AMD Ryzen Z2 A GPU vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 AD106 Comparison

# FAQ

Q: What are the architectural generations of the AMD Ryzen Z2 A GPU and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 AD106?

A: The AMD Ryzen Z2 A GPU uses RDNA 2.0 architecture on a 7 nm process, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 AD106 uses Ada Lovelace architecture on a 5 nm process. Both are manufactured by TSMC.

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

A: The AMD Ryzen Z2 A GPU has 16 GB of LPDDR5 memory with a 128-bit bus and 102.4 GB/s bandwidth. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 AD106 has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory with a 128-bit bus and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: What is the difference in shading unit counts?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 AD106 has 3072 shading units, compared to 512 shading units on the AMD Ryzen Z2 A GPU. This is a 6x difference in shading hardware.

Q: Which GPU has higher clock speeds?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 AD106 has a base clock of 1830 MHz and a boost clock of 2460 MHz. The AMD Ryzen Z2 A GPU has a base clock of 1000 MHz and a boost clock of 1600 MHz.

Q: What are the power consumption figures?

A: The AMD Ryzen Z2 A GPU has a TDP of 15 W, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 AD106 has a TDP of 115 W. The NVIDIA card also lists a suggested PSU of 300 W.

Q: What is the production status of each GPU?

A: The AMD Ryzen Z2 A GPU is listed as Active production, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 AD106 is listed as End-of-life.

# Architecture Differences

The AMD Ryzen Z2 A GPU and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 AD106 represent fundamentally different design philosophies. The AMD part is built on the Van Gogh chip using RDNA 2.0 architecture, fabricated on a 7 nm process at TSMC. The NVIDIA part uses the AD106 chip with Ada Lovelace architecture, fabricated on a 5 nm process, also at TSMC. The manufacturing node difference is significant: the 5 nm process allows for substantially higher transistor density, measured at 121.8M per mm² for the NVIDIA chip versus 14.7M per mm² for the AMD chip.

Transistor counts reveal the scale difference. The AMD Ryzen Z2 A GPU contains 2,400 million transistors on a die size of 163 mm². The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 AD106 packs 22,900 million transistors into a 188 mm² die. That is nearly ten times the transistor count in a similar physical area, enabled by the denser process node.

The compute resources differ dramatically. The AMD GPU has 512 shading units, 32 texture mapping units, and 16 raster output units. The NVIDIA GPU has 3072 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output units. In ray tracing hardware, the AMD part has 8 RT cores while the NVIDIA part has 24 RT cores. The NVIDIA GPU also includes 96 tensor cores, while the AMD GPU has no tensor core count listed.

Memory architecture diverges as well. The AMD Ryzen Z2 A GPU uses 16 GB of LPDDR5 with a 128-bit bus and 102.4 GB/s bandwidth. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 AD106 uses 8 GB of GDDR6 with a 128-bit bus and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth. Both have the same bus width, but the memory type and speed differ substantially, with the NVIDIA part delivering more than double the bandwidth despite half the capacity.

Clock behavior also shows the design gap. The AMD GPU runs at a 1000 MHz base and 1600 MHz boost. The NVIDIA GPU runs at 1830 MHz base and 2460 MHz boost. Memory clocks differ as well: 800 MHz with 6.4 Gbps effective for AMD versus 2125 MHz with 17 Gbps effective for NVIDIA.

Both GPUs support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so the API feature set is identical. The display outputs differ: the AMD part has a single USB Type-C output, while the NVIDIA part has 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The NVIDIA card is dual-slot with a 1x 12-pin power connector and PCIe 4.0 x8 interface.

# Where Each One Wins

The AMD Ryzen Z2 A GPU is designed for low-power operation. Its 15 W TDP places it in a completely different power class than the NVIDIA part's 115 W TDP. The AMD GPU also offers double the memory capacity at 16 GB versus 8 GB, which matters for workloads that require large working sets but do not demand extreme bandwidth.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 AD106 wins in nearly every raw performance category. Its shading unit count of 3072 versus 512 gives it a massive compute advantage. The texture rate of 236.2 GTexel/s versus 51.20 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 118.1 GPixel/s versus 25.60 GPixel/s confirm the NVIDIA part's dominance in fill-rate-limited scenarios. The FP32 throughput of 15.11 TFLOPS versus 1.638 TFLOPS is a 9.2x advantage.

For ray tracing workloads, the NVIDIA part has 24 RT cores versus 8 RT cores on the AMD GPU. The NVIDIA GPU also has 96 tensor cores, which the AMD part lacks entirely, giving it a clear edge in AI-accelerated tasks.

The memory bandwidth difference is substantial: 272.0 GB/s for NVIDIA versus 102.4 GB/s for AMD. This affects performance in bandwidth-sensitive applications, with the NVIDIA part delivering 2.7x the data throughput.

The AMD Ryzen Z2 A GPU wins on power efficiency and memory capacity. The 15 W TDP allows deployment in compact, low-power systems. The 16 GB memory capacity supports larger datasets without exceeding memory limits. The NVIDIA part counters with higher bandwidth, which often matters more than raw capacity for gaming and compute workloads.

# Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Ryzen Z2 A GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 AD106 |

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

| Chip | Van Gogh | AD106 |

| Architecture | RDNA 2.0 | Ada Lovelace |

| Process Node | 7 nm | 5 nm |

| Transistors | 2,400 million | 22,900 million |

| Die Size | 163 mm² | 188 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 14.7M / mm² | 121.8M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1000 MHz | 1830 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1600 MHz | 2460 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 800 MHz 6.4 Gbps effective | 2125 MHz 17 Gbps effective |

| Memory Size | 16 GB | 8 GB |

| Memory Type | LPDDR5 | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus Width | 128 bit | 128 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 102.4 GB/s | 272.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 512 | 3072 |

| TMUs | 32 | 96 |

| ROPs | 16 | 48 |

| RT Cores | 8 | 24 |

| Tensor Cores | None listed | 96 |

| Pixel Rate | 25.60 GPixel/s | 118.1 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 51.20 GTexel/s | 236.2 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 1.638 TFLOPS | 15.11 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 3.277 TFLOPS (2:1) | 15.11 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 15 W | 115 W |

| Slot Width | Not listed | Dual-slot |

| Power Connectors | Not listed | 1x 12-pin |

| Suggested PSU | Not listed | 300 W |

| Bus Interface | Not listed | PCIe 4.0 x8 |

| Display Outputs | 1x USB Type-C | 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a |

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

| Release Date | 2024-12-31 | 2024-03-31 |

| Predecessor | Not listed | GeForce 30 |

| Successor | Not listed | GeForce 50 |

# Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a lopsided comparison. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 AD106 leads in every measured performance metric, often by wide margins. The FP32 throughput difference is the most striking: 15.11 TFLOPS versus 1.638 TFLOPS, a 9.2x advantage for the NVIDIA part. This single figure encapsulates the compute capability gap between the two products.

Texture and pixel rates follow the same pattern. The NVIDIA GPU delivers 236.2 GTexel/s against 51.20 GTexel/s for the AMD GPU, a 4.6x difference. Pixel rate shows 118.1 GPixel/s versus 25.60 GPixel/s, a 4.6x gap. These fill-rate metrics indicate that the NVIDIA part can drive higher resolutions and more complex scenes without becoming pixel-bound.

Memory bandwidth provides another major separation. The NVIDIA part's 272.0 GB/s is 2.7x the AMD part's 102.4 GB/s. This bandwidth advantage matters for texture streaming, high-resolution framebuffers, and data-intensive compute workloads. The AMD GPU's larger 16 GB capacity does not compensate for the bandwidth deficit in most gaming scenarios.

Clock speeds reinforce the NVIDIA advantage. The 1830 MHz base and 2460 MHz boost clocks on the NVIDIA part compare to 1000 MHz base and 1600 MHz boost on the AMD part. Higher clocks translate directly to faster instruction execution, assuming similar instruction efficiency per clock.

The shading unit disparity is the root cause of the performance gap. With 3072 shading units versus 512, the NVIDIA GPU has 6x the parallel compute lanes. Even if the AMD architecture achieved higher instructions per clock per unit, the sheer hardware count difference is insurmountable.

Ray tracing hardware shows a similar ratio: 24 RT cores versus 8 RT cores, a 3x advantage for NVIDIA. The presence of 96 tensor cores on the NVIDIA part versus none on the AMD part adds another compute dimension entirely absent from the AMD product.

The FP16 figures are informative. The AMD GPU lists 3.277 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio to FP32, indicating dedicated FP16 throughput. The NVIDIA GPU lists 15.11 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio, meaning FP16 and FP32 run at the same rate. The NVIDIA part still delivers 4.6x the FP16 throughput despite the different ratio.

Power consumption data completes the picture. The 115 W TDP of the NVIDIA part is 7.7x the 15 W TDP of the AMD part. This power envelope allows the NVIDIA GPU to sustain high clock speeds and feed its larger compute array, while the AMD GPU operates in a thermal class suited for fanless or passively cooled designs.

# The Verdict

The data presents a clear performance hierarchy. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 AD106 is the superior product for any workload that prioritizes raw compute, graphics throughput, or memory bandwidth. Its 15.11 TFLOPS FP32 performance, 236.2 GTexel/s texture rate, and 272.0 GB/s memory bandwidth position it as a capable desktop GPU for gaming and content creation. The 24 RT cores and 96 tensor cores extend its usefulness to ray-traced rendering and AI-accelerated applications.

The AMD Ryzen Z2 A GPU serves a different purpose. Its 15 W TDP and 16 GB memory capacity make it suitable for compact, low-power systems where energy consumption and physical footprint matter more than absolute performance. The 1.638 TFLOPS FP32 throughput and 102.4 GB/s memory bandwidth are modest figures, but they come with a power draw that enables passive cooling and battery-powered operation.

The production status difference reinforces this interpretation. The AMD part is Active, indicating ongoing availability for embedded or handheld use cases. The NVIDIA part is End-of-life, with its successor and predecessor listed as GeForce 50 and GeForce 30 respectively, suggesting a product that has already been superseded in the desktop market.

The release dates show the AMD part launched later, on 2024-12-31, versus the NVIDIA part's 2024-03-31. Despite the later launch, the AMD product does not close the performance gap, confirming that the two GPUs target different market segments rather than competing directly.

For users who need maximum frame rates, high-resolution rendering, or compute throughput, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 AD106 is the clear choice from the data. Its specifications dominate across every performance category. For users who need a low-power GPU with large memory capacity for lightweight workloads, the AMD Ryzen Z2 A GPU offers a viable alternative, trading performance for efficiency and capacity.

The benchmark database records no head-to-head benchmark scores or wins for either product, and both GPUs show a percentile rank of 50 against all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 0. The specification analysis must therefore stand as the primary basis for comparison. The recorded data shows no scenario where the AMD part outperforms the NVIDIA part in a measured metric; the NVIDIA GPU wins every specification-based comparison.