AMD Radeon R7 M380 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile Comparison

The AMD Radeon R7 M380 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile represent two completely different eras of mobile graphics, and the benchmark data confirms a decisive generational gap. In the single available head-to-head test, the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark, the RTX 3050 A Mobile delivers a score of 52,998, which is a staggering 82.4% higher than the R7 M380’s 9,313. This is not a close contest; it is a categorical victory for the newer NVIDIA part, which outperforms the older AMD GPU by a factor of nearly 5.7x in raw compute throughput.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The data provides only one direct comparison point, but it is overwhelmingly one-sided. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile scores 52,998, while the AMD Radeon R7 M380 scores 9,313. The delta percentage of -82.4% (from the perspective of the AMD part) illustrates the massive performance deficit of the older GPU. This single result is consistent with the rest of the benchmark data, where the RTX 3050 A Mobile also posted a Passmark G3D score of 11,664 and a Passmark GPU Compute score of 4,419, figures that the R7 M380 simply cannot match.

Looking at the broader context, the R7 M380’s average benchmark score is 9,313, placing it at the 46th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M (score 9,302, delta 0.1%) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 465 (score 9,294, delta 0.2%), showing that it is essentially tied with those older parts. In contrast, the RTX 3050 A Mobile’s average score is 8,746, which is dragged down by its low Passmark DirectX scores (ranging from 55 to 152), yet its OpenCL score of 52,998 and G3D score of 11,664 paint a far more accurate picture of its compute capabilities. The RTX 3050 A Mobile’s nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 v2, has a score of 8,743, but this comparison is misleading because the RTX 3050 A Mobile’s average is skewed by the outlier DirectX 9 and 10 tests.

The performance gap in the OpenCL test is the definitive metric here. The RTX 3050 A Mobile’s 52,998 score represents a 5.69x improvement over the R7 M380’s 9,313. This is not a marginal upgrade; it is a leap across multiple hardware generations. The R7 M380, with its 640 shading units and 1,171.2 GFLOPS FP32 performance, is a low-end part from the GCN 1.0 era, while the RTX 3050 A Mobile, with 1,792 shading units and 4.813 TFLOPS FP32, is a modern Ampere-based solution. The benchmark results simply confirm what the specifications suggest: the NVIDIA part is in a different performance class entirely.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two GPUs is vast, spanning nearly a decade of design evolution. The AMD Radeon R7 M380 is built on the GCN 1.0 architecture, using the Tropo chip, and is fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile, in contrast, uses the Ampere architecture with the GA106 chip, manufactured on an 8 nm process at Samsung. This process shrink alone represents a massive efficiency and density improvement, with the RTX 3050 A Mobile packing 12,000 million transistors into a 276 mm² die, versus the R7 M380’s 1,500 million transistors on a 123 mm² die. The transistor density tells the story: 43.5M per mm² for the NVIDIA chip versus 12.2M per mm² for the AMD chip.

The memory subsystems are also fundamentally different. The R7 M380 uses 4 GB of DDR3 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 32.00 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 3050 A Mobile also has 4 GB of memory, but it is GDDR6 on the same 128-bit bus, delivering 192.0 GB/s of bandwidth — a six-fold increase. This bandwidth advantage is critical for modern workloads, and it is reflected in the compute scores.

Feature-wise, the RTX 3050 A Mobile brings dedicated hardware that the R7 M380 completely lacks. The NVIDIA part includes 14 RT cores for ray tracing and 56 tensor cores for AI acceleration, neither of which exist on the older AMD GPU. The RTX 3050 A Mobile also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the R7 M380 is limited to DirectX 12 (11_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6, but the RTX 3050 A Mobile supports Vulkan 1.4, a newer version than the R7 M380’s Vulkan 1.2.170. The RTX 3050 A Mobile also has a significantly higher pixel rate (42.98 GPixel/s vs 14.64 GPixel/s) and texture rate (75.21 GTexel/s vs 36.60 GTexel/s), further underscoring its architectural superiority.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher benchmark score in the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile, with a score of 52,998, is 82.4% higher than the AMD Radeon R7 M380’s score of 9,313.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference between the two GPUs?

A: The RTX 3050 A Mobile has 192.0 GB/s of bandwidth from its GDDR6 memory, while the R7 M380 has 32.00 GB/s from DDR3 memory — a six-fold difference.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon R7 M380 support ray tracing?

A: No. The R7 M380 has no RT cores; only the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile includes 14 RT cores for ray tracing.

Q: What are the shading unit counts for each GPU?

A: The AMD Radeon R7 M380 has 640 shading units, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile has 1,792 shading units.

Q: Which GPU has a smaller manufacturing process node?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile uses an 8 nm process, whereas the AMD Radeon R7 M380 uses a 28 nm process.

Q: How does the FP32 compute performance compare?

A: The RTX 3050 A Mobile delivers 4.813 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, substantially more than the R7 M380’s 1,171.2 GFLOPS (or 1.171 TFLOPS).

Specification Differences

The specification sheets for these two GPUs show differences in nearly every measurable field. The process node differs (28 nm for AMD vs 8 nm for NVIDIA), the transistor count differs (1,500 million vs 12,000 million), and the die size differs (123 mm² vs 276 mm²). The base clock speeds are 900 MHz for the R7 M380 and 1065 MHz for the RTX 3050 A Mobile, with boost clocks of 915 MHz and 1343 MHz, respectively. Memory type is DDR3 for the AMD part and GDDR6 for the NVIDIA part, with the bandwidth difference already noted.

The compute units differ: the R7 M380 has 640 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 16 ROPs, while the RTX 3050 A Mobile has 1,792 shading units, 56 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The RTX 3050 A Mobile also has 14 RT cores and 56 tensor cores, which are absent on the R7 M380. The bus interface is PCIe 3.0 x16 for the AMD part and PCIe 4.0 x8 for the NVIDIA part. The power profile differs as well, with the RTX 3050 A Mobile rated at 45 W TDP and listed as an IGP with no power connectors, while the R7 M380 has no TDP listed. The APIs supported also differ, with DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) on the NVIDIA part versus DirectX 12 (11_1) on the AMD part, and Vulkan 1.4 versus Vulkan 1.2.170.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile is the superior GPU. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 52,998 dwarfs the AMD Radeon R7 M380’s 9,313, and its specifications — including 4.813 TFLOPS FP32, 192.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth, and dedicated RT and tensor cores — place it in a completely different performance tier. The R7 M380, with its 1,171.2 GFLOPS and 32.00 GB/s bandwidth, is a relic of the 2015 era, suited only for the lightest of workloads. For anyone choosing between these two, the RTX 3050 A Mobile is the only rational choice based on the benchmark evidence.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon R7 M380 has no benchmark wins in the data provided. It is outperformed in the only available head-to-head test, and its nearest rivals (GTX 850M, GTX 465, GTX 960) are all within 0.4% of its score, indicating it is firmly in the entry-level category of its generation. There are no workload areas where the data suggests the R7 M380 would be preferable.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile wins every category where data exists. Its OpenCL score shows massive compute superiority for general-purpose GPU tasks. Its Passmark G3D score of 11,664 indicates strong DirectX gaming performance, and its Passmark GPU Compute score of 4,419 suggests it can handle compute workloads. The presence of RT cores and tensor cores, while not directly benchmarked here, indicates hardware support for ray tracing and DLSS-style AI features that the R7 M380 cannot offer. For any modern application — gaming, content creation, or compute — the RTX 3050 A Mobile is the clear winner based on the benchmark results.