AMD Radeon HD 7950 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile Comparison

# AMD Radeon HD 7950 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile

The benchmark data presents a curious generational clash: AMD's 2012 desktop flagship, the Radeon HD 7950, and NVIDIA's 2021 mobile part, the GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile, land within striking distance of each other in overall performance. The HD 7950 posts an average benchmark score of 33,951, while the RTX 3050 Mobile averages 33,170 — a mere 2.4% separation. Both GPUs occupy the 78th percentile among all GPUs, indicating they sit at nearly identical tiers of overall performance despite the nine-year gap in release dates. The head-to-head benchmark array is empty, so the comparison relies on each card's individual benchmark suite and nearest-rival positioning.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

There are no direct head-to-head benchmark results between these two GPUs in the data. Instead, each card has its own benchmark suite, and the comparison must be drawn from their respective scores and nearest-rival deltas. The HD 7950's sole benchmark is Geekbench Metal, where it scores 33,951. This places it within 0.1% of the AMD Radeon RX 480 (33,997), 0.3% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 7700S (33,849), 0.5% behind the AMD Radeon RX 560 XT (34,133), and 0.6% behind the NVIDIA RTX A2000 12 GB (34,154). The tight clustering — all four rivals within a 0.9% band — indicates the HD 7950's Metal performance is extremely well-matched to a broad swath of both older and newer GPUs.

The RTX 3050 Mobile, by contrast, has three benchmarks: 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 (421), Geekbench OpenCL (50,038), and Geekbench Vulkan (49,051). Its average of 33,170 is derived from these three scores. Against its nearest rivals, the RTX 3050 Mobile is essentially tied with the NVIDIA T550 Mobile (33,161, delta 0.0%), 0.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 570 (33,207), 0.6% ahead of the NVIDIA P104-100 (32,982), and 1.0% ahead of the NVIDIA T600 Mobile (32,849). The deltaPct values show the RTX 3050 Mobile holds a slight edge over most of its closest competitors, though the margins are negligible.

The most striking numeric comparison comes from the raw Geekbench scores. The RTX 3050 Mobile's OpenCL score of 50,038 and Vulkan score of 49,051 are dramatically higher than the HD 7950's Metal score of 33,951 — roughly 47% higher in OpenCL and 44% higher in Vulkan. However, these are different benchmark APIs on different operating systems, so direct cross-card comparisons are not apples-to-apples. The average benchmark score, which normalizes across each card's own suite, is the more reliable indicator of overall standing, and here the HD 7950 leads by 781 points (33,951 vs 33,170), or approximately 2.4%.

Where Each One Wins

The HD 7950 wins on raw average benchmark score, posting 33,951 against the RTX 3050 Mobile's 33,170. This 2.4% advantage in aggregate performance suggests that in sustained, compute-heavy workloads — the kind that stress memory bandwidth and raw shading throughput — the older AMD card holds a genuine edge. The HD 7950's 240.0 GB/s memory bandwidth over a 384-bit bus is a substantial asset; the RTX 3050 Mobile's 192.0 GB/s over a 128-bit bus is 20% lower. For texture-heavy workloads, the HD 7950's 112 TMUs at 89.60 GTexel/s outpace the RTX 3050 Mobile's 64 TMUs at 85.95 GTexel/s. The data suggests the HD 7950 is the better choice for applications that saturate memory bandwidth or require aggressive texture filtering.

The RTX 3050 Mobile counters with a massive win in FP32 compute: 5.501 TFLOPS versus the HD 7950's 2.867 TFLOPS — a 91.9% advantage. This nearly doubles the raw floating-point throughput, making the RTX 3050 Mobile clearly superior for general-purpose compute tasks, physics simulations, and any workload that leverages shader math. The RTX 3050 Mobile also wins decisively on pixel rate, posting 42.98 GPixel/s against the HD 7950's 25.60 GPixel/s — a 67.9% advantage. For fill-rate-bound scenarios such as high-resolution rendering with heavy overdraw, the NVIDIA card is the clear performer. Additionally, the RTX 3050 Mobile's 16 RT cores and 64 tensor cores provide hardware acceleration for ray tracing and AI workloads that the HD 7950 simply cannot access — the older card has no such dedicated units.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gulf between these two GPUs is vast. The HD 7950 uses the Tahiti chip on AMD's GCN 1.0 architecture, built on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It packs 4,313 million transistors into a 352 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 12.3 million per square millimeter. The RTX 3050 Mobile uses the GA107 chip on NVIDIA's Ampere architecture, fabricated on an 8 nm process at Samsung. It contains 8,700 million transistors in a 200 mm² die — a transistor density of 43.5 million per square millimeter, which is 3.5 times denser than the HD 7950. The Ampere chip crams more than twice the transistors into a die that is 43% smaller.

Memory architectures differ fundamentally. The HD 7950 uses 3 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, achieving 240.0 GB/s. The RTX 3050 Mobile uses 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, achieving 192.0 GB/s. The HD 7950's wider bus gives it higher bandwidth, but the RTX 3050 Mobile benefits from faster GDDR6 memory (12 Gbps effective versus 5 Gbps effective). Shader configurations also diverge sharply: the HD 7950 has 1,792 shading units, 112 TMUs, and 32 ROPs; the RTX 3050 Mobile has 2,048 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The NVIDIA card has more shaders but half the TMUs, and it adds 16 RT cores and 64 tensor cores that the AMD card lacks entirely.

Process and power draw tell the efficiency story. The HD 7950 consumes 200 W TDP, requires a 550 W power supply, and uses 2x 6-pin power connectors; it is a dual-slot, 278 mm-long desktop card. The RTX 3050 Mobile consumes just 45 W TDP, uses no external power connectors, and is an IGP (integrated graphics package) with portable-device-dependent outputs. The NVIDIA card delivers 91.9% more FP32 performance at 77.5% lower power. API support also reflects the generational gap: the HD 7950 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170; the RTX 3050 Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The NVIDIA card's DirectX 12 Ultimate designation includes features like hardware ray tracing and mesh shaders that the GCN 1.0 architecture cannot handle. The RTX 3050 Mobile also uses PCIe 4.0 x8, while the HD 7950 is limited to PCIe 3.0 x16.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 7950 averages 33,951, which is 781 points (approximately 2.4%) higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile's 33,170.

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in raw FP32 computing power?

A: The RTX 3050 Mobile delivers 5.501 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, which is 91.9% higher than the HD 7950's 2.867 TFLOPS. The NVIDIA card has nearly double the floating-point throughput.

Q: What are the memory bandwidth specifications for each card?

A: The HD 7950 offers 240.0 GB/s of bandwidth from 3 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, while the RTX 3050 Mobile offers 192.0 GB/s from 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus.

Q: Does the RTX 3050 Mobile support hardware ray tracing?

A: Yes, the RTX 3050 Mobile has 16 RT cores and 64 tensor cores, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI workloads. The HD 7950 has no such dedicated hardware.

Q: What is the power consumption difference between the two?

A: The HD 7950 has a 200 W TDP and requires a 550 W power supply with 2x 6-pin connectors. The RTX 3050 Mobile has a 45 W TDP and uses no external power connectors, making it vastly more power-efficient.

Q: How do the two GPUs rank among all GPUs?

A: Both the HD 7950 and the RTX 3050 Mobile sit at the 78th percentile among all GPUs, indicating they occupy nearly identical overall performance tiers.

The Verdict

The data presents a clear split: the HD 7950 wins on aggregate benchmark score and memory bandwidth, while the RTX 3050 Mobile wins decisively on compute throughput, pixel rate, power efficiency, and modern feature support. For users whose workloads are memory-bandwidth-bound — such as large texture datasets or multi-monitor setups with high resolutions — the HD 7950's 240.0 GB/s and 384-bit bus provide a tangible advantage. Its 89.60 GTexel/s texture rate also outpaces the RTX 3050 Mobile's 85.95 GTexel/s, making it the better choice for texture-heavy rendering.

However, the RTX 3050 Mobile's 5.501 TFLOPS FP32 performance is a massive 91.9% higher, making it the obvious pick for compute-centric applications, physics, and any shader-math-heavy workload. Its 42.98 GPixel/s pixel rate — 67.9% higher — gives it a clear edge in fill-rate-bound scenarios. The 16 RT cores and 64 tensor cores open up ray tracing and AI acceleration, features entirely absent from the HD 7950. The RTX 3050 Mobile also achieves all of this at 45 W TDP versus 200 W, a 77.5% reduction in power draw, and its DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4 API support future-proof it against newer titles in ways the HD 7950's DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170 cannot match. The HD 7950 may edge out the RTX 3050 Mobile in aggregate score, but the NVIDIA card wins on nearly every meaningful modern metric.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon HD 7950 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | GCN 1.0 | Ampere |

| Process Node | 28 nm | 8 nm |

| Foundry | TSMC | Samsung |

| Transistors | 4,313 million | 8,700 million |

| Die Size | 352 mm² | 200 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 12.3M / mm² | 43.5M / mm² |

| Clock Speed (Base) | Not specified | 1065 MHz |

| Clock Speed (Boost) | Not specified | 1343 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1250 MHz (5 Gbps effective) | 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 3 GB | 4 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus Width | 384 bit | 128 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 240.0 GB/s | 192.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 1792 | 2048 |

| TMUs | 112 | 64 |

| ROPs | 32 | 32 |

| RT Cores | Not specified | 16 |

| Tensor Cores | Not specified | 64 |

| Pixel Rate | 25.60 GPixel/s | 42.98 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 89.60 GTexel/s | 85.95 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 2.867 TFLOPS | 5.501 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | Not specified | 5.501 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 200 W | 45 W |

| Slot Width | Dual-slot | IGP |

| Power Connectors | 2x 6-pin | None |

| Suggested PSU | 550 W | Not specified |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x8 |

| Display Outputs | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 | Portable Device Dependent |

| DirectX | 12 (11_1) | 12 Ultimate (12_2) |

| OpenGL | 4.6 | 4.6 |

| Vulkan | 1.2.170 | 1.4 |

| Dimensions | 278 mm x 111 mm x 38 mm | Not specified |

| Release Date | 2012-01-30 | 2021-05-10 |

| Production Status | End-of-life | End-of-life |

| Launch MSRP | 449 USD | Not specified |