AMD Radeon RX 560 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB and the AMD Radeon RX 560 occupy vastly different tiers of the graphics card market, and the benchmark data underscores this divide. The RTX 3080 12 GB delivers a single 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4791, placing it in the 28th percentile of all GPUs, while the RX 560’s average benchmark score across multiple tests is 4569, landing in the 26th percentile. Despite the proximity in percentile ranking, the performance gap between these two cards is enormous, as the RTX 3080 12 GB’s raw compute and memory resources dwarf those of the RX 560.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most striking contrast comes from the single available head-to-head benchmark. The RTX 3080 12 GB scores 4791 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, while the RX 560’s average score across all its benchmarks is 4569. However, the RTX 3080 12 GB’s nearest rivals—the AMD Radeon R5 M255 (4788), AMD Radeon R5 M335 (4752), NVIDIA GeForce 940MX (4844), and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M (4855)—all sit within a narrow 1.3% delta of its score. This suggests the RTX 3080 12 GB’s single benchmark result is an outlier for its class, as its performance is statistically indistinguishable from much older, lower-tier mobile parts. In contrast, the RX 560’s nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon R5 M230 (4577), Intel HD Graphics P530 (4560), NVIDIA Quadro M3000M (4621), and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M (4628), with deltas ranging from -1.3% to 0.2%. The RX 560’s average score is therefore tightly clustered with these entries, indicating it performs in line with mid-range mobile and entry-level desktop parts from its era.

When examining the raw compute metrics, the RTX 3080 12 GB delivers 30.64 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, which is nearly 12 times the RX 560’s 2.611 TFLOPS. The texture fill rate tells a similar story: the RTX 3080 12 GB achieves 478.8 GTexel/s versus the RX 560’s 81.60 GTexel/s, a 5.9x advantage. Pixel throughput is also lopsided, with the RTX 3080 12 GB hitting 164.2 GPixel/s compared to the RX 560’s 20.40 GPixel/s. These numbers translate directly to real-world resolution and detail settings: the RTX 3080 12 GB can push high frame rates at 4K with ray tracing enabled, while the RX 560 is fundamentally a 1080p entry-level card.

The memory subsystem further widens the gap. The RTX 3080 12 GB features 12 GB of GDDR6X on a 384-bit bus, yielding 912.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 560 has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, providing just 112.0 GB/s. That is an 8.1x bandwidth advantage for the NVIDIA card, which is critical for texture-heavy workloads and high-resolution rendering. In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, the RTX 3080 12 GB’s score of 4791 is only 4.9% higher than the RX 560’s average of 4569, but this narrow margin is misleading—the RX 560’s average is pulled down by its weaker compute and memory performance across multiple DirectX and compute workloads.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 3080 12 GB wins decisively in every category where raw throughput matters. Its 30.64 TFLOPS FP32 and FP16 (1:1) performance makes it suitable for compute-heavy tasks like machine learning inference, 3D rendering, and video encoding, though the data does not specify encoder quality. The 12 GB memory capacity and 912.4 GB/s bandwidth allow it to handle large textures and multi-tasking without stutter, a scenario where the RX 560’s 4 GB and 112.0 GB/s would bottleneck. The RTX 3080 12 GB also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), Vulkan 1.4, and features 70 RT cores and 280 tensor cores, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing and DLSS—features entirely absent from the RX 560, which lacks RT and tensor cores altogether.

The RX 560, on the other hand, wins on efficiency and simplicity. Its 75 W TDP requires no external power connectors and a suggested PSU of only 250 W, compared to the RTX 3080 12 GB’s 350 W TDP, 1x 12-pin connector, and 750 W suggested PSU. The RX 560 also has a smaller physical footprint at 170 mm (6.7 inches) in length versus the RTX 3080 12 GB’s 285 mm (11.2 inches), making it suitable for compact cases. In terms of software ecosystem, the RX 560 supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3, which is adequate for older titles, but it lacks the feature set for modern ray-traced games. The RX 560’s best benchmark result is its Geekbench Metal score of 18941, which is higher than its OpenCL score of 16472, suggesting it performs relatively better in Apple-centric compute workloads, though this is a niche advantage.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide is stark. The RTX 3080 12 GB uses the GA102 chip on Samsung’s 8 nm process, packing 28,300 million transistors into a 628 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 45.1M per mm². The RX 560 uses the Polaris 21 chip on GlobalFoundries’ 14 nm process, with just 3,000 million transistors on a 123 mm² die, for a density of 24.4M per mm². The RTX 3080 12 GB’s Ampere architecture is designed for scalability, featuring 8960 shading units, 280 TMUs, 96 ROPs, 70 RT cores, and 280 tensor cores. The RX 560’s GCN 4.0 architecture is far simpler: 1024 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 16 ROPs, with no dedicated RT or tensor hardware.

Clock speeds tell a nuanced story. The RTX 3080 12 GB has a base clock of 1260 MHz and a boost clock of 1710 MHz, while the RX 560 runs at 1175 MHz base and 1275 MHz boost. Despite the higher clocks, the RTX 3080 12 GB’s advantage comes from its massive parallel execution resources, not frequency. The memory clocks differ similarly: the RTX 3080 12 GB runs at 1188 MHz with 19 Gbps effective GDDR6X, while the RX 560’s GDDR5 runs at 1750 MHz with 7 Gbps effective. The RTX 3080 12 GB also uses a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, doubling the bandwidth of the RX 560’s PCIe 3.0 x8 link, which is a meaningful advantage for data streaming.

Feature support further separates the two. The RTX 3080 12 GB supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), which includes hardware ray tracing and variable-rate shading, plus Vulkan 1.4. The RX 560 is limited to DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3, missing the latest graphics features. The RTX 3080 12 GB also has a richer display output suite with 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, whereas the RX 560 offers 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, and 1x DisplayPort 1.4a—an older connectivity set that lacks HDMI 2.1 support for high-refresh-rate 4K TVs.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the RTX 3080 12 GB is an enthusiast-grade card for high-resolution, high-fidelity gaming and compute workloads. Its 30.64 TFLOPS FP32, 912.4 GB/s bandwidth, and 12 GB VRAM make it capable of 4K gaming with ray tracing, though its nearest rivals in the benchmark database are older mobile GPUs, indicating that its single Steel Nomad score of 4791 does not reflect its full potential in DX12 titles. The RX 560 is an entry-level card designed for 1080p gaming and basic productivity. Its 2.611 TFLOPS FP32 and 112.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for older or less demanding games, but its 4 GB VRAM and lack of RT/tensor cores limit its longevity. Users who prioritize maximum performance and have a PSU capable of 750 W should choose the RTX 3080 12 GB; those who need a low-power, compact card for light gaming or office tasks should opt for the RX 560. The RTX 3080 12 GB’s launch MSRP is 799 USD, while the RX 560’s is 99 USD, reflecting their vastly different market positions.

FAQ

Q: Which card has higher raw compute performance?

A: The RTX 3080 12 GB delivers 30.64 TFLOPS FP32, which is 11.7 times the RX 560’s 2.611 TFLOPS.

Q: How much memory bandwidth does each card provide?

A: The RTX 3080 12 GB offers 912.4 GB/s via 12 GB of GDDR6X on a 384-bit bus, while the RX 560 provides 112.0 GB/s via 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus.

Q: Does the RX 560 support hardware ray tracing?

A: No, the RX 560 has no RT cores, whereas the RTX 3080 12 GB features 70 RT cores and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2).

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The RTX 3080 12 GB has a 350 W TDP and requires a 750 W PSU with a 1x 12-pin connector; the RX 560 has a 75 W TDP, no power connectors, and a 250 W PSU.

Q: Which card is better for compact builds?

A: The RX 560 is 170 mm (6.7 inches) long, while the RTX 3080 12 GB is 285 mm (11.2 inches), making the RX 560 easier to fit in small cases.

Q: How do their benchmark scores compare?

A: The RTX 3080 12 GB scores 4791 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, while the RX 560’s average benchmark score is 4569, a difference of 4.9%.