AMD Radeon RX 590 GME vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile Comparison

# NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile vs AMD Radeon RX 590 GME

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile dominates this comparison across every recorded benchmark, with an average benchmark score of 38,349 versus 32,601 for the AMD Radeon RX 590 GME. The RTX 5080 Mobile wins all three head-to-head tests, with deltas ranging from 180.5% to 394.7%. The RX 590 GME is an end-of-life desktop card built on a 14 nm process, while the RTX 5080 Mobile is an active, 5 nm laptop-class GPU. The data shows a generational gap that no single metric can paper over.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 5080 Mobile wins every recorded benchmark in this comparison, so the use-case split is straightforward. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the NVIDIA part scores 4,952 versus 1,001 for the AMD card, a 394.7% advantage. This test is a modern, DirectX 12 workload that stresses ray tracing, mesh shading, and asynchronous compute, all of which are absent or minimal on the RX 590 GME.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 5080 Mobile posts 166,986 against 36,294, a 360.1% lead. This is a compute-heavy test that reflects general GPU throughput, not just gaming. The NVIDIA card's 7,680 shading units and 240 tensor cores give it a massive raw compute advantage: 23.04 TFLOPS FP32 versus 6.543 TFLOPS for the AMD part. For any productivity workload that uses OpenCL, the RTX 5080 Mobile is in a different class.

The Geekbench Vulkan result shows the narrowest gap of the three: 169,754 versus 60,508, still a 180.5% margin. Vulkan is a lower-level API that can sometimes narrow architectural differences, but here the RTX 5080 Mobile still nearly triples the RX 590 GME's score. The RX 590 GME has no wins in any recorded test, so there is no workload category where the data favors it.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is enormous, reflecting a seven-generation process jump. The RTX 5080 Mobile uses the Blackwell 2.0 architecture on a 5 nm TSMC process, with 45,600 million transistors on a 378 mm² die. The RX 590 GME uses GCN 4.0 on a 14 nm GlobalFoundries process, with 5,700 million transistors on a 232 mm² die. The transistor density tells the story: 120.6M transistors per mm² for NVIDIA versus 24.6M for AMD.

Memory technology is another clear divider. The RTX 5080 Mobile has 16 GB of GDDR7 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 896.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 590 GME has 8 GB of GDDR5 on the same 256-bit bus, but only 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. That is a 3.5x bandwidth advantage for the NVIDIA card, which directly impacts texture-heavy scenes and compute workloads.

The RTX 5080 Mobile features 60 RT cores and 240 tensor cores, neither of which exist on the RX 590 GME (both are null in the database). This means hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI-based features are simply unavailable on the AMD card. The NVIDIA part also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the RX 590 GME is limited to DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3.

The power envelope is inverted relative to performance class. The RTX 5080 Mobile has an 80 W TDP and is an integrated graphics package (IGP) with no power connectors. The RX 590 GME is a dual-slot desktop card with a 175 W TDP and a single 8-pin connector, plus a suggested 450 W PSU. The NVIDIA card achieves far higher performance at less than half the power draw, which is a direct consequence of the 5 nm process versus 14 nm.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the RTX 5080 Mobile is the superior GPU in every measured category. It has a 394.7% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, a 360.1% lead in Geekbench OpenCL, and a 180.5% lead in Geekbench Vulkan. Its average benchmark score of 38,349 places it in the 81st percentile of all GPUs, while the RX 590 GME's 32,601 sits in the 77th percentile. The NVIDIA card also has more memory, more bandwidth, more shading units, and a far better transistor density.

Who should pick the RX 590 GME? Strictly from the recorded data, almost no one. It has zero benchmark wins, half the memory capacity, roughly one-fourth the bandwidth, and one-third the FP32 throughput. Its only advantages are its 241 mm length (9.5 inches), which is a physical dimension rather than a performance metric, and its 175 W TDP, which is a disadvantage, not a benefit.

The RTX 5080 Mobile is the choice for anyone seeking maximum performance in modern DirectX 12 and Vulkan workloads. Its 60 RT cores and 240 tensor cores make it suitable for ray-traced games and AI-accelerated tasks, which the RX 590 GME cannot handle in hardware. The RX 590 GME is an end-of-life product with a 2020 release date, while the RTX 5080 Mobile is active and current, released in 2025.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 38,349, compared to 32,601 for the AMD Radeon RX 590 GME.

Q: How much faster is the RTX 5080 Mobile in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12?

A: The RTX 5080 Mobile scores 4,952 versus 1,001 for the RX 590 GME, a 394.7% advantage.

Q: Does the RX 590 GME support ray tracing?

A: No, the RX 590 GME has no RT cores (the field is null in the database), while the RTX 5080 Mobile has 60 RT cores.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The RTX 5080 Mobile has 896.0 GB/s of bandwidth from 16 GB of GDDR7, while the RX 590 GME has 256.0 GB/s from 8 GB of GDDR5.

Q: Which GPU has a smaller power requirement?

A: The RTX 5080 Mobile has an 80 W TDP and requires no power connectors, while the RX 590 GME has a 175 W TDP and needs a 1x 8-pin connector.

Q: In which benchmark is the RTX 5080 Mobile's lead the smallest?

A: The smallest lead is in Geekbench Vulkan, where the RTX 5080 Mobile scores 169,754 versus 60,508, a 180.5% advantage.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test is the largest margin of victory in the recorded data. The RTX 5080 Mobile scores 4,952, which is 394.7% higher than the RX 590 GME's 1,001. This benchmark is a modern DirectX 12 workload that heavily utilizes ray tracing and advanced geometry processing. The RX 590 GME's lack of RT cores and its DirectX 12 (12_0) API support place it at a fundamental disadvantage. The NVIDIA card's Blackwell 2.0 architecture with 60 RT cores is built for this exact type of workload.

Geekbench OpenCL shows a 360.1% delta, with the RTX 5080 Mobile posting 166,986 versus 36,294. This test measures raw compute throughput across a variety of algorithms. The NVIDIA card's 23.04 TFLOPS FP32 performance, powered by 7,680 shading units, is more than triple the RX 590 GME's 6.543 TFLOPS from 2,304 shading units. The 240 tensor cores on the RTX 5080 Mobile also contribute to OpenCL performance in AI-related kernels, which the AMD card lacks entirely.

Geekbench Vulkan is the closest contest, but the RTX 5080 Mobile still wins by 180.5%: 169,754 versus 60,508. Vulkan's lower overhead can sometimes reduce architectural penalties, but the gap here remains massive. The RTX 5080 Mobile's 896.0 GB/s memory bandwidth versus 256.0 GB/s for the RX 590 GME likely explains much of the remaining difference, as Vulkan workloads frequently stress memory throughput. The RX 590 GME's GCN 4.0 architecture, dating to 2020, simply cannot keep pace with a modern 5 nm design.

Across all three head-to-head benchmarks, the RTX 5080 Mobile wins 3 out of 3. The RX 590 GME has no recorded victories. The smallest delta is 180.5%, which means the NVIDIA card is at least 1.8 times faster in every test. This is not a close competition; it is a one-sided result driven by architectural and process advantages.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile | AMD Radeon RX 590 GME |

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

| Architecture | Blackwell 2.0 | GCN 4.0 |

| Process Node | 5 nm | 14 nm |

| Transistors | 45,600 million | 5,700 million |

| Die Size | 378 mm² | 232 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 120.6M / mm² | 24.6M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 975 MHz | 1257 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1500 MHz | 1420 MHz |

| Memory Size | 16 GB | 8 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR7 | GDDR5 |

| Memory Bandwidth | 896.0 GB/s | 256.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 7680 | 2304 |

| TMUs | 240 | 144 |

| ROPs | 96 | 32 |

| RT Cores | 60 | None |

| Tensor Cores | 240 | None |

| FP32 Performance | 23.04 TFLOPS | 6.543 TFLOPS |

| Pixel Rate | 144.0 GPixel/s | 45.44 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 360.0 GTexel/s | 204.5 GTexel/s |

| TDP | 80 W | 175 W |

| Slot Width | IGP | Dual-slot |

| Power Connectors | None | 1x 8-pin |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 5.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

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

| Vulkan Support | 1.4 | 1.3 |

| Production Status | Active | End-of-life |

| Release Date | 2025-04-01 | 2020-03-08 |

The RTX 5080 Mobile is newer, smaller in power draw, and vastly more capable. The RX 590 GME has a higher base clock, but that is irrelevant given the NVIDIA card's 3.5x FP32 throughput and 3.5x memory bandwidth. The only physical advantage for the AMD card is its 241 mm length (9.5 inches), which is irrelevant for an IGP-class NVIDIA part. The database records no launch MSRP for either product.