GeForce RTX 5060 vs GeForce RTX 4060

Two graphics cards from NVIDIA, targeting different sides of the rendering performance and VRAM capacity spectrum. The biggest difference comes down to dlss.

Best Performance
GeForce RTX 5060
Highest Geekbench 6 OpenCL/Vulkan average
GeForce RTX 5060

NVIDIA

GeForce RTX 5060
$299.99

Entry-level Blackwell GPU with 8GB GDDR7 and DLSS 4. Targets 1080p high-refresh gaming with modern feature support at a budget-friendly price.

GeForce RTX 4060

NVIDIA

GeForce RTX 4060
$299.99

Budget-friendly Ada Lovelace GPU with 8GB GDDR6 and DLSS 3. Excellent 1080p gaming performance with low power consumption.

How They Compare

GeForce RTX 5060

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is priced at $299.99 in the GPUs category. It stands out with dlss, cuda cores, boost clock advantages over the competition. It's designed with gaming and budget in mind.

GeForce RTX 4060

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is priced at $299.99 in the GPUs category. It stands out with tdp advantages over the competition. It's designed with gaming and budget in mind.

Key Differences

TDP
GeForce RTX 5060:150W
GeForce RTX 4060:115W

What this means: TDP indicates the thermal output and power draw. Higher TDP means you need a beefier power supply and better case airflow. Lower TDP cards run cooler and quieter, making them easier to fit into compact builds without thermal throttling.

Dlss
GeForce RTX 5060:DLSS 4
GeForce RTX 4060:DLSS 3

What this means: This dlss spec directly impacts rendering performance and VRAM capacity for graphics cards. The product with the higher value here will have an advantage in scenarios where this specification is the limiting factor. Consider whether this specific spec matters for your workload - not every spec difference affects every use case equally.

Outputs
GeForce RTX 5060:3x DP 2.1a, 1x HDMI 2.1b
GeForce RTX 4060:3x DP 1.4a, 1x HDMI 2.1a

What this means: Display outputs determine monitor compatibility, but layouts often vary by board partner. Treat HDMI, DisplayPort, and USB-C support as connectivity requirements rather than a universal GPU performance advantage.

VRAM Type
GeForce RTX 5060:GDDR7
GeForce RTX 4060:GDDR6

What this means: Newer VRAM types (GDDR7, GDDR6X) offer significantly faster bandwidth than GDDR6, improving frame rates in memory-heavy workloads like 4K textures and ray tracing. This directly impacts how quickly the GPU can push high-res assets to the display.

CUDA Cores
GeForce RTX 5060:3,840
GeForce RTX 4060:3,072

What this means: More CUDA cores usually means more parallel shader and compute capacity within NVIDIA GPUs from the same architecture. Real-world performance still depends on clocks, memory bandwidth, cache, drivers, and workload.

Boost Clock
GeForce RTX 5060:2,497 MHz
GeForce RTX 4060:2,460 MHz

What this means: Boost clock is the card's advertised peak GPU frequency under favorable power and thermal conditions. It is useful when comparing closely related GPU designs, but a smaller GPU with a higher clock can still be much slower than a larger GPU with more compute units, cache, VRAM, and bandwidth.

Architecture
GeForce RTX 5060:Blackwell
GeForce RTX 4060:Ada Lovelace

What this means: The GPU architecture determines ray tracing performance, AI upscaling support (DLSS on NVIDIA, FSR on AMD), and power efficiency. Newer architectures like Blackwell and RDNA 4 deliver significantly more performance per watt than previous generations.

Spec Breakdown

GeForce RTX 5060
GeForce RTX 4060
VRAM
GeForce RTX 50...
8GB
GeForce RTX 40...
8GB
CUDA Cores
GeForce RTX 50...
3,840
GeForce RTX 40...
3,072
Boost Clock
GeForce RTX 50...
2,497 MHz
GeForce RTX 40...
2,460 MHz

Geekbench 6 Benchmark Scores

Source: Geekbench Browser
GeForce RTX 5060
GeForce RTX 4060
OpenCL Score
GeForce RTX 5060
127,466
GeForce RTX 4060
101,705
Vulkan Score
GeForce RTX 5060
121,177
GeForce RTX 4060
100,058
OpenCL leader:GeForce RTX 5060 (127,466)
Vulkan leader:GeForce RTX 5060 (121,177)

Full Specification Comparison

10 specs
SpecificationGeForce RTX 5060GeForce RTX 4060
TDP150W115W
DlssDLSS 4DLSS 3
VRAM8GB8GB
Outputs3x DP 2.1a, 1x HDMI 2.1b3x DP 1.4a, 1x HDMI 2.1a
VRAM TypeGDDR7GDDR6
CUDA Cores3,8403,072
Boost Clock2,497 MHz2,460 MHz
ArchitectureBlackwellAda Lovelace
PSU Recommendation550W550W
Memory Bandwidth - 272 GB/s

The Bottom Line

Best Benchmark ValueBest Performance

At $299.99, the GeForce RTX 5060 is the most affordable option. It takes the lead in dlss and cuda cores. Tagged as Best Benchmark Value and Best Performance.

Strengths
  • Better dlss (DLSS 4)
  • More CUDA cores (3,840) within similar NVIDIA architectures
  • Higher boost clock (2,497 MHz) within comparable designs
Tradeoffs
  • Higher power draw (150W)
Buy this if
  • You want the stronger dlss
  • You are comparing similar architectures and want more shader compute capacity
  • Budget is your top priority
  • You want the best benchmark score per dollar
Skip this if
  • You want lower power draw than 150W
Value-conscious buildersMaximum performance seekers
Most Efficient

At $299.99, the GeForce RTX 4060 is the premium option. It takes the lead in tdp. Tagged as Most Efficient.

Strengths
  • Lower power draw (115W)
Tradeoffs
  • Lower dlss (DLSS 3)
  • Fewer CUDA cores (3,072) within similar NVIDIA architectures
  • Lower boost clock (2,460 MHz); compare clocks only within similar designs
Buy this if
  • You want a cooler, more power-efficient build
  • Power efficiency matters for your build
Skip this if
  • You need better dlss
  • You need better cuda cores
Power-efficient builds

Frequently Asked Questions