AMD Radeon RX 6800S vs NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile Comparison

The NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile and AMD Radeon RX 6800S represent two fundamentally different approaches to high-performance mobile graphics. The RTX A5000 Mobile is built on the Ampere architecture using an 8 nm Samsung process, packing 17,400 million transistors into a 392 mm² die. This is a large, compute-heavy design with 6,144 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, alongside 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores. Its FP32 throughput is rated at 19.35 TFLOPS, with FP16 running at the same rate due to a 1:1 ratio. In contrast, the RX 6800S uses AMD's RDNA 2.0 architecture on a 7 nm TSMC process, with 11,060 million transistors on a 237 mm² die. It has 2,048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, plus 32 RT cores but no tensor cores. Its FP32 peak is 8.602 TFLOPS, while FP16 doubles to 17.20 TFLOPS via a 2:1 ratio. The transistor density tells a similar story: 44.4M / mm² for NVIDIA versus 46.7M / mm² for AMD, indicating that while the A5000 Mobile is physically larger and more powerful, the RX 6800S is slightly denser and more efficient per square millimeter.

The memory subsystems diverge sharply. The RTX A5000 Mobile carries 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 6800S is limited to 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, yielding 256.0 GB/s. This is a 75% advantage in raw memory bandwidth for NVIDIA, which matters heavily in high-resolution textures and compute workloads. Clock speeds also differ: the RTX A5000 Mobile runs a base of 900 MHz and a boost of 1575 MHz, while the RX 6800S starts at 1800 MHz base and boosts to 2100 MHz, with a game clock of 1975 MHz. The AMD part uses its higher frequencies to compensate for fewer cores, but the NVIDIA part’s sheer scale dominates in raw throughput. Power targets reflect this: the RTX A5000 Mobile is rated at 150 W, while the RX 6800S is a more frugal 100 W. Both use PCIe 4.0, but NVIDIA utilizes x16 lanes while AMD makes do with x8. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so feature-level API support is identical.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear split based on workload priorities. The NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile wins 5 of the 9 head-to-head benchmark comparisons, including the most demanding compute and modern graphics tests. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 110,877 is 51.5% higher than the RX 6800S’s 73,202, a massive gap that signals superiority in general-purpose GPU compute. It also leads in Geekbench Vulkan (88,144 vs 81,272, an 8.5% edge), Passmark DirectX 12 (72 vs 65, a 10.8% win), Passmark DirectX 10 (115 vs 91, a 26.4% advantage), and Passmark GPU Compute (6,945 vs 6,144, a 13% lead). For users prioritizing raw FP32 performance, ray tracing via its 48 RT cores, or tensor-core-accelerated workloads, the RTX A5000 Mobile is the definitive choice based on benchmark results.

However, the AMD Radeon RX 6800S is not a pushover. It wins 4 of the 9 comparisons, including Passmark G3D (15,908 vs 15,779, a marginal 0.8% edge), which is the closest overall gaming proxy in this data. It also takes Passmark DirectX 11 (139 vs 133, a 4.3% win), Passmark DirectX 9 (200 vs 169, a 15.5% victory), and Passmark G2D (732 vs 629, a 14.1% lead). The RX 6800S achieves this with a 100 W TDP, 50 W lower than the RTX A5000 Mobile, making it the more power-efficient option for thin-and-light gaming laptops. Its higher base and boost clocks (1800/2100 MHz vs 900/1575 MHz) help it stay competitive in legacy DirectX titles and 2D tasks. The verdict is straightforward: pick the RTX A5000 Mobile for compute-heavy, future-proof DirectX 12 workloads and larger memory needs; pick the RX 6800S for lighter gaming loads where power efficiency and legacy API performance matter more.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The largest single victory for the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile comes in Geekbench OpenCL, where its 110,877 score crushes the RX 6800S’s 73,202 by 51.5%. This is not a marginal difference; it represents a fundamental architectural advantage in parallel compute. The A5000 Mobile’s 6,144 shading units versus 2,048 for the RX 6800S explains most of this gap, as does its 448.0 GB/s memory bandwidth versus 256.0 GB/s. In Geekbench Vulkan, the margin narrows to 8.5% (88,144 vs 81,272), suggesting that the RX 6800S’s higher clocks help it in API-level tasks that are less bandwidth-bound. The Passmark DirectX 10 result shows a 26.4% NVIDIA advantage (115 vs 91), while DirectX 12 shows a smaller 10.8% lead (72 vs 65). These modern API tests favor the Ampere architecture’s dedicated RT and tensor cores.

The RX 6800S’s best wins are in legacy and 2D workloads. Passmark DirectX 9 shows a 15.5% margin (200 vs 169), which is counterintuitive given the A5000’s raw power but likely reflects driver optimizations for older APIs on the RDNA 2.0 architecture. Passmark G2D, a measure of 2D graphics performance, goes to AMD by 14.1% (732 vs 629). The most competitive results are in Passmark G3D, where the RX 6800S edges out the A5000 Mobile by just 0.8% (15,908 vs 15,779), and Passmark DirectX 11, where AMD wins by 4.3% (139 vs 133). These near-ties in gaming-oriented benchmarks suggest that the RX 6800S’s higher clock speeds (2100 MHz boost vs 1575 MHz) can offset the A5000’s core count advantage in certain scenarios. The average benchmark scores reflect this overall balance: the RTX A5000 Mobile averages 24,763 across all tests, placing it in the 70th percentile of all GPUs, while the RX 6800S averages 24,063, sitting at the 69th percentile.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every major specification category. The process node is the most fundamental: NVIDIA uses 8 nm Samsung, while AMD uses 7 nm TSMC. This leads to different transistor counts (17,400 million vs 11,060 million) and die sizes (392 mm² vs 237 mm²). The memory configuration is a stark contrast: 16 GB GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth versus 8 GB GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 256.0 GB/s. Clock speeds are inverted, with the RX 6800S running much higher (1800 MHz base, 2100 MHz boost, 1975 MHz game) compared to the RTX A5000 Mobile (900 MHz base, 1575 MHz boost). The compute units differ: 6,144 shading units, 192 TMUs, 96 ROPs, 48 RT cores, and 192 tensor cores for NVIDIA versus 2,048 shading units, 128 TMUs, 64 ROPs, and 32 RT cores for AMD, with no tensor cores. FP32 performance is 19.35 TFLOPS versus 8.602 TFLOPS, while FP16 is 19.35 TFLOPS (1:1) versus 17.20 TFLOPS (2:1). Power draw is 150 W versus 100 W. The bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x16 for NVIDIA and PCIe 4.0 x8 for AMD. The RX 6800S is marked as an IGP slot width, while the A5000 Mobile has no specified slot width. Both have no power connectors listed and use portable-device-dependent display outputs.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute performance?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile is decisively ahead, with 19.35 TFLOPS FP32 versus 8.602 TFLOPS for the RX 6800S. This is reflected in the Geekbench OpenCL score, where NVIDIA leads 110,877 to 73,202, a 51.5% advantage.

Q: Does the AMD card win any modern benchmarks?

A: Yes, the RX 6800S wins Passmark DirectX 11 (139 vs 133, a 4.3% edge) and Passmark G3D (15,908 vs 15,779, a 0.8% edge). It also wins legacy DirectX 9 and 2D tests, but in DirectX 12, NVIDIA leads 72 to 65.

Q: How do their memory configurations compare?

A: The RTX A5000 Mobile has 16 GB GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RX 6800S has 8 GB GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 256.0 GB/s bandwidth. NVIDIA’s bandwidth is 75% higher.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The RTX A5000 Mobile is rated at 150 W, while the RX 6800S is rated at 100 W. The AMD card delivers competitive gaming performance at 50 W lower power draw.

Q: Which card has better DirectX 12 performance?

A: The RTX A5000 Mobile wins in Passmark DirectX 12, scoring 72 versus the RX 6800S’s 65, a 10.8% difference. This aligns with its newer architecture and dedicated tensor cores.

Q: Are they similarly positioned in the overall GPU landscape?

A: Yes, their average benchmark scores are close: the RTX A5000 Mobile averages 24,763 (70th percentile), while the RX 6800S averages 24,063 (69th percentile). The NVIDIA card’s nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 590 at 24,744 (0.1% delta), while the RX 6800S’s nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER at 24,170 (-0.4% delta).