AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data splits this pairing into two distinct personalities. The AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile trade blows across ten tests, with NVIDIA taking six wins and AMD four. The margin of victory matters more than the count, as the largest deltas belong to AMD.

The single biggest gap is in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. The RX 5500 XT scores 1032 against 469 for the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile, a 120% advantage. That is a decisive, generation-defining result in a modern DirectX 12 workload. No other test approaches that margin. The closest second is the PassMark G2D test, where AMD leads 774 to 498, a 55.4% gap. This indicates a substantial advantage in 2D graphics throughput, likely tied to the desktop card's dedicated display pipeline.

AMD also wins PassMark DirectX 9 by 10.8% (133 vs 120) and PassMark GPU Compute by 3.3% (4446 vs 4305). The compute win is narrow but consistent with the RX 5500 XT's higher raw FP32 throughput per watt in certain workloads.

NVIDIA's wins are mostly in the mid-range API tests. PassMark DirectX 11 shows the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile ahead by 26.3% (76 vs 56). DirectX 10 follows at 23.3% (60 vs 46). DirectX 12 favors NVIDIA by 18.4% (49 vs 40). The Geekbench compute tests also lean NVIDIA: OpenCL shows 57915 vs 46965 (18.9% lead), and Vulkan shows 55812 vs 44191 (20.8% lead).

The PassMark G3D overall score tells a slightly different story. NVIDIA leads 10093 to 9083, a 10% margin. This is the aggregate 3D gaming score, and it favors the mobile chip despite the RX 5500 XT's dominance in Steel Nomad. The reason appears to be consistency across older API tests where NVIDIA scores higher.

The average benchmark score favors AMD overall: 14692 vs 12940. That is a 13.5% difference in the database's aggregate metric. The RX 5500 XT sits at the 57th percentile among all GPUs, while the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile sits at the 53rd. Both are mid-pack performers, but AMD holds a higher standing in the overall distribution.

Nearest rival data adds context. The RX 5500 XT's closest competitors are the GTX 770 (0.4% behind), Quadro M2000 (1.1% behind), GTX 965M (2% behind), and RX Vega 11 (2.1% behind). The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile's nearest rivals are the RX 580 (0.1% behind), GTX 1660 SUPER (0.4% behind), Radeon 740M (0.5% behind), and FirePro W5100 (0.7% behind). In both cases, the gap to the nearest rival is small, meaning neither card has a comfortable cushion over its immediate competition.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different foundries and process nodes. The RX 5500 XT uses TSMC's 7 nm process, while the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile uses Samsung's 8 nm node. The transistor counts diverge sharply: AMD packs 6,400 million transistors on a 158 mm² die, giving a density of 40.5 million per mm². NVIDIA crams 12,000 million transistors onto a 276 mm² die, achieving 43.5 million per mm². Despite the larger die, NVIDIA's density is higher by 3 million transistors per mm².

Architecturally, AMD runs RDNA 1.0 on the Navi 14 chip. NVIDIA runs Ampere on the GA106 chip. These are different generations with different design philosophies. The RX 5500 XT has 1408 shading units, 88 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile has 2560 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. AMD has more TMUs, NVIDIA has far more shading units, and both tie at 32 ROPs.

The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile adds hardware that the RX 5500 XT lacks entirely: 20 ray tracing cores and 80 tensor cores. This is the defining architectural difference. The RX 5500 XT has no ray tracing acceleration and no tensor cores. The NVIDIA chip is built for DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while AMD supports DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4.

Clock speeds tell a story of power versus efficiency. The RX 5500 XT runs at a 1607 MHz base and 1845 MHz boost, with a game clock of 1717 MHz. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile runs at 735 MHz base and 1035 MHz boost. The desktop card clocks nearly double the mobile chip's base frequency. Memory clocks differ: AMD runs 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective), NVIDIA runs 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective).

The power envelope is radically different. The RX 5500 XT draws 130 W TDP, while the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile draws only 75 W. The desktop card needs a dual-slot cooler and one 8-pin power connector. The mobile chip is an IGP (integrated graphics package) with no power connectors, designed to be soldered onto laptops. The suggested PSU for the RX 5500 XT is 300 W; the mobile chip has no such requirement.

The bus interface also differs: AMD uses PCIe 4.0 x8, NVIDIA uses PCIe 4.0 x16. The RX 5500 XT has 224.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth from its 4 GB GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile has 192.0 GB/s from the same 4 GB GDDR6 and 128-bit bus, a 32 GB/s deficit.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 5500 XT wins in modern, low-level API workloads. Its 120% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 is the standout result. This suggests the desktop card handles DirectX 12's advanced features more efficiently despite having fewer shading units. The 55.4% lead in PassMark G2D makes it the better choice for 2D desktop work, multi-monitor setups, or any task that stresses the display output pipeline. The 10.8% win in DirectX 9 shows it also handles legacy API titles with ease. The 3.3% compute win in PassMark GPU Compute adds another feather, though the margin is slim.

The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile wins in the compute-heavy Geekbench tests. Its OpenCL score of 57915 versus 46965 and Vulkan score of 55812 versus 44191 show a clear edge in general-purpose compute and cross-platform graphics APIs. The PassMark DirectX 10 and DirectX 11 wins (23.3% and 26.3% respectively) make it the stronger card for older DirectX gaming titles. The DirectX 12 win of 18.4% is notable because it contradicts the Steel Nomad result, suggesting that NVIDIA's DX12 performance depends heavily on the specific workload. The 10% lead in PassMark G3D indicates better overall 3D gaming performance across the test suite.

For gaming, the split is workload-dependent. If the game uses DirectX 11 or older, the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile is the pick. If it uses DirectX 12 with modern features like ray tracing, the RX 5500 XT's Steel Nomad result suggests it may have an edge, though the NVIDIA card's dedicated ray tracing cores complicate that picture. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile also has tensor cores for AI-accelerated features, which the RX 5500 XT cannot match.

For productivity, the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile wins OpenCL and Vulkan compute, making it better for applications that leverage those APIs. The RX 5500 XT wins GPU compute in PassMark's specific test, so the choice depends on the software stack. The mobile chip's 80 tensor cores give it an advantage in AI workloads, but the database does not include a direct benchmark for that.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every silicon-level specification except memory capacity, memory type, bus width, ROP count, OpenGL version, and Vulkan version. Both have 4 GB GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, 32 ROPs, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Process node: 7 nm (TSMC) for AMD, 8 nm (Samsung) for NVIDIA.

Transistors: 6,400 million for AMD, 12,000 million for NVIDIA.

Die size: 158 mm² for AMD, 276 mm² for NVIDIA.

Transistor density: 40.5M / mm² for AMD, 43.5M / mm² for NVIDIA.

Shading units: 1408 for AMD, 2560 for NVIDIA.

TMUs: 88 for AMD, 80 for NVIDIA.

RT cores: none for AMD, 20 for NVIDIA.

Tensor cores: none for AMD, 80 for NVIDIA.

Base clock: 1607 MHz for AMD, 735 MHz for NVIDIA.

Boost clock: 1845 MHz for AMD, 1035 MHz for NVIDIA.

Memory clock: 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) for AMD, 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective) for NVIDIA.

Memory bandwidth: 224.0 GB/s for AMD, 192.0 GB/s for NVIDIA.

Pixel rate: 59.04 GPixel/s for AMD, 33.12 GPixel/s for NVIDIA.

Texture rate: 162.4 GTexel/s for AMD, 82.80 GTexel/s for NVIDIA.

FP32: 5.196 TFLOPS for AMD, 5.299 TFLOPS for NVIDIA.

FP16: 10.39 TFLOPS (2:1) for AMD, 5.299 TFLOPS (1:1) for NVIDIA.

TDP: 130 W for AMD, 75 W for NVIDIA.

Slot width: dual-slot for AMD, IGP for NVIDIA.

Power connectors: 1x 8-pin for AMD, none for NVIDIA.

Suggested PSU: 300 W for AMD, none for NVIDIA.

Bus interface: PCIe 4.0 x8 for AMD, PCIe 4.0 x16 for NVIDIA.

DirectX: 12 (12_1) for AMD, 12 Ultimate (12_2) for NVIDIA.

Display outputs: 1x HDMI 2.0b, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a for AMD, portable device dependent for NVIDIA.

Dimensions: 180 mm (7.1 inches) for AMD, not specified for NVIDIA.

Release date: 2019-12-11 for AMD, 2021-05-10 for NVIDIA.

Predecessor: Vega for AMD, GeForce 20 Mobile for NVIDIA.

Successor: Navi II for AMD, none for NVIDIA.

Launch MSRP: 169 USD for AMD, none for NVIDIA.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw FP32 performance?

A: The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile edges out the RX 5500 XT with 5.299 TFLOPS versus 5.196 TFLOPS, a difference of roughly 2%.

Q: Does the RX 5500 XT support ray tracing?

A: No. The RX 5500 XT has no ray tracing cores and uses RDNA 1.0 with DirectX 12 (12_1). The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile has 20 RT cores and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2).

Q: Which card has better memory bandwidth?

A: The RX 5500 XT has 224.0 GB/s from its 14 Gbps effective GDDR6, while the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile has 192.0 GB/s from 12 Gbps effective GDDR6. Both use 4 GB on a 128-bit bus.

Q: What is the power draw difference?

A: The RX 5500 XT has a 130 W TDP and needs a 300 W PSU plus an 8-pin connector. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile has a 75 W TDP, is an IGP, and requires no power connectors.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile has 2560 shading units, nearly double the RX 5500 XT's 1408. Despite this, the RX 5500 XT wins the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test by 120%.

Q: How do their average benchmark scores compare?

A: The RX 5500 XT averages 14692 across all tests, ranking at the 57th percentile. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile averages 12940, ranking at the 53rd percentile.

The Verdict

The data supports a clear split decision. For desktop users running modern DirectX 12 workloads, the RX 5500 XT is the stronger choice. Its 120% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 is the most dramatic result in the entire comparison, and its 55.4% advantage in 2D performance makes it the better all-around desktop card. The RX 5500 XT also holds the higher average benchmark score (14692 vs 12940) and the higher percentile ranking (57th vs 53rd). Its launch MSRP was 169 USD, a fact worth noting for historical context.

For laptop buyers and users targeting older DirectX titles, the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile is the pick. It wins DirectX 10, 11, and 12 tests in PassMark, leads in OpenCL and Vulkan compute, and delivers a 10% higher PassMark G3D score. Its 75 W TDP makes it feasible for thin-and-light designs, and the 20 RT cores plus 80 tensor cores add features the RX 5500 XT simply does not have. The trade-off is clear: NVIDIA trades raw clock speed and memory bandwidth for architectural features and efficiency.

The RDNA 1.0 versus Ampere comparison is not a simple generational win. AMD's desktop card benefits from a 7 nm process, higher clocks (1845 MHz boost vs 1035 MHz), and more texture units (88 vs 80). NVIDIA's mobile chip benefits from more shading units (2560 vs 1408), dedicated RT and tensor hardware, and a larger transistor budget (12,000 million vs 6,400 million). The RX 5500 XT achieves higher pixel and texture rates (59.04 GPixel/s and 162.4 GTexel/s vs 33.12 and 82.80), while the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile nearly matches FP32 performance (5.299 vs 5.196 TFLOPS) despite its low clocks.

The verdict depends on the use case. The RX 5500 XT wins on raw throughput metrics, modern DX12 performance, and 2D workloads. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile wins on API versatility, compute performance in Geekbench, and feature set. Neither card dominates the other across all categories. The RX 5500 XT is the better desktop gaming card for DX12 titles. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile is the better mobile solution with superior legacy API support and hardware acceleration for ray tracing and AI. Choose based on the workloads that matter, not the average score.