I. Introduction
The GeForce RTX 2060 was released in 2019 and has now been around for seven years. It has already been retired. However, to be fair, if it is only used to play some lightweight games, its performance is still basically sufficient even by today’s standards.
That said, many users who are still using this graphics card may now be considering an upgrade, and the Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB is a popular alternative. This article compares the gaming performance of the GeForce RTX 2060 6GB and the Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB to evaluate how much performance improvement can be gained by upgrading from the former to the latter, for reference by interested readers.
II. Specification Comparison
The GeForce RTX 2060 was released on January 7, 2019. It uses the TU106 GPU, manufactured on TSMC’s 12nm process. It features 1920 CUDA cores, 120 texture units, 48 ROPs, 30 ray tracing cores, 30 SM units, and 240 Tensor cores, with 3MB of L2 cache.
The base clock is 1365MHz, and the boost clock is 1680MHz. It is equipped with 6GB of GDDR6 memory running at 14Gbps, with a 192-bit memory bus and 336GB/s memory bandwidth. Its FP32 performance is 6.451 TFLOPS, power consumption is 160W, and the official MSRP was $349.
The Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB was released on June 4, 2025. It uses the Navi 44 GPU, manufactured on TSMC’s 4nm process, based on the RDNA 4 architecture. It features 2048 shaders, 128 texture units, 64 ROPs, 32 compute units, and 32 ray tracing units.
It has 4MB of L2 cache and 32MB of L3 cache. The base clock is 1700MHz, and the boost clock is 3130MHz. It has a 128-bit memory bus and is equipped with 16GB of GDDR6 memory running at 20.1Gbps, delivering 322.3GB/s bandwidth. Its power consumption is 160W, and the reference price is $349.
III. Test Platform Configuration
The main configuration is as follows:
The processor is a Core i5-12400F, the motherboard is a Gigabyte Z790 Gaming X AX, memory is 32GB DDR5-6000MHz, the graphics cards are the GeForce RTX 2060 6GB and the Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB respectively, the storage is an ADATA XPG S40G 512GB, and the operating system is Windows 10.
IV. Game Testing (RTX 2060 to RX 9060 XT 16GB)
The following seven games were tested, all at 1080P resolution. In the following images, the left side represents the GeForce RTX 2060 6GB platform, and the right side represents the Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB platform.
The first game is “Alan Wake 2.”
On the GeForce RTX 2060 platform, the average frame rate is 36 FPS, the minimum frame rate is 27 FPS, frame time is 26.1ms, CPU usage is 22%, power consumption is 37W, temperature is 62°C, memory usage is 9.8GB, GPU usage is 98%, VRAM usage is 5.6GB, GPU power consumption is 167W, and GPU temperature is 62°C.
On the Radeon RX 9060 XT platform, the average frame rate is 71 FPS, the minimum frame rate is 28 FPS, frame time is 13.5ms, CPU usage is 43%, power consumption is 50W, temperature is 60°C, memory usage is 9.2GB, GPU usage is 99%, VRAM usage is 6.2GB, GPU power consumption is 170W, and GPU temperature is 62°C.
In this game, the CPU usage on the Radeon RX 9060 XT platform is 21% higher than its competitor, nearly double. Memory usage is 0.6GB lower, GPU usage is nearly the same, VRAM usage is 0.6GB higher, GPU power consumption is 3W higher, and GPU temperature is the same.
In terms of average frame rate, the Radeon RX 9060 XT platform is 35 FPS higher than the GeForce RTX 2060 platform, leading by about 97%. The minimum frame rate is 1 FPS higher, and frame time is 12ms lower.
The second game is “Cyberpunk 2077.”
On the GeForce RTX 2060 platform, the average frame rate is 58 FPS, the minimum frame rate is 46 FPS, frame time is 16.1ms, CPU usage is 34%, power consumption is 44W, temperature is 57°C, memory usage is 11.5GB, GPU usage is 98%, VRAM usage is 5.3GB, GPU power consumption is 170W, and GPU temperature is 73°C.
On the Radeon RX 9060 XT platform, the average frame rate is 116 FPS, the minimum frame rate is 91 FPS, frame time is 8.2ms, CPU usage is 52%, power consumption is 56W, temperature is 69°C, memory usage is 12.0GB, GPU usage is 99%, VRAM usage is 6.8GB, GPU power consumption is 169W, and GPU temperature is 65°C.
In this game, the CPU usage on the Radeon RX 9060 XT platform is 18% higher than its competitor, memory usage is 0.5GB higher, GPU usage is nearly the same, VRAM usage is 1.5GB higher, GPU power consumption is nearly the same, and GPU temperature is 8°C lower.
In terms of average frame rate, the Radeon RX 9060 XT platform is 58 FPS higher than the GeForce RTX 2060 platform, leading by about 100%. The minimum frame rate is 45 FPS higher, and frame time is 8ms lower.
The third game is “Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2.”
On the GeForce RTX 2060 platform, the average frame rate is 53 FPS, the minimum frame rate is 45 FPS, frame time is 18.8ms, CPU usage is 43%, power consumption is 46W, temperature is 56°C, memory usage is 13.0GB, GPU usage is 98%, VRAM usage is 4.6GB, GPU power consumption is 166W, and GPU temperature is 76°C.
On the Radeon RX 9060 XT platform, the average frame rate is 110 FPS, the minimum frame rate is 91 FPS, frame time is 9.6ms, CPU usage is 81%, power consumption is 65W, temperature is 64°C, memory usage is 14.9GB, GPU usage is 99%, VRAM usage is 6.8GB, GPU power consumption is 170W, and GPU temperature is 63°C.
In this game, the CPU usage on the Radeon RX 9060 XT platform is 38% higher than its competitor, memory usage is 1.9GB higher, GPU usage is nearly the same, VRAM usage is 2.2GB higher, GPU power consumption is 4W higher, and GPU temperature is 13°C lower.
In terms of average frame rate, the Radeon RX 9060 XT platform is 57 FPS higher than the GeForce RTX 2060 platform, leading by about 108%. The minimum frame rate is 46 FPS higher, and frame time is 9ms lower.
The fourth game is “Battlefield 6.”
On the GeForce RTX 2060 platform, the average frame rate is 55 FPS, the minimum frame rate is 46 FPS, frame time is 17.3ms, CPU usage is 39%, power consumption is 44W, temperature is 45°C, memory usage is 14.2GB, GPU usage is 98%, VRAM usage is 5.6GB, GPU power consumption is 134W, and GPU temperature is 59°C.
On the Radeon RX 9060 XT platform, the average frame rate is 127 FPS, the minimum frame rate is 77 FPS, frame time is 8.0ms, CPU usage is 76%, power consumption is 65W, temperature is 71°C, memory usage is 13.5GB, GPU usage is 99%, VRAM usage is 8.0GB, GPU power consumption is 170W, and GPU temperature is 65°C.
In this game, the CPU usage on the Radeon RX 9060 XT platform is 37% higher than its competitor, nearly double. Memory usage is 0.7GB lower, GPU usage is nearly the same, VRAM usage is 2.4GB higher, GPU power consumption is 36W higher, and GPU temperature is 6°C higher.
In terms of average frame rate, the Radeon RX 9060 XT platform is 72 FPS higher than the GeForce RTX 2060 platform, leading by about 131%. The minimum frame rate is 31 FPS higher, and frame time is 9ms lower.
The fifth game is “Mafia: Homeland.”
On the GeForce RTX 2060 platform, the average frame rate is 35 FPS, the minimum frame rate is 29 FPS, frame time is 27.0ms, CPU usage is 26%, power consumption is 39W, temperature is 45°C, memory usage is 17.0GB, GPU usage is 98%, VRAM usage is 4.8GB, GPU power consumption is 157W, and GPU temperature is 61°C.
On the Radeon RX 9060 XT platform, the average frame rate is 75 FPS, the minimum frame rate is 64 FPS, frame time is 12.5ms, CPU usage is 49%, power consumption is 52W, temperature is 62°C, memory usage is 14.8GB, GPU usage is 99%, VRAM usage is 7.6GB, GPU power consumption is 170W, and GPU temperature is 64°C.
In this game, the CPU usage on the Radeon RX 9060 XT platform is 23% higher than its competitor, memory usage is 2.2GB lower, GPU usage is nearly the same, VRAM usage is 2.8GB higher, GPU power consumption is 13W higher, and GPU temperature is 3°C higher.
In terms of average frame rate, the Radeon RX 9060 XT platform is 40 FPS higher than the GeForce RTX 2060 platform, leading by about 114%. The minimum frame rate is 35 FPS higher, and frame time is 14ms lower.
The sixth game is “Silent Hill f.”
On the GeForce RTX 2060 platform, the average frame rate is 30 FPS, the minimum frame rate is 26 FPS, frame time is 34.3ms, CPU usage is 20%, power consumption is 37W, temperature is 39°C, memory usage is 13.5GB, GPU usage is 98%, VRAM usage is 5.9GB, VRAM is fully utilized and the bottleneck is very obvious, GPU power consumption is 140W, and GPU temperature is 58°C.
On the Radeon RX 9060 XT platform, the average frame rate is 77 FPS, the minimum frame rate is 58 FPS, frame time is 15.0ms, CPU usage is 35%, power consumption is 46W, temperature is 59°C, memory usage is 11.8GB, GPU usage is 100%, VRAM usage is 10.1GB, GPU power consumption is 169W, and GPU temperature is 65°C.
In this game, the CPU usage on the Radeon RX 9060 XT platform is 15% higher than its competitor, memory usage is 1.7GB lower, GPU usage is 2% higher, VRAM usage is 4.2GB higher, GPU power consumption is 29W higher, and GPU temperature is 7°C higher.
In terms of average frame rate, the Radeon RX 9060 XT platform is 47 FPS higher than the GeForce RTX 2060 platform, leading by about 157%. The minimum frame rate is 32 FPS higher, and frame time is 19ms lower.
The seventh game is “The Last of Us Part II.”
On the GeForce RTX 2060 platform, the average frame rate is 52 FPS, the minimum frame rate is 45 FPS, frame time is 18.1ms, CPU usage is 57%, power consumption is 48W, temperature is 57°C, memory usage is 15.8GB, GPU usage is 99%, VRAM usage is 5.5GB, GPU power consumption is 151W, and GPU temperature is 66°C.
On the Radeon RX 9060 XT platform, the average frame rate is 86 FPS, the minimum frame rate is 74 FPS, frame time is 10.8ms, CPU usage is 70%, power consumption is 60W, temperature is 69°C, memory usage is 17.4GB, GPU usage is 100%, VRAM usage is 9.3GB, GPU power consumption is 153W, and GPU temperature is 62°C.
In this game, the CPU usage on the Radeon RX 9060 XT platform is 13% higher than its competitor, memory usage is 1.6GB higher, GPU usage is nearly the same, VRAM usage is 3.8GB higher, GPU power consumption is 2W higher, and GPU temperature is 4°C lower.
In terms of average frame rate, the Radeon RX 9060 XT platform is 34 FPS higher than the GeForce RTX 2060 platform, leading by about 65%. The minimum frame rate is 29 FPS higher, and frame time is 7ms lower.
V. Conclusion
Through the above real-world comparison of seven games at 1080P resolution, we can clearly see the significant performance leap gained by upgrading from the GeForce RTX 2060 6GB to the Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB.
In terms of average frame rate, based on the comprehensive calculation of the above data, the overall gaming performance of the Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB is about 110% higher than that of the GeForce RTX 2060 6GB. In other words, the former delivers roughly 2.1 times the performance of the latter.
Secondly, the substantial increase in VRAM capacity is another core value of this upgrade. In the tests, the 6GB VRAM of the GeForce RTX 2060 has already become an obvious performance bottleneck. In contrast, the 16GB VRAM of the Radeon RX 9060 XT easily exceeds 6GB usage in testing, reaching up to 10.1GB. The ample VRAM capacity not only eliminates stuttering caused by insufficient memory but also provides sufficient headroom for running games with higher texture quality in the future, greatly extending the platform’s lifecycle.
In addition, the improvement in frame time should not be overlooked. The Radeon RX 9060 XT platform delivers significantly lower frame times than the RTX 2060 platform in all tested games, with the lowest being just 8.0ms in “Battlefield 6.” Lower frame times mean smoother transitions, more responsive controls, and a level of visual smoothness that the GeForce RTX 2060 simply cannot match.
Overall, upgrading from the GeForce RTX 2060 to the Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB brings qualitative improvements in all aspects and is a highly worthwhile upgrade option to consider.
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