AMD Radeon RX 6800 (XT) and 6900 XT presented : Test |CUP | Specs |Config

tl;dr: AMD has officially presented the Radeon RX 6800, RX 6800 XT and RX 6900 XT with 16 GB each. According to the manufacturer, all three graphics cards based on RDNA-2 technology compete with Nvidia’s amp generation up to the flagship GeForce RTX 3090. Details on key technical data, architecture, prices and dates.

It’s been seven years since AMD was able to compete with Nvidia’s high-end graphics cards. At the end of 2013 this was the case with the Radeon R9 290X (test) based on the Hawaii GPU. Since then, AMD has only finished second – sometimes close, sometimes clear. That should change in 2020 just in time for Christmas. The means to an end: Radeon RX 6800, 6800 XT and 6900 XT with 16 GB memory each based on the Navi-21-GPU with RDNA-2 architecture.

AMD had already indicated weeks ago that one of the graphics cards should also be able to compete with the GeForce RTX 3080. With today’s presentation of the Radeon RX 6000 series, it is now clear: Even the GeForce RTX 3090 should not be safe, because the Radeon RX 6900 XT was not yet used for AMD’s teaser at the beginning of October. And the GeForce RTX 3070 also has an adversary.

What is hidden behind the three graphics cards with Navi-21 GPU, the editors clarify in the following sections. The second page of the report gives the first details on the RDNA2 architecture and provides a preliminary assessment. It is based on the information previously made available by AMD under NDA; ComputerBase has not yet had contact with one of the new graphics cards.

Radeon RX 6800, 6800 XT and 6900 XT

The smallest model in the new series for the time being is the Radeon RX 6800, which is said to beat the officially US $ 499 GeForce RTX 3070 (test) for $ 579. The Radeon RX 6800 XT is said to duel with the officially US $ 699 GeForce RTX 3080 for US $ 649, and the Radeon RX 6900 XT is said to compete with the US $ 1,499 GeForce RTX 3090 for US $ 999. The Radeon RX 6800 series should be on the market punctually on November 18th, the Radeon RX 6900 XT will follow a little later on December 8th.

AMD has made a whole series of benchmark results available for all three models and details the systems used, their configurations and settings in the games. Nonetheless, it remains manufacturer benchmarks, which usually (and understandably) point out positive results and withhold not so positive ones. Until the publication of independent tests, no final judgment should be made about the series.

Die Radeon RX 6800 im Detail

The Radeon RX 6800 uses 60 active compute units and thus 3,840 shader units. The game clock is specified with 1,815 MHz, the boost clock with a maximum of 2,105 MHz. The graphics card has a 128 MB Infinity Cache – details on the 2nd page – and a 16 GB GDDR6 memory, which is equipped with 16 Gbps modules that clock accordingly at 8,000 MHz. The total board power is 250 watts (GeForce RTX 3070: 220 watts).

AMD mentions the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti as an opponent for the Radeon RX 6800 in its own documents, but the future competitor is the GeForce RTX 3070, which is equally fast on average.AMD’s benchmarks show at least one tie in Ultra HD and WQHD, but mostly one proper leadership. It is noticeable that the lead of the Radeon RX 6800 is larger in 2,560 × 1,440 than in 3,840 × 2,160.

It should also be noted that the benchmarks of the Radeon RX 6800 including the new “Smart Access Memory” feature were carried out, which can improve performance in conjunction with a Ryzen 5000 CPU (details on page 2).

Die Radeon RX 6800 XT im Detail

The Radeon RX 6800 XT relies on a total of 72 compute units and thus 4,608 FP32-ALUs. The game clock is 2,015 MHz, the maximum boost clock is a high 2,250 MHz. The Radeon RX 6800 XT also has a 128 MB Infinity Cache and a 16 GB GDDR6 memory with 16 Gbps. The TBP increases to 300 watts (GeForce RTX 3080: 320 watts).

AMD puts the Radeon RX 6800 XT directly against the GeForce RTX 3080 and shows a tie with the Nvidia graphics card in its own benchmarks in Ultra HD: The Radeon RX 6800 XT works a little faster in 4 games, in three 3 there is roughly one In a draw and in 3 other games, the GeForce RTX 3080 is just ahead.

In WQHD, the game then leans in favor of the AMD graphics card. The Radeon RX 6800 takes over the helm in most games in this resolution and rarely has to admit defeat to the GeForce RTX 3080.

Die Radeon RX 6900 XT im Detail

The Radeon RX 6900 XT as AMD’s new flagship graphics card relies on the full 80 compute units and thus 5,120 shader units. The game clock is 2,015 MHz and the boost clock is up to 2,250 MHz, so that the clock rates are identical to the Radeon RX 6800 XT. Even the fastest graphics card is supported by 16 GB of memory (16 Gbps) and a 128 MB Infinity Cache. In addition, AMD does not increase the TBP, it remains at 300 watts. The graphics card in the data sheet can only draw additional power from the additional 8 compute units and only if they do not exceed the power budget of 300 watts. If the clock is identical, this is only possible with selected chips that work with less voltage.

In the benchmarks, AMD compares the Radeon RX 6900 XT with the GeForce RTX 3090 in Ultra HD, but the AMD graphics card again uses Smart Access Memory and the new Rage mode – a (slight) overclocking.

In AMD’s benchmarks, the Radeon RX 6900 XT shows a head-to-head race with the GeForce RTX 3090: AMD is faster in some games, Nvidia in others and in some the two graphics cards are absolutely nothing. It gives the impression that the Radeon with the two new features is marginally ahead of the GeForce, without, however, not – but that is currently difficult to assess.

In sum, AMD is now promising directly with its own benchmarks: Radeon RX 6800, 6800 XT and 6900 XT should compete with GeForce RTX 3070, 3080 and 3090 and they will have to be measured against it.

2 × 8-pin power plugs with a length of 27 cm

The reference design of all three graphics cards is equipped with an almost identical cooler that offers 3 axial fans. The reference cooler of the Radeon RX 6800 is 2.0 slots wide, that of the Radeon RX 6800 XT and Radeon RX 6900 XT are 2.5 slots each. All three graphics cards are 27 cm long and use two standard 8-pin power plugs. There is still no information on cooling performance or volume. AMD recommends a power supply unit with at least 650 watts for the smallest Big Navi variant, while it should be 750 watts for the middle one and 850 watts for the flagship. It is unclear why the recommendation of the last two graphics cards is different despite the same TBP.

Navi 2X: The name says it all

AMD no longer calls the new GPU generation Navi, but Navi 2X. The name says it all: RDNA-2 products are said to be twice as fast as RDNA. AMD mentions a performance that is 1.8 × to 2.2 × better than the Radeon RX 5700 XT, but does not specify which RDNA-2 SKU it is exactly.

Technical key data at a glance

The following table compares the currently known and the still many unknown technical specifications of the Radeon RX 6800, Radeon RX 6800 XT and the Radeon RX 6900 XT with the current Radeon RX 5700 XT.

On the next page: Details of the RDNA-2 architecture and assessment