NVIDIA and AMD have locked horns in a heated debate over which GPUs can best handle DeepSeek’s AI benchmarks. Both companies have released competing test results for DeepSeek R1, each claiming dominance in speed and performance.
AMD’s RX 7900 XTX has been pitted against NVIDIA’s high-end RTX 4090 and RTX 4080 Super, with both tech giants eager to prove their hardware superiority. However, beyond performance claims, AMD’s competitive edge may lie in its pricing.
AMD kicks off the benchmark battle
AMD sparked the rivalry by releasing benchmark results that showed its RX 7900 XTX outpacing NVIDIA’s RTX 4090 and RTX 4080 Super in DeepSeek R1 tests. According to AMD’s David McAfee, their RDNA3-based GPU was up to 13 percent faster than the RTX 4090 and 34 percent faster than the RTX 4080 Super in certain tasks.
In DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 7B tests, AMD’s GPU maintained a 13 percent lead over the RTX 4090. Other benchmarks, such as Distill Llama 8B and Distill Qwen 14B, saw AMD’s card outperform by 11 percent and 2 percent, respectively. However, NVIDIA did have a slight edge in the most significant task, Distill Qwen 32B, where the RTX 4090 led by 4 percent. Against the RTX 4080 Super, AMD’s GPU showed even greater dominance, with performance boosts ranging from 22 percent to 34 percent across various benchmarks.
Of course, AMD’s tests, optimized for its own hardware, are unlikely to favor NVIDIA’s GPUs. Given this, skepticism around the accuracy of manufacturer-released benchmarks is warranted.
NVIDIA strikes back
NVIDIA was quick to counter AMD’s claims and gained a 106 percent advantage using Distill Llama 8B. According to NVIDIA, even the RTX 4090 outperformed AMD’s GPU by 47 percent in both benchmarks.
However, as tech outlet Tom’s Hardware noted, different test conditions, optimizations, and driver versions can influence these results. Benchmark battles between companies often involve cherry-picking tests and setups that favor their hardware, leaving consumers to sift through the conflicting data.
AMD’s secret weapon: Price
While NVIDIA may boast superior performance in its tests, AMD has a strong selling point: affordability. The RX 7900 XTX is significantly cheaper than the RTX 4090 and RTX 4080 Super. This price advantage may outweigh slight differences in benchmark performance for many buyers, especially those prioritizing cost efficiency.
Although AMD’s RDNA3 architecture and AI Accelerator technology are not as widely adopted in AI applications as NVIDIA’s offerings, the growing focus on price-performance balance could help AMD capture a larger share of the AI market.
As the GPU wars rage on, consumers and developers must navigate the hype, considering that manufacturer-released benchmarks often tell only part of the story. Factors like pricing, software compatibility, and long-term support may be as crucial as raw performance in shaping purchasing decisions.
