NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 vs AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT

VS
Performance
GeForce GTX 960
10,767.510% of 104,598
Radeon RX 6800 XT383% better
52,04650% of 104,598

The Radeon RX 6800 XT has 383% better performance than the GeForce GTX 960 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Performance per dollar
GeForce GTX 960
54.1134% of 161.45
Radeon RX 6800 XT48% better
80.1950% of 161.45

The Radeon RX 6800 XT has 48% better value for the money than the GeForce GTX 960 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Shop GeForce GTX 960
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Summary

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About the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 GPU

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 is an end-of-life desktop graphics card that released in Q1 2015 with a MSRP of $199. It is built on the Maxwell 2.0 GPU microarchitecture (codename GM206) and is manufactured on a 28 nm process.

Memory

The GTX 960 has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory, with a 1,753 MHz memory clock and a 128 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 112.2 Gb/s, which affects how fast it can transfer data to and from memory. GPU memory stores temporary data that helps the GPU with complex math and graphics operations. More memory is generally better, as not having enough can cause performance bottlenecks.

Cores and Clock Speeds

The GTX 960 includes 1,024 CUDA cores, the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 1,127 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 1,178 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 64 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 32 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The GTX 960 occupies 2 PCIe expansion slots. It supports DVI, HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.2 display connections. NVIDIA recommends a power supply of at least 300 W to handle the GPU's thermal design power (TDP) of 120 W.

Benchmark Performance & Value

The GTX 960 has the 172nd best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 10.29% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Its 10,767.5 score and $199 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 54.11. This is the 61st best in value for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

About the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT GPU

The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT is a desktop graphics card that launched in Q4 2020 with a MSRP of $649. It is built on the RDNA 2.0 GPU microarchitecture (codename Navi 21) and is manufactured on a 7 nm process.

Memory

The RX 6800 XT has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory, with a 2,000 MHz memory clock and a 256 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 512 Gb/s, which affects how fast it can transfer data to and from memory. GPU memory stores temporary data that helps the GPU with complex math and graphics operations. More memory is generally better, as not having enough can cause performance bottlenecks.

Cores and Clock Speeds

The RX 6800 XT includes 4,608 stream processors (SPs), the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 1,825 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 2,250 MHz. It usually operates at 2,015 MHz during typical gaming workloads. Complementing the processing units are 288 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 128 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing. Additionally, the GPU features 72 ray accelerators dedicated to real-time ray tracing calculations.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The RX 6800 XT occupies 2 PCIe expansion slots. It supports HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4a, USB Type-C display connections. AMD recommends a power supply of at least 700 W to handle the GPU's thermal design power (TDP) of 300 W.

Benchmark Performance & Value

The RX 6800 XT has the 25th best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 49.76% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Its 52,046 score and $649 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 80.19. This is the 36th best in value for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

General Info

General overview of the GPU, including details like its manufacturer, release date, launch price, and current production status.

InfoGeForce GTX 960Radeon RX 6800 XT
ManufacturerNVIDIAAMD
ArchitectureMaxwell 2.0RDNA 2.0
Market SegmentDesktopDesktop
Release DateQ1 2015Q4 2020
Launch Price (MSRP)$199$649
Production StatusEnd-of-lifeActive
ShopCheck PriceCheck Price

Gaming Performance

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Select a game to compare FPS metrics

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Crysis Remastered
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Display FPS for DIRT 5
DIRT 5
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Watch Dogs: Legion
Display FPS for FIFA 21
FIFA 21

FPS Benchmarks

This table showcases the average frame rate (FPS) achieved both GPUs in at various resolutions. Frame rate is a crucial indicator of how smoothly the GPU can run the game. A higher FPS generally translates to a smoother gameplay experience.

  • Frames Per Second
FPS data for Crysis Remastered
Crysis Remastered
GeForce GTX 960Radeon RX 6800 XT
Low - 720p
--
321 FPS
Medium - 1080p
--
248 FPS
High - 1080p
--
152 FPS
Ultra - 1080p
--
95 FPS
QHD - 1440p
--
84 FPS
4K UHD - 2160p
--
54 FPS
FPS Source: Notebookcheck

Compare Frames Per Second (FPS)

The average frame rate (FPS) in can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative performance. Generally, higher FPS results in a smoother gameplay experience.

Choose Baseline GPU:GeForce GTX 960 orRadeon RX 6800 XT

Compare Cost Per Frame

The average cost per frame in can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative value. Generally, a lower cost per frame implies better value for your money.

Choose Baseline GPU:GeForce GTX 960 orRadeon RX 6800 XT
GPUCost Per Frame
GeForce RTX 3060 Ti8.99-25%
GeForce RTX 3080 (12 GB)10.99-8%
Radeon RX 6800 XT11.93
GeForce RTX 307012.83+8%
GeForce RTX 308014.21+19%
Radeon RX 5700 XT14.25+19%
GeForce RTX 306014.49+21%
Radeon RX 6950 XT15.18+27%
Radeon RX 680019.3+62%

Benchmark Performance

#
Performance
GeForce GTX 960
10,767.510% of 104,598
Radeon RX 6800 XT383% better
52,04650% of 104,598

The Radeon RX 6800 XT has 383% better performance than the GeForce GTX 960 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The GeForce GTX 960 is ranked 172nd with a score of 10,767.5, and the Radeon RX 6800 XT is ranked 25th with a score of 52,046.

Performance per dollar
GeForce GTX 960
54.1134% of 161.45
Radeon RX 6800 XT48% better
80.1950% of 161.45

The Radeon RX 6800 XT has 48% better value for the money than the GeForce GTX 960 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The GeForce GTX 960 is ranked 61st with a performance per dollar of 54.11, and the Radeon RX 6800 XT is ranked 36th with a performance per dollar of 80.19.

Relative Performance

The average score in the benchmark test can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative performance. Generally, powerful GPUs tend to have higher scores.

Choose Baseline GPU:GeForce GTX 960 or
GPUBenchmark Performance
Radeon RX 680055,084+412%
GeForce RTX 308053,713+399%
Radeon RX 6800 XT52,046+383%
GeForce RTX 3070 Ti49,760+362%
GeForce RTX 4060 Ti (8 GB)47,803+344%
Radeon R9 38012,191+13%
Radeon R9 280X10,792+0%
GeForce GTX 96010,767.5
GeForce GTX 68010,216.5-5%
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti9,453-12%

Relative Value For Money

The average performance per dollar in the benchmark test can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative value. A higher score implies a better value for your money.

Choose Baseline GPU:GeForce GTX 960 or

Benchmark Scores

This table showcases the average performance scores achieved by both GPUs across industry-standard benchmark tests. These scores provide a valuable insight into overall performance. Powerful GPUs tend to have higher scores.

  • Popular
BenchmarkGeForce GTX 960Radeon RX 6800 XT
3DMark Time Spy Graphics
--
17,603
3DMark Time Spy Score
--
16,908
3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
49,917.5
193,053
(+286.74%)
3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
7,915.5
49,735
(+528.32%)
3DMark 11 Performance Score
9,875.5
38,057
(+285.37%)
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit
120
268.1
(+123.42%)
PassMark G3D Mark
6,079
25,032
(+311.78%)
PassMark G2D Mark
682
1,009
(+47.95%)
Benchmarks Source: Notebookcheck

Technical Specs

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Graphics Processor

General information about the graphics processing unit like their architecture, manufacturing process size, and transistor count. Newer GPU architectures generally bring efficiency improvements and may introduce technologies that enhance graphical capabilities.

SpecGeForce GTX 960Radeon RX 6800 XT
CodenameGM206Navi 21
ArchitectureMaxwell 2.0RDNA 2.0
Process Size28 nm7 nm
Transistors2,940 million26,800 million

Memory Details

Memory specifications like their capacity, bandwidth, and clock speeds. GPU memory stores graphics data like frames, textures, and shadows which helps display rendered images. These specs are crucial for graphics-intense applications like gaming and 3D modeling.

SpecGeForce GTX 960Radeon RX 6800 XT
Memory Size2 GB16 GB
Memory TypeGDDR5GDDR6
Memory Bandwidth112.2 Gb/s512 Gb/s
Memory Clock1,753 MHz2,000 MHz
Memory Interface128 bit256 bit
L1 Cache48 KB128 KB
L2 Cache1,024 KB4 MB

Board Compatibility

Compatibility information like their slot size, bus interface, power consumption, and display support. These specs are useful for verifying compatibility with your motherboard, power supply, and monitor.

SpecGeForce GTX 960Radeon RX 6800 XT
Slots2 slots2 slots
Bus InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 4.0 x16
Thermal Design Power (TDP)120 W300 W
Suggested PSU300 W700 W
Power Connectors1x 6-pin2x 8-pin
OutputsDVI, HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.2HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4a, USB Type-C

Cores & Clock Speeds

Processing power information like its cores and clock speed. These specs impact how fast they can process graphics. Each type of core or component serves a specific computational purpose.

SpecGeForce GTX 960Radeon RX 6800 XT
Stream Processors (SP)--4,608
CUDA Cores1,024--
Compute Units (CU)--72
Texture Mapping Units (TMU)64288
Render Output Units (ROP)32128
Ray Accelerators--72
Core Clock Speed1,127 MHz1,825 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Boost)1,178 MHz2,250 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Game)--2,015 MHz

Theoretical Performance

Theoretical performance numbers derived from the raw specifications of the different components like core count and clock speeds. While these provide a glimpse into peak processing power, they do not represent real-world performance.

SpecGeForce GTX 960Radeon RX 6800 XT
Pixel Fill Rate37.7 GPixel/s288 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate75.39 GTexel/s648 GTexel/s
FP32 Performance2.41 TFLOPS20.74 TFLOPS
FP64 Performance75.39 GFLOPS1,296 GFLOPS

API Support

Graphics API versions supported by these graphics cards. APIs evolve over time, introducing new features and functionalities. Older GPUs may not support recent versions.

SpecGeForce GTX 960Radeon RX 6800 XT
DirectX12 (12_1)12 Ultimate (12_2)
OpenCL3.02.1
OpenGL4.64.6
Shader Model6.86.8

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* Performance rating, performance per dollar, and rankings are based on the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark and MSRP.