NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a clear split between the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile across nine benchmark tests. The RTX 4060 Mobile wins six of the nine comparisons, while the RTX 3070 Mobile takes three. The margin of victory, however, tells a more nuanced story than the raw win count.

The RTX 4060 Mobile's most decisive victory comes in the PassMark DirectX 9 test, where it scores 216 against the RTX 3070 Mobile's 160, a 35% advantage. This is the largest single-test delta in the entire head-to-head comparison. The DirectX 11 and DirectX 12 results follow a similar pattern, with the RTX 4060 Mobile leading by 13.8% (157 versus 138) and 14.1% (73 versus 64) respectively. The PassMark G3D result mirrors the DirectX 12 margin exactly, with the RTX 4060 Mobile scoring 17469 compared to 15309, again a 14.1% lead. The G2D test shows a 13.9% advantage for the RTX 4060 Mobile, with scores of 730 and 641.

The RTX 3070 Mobile's wins are narrower but consistent in compute-oriented workloads. Its largest margin is in the PassMark DirectX 10 test, where it scores 113 against 107, a 5.3% edge. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 3070 Mobile scores 92939 versus 89420, a 3.8% advantage. The PassMark GPU Compute test is essentially a tie, with the RTX 3070 Mobile scoring 6827 against 6816, a mere 0.2% difference.

The Geekbench Vulkan test is the only other win for the RTX 4060 Mobile, and it is a modest one. The RTX 4060 Mobile scores 89569 against 86768, a 3.2% advantage. This means the RTX 4060 Mobile dominates in legacy DirectX workloads and modern API performance, while the RTX 3070 Mobile retains a slight edge in raw compute throughput and OpenCL.

When looking at aggregate scores, the difference is substantial. The RTX 4060 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 22729, placing it at the 67th percentile of all GPUs in the database. The RTX 3070 Mobile averages 20534, sitting at the 65th percentile. The nearest rivals for the RTX 4060 Mobile include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 with an average score of 22895, a 0.7% gap, and the Intel Arc B580 at 23021, a 1.3% gap. The RTX 3070 Mobile's nearest competitors are the Intel Arc B570 at 20556, a 0.1% difference, and the Intel Arc A750 at 20582, a 0.2% difference.

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark results indicate a clear use-case separation between these two mobile GPUs. The RTX 4060 Mobile is the stronger choice for DirectX-based gaming and general 2D workloads. Its 35% lead in DirectX 9 and 14.1% lead in DirectX 12 suggest that it handles both older and modern game APIs with greater efficiency. The 13.9% advantage in G2D also points to better performance in desktop rendering, UI compositing, and other 2D tasks that rely heavily on the rasterization pipeline.

The RTX 3070 Mobile, by contrast, shows its strength in compute-oriented scenarios. The 3.8% lead in Geekbench OpenCL and the 5.3% lead in DirectX 10 indicate that workloads which emphasize parallel compute over graphics-specific features may favor the older architecture. The near-identical GPU Compute scores, with only a 0.2% difference, reinforce this interpretation. For tasks like OpenCL-based acceleration, physics simulation, or certain professional compute workloads, the RTX 3070 Mobile holds a slight but measurable advantage.

The Vulkan result is a point in favor of the RTX 4060 Mobile, with a 3.2% edge. This matters for modern cross-platform titles that use Vulkan as their primary rendering API. The overall pattern suggests that the RTX 4060 Mobile is better optimized for the current generation of games and graphics features, while the RTX 3070 Mobile retains an edge in legacy compute paths that are less dependent on architectural efficiency.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs represent different architectural generations and manufacturing approaches. The RTX 4060 Mobile uses the AD107 chip built on Ada Lovelace architecture, manufactured by TSMC on a 5 nm process. The die size is 159 mm² with 18,900 million transistors, yielding a transistor density of 118.9M per mm². The RTX 3070 Mobile uses the GA104 chip on Ampere architecture, built by Samsung on an 8 nm process. Its die is substantially larger at 392 mm² with 17,400 million transistors, resulting in a much lower transistor density of 44.4M per mm².

The core configurations differ significantly. The RTX 4060 Mobile has 3072 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output units. The RTX 3070 Mobile has 5120 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. Despite having fewer cores, the RTX 4060 Mobile achieves competitive performance due to the architectural efficiency of Ada Lovelace. The RTX 4060 Mobile also has 24 ray tracing cores and 96 tensor cores, while the RTX 3070 Mobile has 40 RT cores and 160 tensor cores.

Clock speeds favor the RTX 4060 Mobile. Its base clock is 1545 MHz with a boost clock of 1890 MHz, compared to the RTX 3070 Mobile's 1110 MHz base and 1560 MHz boost. Memory configurations also diverge. Both have 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, but the RTX 4060 Mobile uses a 128 bit bus with 256.0 GB/s bandwidth and an effective memory speed of 16 Gbps. The RTX 3070 Mobile uses a 256 bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth and an effective speed of 14 Gbps.

The pixel and texture rates reflect these differences. The RTX 4060 Mobile achieves 90.72 GPixel/s and 181.4 GTexel/s, while the RTX 3070 Mobile reaches 124.8 GPixel/s and 249.6 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is higher on the RTX 3070 Mobile at 15.97 TFLOPS versus 11.61 TFLOPS on the RTX 4060 Mobile, with both offering 1:1 FP16 ratios.

The bus interface also differs. The RTX 4060 Mobile uses PCIe 4.0 x8, while the RTX 3070 Mobile uses PCIe 4.0 x16. Both have a TDP of 115 W and rely on portable device dependent display outputs. The RTX 4060 Mobile is classified as an IGP slot width, while the RTX 3070 Mobile has no listed slot width. The RTX 4060 Mobile is still in active production, while the RTX 3070 Mobile is end-of-life.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The RTX 4060 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 22729, compared to the RTX 3070 Mobile's 20534. This places the RTX 4060 Mobile at the 67th percentile of all GPUs, while the RTX 3070 Mobile sits at the 65th percentile.

Q: How large is the DirectX 12 performance gap?

A: The RTX 4060 Mobile leads in PassMark DirectX 12 with a score of 73 against 64, a 14.1% advantage. This is one of several DirectX tests where the RTX 4060 Mobile shows a clear margin.

Q: Where does the RTX 3070 Mobile outperform the RTX 4060 Mobile?

A: The RTX 3070 Mobile wins in Geekbench OpenCL (92939 versus 89420, a 3.8% lead), PassMark DirectX 10 (113 versus 107, a 5.3% lead), and PassMark GPU Compute (6827 versus 6816, a 0.2% lead).

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

A: The RTX 3070 Mobile has a 256 bit memory bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the RTX 4060 Mobile uses a 128 bit bus with 256.0 GB/s bandwidth. Both have 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, but the RTX 4060 Mobile runs at an effective 16 Gbps versus 14 Gbps on the RTX 3070 Mobile.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 Mobile compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The nearest rivals to the RTX 4060 Mobile include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 with an average score of 22895, which is 0.7% higher, and the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT at 22549, which is 0.8% lower. The Intel Arc B580 is 1.3% higher at 23021.

Q: Which GPU has a higher transistor density?

A: The RTX 4060 Mobile has a transistor density of 118.9M per mm² on a 5 nm TSMC process, compared to 44.4M per mm² on the RTX 3070 Mobile's 8 nm Samsung process. This reflects the more advanced manufacturing node used by the Ada Lovelace architecture.

Specification Differences

The following table summarizes the key specification differences between the two GPUs, based solely on the recorded data.

• Process Node: RTX 4060 Mobile uses 5 nm, RTX 3070 Mobile uses 8 nm
• Foundry: RTX 4060 Mobile uses TSMC, RTX 3070 Mobile uses Samsung
• Die Size: RTX 4060 Mobile is 159 mm², RTX 3070 Mobile is 392 mm²
• Transistors: RTX 4060 Mobile has 18,900 million, RTX 3070 Mobile has 17,400 million
• Transistor Density: RTX 4060 Mobile is 118.9M / mm², RTX 3070 Mobile is 44.4M / mm²
• Base Clock: RTX 4060 Mobile is 1545 MHz, RTX 3070 Mobile is 1110 MHz
• Boost Clock: RTX 4060 Mobile is 1890 MHz, RTX 3070 Mobile is 1560 MHz
• Memory Speed: RTX 4060 Mobile is 16 Gbps effective, RTX 3070 Mobile is 14 Gbps effective
• Memory Bus Width: RTX 4060 Mobile is 128 bit, RTX 3070 Mobile is 256 bit
• Memory Bandwidth: RTX 4060 Mobile is 256.0 GB/s, RTX 3070 Mobile is 448.0 GB/s
• Shading Units: RTX 4060 Mobile has 3072, RTX 3070 Mobile has 5120
• TMUs: RTX 4060 Mobile has 96, RTX 3070 Mobile has 160
• ROPs: RTX 4060 Mobile has 48, RTX 3070 Mobile has 80
• RT Cores: RTX 4060 Mobile has 24, RTX 3070 Mobile has 40
• Tensor Cores: RTX 4060 Mobile has 96, RTX 3070 Mobile has 160
• Pixel Rate: RTX 4060 Mobile is 90.72 GPixel/s, RTX 3070 Mobile is 124.8 GPixel/s
• Texture Rate: RTX 4060 Mobile is 181.4 GTexel/s, RTX 3070 Mobile is 249.6 GTexel/s
• FP32 Performance: RTX 4060 Mobile is 11.61 TFLOPS, RTX 3070 Mobile is 15.97 TFLOPS
• Bus Interface: RTX 4060 Mobile is PCIe 4.0 x8, RTX 3070 Mobile is PCIe 4.0 x16
• Slot Width: RTX 4060 Mobile is IGP, RTX 3070 Mobile is not listed
• Production Status: RTX 4060 Mobile is Active, RTX 3070 Mobile is End-of-life
• Release Date: RTX 4060 Mobile is 2023-01-02, RTX 3070 Mobile is 2021-01-11