NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile Comparison

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 represent two distinct eras of GPU design, separated by nearly a decade of architectural evolution. The RTX 3060 Mobile is an Ampere-generation mobile part built for modern workloads, while the GTX 690 is a dual-GPU Kepler flagship from the GeForce 600 generation. Benchmark data shows the RTX 3060 Mobile dominates in every recorded head-to-head test, with the GTX 690’s legacy status reflected in its older API support and higher power demands.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 3060 Mobile wins decisively in every benchmark category where both cards have recorded scores. In Geekbench OpenCL, the mobile card scores 79,483 against the GTX 690’s 17,399, a 356.8% advantage. The Vulkan gap is even wider: 80,344 versus 16,675, a 381.8% lead for the RTX 3060 Mobile. These results indicate the RTX 3060 Mobile is the clear choice for any compute-oriented task, including OpenCL-based rendering and Vulkan gaming or productivity workloads. Its architecture supports modern feature sets like DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the GTX 690 is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0) and Vulkan 1.2.175.

The GTX 690 has no recorded wins in the head-to-head data. However, its dual-GPU design historically provided high raw throughput in multi-GPU-optimized scenarios, though the benchmark results here show no such advantage. The RTX 3060 Mobile also holds a higher overall percentile ranking at 62 versus the GTX 690’s 60, and its average benchmark score of 18,159 exceeds the GTX 690’s 17,037. For users prioritizing power efficiency, the RTX 3060 Mobile’s 80 W TDP versus the GTX 690’s 300 W TDP makes it the only viable option for portable or low-power systems. The GTX 690’s dual-slot design and 2x 8-pin power connectors further cement its desktop-only status.

Architecture Differences

The fundamental split is architectural: the RTX 3060 Mobile uses the Ampere architecture on an 8 nm Samsung process, while the GTX 690 employs the Kepler architecture on a 28 nm TSMC node. The RTX 3060 Mobile’s GA106 chip contains 12,000 million transistors on a 276 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 43.5M per mm². The GTX 690’s GK104 chip packs 3,540 million transistors on a larger 294 mm² die, with a much lower density of 12.0M per mm². This density difference explains the RTX 3060 Mobile’s ability to deliver far higher compute throughput at a fraction of the power draw.

Feature support diverges sharply. The RTX 3060 Mobile includes 30 RT cores and 120 tensor cores, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI workloads—capabilities entirely absent from the GTX 690, which lists no RT or tensor cores. Shader counts also favor the newer card: 3,840 shading units versus 1,536, with 120 TMUs versus 128 (a slight GTX 690 edge) and 48 ROPs versus 32. The RTX 3060 Mobile’s FP32 throughput is 10.94 TFLOPS, more than triple the GTX 690’s 3.130 TFLOPS. Its FP16 performance matches FP32 at 10.94 TFLOPS, while the GTX 690 has no recorded FP16 capability.

Memory subsystems reflect generational progress. The RTX 3060 Mobile uses 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, delivering 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX 690 has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, providing 192.3 GB/s. Although the GTX 690 has a wider bus, its lower clocked memory (6 Gbps effective versus 14 Gbps effective) results in significantly less bandwidth. The RTX 3060 Mobile also supports PCIe 4.0 x16, while the GTX 690 is limited to PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs differ as well: the RTX 3060 Mobile’s outputs are portable-device dependent, whereas the GTX 690 offers 3x DVI and 1x mini-DisplayPort 1.2.

FAQ

Q: Which card has higher raw compute performance in FP32?

A: The RTX 3060 Mobile delivers 10.94 TFLOPS, while the GTX 690 provides 3.130 TFLOPS—a more than 3x advantage for the mobile part.

Q: Does the GTX 690 support ray tracing or tensor operations?

A: No. The GTX 690 has no RT cores or tensor cores in its specification, whereas the RTX 3060 Mobile includes 30 RT cores and 120 tensor cores.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference between the two cards?

A: The RTX 3060 Mobile reaches 336.0 GB/s over a 192-bit GDDR6 interface, while the GTX 690 achieves 192.3 GB/s over a 256-bit GDDR5 interface.

Q: How do their API supports compare for modern games?

A: The RTX 3060 Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the GTX 690 is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0) and Vulkan 1.2.175.

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score across all tests?

A: The RTX 3060 Mobile records an average score of 18,159, compared to the GTX 690’s 17,037.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The RTX 3060 Mobile has a TDP of 80 W, while the GTX 690’s TDP is 300 W.

Specification Differences

| Field | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 |

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

| Process Node | 8 nm (Samsung) | 28 nm (TSMC) |

| Transistors | 12,000 million | 3,540 million |

| Die Size | 276 mm² | 294 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 43.5M / mm² | 12.0M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 900 MHz | 915 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1425 MHz | 1019 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) | 1502 MHz (6 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 6 GB GDDR6 | 2 GB GDDR5 |

| Memory Bus Width | 192 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 336.0 GB/s | 192.3 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 3840 | 1536 |

| TMUs | 120 | 128 |

| ROPs | 48 | 32 |

| RT Cores | 30 | None |

| Tensor Cores | 120 | None |

| Pixel Rate | 68.40 GPixel/s | 32.61 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 171.0 GTexel/s | 130.4 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 10.94 TFLOPS | 3.130 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 10.94 TFLOPS (1:1) | None |

| TDP | 80 W | 300 W |

| Slot Width | Not specified | Dual-slot |

| Power Connectors | None | 2x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | Not specified | 700 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | Portable Device Dependent | 3x DVI, 1x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 |

| DirectX Support | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | 12 (11_0) |

| Vulkan Support | 1.4 | 1.2.175 |

| Release Date | 2021-01-11 | 2012-05-02 |

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only two shared benchmark results are Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan, and in both cases the RTX 3060 Mobile wins by an enormous margin. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 3060 Mobile scores 79,483 versus the GTX 690’s 17,399. That is a 356.8% delta, meaning the RTX 3060 Mobile performs roughly 4.5 times better in this compute test. The GTX 690’s older Kepler architecture lacks the modern execution units and memory bandwidth needed to compete with Ampere’s FP32 and tensor throughput.

The Vulkan result is even more lopsided. The RTX 3060 Mobile achieves 80,344 points, while the GTX 690 manages just 16,675. This 381.8% gap highlights the RTX 3060 Mobile’s superior driver optimization and hardware support for Vulkan 1.4, versus the GTX 690’s older Vulkan 1.2.175 implementation. In practical terms, any Vulkan-based game or compute application will run dramatically faster on the RTX 3060 Mobile.

Beyond these head-to-head tests, the broader benchmark suites reinforce the RTX 3060 Mobile’s dominance. In PassMark G3D, the RTX 3060 Mobile scores 13,230, while the GTX 690 has no recorded PassMark result. The RTX 3060 Mobile also shows strong performance in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 with a score of 1,821, and in Geekbench compute tests it reaches 80,344 (Vulkan) and 79,483 (OpenCL). The GTX 690’s only other recorded data points are its two Geekbench scores, both far below the RTX 3060 Mobile’s numbers. The RTX 3060 Mobile’s percentile ranking of 62 versus the GTX 690’s 60 further confirms that it sits in a higher performance tier among all GPUs, despite the GTX 690’s dual-GPU design and historically high launch MSRP of 999 USD.