NVIDIA RTX 4080 vs AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT
Side-by-side local AI comparison — VRAM, memory bandwidth, model compatibility, and estimated tokens per second across 70 open-weight models.
Quick verdict
NVIDIA RTX 4080 wins for local AI inference. It has 40% more memory bandwidth, runs 41 models natively (vs 41), and exclusively fits 0 models the other cannot. Note: NVIDIA RTX 4080 uses CUDA while AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT uses ROCM — software ecosystem matters for your framework.
Specs comparison
| Spec | NVIDIA RTX 4080 | AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM | 16 GB | 16 GB |
| Memory type | GDDR6X | GDDR6 |
| Bandwidth | 717 GB/s(+40%) | 512 GB/s |
| Architecture | Ada Lovelace | RDNA 2 |
| Backend | CUDA | ROCM |
| Tier | Consumer | Consumer |
| Released | 2022 | 2020 |
| Models (native) | 41 | 41 |
Estimated tokens per second
Computed from memory bandwidth and model active-parameter weight. Assumes model fits natively in VRAM.
| Model | NVIDIA RTX 4080 | AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT | Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Llama 3.3 70B Instruct(70B) | — | — | — |
| Qwen 3.6 27B(27B) | 66.4 t/s(Q3_K_M) | 47.4 t/s(Q3_K_M) | +40% |
| Llama 3.1 8B Instruct(8B) | 89.6 t/s(Q8) | 64 t/s(Q8) | +40% |
| Qwen 2.5 7B Instruct(7.6B) | 94.3 t/s(Q8) | 67.4 t/s(Q8) | +40% |
Delta is NVIDIA RTX 4080 relative to AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT.
Only NVIDIA RTX 4080 can run(0)
No exclusive models — AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT can run everything NVIDIA RTX 4080 can.
Only AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT can run(0)
No exclusive models — NVIDIA RTX 4080 can run everything AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT can.
Both run natively(41)
These models fit in VRAM on both GPUs. Bandwidth determines which runs them faster.
- Qwen 3.5 35B-A3B (MoE)876.3 t/svs625.8 t/s
- Qwen 3.6 35B68.3 t/svs48.8 t/s
- Yi 1.5 34B Chat69.5 t/svs49.6 t/s
- Qwen3 32B72.9 t/svs52 t/s
- Qwen 2.5 32B Instruct73.5 t/svs52.5 t/s
- Qwen 2.5 Coder 32B Instruct73.5 t/svs52.5 t/s
- DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 32B73.5 t/svs52.5 t/s
- Nemotron 3 Nano 30B657.2 t/svs469.3 t/s
- Gemma 4 31B77.1 t/svs55.1 t/s
- Qwen3 30B-A3B (MoE)657.2 t/svs469.3 t/s
- Gemma 2 27B Instruct87.9 t/svs62.7 t/s
- Gemma 3 27B Instruct66.4 t/svs47.4 t/s
- Qwen 3.6 27B66.4 t/svs47.4 t/s
- Gemma 4 26B (MoE)518.9 t/svs370.5 t/s
- Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct59.8 t/svs42.7 t/s
- Mistral Small 22B64.6 t/svs46.1 t/s
- +25 more on both
Which should you choose?
- • Faster token generation is the priority
- • You rely on CUDA-based tools (PyTorch, vLLM, Ollama)
- • You want the newer architecture and longer driver support lifecycle
Frequently asked questions
- Which is better for local AI, the NVIDIA RTX 4080 or AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT?
- For local AI inference, the NVIDIA RTX 4080 has the edge. It offers 16 GB VRAM (vs 16 GB) and 717 GB/s bandwidth (vs 512 GB/s), letting it run 41 models natively in VRAM vs 41 for its rival.
- How much VRAM does the NVIDIA RTX 4080 have vs the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT?
- The NVIDIA RTX 4080 has 16 GB of GDDR6X at 717 GB/s. The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT has 16 GB of GDDR6 at 512 GB/s. Both GPUs have the same VRAM amount; bandwidth determines which generates tokens faster.
- Can the NVIDIA RTX 4080 run Llama 3.3 70B?
- The NVIDIA RTX 4080 can run Llama 3.3 70B with CPU offload at Q3_K_M, but at reduced speed.
- Can the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT run Llama 3.3 70B?
- The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT can run Llama 3.3 70B with CPU offload at Q3_K_M, but at reduced speed.
- What is the difference between the NVIDIA RTX 4080 and AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT for AI?
- The key difference for AI inference is VRAM and memory bandwidth. The NVIDIA RTX 4080 has 16 GB VRAM at 717 GB/s (CUDA backend). The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT has 16 GB VRAM at 512 GB/s (ROCM backend). VRAM determines which models fit; bandwidth determines tokens per second. The NVIDIA RTX 4080 runs 41 models natively vs 41 for the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT.