AMD Radeon RX 580 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile Comparison

The data presents a close contest between the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile and the AMD Radeon RX 580, with the former securing a 7-to-3 win count in direct head-to-head benchmarks. However, the overall average benchmark scores are nearly identical, with the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile at 12940 and the RX 580 at 12928, a negligible delta of 0.1%. This indicates that while the NVIDIA mobile chip wins more individual tests, the AMD desktop card is a formidable competitor in specific workloads, particularly those leveraging its larger memory pool and raw pixel throughput.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most decisive victory for the AMD Radeon RX 580 comes in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, where it scores 1005 against the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile's 469. This represents a 53.3% advantage for the AMD card, a massive margin that suggests the RX 580's architecture is significantly better optimized for this specific modern DirectX 12 workload. This single result is a major contributor to the near-parity in average scores, as it heavily outweighs the NVIDIA card's wins in other tests.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile dominates in compute and API-specific tests. Its most significant win is in Geekbench OpenCL, where it scores 57915 compared to the RX 580's 37453, a 54.6% improvement. This is a massive lead, highlighting the mobile chip's superior compute throughput for general-purpose GPU tasks. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile also leads in Geekbench Vulkan with a score of 55812 versus 45173, a 23.6% advantage. In Passmark's DirectX tests, the NVIDIA card wins all three: DirectX 10 (60 vs 46, a 30.4% lead), DirectX 11 (76 vs 60, a 26.7% lead), and DirectX 12 (49 vs 43, a 14% lead).

The Passmark G3D test, a general gaming performance indicator, is also won by the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile, scoring 10093 against the RX 580's 8813, a 14.5% advantage. The NVIDIA GPU also takes the Passmark GPU Compute test with 4305 points over the AMD's 3488, a 23.4% lead. The AMD Radeon RX 580 secures its other wins in Passmark DirectX 9 (124 vs 120, a 3.2% lead) and the 2D graphics test, Passmark G2D, where it scores 769 versus 498, a substantial 35.2% advantage. The data shows a clear split: NVIDIA excels in compute and newer API benchmarks, while AMD wins decisively in one major DX12 test and in 2D performance.

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark results indicate distinct use-case strengths for each GPU. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile is the clear winner for tasks that rely on compute shaders and modern graphics APIs. Its dominant performance in Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan, along with its leads in Passmark DirectX 10, 11, and 12, positions it as the stronger choice for applications that leverage these interfaces, including many contemporary games and GPU-accelerated productivity workloads. The 23.4% lead in Passmark GPU Compute further cements its advantage in non-graphics compute tasks.

The AMD Radeon RX 580, despite being an older design, wins decisively where its specific hardware strengths are utilized. Its 53.3% victory in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test is a standout, suggesting that in certain modern DirectX 12 scenarios, its architecture can outperform the newer NVIDIA chip by a wide margin. Furthermore, its substantial 35.2% lead in the Passmark G2D test indicates superior raw 2D graphics performance, which can be relevant for desktop environments and 2D applications. The RX 580's edge in DirectX 9, while small at 3.2%, also points to its continued viability for older titles that rely on that legacy API.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on fundamentally different architectures and process nodes. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile is based on the Ampere architecture and uses the GA106 chip, manufactured on an 8 nm process at Samsung. The AMD Radeon RX 580 is based on the older GCN 4.0 architecture, using the Polaris 20 chip, and is manufactured on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. This generational gap is reflected in transistor density: the NVIDIA chip packs 43.5 million transistors per square millimeter, a much higher density than the AMD's 24.6 million per square millimeter.

The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile's GA106 chip contains 12,000 million transistors on a 276 mm² die, while the RX 580's Polaris 20 has 5,700 million transistors on a 232 mm² die. The NVIDIA chip features a more modern feature set, including 20 RT cores and 80 Tensor cores, which are absent on the AMD GPU. The RX 580 relies on a higher number of texture mapping units (144 TMUs) and a higher base clock speed of 1257 MHz (boost 1340 MHz) to achieve its performance, whereas the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile uses a larger number of shading units (2560) and a much lower clock speed of 735 MHz base (1035 MHz boost). These architectural differences explain the disparate benchmark results, where the NVIDIA chip leverages its newer cores and higher compute throughput, while the AMD card uses its higher clock speeds and texture fillrate.

Specification Differences

The specification sheets reveal several key differences beyond the architecture. The most notable is the memory subsystem: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile has 4 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 192.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The AMD Radeon RX 580 offers double the capacity with 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This gives the RX 580 a significant advantage in bandwidth and capacity, which is likely a factor in its strong 3DMark Steel Nomad performance.

The power and physical profiles are also drastically different. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile is a mobile IGP with a 75 W TDP and no power connectors, while the RX 580 is a dual-slot desktop card with a 185 W TDP and a single 8-pin power connector, requiring a 450 W suggested PSU. The RX 580 measures 241 mm in length. The bus interface also differs, with the NVIDIA card using PCIe 4.0 x16 and the AMD card using PCIe 3.0 x16. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the RX 580 supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3. The RX 580 has a launch MSRP of 229 USD.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile has a marginally higher average benchmark score of 12940, compared to the AMD Radeon RX 580's 12928, a difference of only 0.1%.

Q: What is the most significant benchmark win for the AMD Radeon RX 580?

A: The RX 580's most significant win is in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, where it scores 1005 versus the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile's 469, a 53.3% lead.

Q: In which benchmark does the NVIDIA GPU show its largest advantage?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile shows its largest advantage in Geekbench OpenCL, scoring 57915 against the RX 580's 37453, a 54.6% lead.

Q: How do the memory capacities compare?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 580 has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile has 4 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus.

Q: What are the power consumption figures for each card?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile has a 75 W TDP, while the AMD Radeon RX 580 has a 185 W TDP and requires a 450 W suggested PSU.

Q: Which GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2). The AMD Radeon RX 580 supports DirectX 12 (12_0).

The Verdict

Based strictly on the benchmark data, the choice between these two GPUs depends heavily on the user's priority. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile is the better choice for users who prioritize compute performance and modern API support. Its decisive wins in Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan, along with its consistent leads in Passmark's DirectX 10, 11, and 12 tests, make it the superior option for a wide range of current and future software that utilizes these interfaces. Its lead in the Passmark G3D test also suggests it is the stronger performer for general gaming.

However, the AMD Radeon RX 580 is not to be dismissed. Its massive 53.3% victory in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test is a clear signal that in specific, demanding DirectX 12 workloads, it can vastly outperform the NVIDIA chip. Combined with its substantial lead in 2D performance and its larger 8 GB memory buffer, the RX 580 is a compelling choice for users with workloads that align with its specific strengths, such as legacy DirectX 9 applications or tasks that heavily benefit from the 256 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The data shows a near-total tie in average performance, so the final decision hinges on which specific benchmarks are most relevant to the user's intended use case.