AMD Radeon RX 6600 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 are both 8 GB, 128-bit graphics cards aimed at the same performance tier, but the benchmark data shows a clear generational shift. The RTX 4060 wins 9 of 10 head-to-head tests, often by double-digit margins, while the RX 6600 secures a single but substantial victory in Vulkan compute. The data positions the RTX 4060 as the faster card overall, with the RX 6600 retaining a niche advantage in one specific API workload.

FAQ

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

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 wins 9 out of 10 head-to-head tests. The AMD Radeon RX 6600 wins only one, the Geekbench Vulkan test.

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

A: The largest delta is in the Geekbench OpenCL test, where the RTX 4060 scores 95057 versus the RX 6600's 28850, a difference of -69.6% relative to the RTX 4060.

Q: How do the cards compare in overall average benchmark scores?

A: The RX 6600 has a higher average benchmark score of 19036, while the RTX 4060 averages 17639. Despite this, the RTX 4060 wins most individual tests.

Q: In which specific test does the AMD card outperform the NVIDIA card?

A: The RX 6600 wins the Geekbench Vulkan test, scoring 67623 against the RTX 4060's 48643, a 39% advantage for AMD.

Q: What are the percentile rankings of each card?

A: The RX 6600 sits in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs, while the RTX 4060 sits in the 61st percentile. This suggests the RX 6600 has a slightly higher overall standing in the database.

Q: Do both cards use the same power connector?

A: No. The RX 6600 uses a 1x 8-pin connector, while the RTX 4060 uses a 1x 12-pin connector. Both share the same suggested PSU rating of 300 W.

Architecture Differences

The two cards are built on fundamentally different architectures and process nodes. The AMD Radeon RX 6600 uses the Navi 23 chip based on RDNA 2.0, fabricated on a 7 nm process at TSMC. In contrast, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 uses the AD107 chip based on Ada Lovelace, fabricated on a more advanced 5 nm process, also at TSMC. This node difference is reflected in transistor density: the RTX 4060 packs 118.9M transistors per mm², while the RX 6600 has only 46.7M per mm².

The RTX 4060 chip contains 18,900 million transistors on a 159 mm² die, whereas the RX 6600 has 11,060 million transistors on a larger 237 mm² die. This means the NVIDIA chip is smaller physically but denser, a direct result of the newer process node. In terms of compute resources, the RTX 4060 has 3072 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 48 ROPs, while the RX 6600 has fewer shading units (1792) but more ROPs (64) and TMUs (112). The AMD card also has 28 ray tracing cores, while the RTX 4060 has 24. However, the RTX 4060 brings 96 tensor cores, a feature entirely absent from the RX 6600.

Memory configurations are similar on paper — both use 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus — but the RTX 4060 achieves higher bandwidth at 272.0 GB/s versus 224.0 GB/s for the RX 6600. The RTX 4060 also runs its memory at 2125 MHz (17 Gbps effective), compared to 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) for the RX 6600. Both cards support PCIe 4.0 x8, and both have identical display outputs: 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The RTX 4060 dominates the head-to-head results, but the size of the wins varies dramatically by workload. The most decisive NVIDIA victory is in Geekbench OpenCL, where it scores 95057 against the RX 6600's 28850, a massive 69.6% advantage. This suggests a strong lead in general-purpose compute tasks. In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, the RTX 4060 scores 2302 versus 1492 for the RX 6600, a 35.2% margin that indicates a solid lead in modern DX12 gaming workloads.

The gap narrows in PassMark tests. In PassMark DirectX 12, the RTX 4060 scores 76 versus 51, a 32.9% win. PassMark GPU Compute shows a 28.9% lead (9213 vs 6554), while PassMark G3D shows a 22.8% advantage (19545 vs 15096). The RTX 4060 also wins PassMark DirectX 11 (175 vs 152, a 13.1% margin) and PassMark G2D (1037 vs 889, a 14.3% margin). Smaller wins include PassMark DirectX 9 (236 vs 197, 16.5%) and PassMark DirectX 10 (103 vs 95, 7.8%).

The single AMD victory is notable for its magnitude. In Geekbench Vulkan, the RX 6600 scores 67623, which is 39% higher than the RTX 4060's 48643. This is a striking reversal, suggesting that the AMD architecture has a significant advantage in Vulkan compute workloads, even though it loses in every other test. The data shows that while the RTX 4060 is broadly faster, the RX 6600 is not without a specific strength.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every core specification. The RX 6600 has a base clock of 1626 MHz and a boost clock of 2491 MHz, while the RTX 4060 has a higher base clock of 1830 MHz but a slightly lower boost clock of 2460 MHz. The RX 6600 also has a "game clock" of 2044 MHz, a metric the RTX 4060 does not report. In terms of compute output, the RTX 4060 delivers 15.11 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, compared to 8.928 TFLOPS for the RX 6600. The FP16 output also differs: the RTX 4060 achieves 15.11 TFLOPS (1:1), while the RX 6600 reaches 17.86 TFLOPS (2:1).

Pixel and texture rates tell a different story. The RX 6600 has a higher pixel rate of 159.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 279.0 GTexel/s, while the RTX 4060 has 118.1 GPixel/s and 236.2 GTexel/s, respectively. This is despite the RTX 4060 having more shading units, fewer TMUs, and fewer ROPs. Power consumption also differs: the RTX 4060 has a lower TDP of 115 W versus 132 W for the RX 6600. Physically, the RX 6600 is shorter at 190 mm (7.5 inches) compared to the RTX 4060's 240 mm (9.4 inches); both are dual-slot cards with similar heights and widths.

The release timeline is also distinct. The RX 6600 launched on 2021-10-12 with a launch MSRP of 329 USD, while the RTX 4060 launched later on 2023-05-17 with a launch MSRP of 299 USD. Both are marked as end-of-life products.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the benchmark data, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is the superior performer for the vast majority of workloads. It wins 9 of 10 tests, with margins ranging from 7.8% in PassMark DirectX 10 to 69.6% in Geekbench OpenCL. The RTX 4060 is particularly strong in DX12 gaming (35.2% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad) and compute-heavy tasks (28.9% lead in PassMark GPU Compute). Its lower TDP of 115 W versus 132 W also makes it the more power-efficient choice on paper.

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 cannot be dismissed, however. Its 39% victory in Geekbench Vulkan is the largest single win for either card in any test, indicating a clear advantage in Vulkan compute scenarios. Additionally, the RX 6600 has a higher average benchmark score (19036 vs 17639) and a better percentile ranking (63rd vs 61st), which complicates the narrative. The data suggests that while the RTX 4060 wins most modern gaming and compute benchmarks, the RX 6600 holds a specific edge that could matter for Vulkan-based applications.

For a user prioritizing overall gaming performance and compute versatility, the RTX 4060 is the clear choice. For a user specifically running Vulkan compute workloads, the RX 6600 is the better option. The choice hinges on the primary use case, not a blanket assessment of which card is "faster."

Where Each One Wins

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060: This card wins in every major gaming and compute category except Vulkan. It leads in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 by 35.2%, which is the most representative modern gaming benchmark in the data. It also wins all PassMark DirectX tests (9, 10, 11, 12) and PassMark G3D, making it the stronger choice for DirectX-based gaming. In compute, it dominates OpenCL with a 69.6% margin and leads in PassMark GPU Compute by 28.9%. Its higher FP32 throughput (15.11 TFLOPS vs 8.928 TFLOPS) and tensor cores provide additional compute headroom for AI-related tasks.

AMD Radeon RX 6600: The RX 6600's only win is Geekbench Vulkan, where it beats the RTX 4060 by 39%. This is a substantial margin and indicates that the RDNA 2.0 architecture has a significant advantage in Vulkan compute workloads. The card also has higher pixel and texture rates (159.4 GPixel/s and 279.0 GTexel/s) than the RTX 4060, although this does not translate into wins in the provided benchmarks. For users running Vulkan-based applications or games that leverage Vulkan compute heavily, the RX 6600 is the data-backed choice. Its smaller physical footprint (190 mm vs 240 mm) may also be an advantage in compact builds, though this is not reflected in performance scores.