AMD Radeon 780M vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The recorded benchmark data paints a lopsided picture: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 wins all three head-to-head tests, with no victories recorded for the AMD Radeon 780M. That said, the two products occupy entirely different performance classes, and the data shows a clear use-case split rather than a close contest.

The Radeon 780M is an integrated graphics processor built for Phoenix-based systems. Its 15 W TDP and IGP slot width mean it targets thin-and-light laptops, compact desktops, and systems where a discrete card is physically impossible. It does not have a dedicated memory bus; it uses System Shared memory, and its bandwidth is listed as System Dependent. The data indicates this is a part designed for everyday graphics, light gaming, and media tasks within a power envelope that a CPU package can tolerate.

The RTX 2060, by contrast, is a full discrete add-in board. Its 160 W TDP, dual-slot cooler, and 8-pin power connector require a desktop chassis with a proper power supply. The recorded specifications show 6 GB of dedicated GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, which gives it a fixed 336.0 GB/s bandwidth regardless of the host system. This is a card built for 1080p gaming, ray tracing workloads, and content creation that needs consistent, dedicated memory performance.

The benchmark wins reflect this split. In 3DMark Steel Nomad (DX12), the RTX 2060 scores 1242 versus 480 for the 780M, a delta of -61.4% from the 780M's perspective. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 2060 hits 65014 against 18602, a 71.4% gap. In Geekbench Vulkan, the RTX 2060 reaches 65846 versus 33683, a 48.8% difference. Every recorded test favors the discrete card, and by wide margins.

However, the 780M has its own strengths in the database. Its average benchmark score across all recorded tests is 17588, which places it at the 61st percentile of all GPUs. That is slightly ahead of the RTX 2060's average of 15290 (58th percentile), but this includes different test suites. The 780M's Geekbench scores, while lower than the RTX 2060, are still respectable for an integrated part. The real story is not that the 780M is weak, but that the RTX 2060 is a different class of hardware with dedicated resources.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations and manufacturing processes. The Radeon 780M uses the Phoenix chip, built on RDNA 3.0 architecture, fabricated by TSMC on a 4 nm process. It integrates 25,390 million transistors on a 178 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 142.6 million per square millimeter. This is a modern, dense design meant to fit alongside a CPU in a single package.

The RTX 2060 uses the TU106 chip, based on Turing architecture, also from TSMC but on a 12 nm process. It has 10,800 million transistors on a 445 mm² die, giving a transistor density of just 24.3 million per square millimeter. The older process and larger die mean the RTX 2060 is physically much bigger and less dense, but it compensates with a dedicated memory subsystem and far more execution units.

Core counts differ substantially. The 780M has 768 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. It also includes 12 ray tracing cores, which is notable for an iGPU. The RTX 2060 has 1920 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 48 ROPs, plus 30 ray tracing cores and 240 tensor cores. The shading unit advantage (1920 versus 768) directly explains the RTX 2060's higher raw compute throughput in most workloads.

Clock speeds tell a different story. The 780M has a base clock of 800 MHz and a boost of 2900 MHz, which is very high for an integrated part. The RTX 2060 runs at a base of 1365 MHz and a boost of 1680 MHz, significantly lower clocks. Despite the lower clocks, the RTX 2060's larger execution resource pool wins out. The 780M's peak FP32 throughput is 8.909 TFLOPS, while the RTX 2060 delivers 6.451 TFLOPS. The iGPU actually has higher raw FP32, but the RTX 2060 counters with 12.90 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1 ratio) versus the 780M's 8.909 TFLOPS FP16 (1:1).

Memory architecture is the biggest differentiator. The 780M uses System Shared memory with a System Shared bus, meaning its bandwidth depends entirely on the host system's RAM configuration. The RTX 2060 has 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, providing a fixed 336.0 GB/s. This dedicated memory bandwidth is critical for gaming and compute tasks that cannot rely on shared system memory.

Other differences: the 780M uses PCIe 4.0 x8, while the RTX 2060 uses PCIe 3.0 x16. The 780M's display outputs are motherboard dependent, while the RTX 2060 has 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, 2x DisplayPort 1.4a, and 1x USB Type-C. The RTX 2060 is dual-slot, 229 mm long, 113 mm tall, and 35 mm wide, while the 780M is an IGP with no separate dimensions.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records three direct comparisons between these two GPUs, and the RTX 2060 wins all of them. The largest margin comes in Geekbench OpenCL, where the RTX 2060 scores 65014 against the 780M's 18602. That is a delta of -71.4% from the 780M's perspective, meaning the RTX 2060 is roughly 3.5 times faster in this compute test. OpenCL workloads often favor the card with more shading units and dedicated memory, which explains the massive gap.

In 3DMark Steel Nomad (DX12), the RTX 2060 scores 1242 versus 480, a delta of -61.4%. This is a modern DX12 benchmark that stresses geometry, ray tracing, and memory bandwidth. The RTX 2060's 30 ray tracing cores and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth give it a decisive edge. The 780M's 12 ray tracing cores and shared memory cannot keep pace.

The closest margin is Geekbench Vulkan, where the RTX 2060 scores 65846 against 33683, a delta of -48.8%. Vulkan is a lower-overhead API, and the 780M's high boost clock of 2900 MHz helps it close the gap somewhat. Still, the RTX 2060 ends up roughly twice as fast in this test.

Looking at the 780M's broader benchmark profile, its Geekbench Vulkan score of 33683 is its best recorded result, while its 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 480 is its weakest. The RTX 2060's best recorded score is its Geekbench Vulkan result of 65846, and its weakest is the Passmark DirectX 12 score of 53 (a legacy test that does not reflect modern workloads). The RTX 2060 also records Passmark G3D of 14111 and Passmark GPU Compute of 5488, tests that the 780M does not have entries for.

The percentile data puts the 780M at 61st versus the RTX 2060's 58th, but this is misleading in a head-to-head context. The 780M's average score of 17588 comes from only three benchmark entries, while the RTX 2060's average of 15290 comes from ten entries including several Passmark tests that pull its average down. When comparing the three common tests, the RTX 2060 is clearly the faster part.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon 780M has an average benchmark score of 17588, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 has 15290. However, this average includes different test suites. In the three tests both GPUs share, the RTX 2060 wins every one.

Q: How much faster is the RTX 2060 in 3DMark Steel Nomad?

A: The RTX 2060 scores 1242 versus the 780M's 480, a delta of -61.4% from the 780M's perspective. The RTX 2060 is more than 2.5 times faster in this DX12 test.

Q: Does the 780M have any ray tracing capability?

A: Yes, the Radeon 780M includes 12 ray tracing cores. The RTX 2060 has 30 ray tracing cores and also includes 240 tensor cores, which the 780M does not have.

Q: What memory configuration does each GPU use?

A: The Radeon 780M uses System Shared memory with a System Shared bus and System Dependent bandwidth. The RTX 2060 has 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus with 336.0 GB/s fixed bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU has a higher boost clock?

A: The Radeon 780M boosts to 2900 MHz, while the RTX 2060 boosts to 1680 MHz. Despite the higher clock, the 780M's fewer shading units (768 versus 1920) result in lower performance in the recorded benchmarks.

Q: What is the production status of each GPU?

A: The Radeon 780M is listed as Active, while the RTX 2060 is listed as End-of-life. The RTX 2060 launched on 2019-01-06, and the 780M launched on 2024-01-30.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is the faster GPU in every recorded head-to-head benchmark. It wins 3DMark Steel Nomad by 61.4%, Geekbench OpenCL by 71.4%, and Geekbench Vulkan by 48.8%. If performance is the sole criterion, the RTX 2060 is the clear choice.

However, the choice is not purely about performance. The 780M is an integrated processor with a 15 W TDP and no separate power connectors, making it suitable for systems where a discrete card cannot fit. It has a higher boost clock (2900 MHz versus 1680 MHz), higher FP32 throughput (8.909 TFLOPS versus 6.451 TFLOPS), and a much smaller die (178 mm² versus 445 mm²) on a newer 4 nm process. It also has a transistor density of 142.6 million per square millimeter versus 24.3 million for the RTX 2060.

The RTX 2060 requires a 160 W TDP, a 450 W suggested PSU, and a dual-slot cooler. It is 229 mm long and has a 1x 8-pin power connector. This makes it a desktop-only part, while the 780M works in any platform with a Phoenix chip.

For a desktop user with a power supply and chassis space, the RTX 2060 is the better performer. Its 6 GB of GDDR6 memory and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth provide consistent performance that the 780M's shared memory cannot match. For an ultraportable or compact system where a discrete card is impossible, the 780M is the only viable option, and its 61st percentile ranking shows it is a capable integrated solution.

The RTX 2060 also has the advantage of tensor cores (240) for AI workloads, which the 780M lacks entirely. The 780M counters with a higher Vulkan score relative to its other results, indicating the API favors its architecture. Ultimately, the RTX 2060 wins on raw performance, while the 780M wins on integration and efficiency.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon 780M | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 |

|----------------|-----------------|-------------------------|

| Architecture | RDNA 3.0 | Turing |

| Process Node | 4 nm | 12 nm |

| Transistors | 25,390 million | 10,800 million |

| Die Size | 178 mm² | 445 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 142.6M / mm² | 24.3M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 800 MHz | 1365 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2900 MHz | 1680 MHz |

| Memory Size | System Shared | 6 GB |

| Memory Type | System Shared | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus | System Shared | 192 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | System Dependent | 336.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 768 | 1920 |

| TMUs | 48 | 120 |

| ROPs | 32 | 48 |

| RT Cores | 12 | 30 |

| Tensor Cores | None | 240 |

| FP32 Performance | 8.909 TFLOPS | 6.451 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 8.909 TFLOPS (1:1) | 12.90 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| Pixel Rate | 92.80 GPixel/s | 80.64 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 139.2 GTexel/s | 201.6 GTexel/s |

| TDP | 15 W | 160 W |

| Slot Width | IGP | Dual-slot |

| Power Connectors | None | 1x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | None | 450 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x8 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | Motherboard Dependent | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, 2x DisplayPort 1.4a, 1x USB Type-C |

| Dimensions | None | 229 mm x 113 mm x 35 mm |

| Production Status | Active | End-of-life |

| Release Date | 2024-01-30 | 2019-01-06 |

| Launch MSRP | None | 349 USD |