AMD Ryzen Z2 Go GPU vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Max-Q Comparison

The Verdict

The data positions the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Max-Q as the dominant performer in this pairing, with the AMD Ryzen Z2 Go GPU serving a fundamentally different role. The RTX 4090 Max-Q delivers approximately 6.8 times the FP32 compute of the Ryzen Z2 Go, alongside a memory bandwidth advantage of 5.6 times. For any workload that scales with raw shader throughput, texture filtering, or memory bandwidth, the NVIDIA part is the clear choice.

The Ryzen Z2 Go is not a competitor in the same performance class. It operates at a 28 W TDP, while the RTX 4090 Max-Q is rated at 80 W, a 2.9 times power envelope difference. The Z2 Go targets scenarios where power draw and thermal output are constrained, such as portable devices with a single USB Type-C display output, whereas the RTX 4090 Max-Q appears in larger, more power-tolerant mobile systems.

Benchmark results indicate that neither part has recorded wins in the head-to-head data, and both sit at the 50th percentile against all GPUs with an average benchmark score of zero. The absence of measured scores means the verdict rests entirely on architectural and specification comparisons. The RTX 4090 Max-Q should be selected when maximum graphics throughput is the priority. The Ryzen Z2 Go should be selected when a low-power, integrated-class GPU with modern API support is sufficient.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different manufacturers and different architectural generations. AMD builds the Ryzen Z2 Go on the RDNA 2.0 architecture using the Rembrandt+ chip, fabricated on a 6 nm process at TSMC. NVIDIA builds the RTX 4090 Max-Q on the Ada Lovelace architecture using the AD103 chip, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. Both are manufactured by TSMC, but the process nodes differ.

Transistor counts reflect the scale gap. The Ryzen Z2 Go contains 13,100 million transistors on a 208 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 63.0M per mm². The RTX 4090 Max-Q contains 45,900 million transistors on a 379 mm² die, with a density of 121.1M per mm². The NVIDIA chip packs over three times the transistors into a die that is roughly 1.8 times larger, and its density is nearly double.

The memory subsystems diverge sharply. The Ryzen Z2 Go uses 16 GB of LPDDR5 on a 128 bit bus, yielding 102.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 4090 Max-Q uses 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256 bit bus, yielding 576.0 GB/s. Both have the same capacity, but the NVIDIA implementation has double the bus width and over five times the bandwidth.

Compute resources are heavily skewed toward the NVIDIA part. The Ryzen Z2 Go has 768 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, 32 ROPs, and 12 RT cores. The RTX 4090 Max-Q has 9,728 shading units, 304 TMUs, 112 ROPs, and 76 RT cores. NVIDIA also integrates 304 tensor cores, while the AMD part lists no tensor core count. The RTX 4090 Max-Q supports FP16 at a 1:1 ratio with FP32, both at 28.31 TFLOPS, whereas the Ryzen Z2 Go reaches 8.294 TFLOPS FP16 through a 2:1 ratio against its 4.147 TFLOPS FP32.

Clock behavior also differs. The Ryzen Z2 Go has a base clock of 800 MHz and a boost of 2700 MHz. The RTX 4090 Max-Q has a base of 930 MHz and a boost of 1455 MHz. The AMD part boosts nearly twice as high, but its far smaller shader count means that clock advantage does not translate into higher throughput.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded head-to-head benchmark data contains no entries, and neither GPU has accumulated any wins in this comparison. With no measured scores available, the analysis relies on the specification-derived rates that the database records.

Pixel throughput favors the RTX 4090 Max-Q at 163.0 GPixel/s, compared to 86.40 GPixel/s for the Ryzen Z2 Go. That is a 1.9 times advantage in pixel fill. Texture throughput shows a larger gap: the RTX 4090 Max-Q delivers 442.3 GTexel/s against 129.6 GTexel/s for the AMD part, a 3.4 times advantage.

FP32 compute is the most lopsided metric. The RTX 4090 Max-Q reaches 28.31 TFLOPS, while the Ryzen Z2 Go manages 4.147 TFLOPS. The NVIDIA part is roughly 6.8 times faster in single-precision floating point. FP16 follows a similar pattern: 28.31 TFLOPS for NVIDIA versus 8.294 TFLOPS for AMD, a 3.4 times gap.

Memory bandwidth is another decisive differentiator. The RTX 4090 Max-Q moves 576.0 GB/s, while the Ryzen Z2 Go is limited to 102.4 GB/s. The effective memory clock also differs: the NVIDIA part runs at 18 Gbps effective, while the AMD part runs at 6.4 Gbps effective.

The Ryzen Z2 Go does hold one clock-related advantage: its 2700 MHz boost clock is substantially higher than the 1455 MHz boost of the RTX 4090 Max-Q. This does not compensate for the differences in shader count, texture units, ROPs, or memory bandwidth. The RTX 4090 Max-Q wins every throughput category that matters for rendering performance.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every recorded specification field.

| Specification | AMD Ryzen Z2 Go GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Max-Q |

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

| Architecture | RDNA 2.0 | Ada Lovelace |

| Chip | Rembrandt+ | AD103 |

| Process Node | 6 nm | 5 nm |

| Transistors | 13,100 million | 45,900 million |

| Die Size | 208 mm² | 379 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 63.0M / mm² | 121.1M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 800 MHz | 930 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2700 MHz | 1455 MHz |

| Memory Type | LPDDR5 | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus Width | 128 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 102.4 GB/s | 576.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 768 | 9,728 |

| TMUs | 48 | 304 |

| ROPs | 32 | 112 |

| RT Cores | 12 | 76 |

| Tensor Cores | None listed | 304 |

| Pixel Rate | 86.40 GPixel/s | 163.0 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 129.6 GTexel/s | 442.3 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 4.147 TFLOPS | 28.31 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 8.294 TFLOPS (2:1) | 28.31 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 28 W | 80 W |

| Slot Width | Not listed | IGP |

| Bus Interface | Not listed | PCIe 4.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 1x USB Type-C | Portable Device Dependent |

| Release Date | 2024-12-31 | 2023-01-02 |

| Predecessor | None listed | GeForce 30 Mobile |

| Successor | None listed | GeForce 50 Mobile |

Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Both have 16 GB of memory. Both have no power connectors listed. The RTX 4090 Max-Q has a predecessor and successor in the GeForce 30 Mobile and GeForce 50 Mobile generations, while the Ryzen Z2 Go lists neither.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher FP32 compute performance?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Max-Q delivers 28.31 TFLOPS FP32, which is approximately 6.8 times the 4.147 TFLOPS of the AMD Ryzen Z2 Go GPU.

Q: Do both GPUs have the same memory capacity?

A: Yes, both have 16 GB of memory. They differ in type and bandwidth: the Ryzen Z2 Go uses LPDDR5 at 102.4 GB/s, while the RTX 4090 Max-Q uses GDDR6 at 576.0 GB/s.

Q: What are the power consumption ratings?

A: The AMD Ryzen Z2 Go GPU is rated at 28 W TDP. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Max-Q is rated at 80 W TDP, which is 2.9 times higher.

Q: Which GPU has more ray tracing cores?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Max-Q has 76 RT cores. The AMD Ryzen Z2 Go GPU has 12 RT cores.

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.

Q: Which GPU has a higher boost clock?

A: The AMD Ryzen Z2 Go GPU has a boost clock of 2700 MHz, compared to 1455 MHz for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Max-Q.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 4090 Max-Q wins in every throughput-oriented category recorded in the database. Its 9,728 shading units dwarf the 768 of the Ryzen Z2 Go, and its 304 TMUs and 112 ROPs exceed the 48 and 32 of the AMD part. The 576.0 GB/s memory bandwidth is 5.6 times higher, which matters for texture-heavy scenes and high-resolution rendering. The 28.31 TFLOPS FP32 and FP16 performance place it in a different compute class entirely. The 4.147 TFLOPS FP32 of the Ryzen Z2 Go is closer to an integrated GPU than to a discrete mobile flagship.

The Ryzen Z2 Go wins on power efficiency in absolute terms, with a 28 W TDP versus 80 W. It also boosts to 2700 MHz, nearly double the 1455 MHz of the NVIDIA part, and its 6 nm process, while less dense than the 5 nm NVIDIA chip, still represents a modern manufacturing node. The single USB Type-C display output suggests a compact, low-power integration path. The RTX 4090 Max-Q, by contrast, is rated as an IGP slot width and uses a PCIe 4.0 x16 bus interface, with display outputs dependent on the portable device.

For use cases that demand maximum frame rates, ray tracing throughput, or compute-heavy workloads, the RTX 4090 Max-Q is the only viable option from the data. For scenarios where power draw is the limiting factor and the workload fits within 4.147 TFLOPS FP32 and 102.4 GB/s of bandwidth, the Ryzen Z2 Go provides a functional alternative with a much lower power envelope. The release timing also differs, with the AMD part arriving on 2024-12-31 and the NVIDIA part on 2023-01-02, but the performance gap is far more significant than the release date gap.