AMD Radeon Pro 580X vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded head-to-head data shows a clear NVIDIA victory in both compute workloads, though the margins tell a more nuanced story. In Geekbench OpenCL, the GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile scores 50,038 against the Radeon Pro 580X's 36,426. That is a 27.2% deficit for the AMD part, a substantial gap that reflects not just raw shader throughput but how each architecture handles the OpenCL workload's memory access patterns and instruction scheduling.

The Vulkan result narrows the divide considerably. NVIDIA posts 49,051 versus AMD's 40,115, a delta of 18.2%. Vulkan's lower-level API design tends to expose architectural efficiency differences more directly than OpenCL, and the data suggests the Ampere implementation extracts more from its hardware in this scenario. Still, the AMD card remains competitive enough that the gap is not embarrassing for a part from an older generation.

What is striking is the divergence between these two wins and the overall average benchmark scores. The Radeon Pro 580X carries an average score of 38,706 across all recorded tests, while the RTX 3050 Mobile averages 33,170. That means the AMD card actually leads in the broader database average despite losing both direct head-to-head matchups. The explanation lies in the benchmark mix: the AMD part has results for Geekbench Metal (39,577), OpenCL (36,426), and Vulkan (40,115), while the NVIDIA card has a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 result of 421 in addition to its OpenCL and Vulkan numbers. That DX12 score drags the NVIDIA average down significantly, illustrating how a single demanding test can skew aggregate comparisons.

Looking at nearest rivals, the RTX 3050 Mobile sits in a tight cluster. The NVIDIA T550 Mobile scores 33,161, a delta of 0%, and the AMD Radeon Pro 570 posts 33,207, which is 0.1% higher. The NVIDIA P104-100 trails by 0.6%, and the T600 Mobile is 1% behind. This indicates the 3050 Mobile is positioned right at a performance plateau where several professional and workstation cards land within a single percentage point. The Radeon Pro 580X, by contrast, clusters with different company: the MX570 A is 0% away at 38,691, the RTX 5080 Mobile is 0.9% behind at 38,349, and the MX570 trails by 1.1%. The Radeon Pro 575X actually beats it by 1% at 39,116. The AMD part's 82nd percentile versus 78th for NVIDIA reinforces that the 580X occupies a higher overall tier despite losing the direct comparisons.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from fundamentally different design philosophies and manufacturing generations. The Radeon Pro 580X uses the Ellesmere chip built on GlobalFoundries' 14 nm process, packing 5,700 million transistors into a 232 mm² die. That yields a transistor density of 24.6 million per square millimeter. The RTX 3050 Mobile uses GA107 on Samsung's 8 nm node, with 8,700 million transistors in a smaller 200 mm² die, achieving 43.5 million per square millimeter. The density advantage is nearly 77%, a direct consequence of the newer process technology.

Architecturally, the AMD card is GCN 4.0, a design that prioritizes raw throughput with 2,304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 32 render output units. The NVIDIA card is Ampere, with 2,048 shading units, only 64 TMUs, but the same 32 ROPs. Despite fewer shading units, the RTX 3050 Mobile matches the FP32 output at 5.501 TFLOPS versus 5.530 TFLOPS, a negligible 0.5% difference. The texture rate tells a different story: the AMD card delivers 172.8 GTexel/s against NVIDIA's 85.95 GTexel/s, a 2x advantage for the older architecture. Pixel rate favors NVIDIA slightly at 42.98 GPixel/s versus 38.40 GPixel/s.

The feature set diverges sharply. NVIDIA includes 16 ray tracing cores and 64 tensor cores, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing and DLSS-style workloads that the GCN architecture simply cannot perform. The API support reflects this: the RTX 3050 Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the Radeon Pro 580X is limited to DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3. Both support OpenGL 4.6.

Memory configurations differ in capacity and technology. The AMD card has 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, producing 218.9 GB/s of bandwidth. The NVIDIA card has 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, yielding 192.0 GB/s. The AMD part offers both more capacity and higher bandwidth, which matters for large datasets and high-resolution textures. Clock behavior also differs: the Radeon Pro 580X runs at 1100 MHz base and 1200 MHz boost, while the RTX 3050 Mobile starts at 1065 MHz and boosts to 1343 MHz. The higher boost clock on NVIDIA partially compensates for its fewer shading units.

Power consumption is where the designs diverge most dramatically. The Radeon Pro 580X draws 185 W and uses an Apple MPX bus interface, while the RTX 3050 Mobile is rated at 45 W with no power connectors and a PCIe 4.0 x8 interface. The NVIDIA part delivers comparable compute performance at roughly a quarter of the power draw. This is the defining architectural achievement of the Ampere mobile design: efficiency through a modern node and a power-optimized implementation.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins in OpenCL performance?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile scores 50,038 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 27.2% higher than the Radeon Pro 580X's 36,426.

Q: Does the Radeon Pro 580X have any benchmark advantage?

A: The Radeon Pro 580X has a higher average benchmark score across all recorded tests at 38,706, compared to 33,170 for the RTX 3050 Mobile. It also ranks higher overall at the 82nd percentile versus 78th for NVIDIA.

Q: How do the memory capacities compare?

A: The Radeon Pro 580X has 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 218.9 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 3050 Mobile has 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 192.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: What ray tracing capabilities does each card have?

A: The RTX 3050 Mobile includes 16 ray tracing cores and 64 tensor cores. The Radeon Pro 580X has no ray tracing cores or tensor cores listed in the database.

Q: Which card supports newer API features?

A: The RTX 3050 Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4. The Radeon Pro 580X supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3. Both support OpenGL 4.6.

Q: How does power consumption differ between the two?

A: The Radeon Pro 580X is rated at 185 W, while the RTX 3050 Mobile is rated at 45 W. This is a fourfold difference in thermal design power.

Specification Differences

• Process node: 14 nm (GlobalFoundries) for AMD versus 8 nm (Samsung) for NVIDIA
• Transistors: 5,700 million versus 8,700 million
• Die size: 232 mm² versus 200 mm²
• Transistor density: 24.6M / mm² versus 43.5M / mm²
• Base clock: 1100 MHz versus 1065 MHz
• Boost clock: 1200 MHz versus 1343 MHz
• Memory clock: 1710 MHz / 6.8 Gbps effective versus 1500 MHz / 12 Gbps effective
• Memory size: 8 GB GDDR5 versus 4 GB GDDR6
• Memory bus: 256 bit versus 128 bit
• Memory bandwidth: 218.9 GB/s versus 192.0 GB/s
• Shading units: 2304 versus 2048
• Texture mapping units: 144 versus 64
• Ray tracing cores: None versus 16
• Tensor cores: None versus 64
• Pixel rate: 38.40 GPixel/s versus 42.98 GPixel/s
• Texture rate: 172.8 GTexel/s versus 85.95 GTexel/s
• FP32 performance: 5.530 TFLOPS versus 5.501 TFLOPS
• TDP: 185 W versus 45 W
• Bus interface: Apple MPX versus PCIe 4.0 x8
• Display outputs: 2x HDMI 2.0b versus Portable Device Dependent
• DirectX support: 12 (12_0) versus 12 Ultimate (12_2)
• Vulkan support: 1.3 versus 1.4
• Release date: March 2019 versus May 2021
• Predecessor: None listed versus GeForce 20 Mobile
• Generation: Radeon Pro Mac (500X Series) versus GeForce 30 Mobile

The Verdict

The data presents two very different value propositions. The Radeon Pro 580X offers more memory, higher bandwidth, and superior texture throughput, and it ranks higher in the overall percentile distribution. The RTX 3050 Mobile counters with dramatically lower power consumption, modern API support, ray tracing and tensor cores, and decisive wins in both direct benchmark comparisons.

For compute workloads measured by OpenCL and Vulkan, the NVIDIA card is the clear choice. A 27.2% OpenCL deficit and an 18.2% Vulkan deficit are significant margins that no amount of memory capacity can overcome in those specific tests. The RTX 3050 Mobile also brings hardware features the AMD card lacks entirely: 16 ray tracing cores and 64 tensor cores open up workloads that are simply impossible on the GCN architecture.

However, the Radeon Pro 580X should not be dismissed. Its higher average benchmark score of 38,706 versus 33,170 suggests it excels in other recorded workloads, particularly the Geekbench Metal test where it scores 39,577. The 82nd percentile placement versus 78th indicates that across the entire GPU landscape, the AMD card sits in a higher performance tier. The 8 GB memory capacity doubles the NVIDIA card's 4 GB, which matters for large models or high-resolution textures that exceed the smaller framebuffer.

The power differential is the most decisive specification. At 185 W versus 45 W, the Radeon Pro 580X consumes over four times the power of the RTX 3050 Mobile while delivering comparable FP32 throughput. For mobile or thermally constrained environments, this alone makes the NVIDIA card the rational selection. For desktop Mac Pro systems where power is less constrained and memory capacity is paramount, the AMD card retains a purpose.

Where Each One Wins

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile wins in: OpenCL and Vulkan compute workloads, where it leads by 27.2% and 18.2% respectively. It also wins on power efficiency, delivering similar FP32 performance (5.501 TFLOPS versus 5.530 TFLOPS) at 45 W versus 185 W. The 16 ray tracing cores and 64 tensor cores enable ray-traced rendering and AI-accelerated tasks that the AMD card cannot perform. Its support for DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4 ensures compatibility with the latest graphics APIs. The higher boost clock of 1343 MHz and superior pixel rate of 42.98 GPixel/s give it an edge in fill-rate-bound scenarios.

AMD Radeon Pro 580X wins in: overall database average score (38,706 versus 33,170) and percentile ranking (82nd versus 78th). Its 8 GB memory capacity is double the NVIDIA card's 4 GB, and its 218.9 GB/s bandwidth exceeds the 192.0 GB/s of the RTX 3050 Mobile. The texture rate of 172.8 GTexel/s is exactly double the NVIDIA card's 85.95 GTexel/s, making it substantially stronger in texture-heavy workloads. The 144 texture mapping units versus 64 give it a structural advantage in any test that stresses texture fetch throughput. Its 256-bit memory bus provides headroom for bandwidth-intensive applications. The Metal benchmark score of 39,577 suggests particular strength in Apple ecosystem workloads, consistent with its Apple MPX bus interface and 2x HDMI 2.0b display outputs.