AMD Radeon RX 580 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a clean sweep: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM wins all nine shared benchmark tests against the AMD Radeon RX 580. The most decisive margin comes in Geekbench OpenCL, where the RTX 3050 OEM scores 60,740 versus 37,453 for the RX 580, a 62.2% advantage. PassMark GPU Compute shows a similar gap, with the NVIDIA card at 5,779 against 3,488, a 65.7% lead. These two tests measure raw compute throughput, and the results indicate that the RTX 3050 OEM's execution units deliver substantially more parallel processing capability.

In DirectX 11, the RTX 3050 OEM posts 86 points versus 60 for the RX 580, a 43.3% edge. DirectX 12 results follow the same pattern: 58 against 43, a 34.9% difference. The Vulkan benchmark shows a narrower but still clear win, 57,103 versus 45,173, a 26.4% margin. PassMark G3D, a general 3D graphics score, lands at 11,857 for the RTX 3050 OEM and 8,813 for the RX 580, a 34.5% difference. The smallest delta appears in DirectX 9, where the NVIDIA card leads 137 to 124, a 10.5% edge. This suggests that legacy API workloads compress the performance gap, while modern APIs and compute workloads amplify it.

Average benchmark scores reinforce the pattern. The RTX 3050 OEM records an average of 15,199 across all tested workloads, while the RX 580 averages 12,928. That is a 17.6% overall advantage for the newer card. The percentile rankings also differ: the RTX 3050 OEM sits at the 57th percentile among all GPUs in the database, while the RX 580 sits at the 53rd. Notably, the RTX 3050 OEM's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 7600 (0.2% ahead), the AMD Radeon 680M (0.5% behind), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 (0.5% behind). The RX 580's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile (0.1% behind) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER (0.4% behind). These proximity values indicate that the RX 580 competes with a lower performance tier than the RTX 3050 OEM.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 3050 OEM wins every head-to-head test, so the use-case split is straightforward. For compute-heavy workloads such as OpenCL and GPU compute tasks, the NVIDIA card has a commanding lead. Its 62.2% OpenCL advantage and 65.7% GPU compute advantage suggest it is the better choice for applications that leverage general-purpose GPU processing. For modern graphics APIs, the RTX 3050 OEM also leads by substantial margins: 43.3% in DirectX 11 and 34.9% in DirectX 12. Vulkan shows a 26.4% advantage, which is still a meaningful gap.

The RX 580 does not win any category outright, but its closest relative performance appears in DirectX 9, where it trails by only 10.5%. This indicates that legacy DirectX 9 titles or workloads that rely on older rendering paths will see a smaller performance difference between the two cards. The RX 580 also shows a relatively strong texture fill rate of 193.0 GTexel/s, which is higher than the RTX 3050 OEM's 126.4 GTexel/s. In theory, this could benefit certain texture-bound scenarios, but the recorded benchmark data does not include a test that isolates texture throughput, so no empirical win can be credited to the RX 580 from the database.

For 2D workloads, the PassMark G2D score favors the RTX 3050 OEM at 973 versus 769, a 26.5% lead. This covers desktop compositing and basic 2D rendering, where the newer card is clearly faster. For users prioritizing raw compute, modern API gaming, or Vulkan performance, the RTX 3050 OEM is the only choice based on the data. The RX 580 remains viable only for scenarios where its lower DirectX 9 deficit (10.5%) and higher texture rate might matter, but no benchmark in the database confirms a win for AMD in any tested workload.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is substantial. The RTX 3050 OEM uses the GA106 chip built on Ampere architecture, manufactured on an 8 nm process at Samsung. It contains 12,000 million transistors on a 276 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 43.5 million per mm². The RX 580 uses the Polaris 20 chip based on GCN 4.0 architecture, built on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. It packs 5,700 million transistors on a 232 mm² die, with a density of 24.6 million per mm². The RTX 3050 OEM has more than double the transistor count, which explains much of its performance advantage despite a larger die.

Memory configurations differ as well. The RTX 3050 OEM uses 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 580 uses 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 256.0 GB/s. The RX 580 has a wider bus and higher memory bandwidth, yet it still loses in compute and graphics benchmarks, indicating that raw bandwidth is not the limiting factor for these workloads. The RTX 3050 OEM compensates with higher effective memory speed: 14 Gbps versus 8 Gbps for the RX 580.

Shader and texture resources differ. Both cards have 2,304 shading units and 32 ROPs, but the RX 580 has 144 TMUs versus 72 for the RTX 3050 OEM. The RTX 3050 OEM adds dedicated hardware that the RX 580 lacks entirely: 18 ray tracing cores and 72 tensor cores. This is a fundamental architectural difference, as the Ampere design includes specialized units for ray tracing and AI workloads, while GCN 4.0 has no such hardware. The RTX 3050 OEM also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the RX 580 is limited to DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3. The pixel rate favors the NVIDIA card at 56.16 GPixel/s versus 42.88 GPixel/s, while the texture rate favors the AMD card at 193.0 GTexel/s versus 126.4 GTexel/s.

Process node differences are stark: 8 nm for the RTX 3050 OEM versus 14 nm for the RX 580. This contributes to the power envelope, where the RTX 3050 OEM is rated at 130 W TDP with a suggested 300 W PSU, while the RX 580 is rated at 185 W TDP with a suggested 450 W PSU. The newer card delivers higher performance while consuming less power. Both cards use a dual-slot design and a single 8-pin power connector. The RTX 3050 OEM uses PCIe 4.0 x8, while the RX 580 uses PCIe 3.0 x16. The RTX 3050 OEM features one HDMI 2.1 and three DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, while the RX 580 offers one HDMI 2.0b and three DisplayPort 1.4a outputs.

The Verdict

The data points decisively toward the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM. It wins all nine head-to-head benchmarks, with margins ranging from 10.5% to 65.7%. Its average benchmark score of 15,199 exceeds the RX 580's 12,928 by a wide margin, and its percentile ranking (57th versus 53rd) places it higher in the global GPU distribution. Users who prioritize compute performance, modern API support, or ray tracing capabilities should select the RTX 3050 OEM without hesitation.

The RX 580 has a few theoretical advantages: higher memory bandwidth (256.0 GB/s versus 224.0 GB/s), more texture units (144 versus 72), a wider memory bus (256-bit versus 128-bit), and a higher texture rate (193.0 GTexel/s versus 126.4 GTexel/s). However, none of these translate into a benchmark win in the recorded data. The RX 580 also has a lower DirectX 9 deficit (10.5%) compared to other APIs, but it still loses that test. Its launch MSRP was 229 USD, which may be relevant for historical reference, but the database shows no performance scenario where the AMD card comes out ahead.

For users with legacy DirectX 9 applications, the RX 580's closer margin might make the transition less jarring, but the RTX 3050 OEM still wins that workload. For power-sensitive builds, the RTX 3050 OEM's 130 W TDP versus 185 W for the RX 580 is a clear advantage. For PCIe bandwidth, the RTX 3050 OEM's PCIe 4.0 x8 interface may outperform the RX 580's PCIe 3.0 x16 in certain data-transfer scenarios, though no benchmark isolates this. The verdict is unambiguous: the RTX 3050 OEM is the superior GPU in every measured category.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM averages 15,199 across all tests, while the AMD Radeon RX 580 averages 12,928.

Q: What is the largest performance gap between the two cards?

A: The largest gap is in PassMark GPU Compute, where the RTX 3050 OEM scores 5,779 versus 3,488 for the RX 580, a 65.7% difference.

Q: Does the RX 580 win any benchmark against the RTX 3050 OEM?

A: No. The RTX 3050 OEM wins all nine head-to-head tests, with the RX 580 recording zero wins.

Q: How do the memory bandwidths compare?

A: The RX 580 offers 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth on a 256-bit bus with GDDR5 memory, while the RTX 3050 OEM offers 224.0 GB/s on a 128-bit bus with GDDR6 memory.

Q: Which card has ray tracing hardware?

A: The RTX 3050 OEM has 18 ray tracing cores and 72 tensor cores. The RX 580 has no ray tracing or tensor cores.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The RTX 3050 OEM is rated at 130 W TDP with a suggested 300 W PSU, while the RX 580 is rated at 185 W TDP with a suggested 450 W PSU.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM | AMD Radeon RX 580 |

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

| Chip | GA106 | Polaris 20 |

| Architecture | Ampere | GCN 4.0 |

| Process node | 8 nm | 14 nm |

| Foundry | Samsung | GlobalFoundries |

| Transistors | 12,000 million | 5,700 million |

| Die size | 276 mm² | 232 mm² |

| Transistor density | 43.5M / mm² | 24.6M / mm² |

| Base clock | 1515 MHz | 1257 MHz |

| Boost clock | 1755 MHz | 1340 MHz |

| Memory clock | 1750 MHz, 14 Gbps effective | 2000 MHz, 8 Gbps effective |

| Memory type | GDDR6 | GDDR5 |

| Memory bus width | 128 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory bandwidth | 224.0 GB/s | 256.0 GB/s |

| TMUs | 72 | 144 |

| RT cores | 18 | None |

| Tensor cores | 72 | None |

| Pixel rate | 56.16 GPixel/s | 42.88 GPixel/s |

| Texture rate | 126.4 GTexel/s | 193.0 GTexel/s |

| FP32 performance | 8.087 TFLOPS | 6.175 TFLOPS |

| TDP | 130 W | 185 W |

| Suggested PSU | 300 W | 450 W |

| Bus interface | PCIe 4.0 x8 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

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

| Vulkan version | 1.4 | 1.3 |

| Display outputs | 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a | 1x HDMI 2.0b, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a |

| Release date | 2022-01-03 | 2017-04-17 |

| Production status | End-of-life | End-of-life |