NVIDIA GeForce 940MX vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB and the NVIDIA GeForce 940MX represent two vastly different eras of mobile and desktop graphics. The data shows a generational chasm in raw compute capability, architectural design, and feature support. While the 940MX was a modest entry-level part from the Maxwell era, the RTX 5060 Ti is a modern Blackwell 2.0 design aimed at high-refresh gaming and creative workloads. Their average benchmark scores place them within 2.5% of each other (4970 vs 4844), but this is a statistical artifact of averaging across different test suites; the per-test results reveal a more complex story.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two GPUs share no common benchmark entries in the data, making a direct apples-to-apples comparison impossible. Instead, we must interpret their relative positions using the nearestRivals and percentile data. The RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB sits in the 29th percentile of all GPUs, while the 940MX is in the 28th percentile, indicating they occupy a similar overall performance tier when averaged across all available tests. However, the nature of that performance is entirely different.

The 940MX’s benchmark suite consists of Geekbench OpenCL (4939) and Vulkan (4749) scores, which reflect compute and API-level throughput. Its closest rival in the database is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M, with an average score of 4855, meaning the 940MX trails that part by a negligible 0.2%. It also edges out the AMD Radeon R6 M255DX (4867) by 0.5% and the NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 (4893) by 1%, while the RTX 3080 12 GB is 1.1% behind the 940MX — an anomaly likely due to test workload differences.

The RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB, by contrast, was evaluated with a heavier workload set: 3DMark Steel Nomad (4019), PassMark G3D (22618), PassMark GPU Compute (11224), and several legacy PassMark DirectX tests (9/10/11/12). Its average score of 4970 places it just 0.2% behind the NVIDIA Quadro 4000 (4979) and 0.6% behind the AMD Radeon R7 Graphics (4998). It is 0.8% ahead of both the AMD Radeon R7 M360 and R7 M265 (4931 and 4929 respectively).

The most striking result is the PassMark G3D score of 22618 for the RTX 5060 Ti. This is a synthetic metric that heavily weights modern DirectX 12 and compute workloads, where the 940MX simply cannot compete. The RTX 5060 Ti also achieves 11224 in PassMark GPU Compute, a figure that dwarfs any result the 940MX could produce in its Geekbench tests, despite those tests being run on a different scale. The 940MX’s best result (4939 OpenCL) is roughly 44% of the RTX 5060 Ti’s compute score, but this comparison is not direct due to different benchmarks. What the data does show is that the RTX 5060 Ti is built to excel in modern, high-throughput tasks, while the 940MX was designed for basic acceleration in an era before ray tracing and tensor cores were mainstream.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB has an average benchmark score of 4970, while the GeForce 940MX scores 4844. This makes the RTX 5060 Ti roughly 2.6% higher on average, though the two parts are tested with different suites.

Q: How does the RTX 5060 Ti compare to its nearest rival, the Quadro 4000?

A: The RTX 5060 Ti averages 4970, just 0.2% behind the Quadro 4000’s 4979. This places the two parts in a statistical tie, with the Quadro holding a marginal edge.

Q: What is the 940MX’s position relative to the RTX 3080 12 GB in the database?

A: The 940MX has an average score of 4844, which is 1.1% ahead of the RTX 3080 12 GB’s average of 4791. This is an artifact of different benchmark workloads, not an indication of real-world equivalence.

Q: Does the RTX 5060 Ti support hardware ray tracing?

A: Yes. The RTX 5060 Ti features 36 dedicated RT cores, whereas the 940MX has no RT cores listed. This is a fundamental architectural difference.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The RTX 5060 Ti has 4608 shading units, compared to the 940MX’s 512. This is a 9x difference in raw shader count.

Q: What is the pixel rate difference?

A: The RTX 5060 Ti achieves 123.5 GPixel/s, while the 940MX manages 6.888 GPixel/s. The RTX 5060 Ti is nearly 18 times faster in pixel throughput.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on entirely different process nodes and architectures. The RTX 5060 Ti uses a 5 nm TSMC process with 21,900 million transistors on a 181 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 121.0M per mm². The 940MX uses a 28 nm TSMC node with only 1,870 million transistors on a 148 mm² die, for a density of 12.6M per mm². This represents a massive leap in manufacturing efficiency and integration.

The RTX 5060 Ti is based on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with the GB206 chip, while the 940MX uses the Maxwell architecture with the GM107 chip. This generational gap is reflected in feature support: the RTX 5060 Ti supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and includes 36 RT cores and 144 tensor cores, enabling hardware ray tracing and AI-accelerated workloads. The 940MX has no RT or tensor cores and only supports DirectX 12 (11_0), a lower feature level.

Memory technology is another major divide. The RTX 5060 Ti uses 16 GB of GDDR7 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The 940MX uses 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 64-bit bus, with just 40.10 GB/s. This is an 11x difference in memory bandwidth, which directly impacts texture-heavy scenes and high-resolution rendering.

Clock speeds also differ significantly. The RTX 5060 Ti has a base clock of 2407 MHz and a boost of 2572 MHz, while the 940MX runs at 795 MHz base and 861 MHz boost. The RTX 5060 Ti’s FP32 throughput is 23.70 TFLOPS, compared to the 940MX’s 881.7 GFLOPS — a 26.9x advantage. The RTX 5060 Ti also has a 1:1 FP16 ratio at 23.70 TFLOPS, while the 940MX does not list an FP16 rate.

The Verdict

The data makes it clear that the RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB and the GeForce 940MX are not competitors in any meaningful sense. The RTX 5060 Ti is designed for modern gaming and content creation, with ray tracing, tensor cores, GDDR7 memory, and a 5 nm process. The 940MX is an end-of-life mobile part from 2016, built for basic productivity and light media playback on a 28 nm process.

For anyone choosing between these two, the RTX 5060 Ti is the only viable option for current software. Its 23.70 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are in a different league from the 940MX’s 881.7 GFLOPS and 40.10 GB/s. The RTX 5060 Ti also supports modern APIs like DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4, ensuring compatibility with future titles, whereas the 940MX is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0).

The 940MX’s only advantage is its power draw: 23 W versus 180 W. This makes it suitable for fanless or low-power mobile designs, but that comes at the cost of nearly all performance. The RTX 5060 Ti requires a 450 W suggested PSU and a dual-slot cooler, making it a desktop-only part. In benchmark terms, the RTX 5060 Ti’s PassMark G3D score of 22618 is over 4.5 times higher than the 940MX’s best Geekbench result, though the tests are not directly comparable. The verdict is unambiguous: choose the RTX 5060 Ti for any task requiring modern graphics compute, and only consider the 940MX for legacy, low-power embedded uses.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every measurable specification. The RTX 5060 Ti has 4608 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 48 ROPs, while the 940MX has 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 8 ROPs. The RTX 5060 Ti includes 36 RT cores and 144 tensor cores; the 940MX has none of either.

Memory configuration is a major differentiator: 16 GB GDDR7 on a 128-bit bus (448.0 GB/s) versus 2 GB GDDR5 on a 64-bit bus (40.10 GB/s). The process node is 5 nm versus 28 nm, with transistor counts of 21,900 million versus 1,870 million. Die size is 181 mm² versus 148 mm², and transistor density is 121.0M / mm² versus 12.6M / mm².

Clock speeds are 2407 MHz base / 2572 MHz boost versus 795 MHz base / 861 MHz boost. Memory clocks are 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective) versus 1253 MHz (5 Gbps effective). Pixel rate is 123.5 GPixel/s versus 6.888 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 370.4 GTexel/s versus 27.55 GTexel/s.

FP32 performance is 23.70 TFLOPS versus 881.7 GFLOPS. The RTX 5060 Ti lists FP16 at 23.70 TFLOPS (1:1); the 940MX has no FP16 data. TDP is 180 W versus 23 W. The RTX 5060 Ti is dual-slot with a 1x 8-pin power connector and a 450 W suggested PSU; the 940MX is an MXM module with no power connectors and no suggested PSU.

Bus interfaces are PCIe 5.0 x8 versus PCIe 3.0 x8. Display outputs are 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1b for the RTX 5060 Ti, while the 940MX is dependent on the portable device. The RTX 5060 Ti supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4; the 940MX supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Production status is Active versus End-of-life, with release dates of 2025-04-15 versus 2016-06-27. The RTX 5060 Ti has a launch MSRP of 429 USD; the 940MX has no listed MSRP.