AMD Radeon vs NVIDIA GeForce - The Best Gaming Graphics Cards in 2021 Compared

Basically, when buying a video card, gamers are guided by test results and technical specifications. But some people, other things being equal, look at the design of devices. In this regard, the two graphics adapters we have chosen at first seem comparable to each other. In particular, both of them have LED backlighting. This means that these models will look perfect in a gaming PC with a glass door.

The difference between the two video cards lies in their size. Both models take up three expansion slots, which may scare someone. But the product from AMD is almost 4 cm longer. Therefore, before buying, you should clarify whether the video card will fit in the case. Will it be interfered with, for example, drives. By the way, the length also affected the weight - the device from NVIDIA is about 500 g lighter.

Note that both video cards with such dimensions and weight require a bracket for support. Fortunately, this additional item is included in the kit. Palit also included a power adapter in the box.

In both devices, the video chip is made according to a similar technical process.The difference is only 1 nm, it can be ignored. However, the technologies used are different. On paper, the numbers look better with the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT. Even its nominal frequency reaches 2125 MHz. And ASRock overclocked this parameter to 2475 MHz! The video card also has 80 RT cores, thanks to which ray tracing is implemented. This is also a very good number.

As for the graphics adapter from NVIDIA, it loses a lot in this regard. The nominal frequency of its video chip reaches only 1440 MHz. And even overclocking did not allow us to get any closer to the competitor, which you can see from the table above. And if you play in 4K resolution, then it is possible that you will have to turn off ray tracing, since the device only includes 68 RT cores. However, the problem is solved by activating DLSS technology. But we will talk about this separately.

Many gamers are still looking first at how much video memory the graphics adapter received, and only then - at all other characteristics. In this case, Radeon can be considered a clear winner. This adapter includes 16 GB of memory. Someone may be confused by the 256-bit bus width, due to which the throughput is only 512 GB / s. However, there is nothing wrong with this.The 128-megabyte on-chip cache saves, which compensates for the effect of the narrow bus.

As for the video adapter from NVIDIA, it has only 10 GB of memory, but it belongs to the GDDR6X type. On paper, the bus also looks great, having received almost the maximum throughput. However, in practice, the effect of all this can be seen only in some games, and only when they run in 4K resolution. However, this can also be said about the memory embedded in an AMD video card - not every game is capable of spending more than 10 GB, and not in all conditions. Therefore, both devices received approximately equal marks.

In this comparison, we are talking about gaming graphics cards. However, this does not mean that they will not be used for some other purposes. If you regularly shoot and edit video in 4K resolution, then it is important for you to know the number of shader processors. In the case of NVIDIA, they are also called CUDA cores.

As you can see from the table above, the AMD product is not the best for video editing. The competitor offers one and a half times more cores that work with the video stream. Unsurprisingly, rendering takes less time when using NVIDIA. This is confirmed by various tests that are easily found on the Internet.

Both video cards are equipped with an excellent cooling system, consisting of massive heat pipes and three fans. Measurements show that in both cases, heat dissipation occurs as efficiently as possible. On an open bench, GeForce warmed up to 80°C, and Radeon - up to 73°C. Quite acceptable. There is no doubt that failures due to overheating are definitely excluded.

It is also important how noisy the coolers are. In this regard, there are no complaints about the products either. Most often, their turnover is 40-50% of the limit value. The noise level in this case does not exceed 39 dB. If the computer case is closed, then when you play, you definitely won’t hear anything. And only if you turn off the sound, a quiet buzzing becomes noticeable. This applies to both video cards, there is not much difference between them. But this does not mean that they are the quietest. These can only be called models with a water block.

Just look at the additional power connectors, as it becomes clear that the NVIDIA video card will consume less electricity in games. It uses two 8-pin sockets. The manufacturer himself claims that the maximum consumption of his creation is 320-350 watts. As a result, the video card can be used in tandem with a 750 W power supply, especially if the motherboard has a not very appetizing processor.

As for the graphics adapter from ASRock and AMD, it receives power from three 8-pin connectors. Not surprisingly, the manufacturer recommends connecting it to a 1000-watt power supply. We think this is a serious shortcoming. However, if you could afford such an expensive video card, then you may have a different opinion.

Despite the fact that video cards have appeared on sale quite recently, and miners are constantly buying them up, journalists managed to conduct many tests. We already talked about the degree of heating and noise level above, but now it's time to talk about the frame rate achieved in different games.

These graphics adapters should only be used in conjunction with a 4K monitor or a compatible TV. That's why we've listed the average frame rates for games running at 4K resolution in the table. You need to understand that for Full HD or even 1440p, this power is excessive - the naked eye simply will not notice the difference between two video cards.

If you do not mess around with ray tracing, then Radeon outperforms its competitor in almost all games. Somewhere the difference is 5 frames / s, and somewhere more.But you need to understand that NVIDIA allows you to activate DLSS technology, and then this video card will break ahead. In a word, we can safely say that the competitors are approximately equal.

Both video cards require serious financial investments. At least now, when there is a shortage of semiconductors, buying up by miners and the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

AMD still has to dump. This is due to the fact that video cards from NVIDIA, other things being equal, look more interesting due to more advanced software. Yes, and with ray tracing, products under the Radeon brand are still doing worse. If this is important to you, then it makes sense to overpay. If not, 40 thousand rubles are not lying on the road.

Surprisingly, both cards received almost the same average score. This is due to the fact that NVIDIA outperforms its competitor in some ways, while AMD outperforms it in others.

It should be understood that the video card from Palit and NVIDIA will offer many additional features, such as creating panoramic screenshots. Another undoubted advantage of this model is a slightly reduced power consumption. If you buy a Radeon, then you will also need an expensive power supply with at least 1000 watts. But the savings will still be decent.