AMD Radeon 860M vs NVIDIA RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data presents an unusual comparison. The AMD Radeon 860M has two benchmark entries in the database, while the NVIDIA RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation has none. This means the head-to-head comparison relies entirely on the AMD part's measured performance and the NVIDIA part's architectural specifications, not on direct benchmark scores.

The AMD Radeon 860M achieves an average benchmark score of 26401. Its OpenCL result is 22759, and its Vulkan result is 30043. These scores place the Radeon 860M at the 72nd percentile among all GPUs in the database. The NVIDIA RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation, by contrast, has no recorded benchmark scores and an average benchmark score of zero, placing it at the 50th percentile. The percentile difference is significant: the Radeon 860M sits well above the midpoint of all recorded GPUs, while the RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation sits exactly at it, though this percentile is based on no measured data.

The nearest rivals for the Radeon 860M provide context for its average score. The NVIDIA GeForce MX550 has an average score of 26421, which is 0.1% higher than the Radeon 860M. The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary scores 26553, putting it 0.6% ahead. The NVIDIA RTX A4000 scores 26683, a 1.1% advantage. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 scores 26331, which is 0.3% behind the Radeon 860M. These deltas are all within roughly one percent, indicating that the Radeon 860M's average performance is tightly clustered with these four discrete GPUs. The Radeon 860M is effectively at parity with the GeForce MX550, slightly behind the RTX A4000, and slightly ahead of the RTX 5060.

Because the RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation has no benchmark entries, the database cannot produce a direct comparison of measured scores. The wins for each side are both zero. The analysis must instead rely on the specification differences and what the Radeon 860M's measured scores imply about its standing, plus the architectural characteristics of the RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation.

The Verdict

From the recorded data, the AMD Radeon 860M is the only one of the two with verified benchmark results. Its average score of 26401 and 72nd percentile placement indicate it is a mid-to-upper tier mobile graphics solution, sitting within one percent of several discrete GPUs. The NVIDIA RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation has no measured scores in the database, so no performance verdict can be assigned to it from benchmark data.

The data shows that the Radeon 860M is a capable integrated GPU. Its Vulkan score of 30043 is notably higher than its OpenCL score of 22759, suggesting stronger performance in Vulkan workloads. The RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation, with its larger shader count, dedicated memory, and higher power envelope, would be expected to outperform the Radeon 860M based on specifications alone, but the database contains no numbers to confirm that expectation. Users should rely on the Radeon 860M's measured results when considering that part, and treat the RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation as an unmeasured entry in this dataset.

FAQ

Q: What is the average benchmark score of the AMD Radeon 860M?

A: The AMD Radeon 860M has an average benchmark score of 26401, with a Geekbench OpenCL score of 22759 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 30043.

Q: Does the NVIDIA RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation have any benchmark scores in the database?

A: No. The RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation has no recorded benchmark entries and an average benchmark score of zero.

Q: How does the Radeon 860M compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Radeon 860M is 0.1% behind the NVIDIA GeForce MX550, 0.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary, 1.1% behind the NVIDIA RTX A4000, and 0.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060.

Q: What percentile ranking does each GPU hold?

A: The AMD Radeon 860M ranks at the 72nd percentile among all GPUs, while the NVIDIA RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation ranks at the 50th percentile.

Q: Which GPU has a higher boost clock?

A: The AMD Radeon 860M has a boost clock of 3000 MHz, while the NVIDIA RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation has a boost clock of 1545 MHz.

Q: What is the thermal design power of each GPU?

A: The AMD Radeon 860M has a TDP of 15 W, and the NVIDIA RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation has a TDP of 100 W.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every specification field. The AMD Radeon 860M uses a base clock of 600 MHz and a boost clock of 3000 MHz. The NVIDIA RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation has a base clock of 1110 MHz and a boost clock of 1545 MHz. The Radeon 860M's memory is system shared with no fixed size, type, bus width, or bandwidth, all listed as system dependent. The RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation has 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with a bandwidth of 432.0 GB/s and a memory clock of 2250 MHz, which translates to 18 Gbps effective.

The shading units differ sharply: the Radeon 860M has 512 shading units, while the RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation has 5120. Texture mapping units are 32 versus 160, and render output units are 16 versus 64. The Radeon 860M has 8 ray tracing cores and no tensor cores, while the RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation has 40 ray tracing cores and 160 tensor cores. Pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s for the Radeon 860M and 98.88 GPixel/s for the RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation. Texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s versus 247.2 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 3.072 TFLOPS for the Radeon 860M and 15.82 TFLOPS for the RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation, with both offering FP16 at a 1:1 ratio.

The power envelope is a major differentiator. The Radeon 860M is rated at 15 W, while the RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation is rated at 100 W. Both use the PCIe 4.0 interface, but the Radeon 860M uses x8 lanes and the RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation uses x16 lanes. Both are listed as IGP slot width with no power connectors and portable-device-dependent display outputs. The Radeon 860M uses a 4 nm process node, while the RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation uses a 5 nm node, both from TSMC. The Radeon 860M has an unknown transistor count and die size, while the RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation has 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die with a transistor density of 121.8M per mm².

Architecture Differences

The AMD Radeon 860M is built on the RDNA 3.5 architecture and uses the Krackan Point chip. It belongs to the Navi III IGP generation, with the predecessor listed as Navi II IGP. The process node is 4 nm at TSMC. The NVIDIA RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation uses the Ada Lovelace architecture and the AD104 chip. It belongs to the Ada-MW generation, with the predecessor listed as Ampere-MW and the successor as Blackwell-MW. The process node is 5 nm at TSMC.

The Radeon 860M has 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, 16 ROPs, and 8 ray tracing cores. It has no tensor cores. Its FP32 and FP16 performance are both 3.072 TFLOPS, indicating a 1:1 ratio. The RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation has 5120 shading units, 160 TMUs, 64 ROPs, 40 ray tracing cores, and 160 tensor cores. Its FP32 and FP16 performance are both 15.82 TFLOPS, also at a 1:1 ratio. The RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation supports 10 times the shading units and 5 times the ray tracing cores of the Radeon 860M.

Both GPUs support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The Radeon 860M has no dedicated memory, relying entirely on system shared memory with system-dependent bandwidth. The RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation has dedicated GDDR6 memory with a fixed bandwidth of 432.0 GB/s. The Radeon 860M is an integrated part with a 15 W TDP, while the RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation is a 100 W mobile part with a 12 GB frame buffer. The release dates differ: the Radeon 860M was released on 2025-02-28, and the RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation was released on 2023-03-20. The bus interface differs as well, with the Radeon 860M using PCIe 4.0 x8 and the RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation using PCIe 4.0 x16.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon 860M wins in measured benchmark presence. It has two recorded scores, an average of 26401, and a 72nd percentile ranking. Its Vulkan score of 30043 is its strongest recorded result, and its nearest rivals are all within about one percent of its average, confirming that it competes with discrete GPUs like the GeForce MX550 and RTX A4000 despite being an integrated part. The Radeon 860M also wins on efficiency in terms of power draw, with a 15 W TDP versus the RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation's 100 W, and on boost clock, at 3000 MHz versus 1545 MHz.

The NVIDIA RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation wins on raw specification counts across the board. It has 5120 shading units versus 512, 160 TMUs versus 32, 64 ROPs versus 16, 40 ray tracing cores versus 8, and 160 tensor cores versus none. Its FP32 throughput of 15.82 TFLOPS is more than five times the Radeon 860M's 3.072 TFLOPS. Its pixel rate of 98.88 GPixel/s is more than double the Radeon 860M's 48.00 GPixel/s, and its texture rate of 247.2 GTexel/s is more than 2.5 times the Radeon 860M's 96.00 GTexel/s. The RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation has 12 GB of dedicated GDDR6 memory with 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth, whereas the Radeon 860M is limited to system shared memory. The RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation also uses a wider PCIe 4.0 x16 interface and has a known transistor count of 35,800 million on a 294 mm² die.

The database records no wins for either GPU in head-to-head benchmarks because no head-to-head entries exist. The performance split is therefore clear: the Radeon 860M is the only part with measured results and is positioned as a low-power integrated solution with verified mid-tier performance. The RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation is a high-specification mobile discrete GPU that, based on its specifications, is built for substantially heavier workloads, but its performance is not verified by any benchmark scores in this database.