Radeon RX 6800 vs GeForce RTX 3070

Speed and memory

In our performance index the Radeon RX 6800 scores 41 and the GeForce RTX 3070 scores 37, which makes the Radeon RX 6800 about 11% faster. That is a small gap, below what most people notice without a frame counter.

The Radeon RX 6800 has 16 GB of video memory and the GeForce RTX 3070 has 8 GB. That difference matters at 1440p and in new games at High textures, and it can outweigh a small speed advantage as the card ages.

In our estimates for popular games at 1080p on High, the biggest gap is in Red Dead Redemption 2 (136 against 124 fps), and the smallest is in Call of Duty (97 against 89 fps). Games that are light enough to run above 200 fps on both cards show little difference at all.

Power and value

The Radeon RX 6800 is rated at 250 W and the GeForce RTX 3070 at 220 W. With a mid-range processor that means a power supply of about 650 W for the first and 650 W for the second. The power draw is close enough that cooling and noise will be similar.

At launch the Radeon RX 6800 cost $579 and the GeForce RTX 3070 $499. Per dollar, the GeForce RTX 3070 gave more performance (7.4 points per $100 against 7.1). Current prices differ, so run the same sum on what you can actually buy today.

Which one to buy

Choose the Radeon RX 6800 if you want the faster card, and it also has at least as much memory. It makes the most sense at 1440p and above, or on a monitor with a high refresh rate.

Choose the GeForce RTX 3070 if the price gap matters more than the 11% speed difference, or if you want lower power draw and a quieter PC. Whichever you pick, check reviews for the games you play, because two cards with similar scores can differ in individual titles.