NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 and RTX 5060 represent two very different approaches to GPU design, separated by nearly five years of architectural evolution. The RTX 3090 is a former flagship built on the Ampere architecture, while the RTX 5060 is a current-generation Blackwell 2.0 part aimed at the mainstream segment. The benchmark data shows the RTX 3090 winning 8 of 10 head-to-head tests, but the nature of those wins—and the two losses—paints a nuanced picture of where each card excels.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 3090 is the clear winner in raw compute and traditional rasterization workloads. Its advantage is most pronounced in compute-heavy tasks, where it leads by 40.9% in Passmark GPU Compute and 53.2% in Geekbench OpenCL. It also dominates DirectX 10, 11, and 12 benchmarks, with leads ranging from 10% to 43.3%. For users running demanding productivity applications, 3D rendering, or GPU-accelerated compute, the RTX 3090’s sheer shader throughput and memory bandwidth make it the stronger choice. Its 24 GB of GDDR6X memory and 936.2 GB/s bandwidth are simply in a different class than the RTX 5060’s 8 GB GDDR7 and 448.0 GB/s.

The RTX 5060, however, wins decisively in Vulkan performance. In Geekbench Vulkan, it scores 113,321 against the RTX 3090’s 53,927—a 52.4% advantage. This suggests the newer architecture has significantly better Vulkan driver optimization or hardware scheduling. The RTX 5060 also edges out the RTX 3090 in 2D performance, winning Passmark G2D by 7.9% (1154 vs 1063), which indicates faster desktop compositing and 2D acceleration. For users running Vulkan-based games or applications, the RTX 5060 delivers a notably better experience despite its smaller memory footprint.

FAQ

Q: Which card has a better average benchmark score?

A: The RTX 3090 has a higher average benchmark score of 27,565 compared to the RTX 5060’s 26,331, a difference of about 4.7%. Both cards sit in the 72nd-73rd percentile of all GPUs.

Q: Does the RTX 5060 outperform the RTX 3090 in any major API?

A: Yes, the RTX 5060 wins Geekbench Vulkan by 52.4% and Passmark G2D by 7.9%. These are the only two tests where the RTX 5060 comes out ahead.

Q: What is the biggest performance gap between the two cards?

A: The largest margin is in Geekbench OpenCL, where the RTX 3090 scores 172,758 versus 112,787 for the RTX 5060, a 53.2% difference in favor of the older card.

Q: How do the cards compare in DirectX 12 performance?

A: The RTX 3090 wins Passmark DirectX 12 by 42.9%, scoring 110 against the RTX 5060’s 77. Both cards support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2).

Q: Which card is more power-efficient?

A: The RTX 5060 has a TDP of 145 W and requires a 300 W power supply, while the RTX 3090 has a 350 W TDP and recommends a 750 W PSU. The RTX 5060 also uses a dual-slot cooler versus the RTX 3090’s triple-slot design.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference?

A: The RTX 3090 has 24 GB of GDDR6X on a 384-bit bus with 936.2 GB/s bandwidth, while the RTX 5060 has 8 GB of GDDR7 on a 128-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head results reveal a consistent pattern: the RTX 3090 dominates in most synthetic tests, but the RTX 5060 posts a stunning reversal in Vulkan. In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, the RTX 3090 scores 5,118 against 3,628 for the RTX 5060, a 41.1% lead. This is a strong indicator of raw DX12 gaming performance, where the older card’s 10,496 shading units and 328 texture mapping units provide massive parallel throughput.

Geekbench OpenCL shows the largest single-test gap. The RTX 3090’s 172,758 score is 53.2% higher than the RTX 5060’s 112,787. This test heavily stresses compute throughput, and the RTX 3090’s 35.58 TFLOPS of FP32 performance versus the RTX 5060’s 19.18 TFLOPS explains the disparity. Similarly, Passmark GPU Compute shows a 40.9% lead for the RTX 3090 (15,356 vs 10,899).

The Vulkan result is the outlier and the RTX 5060’s crowning achievement. Its 113,321 score is more than double the RTX 3090’s 53,927. This 52.4% margin is the largest victory for either card and suggests that Blackwell 2.0’s Vulkan implementation is significantly more efficient than Ampere’s. The RTX 5060 also takes Passmark G2D by 7.9% (1,154 vs 1,063), a smaller but still notable win that points to better 2D acceleration.

In DirectX legacy tests, the RTX 3090’s dominance is consistent but varies in magnitude. It wins DirectX 10 by 43.3% (182 vs 127), DirectX 11 by 10% (220 vs 200), and DirectX 9 by 19.1% (268 vs 225). The DirectX 11 margin is the smallest of the 3D API wins, suggesting the RTX 5060’s architecture narrows the gap in older APIs. Passmark G3D shows a 27.5% lead for the RTX 3090 (26,645 vs 20,891), which aligns with its overall compute advantage.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ fundamentally in almost every specification. The RTX 3090 uses the GA102 chip on an 8 nm Samsung process, while the RTX 5060 uses the GB206 chip on a 5 nm TSMC process. The RTX 3090 has 28,300 million transistors on a 628 mm² die, giving a density of 45.1M per mm². The RTX 5060 has 21,900 million transistors on a much smaller 181 mm² die, achieving 121.0M per mm²—a 2.7x improvement in density.

Clock speeds favor the newer card significantly. The RTX 5060 boosts to 2,497 MHz from a base of 2,280 MHz, while the RTX 3090 boosts to 1,695 MHz from 1,395 MHz. Memory clocks also diverge: the RTX 3090 runs GDDR6X at 19.5 Gbps effective, while the RTX 5060 runs GDDR7 at 28 Gbps effective. The RTX 3090’s 384-bit bus and 24 GB capacity dwarf the RTX 5060’s 128-bit bus and 8 GB, though the newer memory type is faster per pin.

The RTX 3090 has 10,496 shading units, 328 TMUs, 112 ROPs, 82 RT cores, and 328 tensor cores. The RTX 5060 has 3,840 shading units, 120 TMUs, 48 ROPs, 30 RT cores, and 120 tensor cores. Pixel rate is 189.8 GPixel/s for the RTX 3090 versus 119.9 GPixel/s for the RTX 5060; texture rate is 556.0 GTexel/s versus 299.6 GTexel/s. Physical dimensions differ greatly: the RTX 3090 is 336 mm long, 140 mm tall, and 61 mm wide (triple-slot), while the RTX 5060 is 241 mm, 111 mm, and 40 mm (dual-slot). Power connectors are 1x 12-pin for the RTX 3090 and 1x 8-pin for the RTX 5060. Display outputs also differ: the RTX 3090 has 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the RTX 5060 has 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1b. The bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x16 for the RTX 3090 and PCIe 5.0 x8 for the RTX 5060.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between Ampere and Blackwell 2.0 is stark. The RTX 3090’s GA102 chip on Samsung’s 8 nm process is a massive, power-hungry design from 2020. Its 82 RT cores and 328 tensor cores represent an early implementation of hardware ray tracing and AI acceleration. The RTX 5060’s GB206 chip on TSMC’s 5 nm process is a modern, dense design that achieves far higher transistor density and clock speeds. Its 30 RT cores and 120 tensor cores, while fewer in number, are built on a much more advanced architecture that likely delivers better per-core efficiency.

The RTX 3090’s memory subsystem is its defining feature: 24 GB of GDDR6X on a 384-bit bus provides 936.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is critical for high-resolution textures and large datasets. The RTX 5060’s 8 GB of GDDR7 on a 128-bit bus offers 448.0 GB/s—half the bandwidth but with a newer memory technology. The RTX 5060 compensates with PCIe 5.0 x8 connectivity, which doubles the per-lane bandwidth of the RTX 3090’s PCIe 4.0 x16.

The FP32 and FP16 performance figures highlight the raw compute disparity: the RTX 3090 delivers 35.58 TFLOPS in both, while the RTX 5060 delivers 19.18 TFLOPS. The RTX 3090’s production status is end-of-life, released on 2020-08-31 with a launch MSRP of 1,499 USD. The RTX 5060 is active, released on 2025-05-18 with a launch MSRP of 299 USD. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, but the RTX 5060’s Vulkan performance suggests its architecture is better optimized for that API. The RTX 3090 is the compute and rasterization king, while the RTX 5060 represents a more efficient, API-forward design that wins where software optimization matters most.