AMD Radeon RX 9060 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 and AMD Radeon RX 9060 represent two distinct approaches to modern graphics hardware, separated by five years of architectural evolution. The RTX 3070, launched in 2020 on the Ampere architecture, remains an end-of-life product, while the RX 9060 is an active RDNA 4.0 part released in 2025. Benchmark data reveals a fascinating split: the older NVIDIA card wins 6 of 10 head-to-head tests, yet the newer AMD card claims victories in the most modern workloads, including a decisive win in Vulkan performance. This creates a nuanced picture where the "better" card depends entirely on the application, with the RTX 3070 dominating legacy DirectX tests and compute tasks, while the RX 9060 excels in contemporary APIs and raw rasterization throughput.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 3070 establishes its dominance in legacy and compute-oriented workloads. Its passmark_g3d score of 22,214 is 26% higher than the RX 9060's 17,631, indicating substantial superiority in general 3D rendering tasks that rely on traditional graphics pipelines. The NVIDIA card also wins decisively in DirectX 12 with a 93.2% margin (85 vs 44), suggesting better optimization for Microsoft's modern graphics API in this specific benchmark. Compute performance follows the same pattern: the RTX 3070's 11,195 passmark_gpu_compute score beats the RX 9060's 9,919 by 12.9%, and its Geekbench OpenCL result of 112,821 is 27.9% higher than the AMD card's 88,183. These wins indicate the Ampere architecture's strength in parallel processing and general-purpose GPU tasks.

The RX 9060 claims victory in the most forward-looking benchmarks. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3,322 edges out the RTX 3070's 3,162 by 4.8%, a win in a test that likely reflects next-generation rendering techniques. The Vulkan gap is far more dramatic: the RX 9060 scores 39,476 in Geekbench Vulkan versus 21,022 for the RTX 3070, a 46.7% advantage that highlights RDNA 4.0's superior efficiency in this cross-platform API. The AMD card also wins in DirectX 9 (280 vs 247, an 11.8% margin) and marginally in 2D (1,002 vs 1,001). This profile suggests the RX 9060 is built for the future, with its strengths aligned to modern APIs and compute paradigms, while the RTX 3070 remains a powerhouse for established workloads.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide is stark. The RTX 3070 uses the GA104 chip on Samsung's 8 nm process, packing 17,400 million transistors into a 392 mm² die with a density of 44.4 million transistors per square millimeter. In contrast, the RX 9060 employs the Navi 44 chip fabricated on TSMC's 4 nm node, containing 29,700 million transistors in just 199 mm² — a density of 149.2 million per square millimeter. This 3.4x density advantage allows AMD to offer 70% more transistors on a die that is nearly half the size. The clock speeds reflect this efficiency: the RX 9060 boosts to 2,990 MHz with a 2,400 MHz game clock, versus the RTX 3070's 1,725 MHz boost.

The compute configurations differ fundamentally. The RTX 3070 features 5,888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, 96 ROPs, 46 RT cores, and 184 tensor cores. The RX 9060 counters with 1,792 shading units, 112 TMUs, 64 ROPs, and 28 RT cores, with no tensor core equivalent listed. Despite having 3.3x fewer shading units, the RX 9060 achieves higher raw FP32 throughput at 21.43 TFLOPS versus the RTX 3070's 20.31 TFLOPS, thanks to its much higher clocks. Memory configurations also diverge: both offer 8 GB of GDDR6, but the RTX 3070 uses a 256-bit bus for 448.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the RX 9060 operates on a 128-bit bus delivering 288.0 GB/s. The NVIDIA card's 184 tensor cores provide AI acceleration capabilities absent from the AMD specification.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test provides the most modern comparison, with the RX 9060 winning 3,322 to 3,162. This 4.8% margin is modest but significant, suggesting the RDNA 4.0 architecture handles current-gen rasterization workloads slightly better. The Vulkan benchmark tells a more dramatic story: the RX 9060's 39,476 score crushes the RTX 3070's 21,022, a 46.7% advantage that ranks as the largest win in either direction. This indicates that AMD's architecture is substantially more efficient in Vulkan, likely benefiting from architectural optimizations that NVIDIA's older design cannot match.

The RTX 3070's biggest victory comes in DirectX 12, where its 85 points more than double the RX 9060's 44, a 93.2% difference. This result is puzzling given the RX 9060's newer architecture, but the passmark_directx_12 test may favor the NVIDIA design's specific hardware characteristics. The NVIDIA card also shows strong performance in OpenCL (112,821 vs 88,183, +27.9%) and passmark_g3d (22,214 vs 17,631, +26%), demonstrating consistent superiority in compute-heavy and established 3D workloads. The DirectX 10 test shows a 44.2% NVIDIA advantage (150 vs 104), while DirectX 11 results are identical at 182 each. The RX 9060 wins DirectX 9 by 11.8% (280 vs 247) and narrowly takes the 2D test (1,002 vs 1,001), showing that the newer card excels in older API compatibility while the RTX 3070 dominates the more complex modern tests.

FAQ

Q: Why does the RX 9060 win Vulkan by such a large margin?

A: The Geekbench Vulkan score shows the RX 9060 at 39,476 versus 21,022 for the RTX 3070, a 46.7% advantage. This likely stems from RDNA 4.0's architectural optimizations for the Vulkan API, which the data suggests are substantially more efficient than Ampere's implementation.

Q: How do the two cards compare in overall average benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 3070 has an average benchmark score of 17,208, placing it in the 61st percentile of all GPUs. The RX 9060 averages 16,014, good for the 59th percentile. The RTX 3070's nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT at 17,083 (0.7% difference), while the RX 9060's closest competitor is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti at 16,129 (0.7% difference).

Q: Which card has better compute performance for non-gaming workloads?

A: The RTX 3070 leads in compute benchmarks. Its passmark_gpu_compute score of 11,195 beats the RX 9060's 9,919 by 12.9%, and its Geekbench OpenCL score of 112,821 is 27.9% higher than the 88,183 posted by the RX 9060.

Q: What explains the RTX 3070's massive DirectX 12 win?

A: The passmark_directx_12 test shows the RTX 3070 scoring 85 versus only 44 for the RX 9060, a 93.2% difference. This is the single largest margin in any test and suggests NVIDIA's hardware handles this specific benchmark's requirements far more effectively, despite the RX 9060's newer architecture.

Q: Do both cards support the same modern graphics APIs?

A: Yes, both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The RTX 3070 also includes 184 tensor cores for AI workloads, while the RX 9060's specification lists no tensor core equivalent.

Q: Which card has higher memory bandwidth despite the same 8 GB capacity?

A: The RTX 3070 uses a 256-bit bus to achieve 448.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the RX 9060's 128-bit bus delivers 288.0 GB/s. This represents a 55.6% advantage for the NVIDIA card, which may contribute to its wins in memory-intensive workloads.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 | AMD Radeon RX 9060 |

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

| Architecture | Ampere | RDNA 4.0 |

| Process Node | 8 nm (Samsung) | 4 nm (TSMC) |

| Transistors | 17,400 million | 29,700 million |

| Die Size | 392 mm² | 199 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 44.4M / mm² | 149.2M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1500 MHz | 1700 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1725 MHz | 2990 MHz |

| Game Clock | — | 2400 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 14 Gbps effective | 18 Gbps effective |

| Memory Bus Width | 256 bit | 128 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 448.0 GB/s | 288.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 5888 | 1792 |

| TMUs | 184 | 112 |

| ROPs | 96 | 64 |

| RT Cores | 46 | 28 |

| Tensor Cores | 184 | — |

| Pixel Rate | 165.6 GPixel/s | 191.4 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 317.4 GTexel/s | 334.9 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 20.31 TFLOPS | 21.43 TFLOPS |

| TDP | 220 W | 132 W |

| Power Connectors | 1x 12-pin | 1x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 550 W | 300 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x16 | PCIe 5.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DP 1.4a | 1x HDMI 2.1b, 2x DP 2.1a |

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

| Release Date | 2020-08-31 | 2025-08-04 |

The Verdict

The data presents a clear split: the RTX 3070 is the superior choice for users prioritizing legacy DirectX performance, compute workloads, and established 3D rendering. Its wins in DirectX 12 (93.2% margin), DirectX 10 (44.2%), and passmark_g3d (26%) demonstrate that Ampere's architecture remains highly capable in traditional gaming scenarios. The 27.9% OpenCL advantage and 12.9% compute win further cement its position for productivity tasks that leverage GPU compute.

The RX 9060 is the forward-looking option, winning the Vulkan benchmark by 46.7% and the modern 3DMark Steel Nomad test by 4.8%. Its 4 nm process delivers 70% more transistors in half the die area, enabling a 73% higher boost clock and superior raw FP32 throughput (21.43 vs 20.31 TFLOPS). The significantly lower TDP of 132 W versus 220 W, combined with a 300 W suggested PSU versus 550 W, makes it the more efficient choice. Users targeting Vulkan-based games, newer rendering workloads, or energy-conscious builds should favor the RX 9060, while those heavily invested in DirectX-centric applications and compute tasks will find the RTX 3070's benchmark dominance compelling despite its end-of-life status.