Explore the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT price, specs, and benchmark performance for 1440p and 4K gaming.
An important introduction to the high-end graphics card market was the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT. As AMD’s flagship, it was designed to directly compete with NVIDIA’s top-tier products, especially the GeForce RTX 3090, by bringing significant architectural advancements and delivering strong 4K gaming performance.
RDNA 2 Architecture
The AMD, RDNA 2 Architecture was a major advancement. Compared to RDNA 1, it not only improved performance per watt but also marked the first time AMD’s graphics card portfolio supported real-time ray tracing. AMD’s solution to bandwidth constraints, Infinity Cache, was introduced for the first time in this generation. AMD installed a fast 128MB cache, which significantly lowers latency and increases effective memory bandwidth, in place of widening the memory bus, which raises power and cost.
The addition of Smart Access Memory (SAM) is yet another important advancement. SAM provides the CPU complete access to the GPU’s memory when used with a suitable Ryzen processor and a motherboard from the 500 series, increasing performance by up to 10% to 15% in some games.
Gaming Performance: A 4K and 1440p Champion
The RX 6900 XT continues to deliver outstanding performance in a variety of games even in 2024. On maximum settings, it easily achieves triple-digit frame rates in the majority of contemporary games at 1440p. The card continues to run smoothly at 4K, frequently averaging between 60 and 90 frames per second, depending on the game.
Let’s examine actual averages in a few well-known titles:
- Cyberpunk 2077: ~87 frames per second (1440p Ultra, without ray tracing)
- ~85 frames per second in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (4K Ultra)
- ~70 frames per second in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (4K Ultra)
- ~100 frames per second in Red Dead Redemption 2 (1440p Ultra)
- ~92 frames per second in Forza Horizon 5 (4K Extreme)
The RX 6900 XT frequently equals or surpasses the RTX 3080 and sporadically comes close to the RTX 3090 in conventional rasterisation workloads. AMD still trails behind in ray tracing tasks, though. Ray tracing can be handled by the RX 6900 XT when used sparingly, however in order to keep watchable frame rates at high resolutions like 4K, it must be enabled at the expense of other settings or AMD’s FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR).
FidelityFX Super Resolution and Ray Tracing
AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution counters NVIDIA’s DLSS. FSR 2.0 and 3.0 improved visual quality and performance, although FSR 1.0 was less impressive. Because it supports a greater variety of GPUs, including older Radeon and NVIDIA cards, FSR is also more adaptable.
However, the RX 6900 XT’s ray tracing still has a flaw. Although real-time ray tracing is technically supported by the card, its performance is inferior to that of NVIDIA’s RTX series. When ray tracing is enabled, games like Control and Cyberpunk 2077 run far more slowly than cards with dedicated RT cores and Tensor cores, such the RTX 3080 or 4080.
Power Efficiency and Cooling
The RX 6900 XT consumes more power than mid-range GPUs at 300W TBP, yet it is incredibly effective for its performance class. Triple-fan cooling systems with huge heatsinks are used in the majority of custom designs, such as those from Sapphire, ASUS, or PowerColor. Compared to other high-end GPUs, these cards usually operate quietly and maintain temperatures below 75°C even under heavy loads.
Even though it operates a little warmer and noisier while under load, the AMD standard design likewise does fairly well. Its robust, simple design and triple-fan axial configuration make it look well in any build.
Software Features
One of the better GPU control panels available now is AMD’s Adrenalin Software Suite. Performance monitoring, gaming profiles, overclocking, and streaming are built-in. Radeon Boost, Chill, and Anti-Lag let gamers manage input latency and performance.
AMD’s integrated game capture and streaming software, ReLive, is one special advantage. It’s simple and doesn’t need OBS unless you need further customisation.
Who Should Buy the RX 6900 XT?
Gamers seeking top-tier performance in 1440p and 4K without having to pay for more expensive newer models
- Smart Access Memory is available to Ryzen CPU users.
- Budget-conscious builders seeking premium power from the secondary sector
- Gamers that desire a high raw frame rate but do not priorities ray tracing
AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT Benchmark
Benchmark results for the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT in a number of important synthetic and gaming performance scenarios. These benchmarks reflect performance at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K resolutions and are based on average test results from several independent .
1080p Ultra Settings
| Game | Average FPS | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 82 FPS | Without RT/FSR |
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 149 FPS | Extremely smooth |
| Call of Duty: MW II | 180+ FPS | High eSports performance |
| Far Cry 6 | 142 FPS | AMD-optimized game |
| Assassin’s Creed Valhalla | 128 FPS | Excellent performance |
| Hogwarts Legacy | 95 FPS | Smooth gameplay, FSR helps further |
| The Witcher 3 (Next-Gen) | 110 FPS | No RT |
The RX 6900 XT manages everything at extreme settings with high frames per second at 1080p, which frequently makes it excessive for 60Hz screens.
1440p Ultra Settings
| Game | Average FPS | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 65 FPS | Without FSR or RT |
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 97 FPS | Smooth experience |
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 125 FPS | Flawless at this resolution |
| Doom Eternal | 230+ FPS | Uses Vulkan well |
| Assassin’s Creed Valhalla | 108 FPS | Still strong lead over RTX 3080 here |
| Resident Evil 4 Remake | 115 FPS | DX12 optimized |
The RX 6900 XT’s sweet spot is 1440p, which allows it to reliably produce good frame rates at ultra settings in all contemporary games.
4K Ultra Settings
| Game | Average FPS | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 40–45 FPS | Playable, better with FSR |
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 67 FPS | Smooth, very playable |
| Assassin’s Creed Valhalla | 78 FPS | Excellent showing |
| Horizon Forbidden West (PC) | 75 FPS | With FSR 2.1 |
| Forza Horizon 5 | 110 FPS | AMD-favored, runs beautifully |
| Doom Eternal | 165+ FPS | 4K ultra with no issues |
The performance of Ray Tracing is inferior to that of RTX 3080/3090. When possible, use FSR 2.0 or 2.1 to enhance performance.
Ray Tracing Benchmarks (No FSR)
| Game | 1440p RT On | 4K RT On |
|---|---|---|
| Control | ~50 FPS | ~35 FPS |
| Cyberpunk 2077 | ~40 FPS | ~28 FPS |
| Metro Exodus EE | ~45 FPS | ~30 FPS |
| Hitman 3 | ~80 FPS | ~60 FPS |
| Resident Evil Village | ~95 FPS | ~70 FPS |
Synthetic Benchmarks
| Benchmark | RX 6900 XT Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 3DMark Time Spy (Graphics) | ~19,500 | Beats RTX 3080 |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Ultra | ~12,000 | Strong DX11 performance |
| Unigine Superposition 4K | ~9,800 | Decent raw performance |
| Blender BMW Render (OpenCL) | ~200 seconds | Better than older AMD GPUs, slower than CUDA cards |
| Geekbench 5 OpenCL | ~160,000 | Strong GPGPU compute |
Performance vs NVIDIA
| Comparison | Result |
|---|---|
| RX 6900 XT vs RTX 3080 | +5% faster in rasterized 1440p/1080p gaming |
| RX 6900 XT vs RTX 3090 | ~5–10% slower overall, especially in ray tracing |
| RX 6900 XT vs RTX 4070 Ti | Competitive, often beats in traditional rendering |
| RX 6900 XT vs RX 7900 XT | ~20–30% slower depending on game/RT use |
AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT Price
At $999 USD, the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT was a flagship graphics card. Nevertheless, because it is a card from a prior generation, its current price is might vary greatly, mostly based on whether you are shopping for a new or used one.
In conclusion
Despite being a few years old, the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT is still a powerful graphics card. It is significantly more reasonably priced in the current market and provides flagship-level gaming performance, a large amount of VRAM, and remarkably low power consumption. The RX 6900 XT is a great option for those upgrading from previous 10 or 20-series cards or building a strong gaming PC on a budget.
Few GPUs can match the 6900 XT’s sheer value and performance balance, even though newer models like the RX 7900 XT and RTX 4070 Ti have already been released, especially if you get it at today’s reduced prices.
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