Leaked benchmarks show Chinese firm Moore Threads’ unreleased MTT S90 GPU matching or beating Nvidia’s RTX 4060, signaling a new competitor in the market.
Chinese GPU maker Moore Threads may soon challenge Nvidia in the mainstream graphics card market. Leaked benchmarks for its unreleased MTT S90 gaming GPU show it performing on par with, and sometimes beating, Nvidia’s popular RTX 4060. The results, which surfaced on July 25 from Chinese tech influencers, paint a picture of a surprisingly capable new entrant.
The leaks reveal a card reportedly developed two years ago, suggesting a long and challenging development cycle. The MTT S90’s emergence now, however, signals a potential new competitor in a field long dominated by Nvidia and AMD. If priced aggressively and supported by mature drivers, its arrival could significantly shake up the market for PC gamers worldwide.
The performance claims are based on a compelling mix of synthetic benchmarks and real-world gaming tests. In several standardized tests, the MTT S90 posted scores that surpassed the well-established RTX 4060. For instance, in the popular Chinese benchmark suite Ludashi, the S90 scored 420,000 points to the RTX 4060’s 400,000.
The lead continued in more globally recognized tests. In 3DMark’s modern Steel Nomad benchmark, which focuses on newer APIs like DirectX 12 and Vulkan, the S90 achieved 2,567 against the 4060’s 2,340. The gap was even wider in the older Unigine Valley benchmark, with the S90 scoring 1,467 to the 4060’s 1,111, suggesting strong foundational performance.
However, the Chinese GPU didn’t secure a clean sweep. In the more graphically intensive Fire Strike Ultra benchmark, which tests 4K rendering capabilities, Nvidia’s card maintained its lead, scoring 5,863 while the MTT S90 trailed at 5,210. This mixed result could point to architectural differences or areas where Moore Threads’ drivers still need refinement.
In a practical gaming scenario, the competition was razor-thin. When running the popular battle royale title Naraka: Bladepoint at a demanding 4K ultra setting, the MTT S90 managed an average of 43 frames per second. This put it just a single frame ahead of the RTX 4060, which delivered 42 fps. While a minor victory, achieving parity at this resolution is a significant milestone.
The MTT S90 shares its core architecture with Moore Threads’ MTT S4000, an AI-focused accelerator card that was officially released in late 2023. This shared lineage points to a versatile design, but the gaming-specific optimizations and driver support are what will ultimately determine its success with consumers and developers.
Adding to the intrigue, sources claim the drivers used for the leaked tests were not yet fully optimized for the S90 gaming card. If true, this suggests there is significant untapped performance that could be unlocked with future software updates, potentially widening the performance gap with the RTX 4060 in its favor.
This is a common trajectory for new hardware entrants. Both Nvidia and AMD GPUs see performance mature over time through driver updates. Moore Threads has a similar history of improving its products post-launch, which could make the S90 an even more compelling option months after its official release. The two-year delay itself hints at the immense complexity of building a competitive GPU from the ground up.
The emergence of a viable Chinese gaming GPU is particularly significant in the context of ongoing US sanctions targeting China’s semiconductor industry. These restrictions have inadvertently accelerated China’s push for technological self-sufficiency, creating a protected domestic market and strong incentives for local firms like Moore Threads to innovate.
The global GPU market, long a duopoly between Nvidia and AMD, is showing signs of change. According to recent market analysis from Jon Peddie Research, the competitive landscape is heating up, and the entry of a credible third player is a welcome development for consumers. More competition could disrupt established pricing structures and spur faster innovation.
Nvidia, for its part, has already moved on to its next generation. The RTX 4060’s direct successor, the RTX 5060, recently launched at a competitive $299 price point, establishing the new performance-per-dollar baseline. Nvidia’s strategy for this crucial mainstream segment involves a careful balancing act. An Nvidia director, Justin Walker, noted, “we are trying to optimize price and performance… When you get to a GPU like the RTX 5060, you have to look really hard at trade offs.”
Walker also defended the aggressive pricing of the new generation, suggesting that in the current market, “I think you’ll find that $299 for a GPU is a pretty good price.” This sets a clear benchmark for what Moore Threads will need to beat. To succeed, the MTT S90 must not only compete with the last-gen RTX 4060 but also offer a compelling value proposition against the newer, more efficient RTX 5060.
