AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT vs NVIDIA Quadro GV100 Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT records an average benchmark score of 48477, while the NVIDIA Quadro GV100 sits at 35520. The RX 6800 XT also holds a higher percentile rank among all GPUs, at 85 compared to the GV100's 80.

Q: What is the largest single benchmark margin in the head-to-head comparison?

A: The biggest gap appears in PassMark DirectX 11, where the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT scores 264 against the NVIDIA Quadro GV100's 168, a 57.1% advantage. The runner-up is PassMark GPU Compute, where the RX 6800 XT leads by 46%.

Q: Does the NVIDIA Quadro GV100 win any benchmark in the head-to-head set?

A: Yes, one test. In Geekbench Vulkan, the Quadro GV100 scores 139526 versus the RX 6800 XT's 136875, a 1.9% edge. This is the only head-to-head victory recorded for the GV100 out of nine tests.

Q: How do the memory subsystems differ between the two cards?

A: The RX 6800 XT uses 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Quadro GV100 uses 32 GB of HBM2 on a 4096-bit bus, delivering 868.4 GB/s of bandwidth.

Q: Which card has a higher transistor density on its die?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT has a transistor density of 51.5M per mm², based on 26,800 million transistors on a 520 mm² die. The NVIDIA Quadro GV100 has 21,100 million transistors on an 815 mm² die, giving it a density of 25.9M per mm².

Q: What are the launch MSRP values for these cards?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT has a launch MSRP of 649 USD. The NVIDIA Quadro GV100 has a launch MSRP of 8,999 USD.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations and design philosophies. The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT is built on RDNA 2.0, using the Navi 21 chip, and belongs to the Navi II (RX 6000) generation. The NVIDIA Quadro GV100 is built on the Volta architecture, using the GV100 chip, and belongs to the Quadro Volta (Vx000) generation.

The manufacturing process separates them clearly. The RX 6800 XT is fabbed on a 7 nm process at TSMC, while the Quadro GV100 uses a 12 nm process, also at TSMC. This process gap contributes to a significant difference in transistor density: the AMD part packs 26,800 million transistors into a 520 mm² die (51.5M per mm²), whereas the NVIDIA part fits 21,100 million transistors into a much larger 815 mm² die (25.9M per mm²).

Compute resources are organized differently. The RX 6800 XT has 4608 shading units, 288 texture mapping units, and 128 ROPs, plus 72 ray tracing cores dedicated to hardware-accelerated ray tracing. The Quadro GV100 has 5120 shading units, 320 TMUs, and 128 ROPs, but no ray tracing cores. Instead, it carries 640 tensor cores, which are designed for deep learning and matrix operations.

Clock behavior also diverges. The RX 6800 XT operates at a base clock of 1825 MHz, with a boost clock of 2250 MHz and a game clock of 2015 MHz. The Quadro GV100 runs much lower, with a base of 1132 MHz and a boost of 1627 MHz. Memory clocks follow a similar pattern: the RX 6800 XT runs its GDDR6 at 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective), while the GV100 runs its HBM2 at 848 MHz (1696 Mbps effective).

The API feature sets differ in DirectX support. The RX 6800 XT supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the Quadro GV100 is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4. The bus interfaces also differ: the AMD card uses PCIe 4.0 x16, the NVIDIA card uses PCIe 3.0 x16.

Power delivery and connectivity show additional contrasts. The RX 6800 XT has a 300 W TDP, uses 2x 8-pin power connectors, and suggests a 700 W PSU. The Quadro GV100 has a 250 W TDP, uses a single 8-pin connector, and suggests a 600 W PSU. Display outputs favor the AMD card with 1x HDMI 2.1, 2x DisplayPort 1.4a, and 1x USB Type-C; the NVIDIA card offers 4x DisplayPort 1.4a only.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head data set contains nine tests, and the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT wins eight of them. The margins vary widely across API generations and workload types.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 6800 XT scores 171304 against the GV100's 150004, a 14.2% lead. This is a substantial gap for a compute-oriented API, and it suggests the AMD card handles general-purpose GPU workloads more efficiently despite the NVIDIA card's tensor core advantage. The only NVIDIA win comes in Geekbench Vulkan, where the GV100 scores 139526 versus 136875, a slim 1.9% margin. This narrow victory indicates that the Volta architecture remains competitive in this particular API, but not by a commanding amount.

The PassMark DirectX tests show a clear pattern of AMD dominance. In DirectX 9, the RX 6800 XT scores 265 versus 207, a 28% lead. In DirectX 10, the margin is 155 versus 140, a 10.7% advantage. DirectX 11 produces the largest gap of the entire comparison: 264 versus 168, a 57.1% blowout. DirectX 12 shows a 19% lead, with scores of 100 versus 84. These results indicate that the RDNA 2.0 architecture delivers consistently higher frame throughput across legacy and modern DirectX titles.

The 2D and 3D performance tests reinforce the pattern. In PassMark G2D, the RX 6800 XT scores 1030 versus 836, a 23.2% lead. In PassMark G3D, the scores are 24980 versus 19650, a 27.1% advantage. The compute test narrows the focus further: PassMark GPU Compute shows the RX 6800 XT at 13245 versus 9069, a 46% lead. This compute margin is notable because it shows the AMD card outperforming the NVIDIA card by nearly half in a dedicated compute benchmark, even though the GV100 has tensor cores and a higher raw shading unit count.

The overall record stands at 8 wins for the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT and 1 win for the NVIDIA Quadro GV100. The average benchmark scores reflect this: 48477 for the AMD card versus 35520 for the NVIDIA card. The nearest rival data places the RX 6800 XT within 1.5% of the NVIDIA RTX A1000 Mobile and 2.5% behind the Intel Arc A550M, while the GV100 sits within 0.2% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every major specification category. The table below lists only the fields where the two parts do not match.

| Specification | AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT | NVIDIA Quadro GV100 |

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

| Architecture | RDNA 2.0 | Volta |

| Chip | Navi 21 | GV100 |

| Generation | Navi II (RX 6000) | Quadro Volta (Vx000) |

| Process Node | 7 nm | 12 nm |

| Transistors | 26,800 million | 21,100 million |

| Die Size | 520 mm² | 815 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 51.5M / mm² | 25.9M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1825 MHz | 1132 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2250 MHz | 1627 MHz |

| Game Clock | 2015 MHz | N/A |

| Memory Clock | 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) | 848 MHz (1696 Mbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 16 GB | 32 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | HBM2 |

| Memory Bus Width | 256 bit | 4096 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 512.0 GB/s | 868.4 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 4608 | 5120 |

| TMUs | 288 | 320 |

| ROPs | 128 | 128 |

| RT Cores | 72 | N/A |

| Tensor Cores | N/A | 640 |

| Pixel Rate | 288.0 GPixel/s | 208.3 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 648.0 GTexel/s | 520.6 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 20.74 TFLOPS | 16.66 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 41.47 TFLOPS (2:1) | 33.32 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 300 W | 250 W |

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

| Suggested PSU | 700 W | 600 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 1x HDMI 2.1, 2x DisplayPort 1.4a, 1x USB Type-C | 4x DisplayPort 1.4a |

| DirectX Support | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | 12 (12_1) |

| Height | 120 mm (4.7 inches) | 111 mm (4.4 inches) |

| Width | 50 mm (2 inches) | N/A |

| Release Date | 2020-10-27 | 2018-03-26 |

| Predecessor | Navi | Quadro Pascal |

| Successor | Navi III | Quadro Turing |

| Launch MSRP | 649 USD | 8,999 USD |

Both cards share a dual-slot form factor, a length of 267 mm (10.5 inches), OpenGL 4.6 support, Vulkan 1.4 support, and end-of-life production status.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT wins in the vast majority of measured workloads. Its 57.1% lead in PassMark DirectX 11 makes it the clear choice for legacy DirectX applications, and its 46% lead in PassMark GPU Compute indicates strong general compute performance. The 27.1% advantage in PassMark G3D suggests better overall 3D rendering throughput. The 23.2% lead in PassMark G2D points to faster 2D operations as well. The 14.2% edge in Geekbench OpenCL shows that the RDNA 2.0 architecture handles OpenCL compute tasks with notably higher efficiency.

The NVIDIA Quadro GV100 wins in exactly one measured area: Geekbench Vulkan, where it leads by 1.9%. This is a narrow margin, but it does indicate that the Volta architecture has a slight edge in Vulkan-specific workloads. The GV100 also offers 32 GB of HBM2 memory with 868.4 GB/s of bandwidth, which is double the capacity and substantially higher bandwidth than the RX 6800 XT's 16 GB GDDR6 at 512.0 GB/s. For applications that are memory-capacity bound rather than compute bound, the GV100's larger memory pool is a structural advantage.

The RX 6800 XT delivers higher raw throughput numbers: 20.74 TFLOPS FP32 versus 16.66 TFLOPS, and 41.47 TFLOPS FP16 versus 33.32 TFLOPS. Its pixel rate of 288.0 GPixel/s exceeds the GV100's 208.3 GPixel/s, and its texture rate of 648.0 GTexel/s exceeds the GV100's 520.6 GTexel/s. These figures align with the benchmark results: the AMD card wins on speed in almost every category.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear split. For users who prioritize raw benchmark performance, DirectX throughput, and compute speed, the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT is the stronger choice. It wins 8 of 9 head-to-head tests, holds a higher average benchmark score (48477 versus 35520), and delivers higher FP32, FP16, pixel rate, and texture rate figures. Its 7 nm process node and smaller die allow for higher clocks and better transistor density, which translate directly into benchmark wins.

For users who need maximum memory capacity and bandwidth, the NVIDIA Quadro GV100 is the better option. Its 32 GB of HBM2 memory with 868.4 GB/s bandwidth is unmatched by the RX 6800 XT's 16 GB GDDR6 at 512.0 GB/s. The GV100 also has 640 tensor cores, which the RX 6800 XT lacks entirely, making it the only card in this comparison with dedicated tensor hardware. The single Vulkan win, while narrow at 1.9%, shows that the Volta architecture still holds a niche advantage in that API.

The production status of both cards is end-of-life, so neither represents a forward-looking platform investment. The RX 6800 XT has the higher percentile rank (85 versus 80) and the higher average score, which positions it as the better all-around performer in the database's recorded measurements. The Quadro GV100's appeal rests on its memory capacity, bandwidth, and tensor cores, none of which appear in the benchmark scores as decisive factors.

The launch MSRP figures reflect the positioning: the RX 6800 XT at 649 USD versus the GV100 at 8,999 USD. The benchmark data shows the AMD card outperforming the NVIDIA card by large margins in most tests, making the price gap difficult to justify from a performance-per-dollar standpoint. However, the GV100's 32 GB memory pool and tensor core support serve professional workloads that the RX 6800 XT cannot address, which explains the premium positioning.

In summary, the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT wins the benchmark comparison decisively. The NVIDIA Quadro GV100 wins only in memory capacity, memory bandwidth, tensor core availability, and the Vulkan API test. Users seeking benchmark dominance should choose the RX 6800 XT; users whose workloads require large memory footprints or tensor operations should consider the GV100 despite its lower benchmark scores.