AMD Radeon RX 470 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 470 has a higher average benchmark score of 28,996 compared to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060's 26,331. However, the RTX 5060 wins all three head-to-head tests in the database.

Q: How much faster is the RTX 5060 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12?

A: The RTX 5060 scores 3,628 versus the RX 470's 842, a delta of -76.8% from the RX 470's perspective, meaning the RTX 5060 is roughly 4.3 times faster in this test.

Q: What is the process node difference between these two cards?

A: The RX 470 is built on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries, while the RTX 5060 uses a 5 nm process at TSMC. The RTX 5060 packs 21,900 million transistors on a 181 mm² die, versus 5,700 million transistors on a 232 mm² die for the RX 470.

Q: Which card has more memory and what type?

A: The RTX 5060 has 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RX 470 has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus with 211.2 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Do both cards support ray tracing?

A: No. The RTX 5060 includes 30 RT cores and 120 tensor cores, while the RX 470 has no RT cores or tensor cores listed. The RTX 5060 also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), whereas the RX 470 supports DirectX 12 (12_0).

Q: What is the launch MSRP of each card?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 470 had a launch MSRP of 179 USD, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 had a launch MSRP of 299 USD.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs spans nearly a decade of design evolution. The RX 470 uses the Ellesmere chip with GCN 4.0 architecture from the Arctic Islands (RX 400) generation, manufactured on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. The RTX 5060 uses the GB206 chip with Blackwell 2.0 architecture from the GeForce 50 series, built on a 5 nm process at TSMC. This process shrink allows the RTX 5060 to fit 21,900 million transistors onto a 181 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 121.0M per mm². The RX 470, by contrast, has 5,700 million transistors on a larger 232 mm² die, for a density of 24.6M per mm².

The compute resources differ substantially. The RTX 5060 has 3,840 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. The RX 470 has 2,048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. Although the RX 470 has more texture mapping units, the RTX 5060's higher clocks and newer architecture yield a texture rate of 299.6 GTexel/s versus 154.4 GTexel/s for the RX 470. Pixel rate similarly favors the RTX 5060 at 119.9 GPixel/s versus 38.59 GPixel/s.

The RTX 5060 introduces hardware features absent from the RX 470: 30 RT cores for ray tracing and 120 tensor cores for AI workloads. The RX 470 has no such units. The API support also reflects the generational gap. The RTX 5060 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), Vulkan 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6. The RX 470 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), Vulkan 1.3, and OpenGL 4.6. The memory subsystem is likewise different in kind. The RTX 5060 uses GDDR7 with a 128-bit bus and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the RX 470 uses GDDR5 with a wider 256-bit bus but 211.2 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 5060's interconnect is PCIe 5.0 x8, whereas the RX 470 uses PCIe 3.0 x16. Both cards are dual-slot and require a 300 W suggested PSU, but the RX 470 uses a 1x 6-pin connector while the RTX 5060 uses a 1x 8-pin.

The clock behavior also differs. The RX 470 runs at a 926 MHz base and 1206 MHz boost, with memory at 1650 MHz (6.6 Gbps effective). The RTX 5060 runs at a 2280 MHz base and 2497 MHz boost, with memory at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). These clock advantages compound with the architectural improvements to deliver the large performance gaps seen in benchmarks.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records three head-to-head comparisons, and the RTX 5060 wins all three. The largest margin comes in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, where the RTX 5060 scores 3,628 against the RX 470's 842. That is a -76.8% delta from the RX 470's perspective, meaning the RX 470 trails by roughly 3.3 times in this DirectX 12 gaming workload. This test stresses modern rendering features, and the Blackwell architecture's support for DirectX 12 Ultimate clearly pays off.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 5060 scores 112,787 versus 33,568 for the RX 470, a delta of -70.2%. This compute-oriented workload shows the raw throughput advantage of the RTX 5060. Its FP32 rating of 19.18 TFLOPS is nearly four times the RX 470's 4.940 TFLOPS, and the OpenCL result reflects that gap. The RTX 5060's FP16 rating is also 19.18 TFLOPS (1:1), matching its FP32 throughput. The RX 470 also lists FP16 at 4.940 TFLOPS (1:1).

In Geekbench Vulkan, the RTX 5060 scores 113,321 versus 39,884 for the RX 470, a delta of -64.8%. This is the closest of the three head-to-head results, yet still a decisive win. The Vulkan API is supported by both cards (Vulkan 1.4 on the RTX 5060, Vulkan 1.3 on the RX 470), so this test isolates the underlying hardware efficiency. The RX 470's best relative showing in Vulkan still leaves it trailing by a substantial margin.

Interestingly, the RX 470 has a higher average benchmark score (28,996) than the RTX 5060 (26,331), but this is due to the different benchmark sets recorded for each card. The RTX 5060's PassMark scores, including G3D at 20,891 and GPU compute at 10,899, pull its average down. The RX 470's average benefits from its Geekbench Metal score of 41,690, a test not recorded for the RTX 5060. The head-to-head results, where both cards run identical tests, are the more reliable comparison, and they consistently favor the RTX 5060.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every specification category.

Process and die: The RX 470 uses 14 nm at GlobalFoundries with a 232 mm² die; the RTX 5060 uses 5 nm at TSMC with an 181 mm² die size.

Transistors: The RTX 5060 has 21,900 million versus 5,700 million for the RX 470.

Clocks: The RX 470 has 926 MHz base and 1206 MHz boost; the RTX 5060 has 2280 MHz base and 2497 MHz boost. Memory clocks are 1650 MHz (6.6 Gbps effective) for the RX 470 and 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective) for the RTX 5060.

Memory: The RTX 5060 has 8 GB GDDR7 on a 128-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth; the RX 470 has 4 GB GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 211.2 GB/s bandwidth.

Compute units: The RTX 5060 has 3,840 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 48 ROPs; the RX 470 has 2,048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The RTX 5060 adds 30 RT cores and 120 tensor cores, which the RX 470 lacks.

Rates: Pixel rate is 119.9 GPixel/s for the RTX 5060 and 38.59 GPixel/s for the RX 470. Texture rate is 299.6 GTexel/s versus 154.4 GTexel/s. FP32 is 19.18 TFLOPS versus 4.940 TFLOPS.

Power and connectivity: Both are dual-slot with a 300 W suggested PSU, but the RX 470 uses a 1x 6-pin connector while the RTX 5060 uses a 1x 8-pin. TDP is 120 W for the RX 470 and 145 W for the RTX 5060. The RX 470 uses PCIe 3.0 x16; the RTX 5060 uses PCIe 5.0 x8. Display outputs are 1x HDMI 2.0b + 3x DisplayPort 1.4a for the RX 470, and 1x HDMI 2.1b + 3x DisplayPort 2.1b for the RTX 5060.

Dimensions: The RX 470 is 240 mm long, 95 mm high, and 35 mm wide; the RTX 5060 is 241 mm long, 111 mm high, and 40 mm wide.

Production status: The RX 470 is end-of-life; the RTX 5060 is active. Release dates are 2016-08-03 for the RX 470 and 2025-05-18 for the RTX 5060.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 5060 wins every recorded head-to-head benchmark. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it is dramatically ahead, making it the clear choice for modern DirectX 12 gaming workloads. In Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan, it maintains a strong lead, indicating superior compute performance across both general-purpose and graphics APIs. The RTX 5060's 30 RT cores and 120 tensor cores give it capabilities that the RX 470 cannot match in ray-traced or AI-accelerated workloads. Its 8 GB of GDDR7 memory with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth also positions it better for higher-resolution textures and modern game assets compared to the RX 470's 4 GB GDDR5.

The RX 470's wins are narrower and context-dependent. It has a higher average benchmark score (28,996 versus 26,331), driven by its Geekbench Metal result of 41,690, a test not present in the RTX 5060's recorded benchmarks. The RX 470 also has a wider 256-bit memory bus, though the RTX 5060's GDDR7 at higher effective speed provides more than double the bandwidth. The RX 470's lower TDP of 120 W versus 145 W means it draws less power, and its 6-pin connector is less demanding than the RTX 5060's 8-pin. The RX 470 also has a lower launch MSRP of 179 USD versus 299 USD for the RTX 5060. For applications that rely on Metal on macOS or that favor the RX 470's specific benchmark profile, the older card holds its own in the database's aggregate scoring.

The Verdict

The data points decisively to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 as the superior performer in every directly comparable workload. The three head-to-head tests show deltas of -76.8%, -70.2%, and -64.8% in favor of the RTX 5060, and no head-to-head win is recorded for the RX 470. The RTX 5060's architectural advantages, including 30 RT cores, 120 tensor cores, DirectX 12 Ultimate support, and 8 GB of GDDR7 memory, make it the appropriate choice for modern gaming and compute tasks. The 5 nm process at TSMC delivers 21,900 million transistors on a smaller die, and the resulting 19.18 TFLOPS FP32 throughput is nearly four times that of the RX 470.

The AMD Radeon RX 470 remains relevant only in specific scenarios. Its higher average benchmark score comes from a different test set, including Geekbench Metal at 41,690, which may matter for macOS or Metal-based workloads. Its lower TDP and 6-pin power requirement make it less demanding on power supplies, and its lower launch MSRP of 179 USD reflects its older market position. However, the RX 470 is end-of-life, lacks ray tracing and tensor cores, and trails massively in all recorded head-to-head tests.

For a user choosing between these two cards today, the RTX 5060 is the data-supported pick for gaming, compute, and future-proofing. The RX 470's only recorded advantages are in aggregate scoring from non-overlapping benchmarks, power draw, and legacy API support such as Vulkan 1.3 and DirectX 12 (12_0). The verdict is straightforward: the RTX 5060 wins on performance, features, and active production status. The RX 470 wins only in the niche case where its specific benchmark strengths, particularly Metal, are the priority and the power draw is a constraint.