terms, do not compete with the AMD card in direct comparisons. The database records no scenario where the NVIDIA card wins, so the use-case split leans overwhelmingly toward AMD for performance-sensitive applications, with the NVIDIA card's only advantages being lower power draw, lower PSU requirement, and a wider memory bus that does not translate into higher bandwidth.