RX 7900 XTX Vs RX 6900 XT [Gaming Benchmarks 2023]

The evolution of graphics cards never stops, and it keeps potential buyers on their toes at all times. You love AMD and want to get your hands on the best the company has to offer, but so many choices are confusing you. This Radeon RX 7900 XTX Vs Radeon RX 6900 XT comparison discusses two of the best graphics cards AMD has to offer and goes deep down into their differences to help you decide which one to choose. They are AMD’s best offerings but belong to two completely different generations.  

Key Takeaways

• Radeon RX 7900 XTX was the dominant force in 4K gaming by offering 58% improved average FPS performance than Radeon RX 6900 XT.
• Radeon RX 7900 XTX is a power-hungry GPU with a TDP of 355 W and drawing an average of 56 watts more than Radeon RX 6900 XT in our 4K gaming benchmarks.
• AMD Lists the Radeon RX 7900 XTX at $999 and the Radeon RX 6900 XT at $679, but both GPUs are usually out of stock and very difficult to find on the market right now.
• Radeon RX 6900 XT is based on RDNA 2, whereas Radeon RX 7900 XTX is based on RDNA 3 and offers 2nd-gen Ray Tracing and Infinity Cache, with the addition of AI acceleration.

Comparison Table

So, there are some clear differences between the two because they were launched nearly 2 years apart and belong to two different generations. Radeon RX 7900 XTX belongs to the Navi III generation and is based on RDNA 3, whereas Radeon RX 6900 XT is based on RDNA 2 and belongs to the Navi II generation 6000 series. Radeon RX 7900 XTX has 6144 shading units and 96 RT cores compared to 5120 shading units and 80 RT cores on Radeon RX 6900 XT. Also, make sure to check out our RTX 4080 vs RX 6900 XT in case you’re wondering how this card performs against Nvidia. 

While both have GDDR6 memory, Radeon RX 7900 XTX comes with a much more improved memory bandwidth of 960 GB/s compared to only 512 GB/s memory speed of the Radeon RX 6900 XT. The newcomer in the pair also has more memory and a more improved process size i.e. 5 nm, compared to the 7 nm process size of Radeon RX 6900 XT. On the spec sheet, Radeon RX 7900 XTX is the better card, without a doubt. 

Similarities

The thing about Radeon RX 7900 XTX Vs Radeon RX 6900 XT is these two cards have more differences than they have similarities. They belong to two completely different series i.e. 6000 series vs 7000 series. Even the aspects that may seem similar on the surface are different when you look into the specifications. 

For example, you have both cards supporting GDDR6 memory, but the memory speeds are completely different, with Radeon RX 7900 XTX being much faster at 960 GB/s. The architecture is the same i.e. RDNA, but an entire generation has changed for Radeon RX 7900 XTX. So, technically, when comparing these GPUs, you are putting RDNA 2 Vs RDNA 3.

Another similarity is that they were built at the same TSMC foundry. They also support the same graphics features, such as DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, Vulkan 1.3, and Shader Model 6.7. Another thing to note is that they carry the same technologies i.e. FSR, RSR, FreeSync, Enhanced Sync, etc., but Radeon RX 7900 XTX offers the next generation of all of these technologies.

Here’s another cool RTX 4090 Vs RX 6900 guide if you’re interested in discovering how AMD’s Navi 2 architecture fairs against NVIDIA’s Ada Lovelace.

Differences

This is where things get interesting because almost everything is different between the two cards. Let’s talk about the major differences one by one. 

Architecture

RDNA is the DNA that continues to evolve, so you would expect it to become better in 2 years, which it did. It now supports better technology in every sense of the word. The process size has reduced from 7 nm to 5 nm, and the number of transistors has more than doubled from 26,800 million to 57,700 million.

The keyword here is efficiency. The newer technology is much more efficient and hence the shift to a chiplet design, which is what you get with Radeon RX 7900 XTX but not with Radeon RX 6900 XT. You might also notice that the infinity cache of 128 MB is higher on Radeon RX 6900 XT compared to 96 MB on Radeon RX 7900 XTX, but the latter carries much more improved tech and hence better (higher) L0, L1, and L2 caches. 

Data Transfer Rates

There’s a reason we’ve chosen to talk about data transfer rate because it will help us cover a lot of different aspects that have improved in Radeon RX 7900 XTX. First of all, there is an improvement in the base clock speeds that have gone from 1825 MHz on Radeon RX 6900 XT to 1855 MHz. That difference is negligible at best. 

However, when it comes to boosting the clock speeds, your Radeon RX 7900 XTX can go as high as 2499 MHz compared to only 2250 MHz on Radeon RX 6900 XT. There’s also a significant memory speed boost from 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) to 2500 MHz (20 Gbps effective), which is a 25% memory clock speed boost. 

Workload handling and data transfer rates have been boosted across the board on the new Radeon RX 7900 XTX. On Radeon RX 6900 XT, you have 256-bit memory with a bandwidth of 512 GB/s. Compare that to the 385-bit memory on Radeon RX 7900 XTX with speeds of 960 GB/s.

Rendering And Cores

Another important aspect is how well the graphics card produces great visuals on the screen. Stuttering, tearing, pixelation, etc., are some of the issues you can face while playing games using a bad GPU. The newer games are graphics-heavy, and you need lots of cores and top-notch rendering performance from your GPU to play them smoothly. 

Radeon RX 6900 XT has 5120 shading units with 80 RT cores. Of course, the crispiness and neatness of your gaming graphics also depend on rasterization and texture mapping. For that purpose, Radeon RX 6900 XT has 320 TMUs and 128 ROPs. It will be a huge upgrade if you choose to go with Radeon RX 7900 XTX. 

Firstly, it has 6144 shading units, giving Radeon RX 7900 XTX 20% more shading units. Furthermore, it has 96 RT cores, 192 ROPs, and 384 TMUs. That’s an overall upgrade over the Radeon RX 6900 XT graphics card. 

Ray Tracing, AI Acceleration, And Infinity Cache

Lastly, we have to look at the various technologies that make these cards better than each other, and the most important one here is ray tracing, which has a direct impact on how the lighting looks in your games. More RT cores give you realistic lighting inside the game, and Radeon RX 7900 XTX’s 96 cores definitely have the edge over the 80 RT cores on Radeon RX 6900 XT. 

AI acceleration allows for the filling of missing frames through machine learning, and this tech is in its infancy. However, you get it with RDNA 3 only, so you can’t expect any AI-accelerated frame generation on your Radeon RX 6900 XT. Last but not least, the L3 cache is higher on Radeon RX 6900 XT, but if you look at the overall L0, L1, and L2 configuration, Radeon RX 7900 XTX is nearly 2 times more powerful than Radeon RX 6900 XT.

Is your PC restarting while gaming or when you crank up the settings in your games? If yes, take a look at our PC Restarts While Gaming [Solved] guide and see if that solves the problem.

Radeon RX 7900 XTX Vs Radeon RX 6900 XT 4K Gaming Benchmarks

It is understandable for a graphics card that was released later to be better in terms of specifications. However, the true seal of performance can only be earned when it performs well in gaming. That’s what we are about to do. We’ll test the performance of the two cards at 4K resolution in 10 games. We’ll head over to Dracarys Gaming on YouTube for the benchmarks. Let’s take a look at their test setup before getting into the benchmarks.

Testing Rig

• CPU: Intel Core i9-13900K
• GPU 1: Radeon RX 7900 XTX
• GPU 2: Radeon RX 6900 XT
• Motherboard: ASUS ROG Maximum Z690 Hero
• Memory: TridentZ5 RGB DDR5-6000 32 GB
• PSU: Titanium Modular 1000 W
• SSD 1: WD Blue SN550 1 TB
• SSD 2: WD Blue 1 TB 3D NAND SATA
• HDD: WD Red 2 TB 7200 RPM
• OS: Windows 10 Pro

Apex Legends

• Radeon RX 7900 XTX delivered impressive FPS performance by keeping an average of 215 FPS compared to an average of 134 FPS by Radeon RX 6900 XT.
• By consistently producing more frames per second, Radeon RX 7900 XTX was 60% better than Radeon RX 6900 XT.
• Both cards consume much power, but Radeon RX 7900 XTX consumes a lot of extra watts at 312 W compared to 286 W on Radeon RX 6900 XT.
• There isn’t a big difference in temperatures, but at 68 degrees Celsius, Radeon RX 7900 XTX was 2 degrees cooler than Radeon RX 6900 XT.

Call Of Duty Warzone 2

• In this benchmark, Radeon RX 7900 XTX produced an average of 128 FPS vs 96 FPS from the Radeon RX 6900 XT, and the Low 1% and Low 0.1% were also better on Radeon RX 7900 XTX.
• The performance improvement on the Radeon RX 7900 XTX in terms of average frame production per second was slightly over 33%.
• There was a huge gap in power consumption with Radeon RX 6900 XT using only 223 W, which makes it almost 36% more efficient than RX 7900 XTX.
• Despite using much more power than Radeon RX 6900 XT, Radeon RX 7900 XTX remains at 68 degrees Celsius, which is quite impressive. 

Cyberpunk 2077

• Cyberpunk 2077 is a graphics-heavy game, and it’s clear from the fact that even Radeon RX 7900 XTX could give us only an 85 FPS average.
• Things went down further for Radeon RX 6900 XT as it was able to deliver only 46 FPS average, which is only 54% of what we’re getting from Radeon RX 7900 XTX.
• The power consumption difference is still there with Radeon RX 7900 XTX using 321 W, which is 62 Watts more than what Radeon RX 6900 XT is using. 
• Yet again, Radeon RX 7900 XTX proves to be the cooler one, with only 68 degrees on the temperature reader compared to 70 degrees on Radeon RX 6900 XT. 

F1 22

• No surprise in this test either, as the Radeon RX 6900 XT was confined to a 95 FPS average compared to an average of 160 FPS on the Radeon RX 7900 XTX.
• You get a performance boost of more than 68% from the Radeon RX 7900 XTX.
• The performance boost from Radeon RX 7900 XTX comes at a price of 316 W being used compared to 254 W used by the Radeon RX 6900 XT.
• The temperature difference of 2 degrees is negligible, but it’s noticeable that Radeon RX 7900 XTX is on the lower side. 

Forza Horizon 5

• Radeon RX 7900 XTX is passing this test with flying colors with an average of 158 FPS compared to only 86 FPS from Radeon RX 6900 XT.
• We are getting 65% faster per-second frame generation from Radeon RX 7900 XTX than from Radeon RX 6900 XT.  
• Radeon RX 6900 XT uses much less power by drawing only 254 W from the motherboard than Radeon RX 7900 XTX drawing 325 W.
• Yet again, Radeon RX 6900 XT is running only 2 degrees hotter than its rival. 

God Of War

• The performance difference is clear yet again as Radeon RX 7900 XTX delivers an average of 101 FPS, whereas Radeon RX 6900 XT manages only 70 FPS.
• Every second, you get 31 extra frames on average from Radeon RX 7900 XTX compared to its competing GPU.
• Radeon RX 6900 XT uses 62 W less power than its opponent by keeping its consumption at 264 Watts.
• Radeon RX 7900 XTX is 4 degrees cooler at 67 degrees Celsius compared to 71 degrees Celsius on Radeon RX 6900 XT. 

Red Dead Redemption 2

• Both AMD graphics cards struggled with Red Dead Redemption 2, as none could deliver an average FPS of more than 100.
• With an average of 93 FPS, Radeon RX 7900 XTX was 33% better in frame generation than Radeon RX 6900 XT.
• It’s the same story in the TDP section as Radeon RX 6900 XT remains less power-hungry by consuming 256 W compared to Radeon RX 7900 XTX’s 327 W.
• The temperature is 5 degrees Celsius lower on Radeon RX 7900 XTX, which is shocking after considering its power consumption compared to Radeon RX 6900 XT.

Spiderman

• Another huge performance gap became evident while playing Spiderman as Radeon RX 6900 XT was only able to deliver an average of 82 FPS. 
• With an average of 118 FPS, Radeon RX 7900 XTX was nearly 44% better in frame rate production than Radeon RX 6900 XT.
• The power consumption difference has reduced in this benchmark a little, but it’s still significant, with Radeon RX 7900 XTX using 51 Watts more than Radeon RX 6900 XT.
• Yet again, Radeon RX 7900 XTX surprised us by being at only 65 degrees Celsius despite using more power than Radeon RX 6900 XT, which is at 70 degrees Celsius.

The Witcher 3

• Radeon RX 7900 XTX was tremendously better than Radeon RX 6900 XT as it offered 151 FPS compared to only 89 FPS.
• We got 62 more frames every second from Radeon RX 7900 XTX, which is 70% better FPS than Radeon RX 6900 XT is giving us. 
• Power consumption is high on Radeon RX 7900 XTX’s side at 322 W compared to 267 W on Radeon RX 6900 XT’s side.
• It’s a huge shock that despite using many more watts than Radeon RX 6900 XT, Radeon RX 7900 XTX is 6 degrees cooler at only 64 degrees Celsius.

Valorant

• The performance difference between Radeon RX 7900 XTX and Radeon RX 6900 XT is day and night when we consider 215 FPS vs 134 FPS, respectively.
• Radeon RX 7900 XTX was able to deliver a 60% faster frame generation rate than Radeon RX 6900 XT.
• Surprisingly, the power consumption difference, in this case, was very small i.e. 26 Watts, with Radeon RX 7900 XTX using 26 watts more. 
• The trend continued in terms of temperature as Radeon RX 7900 XTX was at 68 degrees Celsius compared to Radeon RX 6900 XT being at 70 degrees Celsius.

Overall Gaming Performance

Now, let’s get down to the overall gaming performance of Radeon RX 7900 XTX vs Radeon RX 6900 XT. There should be no doubt or confusion about the winner in our 4K gaming benchmarks. AMD’s RX 7900 XTX has come out as the best, with consistently better performance in every game. 

The most important thing is that the performance difference was huge in just about every game. The only games where the average FPS difference shrunk a bit were Red Dead Redemption 2, God of War, Spiderman, and Call of Duty Warzone 2. 

Taking into account the average of all the games, the average FPS from Radeon RX 6900 XT was 90 FPS. On the other hand, Radeon RX 7900 XTX offered us an average of 142 FPS. So, the overall performance improvement was close to 58%. 

The smallest difference in average FPS was Red Dead Redemption 2, in which Radeon RX 7900 XTX was ahead by only 23 frames every second. The biggest difference was in Apex Legends and Valorant, wherein Radeon RX 7900 XTX was ahead by 81 FPS. Before continuing further, do check out our RTX 3080 vs RX 6900 XT comparison. 

Power Usage And Thermal Statistics

Before even looking at these statistics, it is important that you take into account the TDP of both cards on their spec sheets. AMD hasn’t attempted to prove that its new card will use less power. It is efficient, but it does require more power. 

So, when we look at TDP numbers, we find out that the TDP rating for Radeon RX 7900 XTX is 355 W whereas the same for Radeon RX 6900 XT is 300 W. So, there’s already a difference of 55 Watts between the two in terms of power consumption and they hold true to this number. 

Considering their overall power consumption average, we conclude that Radeon RX 6900 XT used 263 watts on average, whereas Radeon RX 7900 XTX used 319 watts on average. It gives us an average difference of 56 watts, which is pretty much in line with the 55 Watts difference in their manufacturer-advertised TDP ratings. 

Based on that, we can conclude that Radeon RX 6900 XT is more than 21% more efficient than Radeon RX 7900 XTX. 

In terms of thermal statistics, it was a big surprise for us as Radeon RX 7900 XTX was consistently the cooler GPU out of the two. Yes, it is true that the difference wasn’t huge, but you have to take into account that the average of 56 Watts that Radeon RX 7900 XTX consumed more than the Radeon RX 6900 XT in all our tests. 

The average temperature for Radeon RX 7900 XTX was 67 degrees Celsius. On the other hand, the average temperature for Radeon RX 6900 XT was 70 degrees Celsius. It’s a negligible difference but one that shows how efficient the new GPUs from AMD are. 

Ultimately, it is important to mention that their efficiency comes at a price. They produce less heat but consume more power to give you better gaming performance. In other words, you do have to prepare for a small bump in your electricity bill when you use Radeon RX 7900 XTX. 

If your graphics card continues to run too hot while gaming, this could significantly reduce its lifetime. Here’s our detailed guide on how to reduce GPU temperature to help you out of this situation. 

Pricing And Availability

Before you even go shopping for Radeon RX 7900 XTX, you should know that it will be quite difficult for you to get your hands on this GPU. It is hard to find it not only at Amazon but also at AMD’s own shop. You know it’ll be difficult to get your hands on a graphics card when even the manufacturer is out of stock. 

AMD lists Radeon RX 7900 XTX at $999, but it is currently out of stock at the time of writing this review. The company lists Radeon RX 6900 XT at $679. However, the big problem is that the company is out of stock for its Radeon RX 6900 XT too. 

For this reason, you will have to rely on other third-party variants that are available on Amazon. However, with some modifications and by taking advantage of the shortage of the GPU on the market, these third parties are selling Radeon RX 6900 XT at double the price listed on AMD’s website. 

For example, the Sapphire Toxic Extreme Edition on Amazon is listed at $1812. Based on these factors, it is hard to predict where you will get more value because you never know which deal you will get. 

Looking for something more affordable and pocket-friendly instead? Check out this RX 6600 XT Vs RTX 3060 comparison, and you might just find the GPU that fits your needs. 

Radeon RX 6900 XT Vs Radeon RX 7900 XTX: Which One’s For You?

There is no doubt that it’s going to be a hard one for you to decide on a variety of factors. First of all, both cards offer great value for money. While Radeon RX 6900 XT is 2 years old, it is still the king among its competitors if you are more about gaming at 1080p. 

On the other hand, Radeon RX 7900 XTX offers you a completely new architecture i.e. RDNA 3, with better ray tracing, AI acceleration, and more efficient performance. It’s hard to discuss their price difference since neither is easily available on the market, especially the stock edition from AMD. 

As a result, you have to look at the in-game performance alone but also factor in whether you are into 4K gaming right now or not. Based on our tests, Radeon RX 7900 XTX can offer you a performance boost of 58% over the Radeon RX 6900 XT in terms of FPS. It will consume more power but will remain cool. 

In other words, Radeon RX 6900 XT is the more pocket-friendly option out of the two, whereas Radeon RX 7900 XTX is the more powerful one. Now, you have to decide which one you want.