AMD Radeon RX 7600 vs AMD Radeon RX 9060 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark comparison between the AMD Radeon RX 9060 and the AMD Radeon RX 7600 is decisively one-sided, with the RX 9060 winning nine of the ten recorded tests. The largest margin comes in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, where the RX 9060 scores 3322 against the RX 7600's 2310 — a 43.8% advantage. This is the single most significant performance gap in the entire comparison. In the same test, the RX 9060's nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, sits only 0.7% above it in average score, meaning the RX 9060's Steel Nomad win is not merely a matter of beating an older card; it is a result that places it firmly above the RX 7600 in modern DirectX 12 workloads.

Beyond the headline DX12 result, the RX 9060 shows consistent superiority across legacy and compute-oriented tests. In PassMark DirectX 10, the RX 9060 scores 104 versus 84 for the RX 7600, a 23.8% lead. PassMark DirectX 9 shows a similar 23.9% gap (280 vs 226). The Vulkan test in Geekbench gives the RX 9060 a 14.8% advantage (39476 vs 34401), while the PassMark GPU Compute test shows a 12.8% lead (9919 vs 8790). These results indicate that the performance advantage is not confined to a single API or workload type; rather, it spans older DirectX versions, modern compute APIs, and Vulkan.

The margins narrow considerably in some tests. Geekbench OpenCL shows only a 0.1% gap (88183 vs 88051), essentially a tie. PassMark G2D (2D graphics) is also close, with the RX 9060 ahead by 1.8% (1002 vs 984). PassMark DirectX 11 gives the RX 9060 a 5.8% edge (182 vs 172), and PassMark G3D (overall 3D) shows a 6% lead (17631 vs 16634). These smaller deltas suggest that in less demanding or more CPU-bound scenarios, the two cards are much closer in practical performance.

There is one notable exception to the RX 9060's dominance: PassMark DirectX 12, where the RX 7600 wins decisively. The RX 7600 scores 58 against the RX 9060's 44, a 24.1% margin in favor of the older card. This is a peculiar result, especially given the RX 9060's massive lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad (a DX12 test). The discrepancy likely reflects different workload characteristics within the DX12 API, but the data clearly shows that the RX 7600 holds a specific advantage in this particular benchmark.

When comparing overall averages, the RX 9060's average benchmark score is 16014, while the RX 7600's is 15171. The RX 9060 sits at the 59th percentile of all GPUs, versus the 57th percentile for the RX 7600. The RX 9060's nearest rival by average score is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (16129, -0.7% delta), while the RX 7600's nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM (15199, -0.2% delta). This places the two cards in adjacent performance tiers, but the RX 9060's wins are more frequent and often much larger in magnitude.

FAQ

Q: Which card wins the most benchmarks?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 9060 wins nine out of ten head-to-head tests, with the only exception being PassMark DirectX 12, where the RX 7600 wins.

Q: How big is the performance difference in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12?

A: The RX 9060 scores 3322 versus 2310 for the RX 7600, representing a 43.8% advantage for the RX 9060.

Q: Are there any tests where the two cards are effectively tied?

A: Yes, Geekbench OpenCL is essentially a tie, with the RX 9060 scoring 88183 and the RX 7600 scoring 88051, a difference of only 0.1%.

Q: What is the average benchmark score difference?

A: The RX 9060 has an average score of 16014, while the RX 7600 averages 15171, a difference of 843 points.

Q: Does the RX 7600 have any redeeming performance advantage?

A: In PassMark DirectX 12, the RX 7600 scores 58 against the RX 9060's 44, a 24.1% margin in favor of the RX 7600.

Q: How do their percentile rankings compare?

A: The RX 9060 is at the 59th percentile of all GPUs, while the RX 7600 is at the 57th percentile.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different architectural generations and manufacturing processes. The RX 9060 uses the Navi 44 chip built on RDNA 4.0 architecture, fabricated on a 4 nm process at TSMC. The RX 7600 uses the Navi 33 chip with RDNA 3.0 architecture, fabricated on a 6 nm process at the same foundry. This process node difference is significant, as the RX 9060 packs 29,700 million transistors onto a 199 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 149.2M per mm². The RX 7600, by contrast, has 13,300 million transistors on a 204 mm² die, for a density of 65.2M per mm². The RX 9060 achieves nearly 2.3 times the transistor density on a slightly smaller die, despite having fewer shading units and texture mapping units.

The compute configuration differs in an interesting way. The RX 7600 actually has more shading units (2048 vs 1792), more TMUs (128 vs 112), and more ray tracing cores (32 vs 28). Both cards have 64 ROPs. Despite the RX 7600's higher raw unit counts, the RX 9060 achieves a higher pixel rate (191.4 GPixel/s vs 169.9 GPixel/s) and a marginally lower texture rate (334.9 GTexel/s vs 339.8 GTexel/s). The FP32 throughput is nearly identical: 21.43 TFLOPS for the RX 9060 and 21.75 TFLOPS for the RX 7600. This suggests that the RX 9060's architectural improvements and higher boost clock (2990 MHz vs 2655 MHz) compensate for its fewer compute units.

Clock speeds show the RX 9060 with a lower base clock (1700 MHz vs 1720 MHz) but a much higher boost clock (2990 MHz vs 2655 MHz) and a higher game clock (2400 MHz vs 2250 MHz). Memory configurations are identical: both use 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, with 288.0 GB/s bandwidth and the same 2250 MHz memory clock (18 Gbps effective). The power profiles differ notably, with the RX 9060 rated at 132 W TDP versus 165 W for the RX 7600, and the RX 9060 requiring a 300 W suggested PSU versus 450 W for the RX 7600.

The RX 9060 uses a PCIe 5.0 x16 interface, while the RX 7600 uses PCIe 4.0 x8. Display outputs also differ: the RX 9060 has 1x HDMI 2.1b and 2x DisplayPort 2.1a, while the RX 7600 has 1x HDMI 2.1a and 3x DisplayPort 2.1. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

The Verdict

The benchmark data clearly favors the AMD Radeon RX 9060 for most users. It wins nine of ten tests, often by substantial margins — the 43.8% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad and the 23.8-23.9% leads in DirectX 9 and DirectX 10 are particularly decisive. Its average benchmark score of 16014 places it at the 59th percentile, and its nearest rival (the RTX 3060 Ti) is only 0.7% ahead, making the RX 9060 a strong performer in its tier.

The RX 7600 is not without merit. Its 24.1% win in PassMark DirectX 12 is a genuine bright spot, and its average score of 15171 at the 57th percentile is not far behind. In OpenCL, the two are statistically tied. For users whose workloads heavily favor the specific PassMark DX12 test, the RX 7600 could be the better choice. However, the overall pattern of results — with the RX 9060 winning every other test, including all compute, Vulkan, and legacy DirectX benchmarks — indicates that the RX 9060 is the more broadly capable card.

The RX 9060 also offers efficiency advantages that are relevant from a system design perspective. Its 132 W TDP and 300 W suggested PSU are lower than the RX 7600's 165 W TDP and 450 W suggested PSU. Both use a single 8-pin power connector and are dual-slot designs. The RX 9060's PCIe 5.0 x16 interface is a generational upgrade over the RX 7600's PCIe 4.0 x8, which could matter for future platform compatibility.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across several key specification fields. The RX 9060 uses a 4 nm process node, while the RX 7600 uses 6 nm. Transistor count is 29,700 million for the RX 9060 versus 13,300 million for the RX 7600. Die size is 199 mm² for the RX 9060 and 204 mm² for the RX 7600. Transistor density is 149.2M per mm² versus 65.2M per mm².

Architecture and generation differ: RDNA 4.0 on Navi 44 (Navi IV, RX 9000 series) for the RX 9060, versus RDNA 3.0 on Navi 33 (Navi III, RX 7000 series) for the RX 7600. Codename is "Strix Point" for the RX 9060 and "Hotpink Bonefish" for the RX 7600.

Clock speeds differ: base 1700 MHz vs 1720 MHz, boost 2990 MHz vs 2655 MHz, game 2400 MHz vs 2250 MHz. Memory clock is identical at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective). Compute units differ: 1792 shading units for the RX 9060 versus 2048 for the RX 7600; 112 TMUs versus 128; 28 ray tracing cores versus 32; both have 64 ROPs.

Pixel rate is 191.4 GPixel/s for the RX 9060 versus 169.9 GPixel/s for the RX 7600. Texture rate is 334.9 GTexel/s versus 339.8 GTexel/s. FP32 is 21.43 TFLOPS versus 21.75 TFLOPS. TDP is 132 W versus 165 W. Suggested PSU is 300 W versus 450 W. Bus interface is PCIe 5.0 x16 versus PCIe 4.0 x8. Display outputs are 1x HDMI 2.1b + 2x DisplayPort 2.1a versus 1x HDMI 2.1a + 3x DisplayPort 2.1.

The RX 7600 has recorded physical dimensions of 204 mm (8 inches) in length and 115 mm (4.5 inches) in height; the RX 9060's dimensions are not listed. Release dates differ, with the RX 9060 released on 2025-08-04 and the RX 7600 on 2023-05-24. The RX 7600 has a launch MSRP of 269 USD; the RX 9060 has no listed launch MSRP.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 is the clear winner for modern 3D gaming and compute-heavy workloads. Its 43.8% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad (DX12) demonstrates a significant advantage in the latest graphics API, while its 14.8% lead in Geekbench Vulkan and 12.8% lead in PassMark GPU Compute make it the better choice for Vulkan-based games and general-purpose GPU compute tasks. For users running legacy DirectX 9 or DirectX 10 applications, the RX 9060's 23.9% and 23.8% leads respectively make it the superior option. The RX 9060 also wins in overall 3D performance (PassMark G3D, 6% lead) and 2D graphics (PassMark G2D, 1.8% lead).

The AMD Radeon RX 7600's single win in PassMark DirectX 12 (24.1% lead) makes it the better choice for workloads that specifically target that benchmark's characteristics. However, this is an isolated result — the same card loses the other DX12 test (3DMark Steel Nomad) by a wide margin. For users whose applications are heavily dependent on the specific PassMark DX12 workload, the RX 7600 has a clear advantage. Additionally, in OpenCL compute, the two cards are virtually identical (0.1% difference), so the RX 7600 remains competitive for OpenCL-based tasks.

From a system integration perspective, the RX 9060's lower TDP (132 W vs 165 W) and lower suggested PSU (300 W vs 450 W) make it more suitable for compact or power-constrained builds. The RX 7600's PCIe 4.0 x8 interface may be sufficient for many systems, but the RX 9060's PCIe 5.0 x16 provides greater bandwidth headroom for future platforms. The RX 7600 has a documented launch MSRP of 269 USD, which may be relevant for historical comparisons. Ultimately, the RX 9060's nine wins across diverse benchmarks make it the recommended choice for most users, with the RX 7600 reserved for specific PassMark DX12-oriented scenarios.