AMD Radeon 860M vs AMD Radeon RX 9070 Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The recorded data paints a clear picture: the AMD Radeon RX 9070 dominates both shared benchmark tests, leaving the AMD Radeon 860M without a single victory in the head-to-head comparison. This is not a close contest, but the nature of the wins matters as much as the margin. The RX 9070 wins in compute-oriented workloads and in graphics API performance, which suggests it handles both raw number crunching and rendering tasks with substantially more headroom.

The Radeon 860M, by contrast, is an integrated graphics processor designed for portable devices. Its wins are not in raw performance but in efficiency and integration. It carries a 15 W TDP versus the RX 9070's 220 W, and it requires no power connectors at all. The 860M's "System Shared" memory approach means it draws from the host system's RAM, whereas the RX 9070 has its own dedicated 16 GB GDDR6 pool. For a user on a thin-and-light laptop, the 860M is the only realistic option of the two, not because it benchmarks higher, but because it exists in a completely different power and physical envelope.

The benchmark data shows the RX 9070 sits at the 69th percentile of all GPUs in the database, while the 860M ranks at the 72nd percentile. This is a curious inversion: the integrated chip has a higher percentile ranking despite losing every direct comparison. The explanation lies in the average benchmark scores. The 860M's average score is 26,401, while the RX 9070's average is 23,877. The RX 9070's average is dragged down by its Passmark DirectX 9, 10, 11, and 12 scores, which are unusually low (343, 141, 281, and 74 respectively). These legacy API tests likely do not reflect the card's modern capabilities, and they distort its overall standing. The 860M only has two Geekbench results, both of which are solidly mid-range, so its percentile is higher despite lower absolute peak performance in the shared tests.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations. The Radeon 860M is built on RDNA 3.5, uses the Krackan Point chip, and belongs to the Navi III IGP generation for Strix Point Mobile. The Radeon RX 9070 is built on RDNA 4.0, uses the Navi 48 chip, and belongs to the Navi IV generation in the RX 9000 series. Both are manufactured on a 4 nm process at TSMC, so the underlying transistor technology is identical, but the designs diverge sharply from there.

The RX 9070 has 3,584 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 128 render output units. The 860M has 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. That is a 7x difference in shader count, a 7x difference in TMUs, and an 8x difference in ROPs. The RX 9070 also carries 56 ray tracing cores versus the 860M's 8, a 7x gap. Neither chip has tensor cores listed, which keeps the comparison clean on that front.

The memory subsystem is where the gap becomes existential. The 860M shares system memory with the host CPU, with bandwidth described as "System Dependent." The RX 9070 has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth. The 860M's memory bandwidth is not fixed, it depends entirely on the laptop's RAM configuration, but it cannot approach a dedicated GDDR6 implementation. This explains why the RX 9070's pixel rate is 322.6 GPixel/s versus the 860M's 48.00 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 564.5 GTexel/s versus 96.00 GTexel/s.

The clock behavior is also notable. The 860M has a base clock of 600 MHz and a boost of 3000 MHz, a 5x boost range. The RX 9070 has a base of 1330 MHz, a game clock of 2070 MHz, and a boost of 2520 MHz. The 860M's boost clock is actually higher than the RX 9070's, but with far fewer cores and shared memory, that high boost cannot translate into competitive throughput. The FP32 performance tells the story: 3.072 TFLOPS for the 860M versus 36.13 TFLOPS for the RX 9070, an 11.8x difference. FP16 is identical to FP32 on both cards at a 1:1 ratio.

The RX 9070 uses a PCIe 5.0 x16 interface, while the 860M uses PCIe 4.0 x8. The RX 9070 needs dual-slot cooling and two 8-pin power connectors, with a suggested 550 W power supply. The 860M is an IGP with no slot width, no power connectors, and no suggested PSU. Transistor counts differ wildly: the RX 9070 has 53,900 million transistors on a 357 mm² die, with a density of 151.0M per mm². The 860M's transistor count and die size are listed as unknown.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The Geekbench OpenCL test is the largest single gap in the comparison. The RX 9070 scores 131,539, while the 860M scores 22,759. The delta is -82.7%, meaning the 860M trails by that margin. In absolute terms, the RX 9070 is roughly 5.8 times faster in this compute workload. OpenCL exercises general-purpose GPU compute, so this result reflects the massive difference in shading units, memory bandwidth, and raw FP32 throughput. The 860M's 3.072 TFLOPS simply cannot compete with 36.13 TFLOPS in a workload that scales with shader count.

The Geekbench Vulkan test is closer in relative terms but still a decisive win for the RX 9070. The RX 9070 scores 58,705, and the 860M scores 30,043. The delta is -48.8%, meaning the 860M is roughly half as fast in this graphics API workload. Vulkan is a low-level graphics API, so this result reflects both the compute capabilities and the memory subsystem. The RX 9070's dedicated GDDR6 with 644.6 GB/s bandwidth gives it a massive advantage in feeding its 3,584 shaders, while the 860M's system-shared memory becomes a bottleneck even with its high 3000 MHz boost clock.

The database's nearest rival data adds context. The 860M's closest rivals by average score include the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 at 26,421 (-0.1%), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 at 26,331 (+0.3%), the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary at 26,553 (-0.6%), and the NVIDIA RTX A4000 at 26,683 (-1.1%). The 860M's average of 26,401 puts it right in the middle of a tight cluster, within 1.1% of all four rivals. This suggests the 860M is a competent mid-range performer for an integrated GPU, hanging close to entry-level discrete cards from previous generations.

The RX 9070's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z at 23,736 (+0.6%), the AMD Radeon RX 6800S at 24,063 (-0.8%), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile at 23,628 (+1.1%), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER at 24,170 (-1.2%). The RX 9070's average of 23,877 places it in that same neighborhood, but its low Passmark legacy scores are clearly pulling the average down. Its modern DirectX 12 Ultimate support and Vulkan 1.4 support suggest the card is far more capable in current titles than the Passmark DirectX 9 through 12 scores imply.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the AMD Radeon RX 9070 is the dramatically faster GPU in every measured workload. It delivers 5.8x the OpenCL performance and roughly 2x the Vulkan performance of the Radeon 860M. It has 7x the shading units, 7x the texture units, 8x the ROPs, 7x the ray tracing cores, and 11.8x the FP32 throughput. Its 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 644.6 GB/s bandwidth is a fundamentally different memory architecture from the 860M's shared system memory. For anyone building a desktop PC with room for a dual-slot card, two 8-pin power connectors, and a 550 W power supply, the RX 9070 is the only choice in this pairing. It is listed as active in production and launched with an MSRP of 549 USD, a figure the database records without commentary on its market position.

The Radeon 860M is for a completely different use case. Its 15 W TDP, IGP form factor, and lack of power connectors make it suitable for portable devices where the RX 9070 physically cannot exist. The 860M's 72nd percentile ranking, higher than the RX 9070's 69th, reflects its consistent mid-range Geekbench scores rather than any ability to compete with the RX 9070. It trades blows with the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 and the RTX A4000 in average score, which is respectable for an integrated part.

Users who need maximum frame rates, high-resolution textures, or ray tracing should select the RX 9070. Users who need an always-present GPU in a thin laptop, with minimal power draw and no discrete memory, should select the 860M. The benchmarks do not make this a difficult decision, they simply confirm that the two parts serve entirely different markets.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 9070 scores 131,539 versus the Radeon 860M's 22,759, a delta of -82.7% in the 860M's disfavor.

Q: How does the Radeon 860M compare to the RX 9070 in Vulkan performance?

A: The RX 9070 scores 58,705 in Geekbench Vulkan, while the 860M scores 30,043, a delta of -48.8%. The RX 9070 is roughly twice as fast.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference?

A: The RX 9070 has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 644.6 GB/s bandwidth. The 860M uses system-shared memory with bandwidth described as system dependent.

Q: Why does the 860M have a higher percentile rank than the RX 9070?

A: The 860M ranks at the 72nd percentile versus the RX 9070's 69th. This is because the RX 9070's average score is depressed by very low Passmark DirectX 9 through 12 scores, while the 860M only has two solid Geekbench results.

Q: What power connector does each GPU require?

A: The RX 9070 requires two 8-pin power connectors and a suggested 550 W power supply. The 860M requires no power connectors at all, as it is an integrated GPU.

Q: What is the FP32 performance of each card?

A: The RX 9070 delivers 36.13 TFLOPS, while the 860M delivers 3.072 TFLOPS, an 11.8x difference.

Specification Differences

| Field | AMD Radeon 860M | AMD Radeon RX 9070 |

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

| Architecture | RDNA 3.5 | RDNA 4.0 |

| Chip | Krackan Point | Navi 48 |

| Generation | Navi III IGP (Strix Point Mobile) | Navi IV (RX 9000) |

| Transistors | Unknown | 53,900 million |

| Die Size | Unknown | 357 mm² |

| Transistor Density | Not listed | 151.0M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 600 MHz | 1330 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 3000 MHz | 2520 MHz |

| Game Clock | None | 2070 MHz |

| Memory Size | System Shared | 16 GB |

| Memory Type | System Shared | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus Width | System Shared | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | System Dependent | 644.6 GB/s |

| Memory Clock | System Shared | 2518 MHz, 20.1 Gbps effective |

| Shading Units | 512 | 3584 |

| TMUs | 32 | 224 |

| ROPs | 16 | 128 |

| Ray Tracing Cores | 8 | 56 |

| Pixel Rate | 48.00 GPixel/s | 322.6 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 96.00 GTexel/s | 564.5 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 3.072 TFLOPS | 36.13 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 3.072 TFLOPS (1:1) | 36.13 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 15 W | 220 W |

| Slot Width | IGP | Dual-slot |

| Power Connectors | None | 2x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | Not listed | 550 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x8 | PCIe 5.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | Portable Device Dependent | 1x HDMI 2.1b, 3x DisplayPort 2.1a |

| Release Date | 2025-02-28 | 2025-03-05 |

| Predecessor | Navi II IGP | Navi III |

| Launch MSRP | Not listed | 549 USD |

Both cards share the same DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 API support. Neither has tensor cores listed. Both are active in production and use a 4 nm TSMC process. The RX 9070 is the only one with a recorded launch MSRP, which the database lists as 549 USD.