Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data contains a single direct comparison between the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti and the Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics: the Geekbench OpenCL test. The result is decisive, with the RTX 3060 Ti scoring 78,927 points against 14,315 points for the Iris Xe MAX. That is a 451.4% advantage for the NVIDIA part, meaning the RTX 3060 Ti delivers roughly five and a half times the compute throughput in this workload. This is not a close contest; the delta is so large that the Intel part falls into a completely different performance tier.

Looking at the broader database averages, the RTX 3060 Ti holds an average benchmark score of 16,129 across all recorded tests, while the Iris Xe MAX averages 14,315. The NVIDIA card sits in the 59th percentile of all GPUs, whereas the Intel part sits in the 56th percentile. The percentile gap is modest, but the average score gap is meaningful: 1,814 points, or about 12.7% higher for the RTX 3060 Ti across its full test suite. However, the Geekbench OpenCL result is the only head-to-head match, and there the RTX 3060 Ti is not just ahead, it is dominant.

The RTX 3060 Ti also shows a much wider benchmark portfolio. The database lists ten separate results for the NVIDIA card, spanning 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, multiple Passmark DirectX versions, and compute loads. The Iris Xe MAX has only one recorded benchmark, the Geekbench OpenCL score. This disparity itself tells a story: the Intel part is primarily a mobile integrated or low-power discrete solution, and its testing coverage reflects a narrower usage envelope. The RTX 3060 Ti, by contrast, is validated across a range of legacy and modern APIs, from DirectX 9 to DirectX 12, plus OpenCL and Vulkan.

In terms of individual NVIDIA scores, the Passmark G3D result of 20,349 and the GPU compute result of 10,006 are particularly strong, indicating both rasterization and compute headroom. The Geekbench Vulkan score of 47,784 for the RTX 3060 Ti is also far above the Intel part's entire average, though no Vulkan score is recorded for the Iris Xe MAX. The only conclusion from the head-to-head data is that the RTX 3060 Ti wins the sole shared test by an enormous margin, and no reverse victory exists for the Intel part.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from fundamentally different design philosophies. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti uses the GA104 chip built on Samsung's 8 nm process, with 17,400 million transistors packed into a 392 mm² die. That yields a transistor density of 44.4 million per square millimeter. The Intel Iris Xe MAX uses the DG1 chip on Intel's own 10 nm process, with a much smaller 95 mm² die and no transistor count listed in the database. The die size difference is a factor of roughly 4.1, which explains the massive gap in raw compute resources.

Architecturally, the RTX 3060 Ti is based on Ampere, NVIDIA's GeForce 30-series design, while the Intel part uses Generation 12.1, also known as Xe Graphics. The NVIDIA chip features 4,864 shading units, 152 texture mapping units, and 80 render output units. It also includes 38 dedicated ray tracing cores and 152 tensor cores, which are absent from the Intel specification entirely. The Intel Iris Xe MAX has 768 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 24 ROPs, and no ray tracing or tensor core entries exist in its data. That means the RTX 3060 Ti has 6.3 times the shading units and 3.2 times the ROPs, which directly translates into higher fill rates and pixel throughput.

Clock speeds tell a similar story. The RTX 3060 Ti runs at a base clock of 1410 MHz and boosts to 1665 MHz. The Intel part has a base clock of just 300 MHz, boosting to 1650 MHz. While the boost clocks are close, the base clock difference is stark: the NVIDIA GPU operates at nearly five times the Intel base frequency. This low base clock on the Intel part suggests a power-saving design, but it also limits sustained performance under load.

Memory is another major divergence. The RTX 3060 Ti comes with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Intel Iris Xe MAX uses 4 GB of LPDDR4X on a 128-bit bus, with 68.26 GB/s bandwidth. That is a 6.6 times bandwidth advantage for the NVIDIA card, which is critical for high-resolution textures and compute workloads. The memory clock also differs: 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) for the RTX 3060 Ti versus 2133 MHz (4.3 Gbps effective) for the Intel part. The effective data rate difference is 3.3 times, though the bus width gap dominates.

Feature support also separates them. The RTX 3060 Ti supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the Intel part only reaches DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4, but the ray tracing and tensor hardware on the NVIDIA side enables features the Intel part cannot handle. The RTX 3060 Ti also has a dual-slot form factor with a 12-pin power connector and a 550 W suggested PSU, while the Intel part is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with no power connector and a 200 W suggested PSU. The TDP figures are 200 W for NVIDIA versus 25 W for Intel, an 8 times difference in power draw. The RTX 3060 Ti is a full-height, 242 mm long card; the Intel part has no listed dimensions, consistent with its embedded or mobile positioning.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti has an average benchmark score of 16,129 across all recorded tests, while the Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics averages 14,315. The NVIDIA card is ahead by 1,814 points, or about 12.7%.

Q: What is the largest performance gap between the two in any single test?

A: In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the RTX 3060 Ti scores 78,927 versus 14,315 for the Iris Xe MAX, a 451.4% advantage. This is the only head-to-head benchmark recorded.

Q: Does the Intel Iris Xe MAX have any ray tracing or tensor cores?

A: No. The database lists no ray tracing cores and no tensor cores for the Intel part. The RTX 3060 Ti has 38 ray tracing cores and 152 tensor cores.

Q: How do memory bandwidth and capacity compare?

A: The RTX 3060 Ti has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Iris Xe MAX has 4 GB of LPDDR4X on a 128-bit bus with 68.26 GB/s bandwidth. That is a 6.6 times bandwidth advantage for NVIDIA.

Q: Which GPU supports the latest DirectX version?

A: The RTX 3060 Ti supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the Intel Iris Xe MAX supports DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4.

Q: What is the TDP difference?

A: The RTX 3060 Ti has a TDP of 200 W, while the Iris Xe MAX has a TDP of 25 W. The Intel part is an IGP with no power connector, while the NVIDIA card requires a 12-pin connector and a 550 W suggested PSU.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is the superior performer in every recorded metric. Its only shared benchmark with the Intel Iris Xe MAX shows a 451.4% lead, and its average score across its full test suite is 12.7% higher. The RTX 3060 Ti also has more than six times the shading units, more than six times the memory bandwidth, and 8 GB of VRAM versus 4 GB. It supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, which the Intel part cannot match, and it carries dedicated ray tracing and tensor hardware.

The Intel Iris Xe MAX is not a competitor in raw performance. Its 25 W TDP and IGP form factor make it suitable for low-power or embedded scenarios, but the benchmark data shows it is closer to integrated graphics like the AMD Radeon Vega 11 (which is only 0.3% away in average score) than to any discrete gaming GPU. The RTX 3060 Ti, by contrast, sits near the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT and Pro 5600M in its nearest rival list, with deltas of -1.4% against both. That places it firmly in the upper-midrange discrete GPU tier.

For anyone choosing between these two for gaming, content creation, or compute workloads, the RTX 3060 Ti is the only viable option. The Intel part would struggle with any modern 3D application, given its 39.60 GPixel/s pixel rate and 2.534 TFLOPS FP32 throughput, versus 133.2 GPixel/s and 16.20 TFLOPS for the NVIDIA card. The verdict is straightforward: the RTX 3060 Ti wins every measurable category, and the Iris Xe MAX exists in a different, much lower performance class.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti | Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics |

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

| Chip | GA104 | DG1 |

| Architecture | Ampere | Generation 12.1 |

| Process Node | 8 nm | 10 nm |

| Foundry | Samsung | Intel |

| Die Size | 392 mm² | 95 mm² |

| Transistors | 17,400 million | Not listed |

| Base Clock | 1410 MHz | 300 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1665 MHz | 1650 MHz |

| Memory Size | 8 GB | 4 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | LPDDR4X |

| Memory Bus Width | 256 bit | 128 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 448.0 GB/s | 68.26 GB/s |

| Memory Clock | 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) | 2133 MHz (4.3 Gbps effective) |

| Shading Units | 4864 | 768 |

| TMUs | 152 | 48 |

| ROPs | 80 | 24 |

| Ray Tracing Cores | 38 | None |

| Tensor Cores | 152 | None |

| Pixel Rate | 133.2 GPixel/s | 39.60 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 253.1 GTexel/s | 79.20 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 16.20 TFLOPS | 2.534 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 16.20 TFLOPS (1:1) | 5.069 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 200 W | 25 W |

| Slot Width | Dual-slot | IGP |

| Power Connectors | 1x 12-pin | None |

| Suggested PSU | 550 W | 200 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x8 |

| Display Outputs | 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a | No outputs |

| DirectX Support | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | 12 (12_1) |

| Release Date | 2020-11-30 | 2020-10-30 |

| Predecessor | GeForce 20 | Graphics |

| Successor | GeForce 40 | Alchemist |

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti wins every benchmark category where data exists. It wins the Geekbench OpenCL test by 451.4%, and it also holds higher scores in every other recorded test from its own suite, including the Passmark G3D result of 20,349 and the Geekbench Vulkan score of 47,784. The only recorded benchmark for the Intel Iris Xe MAX is its Geekbench OpenCL score of 14,315, which is lower than every single score the RTX 3060 Ti achieves in any test. There is no test in the database where the Intel part outperforms the NVIDIA card.

The RTX 3060 Ti is the clear winner for gaming, 3D rendering, and compute tasks. Its 16.20 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 253.1 GTexel/s texture rate provide the throughput needed for demanding workloads, while its 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth prevent bottlenecks in high-resolution textures and large datasets. The dedicated ray tracing cores and tensor cores enable features like DLSS and ray-traced effects, which the Intel part cannot use at all.

The Intel Iris Xe MAX has no benchmark wins, but its specification sheet shows where it could be preferred: power consumption. At 25 W TDP with no power connector and a 200 W suggested PSU, it is designed for systems where energy efficiency is paramount. Its IGP form factor means it occupies no expansion slot, and it has no display outputs, so it works as a compute or auxiliary accelerator rather than a primary graphics solution. Its 5.069 TFLOPS FP16 performance (at 2:1 ratio) is higher than its FP32 rate, indicating some compute potential for mixed-precision workloads, but that is still far below the RTX 3060 Ti's 16.20 TFLOPS FP16.

In summary, the RTX 3060 Ti wins all performance-based use cases, while the Intel Iris Xe MAX only makes sense in ultra-low-power or embedded scenarios where the RTX 3060 Ti's 200 W TDP and dual-slot size are unacceptable. For any interactive or high-throughput application, the NVIDIA card is the only choice based on the recorded data.