If you want maximum graphics power on your PC, you have two options—the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT or the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 Ti. You may think AMD users should get the AMD GPU, while Intel users must pick Nvidia. However, it's not that simple.

Manufacturers go out of their way to ensure that their chips are compatible with the widest possible market. So, to get the best possible graphics performance out of your PC, you have to look at the GPU itself.

To help you with that, let's compare the 6950 XT and 3090 Ti today.

RX 6950 XT vs. RTX 3090 Ti: Compare the Hardware

As with any comparison, you should start with the basics: look at the spec sheet. These are what the respective cards are packing on their printed circuit boards.

GPU

AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT

Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 Ti

Architecture

RDNA 2.0

Ampere

Process Size

7 nm

8 nm

Base Clock (GHz)

1.9

1.6

Boost Clock (GHz)

2.3

1.9

Shaders

5120 Stream Processors

10752 CUDA Cores

VRAM

16GB GDDR6

24GB GDDR6X

Memory Bus

256-Bit

384-Bit

Bandwidth

576 GB/s

1,008 GB/s

Ray Tracing Cores

80

84

Tensor Cores

-

336

L3 Cache (MB)

128MB

-

Pixel Rate (GP/s)

297.5 GPixel/s

208.3 GPixel/s

Texture Rate (GT/s)

743.7 GTexel/s

625.0 GTexel/s

FP32 (Float) Performance (TFLOPS)

23.80

40.00

Bus Interface

PCIe 4.0 x16

PCIe 4.0 x16

Graphics Card Power Requirement (Watts)

335

450

Slots

1x HDMI 2.1, 2x DisplayPort 1.4a

1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a

Launch Date

10 May 2022

27 January 2022

SRP

US$ 1,099.00

US$ 1,999.00

On paper, the two cards are neck and neck. AMD has a marginally better GPU processor, with a smaller process node and higher clock speeds, thus resulting in better pixel and texture rates. But Nvidia's 3090 Ti has more than 100% more shaders, 50% more VRAM, and double the memory bandwidth. This lets it handle more TFLOPs, allowing it to catch up with AMD's superior processor.

But if you look at their prices, you'll find that the 3090 Ti is almost double the price of the 6950 XT. So, will the performance difference justify the former's price premium?

RX 6950 XT vs. RTX 3090 Ti: Real-World Performance

AMD Radeon GPU in a PC

Of course, all the numbers mean nothing if the GPU can't translate that into FPS. So, let's compare their actual gaming benchmarks. TechSpot ran both the RX 6950 XT and RTX 3090 Ti with a Ryzen 7 5800X3D and 32GB Dual-Channel DDR4-3200 CL14 on an Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Extreme motherboard.

When looking at the numbers, you'll see the RX 6950 XT's faster processor marginally beats Nvidia when working with 1080p Full HD resolutions, with a 4% performance gain over the latter. But since 1440p has 78% more pixels than 1080p, while 4K uses 400% more data, you'll see the RTX 3090 Ti's larger and better memory overtake the former.

Game Title

Settings

Average Frame Rate (FPS)

Performance Difference

AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT

Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 Ti

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Extraction

1080p, Very High

309

302

-7%

1440p, Very High

206

222

16%

4K, Very High

98

125

27%

Watch Dogs: Legion

1080p, Very High

168

148

-20%

1440p, Very High

147

131

-16%

4K, Very High

88

86

-2%

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

1080p, Highest

201

191

-10%

1440p, Highest

153

149

-4%

4K, Highest

87

94

7%

The Outer Worlds

1080p, Ultra

213

216

3%

1440p, Ultra

157

173

16%

4K, Ultra

86

105

19%

F1 2021

1080p, Ultra High

184

200

16%

1440p, Ultra High

139

154

15%

4K, Ultra High

77

92

15%

Average Performance

1080p

215

211.4

-4%

1440p

160.4

165.8

5%

4K

87.2

100.4

13%

Overall Average

154.2

159.2

5%

RX 6950 XT vs. RTX 3090 Ti: Power Consumption

A power supply
Image Credit: Safarov Nariman/Shutterstock.com

Nvidia's top-end offering uses 115 more watts than AMD's competitor. This difference is substantial, with the 6950 XT requiring an average of 2.17 watts per frame, compared to the 3090 Ti's 2.83. The AMD GPU is far more efficient, allowing you to use a PSU with a lower rating.

Nevertheless, if you're upgrading from the last generation top-end cards, namely the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT or the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti, you still might have to upgrade your PSU. That's because both these cards only require around 250 watts, which is far less than AMD's 335- and Nvidia's 450-watt requirement.

crypto coins next to mining rig

When you look at each card's price, you'll see that Nvidia charges a thousand-dollar premium over the RX 6950 XT. It's 80% more expensive than the AMD GPU and requires 25% more electricity, making it more expensive to run. But, it only delivers a paltry 5% average performance gain.

Nevertheless, actual prices usually differ from what the manufacturer suggests. Even though cryptocurrency crashes have made GPUs far more accessible and affordable than in the previous two years, they're still mighty expensive.

If you look at Newegg, you'll find the Asus TUF Gaming AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT OC Edition priced at $1,645.41, which is nearly 50% higher than suggested. However, the Asus TUF Gaming Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 Ti OC Edition is now available at $1,949.99—$50 less than SRP. The crypto crashes probably brought this price drop, so let's hope the RX 6950 XT's price follows soon.

Nevertheless, looking at current prices, the 3090 Ti is still 18% more expensive than the 6950 XT, which is still a disappointment considering it only gives 5% more FPS.

Is 5% Worth $900?

The massive price difference between AMD and Nvidia makes the 6950 XT the sensible choice. But if you have an unlimited budget and only want the best, you should go for the 3090 Ti. Its massive memory advantage will give the best possible performance, especially as we get screens with 8K resolution and more.

Nevertheless, when you're only working with a specific budget and want to get other expensive parts and peripherals, the 6950 XT is definitely more than enough for most gamers' needs.