AMD Radeon 860M vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Max-Q Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data presents a unique comparison challenge. The AMD Radeon 860M has two benchmark entries in the database, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Max-Q has no recorded benchmark scores. This absence of direct head-to-head results means the analysis must rely on the available synthetic test scores for the AMD part and the architectural context for the NVIDIA part.

The AMD Radeon 860M scores 22,759 points in the Geekbench OpenCL test and 30,043 points in the Geekbench Vulkan test. The Vulkan score exceeds the OpenCL score by 32%. This gap between API-specific results indicates that the RDNA 3.5 architecture responds particularly well to the Vulkan API's lower overhead and explicit control model.

The Radeon 860M's average benchmark score of 26,401 places it in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs in the database. This percentile ranking is substantial for an integrated graphics processor. Its nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 with an average score of 26,421, a delta of -0.1% relative to the 860M. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 scores 26,331, which is 0.3% behind the 860M. The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary scores 26,553, 0.6% ahead of the 860M. The NVIDIA RTX A4000 scores 26,683, 1.1% ahead.

These narrow deltas, all within 1.1% of the Radeon 860M's average, indicate that the integrated part performs in the same tier as several dedicated discrete GPUs. The data shows a closely packed cluster of results, where the 860M holds its own against the MX550 and the RTX 5060, while trailing the RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary and RTX A4000 by fractions of a percent.

The RTX 4060 Max-Q has no benchmark scores in the database, and its average benchmark score is recorded as zero. The database also shows no wins for either part in head-to-head comparisons. The comparison therefore shifts from measured performance deltas to architectural capabilities and specification differences.

Architecture Differences

The Radeon 860M uses the Krackan Point chip built on RDNA 3.5 architecture, fabricated on a 4 nm process at TSMC. The RTX 4060 Max-Q uses the AD107 chip built on Ada Lovelace architecture, fabricated on a 5 nm process, also at TSMC. Both parts are integrated GPUs, as indicated by their slot width of IGP, and both use PCIe 4.0 x8 bus interfaces.

The process node difference is one nanometer, with the AMD part using the smaller 4 nm node. The RTX 4060 Max-Q has a known transistor count of 18,900 million on a die size of 159 mm², giving a transistor density of 118.9 million transistors per square millimeter. The Radeon 860M's transistor count and die size are listed as unknown, so no density comparison is possible from the data.

The RTX 4060 Max-Q carries a dedicated memory subsystem: 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Radeon 860M uses system shared memory, with the bus width and memory type also listed as system shared. Its bandwidth is system dependent, meaning the data does not assign a fixed figure. This is a fundamental architectural split: one part has private VRAM, the other relies on the host system's memory.

Compute resources differ significantly. The Radeon 860M has 512 shading units, 32 texture mapping units, and 16 render output units. The RTX 4060 Max-Q has 3,072 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. These numbers are six times, three times, and three times higher respectively for the NVIDIA part. The RTX 4060 Max-Q also has 24 ray tracing cores and 96 tensor cores, while the Radeon 860M has 8 ray tracing cores and no tensor cores listed.

Clock behavior diverges sharply. The Radeon 860M has a base clock of 600 MHz and a boost clock of 3,000 MHz, a five-to-one ratio. The RTX 4060 Max-Q has a base clock of 1,140 MHz and a boost clock of 1,470 MHz, a much narrower ratio. The AMD part's high boost clock partially compensates for its lower shading unit count.

The Radeon 860M's pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s and its texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s. The RTX 4060 Max-Q's pixel rate is 70.56 GPixel/s and its texture rate is 141.1 GTexel/s. The NVIDIA part leads in both fillrate metrics. In floating point, the Radeon 860M delivers 3.072 TFLOPS for both FP32 and FP16, while the RTX 4060 Max-Q delivers 9.032 TFLOPS for both. The RTX 4060 Max-Q leads by a factor of roughly three in raw FP32 throughput.

Power draw also differs. The Radeon 860M has a TDP of 15 W, while the RTX 4060 Max-Q has a TDP of 35 W. Both use no power connectors and have portable device dependent display outputs. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

The RTX 4060 Max-Q was released in January 2023, while the Radeon 860M was released in February 2025. The predecessor and successor relationships also differ: the Radeon 860M succeeds the Navi II IGP, and the RTX 4060 Max-Q succeeds the GeForce 30 Mobile and is succeeded by the GeForce 50 Mobile.

FAQ

Q: How does the Radeon 860M's average benchmark score compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Radeon 860M has an average benchmark score of 26,401. It trails the NVIDIA RTX A4000 by 1.1% and the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary by 0.6%. It leads the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 by 0.1% and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 by 0.3%.

Q: What benchmark scores does the RTX 4060 Max-Q have in the database?

A: The RTX 4060 Max-Q has no recorded benchmark scores. Its average benchmark score is listed as zero, and it has no nearest rivals in the database.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference between the two parts?

A: The RTX 4060 Max-Q has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 256.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Radeon 860M uses system shared memory, with system dependent bandwidth and a shared bus width.

Q: Which part has more shading units?

A: The RTX 4060 Max-Q has 3,072 shading units, six times the 512 shading units of the Radeon 860M.

Q: What are the TDP values for each part?

A: The Radeon 860M has a TDP of 15 W, and the RTX 4060 Max-Q has a TDP of 35 W.

Q: Do both parts support the same graphics APIs?

A: Yes, both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Specification Differences

The two parts differ across nearly every measured specification. The Radeon 860M uses RDNA 3.5 architecture on a 4 nm process, while the RTX 4060 Max-Q uses Ada Lovelace on a 5 nm process. The RTX 4060 Max-Q has a known transistor count of 18,900 million and a die size of 159 mm², while the Radeon 860M's transistor count and die size are unknown. The transistor density of the RTX 4060 Max-Q is 118.9 million transistors per square millimeter.

Clock speeds differ: the Radeon 860M has a 600 MHz base and 3,000 MHz boost, while the RTX 4060 Max-Q has a 1,140 MHz base and 1,470 MHz boost. The memory configurations are entirely different, with the Radeon 860M using system shared memory and the RTX 4060 Max-Q using 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 256.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Shader resources show the RTX 4060 Max-Q with 3,072 shading units versus 512, 96 TMUs versus 32, and 48 ROPs versus 16. The RTX 4060 Max-Q has 24 ray tracing cores and 96 tensor cores, while the Radeon 860M has 8 ray tracing cores and no tensor cores listed. The RTX 4060 Max-Q has a pixel rate of 70.56 GPixel/s versus 48.00 GPixel/s, a texture rate of 141.1 GTexel/s versus 96.00 GTexel/s, and FP32 throughput of 9.032 TFLOPS versus 3.072 TFLOPS.

The TDP difference is 15 W for the Radeon 860M versus 35 W for the RTX 4060 Max-Q. The release dates differ by more than two years, with the RTX 4060 Max-Q in January 2023 and the Radeon 860M in February 2025. The Radeon 860M has a predecessor of Navi II IGP, while the RTX 4060 Max-Q has a predecessor of GeForce 30 Mobile and a successor of GeForce 50 Mobile.

The Verdict

The data presents a clear split between measured performance and theoretical specifications. The Radeon 860M has actual benchmark results in the database, placing it in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs. Its average score of 26,401 puts it in a tight cluster with several discrete GPUs, within a 1.1% band. This is a strong result for an integrated part with a 15 W TDP.

The RTX 4060 Max-Q has no benchmark data recorded. Its specification sheet shows substantially higher compute resources across every category: more shading units, more TMUs, more ROPs, more ray tracing cores, and dedicated tensor cores. Its FP32 throughput of 9.032 TFLOPS is nearly three times the Radeon 860M's 3.072 TFLOPS. Its dedicated 8 GB GDDR6 memory with 256.0 GB/s bandwidth eliminates the system memory dependency that limits the Radeon 860M.

The percentile figures tell a curious story. The Radeon 860M sits at the 72nd percentile despite being an integrated GPU. The RTX 4060 Max-Q sits at the 50th percentile with no benchmark score, which likely reflects a default or placeholder position in the database rather than measured performance.

For users relying on the database's measured results, the Radeon 860M is the only part with verified synthetic performance. For users comparing architectural capabilities, the RTX 4060 Max-Q offers a larger compute pipeline, dedicated memory, and tensor cores that the Radeon 860M lacks. The data does not support a claim that one part outperforms the other, because no direct measurement exists for the RTX 4060 Max-Q.

The Radeon 860M's 15 W TDP is less than half the RTX 4060 Max-Q's 35 W TDP. This efficiency profile, combined with its 72nd percentile ranking, indicates that the integrated part achieves high relative performance within a very low power envelope. The RTX 4060 Max-Q's higher TDP suggests it has more power to feed its larger compute array.

Where Each One Wins

The Radeon 860M wins in the measured performance category. It has benchmark scores of 22,759 in OpenCL and 30,043 in Vulkan, with an average of 26,401. The database shows it competing within 1.1% of discrete GPUs like the RTX A4000 and RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary. Its 72nd percentile ranking demonstrates that an integrated GPU can reach the upper tier of the database's rankings.

The Radeon 860M also wins on power efficiency based on the recorded TDP. At 15 W, it uses less than half the power of the RTX 4060 Max-Q's 35 W. The Radeon 860M's boost clock of 3,000 MHz is more than double the RTX 4060 Max-Q's 1,470 MHz boost, which helps it extract performance from fewer shading units.

The RTX 4060 Max-Q wins on raw compute specifications. Its 3,072 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 48 ROPs dwarf the Radeon 860M's 512, 32, and 16 respectively. Its FP32 throughput of 9.032 TFLOPS is 2.94 times the Radeon 860M's 3.072 TFLOPS. Its pixel rate of 70.56 GPixel/s exceeds the Radeon 860M's 48.00 GPixel/s, and its texture rate of 141.1 GTexel/s exceeds 96.00 GTexel/s.

The RTX 4060 Max-Q wins on memory architecture. Its 8 GB of dedicated GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus provides 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth, while the Radeon 860M depends on system shared memory with system dependent bandwidth. The NVIDIA part's 24 ray tracing cores and 96 tensor cores provide hardware features that the Radeon 860M cannot match, with its 8 ray tracing cores and no tensor cores.

The RTX 4060 Max-Q also wins on transistor count transparency. The database records 18,900 million transistors on a 159 mm² die, while the Radeon 860M's transistor count and die size are unknown.

The data supports two distinct use cases. The Radeon 860M suits systems where the 15 W TDP and integrated form factor matter, and where the measured benchmark scores indicate competitive performance against discrete parts. The RTX 4060 Max-Q suits workloads that require the larger compute pipeline, dedicated memory bandwidth, and tensor core support, assuming the unmeasured performance aligns with its specification advantage.