AMD Radeon 860M vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data contains two direct head-to-head comparisons between the AMD Radeon 860M and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050, both of which are compute-oriented synthetic tests. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 5050 scores 90,334 against the Radeon 860M's 22,759, a delta of -74.8% for the AMD part. This is a massive gap, placing the NVIDIA solution at roughly four times the raw compute throughput in this particular workload. The Geekbench Vulkan test tells a similar story, with the RTX 5050 posting 89,381 versus the Radeon 860M's 30,043, a -66.4% delta. While the Vulkan margin is slightly narrower than the OpenCL margin, it still represents a decisive victory for the discrete GPU.

The scale of these differences is worth contextualizing. The RTX 5050's OpenCL score is nearly four times higher, and its Vulkan score is just under three times higher. These are not marginal wins; they are generational-class separations in compute throughput. The Radeon 860M, as an integrated graphics processor, cannot match the dedicated memory bandwidth and dedicated execution resources of the RTX 5050. The Geekbench Vulkan result of 30,043 for the 860M is itself a respectable figure for an IGP, but the RTX 5050's 89,381 shows what a dedicated 130 W part can achieve.

Looking at the broader database context, the two GPUs occupy very different competitive positions. The Radeon 860M holds a 72nd percentile ranking across all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 26,401. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 at 26,421 (a -0.1% delta), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 at 26,331 (a 0.3% delta), the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary at 26,553 (a -0.6% delta), and the NVIDIA RTX A4000 at 26,683 (a -1.1% delta). This clustering indicates that the 860M sits in a tight performance band where a few percent separates it from several established discrete and semi-discrete parts. Interestingly, the RTX 5060, a much newer and higher-tier card, appears essentially tied with the 860M in average score, which suggests that the database's average benchmark methodology may weigh certain workloads differently than the raw Geekbench figures.

The RTX 5050, by contrast, sits at the 66th percentile with an average benchmark score of 21,035. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL at 21,153 (-0.6%), the AMD Radeon HD 8970M at 21,237 (-1%), the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT at 20,713 (+1.6%), and the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile at 21,379 (-1.6%). The RTX 5050's average score is actually lower than the Radeon 860M's average, despite the RTX 5050 winning both head-to-head benchmarks decisively. This discrepancy arises because the RTX 5050 has a much larger benchmark portfolio in the database, including PassMark DirectX 9, 10, 11, and 12 tests, plus G2D and G3D tests, many of which pull its average down. The Radeon 860M only has two benchmarks recorded, both of which are Geekbench compute tests that happen to align with its strengths.

The PassMark data for the RTX 5050 provides additional texture to its profile. It scores 17,326 in PassMark G3D, 9,184 in GPU Compute, 1,113 in G2D, and 186 in DirectX 9, 150 in DirectX 11, 103 in DirectX 10, and 66 in DirectX 12. The DirectX 12 score of 66 is notably low, which may reflect driver maturity or workload-specific characteristics, but the G3D score of 17,326 indicates strong overall 3D rendering capability. The Radeon 860M has no equivalent PassMark entries in the database, so a direct comparison on those workloads is not possible from the recorded data.

The Verdict

The data supports a clear split decision based on workload type. For raw compute throughput as measured by Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is the unambiguous winner. Its OpenCL score of 90,334 versus 22,759 and its Vulkan score of 89,381 versus 30,043 demonstrate a level of performance that the Radeon 860M cannot approach. Any application that scales heavily with compute shaders, GPGPU tasks, or Vulkan-based rendering will favor the RTX 5050 by a wide margin.

However, the average benchmark scores across the full database tell a more nuanced story. The Radeon 860M's average score of 26,401 places it at the 72nd percentile, while the RTX 5050's average of 21,035 places it at the 66th percentile. This means that across the entire suite of benchmarks recorded for each GPU, the Radeon 860M comes out ahead on average. The RTX 5050's extensive PassMark results, which include several lower-scoring legacy DirectX tests, drag its average down substantially. For buyers who prioritize consistent performance across a wide range of older and newer APIs, the Radeon 860M's recorded data suggests a more balanced profile.

The RTX 5050 is a dual-slot discrete card with a 130 W TDP, a 1x 8-pin power connector, and a suggested PSU of 300 W. The Radeon 860M is an IGP with a 15 W TDP, no power connectors, and a PCIe 4.0 x8 interface. These form-factor and power differences are fundamental. The RTX 5050 requires a desktop slot, external power, and a sufficient PSU. The Radeon 860M integrates directly into a Krackan Point processor and draws power from the motherboard. The RTX 5050 has a launch MSRP of 249 USD. The Radeon 860M has no launch MSRP recorded in the database.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 5050 wins in every direct head-to-head benchmark recorded. Its Geekbench OpenCL advantage of -74.8% and Geekbench Vulkan advantage of -66.4% make it the superior choice for compute-heavy workloads, modern game engines that leverage Vulkan, and any GPGPU application that uses OpenCL. The RTX 5050 also brings 8 GB of dedicated GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 320.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is a substantial resource for texture-heavy scenes and large datasets. Its 2,560 shading units, 80 TMUs, 32 ROPs, 20 RT cores, and 80 tensor cores provide a much larger execution footprint than the 860M's 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, 16 ROPs, and 8 RT cores.

The Radeon 860M wins in the average benchmark score comparison across the full database. Its 26,401 average versus the RTX 5050's 21,035, combined with its 72nd versus 66th percentile ranking, indicates that it performs more consistently across the mixed set of workloads captured in its benchmark portfolio. The Radeon 860M also wins on power efficiency by a wide margin: 15 W versus 130 W TDP. For thin-and-light laptops, ultraportables, or fanless designs, the 860M's 15 W envelope is a decisive advantage. The RTX 5050 cannot operate in such constrained thermal environments.

The Radeon 860M also wins on portability and integration. It is an IGP with no slot width, no power connectors, and a PCIe 4.0 x8 interface, whereas the RTX 5050 is a dual-slot card with a 1x 8-pin connector and PCIe 5.0 x8. The 860M's system-shared memory means it can flexibly use whatever system RAM is available, though its bandwidth is system-dependent. The RTX 5050's dedicated 320.0 GB/s bandwidth is far higher and not subject to system-level contention.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher Geekbench OpenCL score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 scores 90,334 in Geekbench OpenCL, compared to the AMD Radeon 860M's 22,759, a delta of -74.8% for the AMD part.

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in Geekbench Vulkan?

A: The RTX 5050 scores 89,381 versus the Radeon 860M's 30,043, a delta of -66.4%, again favoring the NVIDIA GPU.

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon 860M has an average benchmark score of 26,401, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 has an average of 21,035. The Radeon 860M sits at the 72nd percentile, and the RTX 5050 sits at the 66th.

Q: What are the TDPs of these two GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon 860M has a TDP of 15 W and no power connectors. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 has a TDP of 130 W and uses a single 8-pin power connector with a suggested PSU of 300 W.

Q: What are their memory configurations?

A: The Radeon 860M uses system-shared memory with system-dependent bandwidth. The RTX 5050 has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 320.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

Q: What is the release timeline for these products?

A: The AMD Radeon 860M was released on 2025-02-28, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 was released on 2025-06-30.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Radeon 860M is built on the Krackan Point chip using RDNA 3.5 architecture, which belongs to the Navi III IGP generation for Strix Point Mobile. It is manufactured on TSMC's 4 nm process node. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 uses the GB207 chip with Blackwell 2.0 architecture, part of the GeForce 50 series, and is manufactured on TSMC's 5 nm process. The process node difference is small but present: 4 nm versus 5 nm.

The transistor counts differ dramatically. The RTX 5050 has 16,900 million transistors on a 149 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 113.4 million per square millimeter. The Radeon 860M's transistor count and die size are listed as unknown in the database. This makes a direct comparison of density impossible, but the RTX 5050's figures indicate a large, complex chip for a mainstream discrete GPU.

Execution resources diverge sharply. The Radeon 860M has 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, 16 ROPs, and 8 RT cores, with no tensor cores listed. The RTX 5050 has 2,560 shading units, 80 TMUs, 32 ROPs, 20 RT cores, and 80 tensor cores. The RTX 5050's pixel rate is 82.30 GPixel/s versus 48.00 GPixel/s for the 860M, and its texture rate is 205.8 GTexel/s versus 96.00 GTexel/s. FP32 throughput is 13.17 TFLOPS for the RTX 5050 versus 3.072 TFLOPS for the 860M, with both supporting 1:1 FP16 rates.

Clock behavior also differs. The Radeon 860M has a base clock of 600 MHz and a boost clock of 3000 MHz, a very wide boost range typical of integrated parts. The RTX 5050 has a base clock of 2317 MHz and a boost clock of 2572 MHz, a much narrower range. Memory clocks differ in kind: the 860M uses system-shared memory, while the RTX 5050 uses 2500 MHz GDDR6 at 20 Gbps effective.

Interface and output differences are notable. The Radeon 860M uses PCIe 4.0 x8, while the RTX 5050 uses PCIe 5.0 x8. The RTX 5050 offers 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1b outputs, whereas the 860M's display outputs are dependent on the portable device it is integrated into. The RTX 5050 is a dual-slot card; the 860M is an IGP with no slot width. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so API-level feature support is equivalent on paper.

The production status of both parts is active. The Radeon 860M's predecessor is Navi II IGP, and the RTX 5050's predecessor is GeForce 40, with a successor of GeForce 60 already listed in the database. The RTX 5050's launch MSRP is 249 USD, while the Radeon 860M has no recorded launch MSRP.