Radeon RX 6950 XT vs Radeon RX 9070 XT

AMD

Radeon RX 6950 XT

2022Core: 1925 MHzBoost: 2324 MHz
RX family
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VS
AMD

Radeon RX 9070 XT

2025Core: 1660 MHzBoost: 2970 MHz
RX family
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Radeon RX 6950 XT vs Radeon RX 9070 XT Performance Spectrum

About G3D Mark

G3D Mark is a standard benchmark that measures graphics performance in real-world gaming scenarios. It simplifies comparing cards from different brands, where higher scores directly correlate with better fps and smoother gaming experiences.

Radeon RX 6950 XT vs Radeon RX 9070 XT FPS Benchmarks

Predicted gaming performance across popular games. Tested paired with Ryzen 7 9800X3D to isolate GPU performance.

Search any supported game below to compare 1080p FPS for both components.

Radeon RX 6950 XT vs Radeon RX 9070 XT: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict

See where each GPU makes more sense in practice: raw FPS, VRAM, features, power draw, pricing, and long-term headroom.

Radeon RX 6950 XT

2022

Why buy it

  • 15.5% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.

Trade-offs

  • Radeon RX 9070 XT is the safer long-term pick here because the hardware is newer and the feature stack is stronger.
  • 83.5% HIGHER MSRP
    $1,099 MSRPvs$599 MSRP
  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 25.5 vs 44.9 G3D/$ ($1,099 MSRP vs $599 MSRP).

Radeon RX 9070 XT

2025

Why buy it

  • Costs $500 less on MSRP ($599 MSRP vs $1,099 MSRP).
  • Delivers 75.9% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 44.9 vs 25.5 G3D/$ ($599 MSRP vs $1,099 MSRP).
  • Better long-term bet: RDNA 4.0 (2025) on 4nm gives it a newer hardware base for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

  • Lower average FPS than Radeon RX 6950 XT across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Radeon RX 6950 XT is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 15.5% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 4.3% in PassMark G3D (28,076 vs 26,922), so the answer here is pretty clean.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
Radeon RX 9070 XT is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: the newer feature stack, with FSR Upscaling / FSR 4 (2025) and FSR Frame Generation + AFMF 2.1 (2025) instead of FSR 3 (2023) and FSR Frame Generation + AFMF (2023), a 4nm process instead of 7nm, and a newer 2025 generation instead of 2022. That makes it the less risky pick as game demands keep moving.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
Radeon RX 9070 XT makes the most sense to buy today. It is $500 cheaper on MSRP at $599 vs $1,099, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 75.9% (44.9 vs 25.5), which is enough to swing the recommendation its way. Radeon RX 6950 XT still makes more sense if max raw gaming performance matters more than value.

Radeon RX 6950 XT vs Radeon RX 9070 XT Technical Specifications

Side-by-side specs, architecture details, clocks, memory, power, and platform differences.

AMD

Radeon RX 6950 XT

The Radeon RX 6950 XT is manufactured by AMD. It was released in May 10 2022. It features the RDNA 2.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1925 MHz to 2324 MHz. It has 5120 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 335W. Manufactured using 7 nm process technology. It features 80 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 28,076 points. Launch price was $1,099.

AMD

Radeon RX 9070 XT

The Radeon RX 9070 XT is manufactured by AMD. It was released in March 6 2025. It features the RDNA 4.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1660 MHz to 2970 MHz. It has 4096 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 304W. Manufactured using 4 nm process technology. It features 64 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 26,922 points. Launch price was $599.

Graphics Performance

The Radeon RX 6950 XT scores 28,076 and the Radeon RX 9070 XT reaches 26,922 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 4.3% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon RX 6950 XT is built on RDNA 2.0 while the Radeon RX 9070 XT uses RDNA 4.0, both on 7 nm vs 4 nm. Shader units: 5,120 (Radeon RX 6950 XT) vs 4,096 (Radeon RX 9070 XT). Raw compute: 23.8 TFLOPS (Radeon RX 6950 XT) vs 48.66 TFLOPS (Radeon RX 9070 XT). Boost clocks: 2324 MHz vs 2970 MHz. Ray tracing: 80 RT cores (Radeon RX 6950 XT) vs 64 (Radeon RX 9070 XT) vs 128.

FeatureRadeon RX 6950 XTRadeon RX 9070 XT
G3D Mark Score
28,076+4%
26,922
Architecture
RDNA 2.0
RDNA 4.0
Process Node
7 nm
4 nm
Shading Units
5120+25%
4096
Compute (TFLOPS)
23.8 TFLOPS
48.66 TFLOPS+104%
Boost Clock
2324 MHz
2970 MHz+28%
ROPs
128
128
TMUs
320+25%
256
L2 Cache
4 MB
8 MB+100%
Frame Generation
FSR 3 + AFMF
FSR Upscaling + Frame Generation + AFMF 2.1
Ray Tracing Cores
80+25%
64

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Both cards support Frame Generation, but the Radeon RX 9070 XT is on the newer stack with FSR Frame Generation + AFMF 2.1, while the Radeon RX 6950 XT stays on FSR Frame Generation + AFMF.

FeatureRadeon RX 6950 XTRadeon RX 9070 XT
Upscaling Tech
FSR 3
FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation
FSR Frame Generation + AFMF
FSR Frame Generation + AFMF 2.1
Ray Reconstruction
No
No
Low Latency
AMD Anti-Lag
AMD Anti-Lag
💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards ship with 16 GB of GDDR6. Memory bandwidth: 576 GB/s (Radeon RX 6950 XT) vs 640 GB/s (Radeon RX 9070 XT) — a 11.1% advantage for the Radeon RX 9070 XT. Memory bus width is 256-bit on the Radeon RX 6950 XT and 256-bit on the Radeon RX 9070 XT. L2 Cache: 4 MB (Radeon RX 6950 XT) vs 8 MB (Radeon RX 9070 XT) — the Radeon RX 9070 XT has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureRadeon RX 6950 XTRadeon RX 9070 XT
VRAM Capacity
16 GB
16 GB
Memory Type
GDDR6
GDDR6
Memory Bandwidth
576 GB/s
640 GB/s+11%
Bus Width
256-bit
256-bit
L2 Cache
4 MB
8 MB+100%
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 Ultimate (Radeon RX 6950 XT) vs 12 Ultimate (Radeon RX 9070 XT). Vulkan: 1.3 vs 1.4. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 4.

FeatureRadeon RX 6950 XTRadeon RX 9070 XT
DirectX
12 Ultimate
12 Ultimate
Vulkan
1.3
1.4+8%
OpenGL
4.6
4.6
Max Displays
4
4
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: RDNA 2 (Radeon RX 6950 XT) vs VCN (Enhanced) (Radeon RX 9070 XT). Decoder: RDNA 2 vs VCN (Enhanced). Supported codecs: H.264,H.265/HEVC,AV1 decode (Radeon RX 6950 XT) vs AV1,H.264,H.265,VP9 (Radeon RX 9070 XT).

FeatureRadeon RX 6950 XTRadeon RX 9070 XT
Encoder
RDNA 2
VCN (Enhanced)
Decoder
RDNA 2
VCN (Enhanced)
Codecs
H.264,H.265/HEVC,AV1 decode
AV1,H.264,H.265,VP9
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon RX 6950 XT draws 335W versus the Radeon RX 9070 XT's 304W — a 9.7% difference. The Radeon RX 9070 XT is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 850W (Radeon RX 6950 XT) vs 750W (Radeon RX 9070 XT). Power connectors: 2x 8-pin vs 2x 8-pin. Card length: 267mm vs 288mm, occupying 3 vs 3 slots. Typical load temperature: 83°C vs 75°C.

FeatureRadeon RX 6950 XTRadeon RX 9070 XT
TDP
335W
304W-9%
Recommended PSU
850W
750W-12%
Power Connector
2x 8-pin
2x 8-pin
Length
267mm
288mm
Height
120mm
120mm
Slots
3
3
Temp (Load)
83°C
75°C-10%
Perf/Watt
83.8
88.6+6%
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the Radeon RX 6950 XT came in at $1099, while the Radeon RX 9070 XT launched at $599. On MSRP, Radeon RX 9070 XT was 45.5% cheaper ($500 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 25.5 (Radeon RX 6950 XT) vs 44.9 (Radeon RX 9070 XT) — the Radeon RX 9070 XT offers 76.1% better value. The newer card here is Radeon RX 9070 XT (2025 vs 2022).

FeatureRadeon RX 6950 XTRadeon RX 9070 XT
MSRP
$1099
$599-45%
Performance per Dollar
25.5
44.9+76%
Codename
Navi 21
Navi 48
Release
May 10 2022
March 6 2025
Ranking
#25
#31

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