AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT vs NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data for these two GPUs is limited to two shared benchmark tests, and the results are decisively one-sided. In Geekbench OpenCL, the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT scores 187,673 against the NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile's 79,091. That is a 57.9% advantage for the AMD card, a massive margin that places it far ahead in raw compute workloads measured through this API. The difference is not marginal; it is a dominant gap that suggests the AMD part operates in a different performance class entirely for general-purpose compute.

The Vulkan results tell a similar story. The RX 6900 XT posts 148,525 while the RTX A3000 Mobile manages 61,189. The delta here is 58.8%, again in favor of AMD. Vulkan is often a strong indicator of real-world gaming and cross-platform graphics performance, and the data shows the AMD flagship leading by nearly two and a half times the mobile NVIDIA workstation GPU. Across both shared tests, the AMD card wins two, the NVIDIA card wins zero. The wins are not close, and the average benchmark scores reflect this hierarchy: the RX 6900 XT has an average score of 50,951 across all its recorded tests, while the RTX A3000 Mobile has an average of 70,140 across its two tests. This is an unusual inversion, as the average score for the NVIDIA card is inflated by the fact that it only has two Geekbench results, both of which are relatively strong for a mobile part, whereas the AMD card's average is pulled down by many lower-scoring synthetic tests like Passmark DX9, DX10, and DX11 entries that drag the mean below what its Geekbench numbers would suggest.

Context from the nearest rivals helps frame these scores. The RTX A3000 Mobile sits at the 91st percentile of all GPUs in the database. Its closest competitors include the NVIDIA Quadro P6000, which trails by only 0.2%, and the AMD Radeon Pro WX 8200, which is 0.4% behind. The AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE, a much lower-tier card, is actually 1% ahead of the A3000 Mobile in average score. This suggests the mobile NVIDIA part is competitive with desktop cards from a previous generation but not exceptional. Meanwhile, the RX 6900 XT sits at the 86th percentile, slightly lower than the NVIDIA mobile part, but its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, which is 2% behind, and the Intel Arc A550M, which is 2.4% behind. The RX 6900 XT's average score is dragged down by its Passmark results, but its Geekbench scores are far above anything the A3000 Mobile can produce.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different manufacturers and entirely different design philosophies. The NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile is built on the Ampere architecture, specifically the GA104 chip, fabricated on an 8 nm process at Samsung. It packs 17,400 million transistors into a 392 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 44.4 million per square millimeter. The AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT uses the RDNA 2.0 architecture with the Navi 21 chip, built on a 7 nm process at TSMC. It contains 26,800 million transistors on a 520 mm² die, for a density of 51.5 million per square millimeter. The AMD chip is both larger in area and denser, and the process node advantage (7 nm versus 8 nm) contributes to its higher clock speeds and efficiency per transistor.

Clock behavior differs sharply. The RTX A3000 Mobile has a base clock of 600 MHz and a boost of 1230 MHz, reflecting its mobile, low-power positioning. The RX 6900 XT runs at a base of 1825 MHz, a game clock of 2015 MHz, and a boost of 2250 MHz. Those are desktop-class clocks, more than double the NVIDIA mobile part's boost frequency. Memory configuration also diverges. The NVIDIA card has 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, with memory running at 1375 MHz (11 Gbps effective) for 264.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The AMD card has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, at 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective), delivering 512.0 GB/s. The AMD card offers more than double the memory capacity and nearly double the bandwidth, which has direct implications for high-resolution textures and compute-heavy workloads.

The compute resources are also vastly different. The RTX A3000 Mobile has 4096 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, along with 32 ray tracing cores and 128 tensor cores. The RX 6900 XT has 5120 shading units, 320 TMUs, and 128 ROPs, with 80 ray tracing cores and no tensor cores. The AMD card has more of nearly everything except tensor cores, which are NVIDIA-specific. Pixel rate for the AMD card is 288.0 GPixel/s versus 78.72 GPixel/s for NVIDIA, and texture rate is 720.0 GTexel/s versus 157.4 GTexel/s. FP32 throughput is 23.04 TFLOPS for AMD versus 10.08 TFLOPS for NVIDIA. FP16 is 46.08 TFLOPS for AMD (at a 2:1 ratio) versus 10.08 TFLOPS for NVIDIA (at 1:1), meaning the AMD card does not just double, it quadruples in half-precision compute.

Power consumption is the clearest trade-off. The RTX A3000 Mobile is rated at 70 W TDP with no power connectors, while the RX 6900 XT is rated at 300 W and requires two 8-pin connectors plus a 700 W suggested PSU. The NVIDIA card is a portable device dependent output, designed for laptops, while the AMD card is a triple-slot desktop card measuring 267 mm in length, 120 mm in height, and 50 mm in width. The AMD card also has a launch MSRP of 999 USD. The NVIDIA card has no launch MSRP recorded.

The Verdict

The benchmark data is unambiguous: for any task that involves raw compute, graphics throughput, or memory bandwidth, the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT is the superior performer. It wins both shared benchmarks by nearly 58% each, and its architectural specifications, including more shading units, higher clocks, more memory, and double the bandwidth, all point in the same direction. The RTX A3000 Mobile is not a bad GPU; it ranks in the 91st percentile and holds its own against desktop Quadro cards, but it is a mobile part designed for efficiency and portability, not maximum performance. The RX 6900 XT is a desktop flagship from the Radeon RX 6000 series, and the data reflects that positioning.

The only scenario where the RTX A3000 Mobile makes sense is when power consumption and physical size are the primary constraints. At 70 W with no external power connectors, it can operate in thin laptops and mobile workstations. The RX 6900 XT at 300 W, triple-slot, and over 267 mm long is not a realistic option for any portable system. The data also shows the NVIDIA card has a higher average benchmark score than the AMD card, but that is a statistical artifact of different test sets, not a sign of real performance equivalence. When both are measured on the same tests, the AMD card wins by a landslide.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every measurable specification. The NVIDIA RTX GA104 chip, Ampere architecture, 8 nm Samsung process, 17,400 million transistors, 392 mm² die, 44.4M/mm² density. The AMD Navi 21 chip, RDNA 2.0 architecture, 7 nm TSMC process, 26,800 million transistors, 520 mm² die, 51.5M/mm² density. Clocks: NVIDIA 600 MHz base, 1230 MHz boost, 1375 MHz memory (11 Gbps effective). AMD 1825 MHz base, 2015 MHz game, 2250 MHz boost, 2000 MHz memory (16 Gbps effective). Memory: NVIDIA 6 GB GDDR6, 192-bit, 264.0 GB/s. AMD 16 GB GDDR6, 256-bit, 512.0 GB/s. Compute units: NVIDIA 4096 shading units, 128 TMUs, 64 ROPs, 32 RT cores, 128 tensor cores. AMD 5120 shading units, 320 TMUs, 128 ROPs, 80 RT cores, no tensor cores. Rates: NVIDIA 78.72 GPixel/s, 157.4 GTexel/s, 10.08 TFLOPS FP32. AMD 288.0 GPixel/s, 720.0 GTexel/s, 23.04 TFLOPS FP32. FP16: NVIDIA 10.08 TFLOPS (1:1), AMD 46.08 TFLOPS (2:1). TDP: NVIDIA 70 W, AMD 300 W. Power connectors: NVIDIA none, AMD two 8-pin. Suggested PSU: AMD 700 W, NVIDIA none listed. Dimensions: NVIDIA none listed, AMD 267 mm x 120 mm x 50 mm. Display outputs: NVIDIA portable device dependent, AMD 1x HDMI 2.1, 2x DisplayPort 1.4a, 1x USB Type-C. Release dates: NVIDIA 2021-04-11, AMD 2020-10-27. Predecessors: NVIDIA Quadro Turing-M, AMD Navi. Successors: NVIDIA Ada-MW, AMD Navi III.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT scores 187,673 versus 79,091 for the NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile, a 57.9% advantage.

Q: How do the two compare in Vulkan performance?

A: The RX 6900 XT scores 148,525 to the A3000 Mobile's 61,189, a 58.8% lead for AMD.

Q: Which card consumes less power?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile has a 70 W TDP and no power connectors, while the AMD RX 6900 XT has a 300 W TDP and requires two 8-pin connectors and a 700 W suggested PSU.

Q: Does the AMD card have more memory bandwidth?

A: Yes, the RX 6900 XT has 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth (16 GB GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus), versus 264.0 GB/s for the A3000 Mobile (6 GB GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus).

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The AMD RX 6900 XT has 5120 shading units, while the NVIDIA A3000 Mobile has 4096.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the AMD card?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT has a launch MSRP of 999 USD; the NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile has no recorded launch MSRP.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT wins every shared benchmark and dominates in architectural resources. It is the clear choice for desktop users who need maximum frame rates, high-resolution rendering, or compute throughput. Its 23.04 TFLOPS of FP32 power, 512.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth, and 80 ray tracing cores make it suitable for gaming, 3D rendering, and scientific workloads that can use its OpenCL or Vulkan performance. The 46.08 TFLOPS of FP16 compute (at 2:1) is particularly notable for AI inference and half-precision workloads, though the lack of tensor cores means it cannot accelerate certain NVIDIA-specific deep learning features.

The NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile wins in portability and efficiency. At 70 W, it draws less than a quarter of the AMD card's power, has no external power connectors, and is designed for portable devices. Its 91st percentile ranking and 0.2% margin over the Quadro P6000 and 0.4% over the Radeon Pro WX 8200 show it is a capable workstation GPU for mobile use. It also has 128 tensor cores, which the AMD card lacks entirely, making it the better option for workloads that rely on NVIDIA's tensor-based acceleration. The 1:1 FP16 ratio means half-precision throughput matches FP32, which is useful for certain compute tasks that need consistent precision scaling. For users who require a GPU that fits in a laptop and runs without a massive power supply, the A3000 Mobile is the only viable option in this comparison. For everyone else, the RX 6900 XT is the performance winner by a wide margin.