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NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 vs AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT

NVIDIA
VS
AMD
Performance
GeForce RTX 3090
61,51859% of 104,937
Radeon RX 6950 XT17% better
72,227.569% of 104,937

The Radeon RX 6950 XT has 17% better performance than the GeForce RTX 3090 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Performance per dollar
GeForce RTX 3090
41.0425% of 161.45
Radeon RX 6950 XT60% better
65.7241% of 161.45

The Radeon RX 6950 XT has 60% better value for the money than the GeForce RTX 3090 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

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Summary

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About the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 GPU

The GeForce RTX 3090 is a desktop graphics card by NVIDIA. It launched in Q3 2020 with a suggested retail price of $1,499. Its GA102 chip that powers the GPU uses the Ampere architecture and is fabricated on the 8 nm process.

This GPU is paired with 24 GB of GDDR6X VRAM. Its 1,219 MHz memory clock and 384 bit interface gives it a bandwidth of 936.2 Gb/s. This impacts how much data it can store, and how fast it transfers the data to and from memory.

The RTX 3090 is a large graphics card, taking up 3 PCIe slots. It supports HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4a display ports. This desktop card has a TDP of 350 W. NVIDIA recommends using a power supply of at least 750 W with this card. A power supply lower than this might result in system crashes and potentially damage your hardware.

The GeForce RTX 3090 has the 15th highest 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 540 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 58.62% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Its 61,518 score and $1,499 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 41.04. This is the 69th best in value for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

About the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT GPU

The Radeon RX 6950 XT is a desktop graphics card by AMD. It launched in Q2 2022 with a suggested retail price of $1,099. Its Navi 21 chip that powers the GPU uses the RDNA 2.0 architecture and is fabricated on the 7 nm process.

This GPU is paired with 16 GB of GDDR6 VRAM. Its 2,250 MHz memory clock and 256 bit interface gives it a bandwidth of 576 Gb/s. This impacts how much data it can store, and how fast it transfers the data to and from memory.

The RX 6950 XT is a large graphics card, taking up 3 PCIe slots. It supports HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4a display ports. This desktop card has a TDP of 335 W. AMD recommends using a power supply of at least 700 W with this card. A power supply lower than this might result in system crashes and potentially damage your hardware.

The Radeon RX 6950 XT has the 8th highest 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 540 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 68.83% 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 3090Radeon RX 6950 XT
ManufacturerNVIDIAAMD
ArchitectureAmpereRDNA 2.0
Market SegmentDesktopDesktop
Release DateQ3 2020Q2 2022
Launch Price (MSRP)$1,499$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
More games to choose from
More Games

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 3090Radeon RX 6950 XT
Low - 1080p
498 FPS
534 FPS(+7.23%)
Medium - 1080p
446 FPS
517 FPS(+15.92%)
High - 1080p
340 FPS
407 FPS(+19.71%)
Ultra - 1080p
118 FPS(+22.51%)
96 FPS
QHD - 1440p
79 FPS(+27.42%)
62 FPS
4K UHD - 2160p
41 FPS(+34.11%)
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 3090 or

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 3090 or
GPUCost Per Frame
GeForce RTX 408021.8-41%
Radeon RX 7900 XT24.3-34%
Radeon RX 680028.11-24%
Radeon RX 6950 XT36.39-2%
GeForce RTX 309037.01

Benchmark Performance

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Performance
GeForce RTX 3090
61,51859% of 104,937
Radeon RX 6950 XT17% better
72,227.569% of 104,937

The Radeon RX 6950 XT has 17% better performance than the GeForce RTX 3090 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The GeForce RTX 3090 is ranked 15th with a score of 61,518, and the Radeon RX 6950 XT is ranked 8th with a score of 72,227.5.

Performance per dollar
GeForce RTX 3090
41.0425% of 161.45
Radeon RX 6950 XT60% better
65.7241% of 161.45

The Radeon RX 6950 XT has 60% better value for the money than the GeForce RTX 3090 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The GeForce RTX 3090 is ranked 69th with a performance per dollar of 41.04, 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 3090 or

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 3090 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 3090Radeon RX 6950 XT
3DMark Time Spy Graphics
19,198
22,004
(+14.62%)
3DMark Time Spy Score
18,739
20,574
(+9.79%)
3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
231,612
(+1.06%)
229,172
3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
47,241
59,882
(+26.76%)
3DMark Night Raid Graphics
142,919
186,146
(+30.25%)
3DMark 11 Performance Score
47,895
48,816.5
(+1.92%)
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit
368
--
PassMark G3D Mark
26,795
28,297
(+5.61%)
PassMark G2D Mark
1,053
(+3.03%)
1,022
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 3090Radeon RX 6950 XT
CodenameGA102Navi 21
ArchitectureAmpereRDNA 2.0
Process Size8 nm7 nm
Transistors28,300 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 3090Radeon RX 6950 XT
Memory Size24 GB16 GB
Memory TypeGDDR6XGDDR6
Memory Bandwidth936.2 Gb/s576 Gb/s
Memory Clock1,219 MHz2,250 MHz
Memory Interface384 bit256 bit
L1 Cache128 KB128 KB
L2 Cache6 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 3090Radeon RX 6950 XT
Slots3 slots3 slots
Bus InterfacePCIe 4.0 x16PCIe 4.0 x16
Thermal Design Power (TDP)350 W335 W
Suggested PSU750 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 3090Radeon RX 6950 XT
Stream Processors (SP)--5,120
CUDA Cores10,496--
Compute Units (CU)--80
Stream Multiprocessors (SM)82--
Texture Mapping Units (TMU)328320
Render Output Units (ROP)112128
Tensor Cores328--
Ray Tracing Cores8280
Core Clock Speed1,395 MHz1,860 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Boost)1,695 MHz2,310 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 3090Radeon RX 6950 XT
Pixel Fill Rate189.8 GPixel/s295.7 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate556 GTexel/s739.2 GTexel/s
FP32 Performance35.58 TFLOPS23.65 TFLOPS
FP64 Performance556 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 3090Radeon RX 6950 XT
DirectX12 Ultimate (12_2)12 Ultimate (12_2)
OpenCL3.02.1
OpenGL4.64.6
Shader Model6.76.7

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