AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile and AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL represent two very different eras of mobile graphics, with the data showing a decisive generational gap. The RTX 4060 Mobile, built on a modern 5 nm process, dominates in every recorded benchmark, while the Vega M GL, an older 14 nm part, holds its own only in the context of its much lower power envelope. The benchmark results indicate a clear performance hierarchy, but the choice between them depends heavily on the specific system requirements and workload priorities.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile in raw compute benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4060 Mobile is dramatically faster. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 89,420 versus the Vega M GL's 19,549, a 357.4% difference. In Geekbench Vulkan, it scores 89,569 versus 22,757, a 293.6% lead.

Q: What are the fundamental architectural differences between the two GPUs?

A: The RTX 4060 Mobile uses the NVIDIA AD107 chip based on the Ada Lovelace architecture, built on a 5 nm TSMC process. The Vega M GL uses the AMD Polaris 22 chip based on the older GCN 4.0 architecture, built on a 14 nm GlobalFoundries process.

Q: Does the Vega M GL have any advantages in memory technology?

A: Yes, it uses 4 GB of HBM2 memory on a 1024-bit bus, providing 179.2 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 4060 Mobile uses 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, but achieves higher bandwidth at 256.0 GB/s.

Q: Is the RTX 4060 Mobile supported by modern graphics APIs?

A: Yes, it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4. The Vega M GL is limited to DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3.

Q: What is the power consumption difference between the two?

A: The RTX 4060 Mobile has a TDP of 115 W, while the Vega M GL has a TDP of 65 W. This makes the Vega M GL significantly more power-efficient on paper, despite its lower performance.

Q: How do these GPUs compare to their nearest rivals in the database?

A: The RTX 4060 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 22,729, placing it within 1.3% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile and 0.8% of the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT. The Vega M GL's average score of 21,153 puts it 2.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT and 0.6% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is substantial, rooted in their different design philosophies and manufacturing eras. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile is built on the AD107 chip using the Ada Lovelace architecture, fabricated by TSMC on a 5 nm process. This modern node allows for a transistor count of 18,900 million within a die size of 159 mm², resulting in a transistor density of 118.9M per mm². In contrast, the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL uses the Polaris 22 chip with the older GCN 4.0 architecture, produced by GlobalFoundries on a 14 nm process. Its die size is larger at 208 mm², yet it contains only 5,000 million transistors, yielding a density of just 24.0M per mm².

The feature sets diverge significantly. The RTX 4060 Mobile includes 24 dedicated ray tracing cores and 96 tensor cores, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI-driven features like DLSS. The Vega M GL has no ray tracing or tensor cores at all. The RTX 4060 Mobile also has a higher shader count with 3,072 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 48 ROPs, compared to the Vega M GL's 1,280 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The API support reflects this gap, with the RTX 4060 Mobile supporting DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the Vega M GL is limited to DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3.

Clock speeds also differ markedly. The RTX 4060 Mobile has a base clock of 1545 MHz and a boost clock of 1890 MHz, while the Vega M GL operates at a base of 931 MHz and a boost of 1011 MHz. The memory subsystems are designed differently as well: the RTX 4060 Mobile uses 8 GB of GDDR6 running at 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) on a 128-bit bus, while the Vega M GL uses 4 GB of HBM2 running at 700 MHz (1400 Mbps effective) on a much wider 1024-bit bus. The process node advantage translates directly to the RTX 4060 Mobile's higher pixel rate of 90.72 GPixel/s and texture rate of 181.4 GTexel/s, versus 32.35 GPixel/s and 80.88 GTexel/s for the Vega M GL.

Where Each One Wins

The data shows that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile wins in every benchmark category where both were tested. It records a 357.4% advantage in Geekbench OpenCL and a 293.6% advantage in Geekbench Vulkan. The wins total 2 for the RTX 4060 Mobile and 0 for the Vega M GL. However, the choice between them is not purely about raw performance numbers.

The RTX 4060 Mobile is the clear choice for demanding workloads like modern gaming at high settings, ray tracing, and compute-heavy tasks. Its 8 GB of VRAM and higher bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s provide more headroom for larger textures and higher resolutions. The presence of ray tracing and tensor cores makes it suitable for games and applications that leverage these features. Its production status is Active, indicating ongoing support and driver updates.

The Vega M GL, despite its lower performance, has a distinct advantage in power consumption with a TDP of 65 W compared to the RTX 4060 Mobile's 115 W. This makes it a viable option for ultra-thin and light laptops where thermal and power budgets are constrained. Its HBM2 memory on a 1024-bit bus, while lower in total bandwidth, offers a unique memory configuration that was advanced for its time. The Vega M GL's production status is End-of-life, but it remains a functional option for legacy systems or specific form factors that prioritize low power over performance.

For users who prioritize battery life and portability over frame rates, the Vega M GL's lower TDP is a meaningful advantage. For everyone else, the RTX 4060 Mobile's superior performance in every tested metric makes it the practical choice for gaming and content creation.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every core specification. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile uses the AD107 chip with Ada Lovelace architecture on a 5 nm TSMC process, while the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL uses the Polaris 22 chip with GCN 4.0 architecture on a 14 nm GlobalFoundries process. The RTX 4060 Mobile has 18,900 million transistors on a 159 mm² die, while the Vega M GL has 5,000 million transistors on a 208 mm² die.

Clock speeds differ: the RTX 4060 Mobile runs at 1545 MHz base and 1890 MHz boost, versus the Vega M GL's 931 MHz base and 1011 MHz boost. Memory configurations are distinct: the RTX 4060 Mobile has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 256.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the Vega M GL has 4 GB of HBM2 on a 1024-bit bus with 179.2 GB/s bandwidth. Memory clocks are 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) versus 700 MHz (1400 Mbps effective).

The compute resources differ significantly: the RTX 4060 Mobile has 3,072 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 48 ROPs, while the Vega M GL has 1,280 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The RTX 4060 Mobile includes 24 ray tracing cores and 96 tensor cores; the Vega M GL has none. Pixel rate is 90.72 GPixel/s versus 32.35 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 181.4 GTexel/s versus 80.88 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 11.61 TFLOPS versus 2.588 TFLOPS. The TDP is 115 W versus 65 W.

API support differs: the RTX 4060 Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the Vega M GL supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3. Both use an IGP slot width and have portable-device-dependent display outputs. The bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x8 for the RTX 4060 Mobile versus IGP for the Vega M GL. Release dates are January 2023 for the RTX 4060 Mobile and January 2018 for the Vega M GL.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head data is limited to two Geekbench tests, both of which show overwhelming victories for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 4060 Mobile scores 89,420 against the Vega M GL's 19,549, a delta of 357.4%. This is a massive gap that reflects the differences in shader count, clock speed, and memory bandwidth. The 3,072 shading units running at up to 1890 MHz, combined with 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth, produce a score that is nearly four and a half times higher.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the RTX 4060 Mobile scores 89,569 versus the Vega M GL's 22,757, a delta of 293.6%. The Vulkan test shows a slightly smaller but still enormous lead. The RTX 4060 Mobile's support for Vulkan 1.4 versus the Vega M GL's Vulkan 1.3 may contribute to the efficiency of the rendering workload. The Vega M GL's lower clock speeds and fewer shading units clearly bottleneck its performance in this modern API.

These two benchmark wins give the RTX 4060 Mobile a 2-0 record in the head-to-head comparison. The average benchmark score for the RTX 4060 Mobile is 22,729, placing it in the 67th percentile of all GPUs. The Vega M GL has an average score of 21,153, placing it in the 66th percentile. Despite the massive performance difference in the head-to-head tests, the percentile ranks are surprisingly close, indicating that the Vega M GL is still a capable GPU relative to the broader database of graphics cards.

The RTX 4060 Mobile's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 with an average score of 22,895 (delta of -0.7%) and the Intel Arc B580 with 23,021 (delta of -1.3%). The Vega M GL's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon HD 8970M with 21,237 (delta of -0.4%) and the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile with 21,379 (delta of -1.1%). The RTX 4060 Mobile sits just slightly below the RTX 2080, while the Vega M GL sits just slightly below the HD 8970M.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile is the superior GPU in every measured aspect. It delivers over 350% higher performance in OpenCL and nearly 300% higher in Vulkan, along with more VRAM, higher bandwidth, and modern features like ray tracing and tensor cores. The RTX 4060 Mobile is the correct choice for anyone building or buying a laptop for gaming, 3D rendering, or GPU-accelerated compute. Its 8 GB VRAM and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth provide ample headroom for modern game textures and creative workloads.

The AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL should only be considered in specific, constrained scenarios. Its 65 W TDP makes it suitable for ultra-portable laptops where power efficiency is the top priority. If the system cannot accommodate a 115 W GPU, the Vega M GL offers a functional, if older, graphics solution. Its HBM2 memory and 1024-bit bus are interesting from a technical standpoint, but the lower clocks and fewer shading units limit its real-world performance.

For a practical builder, the choice is clear. If the laptop chassis can handle the thermals and power draw, the RTX 4060 Mobile is the only logical pick. Its active production status and modern feature set ensure longer software support. The Vega M GL, now end-of-life, is a legacy part that makes sense only for specific low-power designs or as a stopgap in an existing system. Benchmark results indicate that there is no scenario where the Vega M GL outperforms the RTX 4060 Mobile in raw speed, so the decision rests entirely on power constraints versus performance needs.