AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT will give RTX 3090 big problems — here's the proof

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New specs and benchmarks could lead to big problems for Nvidia

Radeon RX 6800 XT
(Image credit: AMD)

In a console launch year that saw the debut of the PS5 and Xbox Series X, PC gamers are still having a great go of things as well. Case in point: both Nvidia and AMD's next-gen releases are formidable releases of their own that offer gamers plenty of choice and flexibility when it comes to outfitting their gaming PCs with the best equipment possible. 

However, while Nvidia has been sitting pretty for some time as one of the most capable contenders in this arena, things appear to be turning on their head a bit. AMD looks to be gaining some ground on Nvidia with the simple act of overclocking in terms of a performance boost that could outshine Nvidia's line of GPUs. 

Thanks to a since-deleted tweet and accompanying screenshot from Twitter user @OneRaichu, we've learned that the Radeon RX 6800 XT was previously demonstrated to clock speeds beyond 2.5 GHz, which is well past its projected 2.25 GHz. Additionally, the power draw was listed at much less the card's projected 300W specification. 

@OneRaichu cheekily instructed users to ignore the image after deleting it, but these numbers arrive very close to what the Nvidia RTX 3090 is capable of. In fact, with stats like these, it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility for the AMD card to best Nvidia's flagship when put to the test. 

This isn't the first leak we've seen that's indicated how the RX 6800 could end up besting additional cards, such as the RTX 3070. A previous note from Twitter user @PJ_Lab_UH showed the RX 6800 serving up a score of 16,775 in the 3DMark TimeSpy benchmark, which ends up beating the RTX 3070 by a considerable amount. 

The leaked image shows the RX 6800 being tested in a machine utilizing an AMD Ryzen 5 3500X. This means that the RX 6800 is capable of potentially besting the RTX 3070 in several ways as well, despite being a much cheaper, affordable card at just $499. It's still a bit early on to see exactly how things stack up between the two brands, but early leaks appear to indicate some easy competition forming. 

The battle for supremacy between AMD and Nvidia seems to be heating up to quite the healthy temperature. It's an exciting thing to see, especially for PC gamers starved for choice. Of course, we have to take leaks with a grain of salt at the onset, but these dynamics could well change the way things play out for those building PCs. We’ll know more when the AMD GPU hits the market. 

Brittany Vincent
Brittany Vincent

Brittany Vincent has been covering video games and tech for over 13 years for publications including Tom's Guide, MTV, Rolling Stone, CNN, Popular Science, Playboy, IGN, GamesRadar, Polygon, Kotaku, Maxim, and more. She's also appeared as a panelist at video game conventions like PAX East and PAX West and has coordinated social media for companies like CNET. When she's not writing or gaming, she's looking for the next great visual novel in the vein of Saya no Uta. You can follow her on Twitter @MolotovCupcake.