AMD Radeon RX 9060 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 SE Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded database contains a complete benchmark suite for the AMD Radeon RX 9060, but the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 SE has no benchmark entries available. This makes a direct numerical comparison impossible for most tests. The RX 9060's average benchmark score is 16014, which places it at the 59th percentile among all GPUs in the database. The RTX 5090 SE sits at the 50th percentile with an average score of 0, indicating that no performance data has been recorded for it yet.

Looking at the RX 9060's individual results, the strongest showing comes from 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 with a score of 3322. The Geekbench OpenCL result reaches 88183, while the Vulkan score is 39476. PassMark tests show a G3D score of 17631, a GPU compute score of 9919, and DirectX 11 performance at 182. The DirectX 10 score is 104, DirectX 12 is 44, and DirectX 9 is 280. The G2D score is 1002.

Since the RTX 5090 SE has no recorded scores, the head-to-head comparison relies entirely on the RX 9060's data and its nearest rivals. The RX 9060's average score of 16014 puts it just 0.7% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, which averages 16129. It leads the AMD Radeon R9 370X by 1% (15862), the AMD Radeon RX 7700 by 1% (15852), and the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 by 2.1% (15679). These deltas are narrow, indicating that the RX 9060 sits in a competitive mid-range performance band rather than at the top of the stack.

Benchmark results indicate that the RX 9060's strongest advantage appears in compute-oriented workloads. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 88183 is substantially higher than the Vulkan score of 39476, suggesting that compute-heavy tasks benefit more from the architecture than graphics-only APIs. The PassMark G3D score of 17631 versus the GPU compute score of 9919 shows a similar pattern: rasterization performance is stronger than pure compute throughput in that suite.

The RTX 5090 SE, by contrast, has no data to analyze. Its percentile ranking of 50 with zero benchmark entries means the database treats it as an unknown quantity. Any head-to-head claims about actual frame rates or compute performance cannot be substantiated from the recorded facts.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from fundamentally different design philosophies. The AMD Radeon RX 9060 uses the Navi 44 chip built on RDNA 4.0 architecture, fabricated on a 4 nm process at TSMC. The die size is 199 mm² with 29,700 million transistors, yielding a transistor density of 149.2 million per mm². The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 SE uses the GB202 chip on Blackwell 2.0 architecture, also from TSMC but on a 5 nm process. Its die is far larger at 750 mm² with 92,200 million transistors, though the density is lower at 122.9 million per mm².

The RX 9060 operates with a base clock of 1700 MHz, a boost clock of 2990 MHz, and a game clock of 2400 MHz. Memory runs at 2250 MHz with 18 Gbps effective speed. The RTX 5090 SE has a base clock of 1740 MHz and a boost clock of 2377 MHz, with no game clock listed. Its memory clock is 1750 MHz with 28 Gbps effective speed. The higher boost clock on the AMD card does not compensate for the NVIDIA card's massive resource advantage.

Memory configurations diverge sharply. The RX 9060 has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 5090 SE has 24 GB of GDDR7 on a 384-bit bus, delivering 1.34 TB/s. That is more than four times the bandwidth and three times the capacity, a decisive difference for high-resolution textures and large datasets.

Compute resources tell a similar story. The RX 9060 has 1792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, 64 raster operation units, and 28 ray tracing cores. It has no tensor cores. The RTX 5090 SE has 14080 shading units, 440 TMUs, 160 ROPs, 110 RT cores, and 440 tensor cores. The NVIDIA card's pixel rate is 380.3 GPixel/s versus 191.4 GPixel/s for AMD, and its texture rate is 1,045.9 GTexel/s versus 334.9 GTexel/s. FP32 throughput is 66.94 TFLOPS for NVIDIA versus 21.43 TFLOPS for AMD. Both cards support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Power requirements differ substantially. The RX 9060 has a TDP of 132 W with a single 8-pin connector and a suggested PSU of 300 W. The RTX 5090 SE has a TDP of 500 W, a single 16-pin connector, and a suggested PSU of 900 W. Both are dual-slot cards, but the NVIDIA card measures 267 mm in length, 111 mm in height, and 40 mm in width, while the AMD card has no recorded dimensions.

The RX 9060 offers 1x HDMI 2.1b and 2x DisplayPort 2.1a outputs. The RTX 5090 SE provides 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1b. Both use PCIe 5.0 x16 interfaces. The RTX 5090 SE has a launch MSRP of 1,499 USD, while the RX 9060 has no recorded launch price.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 9060 wins in efficiency and accessibility. Its 132 W TDP means it can run on a 300 W suggested PSU, whereas the RTX 5090 SE demands 900 W. The AMD card's 4 nm process gives it a higher transistor density of 149.2M per mm² versus 122.9M per mm² for the 5 nm NVIDIA chip, indicating a more compact design. The RX 9060 also has benchmark data showing it performs at a level comparable to the RTX 3060 Ti, with a delta of only -0.7% in average score.

The RTX 5090 SE wins in raw capability across every measurable resource category. Its 24 GB memory capacity is triple the RX 9060's 8 GB. Its 1.34 TB/s bandwidth is over four times higher. Its 66.94 TFLOPS FP32 output is more than three times the RX 9060's 21.43 TFLOPS. The 440 tensor cores provide dedicated AI acceleration hardware that the RX 9060 lacks entirely. The 110 RT cores versus 28 gives it a substantial lead in ray tracing workloads, assuming software support is equal.

The RX 9060's benchmark results show it is competitive in its class. Its average score of 16014 places it within 1% of the Radeon RX 7700 and R9 370X, and within 2.1% of the Pro W5500. The direct comparison to the RTX 3060 Ti, a popular mid-range card, suggests the RX 9060 can handle mainstream gaming and productivity tasks. The PassMark G3D score of 17631 indicates solid rasterization performance.

The RTX 5090 SE has no recorded benchmarks, so its real-world performance cannot be quantified from the database. Its architecture specifications suggest it targets the highest-end workloads: large memory buffers, massive compute throughput, and AI acceleration. The 440 tensor cores and 1.34 TB/s bandwidth point toward professional applications, large language model inference, and high-resolution rendering where memory capacity matters more than power efficiency.

FAQ

Q: What is the average benchmark score difference between the two cards?

A: The RX 9060 has an average benchmark score of 16014. The RTX 5090 SE has no recorded benchmark scores, so its average is 0. A direct numerical comparison is not possible from the data.

Q: Which card has more memory bandwidth?

A: The RTX 5090 SE has 1.34 TB/s bandwidth from 24 GB of GDDR7 on a 384-bit bus. The RX 9060 has 288.0 GB/s from 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus. The NVIDIA card offers more than four times the bandwidth.

Q: Does the RX 9060 have tensor cores?

A: No. The RX 9060 has 28 ray tracing cores and no tensor cores. The RTX 5090 SE has 110 ray tracing cores and 440 tensor cores.

Q: What is the TDP difference?

A: The RX 9060 has a TDP of 132 W with a suggested PSU of 300 W. The RTX 5090 SE has a TDP of 500 W with a suggested PSU of 900 W.

Q: How does the RX 9060 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RX 9060's average score of 16014 is 0.7% below the RTX 3060 Ti (16129), 1% above the R9 370X (15862), 1% above the RX 7700 (15852), and 2.1% above the Pro W5500 (15679).

Q: What is the process node for each card?

A: The RX 9060 uses a 4 nm process with a die size of 199 mm². The RTX 5090 SE uses a 5 nm process with a die size of 750 mm². Both are fabricated by TSMC.

The Verdict

The data presents an unusual situation: one card has full benchmark coverage, the other has none. The RX 9060's recorded performance places it firmly in mid-range territory, with an average score of 16014 and a 59th percentile ranking. Its nearest rivals include the RTX 3060 Ti, R9 370X, RX 7700, and Pro W5500, all within a 2.1% delta. This indicates the RX 9060 is a balanced performer for mainstream workloads, with particularly strong OpenCL compute scores relative to its Vulkan results.

The RTX 5090 SE, with no benchmarks and a 50th percentile ranking, cannot be assessed for actual performance. What the specifications show is a card built for maximum throughput: 24 GB of GDDR7, 1.34 TB/s bandwidth, 66.94 TFLOPS FP32, 440 tensor cores, and 110 RT cores. These numbers place it in a different class entirely from the RX 9060. The 500 W TDP and 900 W suggested PSU reinforce that this is a high-power, high-performance component.

Users who prioritize efficiency and proven mid-range performance should look at the RX 9060. Its 132 W TDP, 300 W PSU requirement, and benchmark scores comparable to the RTX 3060 Ti make it a sensible choice for standard gaming and compute tasks. Users who need maximum memory capacity, AI acceleration, and raw compute power would turn to the RTX 5090 SE based on its specifications, though its lack of recorded benchmarks means performance claims cannot be verified from the database. The choice depends on whether the user values measured results or architectural headroom.