NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Comparison

The Verdict

The database places these two NVIDIA cards at opposite ends of the company's GPU timeline, and the recorded benchmark results make the generational gap unmistakable. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 wins both head-to-head comparisons outright, with a 75.9% advantage in Geekbench OpenCL and a 49.6% lead in Geekbench Vulkan. For any user choosing between these two, the RTX 4060 is the clear performance pick in compute workloads.

However, the GTX 780 is not without a niche. Its average benchmark score of 19164 sits slightly above the RTX 4060's 17639, and its percentile ranking of 64 versus 61 indicates it holds a marginally higher position across the full GPU database. The data suggests the GTX 780 remains competitive in legacy or OpenCL-centric workloads, while the RTX 4060 dominates in modern API performance. Users with older software that relies on raw OpenCL throughput may find the GTX 780 still serviceable, but anyone targeting current generation games or Vulkan applications should select the RTX 4060 without hesitation.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two GPUs is vast, spanning a decade of NVIDIA design philosophy. The GTX 780 uses the GK110 chip built on Kepler architecture, manufactured on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It packs 7,080 million transistors across a 561 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 12.6M per mm². The RTX 4060, by contrast, employs the AD107 chip under Ada Lovelace architecture, fabricated on a 5 nm process, also at TSMC. Its 18,900 million transistors fit into a much smaller 159 mm² die, achieving 118.9M transistors per mm², roughly 9.4 times the density of the older part.

Shading unit counts differ meaningfully: the GTX 780 carries 2304 shading units, while the RTX 4060 has 3072. Texture mapping units go the opposite direction, with the GTX 780 featuring 192 TMUs against the RTX 4060's 96. Both cards have 48 ROPs. The RTX 4060 introduces hardware features absent from the GTX 780 entirely: 24 ray tracing cores and 96 tensor cores. The GTX 780 supports DirectX 12 (11_0), while the RTX 4060 reaches DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2). Vulkan support also differs, with the GTX 780 at version 1.2.175 and the RTX 4060 at version 1.4.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded head-to-head data contains two comparisons, and the RTX 4060 wins both by substantial margins. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 4060 scores 95057 against the GTX 780's 22863, a delta of 75.9% in favor of the newer card. This is the larger of the two gaps, reflecting the RTX 4060's 15.11 TFLOPS FP32 throughput against the GTX 780's 4.156 TFLOPS, a 3.6 times raw compute advantage.

Geekbench Vulkan shows a narrower but still decisive margin. The RTX 4060 posts 48643, while the GTX 780 manages 24514, putting the RTX 4060 ahead by 49.6%. This result aligns with the API support differences: Vulkan 1.4 on the RTX 4060 versus 1.2.175 on the GTX 780, and the newer card's superior shading unit count. The GTX 780 wins zero head-to-head tests in the database, making the RTX 4060 the definitive victor in direct comparisons.

Specification Differences

Several specification fields diverge between the two cards. The GTX 780 runs at a base clock of 863 MHz with a boost of 902 MHz, while the RTX 4060 operates at 1830 MHz base and 2460 MHz boost. Memory configurations differ in size, type, and bus width: the GTX 780 has 3 GB of GDDR5 on a 384 bit bus, while the RTX 4060 has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128 bit bus. Memory bandwidth is close, with the GTX 780 at 288.4 GB/s and the RTX 4060 at 272.0 GB/s, a 16.4 GB/s difference favoring the older card despite its older memory technology.

Pixel rate and texture rate both favor the RTX 4060. The newer card achieves 118.1 GPixel/s and 236.2 GTexel/s, versus 43.30 GPixel/s and 173.2 GTexel/s for the GTX 780. FP32 compute stands at 15.11 TFLOPS for the RTX 4060, which also supports FP16 at 15.11 TFLOPS (1:1); the GTX 780 lists no FP16 capability. Power consumption drops dramatically: the RTX 4060 has a TDP of 115 W versus 250 W for the GTX 780, and its suggested PSU is 300 W versus 600 W. The power connector changes from 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin on the GTX 780 to a single 12-pin on the RTX 4060.

The bus interface also shifts: PCIe 3.0 x16 on the GTX 780, PCIe 4.0 x8 on the RTX 4060. Display outputs go from 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 1x DisplayPort 1.2 on the GTX 780 to 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a on the RTX 4060. Physical dimensions are similar in height at 111 mm for both, but the GTX 780 is longer at 267 mm versus 240 mm, and slightly thinner at 38 mm versus 40 mm. Both are dual-slot cards. The GTX 780 was released on 2013-05-22 with a launch MSRP of 649 USD, while the RTX 4060 arrived on 2023-05-17 with a launch MSRP of 299 USD. Both cards are now end-of-life.

FAQ

Q: Which card has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The GTX 780 has an average benchmark score of 19164, while the RTX 4060 scores 17639. The GTX 780 also holds a higher percentile at 64 versus 61.

Q: Does the RTX 4060 support ray tracing?

A: Yes, the RTX 4060 includes 24 ray tracing cores as part of its Ada Lovelace architecture. The GTX 780 has no ray tracing cores.

Q: How much memory does each card have?

A: The GTX 780 has 3 GB of GDDR5 on a 384 bit bus, while the RTX 4060 has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128 bit bus. Memory bandwidth is 288.4 GB/s for the GTX 780 and 272.0 GB/s for the RTX 4060.

Q: Which card has the lower power requirement?

A: The RTX 4060 has a TDP of 115 W and a suggested PSU of 300 W. The GTX 780 has a TDP of 250 W and a suggested PSU of 600 W.

Q: What is the transistor density difference?

A: The GTX 780 has a transistor density of 12.6M per mm², while the RTX 4060 achieves 118.9M per mm², approximately 9.4 times higher.

Q: Which card performs better in Geekbench Vulkan?

A: The RTX 4060 scores 48643 in Geekbench Vulkan, which is 49.6% higher than the GTX 780's 24514.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 4060 secures wins in every direct head-to-head comparison recorded in the database. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 95057 dwarfs the GTX 780's 22863, and its Vulkan result of 48643 beats the GTX 780's 24514. The FP32 compute advantage of 15.11 TFLOPS versus 4.156 TFLOPS underpins these results, as does the higher shading unit count of 3072 versus 2304. The RTX 4060 also benefits from newer API support, including DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4, plus dedicated ray tracing and tensor cores. For modern gaming, Vulkan-based applications, or any workload that leverages DirectX 12 Ultimate features, the RTX 4060 is the only choice between these two.

The GTX 780's edge is narrower and more situational. Its average benchmark score of 19164 exceeds the RTX 4060's 17639 by roughly 8.6%, and its percentile rank of 64 places it above the RTX 4060's 61. The nearest rival data shows the GTX 780 trading blows with the NVIDIA TITAN Xp at a 0.1% delta, while the RTX 4060 sits close to the AMD Radeon HD 7790 at a 0.2% delta. The GTX 780 also retains a memory bandwidth advantage of 288.4 GB/s over the RTX 4060's 272.0 GB/s, which could matter in bandwidth-sensitive legacy workloads. Users running older OpenCL-based software that responds well to the GTX 780's 384 bit memory bus and 192 TMUs may see acceptable performance. However, the database shows zero head-to-head wins for the GTX 780, so its strengths are best framed as maintaining comparable aggregate scores rather than outperforming the RTX 4060 in any specific recorded test. The practical recommendation from the data is straightforward: the RTX 4060 for any current workload, the GTX 780 only for compatibility with aging software or where the higher aggregate benchmark percentile matters more than modern API performance.