Symmetric vs Asymmetric encryption - which is stronger in Java?

[Janak]

Hi,

Just finished reading the Cryptography tutorial on the website and I
have to say that it is hands down the most comprehensive overview
available on the net. Congrats!!

Symmetric keys in Java seem to have a limitation of 2^160 due to implementation of SecureRandom. Whereas for asymmetric key based encryption (e.g. RSA), the upper bound would be the CPU/8192 bits.

If key exchange and CPU cycles were not a concern, what method would provide stronger encryption in Java (JDK 1.6) without any third party additions - AES 256 (quasi 160) or RSA 4096?

Any thoughts?

Thanks.

Janak