AMD Radeon RX 590 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 590 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile represent two distinct eras of GPU design, one a desktop part from 2018 and the other a mobile solution from 2021. Despite the RTX 3080 Mobile being designed for laptops, its benchmark results show a decisive performance advantage over the older desktop card, though the RX 590 retains its own niche in legacy applications.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 590 has a higher average benchmark score of 24,744 compared to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile's 23,628. However, this aggregate metric is heavily influenced by the specific tests included, as the head-to-head 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test tells a different story.

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile scores 2,644 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, while the AMD Radeon RX 590 scores 1,081. This results in a deltaPct of -59.1%, meaning the RX 590 trails by 59.1% in this specific benchmark.

Q: What is the percentile ranking for each GPU?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 590 sits at the 70th percentile among all GPUs, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile is slightly lower at the 69th percentile, indicating they are broadly similar in overall standing despite their architectural differences.

Q: Which GPU supports real-time ray tracing hardware?

A: Only the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile includes dedicated ray tracing cores, with 48 RT cores present. The AMD Radeon RX 590 has no RT cores listed, meaning it lacks hardware-accelerated ray tracing capabilities.

Q: What are the DirectX feature level differences?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the AMD Radeon RX 590 supports DirectX 12 (12_0). This gives the NVIDIA card access to newer DirectX 12 Ultimate features like ray tracing and mesh shaders.

Q: Which GPU has a higher transistor density?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile has a transistor density of 44.4M / mm², which is significantly higher than the AMD Radeon RX 590's 24.6M / mm², reflecting the newer 8nm fabrication process versus the 12nm node.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Radeon RX 590 is built on the Polaris 30 chip using the GCN 4.0 architecture, fabricated on a 12nm process at GlobalFoundries. This is a mature design with 5,700 million transistors on a 232 mm² die. In contrast, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile uses the GA104 chip with the Ampere architecture, built on Samsung's 8nm process. This newer process packs 17,400 million transistors into a 392 mm² die, yielding a substantially higher transistor density of 44.4M / mm² versus 24.6M / mm².

The compute configurations are dramatically different. The RX 590 has 2,304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The RTX 3080 Mobile more than doubles the shading units to 6,144, increases TMUs to 192, and triples ROPs to 96. Critically, the NVIDIA card also includes 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores, which are entirely absent from the AMD part. These specialized cores enable hardware ray tracing and AI-accelerated features like DLSS, which the RX 590 cannot perform at the hardware level.

Memory technology and bandwidth also differ significantly. Both cards have 8 GB of VRAM, but the RX 590 uses GDDR5 at 2000 MHz (8 Gbps effective) on a 256-bit bus, providing 256.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 3080 Mobile uses faster GDDR6 at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) on the same 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. This 75% bandwidth advantage is crucial for higher resolution textures and compute workloads.

The API support differs as well. The RX 590 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The RTX 3080 Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The DirectX 12 Ultimate designation means the NVIDIA card supports all the latest features including ray tracing and variable rate shading, while the RX 590 is limited to the older DirectX 12 feature set.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct comparison available is the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, and the results are lopsided. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile posts a score of 2,644, while the AMD Radeon RX 590 manages 1,081. This gives the NVIDIA card a 59.1% lead, as reflected in the negative deltaPct for the RX 590. In raw terms, the RTX 3080 Mobile is roughly 2.4 times faster in this DX12 workload.

This result is consistent with the architectural gap. The RTX 3080 Mobile's 6,144 shading units and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth give it a massive compute and memory throughput advantage over the RX 590's 2,304 shading units and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth. The newer Ampere architecture also handles DX12 workloads more efficiently than the aging GCN 4.0 design.

When looking at other benchmark scores in the FACT PACK, the picture becomes more nuanced. The RX 590 has a Geekbench Metal score of 48,407, while the RTX 3080 Mobile has Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan scores of 104,831 and 104,066 respectively. These are different APIs, so direct comparison is not apples-to-apples, but the NVIDIA card's compute scores are more than double the AMD card's Metal score. The RTX 3080 Mobile also has Passmark scores across DirectX 9, 10, 11, 12, and GPU compute, with the G3D score of 16,321 being the most representative of overall gaming performance.

Specification Differences

The key specification differences between the AMD Radeon RX 590 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile are stark:

• Architecture: GCN 4.0 (Polaris 30) vs Ampere (GA104)
• Process Node: 12 nm vs 8 nm
• Transistors: 5,700 million vs 17,400 million
• Die Size: 232 mm² vs 392 mm²
• Transistor Density: 24.6M / mm² vs 44.4M / mm²
• Base Clock: 1469 MHz vs 1110 MHz
• Boost Clock: 1545 MHz vs 1545 MHz (identical)
• Memory Type: GDDR5 vs GDDR6
• Memory Clock: 2000 MHz (8 Gbps effective) vs 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective)
• Memory Bandwidth: 256.0 GB/s vs 448.0 GB/s
• Shading Units: 2,304 vs 6,144
• TMUs: 144 vs 192
• ROPs: 32 vs 96
• RT Cores: None vs 48
• Tensor Cores: None vs 192
• Pixel Rate: 49.44 GPixel/s vs 148.3 GPixel/s
• Texture Rate: 222.5 GTexel/s vs 296.6 GTexel/s
• FP32 Performance: 7.119 TFLOPS vs 18.98 TFLOPS
• FP16 Performance: 7.119 TFLOPS (1:1) vs 18.98 TFLOPS (1:1)
• TDP: 175 W vs 115 W
• Power Connectors: 1x 8-pin vs None
• Bus Interface: PCIe 3.0 x16 vs PCIe 4.0 x16
• Display Outputs: 1x HDMI 2.0b, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a vs Portable Device Dependent
• DirectX Support: 12 (12_0) vs 12 Ultimate (12_2)
• Vulkan Support: 1.3 vs 1.4
• Dimensions: 241 mm (9.5 inches) length vs None specified

The Verdict

The benchmark data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile is the significantly faster GPU in modern DX12 workloads. Its 59.1% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 is a massive margin that reflects the fundamental architectural superiority of Ampere over GCN 4.0. The RTX 3080 Mobile's higher shading unit count, triple ROPs, and 75% more memory bandwidth all contribute to this result. The RX 590's only advantages are its lower launch MSRP of 279 USD and its status as a desktop card with standard display outputs, but the data shows no performance category where it wins.

However, the RX 590 is not without merit in its context. Its average benchmark score of 24,744 is slightly higher than the RTX 3080 Mobile's 23,628, and it places at the 70th percentile versus the 69th for the NVIDIA card. This suggests that in the aggregate of all tests, including legacy DirectX and Metal workloads, the RX 590 holds its own. For users locked into Metal-based applications or older DirectX titles, the RX 590 remains a capable option. The RTX 3080 Mobile, being a mobile part, has no launch MSRP listed and requires a laptop platform, but its performance in the head-to-head test is what matters most for modern gaming.

Where Each One Wins

AMD Radeon RX 590 wins in:

• Average benchmark score (24,744 vs 23,628)
• Percentile ranking (70th vs 69th)
• Geekbench Metal score (48,407, though this is not directly comparable to NVIDIA's OpenCL/Vulkan scores)
• Lower launch MSRP at 279 USD
• Desktop form factor with standard display outputs (1x HDMI 2.0b, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a)
• Lower transistor count and die size, which may appeal to those seeking simpler hardware
• PCIe 3.0 compatibility for older systems

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile wins in:

• 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 by 59.1% (2,644 vs 1,081)
• Shading units (6,144 vs 2,304)
• ROPs (96 vs 32)
• Memory bandwidth (448.0 GB/s vs 256.0 GB/s)
• FP32 compute (18.98 TFLOPS vs 7.119 TFLOPS)
• Pixel rate (148.3 GPixel/s vs 49.44 GPixel/s)
• Texture rate (296.6 GTexel/s vs 222.5 GTexel/s)
• Ray tracing capabilities with 48 RT cores
• Tensor cores (192) for AI acceleration
• DirectX 12 Ultimate support
• Vulkan 1.4 support
• PCIe 4.0 x16 interface
• Lower TDP (115 W vs 175 W) despite higher performance
• Geekbench OpenCL (104,831) and Vulkan (104,066) scores
• Passmark G3D score of 16,321