NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 vs AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT

VS
Performance
GeForce RTX 3060
28,37527% of 104,598
Radeon RX 6950 XT155% better
72,227.569% of 104,598

The Radeon RX 6950 XT has 155% better performance than the GeForce RTX 3060 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Performance per dollar
GeForce RTX 306031% better
86.2553% of 161.45
Radeon RX 6950 XT
65.7241% of 161.45

The GeForce RTX 3060 has 31% better value for the money than the Radeon RX 6950 XT for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Shop GeForce RTX 3060
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Summary

#

About the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 GPU

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 is a desktop graphics card that launched in Q1 2021 with a MSRP of $329. It is built on the Ampere GPU microarchitecture (codename GA106) and is manufactured on a 8 nm process.

Memory

The RTX 3060 has 12 GB of GDDR6 memory, with a 1,875 MHz memory clock and a 192 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 360 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 RTX 3060 includes 3,584 CUDA cores, the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 1,320 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 1,777 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 112 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 48 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing. Additionally, the GPU features 112 tensor cores optimized for AI-accelerated workloads and 28 RT cores dedicated to real-time ray tracing calculations.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The RTX 3060 occupies 2 PCIe expansion slots. It supports HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4a display connections. NVIDIA recommends a power supply of at least 450 W to handle the GPU's thermal design power (TDP) of 170 W.

Benchmark Performance & Value

The RTX 3060 has the 83rd best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 27.13% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Its 28,375 score and $329 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 86.25. This is the 29th best in value for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

About the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT GPU

The AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT is a desktop graphics card that launched in Q2 2022 with a MSRP of $1,099. It is built on the RDNA 2.0 GPU microarchitecture (codename Navi 21) and is manufactured on a 7 nm process.

Memory

The RX 6950 XT has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory, with a 2,250 MHz memory clock and a 256 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 576 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 6950 XT includes 5,120 stream processors (SPs), the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 1,860 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 2,310 MHz. It usually operates at 2,100 MHz during typical gaming workloads. Complementing the processing units are 320 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 128 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing. Additionally, the GPU features 80 ray accelerators dedicated to real-time ray tracing calculations.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The RX 6950 XT is a large graphics card, occupying 3 PCIe 4.0 x16 expansion slots. It supports HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4a display connections. With a thermal design power (TDP) of 335 W and a large, 3-slot size, it is recommended to use a power supply of 700 W and a case with sufficient space to accommodate the card. Compare your card's model and your case's dimensions to verify compatibility.

Benchmark Performance & Value

The RX 6950 XT has the 8th best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 69.05% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Its 72,227.5 score and $1,099 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 65.72. This is the 48th 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 RTX 3060Radeon RX 6950 XT
ManufacturerNVIDIAAMD
ArchitectureAmpereRDNA 2.0
Market SegmentDesktopDesktop
Release DateQ1 2021Q2 2022
Launch Price (MSRP)$329$1,099
Production StatusActiveActive
ShopCheck PriceCheck Price

Gaming Performance

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Select a game to compare FPS metrics

Display FPS for F1 24
F1 24
Display FPS for Senua's Saga Hellblade 2
Senua's Saga Hellblade 2
Display FPS for Ghost of Tsushima
Ghost of Tsushima
Display FPS for Dragon's Dogma 2
Dragon's Dogma 2
Display FPS for Horizon Forbidden West
Horizon Forbidden West
Display FPS for Alone in the Dark (2024)
Alone in the Dark (2024)
Display FPS for Sons of the Forest
Sons of the Forest

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 F1 24
F1 24
GeForce RTX 3060Radeon RX 6950 XT
Low - 1080p
--
534 FPS
Medium - 1080p
--
517 FPS
High - 1080p
--
407 FPS
Ultra - 1080p
--
96 FPS
QHD - 1440p
--
62 FPS
4K UHD - 2160p
--
30 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 RTX 3060 orRadeon RX 6950 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 RTX 3060 orRadeon RX 6950 XT
GPUCost Per Frame
Radeon RX 7900 XTX21.44-41%
GeForce RTX 408021.8-40%
Radeon RX 7900 XT24.3-33%
Radeon RX 680028.11-23%
Radeon RX 6950 XT36.39
GeForce RTX 309037.01+2%

Benchmark Performance

#
Performance
GeForce RTX 3060
28,37527% of 104,598
Radeon RX 6950 XT155% better
72,227.569% of 104,598

The Radeon RX 6950 XT has 155% better performance than the GeForce RTX 3060 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The GeForce RTX 3060 is ranked 83rd with a score of 28,375, and the Radeon RX 6950 XT is ranked 8th with a score of 72,227.5.

Performance per dollar
GeForce RTX 306031% better
86.2553% of 161.45
Radeon RX 6950 XT
65.7241% of 161.45

The GeForce RTX 3060 has 31% better value for the money than the Radeon RX 6950 XT for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The GeForce RTX 3060 is ranked 29th with a performance per dollar of 86.25, and the Radeon RX 6950 XT is ranked 48th with a performance per dollar of 65.72.

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 RTX 3060 or
GPUBenchmark Performance
GeForce RTX 4070 Ti75,612+166%
GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER74,834+164%
Radeon RX 6950 XT72,227.5+155%
GeForce RTX 3090 Ti69,481+145%
GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER68,373+141%
GeForce GTX 108029,263+3%
Radeon RX Vega 5629,086+3%
GeForce RTX 306028,375
GeForce GTX 1070 Ti27,503-3%
GeForce RTX 206027,162.5-4%

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 RTX 3060 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 RTX 3060Radeon RX 6950 XT
3DMark Time Spy Graphics
8,559
22,004
(+157.09%)
3DMark Time Spy Score
8,721
20,574
(+135.91%)
3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
120,745
229,172
(+89.8%)
3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
21,379
59,882
(+180.1%)
3DMark Night Raid Graphics
96,914
186,146
(+92.07%)
3DMark 11 Performance Score
25,149
48,816.5
(+94.11%)
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit
246.6
--
PassMark G3D Mark
17,001
28,182
(+65.77%)
PassMark G2D Mark
963
1,035
(+7.48%)
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 RTX 3060Radeon RX 6950 XT
CodenameGA106Navi 21
ArchitectureAmpereRDNA 2.0
Process Size8 nm7 nm
Transistors12,000 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 RTX 3060Radeon RX 6950 XT
Memory Size12 GB16 GB
Memory TypeGDDR6GDDR6
Memory Bandwidth360 Gb/s576 Gb/s
Memory Clock1,875 MHz2,250 MHz
Memory Interface192 bit256 bit
L1 Cache128 KB128 KB
L2 Cache3 MB4 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 RTX 3060Radeon RX 6950 XT
Slots2 slots3 slots
Bus InterfacePCIe 4.0 x16PCIe 4.0 x16
Thermal Design Power (TDP)170 W335 W
Suggested PSU450 W700 W
Power Connectors1x 12-pin2x 8-pin
OutputsHDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4aHDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4a

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 RTX 3060Radeon RX 6950 XT
Stream Processors (SP)--5,120
CUDA Cores3,584--
Compute Units (CU)--80
Stream Multiprocessors (SM)28--
Texture Mapping Units (TMU)112320
Render Output Units (ROP)48128
Tensor Cores112--
Ray Accelerators--80
Ray Tracing Cores28--
Core Clock Speed1,320 MHz1,860 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Boost)1,777 MHz2,310 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Game)--2,100 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 RTX 3060Radeon RX 6950 XT
Pixel Fill Rate85.3 GPixel/s295.7 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate199 GTexel/s739.2 GTexel/s
FP32 Performance12.74 TFLOPS23.65 TFLOPS
FP64 Performance199 GFLOPS1,478 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 RTX 3060Radeon RX 6950 XT
DirectX12 Ultimate (12_2)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.