AMD Radeon RX 560X vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile and AMD Radeon RX 560X represent two very different eras of mobile graphics, separated by nearly five years of architectural evolution. The data shows a decisive performance gulf: the RTX 4050 Mobile wins both head-to-head benchmark tests, with an average benchmark score of 19,049 compared to 18,626 for the RX 560X. However, the delta is far larger in raw compute tests, where the NVIDIA part leads by 339.2% in Geekbench OpenCL and 271.9% in Geekbench Vulkan. The RTX 4050 Mobile also sits at the 63rd percentile of all GPUs, versus the 62nd percentile for the RX 560X, though this narrow percentile gap reflects the fact that the RX 560X’s nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070, a far more capable desktop card.

The Verdict

The RTX 4050 Mobile is the clear choice for anyone needing modern feature support and substantial compute throughput. Its 8.986 TFLOPS FP32 performance is more than three times the RX 560X’s 2.611 TFLOPS, and its Geekbench OpenCL score of 74,748 dwarfs the RX 560X’s 17,020. This makes it suitable for tasks like GPU-accelerated rendering, machine learning inference, or any workload that leverages DirectX 12 Ultimate features, as the NVIDIA card supports DirectX 12_2 while the AMD card is limited to DirectX 12_0. The RTX 4050 Mobile also brings dedicated ray tracing cores (20) and tensor cores (80), which the RX 560X lacks entirely — a decisive advantage for games or applications that use these features.

The RX 560X, by contrast, is an end-of-life product built on the older GCN 4.0 architecture. Its 4 GB of GDDR5 memory and 112.0 GB/s bandwidth are half the capacity and roughly 58% of the bandwidth of the RTX 4050 Mobile’s 6 GB GDDR6 at 192.0 GB/s. The data suggests it is only viable for legacy applications or very light 1080p gaming where modern API features are not required. Its higher TDP of 75 W also makes it less efficient than the RTX 4050 Mobile’s 50 W, despite delivering far lower performance. For a new purchase, the RTX 4050 Mobile is overwhelmingly the better option; the RX 560X should only be considered if the workload is strictly limited to older DirectX 11 or OpenGL titles.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on fundamentally different process nodes and architectures. The RTX 4050 Mobile uses the AD107 chip on TSMC’s 5 nm process, packing 18,900 million transistors into a 159 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 118.9M per mm². The RX 560X uses the Polaris 21 chip on GlobalFoundries’ 14 nm process, with only 3,000 million transistors on a 123 mm² die, yielding a density of 24.4M per mm². This process advantage gives the NVIDIA card a massive transistor budget despite a similar physical footprint.

The Ada Lovelace architecture in the RTX 4050 Mobile includes 2,560 shading units, 80 texture mapping units, 48 ROPs, 20 ray tracing cores, and 80 tensor cores. The GCN 4.0 architecture in the RX 560X offers 1,024 shading units, 64 TMUs, and only 16 ROPs, with no dedicated ray tracing or tensor cores. The memory subsystems differ equally: the NVIDIA card uses 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 96-bit bus, while the AMD card uses 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus. Despite the narrower bus, the RTX 4050 Mobile achieves higher bandwidth (192.0 GB/s vs 112.0 GB/s) thanks to faster memory clocks (2000 MHz vs 1750 MHz, or 16 Gbps effective vs 7 Gbps effective).

API support also diverges. The RTX 4050 Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the RX 560X supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3. Both offer OpenGL 4.6. The NVIDIA card also uses a PCIe 4.0 x8 interface compared to the AMD card’s PCIe 3.0 x8, and its power connector is listed as “None” with an IGP slot width, whereas the RX 560X is a dual-slot card with a suggested PSU of 250 W.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute performance?

A: The RTX 4050 Mobile delivers 8.986 TFLOPS FP32, which is 3.44 times the RX 560X’s 2.611 TFLOPS. This is reflected in the Geekbench OpenCL scores: 74,748 for NVIDIA versus 17,020 for AMD, a 339.2% delta.

Q: Does the RX 560X support ray tracing?

A: No. The RX 560X has null values for both ray tracing cores and tensor cores. The RTX 4050 Mobile includes 20 ray tracing cores and 80 tensor cores, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI-based features.

Q: How do their memory configurations compare?

A: The RTX 4050 Mobile has 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 96-bit bus with 192.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RX 560X has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus with 112.0 GB/s bandwidth. Despite the wider bus, the RX 560X’s bandwidth is 41.7% lower.

Q: Which GPU is more power-efficient?

A: The RTX 4050 Mobile has a TDP of 50 W, while the RX 560X has a TDP of 75 W. Given the NVIDIA card’s significantly higher performance, the efficiency gap is substantial.

Q: What is the performance percentile ranking for each GPU?

A: The RTX 4050 Mobile sits at the 63rd percentile of all GPUs, and the RX 560X sits at the 62nd percentile. Despite the large raw performance gap, their percentile rankings are close because the RX 560X’s nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 (with an average score of 18,789).

Q: Which GPU has newer API support?

A: The RTX 4050 Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4. The RX 560X supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3. Both support OpenGL 4.6.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile | AMD Radeon RX 560X |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | Ada Lovelace | GCN 4.0 |

| Process Node | 5 nm | 14 nm |

| Foundry | TSMC | GlobalFoundries |

| Transistors | 18,900 million | 3,000 million |

| Die Size | 159 mm² | 123 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 118.9M / mm² | 24.4M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1455 MHz | 1175 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1755 MHz | 1275 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) | 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 6 GB GDDR6 | 4 GB GDDR5 |

| Memory Bus | 96 bit | 128 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 192.0 GB/s | 112.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 2560 | 1024 |

| TMUs | 80 | 64 |

| ROPs | 48 | 16 |

| RT Cores | 20 | Null |

| Tensor Cores | 80 | Null |

| Pixel Rate | 84.24 GPixel/s | 20.40 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 140.4 GTexel/s | 81.60 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 8.986 TFLOPS | 2.611 TFLOPS |

| TDP | 50 W | 75 W |

| Slot Width | IGP | Dual-slot |

| Suggested PSU | Null | 250 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x8 | PCIe 3.0 x8 |

| Display Outputs | Portable Device Dependent | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, 1x DisplayPort 1.4a |

| DirectX Support | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | 12 (12_0) |

| Vulkan Support | 1.4 | 1.3 |

| Production Status | Active | End-of-life |

| Release Date | 2023-01-02 | 2018-04-10 |

| Dimensions (Length) | Null | 170 mm (6.7 inches) |

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two available head-to-head benchmark results show an overwhelming NVIDIA advantage. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 4050 Mobile scores 74,748 against the RX 560X’s 17,020, a delta of 339.2%. This is not a marginal improvement but a generational leap, driven by the combination of 2.5 times more shading units, a much higher boost clock (1755 MHz vs 1275 MHz), and access to newer memory technology. The FP32 throughput difference alone — 8.986 TFLOPS versus 2.611 TFLOPS — explains most of this gap, as OpenCL heavily exercises raw compute pipelines.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the RTX 4050 Mobile scores 75,235 versus 20,231 for the RX 560X, a delta of 271.9%. The Vulkan test benefits from the NVIDIA card’s support for the latest API version (1.4 vs 1.3) and its dedicated hardware for ray tracing and tensor operations, which can be utilized in modern workloads. The RX 560X’s score of 20,231 is actually higher than its OpenCL score of 17,020, indicating that the older GCN architecture performs relatively better under Vulkan’s explicit control model, but it still trails the RTX 4050 Mobile by a factor of 3.7.

The RTX 4050 Mobile wins both head-to-head tests, with 2 wins and 0 losses. Its average benchmark score of 19,049 places it just 0.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6600 (19,036) and 0.5% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation (18,954), though it trails the NVIDIA Tesla K20m by 0.2% (19,089). The RX 560X’s average score of 18,626 is 0.9% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 (18,789) and 1.3% behind the NVIDIA Tesla K80 (18,866). These rival comparisons underscore that the RX 560X, despite its age, still competes in the same average-score bracket as much newer cards, but only because its limited benchmark set (two Geekbench tests) excludes the DirectX and compute workloads where it would fare far worse.