AMD Radeon 740M vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile Comparison

The Verdict

The recorded data presents a clear split between these two mobile graphics solutions. The AMD Radeon 740M is an integrated processor graphics unit built on the Phoenix2 chip, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile is a discrete-class part from the GeForce 30-series. Based on the benchmark results, the NVIDIA part dominates the single head-to-head test that the database includes.

In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the RTX 3050 A Mobile scores 52998, while the Radeon 740M scores 10172. That is a delta of -80.8 percent from the AMD side, meaning the NVIDIA part delivers roughly five times the raw compute score. The percentile data corroborates this: the Radeon 740M sits at the 53rd percentile among all GPUs, whereas the RTX 3050 A Mobile sits at the 44th percentile. This is a notable inversion, as the AMD part has a higher overall percentile despite losing decisively in the one direct comparison. The average benchmark scores reflect the same pattern, with the Radeon 740M averaging 12870 across its two recorded tests and the RTX 3050 A Mobile averaging 8746 across eight tests. The NVIDIA part's average is dragged down by its Passmark DirectX 9 score of 152, DirectX 10 score of 61, DirectX 11 score of 94, and DirectX 12 score of 55, all of which are legacy or synthetic API tests that do not favor the architecture.

The verdict from the data is straightforward for raw performance: the RTX 3050 A Mobile is the faster part for compute-heavy workloads. Its nearest rivals in the database are the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 v2 at an average score of 8743 with a 0 percent delta, the NVIDIA Quadro P2200 at 8686 with a 0.7 percent delta, the AMD Radeon R9 M265X at 8851 with a -1.2 percent delta, and the AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100 at 8863 with a -1.3 percent delta. The Radeon 740M, by contrast, sits near the AMD FirePro W5100 (12847, 0.2 percent delta), the AMD Radeon Pro 455 (12831, 0.3 percent delta), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 (12830, 0.3 percent delta), while trailing the AMD Radeon RX 580 (12928, -0.4 percent delta). The RTX 3050 A Mobile's nearest rivals are all older or lower-tier parts, which places it in a different performance class entirely.

Who should pick which? The Radeon 740M is a current, active product from AMD, manufactured on a 4 nm process, and it offers modern API support including DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Its performance profile, as measured by Geekbench Vulkan at 15568, is respectable for an integrated part. The RTX 3050 A Mobile is end-of-life, uses an 8 nm Samsung process, and has a much larger die but lower transistor density. Its raw compute advantage is substantial, but its average benchmark score is lower due to the Passmark suite results. For anyone choosing strictly on measured performance, the RTX 3050 A Mobile is the clear winner in OpenCL. For anyone prioritizing an integrated solution with a smaller footprint and a current production status, the Radeon 740M is the only viable option in this pairing, since the RTX 3050 A Mobile is no longer in production.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from entirely different architectural lineages. The AMD Radeon 740M uses the RDNA 3.0 architecture, built on a 4 nm process at TSMC. Its chip is Phoenix2, and it belongs to the Navi III IGP generation. The die size is 137 mm², and it packs 20,900 million transistors, giving it a transistor density of 152.6 million per square millimeter. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile uses the Ampere architecture, built on an 8 nm process at Samsung. Its chip is GA106, part of the GeForce 30 Mobile generation. The die is much larger at 276 mm², but it holds only 12,000 million transistors, which works out to a density of just 43.5 million per square millimeter. The AMD part is clearly the more advanced manufacturing node, allowing more transistors in a smaller area.

The compute resources differ sharply. The Radeon 740M has 256 shading units, 16 texture mapping units, and 8 raster operation units. It also carries 4 ray tracing cores, but no tensor cores. The RTX 3050 A Mobile has 1792 shading units, 56 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. It includes 14 ray tracing cores and 56 tensor cores. The NVIDIA part has roughly seven times the shading units, three and a half times the TMUs, and four times the ROPs. The RT core count is more than three times higher, and the tensor core presence is exclusive to NVIDIA.

Memory architecture is another fundamental split. The Radeon 740M uses system shared memory, with a system-dependent bus width and bandwidth. The RTX 3050 A Mobile has 4 GB of dedicated GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 192.0 GB/s. The NVIDIA part's memory clock is listed as 1500 MHz, with 12 Gbps effective transfer rate. The AMD part has no independent memory clock because it relies on the host system's RAM.

Clock speeds also diverge. The Radeon 740M has a base clock of 800 MHz and a boost clock of 2800 MHz. The RTX 3050 A Mobile has a base clock of 1065 MHz and a boost clock of 1343 MHz. Despite the lower boost clock, the NVIDIA part achieves higher throughput because of its much larger execution resource pool. Pixel rate for the AMD part is 22.40 GPixel/s, while the NVIDIA part reaches 42.98 GPixel/s. Texture rate is 44.80 GTexel/s for AMD and 75.21 GTexel/s for NVIDIA. Floating-point performance tells the same story: the Radeon 740M delivers 2.867 TFLOPS of FP32 and FP16 (at a 1:1 ratio), while the RTX 3050 A Mobile delivers 4.813 TFLOPS of both.

Both parts share the same API support list: DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Both use PCIe 4.0 x8 as the bus interface. Both are listed with a TDP of 45 W and no power connectors, and both are designated as IGP in slot width. The AMD part has a production status of Active, while the NVIDIA part is End-of-life.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon 740M has a higher average benchmark score of 12870 across its two tests (Geekbench OpenCL at 10172 and Geekbench Vulkan at 15568). The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile has an average of 8746 across eight tests.

Q: Why does the RTX 3050 A Mobile have a lower average score despite winning the head-to-head test?

A: The NVIDIA part's average is pulled down by its Passmark results, which include DirectX 9 at 152, DirectX 10 at 61, DirectX 11 at 94, DirectX 12 at 55, G2D at 526, G3D at 11664, and GPU compute at 4419. The AMD part has no Passmark results recorded, so its average is based only on the two Geekbench scores.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference?

A: The Radeon 740M uses system shared memory with a system-dependent bus width and bandwidth. The RTX 3050 A Mobile uses 4 GB of dedicated GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 192.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU has more ray tracing cores?

A: The RTX 3050 A Mobile has 14 ray tracing cores, while the Radeon 740M has 4. The NVIDIA part also has 56 tensor cores, which the AMD part lacks entirely.

Q: What is the manufacturing process difference?

A: The Radeon 740M is built on a 4 nm process at TSMC, while the RTX 3050 A Mobile is built on an 8 nm process at Samsung. The AMD part has a transistor density of 152.6 million per square millimeter, versus 43.5 million per square millimeter for NVIDIA.

Q: What is the production status of each GPU?

A: The Radeon 740M is listed as Active, while the RTX 3050 A Mobile is listed as End-of-life.

Specification Differences

The following fields differ between the AMD Radeon 740M and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile:

• Manufacturer: AMD versus NVIDIA
• Series: None versus GeForce 30-series
• Chip: Phoenix2 versus GA106
• Architecture: RDNA 3.0 versus Ampere
• Generation: Navi III IGP (Phoenix) versus GeForce 30 Mobile
• Process node: 4 nm versus 8 nm
• Foundry: TSMC versus Samsung
• Transistors: 20,900 million versus 12,000 million
• Die size: 137 mm² versus 276 mm²
• Transistor density: 152.6M / mm² versus 43.5M / mm²
• Base clock: 800 MHz versus 1065 MHz
• Boost clock: 2800 MHz versus 1343 MHz
• Memory clock: System Shared versus 1500 MHz 12 Gbps effective
• Memory size: System Shared versus 4 GB
• Memory type: System Shared versus GDDR6
• Memory bus width: System Shared versus 128 bit
• Memory bandwidth: System Dependent versus 192.0 GB/s
• Shading units: 256 versus 1792
• TMUs: 16 versus 56
• ROPs: 8 versus 32
• RT cores: 4 versus 14
• Tensor cores: None versus 56
• Pixel rate: 22.40 GPixel/s versus 42.98 GPixel/s
• Texture rate: 44.80 GTexel/s versus 75.21 GTexel/s
• FP32: 2.867 TFLOPS versus 4.813 TFLOPS
• FP16: 2.867 TFLOPS (1:1) versus 4.813 TFLOPS (1:1)
• Display outputs: Motherboard Dependent versus Portable Device Dependent
• Production status: Active versus End-of-life
• Release date: 2024-01-30 versus 2023-12-31
• Predecessor: Navi II IGP versus GeForce 20 Mobile
• Successor: Navi III IGP versus None

Fields that are identical include TDP (45 W), slot width (IGP), power connectors (None), suggested PSU (None), bus interface (PCIe 4.0 x8), and all API versions (DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, Vulkan 1.4).

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database includes only one direct head-to-head benchmark between these two GPUs: Geekbench OpenCL. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile scored 52998, while the AMD Radeon 740M scored 10172. The delta is -80.8 percent from the AMD perspective, meaning the NVIDIA part is roughly 4.2 times faster in this specific test. This is the single largest gap in the recorded data, and it defines the performance relationship between the two parts.

Beyond the direct comparison, the individual benchmark suites tell a more nuanced story. The Radeon 740M has a Geekbench Vulkan score of 15568, which is not directly compared against the RTX 3050 A Mobile, since the NVIDIA part has no Vulkan score recorded. The RTX 3050 A Mobile has a Passmark G3D score of 11664, a Passmark GPU compute score of 4419, and a Passmark G2D score of 526. These scores indicate that the NVIDIA part performs well in DirectX-based workloads and general 2D operations, but the DirectX 9 through 12 scores (152, 61, 94, and 55 respectively) are low in absolute terms, likely reflecting driver overhead or test methodology rather than raw capability.

The nearest rival data places the two parts in different performance tiers. The Radeon 740M's closest rivals are the AMD FirePro W5100 (12847, 0.2 percent delta), the AMD Radeon Pro 455 (12831, 0.3 percent delta), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 (12830, 0.3 percent delta). The RTX 3050 A Mobile's closest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 v2 (8743, 0 percent delta), the NVIDIA Quadro P2200 (8686, 0.7 percent delta), and the AMD Radeon R9 M265X (8851, -1.2 percent delta). These are much older parts, indicating that the RTX 3050 A Mobile's average score places it in a lower percentile bracket despite its high OpenCL result.

The wins tally is one for NVIDIA and zero for AMD. In terms of architectural efficiency, the Radeon 740M's higher transistor density and smaller die suggest a more modern design, but the RTX 3050 A Mobile's larger execution resource pool, dedicated memory, and tensor core support give it a decisive advantage in compute throughput. The data shows that for any workload that leverages OpenCL, the RTX 3050 A Mobile is the superior choice, while the Radeon 740M remains competitive only in an integrated, power-constrained context where its 45 W TDP and system-shared memory are acceptable trade-offs.