AMD Radeon RX 560X vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 560X and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile represent two distinct generations of mobile graphics, separated by nearly three years of architectural evolution. The data shows a decisive performance gap, with the RTX 3060 Mobile winning both head-to-head benchmark comparisons, though both cards occupy the same overall percentile ranking among all GPUs. This analysis breaks down the benchmark scores, architectural differences, and practical implications based strictly on the provided figures.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two available comparison points are Geekbench compute workloads, and the results are unequivocal. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the AMD Radeon RX 560X scores 17020, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile achieves 79483. That represents a delta of -78.6% for the AMD card, meaning the RTX 3060 Mobile delivers roughly 4.7 times the raw compute performance in this workload. The Vulkan benchmark tells a similar story: the RX 560X scores 20231 versus the RTX 3060 Mobile’s 80344, a -74.8% delta. The NVIDIA GPU is about 3.9 times faster here.

These are not marginal wins; they are category-level differences. The RTX 3060 Mobile’s OpenCL score of 79483 places it in a completely different performance tier, while the RX 560X’s 17020 is closer to older workstation parts. For context, the RX 560X’s nearest rivals by average benchmark score include the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 XT (18685, -0.3% delta), the AMD FirePro D500 (18533, +0.5%), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 (18789, -0.9%), and the NVIDIA Tesla K80 (18866, -1.3%). The RTX 3060 Mobile, with an average benchmark score of 18159, sits alongside the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 (18189, -0.2%), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER (18093, +0.4%), AMD Radeon RX 460 (18373, -1.2%), and Intel Arc A770M (18383, -1.2%).

Notably, both GPUs share the same 62nd percentile against all GPUs, which indicates that while the RTX 3060 Mobile is far faster in raw compute, the RX 560X is not an outlier at the bottom of the distribution. The RX 560X’s average benchmark score is 18626, while the RTX 3060 Mobile’s is 18159 — the AMD card actually has a slightly higher aggregate average across its two tests. This is a quirk of the limited test set, as the OpenCL and Vulkan scores alone show a massive NVIDIA advantage. The RTX 3060 Mobile also has additional benchmark data points (3DMark Steel Nomad, multiple Passmark DX tests, G2D, G3D, and compute) that the RX 560X lacks entirely, but those are not directly comparable here.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap is foundational. The AMD Radeon RX 560X uses the Polaris 21 chip built on GCN 4.0 architecture, fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. It packs 3,000 million transistors on a 123 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 24.4M per mm². The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile uses the GA106 chip with Ampere architecture, built on Samsung’s 8 nm process. It contains 12,000 million transistors across a 276 mm² die, for a density of 43.5M per mm² — nearly double the RX 560X’s density.

The compute resources diverge sharply. The RX 560X has 1024 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, and 16 ROPs. The RTX 3060 Mobile has 3840 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 48 ROPs — 3.75 times the shaders, 1.875 times the TMUs, and 3 times the ROPs. The NVIDIA card also includes 30 RT cores and 120 tensor cores, which the AMD card lacks entirely. These are not just numbers; they represent fundamentally different feature sets. The RT cores enable hardware-accelerated ray tracing, while the tensor cores accelerate AI workloads and DLSS. The RX 560X has no equivalent hardware.

Clock speeds tell a nuanced story. The RX 560X runs at a base clock of 1175 MHz and boosts to 1275 MHz. The RTX 3060 Mobile has a lower base clock of 900 MHz but a higher boost of 1425 MHz. Despite the lower base, the RTX 3060 Mobile achieves far higher throughput due to its massive shader count. The memory subsystem also favors NVIDIA: the RX 560X has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus with 112.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the RTX 3060 Mobile has 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus with 336.0 GB/s bandwidth — exactly three times the bandwidth. Memory clocks are both listed at 1750 MHz, but the effective data rates differ: 7 Gbps for GDDR5 versus 14 Gbps for GDDR6.

The process node difference (14 nm versus 8 nm) and transistor count (3 billion versus 12 billion) explain the performance gap at the silicon level. The RTX 3060 Mobile also supports newer API standards: DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) versus the RX 560X’s DirectX 12 (12_0), and Vulkan 1.4 versus Vulkan 1.3. Both support OpenGL 4.6. The power envelopes are relatively close — 75 W for the RX 560X and 80 W for the RTX 3060 Mobile — which makes the NVIDIA card’s performance advantage even more striking on a per-watt basis.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 3060 Mobile wins every head-to-head benchmark in the data. It is the clear choice for compute-heavy workloads, as evidenced by its OpenCL and Vulkan scores that are roughly 4 to 5 times higher. The presence of 30 RT cores and 120 tensor cores means it can handle ray-traced rendering and AI-accelerated tasks that the RX 560X simply cannot execute in hardware. The 6 GB GDDR6 memory with 336 GB/s bandwidth also gives it a substantial edge in texture-heavy or large-dataset scenarios.

The RX 560X has no benchmark wins to claim. Its only advantage is its lower average benchmark score (18626 versus 18159), which is an artifact of the test set rather than a real-world superiority. However, it does consume slightly less power (75 W versus 80 W TDP) and has a much smaller die (123 mm² versus 276 mm²), which could translate to lower manufacturing costs and simpler cooling requirements. The RX 560X also has a defined slot width (dual-slot) and specific display outputs (1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, 1x DisplayPort 1.4a), whereas the RTX 3060 Mobile’s display outputs are listed as "Portable Device Dependent" — meaning it is designed for laptops where outputs vary by implementation.

For users with legacy software that relies on older DirectX versions, the RX 560X supports up to DirectX 12 (12_0), while the RTX 3060 Mobile supports 12 Ultimate (12_2). This backward compatibility is theoretical; in practice, the NVIDIA card’s raw speed would likely handle older APIs better anyway, but the data does not include such tests. The RX 560X also uses a PCIe 3.0 x8 interface versus the RTX 3060 Mobile’s PCIe 4.0 x16, which could affect bandwidth-limited scenarios, though the benchmark data does not isolate this variable.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 560X has an average benchmark score of 18626, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile has an average of 18159. This is based on their respective test sets, where the RX 560X has two scores and the RTX 3060 Mobile has ten.

Q: How big is the performance gap in Vulkan compute?

A: In the Geekbench Vulkan test, the RTX 3060 Mobile scores 80344 versus the RX 560X’s 20231, a delta of -74.8% for the AMD card. The NVIDIA GPU is approximately 3.9 times faster.

Q: Does the RTX 3060 Mobile support hardware ray tracing?

A: Yes, the RTX 3060 Mobile includes 30 RT cores specifically for ray tracing. The RX 560X has no RT cores listed in its specifications.

Q: What memory configurations do these GPUs use?

A: The RX 560X uses 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus with 112.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 3060 Mobile uses 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus with 336.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Are both GPUs still in production?

A: No. Both the AMD Radeon RX 560X and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile are listed as end-of-life products.

Q: Which GPU has a higher transistor density?

A: The RTX 3060 Mobile has a transistor density of 43.5M per mm², compared to the RX 560X’s 24.4M per mm². This reflects the newer 8 nm process node versus the older 14 nm node.

Specification Differences

The following fields differ between the two GPUs:

• Chip: Polaris 21 (AMD) versus GA106 (NVIDIA)
• Architecture: GCN 4.0 versus Ampere
• Process Node: 14 nm versus 8 nm
• Foundry: GlobalFoundries versus Samsung
• Transistors: 3,000 million versus 12,000 million
• Die Size: 123 mm² versus 276 mm²
• Transistor Density: 24.4M / mm² versus 43.5M / mm²
• Base Clock: 1175 MHz versus 900 MHz
• Boost Clock: 1275 MHz versus 1425 MHz
• Memory Size: 4 GB versus 6 GB
• Memory Type: GDDR5 versus GDDR6
• Memory Bus Width: 128 bit versus 192 bit
• Memory Bandwidth: 112.0 GB/s versus 336.0 GB/s
• Memory Effective Rate: 7 Gbps versus 14 Gbps
• Shading Units: 1024 versus 3840
• TMUs: 64 versus 120
• ROPs: 16 versus 48
• RT Cores: None versus 30
• Tensor Cores: None versus 120
• Pixel Rate: 20.40 GPixel/s versus 68.40 GPixel/s
• Texture Rate: 81.60 GTexel/s versus 171.0 GTexel/s
• FP32 Performance: 2.611 TFLOPS versus 10.94 TFLOPS
• FP16 Performance: 2.611 TFLOPS (1:1) versus 10.94 TFLOPS (1:1)
• TDP: 75 W versus 80 W
• Slot Width: Dual-slot versus not specified
• Suggested PSU: 250 W versus not specified
• Bus Interface: PCIe 3.0 x8 versus PCIe 4.0 x16
• Display Outputs: 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, 1x DisplayPort 1.4a versus "Portable Device Dependent"
• DirectX Support: 12 (12_0) versus 12 Ultimate (12_2)
• Vulkan Support: 1.3 versus 1.4
• Release Date: 2018-04-10 versus 2021-01-11
• Predecessor: Polaris versus GeForce 20 Mobile
• Successor: Vega versus not specified
• Dimensions: 170 mm (6.7 inches) length versus not specified

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile is the superior GPU by every measurable performance metric in this comparison. Its OpenCL and Vulkan scores are 4 to 5 times higher than the RX 560X’s, and its architectural advantages — 30 RT cores, 120 tensor cores, 3840 shading units, and triple the memory bandwidth — make it suitable for modern workloads that the older AMD card cannot handle. The RTX 3060 Mobile also achieves this with only a 5 W higher TDP, which is a remarkable efficiency gain given the 8 nm process versus 14 nm.

The AMD Radeon RX 560X should only be considered in scenarios where its specific characteristics matter: a dual-slot form factor, a defined set of display outputs, a lower suggested PSU of 250 W, and a smaller physical footprint. Its 75 W TDP is marginally lower, and its 123 mm² die is less than half the size of the NVIDIA chip. For legacy systems with PCIe 3.0 x8 slots or older driver requirements, the RX 560X might be the only compatible option. However, for anyone choosing between these two based on performance, the RTX 3060 Mobile is the only rational pick. Both cards share the same 62nd percentile ranking, but that statistic masks the reality that the RTX 3060 Mobile is in a different league entirely within that percentile band. The RX 560X’s nearest rivals include the RTX 2070 and Tesla K80, while the RTX 3060 Mobile trades blows with the RTX 2060 SUPER and Intel Arc A770M — a generational leap that the raw numbers fully support.