NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The recorded data paints an unusually one-sided picture. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 wins all nine head-to-head benchmark comparisons against the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile. There is no test in the database where the older mobile part comes out ahead. That does not mean the RTX 4060 Mobile is without merit, it means its strengths are relative to other GPUs in its own class, not against this newer desktop contender.

The RTX 5060's largest advantages appear in compute and 2D workloads. PassMark GPU Compute shows a 59.9% lead, and PassMark G2D shows a 58.1% lead. These are not marginal wins; they indicate a substantial gap in raw processing throughput and memory subsystem responsiveness. The RTX 5060 also dominates in API-specific tests, with PassMark DirectX 11 delivering a 27.4% advantage and PassMark DirectX 10 showing an 18.7% edge. Even in the closest comparisons, DirectX 12 and DirectX 9, the RTX 5060 still leads by 5.5% and 4.2% respectively.

The RTX 4060 Mobile's position in the database is defined by its own nearest rivals, not by this matchup. Its average benchmark score of 22729 places it within 0.7% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 and 0.8% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT. It trails the Intel Arc B580 by 1.3%. The RTX 5060, by contrast, sits at the 72nd percentile of all GPUs, while the RTX 4060 Mobile sits at the 67th percentile. The data suggests the RTX 5060 is the stronger performer in nearly every measurable category, making it the clear choice for users prioritizing raw speed across a wide range of workloads.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations. The RTX 5060 uses the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with the GB206 chip, while the RTX 4060 Mobile uses Ada Lovelace with the AD107 chip. Both are fabricated by TSMC on a 5 nm process, but the transistor counts differ noticeably. The RTX 5060 packs 21,900 million transistors on a 181 mm² die, resulting in a density of 121.0M transistors per mm². The RTX 4060 Mobile contains 18,900 million transistors on a 159 mm² die, with a density of 118.9M per mm². The newer chip is larger and denser, which helps explain its performance advantage.

Memory technology marks another clear divide. The RTX 5060 uses GDDR7 with a 128 bit bus and 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 4060 Mobile uses GDDR6 with the same 128 bit bus but only 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. That is a 75% bandwidth advantage for the RTX 5060 in raw specification terms, a gap that likely drives many of the benchmark deltas. Both cards have 8 GB of memory, so capacity is identical, but the speed of that memory is not.

The compute resources also differ. The RTX 5060 has 3840 shading units, 120 TMUs, 48 ROPs, 30 RT cores, and 120 tensor cores. The RTX 4060 Mobile has 3072 shading units, 96 TMUs, 48 ROPs, 24 RT cores, and 96 tensor cores. The RTX 5060 therefore has 25% more shaders, 25% more TMUs, 25% more RT cores, and 25% more tensor cores. The ROP count is identical at 48, which may explain why the DirectX 12 and DirectX 9 gaps are smaller than the compute gap. Clock speeds reinforce the compute advantage: the RTX 5060 boosts to 2497 MHz versus 1890 MHz for the RTX 4060 Mobile, with base clocks of 2280 MHz and 1545 MHz respectively.

The RTX 5060's power target is 145 W, higher than the RTX 4060 Mobile's 115 W, and it requires a 300 W suggested PSU with a single 8-pin connector. The RTX 4060 Mobile uses no power connectors and is listed as an IGP, meaning it is designed for mobile integration where power delivery is handled by the laptop platform. The RTX 5060 is a dual-slot desktop card with a 241 mm length, while the RTX 4060 Mobile has no recorded dimensions, consistent with its mobile nature. The RTX 5060 also uses PCIe 5.0 x8, while the RTX 4060 Mobile uses PCIe 4.0 x8.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher memory bandwidth?

A: The RTX 5060 has 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth using GDDR7, while the RTX 4060 Mobile has 256.0 GB/s using GDDR6. Both use a 128 bit bus.

Q: How much faster is the RTX 5060 in compute workloads?

A: In PassMark GPU Compute, the RTX 5060 scores 10899 against 6816 for the RTX 4060 Mobile, a 59.9% advantage.

Q: Do both GPUs support the same DirectX version?

A: Yes, both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The RTX 5060 also has a Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3628, while the RTX 4060 Mobile has no recorded score for that test.

Q: What is the transistor count difference?

A: The RTX 5060 has 21,900 million transistors, while the RTX 4060 Mobile has 18,900 million. The RTX 5060's die is 181 mm² compared to 159 mm² for the RTX 4060 Mobile.

Q: Which card has more RT cores?

A: The RTX 5060 has 30 RT cores, while the RTX 4060 Mobile has 24 RT cores, a 25% increase.

Q: How does the RTX 5060 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 5060's average benchmark score of 26331 is 0.3% below the AMD Radeon 860M, 0.3% below the NVIDIA GeForce MX550, 0.8% below the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary, and 1.2% above the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every major specification category. The RTX 5060 uses the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a GB206 chip, while the RTX 4060 Mobile uses Ada Lovelace with an AD107 chip. The RTX 5060 has 21,900 million transistors on a 181 mm² die, while the RTX 4060 Mobile has 18,900 million on a 159 mm² die. Transistor density is 121.0M per mm² versus 118.9M per mm².

Clock speeds favor the RTX 5060 significantly. Its base clock is 2280 MHz and boost clock is 2497 MHz, compared to 1545 MHz base and 1890 MHz boost for the RTX 4060 Mobile. Memory clocks also differ: the RTX 5060 runs at 1750 MHz with 28 Gbps effective, while the RTX 4060 Mobile runs at 2000 MHz with 16 Gbps effective.

Memory type and bandwidth differ as well. The RTX 5060 uses GDDR7 with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the RTX 4060 Mobile uses GDDR6 with 256.0 GB/s. Both have 8 GB capacity and a 128 bit bus. The compute configuration shows 3840 shading units, 120 TMUs, 48 ROPs, 30 RT cores, and 120 tensor cores for the RTX 5060, versus 3072 shading units, 96 TMUs, 48 ROPs, 24 RT cores, and 96 tensor cores for the RTX 4060 Mobile.

Pixel and texture rates follow the same pattern. The RTX 5060 achieves 119.9 GPixel/s and 299.6 GTexel/s, while the RTX 4060 Mobile achieves 90.72 GPixel/s and 181.4 GTexel/s. FP32 and FP16 performance are both 19.18 TFLOPS for the RTX 5060 and 11.61 TFLOPS for the RTX 4060 Mobile. Power targets are 145 W versus 115 W. The RTX 5060 is a dual-slot card with a 1x 8-pin connector and a 300 W suggested PSU, while the RTX 4060 Mobile is an IGP with no power connectors and no suggested PSU. Bus interfaces are PCIe 5.0 x8 versus PCIe 4.0 x8. Display outputs are 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1b for the RTX 5060, while the RTX 4060 Mobile is listed as "Portable Device Dependent."

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The RTX 5060 wins every recorded head-to-head comparison, but the margins vary widely. The largest win is in PassMark GPU Compute, where the RTX 5060 scores 10899 against 6816, a 59.9% advantage. This test measures raw compute throughput, and the gap reflects both the higher shading unit count and the faster memory subsystem.

The second largest win is in PassMark G2D, with the RTX 5060 scoring 1154 against 730, a 58.1% lead. This test focuses on 2D graphics operations and memory access patterns, where the GDDR7 bandwidth likely provides a substantial benefit. The RTX 5060's 448.0 GB/s bandwidth versus 256.0 GB/s for the RTX 4060 Mobile is the most plausible explanation for this wide margin.

Geekbench results also favor the RTX 5060 strongly. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 5060 scores 112787 against 89420, a 26.1% lead. In Geekbench Vulkan, it scores 113321 against 89569, a 26.5% lead. These tests exercise general-purpose compute and graphics workloads, and the consistent 26% margin suggests a systemic advantage rather than a workload-specific quirk.

PassMark DirectX 11 shows a 27.4% lead, with scores of 200 versus 157. PassMark DirectX 10 shows an 18.7% lead, with scores of 127 versus 107. These API-specific tests align with the overall compute advantage. The DirectX 12 test is closer, with scores of 77 versus 73, a 5.5% lead. DirectX 9 is also close, with scores of 225 versus 216, a 4.2% lead. The smaller margins in older API tests may reflect driver optimization or the fact that these workloads are less demanding on memory bandwidth.

PassMark G3D, the overall 3D graphics score, shows the RTX 5060 at 20891 against 17469, a 19.6% lead. This is the most representative single metric for gaming performance, and the 19.6% advantage is consistent with the architectural and memory differences. The RTX 5060's average benchmark score of 26331 versus 22729 for the RTX 4060 Mobile translates to a 15.8% overall advantage.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 outperforms the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile across every recorded benchmark. The RTX 5060 wins all nine head-to-head tests, with advantages ranging from 4.2% in DirectX 9 to 59.9% in GPU Compute. Its average benchmark score is 26331, placing it at the 72nd percentile of all GPUs, while the RTX 4060 Mobile sits at the 67th percentile with an average of 22729.

The RTX 5060 is the clear choice for users who need maximum performance in compute-heavy workloads, 3D rendering, or modern gaming. Its GDDR7 memory provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, a 75% improvement over the RTX 4060 Mobile's GDDR6 at 256.0 GB/s. Its 3840 shading units and 120 tensor cores give it a 25% advantage in raw compute resources. The higher TDP of 145 W versus 115 W reflects the desktop design, which allows for higher clocks and sustained performance.

The RTX 4060 Mobile, however, serves a different purpose. It is an IGP designed for laptops, with no power connectors and no recorded dimensions. Its 115 W TDP is suited to mobile platforms where power and thermal constraints are critical. For users who need a discrete GPU in a laptop, the RTX 4060 Mobile remains a capable option, especially when compared to its nearest rivals: it sits within 1.3% of the Intel Arc B580 and within 0.8% of the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT.

The choice between these two GPUs is ultimately a choice between form factors. The RTX 5060 is a desktop card with a dual-slot design, a 241 mm length, and a 300 W suggested PSU. It is not designed for portable systems. The RTX 4060 Mobile is built for integration into laptops, trading raw performance for mobility. The benchmark data shows the RTX 5060 is the faster GPU in every measurable way, but the RTX 4060 Mobile occupies a niche that the RTX 5060 cannot fill. Users who prioritize desktop performance should choose the RTX 5060; users who need a mobile GPU should consider the RTX 4060 Mobile, knowing that its performance is lower but its form factor is far more portable.