PC Part DB: Build Smarter: Compare PC part benchmarks & specsPC PART DB

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 vs AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT

NVIDIA
VS
AMD
Performance
GeForce RTX 409045% better
104,937Best Performance
Radeon RX 6950 XT
72,227.569% of 104,937

The GeForce RTX 4090 has 45% better performance than the Radeon RX 6950 XT for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Performance per dollar
GeForce RTX 4090
65.6341% of 161.45
Radeon RX 6950 XT0% better
65.7241% of 161.45

The Radeon RX 6950 XT has 0% better value for the money than the GeForce RTX 4090 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Shop GeForce RTX 4090
Shop Radeon RX 6950 XT
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Summary

#

About the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 GPU

The GeForce RTX 4090 is a desktop graphics card by NVIDIA. It launched in Q4 2022 with a suggested retail price of $1,599. Its AD102 chip that powers the GPU uses the Ada Lovelace architecture and is fabricated on the 5 nm process.

This GPU is paired with 24 GB of GDDR6X VRAM. Its 1,313 MHz memory clock and 384 bit interface gives it a bandwidth of 1.01 Tb/s. This impacts how much data it can store, and how fast it transfers the data to and from memory.

The RTX 4090 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 450 W. NVIDIA recommends using a power supply of at least 850 W with this card. A power supply lower than this might result in system crashes and potentially damage your hardware.

The GeForce RTX 4090 has the highest 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 540 benchmarked GPUs in our database. Its 104,937 score and $1,599 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 65.63. This is the 49th 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 4090Radeon RX 6950 XT
ManufacturerNVIDIAAMD
ArchitectureAda LovelaceRDNA 2.0
Market SegmentDesktopDesktop
Release DateQ4 2022Q2 2022
Launch Price (MSRP)$1,599$1,099
Production StatusActiveActive
ShopCheck PriceCheck Price

Gaming Performance

#

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 4090Radeon RX 6950 XT
Low - 1080p
513 FPS
534 FPS(+4.09%)
Medium - 1080p
545 FPS(+5.42%)
517 FPS
High - 1080p
495 FPS(+21.62%)
407 FPS
Ultra - 1080p
213 FPS(+120.95%)
96 FPS
QHD - 1440p
153 FPS(+146.13%)
62 FPS
4K UHD - 2160p
82 FPS(+170.53%)
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 4090 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 4090 or
GPUCost Per Frame
Radeon RX 7800 XT17.39-11%
GeForce RTX 3060 Ti17.97-8%
GeForce RTX 409019.57
GeForce RTX 3070 Ti21.24+9%
Radeon RX 7900 XTX21.44+10%
Radeon RX 680028.11+44%
Radeon RX 6950 XT36.39+86%
GeForce RTX 309037.01+89%

Benchmark Performance

#
Performance
GeForce RTX 409045% better
104,937Best Performance
Radeon RX 6950 XT
72,227.569% of 104,937

The GeForce RTX 4090 has 45% better performance than the Radeon RX 6950 XT for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The GeForce RTX 4090 is ranked 1st with a score of 104,937, and the Radeon RX 6950 XT is ranked 8th with a score of 72,227.5.

Performance per dollar
GeForce RTX 4090
65.6341% of 161.45
Radeon RX 6950 XT0% better
65.7241% of 161.45

The Radeon RX 6950 XT has 0% better value for the money than the GeForce RTX 4090 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The GeForce RTX 4090 is ranked 49th with a performance per dollar of 65.63, 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 4090 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 4090 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 4090Radeon RX 6950 XT
3DMark Time Spy Graphics
36,896
(+67.68%)
22,004
3DMark Time Spy Score
31,329
(+52.27%)
20,574
3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
250,667
(+9.38%)
229,172
3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
73,174
(+22.2%)
59,882
3DMark Night Raid Graphics
209,337
(+12.46%)
186,146
3DMark 11 Performance Score
64,661
(+32.46%)
48,816.5
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit
321.8
--
PassMark G3D Mark
38,619
(+36.48%)
28,297
PassMark G2D Mark
1,287
(+25.93%)
1,022
Benchmarks Source: Notebookcheck

Technical Specs

#

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 4090Radeon RX 6950 XT
CodenameAD102Navi 21
ArchitectureAda LovelaceRDNA 2.0
Process Size5 nm7 nm
Transistors76,300 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 4090Radeon RX 6950 XT
Memory Size24 GB16 GB
Memory TypeGDDR6XGDDR6
Memory Bandwidth1.01 Tb/s576 Gb/s
Memory Clock1,313 MHz2,250 MHz
Memory Interface384 bit256 bit
L1 Cache128 KB128 KB
L2 Cache72 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 4090Radeon RX 6950 XT
Slots3 slots3 slots
Bus InterfacePCIe 4.0 x16PCIe 4.0 x16
Thermal Design Power (TDP)450 W335 W
Suggested PSU850 W700 W
Power Connectors1x 16-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 4090Radeon RX 6950 XT
Stream Processors (SP)--5,120
CUDA Cores16,384--
Compute Units (CU)--80
Stream Multiprocessors (SM)128--
Texture Mapping Units (TMU)512320
Render Output Units (ROP)176128
Tensor Cores512--
Ray Tracing Cores12880
Core Clock Speed2,235 MHz1,860 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Boost)2,520 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 4090Radeon RX 6950 XT
Pixel Fill Rate443.5 GPixel/s295.7 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate1,290 GTexel/s739.2 GTexel/s
FP32 Performance82.58 TFLOPS23.65 TFLOPS
FP64 Performance1,290 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 4090Radeon RX 6950 XT
DirectX12 Ultimate (12_2)12 Ultimate (12_2)
OpenCL3.02.1
OpenGL4.64.6
Shader Model6.76.7

Check out these comparisons for similar GPUs:

Looking for alternatives? Check out these similar GPUs:

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