GeForce RTX 3060 vs Radeon HD 6490M

VS

Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon HD 6490M with GeForce RTX 3060, including specs and performance data.

HD 6490M
2011
512 MB GDDR5
0.98

RTX 3060 outperforms HD 6490M by a whopping 4435% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.

Place in the ranking111682
Place by popularitynot in top-1004
Cost-effectiveness evaluation0.0169.32
Power efficiencyno data18.00
ArchitectureTeraScale 2 (2009−2015)Ampere (2020−2024)
GPU code nameSeymourGA106
Market segmentLaptopDesktop
Release date4 January 2011 (14 years ago)12 January 2021 (4 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$1,193.03 $329

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

RTX 3060 has 693100% better value for money than HD 6490M.

Detailed specifications

General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores1603584
Core clock speed800 MHz1320 MHz
Boost clock speedno data1777 MHz
Number of transistors370 million12,000 million
Manufacturing process technology40 nm8 nm
Power consumption (TDP)no data170 Watt
Texture fill rate6.400199.0
Floating-point processing power0.256 TFLOPS12.74 TFLOPS
ROPs448
TMUs8112
Tensor Coresno data112
Ray Tracing Coresno data28

Form factor & compatibility

Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).

InterfacePCIe 2.0 x16PCIe 4.0 x16
Lengthno data242 mm
Widthno data2-slot
Supplementary power connectorsno data1x 12-pin

VRAM capacity and type

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory typeGDDR5GDDR6
Maximum RAM amount512 MB12 GB
Memory bus width64 Bit192 Bit
Memory clock speed800 MHz1875 MHz
Memory bandwidth25.6 GB/s360.0 GB/s
Shared memory--

Connectivity and outputs

Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.

Display ConnectorsNo outputs1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a
HDMI-+

API compatibility

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX11.2 (11_0)12 Ultimate (12_2)
Shader Model5.06.7
OpenGL4.44.6
OpenCL1.23.0
VulkanN/A1.3
CUDA-8.6

Synthetic benchmark performance

Non-gaming benchmark results comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.


Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

HD 6490M 0.98
RTX 3060 44.44
+4435%

Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.

HD 6490M 377
RTX 3060 17085
+4432%

3DMark 11 Performance GPU

3DMark 11 is an obsolete DirectX 11 benchmark by Futuremark. It used four tests based on two scenes, one being few submarines exploring the submerged wreck of a sunken ship, the other is an abandoned temple deep in the jungle. All the tests are heavy with volumetric lighting and tessellation, and despite being done in 1280x720 resolution, are relatively taxing. Discontinued in January 2020, 3DMark 11 is now superseded by Time Spy.

HD 6490M 601
RTX 3060 28375
+4621%

3DMark Vantage Performance

3DMark Vantage is an outdated DirectX 10 benchmark using 1280x1024 screen resolution. It taxes the graphics card with two scenes, one depicting a girl escaping some militarized base located within a sea cave, the other displaying a space fleet attack on a defenseless planet. It was discontinued in April 2017, and Time Spy benchmark is now recommended to be used instead.

HD 6490M 2511
RTX 3060 79706
+3074%

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

Average FPS across all PC games

Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:

Full HD18
−578%
122
+578%
1440p1−2
−7100%
72
+7100%
4K1−2
−4900%
50
+4900%

Cost per frame, $

1080p66.28
−2358%
2.70
+2358%
1440p1193.03
−26009%
4.57
+26009%
4K1193.03
−18031%
6.58
+18031%
  • RTX 3060 has 2358% lower cost per frame in 1080p
  • RTX 3060 has 26009% lower cost per frame in 1440p
  • RTX 3060 has 18031% lower cost per frame in 4K

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2 9−10
−967%
95−100
+967%
Cyberpunk 2077 3−4
−2533%
79
+2533%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Counter-Strike 2 9−10
−967%
95−100
+967%
Cyberpunk 2077 3−4
−2467%
77
+2467%
Forza Horizon 4 7−8
−3129%
226
+3129%
Red Dead Redemption 2 6−7
−1317%
85−90
+1317%

Full HD
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2 9−10
−967%
95−100
+967%
Cyberpunk 2077 3−4
−2300%
72
+2300%
Far Cry 5 9−10
−1067%
105
+1067%
Fortnite 3−4
−6133%
180−190
+6133%
Forza Horizon 4 7−8
−2471%
180
+2471%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 12−14
−1642%
200−210
+1642%
Red Dead Redemption 2 6−7
−1317%
85−90
+1317%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 6−7
−2600%
160−170
+2600%
World of Tanks 21−24
−1113%
270−280
+1113%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Counter-Strike 2 9−10
−967%
95−100
+967%
Cyberpunk 2077 3−4
−1900%
60
+1900%
Far Cry 5 9−10
−1044%
100−110
+1044%
Forza Horizon 4 7−8
−2100%
154
+2100%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 12−14
−1642%
200−210
+1642%

1440p
High Preset

PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 5−6
−3400%
170−180
+3400%
World of Tanks 5−6
−5520%
280−290
+5520%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Counter-Strike 2 9−10
−422%
45−50
+422%
Cyberpunk 2077 2−3
−1750%
37
+1750%
Far Cry 5 5−6
−2760%
140−150
+2760%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 2−3
−3950%
80−85
+3950%
Valorant 6−7
−2367%
140−150
+2367%

4K
High Preset

Dota 2 14−16
−447%
82
+447%
Grand Theft Auto V 14−16
−447%
82
+447%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 3−4
−4800%
140−150
+4800%
Red Dead Redemption 2 0−1 30−33
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 14−16
−447%
82
+447%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 1−2
−5200%
50−55
+5200%
Cyberpunk 2077 1−2
−1600%
17
+1600%
Dota 2 14−16
−667%
115
+667%
Far Cry 5 0−1 65−70
Valorant 1−2
−7800%
75−80
+7800%

Full HD
Low Preset

Elden Ring 119
+0%
119
+0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%
Metro Exodus 120
+0%
120
+0%
Valorant 180−190
+0%
180−190
+0%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%
Dota 2 146
+0%
146
+0%
Elden Ring 149
+0%
149
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 141
+0%
141
+0%
Metro Exodus 87
+0%
87
+0%
Valorant 180−190
+0%
180−190
+0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%
Dota 2 147
+0%
147
+0%
Valorant 180−190
+0%
180−190
+0%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2 81
+0%
81
+0%
Elden Ring 85
+0%
85
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 81
+0%
81
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 75−80
+0%
75−80
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 115
+0%
115
+0%
Metro Exodus 89
+0%
89
+0%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Elden Ring 44
+0%
44
+0%
Metro Exodus 32
+0%
32
+0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Counter-Strike 2 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Fortnite 65−70
+0%
65−70
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 67
+0%
67
+0%

This is how HD 6490M and RTX 3060 compete in popular games:

  • RTX 3060 is 578% faster in 1080p
  • RTX 3060 is 7100% faster in 1440p
  • RTX 3060 is 4900% faster in 4K

Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:

  • in Valorant, with 4K resolution and the Ultra Preset, the RTX 3060 is 7800% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

  • RTX 3060 is ahead in 35 tests (57%)
  • there's a draw in 26 tests (43%)

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 0.98 44.44
Recency 4 January 2011 12 January 2021
Maximum RAM amount 512 MB 12 GB
Chip lithography 40 nm 8 nm

RTX 3060 has a 4434.7% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 10 years, a 2300% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 400% more advanced lithography process.

The GeForce RTX 3060 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 6490M in performance tests.

Be aware that Radeon HD 6490M is a notebook card while GeForce RTX 3060 is a desktop one.


Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

Vote for your favorite

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite graphics card.


AMD Radeon HD 6490M
Radeon HD 6490M
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060
GeForce RTX 3060

Other comparisons

We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.

Community ratings

Here you can see the user ratings of the compared graphics cards, as well as rate them yourself.


3.4 37 votes

Rate Radeon HD 6490M on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
4.1 29579 votes

Rate GeForce RTX 3060 on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about this comparison, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.