AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT Review (with benchmark)

Welcome to AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT Review made by our colleagues, with a benchmark for the masses.

The strongest trump card in the hands of Radeon RDNA2 technology is ready to fight with Nvidia GeForce. The brutal power of the most powerful Navi 21 XTX processor is felt at every step. You have to have a particularly strong processor and a high-resolution screen to even get a sense of the maximum range of this graphics card.

The AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT is currently the most powerful version of the Radeon 6000 series of graphics cards based on the RDNA2 architecture. That is why it bears the unofficial name “Big NAVI” since it uses the strongest version of the Navi 21 XTX graphics processor.

It is known from the examples of previous Radeon RX 6800 and RX 6800 XT models that AMD with the Navi 21 generation has made a huge step forward in terms of performance compared to the first generation of RDNA graphics cards. With the release of the Radeon RX 6900 XT model, AMD has after a long time posed a direct challenge to Nvidia GeForce competition in the class of fastest gaming GPU models.

That’s why it is unofficially nicknamed the “killer” of N graphics cards with an obvious association to GeForce models.

Are they up to the challenge?

AMD rolled up its sleeves and set up a new RDNA2 architecture based on the success of the previous one, RDNA. The goal was to double the number of executive units, limit energy consumption and increase the operating frequency by as much as 30% while maintaining the same level of consumption.

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The second direction of improving the RDNA 2 architecture went in the direction of improving the internal cache mechanism, in order to minimize the inactivity of executive units, and thus make the graphics processor more efficient in terms of executing even more instructions.

AMD RADEON RX 6900 XT – FEATURES

Visually, the Radeon RX 6900 XT is almost identical to the Radeon RX 6800 XT model, except that it has a stronger graphics processor, ie a version with full specifications. Navi 21 XTX uses a complete arsenal of 80 (CU) computing units, which allows it a huge computing power and is also the main performance engine of this unusual graphics card.

This map is quite large at 27 cm in length, 12 cm in height, while it is about 6 cm thick. Due to the massive cooler system and 3 fans, it takes up 2.5 PCI slots in the case.

The printed circuit board is literally shielded with a metal body that is made entirely of aluminum alloy and anodized details in black and metallic color with red ornaments. At the top of the map’s armor is the usual LED red Radeon logo, the lighting of which can be changed with the help of appropriate software.

It is made in 14 layers of special “epoxy” materials that can withstand very high temperatures before the deformation. Interestingly, 2 ounces of copper are used in the production of 4 layers to improve the characteristics of the electrical signals. The graphics card has a 16-phase, digitally controlled unit for powering the graphics processor and video memory. Such a complex VRM unit is necessary for situations where the GPU can draw 300W of electricity.

It may seem like a lot, but wait until you see the detailed specifications of the GPU. Radeon RX 6900 XT is based on a GPU solution with 80 computing units that have a total of 5120 “stream” processors, 80 Ray accelerators, 320 texture processing units, and 128 processors for final rendering.

The GPU operates at a base frequency of 1825 MHz. The typical frequency during the gaming operating scenario is 2015 MHz while in turbo mode it raises the processor clock to a maximum of 2250 MHz. This power supply is powered by two 8-pin PCIe connectors and AMD’s recommendation is to use a power supply with a nominal output power of 850W.

Given this number of executive units, the Radeon RX 6900 XT uses 16 GB of GDDR6 memory that communicates with the graphics processor via a 256-bit wide bus. 128 MB of ultra-fast Infinity cache memory provides additional help for higher data transfer, so this solution is realistic at the level of performance of graphics cards that use 384-bit GDDR6X video memory configuration.

Since this is a top-performance model, special attention is paid to the cooling system. Radeon RX 6900XT model uses a cooler with a steam chamber that rests directly on the surface of the GPU is used.

It works on the principle of a cycle of alternating correction and condensation of liquid, which thus moves closed in the cavities of the walls of the steam chamber in the form of a single metal plate, absorbing heat from the surface of the GPU processor and emitting it evenly to the entire body.

For more efficient heat transfer instead of the usual ones, a special thermal interface is used to transfer heat from the graphics processor to the card cooler as efficiently as possible. With conductivity characteristics of 25-45W / mK, this solution is far better than even the best thermal pastes. The whole process of heat transfer to the environment is accelerated by three axial fans with a diameter of 8 cm. This is a big change from the previous generation that used a single centrifugal type of fan.

The AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT sends an image to the monitor via two DisplayPort connectors with 1.4 DSC specifications. Then one HDMI 2.1 and one USB-C connector. This configuration of connections enables the achievement of high values of vertical refresh in combination with high resolutions. By using two DisplayPort 1.4 DSC connectors connected by two cables, it allows the display of 8K resolution when refreshing by 120 Hz!

The card has a processor for processing media content and hardware encoding and decoding of H.264 and H.265 / HEVC formats. Hardware decodes VP9 and the new AV1 format, significantly freeing up CPU resources.

AMD RADEON RX 6900 XT – PERFORMANCE

TEST SYSTEM

FORTNITE ( 3D RESOLUTION 100%, PERFORMANCE API )

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APEX LEGENDS (HIGH)

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GEARS 5 ( ULTRA )

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1080p Ray Tracing ( Battlefield V, Ultra, DXR, NvDLSS )
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Creative Content ( Adobe Premiere Pro 2020 – Big Buck Bunny 4K Encoding )
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POWER CONSUMPTION

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AMD RADEON RX 6900 XT – CONCLUSION

The AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT has succeeded in throwing a glove of challenge into the face of the most powerful GeForce RTX 30 Ampere models. This is especially true for work in classic DirectX 11 and 12 titles. Slightly less favorable is in the situation with games that use Ray Tracing optimization with special reference to the DLSS function as the main generator of performance in this demanding mode.

In these situations, Nvidia Geforce has an undoubted advantage, but one should not underestimate the importance of AMD, which also works with software companies to support the RDNA2 architecture, which in the titles adapted to the new Radeon 6000 series models record impressive performance.

In fact, the situation is getting better, as evidenced by the release of the latest updates for DIRT 5 and Cyberpunk 2077, which with the last 1.2 patch got Ray Tracing capability on AMD Navi 21 graphics card models

Basically, while we wait for the alternative technology that will compete with Nvidia DLSS, which AMD promises by the end of the year, the impression remains that the Radeon RX 6900 XT is an extremely dangerous opponent of GeForce RTX 30 models even the strongest ones like RTX 3080 and RTX 3090 graphics cards. AMD RX 6900 XT is an even more interesting choice due to the lower price of the Nvidia Ampere model.

In any case, the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT is a wickedly good and expensive card that is as rare as endemic species in times of cryptocurrency mining hysteria. Who knows, maybe you will “catch” one, and then there is no end to happiness…

ADVANTAGES:
– Raw power,
– 16GB VRAM,
– Brutal gaming performance
– Extremely high refresh rates

DISADVANTAGES:
– High price
– Consumption and heating
– You need the strongest CPU for max performance