AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data presents a clear hierarchy between these two GPUs, with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile winning 8 of the 10 recorded head-to-head tests. The most decisive victory comes in the Geekbench Vulkan test, where the RTX 3080 Mobile scores 104066 against the RX 5600 XT's 56218, a massive 85.1% advantage. This gap illustrates not just raw compute capability but also the efficiency of NVIDIA's driver stack and hardware acceleration in the Vulkan API.

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test reinforces this dominance with a 58.4% delta. The RTX 3080 Mobile posts 2644 points while the RX 5600 XT manages 1669. This is a modern DirectX 12 workload, and the NVIDIA part leads by a wide margin. Similarly, in Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 3080 Mobile scores 104831 versus 68537, a 53% lead. This is notable because OpenCL performance often reflects general compute potential, and the gap here is substantial.

Legacy DirectX tests show a similar pattern. In PassMark DirectX 10, the RTX 3080 Mobile scores 120 against 73 for the AMD card, a 64.4% delta. DirectX 11 results show 146 versus 96, a 52.1% advantage for NVIDIA. Even in DirectX 12, where AMD historically competes well, the RTX 3080 Mobile leads 72 to 52, a 38.5% difference. These tests, while older, still indicate that the NVIDIA GPU holds its advantage across different API generations.

The PassMark G3D test, which aggregates overall 3D performance, shows the RTX 3080 Mobile scoring 16321 against 13457, a 21.3% lead. This is a more moderate margin compared to the API-specific tests, suggesting that the AMD card is relatively stronger in some mixed workloads. The PassMark GPU Compute test shows the smallest NVIDIA victory: 7276 versus 6296, a 15.6% delta. This compute-focused test narrows the gap considerably, indicating that the AMD architecture holds up better in certain compute scenarios.

The RX 5600 XT wins two tests, both in legacy workloads. In PassMark DirectX 9, the AMD card scores 202 against 170 for the RTX 3080 Mobile, a 15.8% advantage. This is a curious result, as the NVIDIA card wins the newer DirectX tests. It may reflect driver optimization priorities or architectural differences in how each GPU handles legacy fixed-function pipelines. The other AMD victory comes in PassMark G2D, the 2D graphics test, where the RX 5600 XT scores 870 versus 637, a 26.8% delta. This is the largest margin for AMD in any test and suggests the Radeon card has superior 2D processing capabilities, though this matters little for modern gaming workloads.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 3080 Mobile is the clear choice for modern gaming and compute workloads. Its wins span DirectX 10, 11, and 12, Vulkan, OpenCL, and the aggregate G3D and GPU Compute tests. The 58.4% margin in 3DMark Steel Nomad is particularly relevant for users playing recent AAA titles that leverage DirectX 12 features. The 85.1% Vulkan lead matters for games and applications built on that API, which includes many Linux titles and cross-platform engines. The 53% OpenCL advantage indicates strong general compute performance for tasks like video encoding, physics simulations, and machine learning inference.

The RX 5600 XT wins in two specific areas. First, legacy DirectX 9 titles, where it beats the RTX 3080 Mobile by 15.8%. Gamers with older libraries of DirectX 9 games may see better frame rates on the AMD card, though this is a shrinking segment of the market. Second, 2D graphics workloads, where the 26.8% margin in PassMark G2D is the AMD card's strongest result. This could benefit desktop productivity applications that rely heavily on 2D rendering, though most modern workloads are increasingly 3D-centric.

In terms of overall standing, the RTX 3080 Mobile sits at the 69th percentile among all GPUs in the database, while the RX 5600 XT sits at the 66th percentile. The average benchmark score tells a similar story: 23628 for the NVIDIA card versus 20713 for the AMD card. The RTX 3080 Mobile's nearest rivals include the GeForce GTX TITAN Z, which scores 23736 and edges it by 0.5%, and the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile, which trails by 0.5%. The RX 5600 XT's nearest rivals are the Radeon R9 M390X at 20662, which is 0.2% behind, and the Intel Arc A750 at 20582, which is 0.6% behind. These rival comparisons show that both cards sit in competitive bands, but the RTX 3080 Mobile operates in a higher performance tier.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins in DirectX 12 performance?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile scores 72 in PassMark DirectX 12 against 52 for the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT, a 38.5% advantage. In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, the RTX 3080 Mobile posts 2644 versus 1669, a 58.4% lead.

Q: Does the AMD card win any benchmarks?

A: Yes. The RX 5600 XT wins PassMark DirectX 9 with a score of 202 against 170, a 15.8% margin, and PassMark G2D with 870 against 637, a 26.8% margin.

Q: How do these GPUs compare in compute workloads?

A: In PassMark GPU Compute, the RTX 3080 Mobile scores 7276 against 6296, a 15.6% lead. In Geekbench OpenCL, the NVIDIA card scores 104831 versus 68537, a 53% advantage.

Q: What is the average benchmark score for each GPU?

A: The RTX 3080 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 23628, while the RX 5600 XT averages 20713. The NVIDIA card ranks at the 69th percentile among all GPUs, and the AMD card at the 66th percentile.

Q: Which GPU has better Vulkan performance?

A: The RTX 3080 Mobile scores 104066 in Geekbench Vulkan, compared to 56218 for the RX 5600 XT. This is an 85.1% delta, the largest NVIDIA win in the recorded tests.

Q: How does the RTX 3080 Mobile compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 3080 Mobile trails the GeForce GTX TITAN Z by 0.5% (23736 versus 23628) and leads the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile by 0.5% (23518 versus 23628). It also leads the AMD Radeon RX 9070 by 1% and the AMD Radeon AI PRO R9700 by 1.3%.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every major specification category. The RTX 3080 Mobile uses the GA104 chip on an 8 nm Samsung process, while the RX 5600 XT uses the Navi 10 chip on a 7 nm TSMC process. Transistor counts differ significantly: the NVIDIA chip has 17,400 million transistors on a 392 mm² die, while the AMD chip has 10,300 million on a 251 mm² die. The transistor density is similar, at 44.4M per mm² for NVIDIA and 41.0M per mm² for AMD.

Memory configurations diverge sharply. The RTX 3080 Mobile has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RX 5600 XT has 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus with 288.0 GB/s bandwidth. Clock speeds favor AMD on paper: the RX 5600 XT has a base clock of 1130 MHz and boost of 1560 MHz, while the RTX 3080 Mobile has 1110 MHz base and 1545 MHz boost. Memory clocks also differ, with the NVIDIA card at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) versus 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective) for AMD.

Compute resources show the biggest gulf. The RTX 3080 Mobile has 6144 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The RX 5600 XT has 2304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The NVIDIA card also features 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores, while the AMD card has none of either. Pixel rates are 148.3 GPixel/s for NVIDIA versus 99.84 GPixel/s for AMD, and texture rates are 296.6 GTexel/s versus 224.6 GTexel/s. FP32 throughput is 18.98 TFLOPS for the RTX 3080 Mobile versus 7.188 TFLOPS for the RX 5600 XT.

Power and physical specifications also differ. The RTX 3080 Mobile has a 115 W TDP and no power connectors, reflecting its mobile nature. The RX 5600 XT has a 150 W TDP, is a dual-slot card, uses a single 8-pin connector, and suggests a 450 W PSU. The RX 5600 XT has a length of 267 mm (10.5 inches), while the RTX 3080 Mobile has no recorded length. Display outputs differ too: the RX 5600 XT offers 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the RTX 3080 Mobile's outputs are portable device dependent.

Architecture Differences

The RTX 3080 Mobile is built on NVIDIA's Ampere architecture, while the RX 5600 XT uses AMD's RDNA 1.0. This is a generational and design philosophy split. Ampere is NVIDIA's second-generation ray tracing architecture, and it shows in the hardware: the RTX 3080 Mobile includes 48 dedicated RT cores and 192 tensor cores. The RX 5600 XT, based on RDNA 1.0, has no ray tracing cores and no tensor cores, meaning it lacks hardware acceleration for ray tracing and AI-based features like DLSS.

The process nodes reflect different manufacturing strategies. NVIDIA uses an 8 nm Samsung process, while AMD uses a 7 nm TSMC process. Despite the smaller node, the AMD chip has lower transistor density (41.0M per mm² versus 44.4M per mm²), indicating that NVIDIA packs more transistors into its die area. The NVIDIA die is also larger at 392 mm² versus 251 mm².

API support differs in the DirectX specification. The RTX 3080 Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the RX 5600 XT supports DirectX 12 (12_1). This means the NVIDIA card can run the full suite of DirectX 12 Ultimate features, including hardware ray tracing and variable rate shading. The AMD card lacks these capabilities at the API level. Both cards support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4.

FP16 compute presents an interesting architectural difference. The RTX 3080 Mobile delivers 18.98 TFLOPS FP16 at a 1:1 ratio with FP32, meaning it processes both at the same rate. The RX 5600 XT delivers 14.38 TFLOPS FP16 at a 2:1 ratio, doubling its FP32 throughput of 7.188 TFLOPS. This suggests the AMD card has some compute advantages in FP16 workloads, though the NVIDIA card's absolute FP16 output is still higher.

The release timeline and market positioning differ as well. The RX 5600 XT launched on 2020-01-20 with a launch MSRP of 279 USD, while the RTX 3080 Mobile launched on 2021-01-11 with no recorded MSRP. The AMD card's predecessor is Vega and its successor is Navi II, while the RTX 3080 Mobile's predecessor is GeForce 20 Mobile and it has no recorded successor. Both are marked as end-of-life in the database. The RX 5600 XT also has a "game" clock listed at 1375 MHz, a specification unique to AMD's RDNA architecture that represents typical gaming clocks, whereas the RTX 3080 Mobile lists only base and boost clocks.