AMD Radeon Pro 5600M vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data presents a clear asymmetry between these two mobile graphics solutions. Out of nine shared benchmark tests, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile takes eight victories, while the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M secures a single win. This is not a close contest by most measurements.

The largest margin of victory for NVIDIA appears in the PassMark DirectX 11 test. The RTX 3060 Mobile scores 110, while the Radeon Pro 5600M manages 59. That is a delta of 86.4%, meaning the NVIDIA part is nearly twice as fast in this legacy API workload. Similarly, in the Geekbench Vulkan test, the NVIDIA card posts 80344 against AMD's 46425, a 73.1% advantage. These are substantial gaps that suggest the NVIDIA architecture handles modern graphics APIs with considerably more efficiency.

Compute workloads also favor NVIDIA heavily. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 3060 Mobile scores 79483 versus 47783 for the Radeon Pro 5600M, a 66.3% difference. The PassMark GPU Compute test shows a similar story: 5718 for NVIDIA against 4031 for AMD, a 41.9% lead. This pattern indicates that the NVIDIA GPU is not just faster at rasterization but also at general-purpose compute tasks, which matters for rendering, simulation, and other professional workloads.

DirectX 12 performance follows the same trend. The RTX 3060 Mobile scores 58, while the Radeon Pro 5600M scores 39, giving NVIDIA a 48.7% edge. Even in older DirectX 10 and DirectX 9 tests, NVIDIA maintains its lead, with deltas of 45.2% and 23.7%, respectively. The DirectX 10 scores are 90 versus 62, and DirectX 9 scores are 146 versus 118. This consistency across API generations suggests the NVIDIA GPU has a broader performance advantage that is not limited to one specific technology or driver path.

The PassMark G3D test, which is a comprehensive 3D graphics benchmark, reinforces the overall picture. The RTX 3060 Mobile scores 13230, while the Radeon Pro 5600M scores 9279, a 42.6% difference. This is arguably the most representative single metric for general gaming and 3D application performance, and it clearly favors NVIDIA.

However, the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M does have one notable victory. In the PassMark G2D test, which measures 2D graphics and desktop composition performance, AMD scores 679 against NVIDIA's 588. This is a delta of -13.4% from NVIDIA's perspective, meaning AMD is ahead by roughly 13.4%. While this is a minor win in the grand scheme of things, it indicates that the AMD GPU handles 2D operations, such as window rendering and image manipulation, with slightly better efficiency.

The average benchmark scores from the database further contextualize these results. The RTX 3060 Mobile has an average score of 18159, placing it at the 62nd percentile of all GPUs. The Radeon Pro 5600M has an average score of 16351, placing it at the 59th percentile. The NVIDIA card's nearest rivals in the database include the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 (average score 18189, delta -0.2%) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER (average score 18093, delta 0.4%). This means the RTX 3060 Mobile sits in a performance tier that is essentially on par with a desktop-class RTX 2060 SUPER. Meanwhile, the Radeon Pro 5600M's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT (average score 16361, delta -0.1%) and the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell (average score 16408, delta -0.3%). This places the AMD part in a lower performance tier, roughly comparable to a desktop RX 5700 XT.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the benchmark data, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile is the superior performer in almost every measurable category. It wins 8 out of 9 head-to-head tests, and its wins are often by large margins, ranging from 23.7% to 86.4%. The only test it loses is the PassMark G2D, where AMD's lead is a modest 13.4%. For any user prioritizing 3D graphics, compute performance, or modern API support, the data points unequivocally to the NVIDIA card.

The Radeon Pro 5600M does not appear to be a competitive alternative for most use cases. Its single victory in 2D performance is unlikely to outweigh the substantial deficits it shows in every other benchmark. The database records its average score at 16351, which is notably below the RTX 3060 Mobile's 18159. When looking at the percentile rankings, the NVIDIA card sits at the 62nd percentile versus AMD's 59th, further confirming the performance gap.

That said, context matters. The Radeon Pro 5600M is a mobile GPU designed for Apple's Mac platform, as indicated by its generation label "Radeon Pro Mac (Navi Mobile)". Its power envelope is significantly lower, at 50 W versus 80 W for the NVIDIA card. This suggests that the AMD part may be more suitable for thin-and-light laptops where thermal and power constraints are paramount. The data shows a clear performance trade-off: the RTX 3060 Mobile delivers much higher frame rates and compute throughput, but it consumes 60% more power to do so. For a user who prioritizes battery life and portability over raw performance, the Radeon Pro 5600M could be the more sensible choice, even if its benchmark scores are lower.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile is the clear winner in gaming and 3D rendering workloads. Its PassMark G3D score of 13230 versus 9279 for AMD represents a 42.6% advantage, which will translate directly into higher frame rates and smoother gameplay in most modern titles. The DirectX 12 and Vulkan results, where NVIDIA leads by 48.7% and 73.1% respectively, indicate that the card is well-optimized for current-generation game engines that rely heavily on these APIs. Additionally, the RTX 3060 Mobile's superior compute performance, as shown in the Geekbench OpenCL test (79483 versus 47783), makes it the better option for content creators who use GPU-accelerated rendering, video encoding, or machine learning applications.

The AMD Radeon Pro 5600M wins in a very narrow niche: 2D desktop performance. Its PassMark G2D score of 679 is higher than NVIDIA's 588, suggesting that it handles basic desktop operations, image editing, and 2D application rendering with slightly better efficiency. This could be relevant for productivity tasks that are not GPU-intensive, but it is a minor advantage that most users would not notice in daily use. The AMD card also operates at a lower power draw of 50 W, which makes it more suitable for systems where thermal headroom is limited, such as ultraportable laptops or fanless designs.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 18159, while the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M has an average score of 16351.

Q: How large is the performance difference in DirectX 11?

A: The RTX 3060 Mobile scores 110 in PassMark DirectX 11, compared to 59 for the Radeon Pro 5600M, which is an 86.4% advantage for NVIDIA.

Q: Does the AMD card win any benchmark tests?

A: Yes, the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M wins the PassMark G2D test with a score of 679, beating NVIDIA's 588 by 13.4%.

Q: What is the difference in memory bandwidth between the two cards?

A: The NVIDIA card has a memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s, while the AMD card has a higher bandwidth of 394.2 GB/s.

Q: Which GPU has a higher percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile ranks at the 62nd percentile, while the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M ranks at the 59th percentile.

Q: How do the power requirements compare?

A: The NVIDIA card has a TDP of 80 W, while the AMD card has a TDP of 50 W, making the AMD part more power-efficient.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on fundamentally different architectures. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile uses the Ampere architecture, specifically the GA106 chip, manufactured by Samsung on an 8 nm process node. The die size is 276 mm², and it contains 12,000 million transistors, resulting in a transistor density of 43.5 million per mm². The AMD Radeon Pro 5600M uses the RDNA 1.0 architecture, specifically the Navi 12 chip, manufactured by TSMC on a 7 nm process node. The die size and transistor count for the AMD chip are not recorded in the database.

These architectural differences manifest in several key features. The NVIDIA card is equipped with 30 ray tracing cores and 120 tensor cores, which are absent from the AMD card's specification sheet. This gives the RTX 3060 Mobile a significant advantage in ray-traced workloads and AI-accelerated tasks. The AMD card, on the other hand, has a higher pixel rate (73.22 GPixel/s versus 68.40 GPixel/s) and a higher texture rate (183.0 GTexel/s versus 171.0 GTexel/s), despite having fewer shading units (2560 versus 3840). The NVIDIA card also has more TMUs (120 versus 160, wait, this is reversed: NVIDIA has 120 TMUs, AMD has 160 TMUs) and fewer ROPs (48 versus 64). The AMD card's FP16 performance is 11.71 TFLOPS, which is higher than its FP32 performance of 5.857 TFLOPS, indicating a 2:1 ratio. The NVIDIA card has equal FP16 and FP32 performance at 10.94 TFLOPS, indicating a 1:1 ratio.

The API support also differs. The NVIDIA card supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the AMD card supports only DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6, but the NVIDIA card supports Vulkan 1.4, while the AMD card supports Vulkan 1.3.

Specification Differences

The following specifications differ between the two cards:

• Process Node: NVIDIA uses an 8 nm process, AMD uses a 7 nm process.
• Foundry: NVIDIA uses Samsung, AMD uses TSMC.
• Transistors: NVIDIA has 12,000 million transistors, AMD's count is not recorded.
• Die Size: NVIDIA measures 276 mm², AMD's size is not recorded.
• Transistor Density: NVIDIA has 43.5M per mm², AMD's density is not recorded.
• Base Clock: NVIDIA runs at 900 MHz, AMD at 822 MHz.
• Boost Clock: NVIDIA runs at 1425 MHz, AMD at 1144 MHz.
• Memory Clock: NVIDIA runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective), AMD at 770 MHz (1540 Mbps effective).
• Memory Size: NVIDIA has 6 GB, AMD has 8 GB.
• Memory Type: NVIDIA uses GDDR6, AMD uses HBM2.
• Memory Bus Width: NVIDIA has 192 bit, AMD has 2048 bit.
• Memory Bandwidth: NVIDIA has 336.0 GB/s, AMD has 394.2 GB/s.
• Shading Units: NVIDIA has 3840, AMD has 2560.
• TMUs: NVIDIA has 120, AMD has 160.
• ROPs: NVIDIA has 48, AMD has 64.
• RT Cores: NVIDIA has 30, AMD has none.
• Tensor Cores: NVIDIA has 120, AMD has none.
• Pixel Rate: NVIDIA has 68.40 GPixel/s, AMD has 73.22 GPixel/s.
• Texture Rate: NVIDIA has 171.0 GTexel/s, AMD has 183.0 GTexel/s.
• FP32: NVIDIA has 10.94 TFLOPS, AMD has 5.857 TFLOPS.
• FP16: NVIDIA has 10.94 TFLOPS (1:1), AMD has 11.71 TFLOPS (2:1).
• TDP: NVIDIA has 80 W, AMD has 50 W.
• Slot Width: NVIDIA is not recorded, AMD is IGP.
• DirectX Support: NVIDIA supports 12 Ultimate (12_2), AMD supports 12 (12_1).
• Vulkan Support: NVIDIA supports 1.4, AMD supports 1.3.
• Release Date: NVIDIA was released on 2021-01-11, AMD on 2020-06-14.