AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT LP vs NVIDIA RTX 3500 Embedded Ada Generation Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score in the database?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT LP has an average benchmark score of 63830, placing it in the 89th percentile of all GPUs. The NVIDIA RTX 3500 Embedded Ada Generation has no recorded benchmark scores in the database and sits in the 50th percentile.

Q: How do the memory configurations differ between these two cards?

A: The AMD card offers 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 322.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The NVIDIA card has 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The NVIDIA part has a wider bus and higher bandwidth despite less total capacity.

Q: What are the thermal design power ratings for each GPU?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT LP has a TDP of 140 W and requires a single 8-pin power connector. The NVIDIA RTX 3500 Embedded Ada Generation has a TDP of 100 W and requires no power connectors, as it is designed as an integrated graphics processor with an IGP slot width.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units and ray tracing cores?

A: The NVIDIA RTX 3500 Embedded Ada Generation has 5120 shading units and 40 ray tracing cores, plus 160 tensor cores. The AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT LP has 2048 shading units and 32 ray tracing cores, with no tensor cores listed.

Q: What is the process node and transistor count for each chip?

A: The AMD chip, Navi 44, is built on TSMC's 4 nm process with 29,700 million transistors on a 199 mm² die. The NVIDIA chip, AD104, is built on TSMC's 5 nm process with 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die.

Q: Do both GPUs support the same graphics APIs?

A: Yes, both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Both are also listed as Active in production status.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT LP is the clear winner in raw compute workloads according to the recorded benchmark data. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 88183 and Geekbench Vulkan score of 39476 give it a substantial advantage in general-purpose and GPU compute tasks. The card's 24.99 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and identical 24.99 TFLOPS of FP16 performance (at a 1:1 ratio) indicate strong throughput for parallel compute workloads. The 16 GB memory capacity also gives it an edge in scenarios where large datasets must reside on the GPU.

The NVIDIA RTX 3500 Embedded Ada Generation wins in memory bandwidth and efficiency. Its 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth is significantly higher than the AMD card's 322.3 GB/s, which benefits memory-intensive operations such as texture-heavy rendering or data streaming. The NVIDIA card also draws 40 W less power, with a 100 W TDP versus the AMD card's 140 W, making it the more thermally restrained option. The presence of 160 tensor cores gives it dedicated hardware for AI inference and deep learning workloads, something the AMD card lacks entirely.

The AMD card wins in pure rasterization throughput. Its pixel rate of 195.2 GPixel/s outpaces the NVIDIA card's 144.0 GPixel/s, and its texture rate of 390.4 GTexel/s exceeds the NVIDIA card's 360.0 GTexel/s. These figures suggest the AMD card has an advantage in fill-rate-limited scenes.

The NVIDIA card wins in transistor efficiency per watt. With 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die and a 100 W TDP, it delivers substantial processing resources at lower power consumption. The AMD card achieves a higher transistor density at 149.2M per mm² versus the NVIDIA card's 121.8M per mm², but the NVIDIA part's lower TDP gives it a power efficiency advantage.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT LP uses the Navi 44 chip based on RDNA 4.0 architecture, part of the Navi IV generation within the Radeon RX 9000 series. It is manufactured on TSMC's 4 nm process node. The chip contains 29,700 million transistors on a 199 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 149.2M per mm².

The NVIDIA RTX 3500 Embedded Ada Generation uses the AD104 chip based on Ada Lovelace architecture, belonging to the Ada-MW generation. It is manufactured on TSMC's 5 nm process node. The chip contains 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 121.8M per mm².

Both chips come from TSMC, but the AMD part uses the smaller 4 nm node, which contributes to its higher transistor density. The NVIDIA chip has a larger die and more total transistors, reflecting its different design priorities.

The AMD architecture implements 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output units. It includes 32 ray tracing cores but no tensor cores. The NVIDIA architecture implements 5120 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output units. It includes 40 ray tracing cores and 160 tensor cores.

The NVIDIA card has no display outputs, indicating it is designed for embedded use where the host system provides display connectivity. The AMD card includes one HDMI 2.1b port and two DisplayPort 2.1a ports, making it suitable for direct display connection.

The AMD card uses a PCIe 5.0 x16 bus interface, while the NVIDIA card uses PCIe 4.0 x16. This gives the AMD card twice the theoretical interconnect bandwidth of the NVIDIA card, which matters for data transfer between the CPU and GPU.

The NVIDIA card's predecessor is Ampere-MW and its successor is Blackwell-MW, showing its position in a product line. The AMD card's predecessor is Navi III, and it has no successor listed. The NVIDIA card was released on 2023-03-20, while the AMD card was released on 2025-12-16.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every major specification category. The AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT LP has a base clock of 1380 MHz and a boost clock of 3050 MHz, with a game clock of 2450 MHz. The NVIDIA RTX 3500 Embedded Ada Generation has a base clock of 1725 MHz and a boost clock of 2250 MHz, with no game clock listed. The AMD card's memory runs at 2518 MHz (20.1 Gbps effective), while the NVIDIA card's memory runs at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective).

Memory capacity differs: 16 GB on the AMD card versus 12 GB on the NVIDIA card. Memory bus width also differs: 128-bit on the AMD card versus 192-bit on the NVIDIA card. The bandwidth numbers follow accordingly, with the NVIDIA card's 432.0 GB/s exceeding the AMD card's 322.3 GB/s.

The shading unit count is dramatically different. The NVIDIA card has 5120 shading units, more than double the AMD card's 2048. Texture mapping units also favor NVIDIA at 160 versus 128. Raster output units are equal at 64 each. Ray tracing cores favor NVIDIA at 40 versus 32. Tensor cores exist only on the NVIDIA card, with 160 of them.

Pixel rate favors the AMD card at 195.2 GPixel/s versus 144.0 GPixel/s for the NVIDIA card. Texture rate also favors AMD at 390.4 GTexel/s versus 360.0 GTexel/s. FP32 compute favors AMD at 24.99 TFLOPS versus 23.04 TFLOPS, and FP16 compute matches those respective figures.

Power requirements differ substantially. The AMD card has a TDP of 140 W and uses a single 8-pin power connector. The NVIDIA card has a TDP of 100 W and uses no power connectors. Both list a suggested PSU of 300 W. The AMD card occupies a dual-slot form factor, while the NVIDIA card is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with no slot width requirement.

The AMD card uses PCIe 5.0 x16, while the NVIDIA card uses PCIe 4.0 x16. Display outputs differ completely: the AMD card has one HDMI 2.1b and two DisplayPort 2.1a outputs, while the NVIDIA card has no outputs.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains two benchmark results for the AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT LP, while the NVIDIA RTX 3500 Embedded Ada Generation has no recorded benchmark scores. The AMD card scores 88183 in Geekbench OpenCL and 39476 in Geekbench Vulkan. These two results combine to give it an average benchmark score of 63830.

The AMD card's nearest rivals in the database are all other AMD or NVIDIA products. The NVIDIA CMP 30HX scores 63842, just 0% different from the AMD card. The AMD Radeon RX 7600M scores 63775, a 0.1% difference. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 scores 63693, a 0.2% difference. The AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100 scores 64212, which is 0.6% higher than the RX 9060 XT LP.

These nearest rival comparisons show that the AMD card sits in a tight performance cluster. Its average score of 63830 places it within 0.6% of all four nearest rivals, with the Pro WX 9100 being the only one that outperforms it. The margin between the best and worst of these rivals is less than 1%, indicating that the RX 9060 XT LP occupies a well-established performance tier.

The percentile data shows a significant gap between the two cards. The AMD card sits in the 89th percentile of all GPUs, while the NVIDIA card sits in the 50th percentile. However, the NVIDIA card's 50th percentile ranking comes with no benchmark scores recorded, so this percentile likely reflects its classification rather than measured performance.

The AMD card's Vulkan score of 39476 is less than half of its OpenCL score of 88183. This gap suggests that the card's performance varies significantly depending on the compute API used. The OpenCL result indicates strong general compute capability, while the Vulkan result may reflect driver optimization levels or workload characteristics specific to that API.

Without benchmark scores for the NVIDIA card, direct numerical comparison between the two cards is not possible from the recorded data. The comparison must instead rely on the specification differences and the architectural analysis. The NVIDIA card's higher bandwidth, larger shading unit count, and tensor core support indicate strengths in specific workload types, while the AMD card's higher clock speeds, larger memory pool, and higher fill rates indicate strengths in others.

The Verdict

The recorded data shows two GPUs designed for fundamentally different purposes. The AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT LP is a conventional add-in graphics card with display outputs, a dual-slot cooler, and a PCIe 5.0 x16 interface. It targets users who need a self-contained graphics solution with 16 GB of memory, direct display connectivity, and strong fill rates. Its 89th percentile ranking and measured benchmark scores confirm it performs competitively within its class.

The NVIDIA RTX 3500 Embedded Ada Generation is an embedded processor with no display outputs, no power connectors, and an IGP form factor. It targets system integrators who need GPU compute resources in a compact, low-power package. Its 100 W TDP and lack of external power requirements make it suitable for embedded systems with tight power budgets. The 160 tensor cores provide dedicated AI acceleration hardware that the AMD card lacks.

Users who need a desktop graphics card with display outputs should select the AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT LP. It offers 16 GB of memory, which is 4 GB more than the NVIDIA card, and it delivers higher pixel rates and texture rates. Its 24.99 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is approximately 8% higher than the NVIDIA card's 23.04 TFLOPS. The AMD card's dual-slot cooler and 8-pin power connector are standard for desktop installations.

System designers building embedded solutions should select the NVIDIA RTX 3500 Embedded Ada Generation. Its 100 W TDP is 40 W lower than the AMD card, and its IGP form factor eliminates the need for slot space and power cabling. The 432.0 GB/s memory bandwidth is 34% higher than the AMD card's, which benefits memory-bound workloads. The 5120 shading units provide more parallel processing lanes, and the 160 tensor cores enable AI workloads that the AMD card cannot accelerate.

The choice between these two cards hinges on deployment context rather than raw performance. The AMD card is the better desktop graphics solution, while the NVIDIA card is the better embedded compute module. Neither card can substitute for the other in its intended role. The AMD card requires a slot and power connector, while the NVIDIA card lacks display outputs entirely. The data supports each card for its respective use case, with no single winner across all criteria.