Radeon RX 6900 XT vs Radeon RX 6800 XT

Speed and memory

In our performance index the Radeon RX 6900 XT scores 52 and the Radeon RX 6800 XT scores 48, which makes the Radeon RX 6900 XT about 8% faster. That is a small gap, below what most people notice without a frame counter.

Both cards have 16 GB of video memory, so memory will not separate them.

In our estimates for popular games at 1080p on High, the biggest gap is in Cyberpunk 2077 (130 against 121 fps), and the smallest is in Red Dead Redemption 2 (168 against 157 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 6900 XT is rated at 300 W and the Radeon RX 6800 XT at 300 W. With a mid-range processor that means a power supply of about 750 W for the first and 750 W for the second. The power draw is close enough that cooling and noise will be similar.

At launch the Radeon RX 6900 XT cost $999 and the Radeon RX 6800 XT $649. Per dollar, the Radeon RX 6800 XT gave more performance (7.4 points per $100 against 5.2). Current prices differ, so run the same sum on what you can actually buy today.

Which one to buy

Choose the Radeon RX 6900 XT 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 Radeon RX 6800 XT if the price gap matters more than the 8% speed difference. Whichever you pick, check reviews for the games you play, because two cards with similar scores can differ in individual titles.