AMD Radeon 8040S vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile Comparison

AMD Radeon 8040S and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile are two mobile graphics solutions aimed at portable devices, but the benchmark data shows they occupy different performance tiers. The AMD Radeon 8040S, built on the RDNA 3.5 architecture as part of the Strix Halo chip, scores an average of 2440 across all PassMark tests, placing it in the 17th percentile of all GPUs. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile, using the Ampere architecture with the GA106 chip, delivers a much higher average benchmark score of 8746, placing it in the 44th percentile of all GPUs. The head-to-head results reveal a clear split: the NVIDIA part wins in most DirectX and general 3D workloads, while the AMD part dominates in 2D graphics and compute tasks.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon 8040S claims victory in two of the seven head-to-head benchmark categories, and those wins are substantial. The most striking result is in the PassMark G2D test, which measures 2D graphics performance. The AMD Radeon 8040S scores 1052, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile scores 526. That represents a 100% delta in favor of the AMD part, meaning the Radeon 8040S delivers exactly double the 2D performance of its rival. This is a decisive margin that indicates the AMD solution is far better suited for tasks that rely heavily on 2D rendering, such as desktop compositing, interface rendering, and certain legacy applications.

The second AMD win comes in the PassMark GPU Compute test, which evaluates general-purpose compute workloads using the GPU as a processor. The Radeon 8040S scores 5138, while the RTX 3050 A Mobile scores 4419. The delta is 16.3% in favor of AMD. This suggests that despite having fewer shading units, the Radeon 8040S architecture handles compute tasks more efficiently. The RDNA 3.5 architecture with 1024 shading units delivers a higher compute throughput than the Ampere design with 1792 shading units, which indicates that the AMD part has a more efficient compute pipeline per shader.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile wins the remaining five head-to-head benchmarks, covering all four DirectX API tests and the general 3D performance test. In the PassMark DirectX 10 test, the RTX 3050 A Mobile scores 61 versus 48 for the Radeon 8040S, a delta of 21.3%. In DirectX 11, the score is 94 versus 80, a 14.9% advantage. DirectX 12 shows a score of 55 versus 47, a 14.5% lead. DirectX 9 results are closer, with 152 versus 134, an 11.8% margin. The PassMark G3D test, which measures overall 3D graphics performance, shows the RTX 3050 A Mobile at 11664 versus 10578 for the Radeon 8040S, a 9.3% difference.

The Verdict

The data indicates that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile is the stronger overall graphics processor for 3D rendering and gaming workloads. It wins the primary 3D performance metric by 9.3% and also leads in every DirectX version test, with margins ranging from 11.8% to 21.3%. The higher average benchmark score of 8746 versus 2440, and the higher percentile ranking of 44 versus 17, confirm that the RTX 3050 A Mobile sits in a different performance class. The nearest rival data supports this: the RTX 3050 A Mobile is bracketed by the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 v2 with a 0% delta, while the Radeon 8040S is comparable to the NVIDIA GeForce 710M with a 0.3% delta.

However, the AMD Radeon 8040S is not without its strengths. The database shows it is the clear choice for 2D workloads, delivering double the G2D score of the NVIDIA part. It also leads in compute performance by 16.3%, which could matter for applications that offload parallel processing tasks to the GPU. For users whose primary workloads involve 2D interfaces or compute-heavy tasks that do not rely on DirectX rendering, the Radeon 8040S offers measurable advantages. The RTX 3050 A Mobile is the better pick for DirectX-based gaming and 3D applications, as it wins all four DirectX tests and the overall G3D benchmark.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The largest single margin in the head-to-head results is the PassMark G2D test, where the AMD Radeon 8040S scores 1052 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile scores 526. The 100% delta is the most extreme difference recorded between these two parts and cements the AMD GPU as the superior 2D performer by a wide margin. This result stands out because the RTX 3050 A Mobile has a higher transistor count and more shading units, yet it falls far behind in this specific workload.

The second-largest margin favors the NVIDIA part. In the PassMark DirectX 10 test, the RTX 3050 A Mobile scores 61, which is 21.3% higher than the Radeon 8040S score of 48. DirectX 11 follows closely with a 14.9% delta, as the NVIDIA part scores 94 against 80. DirectX 12 shows a 14.5% delta with scores of 55 and 47. These consistent wins across the DirectX API family indicate that the RTX 3050 A Mobile has a more robust implementation for modern and legacy 3D rendering paths.

The PassMark GPU Compute test is the second AMD win, with the Radeon 8040S scoring 5138 against 4419 for the RTX 3050 A Mobile. The 16.3% delta in favor of AMD shows that the RDNA 3.5 architecture, despite its smaller shader count, extracts more compute performance from its hardware. The RTX 3050 A Mobile does win the PassMark G3D test with a score of 11664 versus 10578, a 9.3% margin, which is the smallest single delta among the NVIDIA wins. This indicates that while the NVIDIA part is faster in overall 3D performance, the gap narrows compared to the DirectX-specific tests.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile has an average benchmark score of 8746, while the AMD Radeon 8040S has an average score of 2440.

Q: How large is the NVIDIA advantage in the DirectX 10 benchmark?

A: The RTX 3050 A Mobile scores 61 in the PassMark DirectX 10 test, which is 21.3% higher than the Radeon 8040S score of 48.

Q: In which benchmark does the AMD Radeon 8040S achieve its biggest win?

A: The AMD Radeon 8040S achieves its biggest win in the PassMark G2D test, scoring 1052 against 526 for the RTX 3050 A Mobile, a 100% delta.

Q: What is the difference in compute performance between the two GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon 8040S scores 5138 in the PassMark GPU Compute test, which is 16.3% higher than the NVIDIA score of 4419.

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in the overall 3D graphics benchmark?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile scores 11664 in the PassMark G3D test, which is 9.3% higher than the AMD Radeon 8040S score of 10578.

Q: What is the percentile ranking difference between the two parts?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile is in the 44th percentile of all GPUs, while the AMD Radeon 8040S is in the 17th percentile.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Radeon 8040S is built on the RDNA 3.5 architecture using the Strix Halo chip, manufactured on a 4 nm process at TSMC with a die size of 308 mm². The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile uses the Ampere architecture with the GA106 chip, manufactured on an 8 nm process at Samsung with a die size of 276 mm² and a transistor count of 12,000 million. The process node difference is significant, with the AMD part using a smaller 4 nm process compared to the 8 nm process for NVIDIA.

The core configurations differ substantially. The AMD Radeon 8040S has 1024 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, and 32 raster operations pipelines. It also includes 16 ray tracing cores. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile has 1792 shading units, 56 texture mapping units, and 32 raster operations pipelines, along with 14 ray tracing cores and 56 tensor cores. A key architectural difference is the presence of tensor cores on the NVIDIA part, which the AMD part lacks entirely, while the AMD part has more ray tracing cores (16 versus 14).

Clock speeds also differ. The AMD Radeon 8040S has a base clock of 1295 MHz and a boost clock of 2800 MHz. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile has a base clock of 1065 MHz and a boost clock of 1343 MHz. The higher boost clock on the AMD part contributes to its higher pixel rate of 89.60 GPixel/s and texture rate of 179.2 GTexel/s, compared to the NVIDIA pixel rate of 42.98 GPixel/s and texture rate of 75.21 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance is 5.734 TFLOPS for the AMD part versus 4.813 TFLOPS for the NVIDIA part.

Memory architecture is a major differentiator. The AMD Radeon 8040S uses system shared memory, meaning its memory size, type, bus width, and bandwidth are all dependent on the host system. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile has dedicated 4 GB of GDDR6 memory with a 128-bit bus and 192.0 GB/s bandwidth, running at 1500 MHz with 12 Gbps effective speed. The power draw is 55 W for the AMD part and 45 W for the NVIDIA part, with both using integrated graphics processor (IGP) slot widths and no external power connectors. The AMD part uses a PCIe 5.0 x16 bus interface, while the NVIDIA part uses PCIe 4.0 x8. Both parts support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The AMD part was released on 2025-01-05 and is currently active in production, while the NVIDIA part was released on 2023-12-31 and is marked as end-of-life.