AMD Radeon 860M vs AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT Comparison

The AMD Radeon 860M and the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT represent two extremes of AMD’s graphics portfolio, one an integrated processor solution and the other a dedicated add-in board. Direct comparison is limited by available benchmarks, but the recorded data reveals stark performance characteristics. The integrated Radeon 860M actually wins the Geekbench OpenCL test, scoring 22,759 against the RX 9070 XT’s 17,428, a 30.6% advantage for the smaller chip. The discrete RX 9070 XT strikes back decisively in the Geekbench Vulkan test, where its 65,879 score eclipses the 860M’s 30,043, a 54.4% lead. These two results frame a tale of API-specific strengths and fundamentally different hardware priorities.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most striking result in the database is the Radeon 860M’s victory in Geekbench OpenCL. The integrated part posts 22,759 points, outperforming the RX 9070 XT’s 17,428 by a substantial 30.6%. This is an unexpected outcome given the raw specifications involved, but the data is unambiguous. OpenCL workloads on the 860M benefit from its RDNA 3.5 architecture and its 512 shading units operating at a boost clock of 3000 MHz. The RX 9070 XT, despite having 4096 shading units, scores lower in this specific test, which may reflect driver optimizations, memory architecture interactions, or the nature of the OpenCL workload itself. The 860M’s System Shared memory, with bandwidth noted as System Dependent, evidently handles this particular benchmark effectively.

The Vulkan result tells the opposite story with even greater magnitude. The RX 9070 XT delivers 65,879 points, which is 54.4% higher than the Radeon 860M’s 30,043. This is the more expected outcome for a discrete GPU with dedicated GDDR6 memory. The RX 9070 XT uses 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, providing 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth, while the 860M relies entirely on system memory. The RX 9070 XT also runs at a 2970 MHz boost clock and includes 64 ray tracing cores, features that directly benefit modern graphics APIs.

Across the two head-to-head benchmarks, each product claims one victory. The 860M’s win is narrower in percentage terms at 30.6%, while the RX 9070 XT’s Vulkan margin reaches 54.4%. The average benchmark score in the database further illustrates the divide: the 860M averages 26,401 across its tests, while the RX 9070 XT averages 13,543 across a much wider test suite that includes multiple PassMark sub-tests. The RX 9070 XT’s average is dragged down by low scores in PassMark DirectX 10 (154), DirectX 12 (78), and DirectX 9 (353), though it excels in PassMark G3D with 26,795 and GPU Compute with 15,864.

The percentile rankings reflect the mixed picture. The Radeon 860M sits at the 72nd percentile among all GPUs, while the RX 9070 XT ranks at the 55th percentile. This counterintuitive ranking stems from the different benchmark sets recorded for each product. The 860M’s two Geekbench results are consistently strong, while the RX 9070 XT’s broader suite includes tests where it records comparatively modest numbers.

The Verdict

The data supports a clear functional separation. The AMD Radeon 860M is an integrated graphics processor designed for mobility and efficiency, with a 15 W TDP and no power connectors, operating over a PCIe 4.0 x8 interface. Its benchmark profile shows strong OpenCL performance and respectable Vulkan results for an IGP. The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is a dual-slot discrete card with a 304 W TDP, requiring two 8-pin power connectors and a 700 W suggested power supply, connected via PCIe 5.0 x16. Its Vulkan score is dominant, and its PassMark G3D score of 26,795 reflects serious rasterization capability.

Users choosing between these two will be guided by their hardware context. The 860M is a system-on-chip component, part of the Krackan Point chip, and cannot be installed separately. It serves laptops and compact devices where the 15 W power envelope is mandatory. The RX 9070 XT is a standalone purchase with a launch MSRP of 599 USD, intended for desktop systems with sufficient power delivery and cooling. The 860M’s 72nd percentile ranking and higher average benchmark score suggest it punches above its weight in synthetic compute tests, but the RX 9070 XT’s Vulkan dominance and extensive feature set make it the choice for demanding graphics workloads.

The RX 9070 XT’s nearest rivals in the database include the AMD Radeon HD 7770M, with a delta of 0.1%, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 at 0.2%, indicating its average score sits near those legacy parts. The 860M’s nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 at -0.1%, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 at 0.3%, the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary at -0.6%, and the NVIDIA RTX A4000 at -1.1%. These groupings show the 860M competing with dedicated mobile GPUs and older desktop cards, while the RX 9070 XT’s average is aligned with much older discrete hardware, despite its modern architecture.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different generations of AMD’s RDNA architecture. The Radeon 860M uses RDNA 3.5, built on a 4 nm process at TSMC, and is part of the Navi III IGP generation under the Krackan Point chip. The RX 9070 XT uses RDNA 4.0, also on a 4 nm TSMC process, and belongs to the Navi IV generation in the Radeon RX 9000 series. Both share the same API support: DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

The RX 9070 XT is a far larger chip. It contains 53,900 million transistors on a 357 mm² die, with a transistor density of 151.0M per mm². The 860M’s transistor count and die size are recorded as unknown, so direct comparison is impossible, but the RX 9070 XT’s discrete nature is evident. The RX 9070 XT also uses the Navi 48 chip, while the 860M integrates into Krackan Point.

Compute resources differ enormously. The RX 9070 XT has 4096 shading units, 256 texture mapping units, 128 render output units, and 64 ray tracing cores. The 860M has 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, 16 ROPs, and 8 ray tracing cores. This 8x difference in shading units and ray tracing cores explains the RX 9070 XT’s Vulkan advantage. Pixel rate for the RX 9070 XT reaches 380.2 GPixel/s versus 48.00 GPixel/s for the 860M, a 7.9x gap. Texture rate stands at 760.3 GTexel/s versus 96.00 GTexel/s, an 8x difference. FP32 performance is 48.66 TFLOPS for the RX 9070 XT and 3.072 TFLOPS for the 860M, a 15.8x gap, though the OpenCL benchmark does not reflect this.

Memory architecture is fundamentally different. The 860M uses System Shared memory, with size, type, and bus width all listed as System Shared, and bandwidth as System Dependent. The RX 9070 XT has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 644.6 GB/s bandwidth and memory clock of 2518 MHz, translating to 20.1 Gbps effective. Clock speeds differ as well: the 860M has a 600 MHz base and 3000 MHz boost, while the RX 9070 XT has a 1660 MHz base, 2400 MHz game clock, and 2970 MHz boost. Power consumption ranges from 15 W for the IGP to 304 W for the discrete card.

Display outputs also differ. The 860M is listed as Portable Device Dependent, reflecting its laptop-centric design. The RX 9070 XT provides 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1a outputs, suitable for multi-monitor desktop setups. The RX 9070 XT uses a dual-slot cooler with two 8-pin power connectors and a suggested 700 W PSU. The 860M is an IGP with no power connectors and a PCIe 4.0 x8 interface, while the RX 9070 XT uses PCIe 5.0 x16.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher Vulkan benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT scores 65,879 in Geekbench Vulkan, which is 54.4% higher than the Radeon 860M’s 30,043.

Q: How does the Radeon 860M compare in OpenCL performance?

A: The Radeon 860M scores 22,759 in Geekbench OpenCL, beating the RX 9070 XT’s 17,428 by 30.6%.

Q: What is the memory configuration of each GPU?

A: The RX 9070 XT has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 644.6 GB/s bandwidth. The Radeon 860M uses System Shared memory with System Dependent bandwidth.

Q: What are the power requirements for the RX 9070 XT?

A: The RX 9070 XT has a 304 W TDP, uses two 8-pin power connectors, and has a suggested power supply of 700 W.

Q: Which product has the higher percentile ranking?

A: The Radeon 860M ranks at the 72nd percentile among all GPUs, while the RX 9070 XT ranks at the 55th percentile.

Q: What architectures do these GPUs use?

A: The Radeon 860M uses RDNA 3.5, and the RX 9070 XT uses RDNA 4.0. Both are manufactured on a 4 nm TSMC process.

Where Each One Wins

The Radeon 860M wins in scenarios that favor OpenCL compute. Its 30.6% lead over the RX 9070 XT in Geekbench OpenCL, combined with its 72nd percentile ranking and average benchmark score of 26,401, makes it a strong performer for its class. It also wins on power efficiency, with a 15 W TDP that requires no external power connectors, making it suitable for portable devices where battery life and thermal limits are primary concerns. The 860M’s 3000 MHz boost clock and RDNA 3.5 architecture deliver competitive results despite the shared memory subsystem. Its nearest rival grouping, which includes the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 at a 0.3% delta, places it in the range of capable discrete mobile GPUs.

The RX 9070 XT wins decisively in Vulkan performance, with a 54.4% advantage in the Geekbench Vulkan test. Its 64 ray tracing cores, 4096 shading units, and 644.6 GB/s of dedicated GDDR6 bandwidth provide the hardware foundation for this result. The RX 9070 XT also wins on raw throughput metrics: 48.66 TFLOPS FP32, 380.2 GPixel/s pixel rate, and 760.3 GTexel/s texture rate. In PassMark G3D, it scores 26,795, and in GPU Compute it reaches 15,864. The discrete card’s 16 GB memory capacity, 256-bit bus, and PCIe 5.0 x16 interface make it the choice for high-resolution gaming and graphics workloads that demand substantial memory bandwidth. Its display outputs, 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1a, support multi-monitor configurations that the portable-dependent 860M cannot match.

The recorded data shows two products optimized for different tasks. The 860M wins the compute-oriented OpenCL test and carries a higher aggregate percentile, while the RX 9070 XT wins the graphics-oriented Vulkan test by a wide margin and offers vastly more memory bandwidth and shading resources. Each product’s success depends on the workload. For integrated graphics in a low-power mobile package, the 860M delivers surprising compute strength. For a desktop discrete GPU with high-end display outputs and substantial memory, the RX 9070 XT dominates in modern graphics APIs.