AMD Radeon R7 M360 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB Comparison

The AMD Radeon R7 M360 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB occupy opposite ends of the GPU spectrum, and the benchmark data confirms a complete mismatch in performance. The R7 M360, a 2015 entry-level mobile part, averages 4,931 in its two recorded tests, while the RTX 3080 12 GB scores 4,791 in its single recorded test. However, these numbers come from different test suites, making direct comparison impossible. The data instead reveals that each card is surrounded by vastly different rivals, indicating they serve entirely separate use cases and performance tiers.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The FACT PACK provides no shared benchmark scores between the AMD Radeon R7 M360 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB, so a direct apples-to-apples comparison is not possible. Instead, the data shows their respective performance tiers through their average scores and nearest rivals.

The R7 M360 posts an average benchmark score of 4,931, derived from Geekbench OpenCL (4,638) and Geekbench Vulkan (5,223) tests. This places it in the 29th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival is the AMD Radeon R7 M265, which scores 4,929 — a delta of just 0%. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB scores 4,901 (0.6% slower), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 scores 4,893 (0.8% slower). The R7 M360 sits essentially at parity with these older and low-end cards, with its Vulkan score (5,223) notably higher than its OpenCL score (4,638), suggesting a 12.6% advantage in Vulkan workloads.

The RTX 3080 12 GB averages 4,791 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, placing it in the 28th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival is the AMD Radeon R5 M255, which scores 4,788 (0.1% faster). The AMD Radeon R5 M335 scores 4,752 (0.8% slower), while the NVIDIA GeForce 940MX scores 4,844 (1.1% faster) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M scores 4,855 (1.3% faster). This is a striking result: a modern, high-end desktop GPU like the RTX 3080 12 GB is benchmarked within 1.3% of decade-old low-end mobile parts. The data suggests that the Steel Nomad test, which is a demanding DX12 workload, is not representative of the RTX 3080 12 GB's typical capabilities, or the test methodology favors lighter GPUs.

The R7 M360's 29th percentile and the RTX 3080 12 GB's 28th percentile are nearly identical, yet the underlying hardware differences are enormous. The R7 M360 has 384 shading units, 8 ROPs, and 2 GB of DDR3 memory, while the RTX 3080 12 GB packs 8,960 shading units, 96 ROPs, and 12 GB of GDDR6X. The benchmark scores do not reflect these massive architectural gaps, underscoring that the two cards are measured in incompatible contexts.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon R7 M360 shows a clear strength in Vulkan-based workloads. Its Geekbench Vulkan score of 5,223 is 12.6% higher than its Geekbench OpenCL score of 4,638. This suggests the GCN 3.0 architecture with Vulkan 1.2.170 support handles modern graphics APIs more efficiently than older compute APIs. For users running Vulkan titles or applications, the R7 M360 would be the better choice among its immediate rivals, edging out the Radeon R7 M265 (4,929) and the GeForce GTS 450 (4,893).

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB, despite its low benchmark score, wins decisively on raw specification-driven capabilities. It supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), Vulkan 1.4, and includes 70 ray-tracing cores and 280 tensor cores. These features enable hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI-based technologies that the R7 M360 cannot handle — the R7 M360 has no RT or tensor cores and only supports DirectX 12 (12_0). The RTX 3080 12 GB also offers 12 GB of GDDR6X memory with a 384-bit bus and 912.4 GB/s bandwidth, versus the R7 M360's 2 GB DDR3 on a 64-bit bus with 14.40 GB/s. In any memory-bandwidth-intensive scenario, the RTX 3080 12 GB is in a different league.

The R7 M360 wins on efficiency in the sense of lower resource demands: it requires no external power connectors, has no specified TDP, and uses a PCIe 3.0 x8 interface. The RTX 3080 12 GB demands a 350 W TDP, a 750 W suggested PSU, a dual-slot cooler, and a PCIe 4.0 x16 connection. For a legacy system with limited power delivery, the R7 M360 is the practical choice.

FAQ

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon R7 M360 averages 4,931, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB averages 4,791. However, these scores come from different test suites (Geekbench vs. 3DMark), so they are not directly comparable.

Q: How does the R7 M360 compare to its nearest rival?

A: The R7 M360 is virtually tied with the AMD Radeon R7 M265, which scores 4,929, a 0% delta. It also edges out the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB by 0.6% and the NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 by 0.8%.

Q: What is the RTX 3080 12 GB's closest competitor according to the data?

A: The AMD Radeon R5 M255 scores 4,788, just 0.1% faster than the RTX 3080 12 GB's 4,791. The NVIDIA GeForce 940MX (4,844) is 1.1% faster, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M (4,855) is 1.3% faster.

Q: Does the R7 M360 perform better in any specific API?

A: Yes, the R7 M360 scores 5,223 in Geekbench Vulkan versus 4,638 in Geekbench OpenCL, a 12.6% advantage in Vulkan workloads.

Q: Which card supports hardware ray tracing?

A: Only the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB supports ray tracing, featuring 70 RT cores. The AMD Radeon R7 M360 has no RT cores.

Q: What are the memory specifications of each card?

A: The R7 M360 has 2 GB of DDR3 on a 64-bit bus with 14.40 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 3080 12 GB has 12 GB of GDDR6X on a 384-bit bus with 912.4 GB/s bandwidth.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon R7 M360 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB |

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

| Process Node | 28 nm | 8 nm |

| Foundry | TSMC | Samsung |

| Transistors | 1,550 million | 28,300 million |

| Die Size | 125 mm² | 628 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 12.4M / mm² | 45.1M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1100 MHz | 1260 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1125 MHz | 1710 MHz |

| Memory Size | 2 GB | 12 GB |

| Memory Type | DDR3 | GDDR6X |

| Memory Bus Width | 64 bit | 384 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 14.40 GB/s | 912.4 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 384 | 8960 |

| TMUs | 24 | 280 |

| ROPs | 8 | 96 |

| Pixel Rate | 9.000 GPixel/s | 164.2 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 27.00 GTexel/s | 478.8 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 864.0 GFLOPS | 30.64 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 864.0 GFLOPS (1:1) | 30.64 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | Not specified | 350 W |

| Slot Width | Not specified | Dual-slot |

| Power Connectors | Not specified | 1x 12-pin |

| Suggested PSU | Not specified | 750 W |

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

| Display Outputs | Not specified | 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a |

| Release Date | 2015-05-04 | 2022-01-10 |

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on fundamentally different architectures. The AMD Radeon R7 M360 uses the GCN 3.0 architecture with the Meso chip, part of the Gem System (R7 M300) generation. It is manufactured on a 28 nm process at TSMC, with 1,550 million transistors on a 125 mm² die. The architecture provides 384 shading units, 24 texture mapping units, and 8 ROPs. It supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170, but lacks dedicated ray tracing or tensor cores. The memory subsystem uses 2 GB of DDR3 on a 64-bit bus, yielding 14.40 GB/s bandwidth. Its predecessor is the Solar System series, and its successor is Polaris Mobile.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB uses the Ampere architecture with the GA102 chip, part of the GeForce 30-series. It is built on an 8 nm process at Samsung, with 28,300 million transistors on a 628 mm² die — 18 times more transistors and 5 times the die area of the R7 M360. The architecture includes 8,960 shading units, 280 TMUs, 96 ROPs, 70 RT cores, and 280 tensor cores. It supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The memory subsystem uses 12 GB of GDDR6X on a 384-bit bus, delivering 912.4 GB/s bandwidth — 63 times higher than the R7 M360. Its predecessor is the GeForce 20 series, and its successor is the GeForce 40 series.

The transistor density also differs sharply: the RTX 3080 12 GB packs 45.1M transistors per mm², versus 12.4M / mm² for the R7 M360. This reflects the generational leap in manufacturing and design. The R7 M360's GCN 3.0 architecture is a mobile-first design with no discrete power connector or TDP specification, while the RTX 3080 12 GB is a desktop-class card requiring a 350 W TDP and a 750 W PSU. These architectural differences explain why the RTX 3080 12 GB delivers 30.64 TFLOPS of FP32 compute versus the R7 M360's 864.0 GFLOPS — a 35-fold difference in raw computing throughput.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the data, the AMD Radeon R7 M360 is appropriate for legacy systems requiring low power draw and basic 3D acceleration. Its benchmark scores (4,638 OpenCL, 5,223 Vulkan) place it at the 29th percentile, and its nearest rivals are all older or low-end parts. It is end-of-life, released in 2015, and offers no ray tracing or tensor core support. Users with a PCIe 3.0 x8 slot and no external power connector would find this card functional for lightweight tasks, but its 2 GB DDR3 memory and 14.40 GB/s bandwidth severely limit modern workloads.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB, despite its low 3DMark Steel Nomad score (4,791, 28th percentile), is designed for high-end gaming and professional workloads. Its 12 GB GDDR6X memory, 912.4 GB/s bandwidth, 70 RT cores, and 280 tensor cores make it the only viable choice for ray-traced gaming or AI-accelerated applications. The launch MSRP is 799 USD. The data shows its nearest rivals are low-end mobile GPUs, but this is likely a test artifact; the raw specifications — 30.64 TFLOPS FP32, 478.8 GTexel/s texture rate, and 164.2 GPixel/s pixel rate — are orders of magnitude above the R7 M360.

Who should pick which? Choose the R7 M360 if you need a drop-in replacement for an old laptop with minimal power requirements and only run legacy software. Choose the RTX 3080 12 GB if you need maximum compute, ray tracing, or high-resolution texture workloads, and have the required 750 W PSU and dual-slot chassis. The benchmark data cannot be used to compare them directly, but the specification differences — 35x FP32 throughput, 63x memory bandwidth, and 18x transistor count — leave no doubt about which card is designed for demanding tasks. The R7 M360 is an end-of-life entry point; the RTX 3080 12 GB is an end-of-life high-end performer.