AMD sparked rivalry by releasing benchmark results that surpass the RX 7900 XTX, which surpassed NVIDIA’s RTX 4090 and RTX 4080 Super in the DeepSeek R1 test. Nvidia quickly countered AMD’s claims showing A106% advantage using the Distill Llama 8b
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Nvidia and AMD locked the horn in a heated debate about which GPUs could best handle Deepseek’s AI benchmark. The companies have released competing test results for the Deepseek R1, each claiming speed and performance advantages.
AMD’s RX 7900 XTX is pitted against NVIDIA’s high-end RTX 4090 and RTX 4080 super, with both the high-tech giants hoping to prove their hardware advantage. But beyond the performance claim, AMD’s competitiveness may ultimately lie in its pricing.
AMD launches a benchmark battle
AMD sparked a rivalry by releasing benchmark results showing the RX 7900 XTX, which outperforms NVIDIA’s RTX 4090 and RTX 4080 Super in the DeepSeek R1 test. According to AMD’s David McAfee, the RDNA3-based GPU was up to 13% faster than the RTX 4090 on certain tasks and 34% faster than the RTX 4080 Super.
In testing with the DeepSeek R1 Distille Qwen 7B, AMD’s GPU led the RTX 4090 by 13%. Other benchmarks included 11% and 2% outperforming AMD cards, such as the distill lalama 8b and the distill qwen 14b. However, Nvidia had a slight edge to the biggest task. This was distilled the Qwen 32b and the RTX 4090 was 4% ahead. Against the RTX 4080 Super, AMD’s GPUs show even greater dominance, with performance gains ranging from 22% to 34% across a variety of benchmarks.
Of course, AMD testing optimized for its own hardware is unlikely to support Nvidia’s GPUs. Given this, there is a guarantee of skepticism about the accuracy of manufacturer-released benchmarks.
Nvidia fights back
Nvidia countered the 106% advantage using AMD’s claims and the Distill Llama 8b. According to Nvidia, even the RTX 4090 had 47% more GPUs on both benchmarks than AMD.
However, as the Tech Outlet Tom hardware pointed out, various test conditions, optimizations, and driver versions can affect these results. The battle for benchmarks between businesses often includes cherry picking tests and setups that prefer their own hardware, allowing consumers to sift through competing data.
AMD’s Secret Weapon: Price
While Nvidia may boast excellent performance in its own testing, AMD has a strong selling point. The RX 7900 XTX is significantly cheaper than both the RTX 4090 and RTX 4080 Super. For many buyers, especially those who prioritize cost-effectiveness, this price advantage can outweigh the slight differences in benchmark performance.
AMD’s RDNA3 architecture and AI accelerator technology are not widely adopted in AI applications as NVIDIA’s offering, but by focusing on price performance balance, AMD can help you gain a larger share of the AI market .
As the GPU war intensifies, consumers and developers need to navigate the hype. Keep in mind that manufacturer-released benchmarks often tell only part of the story. Ultimately, factors like pricing, software compatibility, and long-term support can play just as important roles as raw performance in shaping your purchasing decision.
