GeForce RTX 3060 Ti vs Radeon R9 M485X

NVIDIA

GeForce RTX 3060 Ti

2020Core: 1410 MHzBoost: 1665 MHz

Popular choices:

VS
AMD

Radeon R9 M485X

2016Core: 723 MHz

Popular choices:

RTX 3060 Ti

Performance Spectrum - GPU

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.

Head-to-Head Verdict, Benchmarks, Value & Long-Term Outlook

This comparison brings together gaming FPS, raw graphics performance, VRAM, feature set, power efficiency, pricing context, and long-term value so you can see which GPU actually makes more sense.

GeForce RTX 3060 Ti

2020

Why buy it

  • 207.9% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • Costs $51 less on MSRP ($399 MSRP vs $450 MSRP).
  • Delivers 502.7% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 50.9 vs 8.4 G3D/$ ($399 MSRP vs $450 MSRP).
  • Access to DLSS 2 Super Resolution (2020).
  • 300% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (8 GB vs 2 GB).

Trade-offs

  • Fewer clear downsides in this head-to-head, aside from the usual pricing and availability swings.

Radeon R9 M485X

2016

Why buy it

  • Competitive enough if your priority is price, power, or specific feature preference.

Trade-offs

  • Lower average FPS than GeForce RTX 3060 Ti across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • Less VRAM, with 2 GB vs 8 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
  • No DLSS support; it relies on FSR Upscaling / FSR 4 (2025) instead.
  • Very weak future-proofing: 2016-era hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.
  • 12.8% HIGHER MSRP
    $450 MSRPvs$399 MSRP

Quick Answers

So, is GeForce RTX 3060 Ti better than Radeon R9 M485X?
Yes. GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is clearly the better overall GPU here. GeForce RTX 3060 Ti averages 207.9% more FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. You are also looking at 20,312 vs 3,801 in G3D Mark. On top of that, GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is a 2020 card with DLSS Super Resolution, while Radeon R9 M485X is a 2016 model from an older generation with FSR upscaling. So this is not really a tight same-tier comparison. It is more a modern card against an older, weaker alternative.
Which one is more future-proof for 2026 and beyond?
GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer 2020 generation instead of 2016, 434.4% more raw performance headroom, more VRAM at 8 GB instead of 2 GB, and the stronger feature stack with DLSS Super Resolution instead of FSR upscaling. That leaves it with more room for heavier textures, tougher ray tracing loads, and higher-end 1440p or 4K gaming over the next few years.
Which one is the smarter buy today, not just the cheaper card?
GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is the smarter buy today, but it is not as lopsided as a simple winner label makes it sound. GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is about $51 cheaper on MSRP at $399 MSRP versus $450 MSRP, and you are getting 207.9% more estimated average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and 434.4% higher G3D Mark. It also leads G3D-per-dollar by 502.7%. That is why the better overall card still comes out as the smarter buy today, not just the faster one.
Is Radeon R9 M485X still worth buying for gaming in 2026?
Yes. Radeon R9 M485X is still a strong modern gaming GPU: it is still comfortable for 1080p and decent for 1440p, though 4K is more situational. It remains a good buy when you can get it meaningfully cheaper than the alternative around $450 MSRP, even if GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is still the cleaner recommendation on overall value today.

Games Benchmarks

Real-world benchmarks and performance projections based on comprehensive hardware analysis and comparative metrics. Values represent expected performance on High/Ultra settings at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K. Modeled using a Ryzen 7 9800X3D reference profile to minimize specific CPU bottlenecks.

Note: Performance behavior can vary per game. Specific architectures may perform better or worse depending on game engine optimizations and API implementation.

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

PresetGeForce RTX 3060 TiRadeon R9 M485X
1080p
low152 FPS80 FPS
medium137 FPS66 FPS
high118 FPS52 FPS
ultra100 FPS34 FPS
1440p
low131 FPS67 FPS
medium107 FPS56 FPS
high91 FPS40 FPS
ultra82 FPS25 FPS
4K
low77 FPS25 FPS
medium65 FPS23 FPS
high50 FPS15 FPS
ultra43 FPS13 FPS
Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

PresetGeForce RTX 3060 TiRadeon R9 M485X
1080p
low425 FPS96 FPS
medium366 FPS75 FPS
high296 FPS62 FPS
ultra248 FPS45 FPS
1440p
low272 FPS58 FPS
medium229 FPS41 FPS
high190 FPS32 FPS
ultra156 FPS24 FPS
4K
low133 FPS24 FPS
medium114 FPS17 FPS
high96 FPS13 FPS
ultra73 FPS10 FPS
League of Legends

League of Legends

PresetGeForce RTX 3060 TiRadeon R9 M485X
1080p
low859 FPS171 FPS
medium693 FPS137 FPS
high602 FPS114 FPS
ultra457 FPS86 FPS
1440p
low658 FPS128 FPS
medium529 FPS103 FPS
high452 FPS86 FPS
ultra343 FPS64 FPS
4K
low434 FPS86 FPS
medium346 FPS68 FPS
high275 FPS57 FPS
ultra221 FPS43 FPS
Valorant

Valorant

PresetGeForce RTX 3060 TiRadeon R9 M485X
1080p
low580 FPS146 FPS
medium514 FPS117 FPS
high424 FPS100 FPS
ultra373 FPS82 FPS
1440p
low478 FPS107 FPS
medium427 FPS87 FPS
high335 FPS75 FPS
ultra290 FPS58 FPS
4K
low285 FPS63 FPS
medium266 FPS48 FPS
high234 FPS37 FPS
ultra195 FPS26 FPS

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of GeForce RTX 3060 Ti and Radeon R9 M485X

NVIDIA

GeForce RTX 3060 Ti

The GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in December 1 2020. It features the Ampere architecture. The core clock ranges from 1410 MHz to 1665 MHz. It has 4864 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 200W. Manufactured using 8 nm process technology. It features 38 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 20,312 points. Launch price was $399.

AMD

Radeon R9 M485X

The Radeon R9 M485X is manufactured by AMD. It was released in May 15 2016. It features the GCN 3.0 architecture. The core clock speed is 723 MHz. It has 2048 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 250W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 3,801 points.

Graphics Performance

In G3D Mark, the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti scores 20,312 versus the Radeon R9 M485X's 3,801 — the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti leads by 434.4%. The GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is built on Ampere while the Radeon R9 M485X uses GCN 3.0, both on 8 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 4,864 (GeForce RTX 3060 Ti) vs 2,048 (Radeon R9 M485X). Raw compute: 16.2 TFLOPS (GeForce RTX 3060 Ti) vs 2.961 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 M485X).

FeatureGeForce RTX 3060 TiRadeon R9 M485X
G3D Mark Score
20,312+434%
3,801
Architecture
Ampere
GCN 3.0
Process Node
8 nm
28 nm
Shading Units
4864+138%
2048
Compute (TFLOPS)
16.2 TFLOPS+447%
2.961 TFLOPS
ROPs
80+150%
32
TMUs
152+19%
128
L1 Cache
4.8 MB+860%
0.5 MB
L2 Cache
4 MB+700%
0.5 MB

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce RTX 3060 Ti gives access to NVIDIA DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling), widely regarding as the superior upscaling method for image quality. The Radeon R9 M485X relies on FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution), which is capable but generally slightly noisier than DLSS in motion.

FeatureGeForce RTX 3060 TiRadeon R9 M485X
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 3060 Ti comes with 8 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon R9 M485X has 2 GB. The GeForce RTX 3060 Ti offers 300% more capacity, crucial for higher resolutions and texture-heavy games. Bus width: 256-bit vs 128-bit. L2 Cache: 4 MB (GeForce RTX 3060 Ti) vs 0.5 MB (Radeon R9 M485X) — the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureGeForce RTX 3060 TiRadeon R9 M485X
VRAM Capacity
8 GB+300%
2 GB
Memory Type
GDDR6
GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth
448 GB/s
Unknown
Bus Width
256-bit+100%
128-bit
L2 Cache
4 MB+700%
0.5 MB
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 Ultimate (12_2) (GeForce RTX 3060 Ti) vs 12 (Radeon R9 M485X). Vulkan: 1.3 vs 1.2. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 4.

FeatureGeForce RTX 3060 TiRadeon R9 M485X
DirectX
12 Ultimate (12_2)
12
Vulkan
1.3+8%
1.2
OpenGL
4.6
4.6
Max Displays
4
4
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC (Ampere) (GeForce RTX 3060 Ti) vs VCE 3.0 (Radeon R9 M485X). Decoder: NVDEC (Ampere) vs UVD 6.0. Supported codecs: H.264,H.265,VP9,AV1 (GeForce RTX 3060 Ti) vs H.264,HEVC,VP9 (Radeon R9 M485X).

FeatureGeForce RTX 3060 TiRadeon R9 M485X
Encoder
NVENC (Ampere)
VCE 3.0
Decoder
NVDEC (Ampere)
UVD 6.0
Codecs
H.264,H.265,VP9,AV1
H.264,HEVC,VP9
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce RTX 3060 Ti draws 200W versus the Radeon R9 M485X's 250W — a 22.2% difference. The GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 600W (GeForce RTX 3060 Ti) vs 350W (Radeon R9 M485X). Power connectors: 8-pin vs Mobile. Typical load temperature: 75 vs 80°C.

FeatureGeForce RTX 3060 TiRadeon R9 M485X
TDP
200W-20%
250W
Recommended PSU
600W
350W-42%
Power Connector
8-pin
Mobile
Length
242mm
Height
112mm
Slots
2
Temp (Load)
75-6%
80°C
Perf/Watt
101.6+568%
15.2
💰

Value Analysis

The GeForce RTX 3060 Ti launched at $399 MSRP, while the Radeon R9 M485X launched at $450. The GeForce RTX 3060 Ti costs 11.3% less ($51 savings) on MSRP. Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 50.9 (GeForce RTX 3060 Ti) vs 8.4 (Radeon R9 M485X) — the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti offers 506% better value. The GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is the newer GPU (2020 vs 2016).

FeatureGeForce RTX 3060 TiRadeon R9 M485X
MSRP
$399-11%
$450
Performance per Dollar
50.9+506%
8.4
Codename
GA104
Amethyst
Release
December 1 2020
May 15 2016
Ranking
#73
#519