AMD Radeon 8060S vs NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile Comparison

The NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile and the AMD Radeon 8060S represent two distinct approaches to mobile graphics, separated by roughly four years of silicon evolution. The recorded data shows the AMD part winning both shared benchmark tests, with a 6.5% advantage in Geekbench OpenCL and a 24% advantage in Geekbench Vulkan. These are not marginal differences; the Vulkan gap in particular indicates a substantial shift in raw compute capability between the two generations. The RTX A3000 Mobile, built on the older Ampere architecture, still holds its own in the broader database rankings, sitting at the 91st percentile among all GPUs, while the Radeon 8060S sits at the 87th percentile. That apparent contradiction, a lower percentile despite winning the head-to-head, is explained by the averaging method used in the database, which includes a wider set of workloads for the AMD part, including a demanding DirectX 12 test that pulls its average down.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two GPUs share only two recorded benchmark results: Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan. In both, the AMD Radeon 8060S comes out ahead. The OpenCL result, 84,626 for the AMD part against 79,091 for the NVIDIA part, translates to a 6.5% deficit for the RTX A3000 Mobile. This is a moderate gap, consistent with the difference in FP32 throughput between the two, where the AMD part reaches 14.85 TFLOPS against 10.08 TFLOPS for the NVIDIA part. The Vulkan result is far more decisive: 80,483 for the AMD part against 61,189 for the NVIDIA part, a 24% deficit for the older NVIDIA chip. A gap of this size in a low-level graphics API suggests that the architectural differences, not just clock speeds, are doing significant work. The Radeon 8060S boosts to 2900 MHz, more than double the 1230 MHz boost of the RTX A3000 Mobile, and that frequency advantage compounds across its 160 texture mapping units and 64 raster output pipelines.

Looking at the nearest rivals in the database helps contextualize these scores. The RTX A3000 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 70,140, which places it 0.2% above the NVIDIA Quadro P6000 (69,986), 0.4% above the AMD Radeon Pro WX 8200 (69,870), and 1.7% above the NVIDIA CMP 90HX (69,000). The only rival it trails is the AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE, which sits 1% higher at 70,829. These are all close scores, indicating that the RTX A3000 Mobile is firmly in a competitive midrange tier. The Radeon 8060S, by contrast, has an average benchmark score of 55,757, which places it 0.1% above the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (55,698), 1.7% above the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (54,828), and 2.8% above the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 (54,247), while trailing the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 by 0.6% (56,083). The gap between the two GPUs' average scores, 70,140 versus 55,757, is explained by the inclusion of the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test for the Radeon 8060S, where it scores 2,162. That test is not recorded for the RTX A3000 Mobile, so the averages are not directly comparable across the two products.

In the shared tests, the pattern is clear. The AMD part wins both, and the margin grows substantially in the Vulkan workload. The OpenCL result shows a 6.5% gap, which is meaningful but not overwhelming; the Vulkan result shows a 24% gap, which is a dominant performance differential. For any application that relies on Vulkan for rendering or compute, the Radeon 8060S is the clear choice based on the recorded data. For OpenCL workloads, the AMD part still wins, but the margin is smaller, suggesting that the NVIDIA architecture remains relatively competitive in that API.

The Verdict

The data points to different buyers for each product. The AMD Radeon 8060S is the faster GPU in every shared benchmark, and it does so while consuming less power, with a TDP of 55 W against 70 W for the NVIDIA part. It also uses a newer 4 nm process from TSMC, compared to the 8 nm Samsung node used by the RTX A3000 Mobile. For users who prioritize raw performance in OpenCL and Vulkan workloads, the Radeon 8060S is the stronger choice. Its 24% lead in Vulkan is the single largest performance margin recorded between the two, and that alone justifies a preference for the AMD part in Vulkan-based applications.

The NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile, however, still has a role. Its average benchmark score of 70,140 is higher than the Radeon 8060S's 55,757, and it ranks at the 91st percentile among all GPUs, four points higher than the AMD part's 87th percentile. This suggests that the RTX A3000 Mobile performs better across a broader range of workloads, even if it loses the two tests where both were measured. The NVIDIA part also has dedicated tensor cores, 128 of them, which the Radeon 8060S lacks entirely. For workloads that leverage tensor core acceleration, the RTX A3000 Mobile has a structural advantage that no amount of raw FP32 throughput can overcome. The RTX A3000 Mobile also has 4,096 shading units against 2,560 for the AMD part, and 128 texture mapping units against 160, though the AMD part's higher clocks compensate in texturing throughput.

Production status is another differentiator. The RTX A3000 Mobile is end-of-life, released in April 2021, while the Radeon 8060S is active, released in January 2025. For new system designs, the Radeon 8060S is the only one of the two that is still in production. The RTX A3000 Mobile is a legacy product, and its successor, Ada-MW, has already been listed in the database. The Radeon 8060S has no successor listed, indicating it is still the current part in its lineup.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on fundamentally different architectures. The NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile uses the Ampere architecture, specifically the GA104 chip, manufactured on an 8 nm process at Samsung. The AMD Radeon 8060S uses the RDNA 3.5 architecture, specifically the Strix Halo chip, manufactured on a 4 nm process at TSMC. The process node difference is substantial: 8 nm versus 4 nm, which explains the Radeon 8060S's ability to reach a 2900 MHz boost clock while maintaining a lower 55 W TDP, compared to the 1230 MHz boost clock and 70 W TDP of the RTX A3000 Mobile.

The transistor counts tell a different story. The RTX A3000 Mobile packs 17,400 million transistors into a 392 mm² die, giving it a transistor density of 44.4 million per square millimeter. The Radeon 8060S has an unknown transistor count but a smaller die at 308 mm². The NVIDIA part has more shading units (4,096 versus 2,560) and more tensor cores (128 versus none), while the AMD part has more texture mapping units (160 versus 128) and more ray tracing cores (40 versus 32). Both have 64 raster output pipelines.

Memory architecture is another major divergence. The RTX A3000 Mobile has a dedicated 6 GB GDDR6 memory pool on a 192-bit bus, delivering 264.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Radeon 8060S uses system shared memory, with the size, type, bus width, and bandwidth all listed as system dependent. This is a fundamental difference in design philosophy. A dedicated memory pool guarantees bandwidth, while shared memory allows flexibility but ties performance to the system's memory configuration. The RTX A3000 Mobile's memory clock is listed as 1375 MHz, with 11 Gbps effective, while the Radeon 8060S has no dedicated memory clock. For applications that are sensitive to memory bandwidth, the RTX A3000 Mobile's fixed 264.0 GB/s is a known quantity; the Radeon 8060S's bandwidth cannot be quantified from the database, as it depends entirely on the host system.

The bus interfaces also differ. The RTX A3000 Mobile uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while the Radeon 8060S uses PCIe 5.0 x16. The newer interface offers higher theoretical bandwidth, though the practical impact depends on the workload and the system's other components. Both GPUs support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so there is no difference in API compatibility at the feature level. Both are listed as having portable device dependent display outputs, and both have no power connectors, meaning they draw their power entirely from the slot or the system's integrated design.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in Vulkan workloads?

A: The AMD Radeon 8060S, with a Geekbench Vulkan score of 80,483 against 61,189 for the NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile, a 24% advantage.

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile, with an average score of 70,140 against 55,757 for the AMD Radeon 8060S. The NVIDIA part also ranks at the 91st percentile among all GPUs, compared to the 87th percentile for the AMD part.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon 8060S have tensor cores?

A: No. The database lists no tensor cores for the AMD Radeon 8060S. The NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile has 128 tensor cores.

Q: What is the memory configuration of each GPU?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile has 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 264.0 GB/s bandwidth. The AMD Radeon 8060S uses system shared memory, with size, type, bus width, and bandwidth all dependent on the host system.

Q: Which GPU is more power efficient?

A: The AMD Radeon 8060S has a TDP of 55 W, compared to 70 W for the NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile, while delivering higher performance in the shared benchmarks.

Q: Are both GPUs still in production?

A: No. The AMD Radeon 8060S is listed as active, released in January 2025. The NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile is listed as end-of-life, released in April 2021, with its successor listed as Ada-MW.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon 8060S wins in the two recorded head-to-head benchmarks: Geekbench OpenCL by 6.5% and Geekbench Vulkan by 24%. It also wins on process node (4 nm versus 8 nm), on boost clock (2900 MHz versus 1230 MHz), on texture mapping units (160 versus 128), on ray tracing cores (40 versus 32), on FP32 throughput (14.85 TFLOPS versus 10.08 TFLOPS), on pixel rate (185.6 GPixel/s versus 78.72 GPixel/s), on texture rate (464.0 GTexel/s versus 157.4 GTexel/s), on PCIe interface (PCIe 5.0 x16 versus PCIe 4.0 x16), and on power efficiency (55 W versus 70 W TDP). For any scenario where these metrics matter, particularly Vulkan-based rendering or compute, the Radeon 8060S is the stronger performer.

The NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile wins on shading units (4,096 versus 2,560), on tensor cores (128 versus none), on dedicated memory (6 GB GDDR6 versus system shared), on transistor count (17,400 million versus unknown), on die size (392 mm² versus 308 mm²), on average benchmark score (70,140 versus 55,757), and on percentile ranking (91st versus 87th). It also has a fixed memory bandwidth of 264.0 GB/s, whereas the Radeon 8060S's bandwidth is system dependent. For users who need tensor core acceleration, dedicated video memory, or a GPU that performs consistently across a wide variety of workloads, the RTX A3000 Mobile has advantages that the benchmark scores do not fully capture.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every recorded specification. The RTX A3000 Mobile uses the GA104 chip on an 8 nm Samsung process, while the Radeon 8060S uses the Strix Halo chip on a 4 nm TSMC process. The RTX A3000 Mobile has 17,400 million transistors on a 392 mm² die, while the Radeon 8060S has an unknown transistor count on a 308 mm² die. Clock speeds differ sharply: the RTX A3000 Mobile runs at 600 MHz base and 1230 MHz boost, while the Radeon 8060S runs at 1295 MHz base and 2900 MHz boost. The RTX A3000 Mobile has 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus with 264.0 GB/s bandwidth; the Radeon 8060S uses system shared memory with system dependent bandwidth. Shading units are 4,096 for NVIDIA versus 2,560 for AMD; texture mapping units are 128 for NVIDIA versus 160 for AMD; both have 64 ROPs. Ray tracing cores are 32 for NVIDIA versus 40 for AMD; tensor cores are 128 for NVIDIA and none for AMD. Pixel rate is 78.72 GPixel/s for NVIDIA versus 185.6 GPixel/s for AMD; texture rate is 157.4 GTexel/s for NVIDIA versus 464.0 GTexel/s for AMD; FP32 is 10.08 TFLOPS for NVIDIA versus 14.85 TFLOPS for AMD. TDP is 70 W for NVIDIA versus 55 W for AMD. The RTX A3000 Mobile uses PCIe 4.0 x16; the Radeon 8060S uses PCIe 5.0 x16. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The RTX A3000 Mobile is end-of-life with a successor listed as Ada-MW; the Radeon 8060S is active with no successor listed.