China’s entry into the modern GPU arena with its first 6nm graphics card marks a bold step, but early results suggest there’s still a long road ahead.
Developed by Chinese tech firm Lisuan, the new GPU aimed to challenge NVIDIA’s RTX 4060-but instead, its performance currently mirrors that of the GeForce GTX 660 Ti, a GPU released back in 2012.
Lisuan made waves by announcing its domestically manufactured 6nm GPU, built on what’s likely SMIC’s process-the same found in Huawei’s Kirin chips. This milestone represents a major technological leap for China’s semiconductor capabilities. However, a recent Geekbench OpenCL test revealed a score of 15,524-far from modern standards and barely matching decade-old cards.
The GPU features 32 compute units and just 256MB of VRAM, a spec set that raised eyebrows
. But context matters: this test likely involved an early development sample. Performance may drastically improve in retail models, especially once proper drivers are in place-a critical hurdle many Chinese GPU startups like Moore Threads and Birentech have struggled with.
Software remains China’s Achilles’ heel. Hardware specs mean little without solid drivers, and Lisuan must prioritize this to compete globally. Despite this underwhelming start, it’s a foundational step. The fact that any 6nm GPU was built domestically is an achievement worth acknowledging.
Historically, many now-leading Chinese industries began by lagging behind-only to eventually leapfrog competitors. The electric car industry is a prime example. If Lisuan and others learn from this launch, invest in driver development, and refine manufacturing, we might see China close the GPU gap in the near future.
In short, while the performance today may disappoint enthusiasts hoping for a direct RTX 4060 rival, the progress represents something bigger: the beginning of a long but determined climb toward global GPU competitiveness.