GeForce RTX 4090 vs Radeon RX 6850M XT

Place in performance ranking	66	1
Place by popularity	not in top-100	7
Value for money	no data	10.77
Architecture	RDNA 2 (2020−2022)	Ada Lovelace
GPU code name	Navi 22	AD102-300-A1
Market segment	Laptop	Desktop
Release date	4 January 2022 (2 years old)	20 September 2022 (1 year old)
Launch price (MSRP)	no data	$1,599
Current price	no data	$1756 (1.1x MSRP)

Value for money

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

no data

Technical specs

General performance parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. These parameters indirectly speak of performance, but for precise assessment you have to consider their benchmark and gaming test results. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores	2560	16384
Core clock speed	no data	2235 MHz
Boost clock speed	2463 MHz	2520 MHz
Number of transistors	17,200 million	76,300 million
Manufacturing process technology	7 nm	5 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	145 Watt	450 Watt
Texture fill rate	413.0	1,290

Size and compatibility

Information on Radeon RX 6850M XT and GeForce RTX 4090 compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop video cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility). For notebook video cards it's notebook size, connection slot and bus, if the video card is inserted into a slot instead of being soldered to the notebook motherboard.

Laptop size	large	no data
Interface	PCIe 4.0 x16	PCIe 4.0 x16
Length	no data	304 mm
Width	no data	3-slot
Supplementary power connectors	None	1x 16-pin

Memory

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory type	GDDR6	GDDR6X
Maximum RAM amount	12 GB	24 GB
Memory bus width	192 Bit	384 Bit
Memory clock speed	18000 MHz	21000 MHz
Memory bandwidth	384.0 GB/s	1,008 GB/s
Shared memory	-	-

Video outputs and ports

Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.

Display Connectors	No outputs	1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a
HDMI	no data	+

API support

List of supported graphics and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX	12 Ultimate (12_2)	12 Ultimate (12_2)
Shader Model	6.5	6.6
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
OpenCL	2.1	3.0
Vulkan	1.2	1.3
CUDA	no data	8.9

Synthetic benchmark performance

Non-gaming benchmark performance comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.

Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark performance score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

RX 6850M XT 45.54

RTX 4090 100.00
+120%

GeForce RTX 4090 outperforms Radeon RX 6850M XT by 120% based on our aggregated benchmark results.

Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark, part of Passmark PerformanceTest suite. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.

Benchmark coverage: 25%

RX 6850M XT 17640

RTX 4090 38733
+120%

GeForce RTX 4090 outperforms Radeon RX 6850M XT by 120% in Passmark.

3DMark 11 Performance GPU

3DMark 11 is an obsolete DirectX 11 benchmark by Futuremark. It used four tests based on two scenes, one being few submarines exploring the submerged wreck of a sunken ship, the other is an abandoned temple deep in the jungle. All the tests are heavy with volumetric lighting and tessellation, and despite being done in 1280x720 resolution, are relatively taxing. Discontinued in January 2020, 3DMark 11 is now superseded by Time Spy.

Benchmark coverage: 17%

RX 6850M XT 42016

RTX 4090 104937
+150%

GeForce RTX 4090 outperforms Radeon RX 6850M XT by 150% in 3DMark 11 Performance GPU.

3DMark Fire Strike Graphics

Fire Strike is a DirectX 11 benchmark for gaming PCs. It features two separate tests displaying a fight between a humanoid and a fiery creature made of lava. Using 1920x1080 resolution, Fire Strike shows off some realistic graphics and is quite taxing on hardware.

Benchmark coverage: 14%

RX 6850M XT 33901

RTX 4090 73174
+116%

GeForce RTX 4090 outperforms Radeon RX 6850M XT by 116% in 3DMark Fire Strike Graphics.

3DMark Cloud Gate GPU

Cloud Gate is an outdated DirectX 11 feature level 10 benchmark that was used for home PCs and basic notebooks. It displays a few scenes of some weird space teleportation device launching spaceships into unknown, using fixed resolution of 1280x720. Just like Ice Storm benchmark, it has been discontinued in January 2020 and replaced by 3DMark Night Raid.

Benchmark coverage: 14%

RX 6850M XT 172972

RTX 4090 250667
+44.9%

GeForce RTX 4090 outperforms Radeon RX 6850M XT by 45% in 3DMark Cloud Gate GPU.

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

Average FPS across all PC games

Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:

Full HD	137 −93.4%	265 +93.4%
1440p	84 −152%	212 +152%
4K	57 −163%	150 +163%

Performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077

160

−40.6%

225
+40.6%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	75−80 −205%	235 +205%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	159 −80.5%	287 +80.5%
Battlefield 5	120−130 −54.4%	190−200 +54.4%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	120−130 −42.4%	170−180 +42.4%
Cyberpunk 2077	136 −63.2%	222 +63.2%
Far Cry 5	109 −91.7%	209 +91.7%
Far Cry New Dawn	100−110 −71.2%	178 +71.2%
Forza Horizon 4	130−140 −131%	300−350 +131%
Hitman 3	193 −13.5%	210−220 +13.5%
Horizon Zero Dawn	159 −73%	275 +73%
Red Dead Redemption 2	70−75 −149%	180−190 +149%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	110−120 −156%	294 +156%
Watch Dogs: Legion	119 −58%	188 +58%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	75−80 −187%	221 +187%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	130 −90.8%	248 +90.8%
Battlefield 5	120−130 −54.4%	190−200 +54.4%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	120−130 −42.4%	170−180 +42.4%
Cyberpunk 2077	106 −102%	214 +102%
Far Cry 5	105 −91.4%	201 +91.4%
Far Cry New Dawn	100−110 −64.4%	171 +64.4%
Forza Horizon 4	130−140 −131%	300−350 +131%
Hitman 3	192 −14.1%	210−220 +14.1%
Horizon Zero Dawn	133 −88%	250 +88%
Metro Exodus	116 −94.8%	226 +94.8%
Red Dead Redemption 2	70−75 −149%	180−190 +149%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	110−120 −150%	288 +150%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	198 −189%	573 +189%
Watch Dogs: Legion	108 −60.2%	173 +60.2%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	75−80 −132%	179 +132%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	112 −96.4%	220 +96.4%
Battlefield 5	120−130 −54.4%	190−200 +54.4%
Cyberpunk 2077	87 −141%	210 +141%
Far Cry 5	102 −83.3%	187 +83.3%
Far Cry New Dawn	100−110 −48.1%	154 +48.1%
Forza Horizon 4	130−140 −131%	300−350 +131%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	122 −150%	305 +150%
Watch Dogs: Legion	83 −84.3%	153 +84.3%

1440p
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	75−80 −91%	140−150 +91%
Hitman 3	136 −56.6%	210−220 +56.6%
Horizon Zero Dawn	100 −137%	237 +137%
Metro Exodus	68 −160%	177 +160%
Red Dead Redemption 2	35−40 −145%	90−95 +145%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	70−75 −271%	271 +271%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	50−55 −210%	155 +210%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	85 −115%	183 +115%
Battlefield 5	90−95 −113%	190−200 +113%
Cyberpunk 2077	55 −180%	154 +180%
Far Cry 5	99 −87.9%	186 +87.9%
Far Cry New Dawn	80−85 −81%	152 +81%
Forza Horizon 4	95−100 −190%	280−290 +190%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	70−75 −283%	268 +283%
Watch Dogs: Legion	60 −153%	152 +153%

4K
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	40−45 −118%	95−100 +118%
Hitman 3	45−50 −167%	120−130 +167%
Horizon Zero Dawn	35−40 −392%	187 +392%
Metro Exodus	30−35 −328%	137 +328%
Red Dead Redemption 2	24−27 −156%	60−65 +156%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	35−40 −389%	186 +389%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	72 −289%	280 +289%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	30−35 −275%	120 +275%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	47 −155%	120 +155%
Battlefield 5	55−60 −143%	130−140 +143%
Cyberpunk 2077	26 −208%	80 +208%
Far Cry 5	68 −154%	173 +154%
Far Cry New Dawn	45−50 −196%	145 +196%
Forza Horizon 4	65−70 −292%	250−260 +292%
Watch Dogs: Legion	24−27 −388%	117 +388%

This is how RX 6850M XT and RTX 4090 compete in popular games:

1080p resolution:

RTX 4090 is 93.4% faster than RX 6850M XT

1440p resolution:

RTX 4090 is 152% faster than RX 6850M XT

4K resolution:

RTX 4090 is 163% faster than RX 6850M XT

Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:

in Horizon Zero Dawn, with 4K resolution and the High Preset, the RTX 4090 is 392% faster than the RX 6850M XT.

All in all, in popular games:

Without exception, RTX 4090 surpassed RX 6850M XT in all 68 of our tests.

Advantages and disadvantages

Performance score	45.54	100.00
Recency	4 January 2022	20 September 2022
Maximum RAM amount	12 GB	24 GB
Chip lithography	7 nm	5 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	145 Watt	450 Watt