AMD Radeon RX 560X vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Comparison

AMD Radeon RX 560X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 represent two vastly different eras of GPU design, separated by five years of architectural evolution. The RX 560X, built on GlobalFoundries' 14 nm process with GCN 4.0, is an end-of-life entry-level part from 2018, while the RTX 4060, fabricated on TSMC's 5 nm node with Ada Lovelace, was released in 2023 and carries a launch MSRP of 299 USD. The benchmark data shows a decisive generational gap: in Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 4060 scores 95,057 versus the RX 560X's 17,020, a delta of -82.1% favoring NVIDIA. In Geekbench Vulkan, the RTX 4060 scores 48,643 against 20,231, a -58.4% difference. The RX 560X wins zero head-to-head benchmarks, while the RTX 4060 wins both, yet the average benchmark scores (18,626 for AMD, 17,639 for NVIDIA) and percentiles (62nd vs 61st) tell a more nuanced story about how these cards compare to the broader GPU landscape.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the RTX 4060 in OpenCL compute workloads?

A: The RTX 4060 achieves a Geekbench OpenCL score of 95,057, which is 77,037 points higher than the RX 560X's 17,020. This represents a -82.1% delta from the perspective of the AMD card, meaning the RTX 4060 is roughly 4.6 times faster in this specific test.

Q: Does the RX 560X have any advantage in the head-to-head benchmark results?

A: No. The data shows the RX 560X wins zero of the two head-to-head benchmarks. The RTX 4060 wins both Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan tests, with the AMD card trailing by 58.4% in Vulkan and 82.1% in OpenCL.

Q: How do these cards rank against all other GPUs in the database?

A: The RX 560X sits in the 62nd percentile of all GPUs, while the RTX 4060 is in the 61st percentile. Despite the massive performance gap between them, their percentile rankings are nearly identical, indicating that both occupy similar mid-tier positions relative to the entire GPU population.

Q: What are the nearest rivals for each card based on average benchmark score?

A: For the RX 560X (18,626 average), the closest rivals are the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 XT (18,685, -0.3% delta), AMD FirePro D500 (18,533, +0.5%), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 (18,789, -0.9%), and NVIDIA Tesla K80 (18,866, -1.3%). For the RTX 4060 (17,639 average), the nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon HD 7790 (17,666, -0.2%), AMD Radeon 780M (17,588, +0.3%), AMD Radeon Pro 560 (17,551, +0.5%), and AMD Radeon Pro 460 (17,509, +0.7%).

Q: Which card has higher memory bandwidth, and by how much?

A: The RTX 4060 offers 272.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth, while the RX 560X provides 112.0 GB/s. NVIDIA's card has more than double the bandwidth, which contributes to its superior performance in memory-intensive workloads.

Q: What API feature levels does each card support?

A: The RX 560X supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The RTX 4060 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, giving it access to more advanced DirectX 12 features and a newer Vulkan version.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is generational. The RX 560X uses GCN 4.0 based on the Polaris 21 chip, manufactured on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. It packs 3,000 million transistors into a 123 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 24.4 million per square millimeter. In contrast, the RTX 4060 employs Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD107 chip, built on TSMC's 5 nm node. It contains 18,900 million transistors in a 159 mm² die, achieving a density of 118.9 million per square millimeter — roughly five times denser than the older chip.

The compute resources differ dramatically. The RX 560X has 1,024 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, and 16 ROPs. The RTX 4060 scales this up to 3,072 shaders, 96 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. NVIDIA's card also introduces dedicated hardware that AMD's older part completely lacks: 24 ray tracing cores and 96 tensor cores. These specialized units enable hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI-enhanced features, which the GCN 4.0 architecture cannot provide at all.

Clock speeds and derived throughput figures reflect the efficiency gains of the newer process. The RX 560X runs at a base clock of 1175 MHz with a boost of 1275 MHz, producing 2.611 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. The RTX 4060 boosts to 2460 MHz from a base of 1830 MHz, delivering 15.11 TFLOPS FP32 — a 5.8x increase in raw compute throughput. Pixel and texture rates follow suit: the RTX 4060 achieves 118.1 GPixel/s and 236.2 GTexel/s, versus the RX 560X's 20.40 GPixel/s and 81.60 GTexel/s.

Where Each One Wins

Based on the benchmark data, the RTX 4060 wins in every measured category. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 95,057 dwarfs the RX 560X's 17,020, indicating vastly superior general-purpose compute performance. In Vulkan, the RTX 4060's 48,643 score more than doubles the RX 560X's 20,231, showing strong graphics API efficiency. The RTX 4060 also benefits from 8 GB of GDDR6 memory versus 4 GB of GDDR5, which matters for modern game textures and larger datasets.

The RX 560X does have one practical advantage: its 75 W TDP and lack of power connectors make it a drop-in upgrade for older systems with limited power delivery. Its 170 mm length also fits in compact cases, and its PCIe 3.0 x8 interface is compatible with older motherboards. However, no benchmark in the data set shows the RX 560X winning. The RTX 4060's higher TDP of 115 W and 1x 12-pin connector require more robust power infrastructure, but this is the price for its 15.11 TFLOPS of FP32 performance.

For users prioritizing raw compute, gaming at higher resolutions, or any workload that benefits from ray tracing or tensor cores, the RTX 4060 is the clear choice. The RX 560X's only "win" is in power efficiency and physical compatibility, but even its 75 W TDP versus 115 W TDP is offset by the RTX 4060's much higher performance per watt when considering the 5.8x FP32 advantage.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon RX 560X | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 |

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

| Process Node | 14 nm (GlobalFoundries) | 5 nm (TSMC) |

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

| Die Size | 123 mm² | 159 mm² |

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

| Base Clock | 1175 MHz | 1830 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1275 MHz | 2460 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective) | 2125 MHz (17 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 4 GB | 8 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bandwidth | 112.0 GB/s | 272.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 1024 | 3072 |

| TMUs | 64 | 96 |

| ROPs | 16 | 48 |

| RT Cores | None | 24 |

| Tensor Cores | None | 96 |

| Pixel Rate | 20.40 GPixel/s | 118.1 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 81.60 GTexel/s | 236.2 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 2.611 TFLOPS | 15.11 TFLOPS |

| TDP | 75 W | 115 W |

| Power Connectors | None | 1x 12-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 250 W | 300 W |

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

| Display Outputs | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, 1x DisplayPort 1.4a | 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a |

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

| Vulkan Support | 1.3 | 1.4 |

| Dimensions | 170 mm (6.7 inches) long | 240 mm (9.4 inches) long, 111 mm (4.4 inches) high, 40 mm (1.6 inches) wide |

| Release Date | 2018-04-10 | 2023-05-17 |

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The Geekbench OpenCL test reveals the most extreme performance disparity. The RTX 4060 scores 95,057 while the RX 560X manages only 17,020, resulting in a -82.1% delta from the AMD card's perspective. This means the NVIDIA card delivers roughly 5.6 times the OpenCL compute performance. Such a gap is typical of comparing a modern mid-range GPU against a five-year-old entry-level part, but the magnitude is still striking.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the margin narrows considerably, though the RTX 4060 still dominates. NVIDIA scores 48,643 versus AMD's 20,231, a -58.4% delta. This shows the RX 560X's GCN architecture handles Vulkan more efficiently relative to its OpenCL performance — its Vulkan score is 19% higher than its OpenCL score, while the RTX 4060's Vulkan score is 49% lower than its OpenCL score. However, the absolute lead for the RTX 4060 remains overwhelming at more than 2.4x.

The average benchmark scores tell a different story than the head-to-head results. The RX 560X averages 18,626 across its benchmark suite, while the RTX 4060 averages 17,639 — the AMD card actually has a higher average. This is because the RX 560X's two benchmarks (OpenCL and Vulkan) are both compute-oriented, while the RTX 4060's ten benchmarks include several PassMark tests (DirectX 9, 10, 11, 12, G2D, G3D, and compute) where it scores relatively lower. For instance, the RTX 4060 scores just 76 in PassMark DirectX 12 and 103 in DirectX 10, which drags down its average.

The RTX 4060's PassMark G3D score of 19,545 and GPU compute score of 9,213 are more representative of its gaming and compute capabilities, respectively. The RX 560X has no comparable PassMark data, so direct comparisons in that suite are not possible from the FACT PACK.

The Verdict

The data overwhelmingly favors the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 for any performance-oriented use case. It wins both head-to-head benchmarks decisively, offers 8 GB of memory versus 4 GB, provides 272.0 GB/s bandwidth versus 112.0 GB/s, and delivers 15.11 TFLOPS of FP32 compute against 2.611 TFLOPS. The RTX 4060 also supports hardware ray tracing and tensor cores, which the RX 560X cannot match, and its newer DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4 API support ensure broader compatibility with modern software.

The AMD Radeon RX 560X is only suitable for users with extreme power or physical constraints. Its 75 W TDP, lack of power connectors, and 170 mm length make it ideal for legacy systems with weak power supplies or small form factor cases. Its PCIe 3.0 x8 interface also works in older motherboards without issue. However, these advantages come at the cost of 15.11 TFLOPS of performance — the RTX 4060 is in a completely different performance class.

The percentile rankings (62nd for RX 560X, 61st for RTX 4060) suggest that if you average across all GPUs in the database, these cards occupy similar positions. This is misleading, as the average benchmark scores (18,626 vs 17,639) are skewed by the RTX 4060's inclusion of lower-scoring PassMark legacy tests. In the two modern, compute-heavy benchmarks where both cards have data, the RTX 4060 is 58-82% faster. For anyone choosing between these two for gaming, content creation, or general compute, the RTX 4060 is the only reasonable option from a performance standpoint, with the RX 560X reserved for niche upgrade scenarios where power delivery and physical space are the primary constraints.