AMD FirePro W8000 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a clear overall winner in direct comparisons. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile takes both head-to-head tests, with a 2 to 0 win record over the AMD FirePro W8000. The margin in each test is substantial, and the pattern across both OpenCL and Vulkan workloads points to a generational advantage that goes beyond simple clock speed differences.

In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile scores 50,038 points against the AMD FirePro W8000's 24,440 points. That is a 104.7% advantage, meaning the NVIDIA part more than doubles the AMD card's compute throughput in this workload. This is the largest single gap in the comparison. The OpenCL result reflects raw compute execution across a broad set of tasks, and doubling the score is not a marginal improvement; it indicates a fundamental shift in processing capability between the two generations.

The Geekbench Vulkan test shows a narrower but still decisive gap. The RTX 3050 Mobile scores 49,051 points, while the FirePro W8000 scores 33,981 points. The delta here is 44.3% in favor of the NVIDIA part. Vulkan performance is often sensitive to driver maturity and hardware feature support, and the RTX 3050 Mobile's advantage in this API is consistent with its newer architecture and feature set. While the percentage gap is smaller than in OpenCL, it is still a commanding lead.

Looking at the aggregate benchmark average, the RTX 3050 Mobile sits at 33,170 points, while the FirePro W8000 averages 29,211 points. That is a roughly 13.5% overall average advantage for the NVIDIA part. However, the average score includes the head-to-head results plus other tests, and the two GPUs are also positioned differently relative to their own peer groups. The RTX 3050 Mobile's average places it in the 78th percentile of all GPUs, while the FirePro W8000 sits in the 75th percentile. Both are above the median, but the NVIDIA part holds a small percentile edge.

The nearest rivals for each card help contextualize these averages. The RTX 3050 Mobile's closest competitor is the NVIDIA T550 Mobile, with a delta of 0%, followed by the AMD Radeon Pro 570 at -0.1%, the NVIDIA P104-100 at 0.6%, and the NVIDIA T600 Mobile at 1%. This means the RTX 3050 Mobile is essentially tied with the T550 Mobile and sits within 1% of all four nearest rivals. Its average score is not an outlier among its peers; it is right in the middle of a tight cluster.

The FirePro W8000's nearest rivals tell a different story. Its closest match is the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GH at 0% delta, followed by the Intel Arc A370M at 0.1%, the AMD Radeon RX 470 at 0.7%, and the AMD Radeon RX 6800M at 1.2%. Again, a tight cluster around the average. The FirePro W8000 is not drastically ahead of or behind its immediate competitors. Both cards sit within a narrow band of their respective peer groups, but the RTX 3050 Mobile's peer group is, on average, faster.

The head-to-head data, therefore, shows a consistent story: the RTX 3050 Mobile wins every direct test, and the wins are large enough to be meaningful across both compute and graphics API workloads.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins the Geekbench OpenCL test, and by how much?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile wins with a score of 50,038 against the AMD FirePro W8000's 24,440. That is a 104.7% advantage.

Q: How does the Geekbench Vulkan result compare between the two cards?

A: The RTX 3050 Mobile scores 49,051, while the FirePro W8000 scores 33,981. The RTX 3050 Mobile is ahead by 44.3%.

Q: What are the average benchmark scores for each GPU?

A: The RTX 3050 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 33,170, and the FirePro W8000 has an average of 29,211.

Q: Do either of these GPUs support ray tracing or tensor operations?

A: The RTX 3050 Mobile includes 16 RT cores and 64 tensor cores. The FirePro W8000 has no listed RT cores or tensor cores.

Q: What is the process node for each chip?

A: The RTX 3050 Mobile uses an 8 nm process from Samsung. The FirePro W8000 uses a 28 nm process from TSMC.

Q: Which card has a higher memory bandwidth?

A: The RTX 3050 Mobile has a memory bandwidth of 192.0 GB/s, while the FirePro W8000 has 176.0 GB/s.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations and manufacturing approaches. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile is built on the Ampere architecture, specifically the GA107 chip, and uses an 8 nm process at Samsung. The AMD FirePro W8000 is based on GCN 1.0, using the Tahiti chip, fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. The process node difference is stark: 8 nm versus 28 nm. That alone explains much of the efficiency and performance gap.

Transistor counts reflect the architectural and process differences. The RTX 3050 Mobile packs 8,700 million transistors on a die size of 200 mm², which works out to a transistor density of 43.5 million per mm². The FirePro W8000 has 4,313 million transistors on a much larger 352 mm² die, giving it a density of 12.3 million per mm². The RTX 3050 Mobile crams more than three times the transistor density into a smaller physical package. The FirePro W8000 uses a physically larger die but with an older, less dense process.

The feature sets diverge sharply. The RTX 3050 Mobile includes 16 RT cores and 64 tensor cores, which are dedicated hardware units for ray tracing and AI-accelerated workloads. The FirePro W8000 has no RT cores and no tensor cores listed. This means the NVIDIA part can accelerate ray-traced rendering and tensor-based operations in hardware, while the AMD card relies entirely on conventional shader compute. The RTX 3050 Mobile also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate with feature level 12_2, while the FirePro W8000 is limited to DirectX 12 (11_1) and a lower feature level.

Vulkan support also differs. The RTX 3050 Mobile supports Vulkan 1.4, while the FirePro W8000 supports Vulkan 1.2.170. OpenGL support is the same at 4.6 for both. The newer Vulkan version on the NVIDIA part is consistent with its more recent driver stack and hardware capabilities.

The memory architecture is different in type and bus width. The RTX 3050 Mobile uses 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus. The FirePro W8000 also has 4 GB, but it is GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus. The RTX 3050 Mobile still achieves higher bandwidth at 192.0 GB/s versus 176.0 GB/s, thanks to the faster memory clock. The effective memory speed is 12 Gbps for the NVIDIA part versus 5.5 Gbps for the AMD part.

Compute unit organization also differs. The RTX 3050 Mobile has 2,048 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The FirePro W8000 has 1,792 shading units, 112 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The NVIDIA part has more shading units, while the AMD part has more texture mapping units. The pixel rates reflect the ROP and clock combination: the RTX 3050 Mobile delivers 42.98 GPixel/s, and the FirePro W8000 delivers 28.80 GPixel/s. Texture rate goes the other direction: the FirePro W8000 achieves 100.8 GTexel/s, while the RTX 3050 Mobile reaches 85.95 GTexel/s. The AMD card's higher TMU count and texture rate show up in texture-heavy workloads, but the NVIDIA part dominates pixel throughput.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every major specification category. The RTX 3050 Mobile has a base clock of 1065 MHz and a boost clock of 1343 MHz. The FirePro W8000 has no listed base or boost clock. Memory clock is 1500 MHz with 12 Gbps effective for the NVIDIA part, versus 1375 MHz with 5.5 Gbps effective for the AMD part.

Memory size is the same at 4 GB, but the type and bus width differ: GDDR6 on 128-bit for NVIDIA, GDDR5 on 256-bit for AMD. Bandwidth favors NVIDIA at 192.0 GB/s versus 176.0 GB/s. Shading units favor NVIDIA at 2,048 versus 1,792. TMUs favor AMD at 112 versus 64. ROPs are tied at 32 each.

FP32 compute favors NVIDIA at 5.501 TFLOPS versus 3.226 TFLOPS for AMD. The RTX 3050 Mobile also lists FP16 performance at 5.501 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio, while the FirePro W8000 has no listed FP16 figure. Pixel rate favors NVIDIA at 42.98 GPixel/s versus 28.80 GPixel/s. Texture rate favors AMD at 100.8 GTexel/s versus 85.95 GTexel/s.

Power consumption is dramatically different. The RTX 3050 Mobile has a TDP of 45 W, while the FirePro W8000 draws 225 W. The RTX 3050 Mobile is an integrated form factor with no power connectors and no suggested PSU. The FirePro W8000 is a dual-slot card requiring 2x 6-pin power connectors and a suggested 550 W PSU. The RTX 3050 Mobile uses a PCIe 4.0 x8 interface, while the FirePro W8000 uses PCIe 3.0 x16.

Display outputs differ as well. The RTX 3050 Mobile's outputs are portable-device dependent. The FirePro W8000 has 4x DisplayPort 1.2 and 1x SDI. Physical dimensions are only listed for the FirePro W8000: 279 mm or 11 inches in length, and 111 mm or 4.4 inches in height. The RTX 3050 Mobile has no listed dimensions.

Release dates are far apart. The RTX 3050 Mobile launched on 2021-05-10, and the FirePro W8000 launched on 2012-06-13. The FirePro W8000's predecessor is FirePro Terascale, and its successor is Radeon Pro Polaris. The RTX 3050 Mobile's predecessor is GeForce 20 Mobile, and it has no listed successor. Both are end-of-life in production status.

The Verdict

The data points to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile as the stronger performer in every direct benchmark comparison. It wins both head-to-head tests, holds a higher average benchmark score, and sits at a higher percentile among all GPUs. The 104.7% OpenCL lead and the 44.3% Vulkan lead are both decisive. For any workload that relies on these APIs, the RTX 3050 Mobile is the clear choice.

The RTX 3050 Mobile also offers a far more modern feature set. It includes RT cores and tensor cores, supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, and uses a newer Vulkan version. It operates at a fraction of the power draw: 45 W versus 225 W. That efficiency advantage, combined with the performance lead, makes it the more capable part across the board.

The FirePro W8000 does have some strengths in the specification sheet. It has more TMUs, a wider 256-bit memory bus, higher texture rate, and more display outputs including SDI. Its dual-slot design with dedicated power connectors suggests it was built for a workstation desktop environment rather than a portable device. But these advantages do not translate into wins in the recorded benchmarks.

For a buyer choosing between these two today, the RTX 3050 Mobile wins on performance, features, and efficiency. The FirePro W8000's only real advantages are its texture throughput and its legacy display output options, which matter only in specific professional scenarios.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile wins in all recorded benchmark categories. In Geekbench OpenCL, it more than doubles the FirePro W8000's score. In Geekbench Vulkan, it leads by 44.3%. Its average benchmark score is higher, and its percentile ranking is higher. It also wins on memory bandwidth, pixel rate, FP32 compute, and FP16 compute, and it brings hardware ray tracing and tensor cores to the table.

The AMD FirePro W8000 wins in a few specific specification categories, even though it does not win any benchmarks. It has a higher texture rate at 100.8 GTexel/s versus 85.95 GTexel/s, more TMUs at 112 versus 64, and a wider 256-bit memory bus. It also offers fixed display outputs with 4x DisplayPort 1.2 and 1x SDI, which is relevant for a stationary workstation setup. Its dual-slot form factor and 2x 6-pin power connectors are designed for a desktop chassis, and its 279 mm length is a standard workstation card size.

In practice, the RTX 3050 Mobile is the better choice for compute-heavy tasks, modern API workloads, and any scenario where power efficiency matters. The FirePro W8000 is only preferable in niche cases where its texture throughput or specific display output configuration is required, and even then, the performance gap in the recorded benchmarks is substantial.