AMD Radeon R9 M360 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile Comparison

# Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data shows a decisive single head-to-head result: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile posts a Geekbench OpenCL score of 52,998, while the AMD Radeon R9 M360 manages 8,211. That is a 545.5% advantage for the NVIDIA part — a margin of more than sixfold in raw compute throughput. This is not a close contest by any stretch of the data.

Looking beyond the direct comparison, the RTX 3050 A Mobile sits at the 44th percentile of all GPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 8,746. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 v2 (8,743, 0% delta), the AMD Radeon R9 M265X (8,851, -1.2% delta), and the AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100 (8,863, -1.3% delta). The R9 M360, by contrast, lands at the 42nd percentile with an average score of 8,129. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M (8,135, -0.1% delta) and the NVIDIA GeForce 945M (8,099, 0.4% delta). In practical terms, the R9 M360 is clustered with entry-level mobile GPUs from several generations ago, while the RTX 3050 A Mobile is competing in a higher performance tier.

In the individual Passmark tests, the RTX 3050 A Mobile shows a varied profile. Its DirectX 9 score is 152, DirectX 10 is 61, DirectX 11 is 94, and DirectX 12 is 55. The G2D score is 526, and the G3D score is 11,664. GPU compute on Passmark comes in at 4,419. The R9 M360 has no Passmark scores listed in the data, so those comparisons cannot be made directly — but the Geekbench OpenCL gap is so large that it establishes the overall hierarchy.

The average benchmark score difference tells the same story: the RTX 3050 A Mobile averages 8,746 versus 8,129 for the R9 M360, a 617-point gap. That is roughly a 7.6% advantage for the NVIDIA part on average, even though the OpenCL single-test delta is enormous. The discrepancy between the 545.5% OpenCL delta and the modest 7.6% average delta suggests the two GPUs are not being exercised equally across all workloads — the R9 M360 may be more competitive in certain legacy or specialized tests, but the data available does not show those directly.

# The Verdict

From the data alone, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile is the clear winner for anyone prioritizing raw compute performance and modern API support. It dominates the only head-to-head benchmark available, posting a Geekbench OpenCL score that is 545.5% higher than the R9 M360. Its average benchmark score is also higher, and its percentile ranking (44th vs 42nd) puts it ahead of the AMD part across the broader GPU landscape.

The R9 M360 is an end-of-life product from 2015, built on older architecture, and its benchmark results place it alongside the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M and GeForce 945M — parts that are themselves several generations old. The RTX 3050 A Mobile, despite also being end-of-life, represents a much newer design (released at the end of 2023) and offers features the R9 M360 simply cannot match.

Who should pick the R9 M360? Only those with a specific need for its particular characteristics — perhaps a legacy system with a PCIe 3.0 x16 slot, or a workload that relies on GCN 1.0-specific behavior. But for any general-purpose use case, the RTX 3050 A Mobile is the only rational choice based on the numbers. The data shows no scenario where the R9 M360 comes out ahead.

# Architecture Differences

The architectural gulf between these two GPUs is substantial. The RTX 3050 A Mobile uses NVIDIA's Ampere architecture on an 8 nm process from Samsung, while the R9 M360 uses AMD's GCN 1.0 architecture on a 28 nm process from TSMC. The transistor counts reflect the generational leap: the NVIDIA chip contains 12,000 million transistors on a 276 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 43.5 million per mm². The AMD chip has just 1,500 million transistors on a 123 mm² die, at a density of 12.2 million per mm².

The RTX 3050 A Mobile is built on the GA106 chip, while the R9 M360 uses the Tropo chip. The NVIDIA part features 1,792 shading units, 56 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. It also includes 14 ray tracing cores and 56 tensor cores — dedicated hardware that the R9 M360 lacks entirely, as it has no RT or tensor cores listed. The AMD part has 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs.

Clock speeds differ significantly. The RTX 3050 A Mobile runs at a base clock of 1065 MHz and boosts to 1343 MHz, with memory clocked at 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective). The R9 M360 has a base clock of 900 MHz and a boost of 925 MHz, with memory at 1125 MHz (4.5 Gbps effective). Both have 4 GB of memory on a 128-bit bus, but the NVIDIA part uses GDDR6 while the AMD part uses GDDR5. This yields a bandwidth of 192.0 GB/s for the RTX 3050 A Mobile versus 72.00 GB/s for the R9 M360 — nearly three times higher.

Pixel and texture rates follow the same pattern. The RTX 3050 A Mobile achieves 42.98 GPixel/s and 75.21 GTexel/s, while the R9 M360 manages 14.80 GPixel/s and 29.60 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 4.813 TFLOPS for the NVIDIA part versus 947.2 GFLOPS for the AMD part. The RTX 3050 A Mobile also lists FP16 at 4.813 TFLOPS (1:1), while the R9 M360 has no FP16 data.

API support is another differentiator. The RTX 3050 A Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The R9 M360 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The NVIDIA part also uses a PCIe 4.0 x8 interface, while the AMD part uses PCIe 3.0 x16.

# FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute performance?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile delivers 4.813 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, while the AMD Radeon R9 M360 delivers 947.2 GFLOPS. The RTX 3050 A Mobile is roughly five times faster on paper.

Q: Do both cards have the same memory size?

A: Yes, both have 4 GB of memory. However, the RTX 3050 A Mobile uses GDDR6 with a bandwidth of 192.0 GB/s, while the R9 M360 uses GDDR5 with 72.00 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU supports ray tracing?

A: Only the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile has ray tracing cores — 14 of them. The AMD Radeon R9 M360 has no ray tracing cores listed in the data.

Q: What are the API differences?

A: The RTX 3050 A Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The R9 M360 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170.

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The RTX 3050 A Mobile averages 8,746 across all benchmark tests, while the R9 M360 averages 8,129. The NVIDIA part also ranks higher in the overall percentile distribution (44th vs 42nd).

Q: How old is each GPU?

A: The AMD Radeon R9 M360 was released in May 2015, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile was released in December 2023. Both are now end-of-life products.

# Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile wins in every measurable category where data exists. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 52,998 versus 8,211 for the R9 M360 is the only direct head-to-head result, and it is a landslide. The NVIDIA part also wins on memory bandwidth (192.0 GB/s vs 72.00 GB/s), pixel rate (42.98 GPixel/s vs 14.80 GPixel/s), texture rate (75.21 GTexel/s vs 29.60 GTexel/s), and FP32 compute (4.813 TFLOPS vs 947.2 GFLOPS).

For modern workloads that leverage DirectX 12 Ultimate features, ray tracing, or tensor operations, the RTX 3050 A Mobile is the only option — the R9 M360 has none of that dedicated hardware. The NVIDIA part's newer architecture, higher transistor density, and faster memory make it suited for any task that stresses compute or bandwidth.

The AMD Radeon R9 M360 has no benchmark wins in the data. Its only potential advantages are structural: it uses a PCIe 3.0 x16 interface versus PCIe 4.0 x8, which might matter in very old systems with limited PCIe lane availability. It also has a smaller die (123 mm² vs 276 mm²) and fewer transistors, which historically correlates with lower power draw — though no TDP is listed for the R9 M360, while the RTX 3050 A Mobile is rated at 45 W. For legacy software that relies on older GCN 1.0 behavior, the R9 M360 might be more compatible, but the data does not include any test that demonstrates such an advantage.

For anyone building a system today, the RTX 3050 A Mobile is the only sensible pick. For anyone maintaining a vintage laptop or embedded system from the mid-2010s, the R9 M360 is what it is — a part that was mid-range in its day and is now firmly outclassed by even a low-end modern mobile GPU.

# Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile | AMD Radeon R9 M360 |

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

| Architecture | Ampere | GCN 1.0 |

| Process Node | 8 nm (Samsung) | 28 nm (TSMC) |

| Transistors | 12,000 million | 1,500 million |

| Die Size | 276 mm² | 123 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 43.5M / mm² | 12.2M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1065 MHz | 900 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1343 MHz | 925 MHz |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR5 |

| Memory Clock | 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective) | 1125 MHz (4.5 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Bandwidth | 192.0 GB/s | 72.00 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 1792 | 512 |

| TMUs | 56 | 32 |

| ROPs | 32 | 16 |

| RT Cores | 14 | None |

| Tensor Cores | 56 | None |

| Pixel Rate | 42.98 GPixel/s | 14.80 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 75.21 GTexel/s | 29.60 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Compute | 4.813 TFLOPS | 947.2 GFLOPS |

| FP16 Compute | 4.813 TFLOPS (1:1) | Not listed |

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

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

| OpenGL Support | 4.6 | 4.6 |

| Vulkan Support | 1.4 | 1.2.170 |

| Release Date | December 2023 | May 2015 |

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