AMD Radeon 680M vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a decisive overall advantage for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile across all three shared benchmark tests. The AMD Radeon 680M trails in every direct comparison, with the widest gaps appearing in compute-oriented workloads.

In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile scores 469 against the Radeon 680M’s 378, a 19.4% deficit for the AMD part. This is a moderate margin that reflects the NVIDIA chip’s stronger raw rasterization throughput in a modern DirectX 12 title, but it is the closest of the three head-to-head results. The AMD IGP still delivers a playable entry-level score, yet the gap is substantial enough to matter for frame-rate-sensitive scenarios.

The Geekbench OpenCL test widens the delta considerably. The NVIDIA GPU posts 57,915, while the AMD Radeon 680M manages only 23,468, a 59.5% shortfall. This massive difference points to the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile’s far higher FP32 compute capacity and dedicated memory bandwidth, which dominate general-purpose GPU compute workloads. The AMD part’s shared-memory architecture and lower shader count simply cannot keep pace in this metric.

Geekbench Vulkan shows a similar story: 55,812 for the NVIDIA GPU versus 21,965 for the AMD IGP, a 60.6% gap. Vulkan’s low-level nature tends to reward raw hardware resources, and the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile’s 2,560 shading units and 192.0 GB/s of dedicated bandwidth are decisive here. The Radeon 680M’s 768 shading units and system-dependent memory bandwidth leave it at a structural disadvantage.

Looking at the average benchmark scores, the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile sits at 12,940 across its full benchmark suite, while the Radeon 680M averages 15,270 across its more limited set. Interestingly, the AMD part’s average is pulled upward by its Geekbench scores, which, although much lower than NVIDIA’s, are still high enough to lift its mean above the NVIDIA part’s suite average. However, this is an artifact of different test sets; in direct head-to-head comparisons, the NVIDIA GPU wins every time.

The percentile rankings tell a broader story. The Radeon 680M places in the 57th percentile of all GPUs, while the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile sits in the 53rd percentile. The AMD IGP’s higher percentile reflects its position relative to a wider field that includes many older and weaker discrete parts, but its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 (average score 15,283, delta -0.1%) and the RTX 2060 (average 15,290, delta -0.1%). The NVIDIA mobile part’s nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 580 (12,928, delta 0.1%) and the GTX 1660 SUPER (12,986, delta -0.4%), indicating that the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile performs in the range of mid-range desktop GPUs from a previous generation.

In summary, the head-to-head data leaves no ambiguity: the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile leads the Radeon 680M by margins ranging from roughly one-fifth to over three-fifths, depending on the test.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from fundamentally different design philosophies. The AMD Radeon 680M is an integrated graphics processor built on the Rembrandt+ chip using the RDNA 2.0 architecture, fabricated on TSMC’s 6 nm process. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile is a discrete-class mobile GPU based on the GA106 chip using the Ampere architecture, manufactured on Samsung’s 8 nm node. The process difference is notable: 6 nm versus 8 nm, which gives AMD a density advantage despite the NVIDIA chip’s larger physical footprint.

Transistor counts are close, but the die sizes differ sharply. The AMD chip packs 13,100 million transistors into a 208 mm² die, yielding a density of 63.0 million transistors per square millimeter. The NVIDIA chip contains 12,000 million transistors on a 276 mm² die, for a density of 43.5 million per square millimeter. The Radeon 680M achieves a 45% higher transistor density, a direct result of the more advanced process node.

The compute resource allocation diverges dramatically. The Radeon 680M has 768 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs, while the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile has 2,560 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. NVIDIA’s shader count is over three times higher, which explains its dominant FP32 throughput: 5.299 TFLOPS versus 3.379 TFLOPS. The AMD part’s FP16 rate is 6.758 TFLOPS using a 2:1 ratio, while the NVIDIA GPU achieves 5.299 TFLOPS in FP16 with a 1:1 ratio, meaning the AMD IGP actually leads in half-precision compute if the workload can exploit it.

Ray tracing hardware also differs. The Radeon 680M includes 12 ray accelerators, while the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile has 20 RT cores. NVIDIA also integrates 80 tensor cores, which the AMD part lacks entirely. The tensor cores enable AI-accelerated features that have no direct counterpart in the AMD IGP.

Memory architecture is a fundamental differentiator. The Radeon 680M uses system shared memory, with size, type, bus width, and bandwidth all dependent on the host system. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile has 4 GB of dedicated GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 192.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The NVIDIA GPU’s memory clock is listed as 1500 MHz with 12 Gbps effective, while the AMD part’s memory performance cannot be independently measured in the database. This dedicated versus shared memory split has profound implications for sustained performance, as the NVIDIA GPU never competes with the CPU for memory access.

Clock speeds show a contrasting approach. The Radeon 680M runs at a base clock of 2000 MHz and boosts to 2200 MHz, while the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile runs at a much lower 735 MHz base and 1035 MHz boost. The AMD IGP compensates for its lower shader count with much higher clocks, but the NVIDIA GPU’s massive shader advantage outweighs the clock deficit.

Power consumption reflects their different roles. The Radeon 680M has a TDP of 50 W, while the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile is rated at 75 W. Neither uses external power connectors, and both are classified as IGP in slot width, though the NVIDIA part is a mobile discrete GPU. The AMD part’s bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x8, while the NVIDIA GPU uses PCIe 4.0 x16, doubling the available host bandwidth.

Both GPUs support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so API feature parity is complete. The AMD part’s production status is Active, while the NVIDIA part is End-of-life, and the release dates differ by about 20 months, with the NVIDIA GPU launching in May 2021 and the AMD IGP arriving in January 2023.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile wins decisively in every direct benchmark recorded, but the nature of those wins points to specific use cases. Its 59.5% lead in Geekbench OpenCL and 60.6% lead in Geekbench Vulkan make it the clear choice for compute-heavy tasks such as GPU-accelerated rendering, video encoding, scientific simulations, and machine learning inference. The dedicated 192.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 2,560 shading units provide sustained throughput that the shared-memory Radeon 680M cannot match in these workloads.

For gaming, the 19.4% advantage in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 is smaller but still meaningful. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile should deliver smoother frame rates in modern DirectX 12 titles, especially at higher resolutions or with higher detail settings where its dedicated memory prevents stuttering from system memory contention. The NVIDIA GPU’s 20 RT cores also provide a hardware ray tracing advantage, although the database does not include a direct ray tracing benchmark for either part.

The Radeon 680M’s wins are more situational. Its higher transistor density (63.0M per mm² versus 43.5M) and smaller die (208 mm² versus 276 mm²) make it more efficient in terms of silicon area. Its 50 W TDP versus 75 W suggests better energy efficiency in thermally constrained laptops, though the database records no direct power efficiency benchmark. The AMD part’s FP16 throughput of 6.758 TFLOPS exceeds the NVIDIA GPU’s 5.299 TFLOPS, giving it an edge in workloads that can use half-precision arithmetic, such as certain AI inference tasks or image processing pipelines.

The AMD IGP also benefits from its integrated nature: it occupies no separate memory pool and requires no additional power delivery beyond the host system. In ultraportable laptops where the 75 W TDP of the NVIDIA GPU might be prohibitive, the 680M is the only viable option among the two. Its higher average benchmark score (15,270 versus 12,940) and higher percentile ranking (57th versus 53rd) reflect that, across a broader range of tests, the AMD part can hold its own against older discrete GPUs.

However, the recorded data contains no benchmark where the Radeon 680M beats the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile. Its wins are entirely contextual: efficiency, integration, and FP16 compute, not raw performance.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile scores 469, while the AMD Radeon 680M scores 378, giving NVIDIA a 19.4% lead.

Q: How large is the gap in Geekbench OpenCL performance?

A: The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile scores 57,915 against the Radeon 680M’s 23,468, a 59.5% advantage for NVIDIA.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon 680M have any compute advantage?

A: Yes, in FP16 throughput the AMD part delivers 6.758 TFLOPS using a 2:1 ratio, exceeding the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile’s 5.299 TFLOPS at 1:1.

Q: What memory configurations do the two GPUs use?

A: The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile has 4 GB of dedicated GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 192.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Radeon 680M uses system shared memory with bandwidth dependent on the host system.

Q: How do their transistor densities compare?

A: The Radeon 680M packs 13,100 million transistors into 208 mm² (63.0M per mm²), while the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile has 12,000 million transistors on 276 mm² (43.5M per mm²).

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile has 2,560 shading units, more than three times the Radeon 680M’s 768 units.

The Verdict

The data points to a single conclusion for anyone choosing between these two GPUs: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile is the faster part in every recorded benchmark. Its wins range from 19.4% in DirectX 12 gaming to over 60% in compute workloads, and its dedicated 4 GB GDDR6 memory with 192.0 GB/s bandwidth provides a structural advantage that the Radeon 680M’s shared memory architecture cannot overcome.

The AMD Radeon 680M is the appropriate choice only in specific scenarios. Its 50 W TDP and integrated design make it suitable for thin-and-light laptops where the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile’s 75 W envelope is too high. Its higher transistor density and FP16 throughput indicate better area efficiency and potential advantages in half-precision workloads. But for anyone prioritizing raw performance in gaming, compute, or general GPU acceleration, the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile is the clear pick from the recorded measurements.

The percentile rankings reinforce this: the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile sits at the 53rd percentile, while the Radeon 680M reaches the 57th, but this is a function of the different benchmark suites each part was tested with. In direct competition, the NVIDIA GPU wins all three head-to-head tests. The verdict is unambiguous: the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile is the performance leader, and the Radeon 680M is the efficiency-oriented alternative.