AMD Radeon 860M vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Comparison

The AMD Radeon 860M and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 occupy opposite ends of the graphics spectrum, yet their aggregate benchmark scores place them within 0.3% of each other in the database. This apparent contradiction stems from the fact that the 860M is an integrated processor (IGP) drawing 15 W, while the RTX 5060 is a dual-slot discrete card rated at 145 W. The head-to-head data, however, tells a more decisive story, with the NVIDIA part dominating the shared compute workloads by massive margins.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two products share only two benchmark results in the database: Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan. In both, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 wins outright, and the margins are not close. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 5060 scores 112,787 against the Radeon 860M’s 22,759, a delta of -79.8% for the AMD part. That means the NVIDIA card delivers roughly five times the raw compute throughput in this API. The Vulkan result follows the same pattern: the RTX 5060 posts 113,321 versus 30,043 for the 860M, a -73.5% gap. These are not incremental differences; they represent a fundamental class separation in sustained compute capability.

The aggregate scores, however, obscure this reality. The AMD Radeon 860M holds an average benchmark score of 26,401, while the RTX 5060 sits at 26,331 — a 0.3% difference in favor of the AMD part. This is an artifact of the benchmark pool: the 860M’s two scores (OpenCL and Vulkan) are both relatively high for an IGP, whereas the RTX 5060’s average is dragged down by its Passmark DirectX 9 score of 225, DirectX 10 score of 127, and DirectX 12 score of 77. Notably, the RTX 5060’s Passmark G3D score of 20,891 and GPU Compute score of 10,899 are substantial, but they are diluted by the legacy DirectX tests. The 860M has no Passmark results in the database, so its average is based solely on the two Geekbench runs.

Looking at the nearest rivals for each part reinforces the point. The 860M’s closest competitor is the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 (average score 26,421, delta -0.1%), followed by the RTX 5060 itself (delta 0.3%). The RTX 5060’s nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon 860M (delta -0.3%), the MX550 (delta -0.3%), and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT (delta 1.2%). Both products sit at the 72nd percentile among all GPUs, but that percentile is a composite measure that flattens the distribution of workloads. In the two benchmarks where they directly face each other, the RTX 5060 is categorically faster.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gulf between these two is as wide as the performance gap. The AMD Radeon 860M is built on the RDNA 3.5 architecture using a 4 nm TSMC process, and it is part of the Navi III IGP generation for Strix Point Mobile. Its chip, Krackan Point, is an integrated design with no dedicated memory; the 860M uses System Shared memory, with bandwidth described as "System Dependent." The GPU has 512 shading units, 32 texture mapping units, 16 ROPs, and 8 ray tracing cores. The base clock is 600 MHz, boosting to 3000 MHz. Pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s, texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s, and FP32 throughput is 3.072 TFLOPS, with FP16 at a 1:1 ratio also 3.072 TFLOPS. The TDP is 15 W, it uses no power connectors, and the bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x8. It supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The transistor count and die size are listed as unknown.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is a completely different entity. It uses the Blackwell 2.0 architecture on a 5 nm TSMC process, with the GB206 chip. The die is 181 mm² and contains 21,900 million transistors, giving a density of 121.0M transistors per mm². The memory subsystem is dedicated: 8 GB of GDDR7 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU has 3,840 shading units, 120 TMUs, 48 ROPs, 30 RT cores, and 120 tensor cores. Base clock is 2280 MHz with a boost of 2497 MHz; memory runs at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). The pixel rate is 119.9 GPixel/s, texture rate is 299.6 GTexel/s, and FP32 is 19.18 TFLOPS, with FP16 also at 19.18 TFLOPS (1:1). The TDP is 145 W, it requires a single 8-pin power connector and a 300 W suggested PSU, and it uses a PCIe 5.0 x8 interface. Display outputs include one HDMI 2.1b and three DisplayPort 2.1b. The physical dimensions are 241 mm by 111 mm by 40 mm, and it is a dual-slot card.

The core count disparity is stark: the RTX 5060 has 7.5 times the shading units, 3.75 times the TMUs, 3 times the ROPs, and 3.75 times the RT cores. The FP32 throughput is 6.2 times higher on the NVIDIA part. The AMD IGP relies on system memory, which is a bottleneck the dedicated GDDR7 on the RTX 5060 avoids entirely. The process node difference (4 nm for AMD versus 5 nm for NVIDIA) is notable, but the power envelope difference — 15 W versus 145 W — explains most of the performance divergence.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: for any workload that stresses sustained GPU compute, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is the superior product. In the two direct comparisons available, it wins both by 73.5% and 79.8%, respectively. The Radeon 860M’s aggregate score parity is a statistical mirage caused by the RTX 5060’s low Passmark DirectX scores, which are not representative of its actual compute capabilities. The 860M’s 15 W TDP makes it suitable for thin-and-light portable devices where battery life and thermal constraints are paramount. The RTX 5060’s 145 W TDP, dual-slot cooler, and 8-pin connector demand a desktop chassis with a 300 W PSU. The RTX 5060 has a launch MSRP of 299 USD.

Strictly from the benchmark data, the RTX 5060 is the choice for anyone needing discrete graphics performance. The 860M is a capable integrated solution for basic rendering and compute, but it cannot match the NVIDIA part in raw throughput. The RTX 5060’s 30 RT cores and 120 tensor cores also enable hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI workloads, whereas the 860M’s 8 RT cores offer a fraction of that capability. The 860M’s system-shared memory means bandwidth scales with the host system, making its performance variable, whereas the RTX 5060’s 448.0 GB/s is fixed and independent.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher Geekbench OpenCL score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 scores 112,787 in Geekbench OpenCL, compared to the AMD Radeon 860M’s 22,759, a difference of -79.8% for the AMD part.

Q: What is the average benchmark score for each GPU?

A: The AMD Radeon 860M has an average benchmark score of 26,401, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 averages 26,331, a 0.3% difference in favor of the AMD part.

Q: How much memory does the RTX 5060 have?

A: The RTX 5060 has 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The 860M uses System Shared memory with system-dependent bandwidth.

Q: What are the power requirements for each GPU?

A: The Radeon 860M has a TDP of 15 W and uses no power connectors. The RTX 5060 has a TDP of 145 W, requires a single 8-pin power connector, and has a suggested PSU of 300 W.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The RTX 5060 has 3,840 shading units, while the Radeon 860M has 512, a 7.5x difference.

Q: What is the percentile rank for both GPUs?

A: Both the AMD Radeon 860M and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 are at the 72nd percentile among all GPUs in the database.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 wins in every direct benchmark comparison available. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 112,787 and Vulkan score of 113,321 are both roughly 3.8 times higher than the Radeon 860M’s corresponding scores of 22,759 and 30,043. The RTX 5060 also holds the advantage in pixel rate (119.9 GPixel/s versus 48.00 GPixel/s), texture rate (299.6 GTexel/s versus 96.00 GTexel/s), and FP32 throughput (19.18 TFLOPS versus 3.072 TFLOPS). For compute-heavy tasks like rendering, simulation, or AI inference, the RTX 5060 is the clear winner.

The AMD Radeon 860M wins in the aggregate average score comparison by a hair (26,401 versus 26,331), but that is due to the RTX 5060’s low Passmark DirectX 9 (225), DirectX 10 (127), and DirectX 12 (77) scores. The 860M’s win is not a performance victory; it is a benchmark composition artifact. The 860M does, however, win on power efficiency in a strict TDP sense: 15 W versus 145 W means the AMD part can operate in fanless, portable designs with no power connectors. The RTX 5060’s PCIe 5.0 x8 interface is twice the generation of the 860M’s PCIe 4.0 x8, but the 860M’s shared memory architecture negates any bandwidth advantage from the bus. For users prioritizing a compact, low-power integrated solution, the 860M is the only viable option in this pairing. For everyone else, the RTX 5060’s dedicated memory, higher core counts, and massive compute lead make it the definitive choice.