AMD Radeon RX 9060 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM are two graphics cards from different architectural generations, with the former being an active 2025 release and the latter an end-of-life 2022 product. The benchmark data shows a clear overall performance leader, with the AMD card winning 7 of 9 head-to-head tests, yet the NVIDIA card still manages to secure victories in two specific workloads that highlight its unique strengths. The following analysis breaks down these results, focusing on exact scores, delta percentages, and architectural implications.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most decisive victory for the AMD Radeon RX 9060 comes in the Passmark DirectX 11 test, where it scores 182 against the RTX 3050 OEM’s 86, a massive 111.6% delta. This is nearly matched by the DirectX 9 result, with the RX 9060 posting 280 versus 137, a 104.4% advantage. These legacy API tests suggest the RDNA 4.0 architecture has significantly better driver optimization and raw throughput for older graphics pipelines, a critical factor for compatibility with a vast library of existing games.

In compute-heavy workloads, the AMD card continues its dominance. The Passmark GPU Compute test shows a 71.6% delta, with scores of 9919 versus 5779. Similarly, the DirectX 10 benchmark reveals a 70.5% lead (104 vs 61). The Geekbench OpenCL result is also a clear win for AMD, scoring 88183 against 60740, a 45.2% delta. The largest overall performance gap appears in the Passmark G3D test, which is a comprehensive gaming metric; here the RX 9060 achieves 17631, while the RTX 3050 OEM manages only 11857, translating to a substantial 48.7% lead. Even in the 2D test, the AMD card edges ahead, scoring 1002 versus 973, a modest but consistent 3% advantage.

However, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM secures two notable wins. The most striking is in the Geekbench Vulkan test, where it scores 57103 against the RX 9060’s 39476, a 30.9% advantage. This is a significant reversal, indicating that NVIDIA’s driver stack and hardware implementation for the Vulkan API are markedly more efficient. The second win comes in the Passmark DirectX 12 test, where the RTX 3050 OEM scores 58 versus 44, a 24.1% lead. These results suggest that in modern, low-level API workloads, the NVIDIA card can outperform despite its lower overall specifications and average score. The average benchmark scores reflect the overall trend: the RX 9060 averages 16014, while the RTX 3050 OEM averages 15199, placing them at the 59th and 57th percentiles of all GPUs, respectively.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 9060 has an average benchmark score of 16014, which is higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM’s 15199. This places the AMD card at the 59th percentile of all GPUs, while the NVIDIA card sits at the 57th percentile.

Q: In which API does the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM outperform the AMD Radeon RX 9060?

A: The RTX 3050 OEM wins in the Geekbench Vulkan test, scoring 57103 versus 39476, a 30.9% delta. It also wins in the Passmark DirectX 12 test, scoring 58 against 44, a 24.1% delta.

Q: What is the largest margin of victory in the head-to-head benchmarks?

A: The largest margin is in the Passmark DirectX 11 test, where the AMD Radeon RX 9060 scores 182 against the RTX 3050 OEM’s 86, resulting in a 111.6% delta. The DirectX 9 test is close behind with a 104.4% delta (280 vs 137).

Q: How do the GPUs compare in compute performance?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 9060 is significantly faster in compute tasks. It leads by 71.6% in the Passmark GPU Compute test (9919 vs 5779) and by 45.2% in the Geekbench OpenCL test (88183 vs 60740).

Q: Which GPU has a better performance in the comprehensive Passmark G3D test?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 9060 wins the Passmark G3D test with a score of 17631, compared to the RTX 3050 OEM’s 11857. This represents a 48.7% performance advantage for the AMD card.

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

A: The RX 9060’s nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, which has an average score of 16129 and is 0.7% ahead. The RTX 3050 OEM’s nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 7600, with an average score of 15171 and a 0.2% delta.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two cards is substantial, starting with the manufacturing process. The AMD Radeon RX 9060 is built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture using a 4 nm process at TSMC, featuring the Navi 44 chip. In contrast, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM uses the older Ampere architecture on an 8 nm process at Samsung, with the GA106 chip. This process node difference is reflected in transistor density: the AMD chip packs 29,700 million transistors into a 199 mm² die, yielding a density of 149.2M / mm², while the NVIDIA chip has only 12,000 million transistors on a larger 276 mm² die, resulting in a density of just 43.5M / mm².

The core configurations also differ fundamentally. The RX 9060 has 1792 shading units, 112 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, alongside 28 ray tracing cores. The RTX 3050 OEM has more shading units at 2304, but fewer TMUs (72) and ROPs (32), and it features 18 ray tracing cores. A key differentiator is the presence of 72 tensor cores on the NVIDIA card, a feature entirely absent from the AMD architecture. The AMD card compensates with higher clock speeds, boosting to 2990 MHz versus the NVIDIA card’s 1755 MHz, and it has a game clock of 2400 MHz that the RTX 3050 OEM lacks.

Memory subsystems are similar in size and type—both use 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus—but the speeds differ. The RX 9060’s memory runs at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective), delivering a bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s, while the RTX 3050 OEM’s memory runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) for a bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s. The RX 9060 also supports a faster PCIe 5.0 x16 interface, whereas the RTX 3050 OEM uses PCIe 4.0 x8. Finally, the AMD card is an active product with a 2025 release date, while the NVIDIA card is end-of-life, released in 2022, with its successor being the GeForce 40 series.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every specification category. The process node is a key distinction: the RX 9060 uses a 4 nm process, while the RTX 3050 OEM uses an 8 nm process. This leads to massive differences in transistor count (29,700 million vs 12,000 million), die size (199 mm² vs 276 mm²), and transistor density (149.2M / mm² vs 43.5M / mm²). Clock speeds are also vastly different, with the RX 9060 having a base clock of 1700 MHz and a boost of 2990 MHz, while the RTX 3050 OEM has a base of 1515 MHz and a boost of 1755 MHz. The AMD card’s memory clock is 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective), compared to the NVIDIA card’s 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective).

The compute unit counts show a trade-off: the RX 9060 has 1792 shading units, 112 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, while the RTX 3050 OEM has 2304 shading units, 72 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. Ray tracing cores are 28 on the AMD card versus 18 on the NVIDIA card, and the NVIDIA card uniquely has 72 tensor cores. This results in different theoretical performance rates: the RX 9060 achieves a pixel rate of 191.4 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 334.9 GTexel/s, while the RTX 3050 OEM achieves 56.16 GPixel/s and 126.4 GTexel/s. The FP32 and FP16 compute are also higher on the AMD card, at 21.43 TFLOPS versus 8.087 TFLOPS.

Power and connectivity specifications are similar, with both cards having a TDP of 132 W and 130 W respectively, a dual-slot design, and a single 8-pin power connector. The suggested PSU is 300 W for both. The bus interface differs, with the RX 9060 using PCIe 5.0 x16 and the RTX 3050 OEM using PCIe 4.0 x8. Display outputs also differ: the RX 9060 offers 1x HDMI 2.1b and 2x DisplayPort 2.1a, while the RTX 3050 OEM offers 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The RTX 3050 OEM has physical dimensions of 242 mm in length and 112 mm in height, while the RX 9060’s dimensions are not specified. Finally, the production status and release dates are distinct, with the RX 9060 being active and released in 2025, and the RTX 3050 OEM being end-of-life and released in 2022.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 is the clear winner for users prioritizing legacy API performance and raw compute throughput. Its massive leads in DirectX 9 (104.4%), DirectX 10 (70.5%), and DirectX 11 (111.6%) benchmarks make it the superior choice for older game titles and applications that rely on these APIs. The 71.6% advantage in GPU compute and 45.2% lead in OpenCL further solidify its position for content creation, rendering, and general-purpose GPU tasks. The 48.7% win in the comprehensive Passmark G3D test indicates it is also the better choice for overall modern gaming performance, and the 3% lead in G2D shows even basic 2D tasks are handled more efficiently. Users with a large library of older games or those who need strong compute for professional workloads will find the RX 9060 to be the more capable card.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM, despite its age and overall lower average score, has a specific niche where it excels: low-level API workloads. Its 30.9% victory in the Geekbench Vulkan test and 24.1% win in the Passmark DirectX 12 test are significant. For users running the latest games that are heavily optimized for Vulkan or DirectX 12, the RTX 3050 OEM can deliver a better experience than its raw specification sheet suggests. The presence of 72 tensor cores also provides a hardware feature that the AMD card lacks, potentially offering advantages in specific AI-accelerated applications, although the benchmark data does not directly measure this. This makes the RTX 3050 OEM a viable option for users focused on modern, API-forward software where its architectural strengths can be leveraged.