AMD Radeon RX 480 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 480 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile represent two distinct eras of GPU design, yet their benchmark scores place them in a surprisingly tight overall contest. The data shows a desktop card from 2016 going head-to-head with a mobile chip from 2021, with each claiming victories in different workloads. The RX 480’s average benchmark score of 33,997 sits just 2.4% above the RTX 3050 Mobile’s 33,170, and both hold an identical 78th percentile ranking among all GPUs, making their rivalry a study in architectural trade-offs rather than a clear generational leap.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most dramatic divergence appears in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, where the AMD Radeon RX 480 delivers a score of 966 against the RTX 3050 Mobile’s 421. That is a 129.5% advantage for the RX 480, a massive margin that suggests the desktop card’s raw rasterization throughput dominates this particular DirectX 12 workload. The RX 480’s higher texture rate of 182.3 GTexel/s versus 85.95 GTexel/s for the RTX 3050 Mobile likely drives this result, as does its 256-bit memory bus delivering 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth compared to the mobile chip’s 128-bit bus at 192.0 GB/s. The margin is so wide that it almost looks like a mis-match, yet the other benchmarks tell a different story.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the tables turn. The RTX 3050 Mobile scores 50,038, which is 24.1% higher than the RX 480’s 37,998. This is a significant reversal, indicating that the NVIDIA chip’s compute-oriented architecture — featuring 64 tensor cores and 16 RT cores — translates into superior performance in this general-purpose compute benchmark. The RTX 3050 Mobile also edges out the RX 480 in Geekbench Vulkan, posting 49,051 against 45,968, a 6.3% lead. While not as lopsided as the OpenCL result, it still shows NVIDIA’s newer architecture handling Vulkan’s explicit graphics and compute API with greater efficiency.

The head-to-head tally ends at 2 wins for the RTX 3050 Mobile and 1 for the RX 480, but the magnitude of the RX 480’s single victory is so large that the overall average scores remain close. This pattern suggests that the RX 480 excels in traditional 3D rendering pipelines, while the RTX 3050 Mobile pulls ahead in compute-heavy and modern API scenarios. The data does not reveal a single dominant performer; instead, it highlights how benchmark selection can heavily influence the outcome.

Architecture Differences

The architectural chasm between these two GPUs is stark, beginning with their manufacturing processes. The RX 480 uses a 14 nm node from GlobalFoundries, while the RTX 3050 Mobile is built on Samsung’s 8 nm process. This node advantage allows the NVIDIA chip to pack 8,700 million transistors into a 200 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 43.5M per mm². In contrast, the RX 480 contains 5,700 million transistors on a larger 232 mm² die, resulting in a density of just 24.6M per mm².

The compute layouts differ fundamentally. The RX 480 relies on GCN 4.0 architecture with 2,304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The RTX 3050 Mobile employs Ampere architecture with 2,048 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. While the RX 480 has more shading units and TMUs, the RTX 3050 Mobile compensates with dedicated hardware: 16 RT cores for ray tracing and 64 tensor cores for AI acceleration. These specialized units are entirely absent from the RX 480, which has no RT or tensor core equivalents.

Memory configurations also diverge sharply. The RX 480 carries 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, yielding 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 3050 Mobile ships with only 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, providing 192.0 GB/s. The RX 480’s memory clock runs at 2000 MHz (8 Gbps effective), while the RTX 3050 Mobile’s memory runs at 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective), showing how newer memory technology partially offsets the narrower bus.

Clock speeds and power envelopes tell another story. The RX 480 has a base clock of 1120 MHz and boost of 1266 MHz, while the RTX 3050 Mobile runs at 1065 MHz base and 1343 MHz boost. The desktop card draws up to 150 W TDP, while the mobile chip is rated at just 45 W — a threefold difference in power consumption that explains the RTX 3050 Mobile’s IGP (integrated) form factor with no power connectors. The RX 480 requires a dual-slot cooler, a 1x 6-pin power connector, and a 450 W suggested PSU, whereas the RTX 3050 Mobile needs none of these.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 480’s strengths lie in bandwidth-sensitive and texture-heavy workloads. Its 256-bit memory bus and 144 TMUs give it a clear edge in scenarios that saturate memory bandwidth or require heavy texture filtering, as evidenced by its 129.5% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. The desktop form factor also means it can sustain higher power draw, translating to sustained performance in long-duration gaming sessions. For users running DirectX 12 games that favor raw rasterization, the data suggests the RX 480 will deliver significantly higher frame rates.

The RTX 3050 Mobile wins in compute-oriented and modern-API tasks. Its 24.1% OpenCL advantage and 6.3% Vulkan lead indicate superior performance in applications that leverage general-purpose GPU computing, such as video encoding, machine learning inference, or physics simulations. The presence of tensor cores and RT cores opens up feature sets the RX 480 simply cannot access — real-time ray tracing and DLSS-style AI upscaling — even if the benchmark scores do not directly measure those capabilities. The mobile chip’s 45 W TDP also makes it viable in thin-and-light laptops, a form factor the RX 480’s 150 W desktop design cannot match.

The 4 GB memory limitation on the RTX 3050 Mobile could become a bottleneck in modern games with high-resolution textures, while the RX 480’s 8 GB provides more headroom. However, the RTX 3050 Mobile’s PCIe 4.0 x8 interface offers twice the per-lane bandwidth of the RX 480’s PCIe 3.0 x16, which may benefit certain data-transfer-heavy workloads. The RTX 3050 Mobile also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the RX 480 is limited to DirectX 12 (12_0), meaning newer ray-tracing and mesh-shading features are only available on the NVIDIA part.

The Verdict

The data presents a nuanced picture. For users prioritizing raw 3D gaming performance in DirectX 12 titles, the AMD Radeon RX 480 is the clear choice — its 129.5% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 is decisive, and its 8 GB memory and higher bandwidth better suit modern game assets. The RX 480’s average benchmark score of 33,997 also slightly edges out the RTX 3050 Mobile’s 33,170, reinforcing its overall performance parity despite being five years older.

However, for users who need compute capability, modern API support, or a low-power mobile solution, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile is the better fit. Its 24.1% OpenCL and 6.3% Vulkan advantages indicate real compute superiority, and its 45 W TDP makes it the only viable option for laptop integration. The RT cores and tensor cores add future-proofing for ray-traced games and AI-enhanced features, even if the 4 GB memory capacity is a concern.

Strictly from the data, the RX 480 wins on raw gaming performance and memory capacity, while the RTX 3050 Mobile wins on compute efficiency, API modernity, and power consumption. Neither card is a universal victor; the choice depends entirely on the workload. The RX 480 is the better desktop gaming GPU, and the RTX 3050 Mobile is the better mobile compute GPU. Given that the RTX 3050 Mobile’s two benchmark wins are narrower than the RX 480’s single blowout victory, the RX 480 holds the higher average score — but the RTX 3050 Mobile’s feature set makes it the more versatile long-term investment.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 480 has an average benchmark score of 33,997, which is 2.4% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile’s 33,170.

Q: How much faster is the RX 480 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12?

A: The RX 480 scores 966 compared to the RTX 3050 Mobile’s 421, giving the AMD card a 129.5% advantage in this test.

Q: Does the RTX 3050 Mobile support ray tracing?

A: Yes, the RTX 3050 Mobile includes 16 RT cores for ray tracing, whereas the RX 480 has no RT cores.

Q: Which GPU has more memory bandwidth?

A: The RX 480 has a memory bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s, while the RTX 3050 Mobile has 192.0 GB/s.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The RX 480 has a TDP of 150 W, while the RTX 3050 Mobile has a TDP of 45 W, making the NVIDIA chip significantly more power-efficient.

Q: Which GPU has a higher transistor density?

A: The RTX 3050 Mobile has a transistor density of 43.5M per mm², compared to the RX 480’s 24.6M per mm².

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon RX 480 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile |

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

| Architecture | GCN 4.0 | Ampere |

| Process Node | 14 nm | 8 nm |

| Foundry | GlobalFoundries | Samsung |

| Transistors | 5,700 million | 8,700 million |

| Die Size | 232 mm² | 200 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 24.6M / mm² | 43.5M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1120 MHz | 1065 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1266 MHz | 1343 MHz |

| Memory Size | 8 GB | 4 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus Width | 256 bit | 128 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 256.0 GB/s | 192.0 GB/s |

| Memory Clock | 2000 MHz (8 Gbps effective) | 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective) |

| Shading Units | 2304 | 2048 |

| TMUs | 144 | 64 |

| ROPs | 32 | 32 |

| RT Cores | None | 16 |

| Tensor Cores | None | 64 |

| Pixel Rate | 40.51 GPixel/s | 42.98 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 182.3 GTexel/s | 85.95 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 5.834 TFLOPS | 5.501 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 5.834 TFLOPS (1:1) | 5.501 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 150 W | 45 W |

| Slot Width | Dual-slot | IGP |

| Power Connectors | 1x 6-pin | None |

| Suggested PSU | 450 W | None |

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

| DirectX Support | 12 (12_0) | 12 Ultimate (12_2) |

| Vulkan Support | 1.3 | 1.4 |

| Release Date | 2016-06-28 | 2021-05-10 |

| Launch MSRP | 229 USD | None |