NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 represent two very different eras of GPU design, and the benchmark data reflects a generational leap that goes far beyond simple clock speed improvements. The RTX 4060 Mobile is an active, modern part built for portable gaming, while the GTX 780 is an end-of-life desktop flagship from a decade prior. The recorded measurements show a decisive performance advantage for the newer mobile chip, though the older card still holds some architectural interest. This analysis relies strictly on the database figures to compare the two.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database includes direct head-to-head results for two tests: Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan. In both cases, the RTX 4060 Mobile wins by a massive margin. In the OpenCL test, the RTX 4060 Mobile scores 89,420 against the GTX 780’s 22,863, which translates to a 291.1% advantage. That is nearly four times the raw compute throughput in this particular workload. The Vulkan result is similarly lopsided: the RTX 4060 Mobile posts 89,569 versus 24,514 for the GTX 780, a 265.4% lead.

These deltas are not incremental. They indicate a fundamental shift in capability. The RTX 4060 Mobile’s average benchmark score across all recorded tests is 22,729, while the GTX 780 sits at 19,164. That puts the mobile chip roughly 18.6% higher on average, but the head-to-head numbers suggest the gap grows much larger in modern, compute-heavy APIs. The GTX 780’s best direct score is 24,514 in Vulkan, which is still lower than the RTX 4060 Mobile’s worst direct score of 89,420 in OpenCL.

It is also worth noting where each card sits relative to its own peers. The RTX 4060 Mobile’s average score places it just 0.7% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080, 0.8% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT, and 1.3% behind the Intel Arc B580. The GTX 780, by contrast, is effectively tied with the NVIDIA TITAN Xp (0.1% behind), while sitting 0.4% ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla K20m and 0.6% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile. That last comparison is telling: the old desktop card is only slightly ahead of a modern entry-level mobile chip in average score, but the head-to-head tests show it is far behind the RTX 4060 Mobile.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on completely different architectures and manufacturing processes. The RTX 4060 Mobile uses the AD107 chip based on Ada Lovelace, fabricated by TSMC on a 5 nm process. The GTX 780 uses the GK110 chip based on Kepler, also from TSMC but on a 28 nm process. That process gap alone explains a significant portion of the performance difference. The RTX 4060 Mobile packs 18,900 million transistors onto a 159 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 118.9 million per square millimeter. The GTX 780 has only 7,080 million transistors on a much larger 561 mm² die, for a density of 12.6 million per square millimeter.

The memory subsystems also differ sharply. The RTX 4060 Mobile has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX 780 has 3 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, which provides 288.4 GB/s of bandwidth. Despite the older card having a wider bus and slightly higher bandwidth, the newer card’s larger capacity and faster memory technology give it an edge in modern workloads that require more VRAM.

Core counts tell a more nuanced story. The RTX 4060 Mobile has 3,072 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs. The GTX 780 has 2,304 shading units, 192 TMUs, and also 48 ROPs. The mobile chip leads in shader count but trails in texture units. However, the RTX 4060 Mobile also includes 24 ray tracing cores and 96 tensor cores, features the GTX 780 lacks entirely. The pixel rate for the RTX 4060 Mobile is 90.72 GPixel/s versus 43.30 GPixel/s for the GTX 780, a 109.5% advantage. The texture rate is closer: 181.4 GTexel/s versus 173.2 GTexel/s, a modest 4.7% lead for the mobile part.

FP32 compute performance is where the gap becomes enormous. The RTX 4060 Mobile delivers 11.61 TFLOPS, while the GTX 780 manages only 4.156 TFLOPS. That is a 179.4% difference. The RTX 4060 Mobile also supports FP16 at 11.61 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio, while the GTX 780 has no recorded FP16 capability. The API support also differs: the RTX 4060 Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the GTX 780 only reaches DirectX 12 (11_0) and Vulkan 1.2.175.

Where Each One Wins

Based on the recorded data, the RTX 4060 Mobile wins every head-to-head benchmark. There is no recorded test where the GTX 780 comes out ahead. The wins for the RTX 4060 Mobile are in Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan, with deltas of 291.1% and 265.4% respectively. In the broader benchmark suite, the RTX 4060 Mobile also shows strong results in Passmark tests: 17,469 in G3D, 6,816 in GPU compute, and 730 in G2D. The GTX 780’s recorded benchmarks are limited to Geekbench Metal (10,114), OpenCL (22,863), and Vulkan (24,514), so direct comparisons outside those two shared tests are not possible.

The GTX 780’s strengths, if any, would have to come from its wider memory bus and higher texture unit count. The 384-bit bus gives it 288.4 GB/s of bandwidth, which is higher than the RTX 4060 Mobile’s 256.0 GB/s. That could theoretically help in bandwidth-bound scenarios, but the benchmark results do not show any such advantage materializing in the recorded tests. The GTX 780 also has 192 TMUs versus 96, but the texture rate numbers are nearly identical, suggesting the older architecture cannot leverage its raw unit count effectively.

For practical use, the RTX 4060 Mobile is the clear choice for any modern workload involving ray tracing, tensor operations, or high-resolution textures. The GTX 780, with its 3 GB of VRAM and lack of hardware ray tracing, would struggle with contemporary game titles and compute tasks. The RTX 4060 Mobile’s 24 ray tracing cores and 96 tensor cores are simply not present on the older card, so any application that uses those features will only run on the newer GPU.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous. The RTX 4060 Mobile outperforms the GTX 780 by a wide margin in every shared benchmark, with deltas of 291.1% in OpenCL and 265.4% in Vulkan. The newer card also has a higher average benchmark score (22,729 versus 19,164), a higher percentile standing (67th versus 64th), and far more modern features including ray tracing, tensor cores, and DirectX 12 Ultimate support.

The GTX 780, despite being a desktop card with a 250 W TDP and a dual-slot cooler, cannot match the efficiency or raw performance of the RTX 4060 Mobile. The mobile chip does this at a 115 W TDP with an IGP form factor and no power connectors, while the GTX 780 requires a dual-slot design, a 600 W suggested PSU, and a 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin power connector. The GTX 780 does have a higher memory bandwidth, but that single advantage does not translate into any benchmark win.

Anyone looking for a modern GPU should pick the RTX 4060 Mobile without hesitation. The GTX 780 is only relevant as a historical artifact or for legacy systems that cannot accept newer hardware. The performance gap is too large to justify any other conclusion.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the RTX 4060 Mobile than the GTX 780 in OpenCL?

A: The RTX 4060 Mobile scores 89,420 against the GTX 780’s 22,863, which is 291.1% faster.

Q: Does the GTX 780 have ray tracing cores?

A: No, the GTX 780 has no ray tracing cores. The RTX 4060 Mobile has 24 ray tracing cores.

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

A: The RTX 4060 Mobile has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, while the GTX 780 has 3 GB of GDDR5 memory.

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The RTX 4060 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 22,729, compared to 19,164 for the GTX 780.

Q: What is the TDP difference between the two GPUs?

A: The RTX 4060 Mobile has a 115 W TDP, while the GTX 780 has a 250 W TDP.

Q: Does the GTX 780 support DirectX 12 Ultimate?

A: No, the GTX 780 supports DirectX 12 (11_0), while the RTX 4060 Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2).

Specification Differences

The following specifications differ between the two GPUs:

• Architecture: Ada Lovelace (RTX 4060 Mobile) versus Kepler (GTX 780)
• Process Node: 5 nm versus 28 nm
• Transistors: 18,900 million versus 7,080 million
• Die Size: 159 mm² versus 561 mm²
• Transistor Density: 118.9M / mm² versus 12.6M / mm²
• Base Clock: 1545 MHz versus 863 MHz
• Boost Clock: 1890 MHz versus 902 MHz
• Memory Clock: 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) versus 1502 MHz (6 Gbps effective)
• Memory Size: 8 GB versus 3 GB
• Memory Type: GDDR6 versus GDDR5
• Memory Bus Width: 128 bit versus 384 bit
• Memory Bandwidth: 256.0 GB/s versus 288.4 GB/s
• Shading Units: 3072 versus 2304
• TMUs: 96 versus 192
• RT Cores: 24 versus none
• Tensor Cores: 96 versus none
• Pixel Rate: 90.72 GPixel/s versus 43.30 GPixel/s
• Texture Rate: 181.4 GTexel/s versus 173.2 GTexel/s
• FP32 Compute: 11.61 TFLOPS versus 4.156 TFLOPS
• FP16 Compute: 11.61 TFLOPS (1:1) versus none recorded
• TDP: 115 W versus 250 W
• Slot Width: IGP versus Dual-slot
• Power Connectors: None versus 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin
• Suggested PSU: Not specified versus 600 W
• Bus Interface: PCIe 4.0 x8 versus PCIe 3.0 x16
• Display Outputs: Portable Device Dependent versus 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, 1x DisplayPort 1.2
• DirectX Support: 12 Ultimate (12_2) versus 12 (11_0)
• Vulkan Support: 1.4 versus 1.2.175
• Dimensions: Not specified versus 267 mm (10.5 inches) length, 111 mm (4.4 inches) height, 38 mm (1.5 inches) width
• Production Status: Active versus End-of-life
• Release Date: January 2023 versus May 2013
• Launch MSRP: Not specified versus 649 USD