Radeon RX 5700 vs Radeon RX 6800
The Radeon RX 6800 pulls ahead here — in a different league, about 107% ahead of the Radeon RX 5700. But the Radeon RX 5700 is the better value, undercutting it by $329 USD for the performance you get.
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Comparable or lower specs
Radeon RX 6800 vs Radeon RX 5700: In-Depth Breakdown
Performance: Radeon RX 6800 vs Radeon RX 5700
The Radeon RX 6800 is dramatically faster, around 107% ahead of the Radeon RX 5700. That gap is enough to move it up a tier: the Radeon RX 6800 is comfortable at 1440p, while the Radeon RX 5700 is better matched to 1080p. The Radeon RX 6800 packs 3,840 stream processors versus 2,304 on the Radeon RX 5700.
Price & Value
Pricing has the Radeon RX 5700 at $170 USD, $329 USD under the Radeon RX 6800's $499 USD. Despite being slower, the Radeon RX 5700 offers the better performance-per-dollar (~42% better value), so budget-focused buyers should weigh it carefully. The Radeon RX 5700 is trading below its $349 USD MSRP — a genuine deal. The Radeon RX 6800 is trading below its $579 USD MSRP — a genuine deal.
Power & Efficiency
At 180W vs 250W, the Radeon RX 5700 is the gentler load on your system. The Radeon RX 6800's extra power draw buys more performance per watt, not just more heat — worth it if your PSU has the headroom. Its more modern RDNA 2 architecture on a TSMC N7 process is part of why it does more with each watt.
VRAM & Future-Proofing
The Radeon RX 6800 carries 16GB versus 8GB on the Radeon RX 5700. The extra 8GB helps at 4K, with high-resolution texture packs, and for content-creation or local-AI workloads that exhaust smaller buffers. The Radeon RX 6800's memory is also faster — 512 GB/s versus 448 GB/s — which helps feed the GPU at 4K and with heavy textures.
Which should you buy: Radeon RX 5700 or Radeon RX 6800?
Choose the Radeon RX 6800 if you want the most performance and can absorb the higher price. If you're optimizing for value, the Radeon RX 5700 stretches your money further for only slightly lower performance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Radeon RX 6800 better than the Radeon RX 5700?
Which is better for 4K gaming, the Radeon RX 5700 or the Radeon RX 6800?
Is the Radeon RX 6800 worth the extra $329 USD over the Radeon RX 5700?
Does the Radeon RX 6800 have enough VRAM advantage to matter?
Which should you buy: Radeon RX 5700 or Radeon RX 6800?
Technical Specifications Comparison
Architecture & Cores
| Specification | Radeon RX 5700 | Radeon RX 6800 |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | RDNA | RDNA 2 |
| Process Node | TSMC N7 | TSMC N7 |
| CUDA Cores (Stream Processors / Stream Processors) | 2,304 | 3,840✓ |
| Ray Tracing Cores | — | 60 |
Clock Speeds
| Specification | Radeon RX 5700 | Radeon RX 6800 |
|---|---|---|
| Base Clock | 1,465 MHz | 1,700 MHz✓ |
| Boost Clock | 1,725 MHz | 2,105 MHz✓ |
Memory
| Specification | Radeon RX 5700 | Radeon RX 6800 |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM Capacity | 8 GB | 16 GB✓ |
| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR6 |
| Memory Bus | 256-bit | 256-bit |
| Memory Speed | 14 Gbps | 16 Gbps✓ |
| Bandwidth | 448 GB/s | 512 GB/s✓ |
Connectivity & Power
| Specification | Radeon RX 5700 | Radeon RX 6800 |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | PCIe 4.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x16 |
| TDP | 180 W✓ | 250 W |
| Power Connectors | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin | 2x 8-pin |
| Released | Jul 2019 | Nov 2020 |
