AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a decisive overall victory for the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT, which wins 8 of the 9 head-to-head benchmark comparisons. The most dramatic gap appears in Passmark DirectX 11, where the RX 7600 XT scores 167 against the RTX 3050 OEM's 86, a 94.2% advantage. That is nearly double the performance in one of the most widely used gaming API tests, and it sets the tone for the rest of the comparison. DirectX 9 similarly favors AMD by 66.4%, with scores of 228 versus 137, and Passmark G3D shows a 44.44.5% lead, with scores of 17132 against 11857. Compute-oriented workloads follow the same pattern, as the RX 7600 XT posts 8987 in Passmark GPU Compute, which is 55.5% higher than the RTX 3050 OEM's 5779. OpenCL also clearly belongs to AMD, as the RX 7600 XT scores 92426 against 60740, a 52.2%win margin. Even Passmark DirectX 12 and DirectX 10 go to AMD, though by narrower margins of 12.1% and 39.3% respectively, with scores of 65 versus 58 and 85 versus 61 in each test. Passmark G2D rounds out the AMD sweep of Passmark with a 5.9% edge, a modest win at 1030 against 973.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 has exactly one head-to-head win, and it is in Geekbench Vulkan, where the RTX 3050 OEM scores 57103 against the RX 7600 XT's 48366, a 15.3% advantage for NVIDIA. That makes Vulkan the only API where the older card leads, and it is importantly the margin is substantial, not just a rounding error. In every other measured test across OpenCL, Passmark's DirectX 9, DirectX 10, DirectX 11, DirectX 12, and Compute, the AMD card is ahead. The average benchmark score, the RX 7600 XT's 17083, places it at the 60th percentile among all GPUs in the database, whereas the RTX 3050 OEM sits at the 57th percentile, a smaller but still respectable position. Looking at the nearest rivals for the RX 7600 XT, the data shows it is 0.3% ahead of the GeForce GTX 690, 0.4% ahead of the HD 7970M, and 0.9% ahead of the Tesla M4, while trailing the RTX 3070 by 0.7%. The RTX 3050 OEM's closest neighbors are the RX 7600, AMD Radeon 680M, GTX 580, and RTX 2060 are all within 0.6% of its average score of 15199.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two cards starts at the process node, where the RX 7600 XT uses a TSMC 6 nm process, compared with Samsung's 8 nm process for the RTX 3050 OEM. The AMD chip, Navi 33, and RDNA 32nd generation Hotpink Bonefish, packs 13,300 million transistors on a die size of 204 mm² for a transistor density of 65.2M per mm². The NVIDIA GA106 chip, based on the older 8 nm node at 276 mm², holds 12,000 million transistors at 43.5M per mm², which is a lower density despite the larger physical die. Clock speeds differ by a large margin in favor of AMD, as the RX 7600 XT has a base clock of 1980 MHz, a boost clock of 2755 MHz, and a game clock of 2470 MHz. The RTX 3050 OEM's base clock is only 1515 MHz with a boost clock of 1755 MHz, no recorded game clock listed. That clock difference directly translates into compute throughput, as the RX 7600 XT reaches 22.57 TFLOPS FP32 and FP16, while the RTX 3050 OEM is limited to 8.087 TFLOPS in both FP32 and FP16. The memory subsystem also reflects the newer design, the RX 7600 XT offers 16 GB of GDDR6 at 2250 MHz 18 Gbps effective on a 128 bit interface, producing 288.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 3050 OEM has 8 GB of GDDR6 at 1750 MHz 14 Gbps effective, also on a 128 bit bus, for 224.0 GB/s bandwidth. Pixel rate and texture rate both favor the AMD card, with 176.3 GPixel/s versus 56.16 GPixel/s and 352.6 GTexel/s versus 126.4 GTexel/s.

Shader resources are split in an interesting way. The RX 7600 XT has 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, 64 ROPs, and 32 ray tracing cores. The RTX 3050 OEM has more shading units at 2304, but far fewer TMUs at 72, ROPs at 32, and ray tracing cores at 18. The RTX 3050 OEM also includes 72 tensor cores, which the RX 7600 XT lacks entirely, a feature that could matter for workloads using tensor operations. API support is identical on paper, both list DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Display outputs differ, the RX 7600 XT offers 1x HDMI 2.1a and 3x DisplayPort 2.1, while the RTX 3050 OEM offers 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. Power demands are higher for the RX 7600 XT, rated at 190 W TDP with a suggested PSU of 450 W, versus 130 W TDP and a suggested PSU of 300 W for the RTX 3050 OEM. Both are dual-slot cards with a single 8-pin connector, both use PCIe 4.0 x8. The RX 7600 XT is listed as Active in production, with a release date of 2024-01-23, while the RTX 3050 OEM is marked End-of-life, released 2022-01-03.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 7600 XT is the clear choice for the vast majority of gaming and general GPU compute tasks. Its Passmark DirectX 11 score of 167 versus 86 means it is nearly twice as fast in the most common DX11 titles, and the 44.5% lead in Passmark G3D of 17132 versus 11857 suggests a strong overall rasterization advantage. DirectX 9, DirectX 10, and DirectX 12 all follow the same direction, so legacy compatibility is not a concern for the AMD card. For compute, the RX 7600 XT dominates in Passmark GPU Compute by 55.5% and Geekbench OpenCL by 52.2%, making it the better pick for rendering, physics, or any OpenCL-heavy workloads. The 16 GB memory capacity, 288.0 GB/s bandwidth, and 18 Gbps effective memory clock give it a clear edge in texture-heavy scenes and larger datasets.

The RTX 3050 OEM wins only in Geekbench Vulkan, where its 57103 score beats the RX 7600 XT's 48366 by 15.3%. That single API result is not enough to recommend it for general gaming, but it does suggest that in Vulkan-specific titles or applications, the NVIDIA card can outperform the newer AMD part. It also has 72 tensor cores to the RX 7600 XT's zero, which matters for any workload that relies on tensor operations, though no direct benchmark in the data captures that difference. The RTX 3050 OEM also draws less power, 130 W TDP versus 190 W, and has a lower suggested PSU of 300 W versus 450 W, so it is better suited to compact builds with smaller power supplies. Its smaller physical footprint, dimensions of 242 mm length and 112 mm height, is actually longer than the RX 7600 XT's 204 mm length and 115 mm height, but its lower power envelope still makes it easier to cool in constrained systems.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous for anyone building a gaming PC or a general-purpose workstation GPU. The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT wins 8 of 9 head-to-head benchmarks, with a 44.5% lead in Passmark G3D, a 94.2% lead in DirectX 11, and a 52.2% lead in OpenCL. The only test it loses is Geekbench Vulkan, and that single miss does not outweigh the dominant wins in every other category. The RX 7600 XT also carries twice the memory at 16 GB versus 8 GB, higher bandwidth at 288.0 GB/s versus 224.0 GB/s, a newer 6 nm process, and a higher 60th percentile rank in the database versus 57th for the RTX 3050 OEM. For buyers who prioritize rasterization performance, DX11-era games, and compute workloads, the RX 7600 XT launch MSRP was 329 USD, and it is the only one of the two with a recorded launch price. The RTX 3050 OEM is a choice for niche use cases: Vulkan-specific applications where its 15.3% Vulkan win is a decisive factor, and workloads that benefit from its 72 tensor cores, which the RX 7600 XT cannot provide. It is also the better option for systems where power draw matters more than raw performance, given its 130 W TDP and 300 W suggested PSU. But for the broad majority of GPU tasks, the RX 7600 XT is the stronger product, and the benchmark data supports that conclusion without qualification.

FAQ

Q: Which card has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT has an average benchmark score of 17083, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM has an average benchmark score of 15199.

Q: How much faster is the RX 7600 XT in DirectX 11?

A: The RX 7600 XT scores 167 in Passmark DirectX 11 versus 86 for the RTX 3050 OEM, a 94.2% advantage for AMD.

Q: Is there any benchmark where the RTX 3050 OEM beats the RX 7600 XT?

A: Yes, in Geekbench Vulkan the RTX 3050 OEM scores 57103 versus 48366 for the RX 7600 XT, a 15.3% lead for NVIDIA.

Q: What are the memory capacity and bandwidth differences?

A: The RX 7600 XT has 16 GB of GDDR6 with 288.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the RTX 3050 OEM has 8 GB of GDDR6 with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: How do the power requirements compare?

A: The RX 7600 XT has a TDP of 190 W and a suggested PSU of 450 W, while the RTX 3050 OEM has a TDP of 130 W and a suggested PSU of 300 W.

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: The RTX 3050 OEM has 2304 shading units, which is more than the RX 7600 XT's 2048 shading units.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM |

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

| Process node | 6 nm | 8 nm |

| Foundry | TSMC | Samsung |

| Transistors | 13,300 million | 12,000 million |

| Die size | 204 mm² | 276 mm² |

| Transistor density | 65.2M / mm² | 43.5M / mm² |

| Base clock | 1980 MHz | 1515 MHz |

| Boost clock | 2755 MHz | 1755 MHz |

| Game clock | 2470 MHz | Not listed |

| Memory clock | 2250 MHz 18 Gbps effective | 1750 MHz 14 Gbps effective |

| Memory size | 16 GB | 8 GB |

| Memory bandwidth | 288.0 GB/s | 224.0 GB/s |

| Shading units | 2048 | 2304 |

| TMUs | 128 | 72 |

| ROPs | 64 | 32 |

| RT cores | 32 | 18 |

| Tensor cores | Not listed | 72 |

| Pixel rate | 176.3 GPixel/s | 56.16 GPixel/s |

| Texture rate | 352.6 GTexel/s | 126.4 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 22.57 TFLOPS | 8.087 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 22.57 TFLOPS (1:1) | 8.087 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 190 W | 130 W |

| Suggested PSU | 450 W | 300 W |

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

| Length | 204 mm (8 inches) | 242 mm (9.5 inches) |

| Height | 115 mm (4.5 inches) | 112 mm (4.4 inches) |

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

| Release date | 2024-01-23 | 2022-01-03 |

| Launch MSRP | 329 USD | Not listed |

| Predecessor | Navi II | GeForce 20 |

| Successor | Navi IV | GeForce 40 |