GeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q Design vs Radeon 8040S

NVIDIA

GeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q Design

2020Core: 975 MHzBoost: 1185 MHz
RTX family
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VS
AMD

Radeon 8040S

2025Core: 1295 MHzBoost: 2800 MHz
Similar parts
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GeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q Design vs Radeon 8040S Performance Spectrum

About G3D Mark

G3D Mark is a standard benchmark that measures graphics performance in real-world gaming scenarios. It simplifies comparing cards from different brands, where higher scores directly correlate with better fps and smoother gaming experiences.

GeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q Design vs Radeon 8040S FPS Benchmarks

Predicted gaming performance across popular games. Tested paired with Ryzen 7 9800X3D to isolate GPU performance.

Search any supported game below to compare 1080p FPS for both components.

GeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q Design vs Radeon 8040S: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict

See where each GPU makes more sense in practice: raw FPS, VRAM, features, power draw, pricing, and long-term headroom.

GeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q Design

2020

Why buy it

  • 56.1% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • Access to DLSS 2 Super Resolution (2020).
  • 50% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (6 GB vs 4 GB).

Trade-offs

  • Radeon 8040S is the safer long-term pick here because the hardware is newer and the feature stack is stronger.
  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 24.4 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $400 MSRP).
  • 18.2% higher power demand at 65W vs 55W.

Radeon 8040S

2025

Why buy it

  • Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 24.4 vs 0 G3D/$ ($400 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).
  • Better long-term bet: RDNA 3.5 (2024−2025) on 4nm gives it a newer hardware base for upcoming games.
  • Draws 55W instead of 65W, a 10W reduction.

Trade-offs

  • Lower average FPS than GeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q Design across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • Less VRAM, with 4 GB vs 6 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
  • No DLSS support; it relies on FSR Upscaling / FSR 4 (2025) instead.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
GeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q Design is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 56.1% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. PassMark G3D leans toward Radeon 8040S instead at 9,756 vs 9,674, so for this question the real-game FPS result matters more than the synthetic split.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
Radeon 8040S is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: the newer upscaling stack, FSR Upscaling / FSR 4 (2025) instead of DLSS 2 Super Resolution (2020), a 4nm process instead of 12nm, and a newer 2025 generation instead of 2020. That makes it the less risky pick as game demands keep moving.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
Radeon 8040S makes the most sense today based on the pricing and value data we have for this matchup. GeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q Design still makes more sense if max raw gaming performance matters more than value.

GeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q Design vs Radeon 8040S Technical Specifications

Side-by-side specs, architecture details, clocks, memory, power, and platform differences.

NVIDIA

GeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q Design

The GeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q Design is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in January 29 2020. It features the Turing architecture. The core clock ranges from 975 MHz to 1185 MHz. It has 1920 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 65W. Manufactured using 12 nm process technology. It features 30 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 9,674 points.

AMD

Radeon 8040S

The Radeon 8040S is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 6 2025. It features the RDNA 3.5 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1295 MHz to 2800 MHz. It has 1024 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 55W. Manufactured using 4 nm process technology. It features 16 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 9,756 points.

Graphics Performance

The GeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q Design scores 9,674 and the Radeon 8040S reaches 9,756 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.8% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q Design is built on Turing while the Radeon 8040S uses RDNA 3.5, both on 12 nm vs 4 nm. Shader units: 1,920 (GeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q Design) vs 1,024 (Radeon 8040S). Raw compute: 4.55 TFLOPS (GeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q Design) vs 5.734 TFLOPS (Radeon 8040S). Boost clocks: 1185 MHz vs 2800 MHz. Ray tracing: 30 RT cores (GeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q Design) vs 16 (Radeon 8040S) with 240 Tensor cores.

FeatureGeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q DesignRadeon 8040S
G3D Mark Score
9,674
9,756
Architecture
Turing
RDNA 3.5
Process Node
12 nm
4 nm
Shading Units
1920+88%
1024
Compute (TFLOPS)
4.55 TFLOPS
5.734 TFLOPS+26%
Boost Clock
1185 MHz
2800 MHz+136%
ROPs
48+50%
32
TMUs
120+88%
64
L2 Cache
3 MB
8 MB+167%
Ray Tracing Cores
30+88%
16

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q Design gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon 8040S leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

FeatureGeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q DesignRadeon 8040S
Upscaling Tech
DLSS 2 Super Resolution
FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation
Not Supported
Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction
No
No
Low Latency
NVIDIA Reflex
AMD Anti-Lag
💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

The GeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q Design has 6 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon 8040S carries 4 GB. GeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q Design gives you 50% more memory capacity, which matters more once you move into heavier textures, mods, or higher resolutions. Memory bus width is 192-bit on the GeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q Design and System on the Radeon 8040S. L2 Cache: 3 MB (GeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q Design) vs 8 MB (Radeon 8040S) — the Radeon 8040S has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureGeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q DesignRadeon 8040S
VRAM Capacity
6 GB+50%
4 GB
Memory Type
GDDR6
Shared
Memory Bandwidth
264 GB/s
System
Bus Width
192-bit
System
L2 Cache
3 MB
8 MB+167%
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 Ultimate (12_2) (GeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q Design) vs 12.2 (Radeon 8040S). Vulkan: 1.3 vs 1.4. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 4.

FeatureGeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q DesignRadeon 8040S
DirectX
12 Ultimate (12_2)
12.2+2%
Vulkan
1.3
1.4+8%
OpenGL
4.6
4.6
Max Displays
4
4
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC (Turing) (GeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q Design) vs VCN 4.5 (Radeon 8040S). Decoder: NVDEC (4th Gen) vs VCN 4.5. Supported codecs: H.264,H.265,VP9 (GeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q Design) vs MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9,AV1 (Radeon 8040S).

FeatureGeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q DesignRadeon 8040S
Encoder
NVENC (Turing)
VCN 4.5
Decoder
NVDEC (4th Gen)
VCN 4.5
Codecs
H.264,H.265,VP9
MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9,AV1
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q Design draws 65W versus the Radeon 8040S's 55W — a 16.7% difference. The Radeon 8040S is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 500W (GeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q Design) vs 500W (Radeon 8040S). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs PCIe-powered. Typical load temperature: 75°C vs 85°C.

FeatureGeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q DesignRadeon 8040S
TDP
65W
55W-15%
Recommended PSU
500W
500W
Power Connector
PCIe-powered
PCIe-powered
Length
0mm
Height
0mm
Slots
1
0-100%
Temp (Load)
75°C-12%
85°C
Perf/Watt
148.8
177.4+19%
💰

Value Analysis

The newer card here is Radeon 8040S (2025 vs 2020).

FeatureGeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q DesignRadeon 8040S
MSRP
$400
Codename
TU106
Strix Halo
Release
January 29 2020
January 6 2025
Ranking
#268
#265

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