GeForce RTX 3090 vs Radeon RX 6950 XT
The Radeon RX 6950 XT is slightly ahead — leading the GeForce RTX 3090 by roughly 8% in our performance index. It also comes out ahead on value, making it the straightforward pick if the price fits your budget.
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Radeon RX 6950 XT vs GeForce RTX 3090: In-Depth Breakdown
Performance: Radeon RX 6950 XT vs GeForce RTX 3090
The Radeon RX 6950 XT is marginally faster, around 8% ahead of the GeForce RTX 3090. That gap is enough to move it up a tier: the Radeon RX 6950 XT is comfortable at 4K with upscaling and native 1440p, while the GeForce RTX 3090 is better matched to 1440p.
Price & Value
On price, expect to pay $1,237 EUR for the Radeon RX 6950 XT versus $1,849 EUR for the GeForce RTX 3090. Because it's both faster and competitively priced, the Radeon RX 6950 XT wins on performance-per-dollar by about 61%. The Radeon RX 6950 XT still sits about $138 EUR above its $1,099 EUR MSRP. The GeForce RTX 3090 still sits about $350 EUR above its $1,499 EUR MSRP.
VRAM & Future-Proofing
With 24GB against 16GB, the GeForce RTX 3090 has more headroom for 4K textures and memory-hungry creative/AI tasks where the Radeon RX 6950 XT's 16GB can fall short.
Generation & Longevity
The Radeon RX 6950 XT is roughly 2 years newer than the GeForce RTX 3090 (RDNA 2 vs Ampere), so it generally benefits from a more modern architecture and longer driver-support runway.
Features & Ecosystem
Beyond raw numbers, the GeForce RTX 3090 brings NVIDIA DLSS upscaling/frame generation and stronger ray tracing, while the Radeon RX 6950 XT offers AMD FSR upscaling and strong rasterization value. If you lean on upscaling or ray tracing, that ecosystem difference can matter as much as the frame-rate gap.
Which should you buy: GeForce RTX 3090 or Radeon RX 6950 XT?
The Radeon RX 6950 XT is the all-round winner here — it's faster and the better value, so buy it if it fits your budget. Only consider the GeForce RTX 3090 if you find it at a steep discount.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Radeon RX 6950 XT better than the GeForce RTX 3090?
Which is better for 4K gaming, the GeForce RTX 3090 or the Radeon RX 6950 XT?
Is the GeForce RTX 3090 worth the extra $612 EUR over the Radeon RX 6950 XT?
Does the GeForce RTX 3090 have enough VRAM advantage to matter?
Which should you buy: GeForce RTX 3090 or Radeon RX 6950 XT?
Technical Specifications Comparison
Architecture & Cores
| Specification | GeForce RTX 3090 | Radeon RX 6950 XT |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Ampere | RDNA 2 |
| Process Node | Samsung 8nm | TSMC N7 |
| CUDA Cores (CUDA Cores / Stream Processors) | 10,496✓ | 5,120 |
| Ray Tracing Cores | 82✓ | 80 |
| Tensor / AI Cores | 328 | — |
Clock Speeds
| Specification | GeForce RTX 3090 | Radeon RX 6950 XT |
|---|---|---|
| Base Clock | 1,395 MHz | 1,860 MHz✓ |
| Boost Clock | 1,695 MHz | 2,310 MHz✓ |
Memory
| Specification | GeForce RTX 3090 | Radeon RX 6950 XT |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM Capacity | 24 GB✓ | 16 GB |
| Memory Type | GDDR6X | GDDR6 |
| Memory Bus | 384-bit✓ | 256-bit |
| Memory Speed | 19.5 Gbps✓ | 18 Gbps |
| Bandwidth | 936 GB/s✓ | 576 GB/s |
Connectivity & Power
| Specification | GeForce RTX 3090 | Radeon RX 6950 XT |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | PCIe 4.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x16 |
| TDP | 350 W | 335 W✓ |
| Power Connectors | 1x 12-pin | 2x 8-pin |
| Released | Sep 2020 | May 2022 |
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