NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a clean sweep for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile across all nine head-to-head benchmark comparisons. The RTX 4050 Mobile does not win a single test. The largest margin appears in the Passmark DirectX 10 test, where the RTX 5060 Mobile scores 119 against 79, a 50.6% advantage. This is notably the widest gap in the entire comparison, indicating a substantial improvement in legacy API performance for the newer part.

The DirectX 12 result follows a similar pattern, with the RTX 5060 Mobile scoring 87 against 61, a 42.6% delta. This is the second-largest win for the RTX 5060 Mobile. The data suggests that the gap in modern API performance is not uniform; DirectX 9 shows a much narrower margin, only 10.3% (203 versus 184). This suggests that while the RTX 5060 Mobile is faster across the board, the advantage shrinks when dealing with older rendering paths.

Compute workloads tell a consistent story as well. In the Passmark GPU Compute test, the RTX 5060 Mobile scores 7607 against 5947, a 27.9% delta, a solid lead. The Geekbench OpenCL benchmark shows a 29.7% differential (96969 for the RTX 5060, 74748 for the RTX 4050), and the Geekbench Vulkan test shows a 28.2% gap (96451, 75235). The Passmark G3D score is also consistently higher for the RTX 5060 Mobile: 18852 versus 14423, a 30.7% lead.

The average benchmark score further illustrates the overall performance hierarchy. The RTX 5060 Mobile achieves an average score of 22435, while the RTX 4050 Mobile sits at 19049. This 18% average difference places the RTX 5060 Mobile in the 67th percentile of all GPUs in the database, while the RTX 4050 Mobile is in the 63rd percentile. Looking at the nearest rivals in the database, the RTX 5060 Mobile's average score of 22435 is effectively tied with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT (22549, delta -0.5%) and slightly ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 5700 (22170, delta 1.2%). The RTX 4050 Mobile's average score of 19049 puts it nearly level with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 (19036, delta 0.1%), showing it competes at a lower performance tier.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different generations and architectures. The RTX 5060 Mobile is based on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture, using the GB206 chip. The RTX 4050 Mobile is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD107 chip. Both are manufactured by TSMC on a 5 nm process, but the GB206 die is larger at 181 mm² compared to the AD107's 159 mm². The transistor counts also differ: the RTX 5060 Mobile has 21,900 million transistors, giving a density of 121.0M per mm², while the RTX 4050 Mobile has 18,900 million transistors, at 118.9M per mm².

The memory subsystem is a major point of divergence. The RTX 5060 Mobile uses 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus, resulting in a bandwidth of 384.0 GB/s. The RTX 4050 Mobile uses 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 96-bit bus, yielding 192.0 GB/s. This is a direct 2x difference in memory bandwidth, which is significant for texture-heavy and high-resolution workloads. The memory clock speeds are recorded as 1500 MHz (24 Gbps effective) for the RTX 5060 Mobile and 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) for the RTX 4050 Mobile.

The core configurations are also different. The RTX 5060 Mobile has 3328 shading units, 104 texture mapping units, 48 ROPs, 26 RT cores, and 104 tensor cores. The RTX 4050 Mobile has 2560 shading units, 80 TMUs, 48 ROPs, 20 RT cores, and 80 tensor cores. The ROP count is identical at 48, but the shading, texture, ray tracing, and tensor resources are all higher on the RTX 5060 Mobile. The pixel rate, however, is higher on the RTX 4050 Mobile at 84.24 GPixel/s versus 69.84 GPixel/s, a consequence of its higher boost clock. The texture rate is 151.3 GTexel/s for the RTX 5060 Mobile and 140.4 GTexel/s for the RTX 4050 Mobile. FP32 and FP16 performance are both rated at 9.684 TFLOPS for the RTX 5060 Mobile, and 8.986 TFLOPS for the RTX 4050 Mobile.

Clock behavior is a key architectural difference. The RTX 5060 Mobile has a base clock of 952 MHz and a boost clock of 1455 MHz. The RTX 4050 Mobile has a higher base clock of 1455 MHz and a boost clock of 1755 MHz. Despite the RTX 4050 Mobile running at higher clock speeds, the RTX 5060 Mobile still delivers higher overall throughput due to its larger core count and memory bandwidth. The RTX 5060 Mobile also has a lower TDP at 45 W, compared to the RTX 4050 Mobile's 50 W. Both are IGP slot width with no power connectors and use portable device dependent display outputs. The bus interface differs: the RTX 5060 Mobile uses PCIe 5.0 x16, while the RTX 4050 Mobile uses PCIe 4.0 x8. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

The Verdict

The data points to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile as the stronger performer in every recorded benchmark. Its average score of 22435 is roughly 18% higher than the RTX 4050 Mobile's 19049, and it wins all nine head-to-head comparisons with deltas ranging from 10.3% to 50.6%. The largest advantages are in DirectX 10 (50.6%), DirectX 12 (42.6%), and G2D (38.4%) tests, suggesting the newer architecture excels in both modern and legacy API paths. The only narrow win is in DirectX 9, at 10.3%, showing that the gap narrows for older workloads.

The RTX 5060 Mobile is the clear choice for users prioritizing raw performance, modern API support, and higher memory bandwidth. The 8 GB GDDR7 memory and 384.0 GB/s bandwidth provide a significant buffer for texture-heavy applications compared to the 6 GB GDDR6 and 192.0 GB/s on the RTX 4050 Mobile. For users who are constrained by power, the RTX 5060 Mobile's 45 W TDP is actually lower than the RTX 4050 Mobile's 50 W, making it more efficient per watt, although the RTX 4050 Mobile does have higher clock speeds.

The RTX 4050 Mobile, meanwhile, is positioned at a lower performance tier. Its average score places it in the 63rd percentile, near the AMD Radeon RX 6600 (19036, delta 0.1%) and the NVIDIA Quadro K6000 (19030, delta 0.1%). It remains a capable option for users who do not require the highest frame rates or the latest memory technology, but the benchmark results consistently favor the RTX 5060 Mobile. The RTX 4050 Mobile's higher pixel rate (84.24 GPixel/s) and higher boost clock (1755 MHz) are worth noting, but they do not translate into a win in any recorded test.

Specification Differences

The table below lists only the fields where the two GPUs differ, as recorded in the database.

• Chip: GB206 (RTX 5060 Mobile) vs AD107 (RTX 4050 Mobile)
• Architecture: Blackwell 2.0 (RTX 5060 Mobile) vs Ada Lovelace (RTX 4050 Mobile)
• Generation: GeForce 50 Mobile (RTX 5060 Mobile) vs GeForce 40 Mobile (RTX 4050 Mobile)
• Transistors: 21,900 million (RTX 5060 Mobile) vs 18,900 million (RTX 4050 Mobile)
• Die Size: 181 mm² (RTX 5060 Mobile) vs 159 mm² (RTX 4050 Mobile)
• Transistor Density: 121.0M / mm² (RTX 5060 Mobile) vs 118.9M / mm² (RTX 4050 Mobile)
• Base Clock: 952 MHz (RTX 5060 Mobile) vs 1455 MHz (RTX 4050 Mobile)
• Boost Clock: 1455 MHz (RTX 5060 Mobile) vs 1755 MHz (RTX 4050 Mobile)
• Memory Clock: 1500 MHz 24 Gbps effective (RTX 5060 Mobile) vs 2000 MHz 16 Gbps effective (RTX 4050 Mobile)
• Memory Size: 8 GB (RTX 5060 Mobile) vs 6 GB (RTX 4050 Mobile)
• Memory Type: GDDR7 (RTX 5060 Mobile) vs GDDR6 (RTX 4050 Mobile)
• Memory Bus Width: 128 bit (RTX 5060 Mobile) vs 96 bit (RTX 4050 Mobile)
• Memory Bandwidth: 384.0 GB/s (RTX 5060 Mobile) vs 192.0 GB/s (RTX 4050 Mobile)
• Shading Units: 3328 (RTX 5060 Mobile) vs 2560 (RTX 4050 Mobile)
• TMUs: 104 (RTX 5060 Mobile) vs 80 (RTX 4050 Mobile)
• RT Cores: 26 (RTX 5060 Mobile) vs 20 (RTX 4050 Mobile)
• Tensor Cores: 104 (RTX 5060 Mobile) vs 80 (RTX 4050 Mobile)
• Pixel Rate: 69.84 GPixel/s (RTX 5060 Mobile) vs 84.24 GPixel/s (RTX 4050 Mobile)
• Texture Rate: 151.3 GTexel/s (RTX 5060 Mobile) vs 140.4 GTexel/s (RTX 4050 Mobile)
• FP32: 9.684 TFLOPS (RTX 5060 Mobile) vs 8.986 TFLOPS (RTX 4050 Mobile)
• FP16: 9.684 TFLOPS (1:1) (RTX 5060 Mobile) vs 8.986 TFLOPS (1:1) (RTX 4050 Mobile)
• TDP: 45 W (RTX 5060 Mobile) vs 50 W (RTX 4050 Mobile)
• Bus Interface: PCIe 5.0 x16 (RTX 5060 Mobile) vs PCIe 4.0 x8 (RTX 4050 Mobile)
• Release Date: 2025-05-19 (RTX 5060 Mobile) vs 2023-01-02 (RTX 4050 Mobile)
• Predecessor: GeForce 40 Mobile (RTX 5060 Mobile) vs GeForce 30 Mobile (RTX 4050 Mobile)
• Successor: null (RTX 5060 Mobile) vs GeForce 50 Mobile (RTX 4050 Mobile)

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins the most head-to-head benchmarks?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile wins all nine recorded head-to-head comparisons. The RTX 4050 Mobile does not win any.

Q: What is the largest performance gap between the two GPUs?

A: The largest gap is in the Passmark DirectX 10 test, where the RTX 5060 Mobile scores 119 versus 79, a 50.6% delta in favor of the RTX 5060 Mobile.

Q: How do the average benchmark scores compare?

A: The RTX 5060 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 22435, while the RTX 4050 Mobile has an average of 19049. The RTX 5060 Mobile also has a higher percentile ranking at 67 versus 63.

Q: What are the memory differences between the two GPUs?

A: The RTX 5060 Mobile has 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus with 384.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 4050 Mobile has 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 96-bit bus with 192.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU has a lower power draw?

A: The RTX 5060 Mobile has a TDP of 45 W, which is lower than the RTX 4050 Mobile's 50 W TDP.

Q: Are there any benchmarks where the RTX 4050 Mobile is competitive?

A: The closest result is in the Passmark DirectX 9 test, where the RTX 5060 Mobile wins by only 10.3% (203 versus 184). The RTX 4050 Mobile also has a higher pixel rate (84.24 GPixel/s) and boost clock (1755 MHz), but it does not win any recorded tests.