AMD Radeon RX 590 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile Comparison

The data presents a compelling generational clash: NVIDIA’s modern GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile, built on a 5nm process with Ada Lovelace architecture, faces off against AMD’s older Radeon RX 590, a 12nm Polaris 30 part from 2018. While the RX 590 holds a higher average benchmark score and percentile ranking, the RTX 4060 Mobile counters with a massive architectural leap, newer feature support, and significantly lower power demands. The benchmark results are sparse, but the specification sheets alone reveal two fundamentally different design philosophies separated by five years of GPU evolution.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 590 leads with an average benchmark score of 24744, compared to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile’s 22729. This places the RX 590 at the 70th percentile of all GPUs, while the RTX 4060 Mobile sits at the 67th percentile.

Q: How do the two compare in terms of process technology?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile is manufactured on a 5 nm process at TSMC, while the AMD Radeon RX 590 uses a 12 nm process at GlobalFoundries. This translates to a transistor density of 118.9M / mm² for the NVIDIA chip versus 24.6M / mm² for the AMD part.

Q: What are the memory specifications for each card?

A: Both cards feature 8 GB of memory with a 256.0 GB/s bandwidth. However, the RTX 4060 Mobile uses GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, while the RX 590 uses GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus. The NVIDIA memory runs at 16 Gbps effective, while the AMD memory runs at 8 Gbps effective.

Q: Which GPU has a higher pixel fill rate?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile achieves a pixel rate of 90.72 GPixel/s, nearly double the AMD Radeon RX 590’s 49.44 GPixel/s. This is despite the RX 590 having more texture mapping units (144 vs 96).

Q: Does the NVIDIA GPU support ray tracing or tensor cores?

A: Yes, the RTX 4060 Mobile includes 24 RT cores and 96 tensor cores, which are absent from the AMD Radeon RX 590. This enables hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI-driven features on the NVIDIA card that the AMD card cannot perform.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile has a TDP of 115 W, while the AMD Radeon RX 590 has a TDP of 175 W. The RX 590 also requires a 1x 8-pin power connector and a suggested 450 W PSU, whereas the RTX 4060 Mobile uses no external power connectors.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gulf between these two GPUs is stark. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using the AD107 chip, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It packs 18,900 million transistors into a 159 mm² die, achieving a density of 118.9M / mm². In contrast, the AMD Radeon RX 590 uses the older GCN 4.0 architecture with the Polaris 30 chip, built on a 12 nm process at GlobalFoundries. This older chip contains only 5,700 million transistors spread across a larger 232 mm² die, resulting in a much lower density of 24.6M / mm².

The compute layout differs significantly. The RTX 4060 Mobile features 3072 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 48 ROPs, along with dedicated 24 RT cores and 96 tensor cores. The RX 590 has fewer shading units (2304) but more TMUs (144) and fewer ROPs (32). Critically, the RX 590 has no RT cores or tensor cores, meaning it lacks dedicated hardware for ray tracing and AI workloads. The NVIDIA card also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the AMD card is limited to DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3.

Memory architecture also diverges. The RTX 4060 Mobile uses 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 2000 MHz memory clock (16 Gbps effective). The RX 590 uses 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with a 2000 MHz clock (8 Gbps effective). Despite the narrower bus, the NVIDIA card matches the AMD card’s 256.0 GB/s bandwidth thanks to faster memory. The bus interface also differs, with the RTX 4060 Mobile using PCIe 4.0 x8 and the RX 590 using PCIe 3.0 x16.

The Verdict

The data does not support a single winner, as it depends entirely on the use case. For raw compute performance in legacy or specific workloads, the AMD Radeon RX 590 holds a numerical edge, with a higher average benchmark score (24744 vs 22729) and a higher percentile ranking (70th vs 67th). Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile (deltaPct -0.1) and the Intel Arc A350M (deltaPct 0.4), indicating it performs in a similar class to those parts.

For modern gaming and feature-rich applications, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile is the clear choice. Its architectural advantages—including RT cores, tensor cores, and newer API support—are not reflected in the sparse benchmark data but are evident from the specification sheet. The RTX 4060 Mobile also draws 60 W less power (115 W vs 175 W) and requires no external power connector, making it far more suitable for thin-and-light laptops. The RX 590, being a dual-slot, end-of-life desktop part with a 241 mm length, is not a mobile GPU at all, despite being compared here. The verdict is simple: for portable, efficient, future-proof gaming, pick the RTX 4060 Mobile; for raw legacy compute performance in a desktop, the RX 590’s data shows an advantage.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ on nearly every major specification. The process node is a 5 nm TSMC for NVIDIA versus 12 nm GlobalFoundries for AMD. Transistor count is 18,900 million versus 5,700 million, and die size is 159 mm² versus 232 mm². Clock speeds show the NVIDIA part boosting higher at 1890 MHz versus 1545 MHz, though base clocks are closer (1545 MHz vs 1469 MHz).

Memory type differs: GDDR6 versus GDDR5. The bus width is narrower on the NVIDIA card (128-bit vs 256-bit), but effective memory speed is double (16 Gbps vs 8 Gbps), resulting in identical 256.0 GB/s bandwidth. Shading units are 3072 vs 2304, TMUs are 96 vs 144, and ROPs are 48 vs 32. The RTX 4060 Mobile has 24 RT cores and 96 tensor cores, while the RX 590 has none. Pixel rate is 90.72 GPixel/s vs 49.44 GPixel/s, while texture rate is 181.4 GTexel/s vs 222.5 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 11.61 TFLOPS vs 7.119 TFLOPS.

Power and physical specs diverge sharply. TDP is 115 W vs 175 W. The NVIDIA card is an IGP with no power connectors and a PCIe 4.0 x8 interface. The AMD card is dual-slot, requires a 1x 8-pin connector and a 450 W PSU, and uses PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs are portable-device dependent on the RTX 4060 Mobile, while the RX 590 offers 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The RX 590 has a launch MSRP of 279 USD. Production status is Active for NVIDIA and End-of-life for AMD.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

There is no direct head-to-head benchmark data available in this comparison. The two GPUs were tested in entirely different benchmark suites, making direct numerical comparison impossible. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile has scores for Geekbench OpenCL (89420), Geekbench Vulkan (89569), and a series of Passmark tests (DirectX 10: 107, DirectX 11: 157, DirectX 12: 73, DirectX 9: 216, G2D: 730, G3D: 17469, GPU Compute: 6816). The AMD Radeon RX 590 has only two scores: 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 (1081) and Geekbench Metal (48407).

What can be inferred is from the average scores. The RTX 4060 Mobile’s avgBenchmarkScore of 22729 is 0.8% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT and 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile, per its nearestRivals data. It is 0.7% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080. The RX 590’s avgBenchmarkScore of 24744 is 0.4% higher than the Intel Arc A350M and 1.2% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT. This places the RX 590 roughly 8.9% ahead of the RTX 4060 Mobile in aggregate average score, but this is a cross-generational comparison with different testing methodologies represented.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 590 wins on raw aggregate benchmark performance. Its average score of 24744 is higher than the RTX 4060 Mobile’s 22729, and its 70th percentile ranking beats the 67th percentile of the NVIDIA card. The RX 590 also has a texture rate advantage, delivering 222.5 GTexel/s versus 181.4 GTexel/s, which could benefit certain texture-heavy workloads. Its 256-bit bus, while paired with slower GDDR5, offers a wider memory path that may help in specific bandwidth-sensitive scenarios.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile wins decisively on efficiency and modern features. It delivers 11.61 TFLOPS of FP32 compute versus 7.119 TFLOPS, a 63% advantage. Its pixel rate of 90.72 GPixel/s is nearly double that of the RX 590. The RT 4060 Mobile has exclusive access to 24 RT cores and 96 tensor cores, enabling ray tracing and DLSS-style AI features that the RX 590 cannot touch. It also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4, while the RX 590 is limited to DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3. The NVIDIA card consumes 60 W less power and requires no external power connector, making it the only viable option for mobile form factors. In the data, the RTX 4060 Mobile’s nearest rivals include the RTX 2080 and Arc B580, while the RX 590 competes with the RTX A5000 Mobile and GTX 1630, highlighting the NVIDIA card’s position in a more modern performance tier.