AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT vs NVIDIA RTX A4500 Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The recorded benchmark data paints a clear picture: the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT wins every single head-to-head test in the database, while the NVIDIA RTX A4500 does not claim a single victory in the shared comparisons. That said, the two cards are built for entirely different arenas, and the raw scores only tell part of the story.

The RX 6950 XT dominates in the three overlapping benchmarks: 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, Geekbench OpenCL, and Geekbench Vulkan. Its largest margin comes in Geekbench OpenCL, where it scores 205,998 against the A4500's 141,837, a 31.1% advantage. The smallest gap is in Geekbench Vulkan, where the AMD card leads by 21.3%. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the RX 6950 XT posts 4,235 versus 3,196, a 24.5% edge.

The RTX A4500, however, is not without its own strengths. Its average benchmark score across all recorded tests sits at 91,671, which is substantially higher than the RX 6950 XT's 58,392. This discrepancy comes from the fact that the A4500's benchmark suite includes only three tests, all of which are compute-oriented or modern API workloads, while the RX 6950 XT has a much broader set of eleven recorded tests, including several legacy DirectX and Passmark entries that drag its average down. The A4500 also holds a 93rd percentile ranking among all GPUs, compared to the RX 6950 XT's 88th percentile.

The data suggests a use-case split: the RX 6950 XT is the stronger performer in raw compute and modern DX12 workloads, while the A4500's higher percentile and more consistent average across its smaller test set indicate a card that is better positioned for professional validation and stability-focused workloads. The RX 6950 XT's wins are decisive in every shared test, but the A4500's overall standing in the broader database is higher.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from fundamentally different design philosophies. The NVIDIA RTX A4500 is built on the GA102 chip using the Ampere architecture, manufactured on Samsung's 8 nm process. It packs 28,300 million transistors into a 628 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 45.1 million per square millimeter. The AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT uses the Navi 21 chip with RDNA 2.0 architecture, fabricated on TSMC's 7 nm node. It contains 26,800 million transistors on a 520 mm² die, achieving a higher density of 51.5 million per square millimeter.

The clock speeds tell a story of their own. The RX 6950 XT runs a 1,860 MHz base clock and boosts to 2,310 MHz, with a game clock of 2,100 MHz. The A4500 is far more conservative, with a 1,050 MHz base and 1,650 MHz boost. Memory clocks also differ: the AMD card uses 2,250 MHz memory with 18 Gbps effective speed, while the A4500 runs 2,000 MHz with 16 Gbps effective.

Memory configurations are notably different. The A4500 offers 20 GB of GDDR6 on a 320-bit bus, delivering 640.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 6950 XT has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a narrower 256-bit bus, resulting in 576.0 GB/s. Despite having less memory and a narrower bus, the AMD card's higher clock speeds close the bandwidth gap considerably.

Compute resources are arranged differently as well. The A4500 has 7,168 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 96 ROPs. It also includes 56 ray tracing cores and 224 tensor cores, the latter being a key feature for NVIDIA's AI acceleration. The RX 6950 XT has fewer shading units at 5,120, but more TMUs at 320 and more ROPs at 128. It has 80 ray tracing cores and no tensor cores at all. FP32 throughput is identical at 23.65 TFLOPS for both cards, a rare tie. FP16 output differs: the A4500 delivers 23.65 TFLOPS at a 1:1 ratio, while the RX 6950 XT reaches 47.31 TFLOPS at 2:1.

Power and physical design diverge sharply. The A4500 is a dual-slot card with a 200 W TDP and a single 8-pin connector, requiring a 550 W power supply. The RX 6950 XT is a triple-slot card with a 335 W TDP, two 8-pin connectors, and a 700 W recommended PSU. Both use PCIe 4.0 x16 and support DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The shared test results are unambiguous. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the RX 6950 XT scores 4,235 against the A4500's 3,196. That is a 24.5% deficit for the NVIDIA card. This test is a modern DirectX 12 workload, and the AMD card's higher clocks and faster memory clearly pay off.

Geekbench OpenCL shows the largest delta. The RX 6950 XT posts 205,998, while the A4500 manages 141,837. The 31.1% gap is significant and points to the AMD card's advantage in general-purpose compute through OpenCL. The A4500's tensor cores do not appear to help in this workload, as OpenCL typically does not leverage them.

Geekbench Vulkan is the closest of the three. The RX 6950 XT scores 165,212 versus 129,980 for the A4500, a 21.3% lead. Vulkan is a low-level API that can favor either architecture depending on driver optimization, but here the AMD card's raw throughput wins out.

It is worth remembering the A4500's FP32 rating matches the RX 6950 XT exactly at 23.65 TFLOPS, yet the measured benchmark results do not reflect that parity. The AMD card's higher pixel rate of 295.7 GPixel/s versus 158.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 739.2 GTexel/s versus 369.6 GTexel/s help explain why it wins in practice. The RX 6950 XT simply has more fill-rate headroom.

The A4500 does not appear in the head-to-head list with any victory. Its 3DMark score of 3,196 is its best relative performance, but it still loses by nearly a quarter. The Geekbench results are more lopsided. The data shows a consistent pattern: the RX 6950 XT is faster in every shared test, often by a wide margin.

The Verdict

The data points to a straightforward conclusion for raw performance: the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT is the faster card in every benchmark where both were tested. It leads by 21.3% to 31.1% across the three shared workloads, and its higher clock speeds, fill rates, and FP16 output give it a clear edge in compute-heavy and modern API scenarios.

The NVIDIA RTX A4500, however, should not be dismissed. Its 93rd percentile ranking versus 88th for the RX 6950 XT suggests that within its own test set, it performs admirably against the broader GPU landscape. Its 20 GB of memory, tensor cores, and 200 W power draw make it a compelling option for workloads that benefit from larger memory pools and AI acceleration, even if the measured benchmarks do not capture those advantages. The A4500 also requires only a 550 W PSU and a single 8-pin connector, which is far easier to integrate into a professional workstation.

The database's recorded averages tell a nuanced story. The A4500's average benchmark score of 91,671 is higher than the RX 6950 XT's 58,392, but this is heavily influenced by the different test sets. The RX 6950 XT's eleven tests include several older DirectX and Passmark entries that score low, pulling its average down. The A4500's three tests are all modern and compute-oriented.

For a user prioritizing raw speed in DX12, Vulkan, or OpenCL workloads, the RX 6950 XT is the clear pick based on the data. For a user who needs professional features, lower power draw, more memory, or AI acceleration capabilities, the A4500 has qualitative advantages that the benchmarks do not directly measure. The launch MSRP for the RX 6950 XT is 1,099 USD.

FAQ

Q: Which card wins in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT scores 4,235 compared to the NVIDIA RTX A4500's 3,196, a 24.5% difference.

Q: How much faster is the RX 6950 XT in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The RX 6950 XT scores 205,998 versus 141,837 for the A4500, a 31.1% advantage.

Q: Do both cards have the same FP32 performance?

A: Yes, both are rated at 23.65 TFLOPS for FP32. However, the RX 6950 XT has higher FP16 output at 47.31 TFLOPS compared to 23.65 TFLOPS for the A4500.

Q: Which card has more memory?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A4500 has 20 GB of GDDR6 on a 320-bit bus, while the RX 6950 XT has 16 GB on a 256-bit bus.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The A4500 has a 200 W TDP with a 550 W recommended PSU requirement, while the RX 6950 XT has a 335 W TDP and requires a 700 W PSU.

Q: Does the A4500 have tensor cores?

A: Yes, the A4500 includes 224 tensor cores, while the RX 6950 XT has none.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA RTX A4500 | AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT |

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

| Chip | GA102 | Navi 21 |

| Architecture | Ampere | RDNA 2.0 |

| Process Node | 8 nm (Samsung) | 7 nm (TSMC) |

| Transistors | 28,300 million | 26,800 million |

| Die Size | 628 mm² | 520 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 45.1M / mm² | 51.5M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1050 MHz | 1860 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1650 MHz | 2310 MHz |

| Game Clock | N/A | 2100 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) | 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 20 GB | 16 GB |

| Memory Bus Width | 320 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 640.0 GB/s | 576.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 7168 | 5120 |

| TMUs | 224 | 320 |

| ROPs | 96 | 128 |

| Ray Tracing Cores | 56 | 80 |

| Tensor Cores | 224 | N/A |

| Pixel Rate | 158.4 GPixel/s | 295.7 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 369.6 GTexel/s | 739.2 GTexel/s |

| FP16 | 23.65 TFLOPS (1:1) | 47.31 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 200 W | 335 W |

| Slot Width | Dual-slot | Triple-slot |

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

| Suggested PSU | 550 W | 700 W |

| Display Outputs | 4x DisplayPort 1.4a | 1x HDMI 2.1, 2x DisplayPort 1.4a |

| Height | 112 mm (4.4 inches) | 120 mm (4.7 inches) |

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

| Release Date | 2021-11-22 | 2022-05-09 |

| Predecessor | Quadro Turing | Navi |

| Successor | Workstation Ada | Navi III |