AMD Radeon R9 M290X vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile Comparison

The benchmark data presents a clear generational divide. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile is in a different performance class entirely, while the AMD Radeon R9 M290X is a legacy part that, despite its age, still holds a surprisingly competitive average score. The RTX 4060 Mobile is the only rational choice for any modern workload, though the R9 M290X's data shows it remains a capable option for its era.

The Verdict

The choice between these two is not a contest; it is a formality. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile is the definitive winner, outperforming the AMD Radeon R9 M290X by a massive 75.4% in the only directly comparable benchmark (Geekbench OpenCL). The data indicates the RTX 4060 Mobile is a contemporary, high-performance part, while the R9 M290X is an end-of-life product from a previous technological generation.

For any user looking to play modern games or run GPU-accelerated applications, the RTX 4060 Mobile is the only viable option. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, 24 RT cores, and 96 Tensor cores provide features that the R9 M290X lacks entirely. The RTX 4060 Mobile’s average benchmark score of 22729 places it in the 67th percentile of all GPUs, putting it in direct competition with desktop-class parts like the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 and the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT.

The AMD Radeon R9 M290X, with an average benchmark score of 23276 and a 68th percentile ranking, is a fascinating anomaly. Its average score is nearly identical to the RTX 4060 Mobile, despite being a 28 nm part from 2014. This is likely due to the nature of the benchmarks included in its data, which may favor its specific architecture. However, this average score is misleading in a modern context. The R9 M290X lacks hardware ray tracing, DLSS, and modern API support (DirectX 12 (11_1) vs. 12 Ultimate). It should only be considered for legacy systems or specific compute tasks where its older architecture is still supported. The RTX 4060 Mobile is the clear pick for anyone building or buying a system today.

Where Each One Wins

Based on the data, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile wins in every measurable head-to-head category. The sole direct comparison, Geekbench OpenCL, shows the RTX 4060 Mobile scoring 89420 against the R9 M290X’s 22028. This is a 75.4% lead, demonstrating a colossal advantage in general-purpose compute performance.

The RTX 4060 Mobile also wins decisively in architectural features. It supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, and features dedicated RT (ray tracing) and Tensor (AI) cores, making it suitable for next-generation gaming and AI workloads. The R9 M290X, with its GCN 1.0 architecture, offers no such specialized hardware and is limited to DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170.

The data suggests the only potential "win" for the R9 M290X is in its average benchmark score of 23276, which is 2.4% higher than the RTX 4060 Mobile's 22729. This single metric is an outlier, likely skewed by the benchmarks available for the older card (Geekbench Metal and OpenCL). It does not translate to real-world performance superiority. In any practical, modern application, the RTX 4060 Mobile is the victor.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gulf between these two GPUs is immense, representing a decade of progress. The AMD Radeon R9 M290X is built on the GCN 1.0 architecture using a 28 nm process at TSMC. Its chip, codenamed Neptune, contains 2,800 million transistors on a 212 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 13.2 million per mm². In contrast, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile uses the Ada Lovelace architecture on a 5 nm process, also from TSMC. Its AD107 chip packs 18,900 million transistors into a smaller 159 mm² die, achieving a density of 118.9 million per mm².

This process advantage translates into a massive difference in core counts. The RTX 4060 Mobile boasts 3072 shading units, 96 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 48 raster output units (ROPs). The R9 M290X, by comparison, has 1280 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. Furthermore, the RTX 4060 Mobile includes 24 dedicated ray tracing cores and 96 Tensor cores, hardware that is entirely absent from the older AMD part.

Memory architecture also differs significantly. The R9 M290X uses 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 153.6 GB/s. The RTX 4060 Mobile uses 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a narrower 128-bit bus, but thanks to faster memory clocks, it achieves a much higher bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s. The RTX 4060 Mobile also features a newer PCIe 4.0 x8 interface, compared to the R9 M290X's PCIe 3.0 x16.

FAQ

Q: Is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile faster than the AMD Radeon R9 M290X?

A: Yes. In the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark, the RTX 4060 Mobile scored 89420, which is 75.4% higher than the R9 M290X's score of 22028.

Q: Which GPU has more memory and bandwidth?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory with a bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s. The AMD Radeon R9 M290X has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 153.6 GB/s.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon R9 M290X support ray tracing?

A: No. The R9 M290X has no RT cores. The RTX 4060 Mobile includes 24 dedicated ray tracing cores.

Q: What are the key API differences between the two?

A: The RTX 4060 Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the R9 M290X supports DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170.

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon R9 M290X has a slightly higher average score of 23276 compared to the RTX 4060 Mobile's 22729. However, this is based on a different set of benchmarks and does not reflect real-world performance, where the RTX 4060 Mobile is overwhelmingly superior.

Q: Are these GPUs in the same performance percentile?

A: They are very close in percentile ranking. The R9 M290X is in the 68th percentile of all GPUs, while the RTX 4060 Mobile is in the 67th percentile.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head data is stark. There is only one direct comparison available: the Geekbench OpenCL test. In this test, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile scored a staggering 89420, while the AMD Radeon R9 M290X managed only 22028. This represents a delta of -75.4% for the AMD part, making the RTX 4060 Mobile more than four times faster in this specific compute workload.

This single benchmark result encapsulates the entire performance relationship. The 75.4% lead is a massive gap that cannot be overcome by any other metric. For context, the RTX 4060 Mobile's nearest rivals, based on average score, are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (with a -0.7% delta) and the Intel Arc B580 (with a -1.3% delta). This places it in the area of high-end desktop GPUs from previous generations.

The R9 M290X's closest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 6600M, with a deltaPct of 0, meaning they have nearly identical average scores. This is an interesting data point, showing that the old GCN architecture can still hang with a modern mid-range part in synthetic averages. However, in the only actual head-to-head test, the RTX 4060 Mobile demonstrates its dominance.

Specification Differences

The specification sheets reveal the full extent of the generational leap. The process node is the most fundamental difference: the R9 M290X is a 28 nm part, while the RTX 4060 Mobile is a 5 nm part. This leads to the RTX 4060 Mobile having a much higher transistor density (118.9M / mm² vs. 13.2M / mm²) despite a smaller die size (159 mm² vs. 212 mm²).

Clock speeds are also significantly higher on the NVIDIA part. The RTX 4060 Mobile has a base clock of 1545 MHz and a boost clock of 1890 MHz, compared to the R9 M290X's 850 MHz base and 900 MHz boost. This, combined with its superior core count, results in a much higher compute throughput: the RTX 4060 Mobile delivers 11.61 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, while the R9 M290X delivers only 2.304 TFLOPS. The RTX 4060 Mobile also offers FP16 performance at a 1:1 ratio (11.61 TFLOPS), while the R9 M290X has no listed FP16 capability.

Memory technology and capacity differ as well. The RTX 4060 Mobile uses 8 GB of GDDR6 with a 128-bit bus, while the R9 M290X uses 4 GB of GDDR5 with a 256-bit bus. The newer memory type and higher clock speed (2000 MHz vs. 1200 MHz) give the RTX 4060 Mobile a bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s, significantly higher than the R9 M290X's 153.6 GB/s. The RTX 4060 Mobile also has a newer PCIe interface (4.0 x8 vs. 3.0 x16) and a higher TDP (115 W vs. 100 W), though both rely on portable device-dependent power and display connections.