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

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7600S leads with an average benchmark score of 16696, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM scores 15199. The AMD part sits at the 60th percentile of all GPUs, versus the 57th percentile for the NVIDIA card.

Q: How large is the performance gap in the most decisive head-to-head test?

A: The largest single win for the AMD Radeon RX 7600S is in the Passmark DirectX 11 test, where it scores 140 against the NVIDIA card’s 86, a lead of 62.8 percent.

Q: Does the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM win any benchmark comparison?

A: Yes, the NVIDIA card wins exactly one of the nine head-to-head tests: Passmark G2D, scoring 973 versus the AMD card’s 776, a margin of 20.2 percent in NVIDIA’s favor.

Q: What is the difference in memory bandwidth between the two cards?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7600S provides 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM provides 224.0 GB/s. Both use 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus.

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in ray tracing hardware?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7600S contains 28 ray tracing cores, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM contains 18 ray tracing cores. The AMD card also has 1792 shading units versus 2304 for NVIDIA.

Q: Which GPU is built on a smaller manufacturing process?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7600S uses a 6 nm process at TSMC, whereas the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM uses an 8 nm process at Samsung. This translates to a transistor density of 65.2M per mm² for AMD versus 43.5M per mm² for NVIDIA.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Radeon RX 7600S and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM represent two fundamentally different design philosophies. AMD’s chip, codenamed Hotpink Bonefish, is based on the RDNA 3.0 architecture and uses the Navi 33 die. NVIDIA counters with the Ampere architecture built around the GA106 chip. The process nodes differ significantly: AMD employs a 6 nm process at TSMC, while NVIDIA uses an 8 nm process from Samsung. This gives AMD a clear density advantage, with 13,300 million transistors packed into a 204 mm² die (65.2M per mm²) versus NVIDIA’s 12,000 million transistors spread across a larger 276 mm² die (43.5M per mm²).

The compute layouts diverge sharply. AMD configures the RX 7600S with 1792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. NVIDIA’s RTX 3050 OEM has more shading units at 2304, but fewer texture units at 72 and only 32 ROPs. Ray tracing hardware also differs: AMD includes 28 RT cores, while NVIDIA includes 18 RT cores. NVIDIA adds a distinct feature in the form of 72 tensor cores, a capability absent from the AMD specification. The clock behavior reflects these different designs. AMD’s boost clock reaches 2200 MHz with a game clock of 1865 MHz, while NVIDIA’s boost tops out at 1755 MHz.

Both cards support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, placing them on equal footing for modern API coverage. The AMD card uses a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, whereas NVIDIA’s card uses a PCIe 4.0 x8 interface. Power delivery and physical requirements differ substantially: AMD lists a 75 W TDP with no power connectors and an IGP slot width, while NVIDIA lists a 130 W TDP, a dual-slot design, and a single 8-pin power connector with a 300 W suggested PSU. The AMD part is marked as Active in production status, while NVIDIA’s is End-of-life.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data favors the AMD Radeon RX 7600S in eight of nine head-to-head tests, and the margins are often substantial. The Vulkan compute test shows the largest percentage gap: AMD scores 73868 against NVIDIA’s 57103, a 29.4 percent lead. The OpenCL test follows a similar pattern, with AMD at 68012 and NVIDIA at 60740, a 12 percent advantage. These results indicate that AMD’s architecture delivers consistently stronger compute throughput in cross-vendor API tests.

In the DirectX legacy suite, AMD’s dominance is even more pronounced. The Passmark DirectX 11 test is the standout: AMD scores 140 versus NVIDIA’s 86, a 62.8 percent margin. The DirectX 9 test shows a 54 percent lead (211 versus 137), and the DirectX 10 test shows a 21.3 percent lead (74 versus 61). Even in the modern DirectX 12 test, AMD holds a 12.1 percent edge (65 versus 58). The 3D graphics benchmark reinforces this pattern, with AMD scoring 15408 in Passmark G3D against NVIDIA’s 11857, a 29.9 percent difference. The GPU compute test adds another AMD win: 6520 versus 5779, a 12.8 percent margin.

The single NVIDIA victory comes in the Passmark G2D test, which measures 2D graphics performance. Here NVIDIA scores 973 against AMD’s 776, a 20.2 percent lead. This is the only test where the NVIDIA architecture’s higher shading unit count translates into a clear win, likely reflecting different 2D rendering paths rather than raw 3D capability. The overall picture is unambiguous: the AMD Radeon RX 7600S is the stronger performer across nearly every measured workload, with its largest advantages appearing in DirectX 11, DirectX 9, and Vulkan compute.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every major specification category. The manufacturing process differs, with AMD using 6 nm at TSMC versus NVIDIA’s 8 nm at Samsung. The transistor counts are close, 13,300 million for AMD and 12,000 million for NVIDIA, but the die sizes diverge: AMD’s 204 mm² versus NVIDIA’s 276 mm², yielding a density difference of 65.2M per mm² against 43.5M per mm².

Clock speeds favor AMD. The base clocks are similar, 1500 MHz for AMD and 1515 MHz for NVIDIA, but the boost clocks differ: AMD reaches 2200 MHz versus NVIDIA’s 1755 MHz. AMD also lists a game clock of 1865 MHz, a field NVIDIA does not report. Memory clocks differ as well, with AMD at 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) and NVIDIA at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). This drives a bandwidth gap: 256.0 GB/s for AMD versus 224.0 GB/s for NVIDIA, despite both using 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus.

The compute unit counts show a mixed picture. NVIDIA has more shading units (2304 versus 1792) and includes 72 tensor cores, which AMD lacks entirely. AMD has more texture units (112 versus 72) and more ROPs (64 versus 32). The RT core counts also differ: 28 for AMD versus 18 for NVIDIA. These structural differences produce divergent fill rates: AMD achieves 140.8 GPixel/s and 246.4 GTexel/s, while NVIDIA achieves 56.16 GPixel/s and 126.4 GTexel/s. The FP32 throughput is nearly double for AMD: 15.77 TFLOPS versus 8.087 TFLOPS. FP16 performance follows the same pattern, with AMD at 31.54 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio) versus NVIDIA’s 8.087 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio).

Power and physical specs differ markedly. AMD lists a 75 W TDP with no power connectors and an IGP slot width. NVIDIA lists a 130 W TDP, a dual-slot width, a single 8-pin connector, and a 300 W suggested PSU. The bus interfaces differ: PCIe 4.0 x16 for AMD versus PCIe 4.0 x8 for NVIDIA. Display outputs also differ, with AMD relying on portable device dependent outputs and NVIDIA providing 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. Production status and release dates differ, with AMD Active and released January 3, 2023, while NVIDIA is End-of-life and released January 3, 2022.

The Verdict

The data points decisively toward the AMD Radeon RX 7600S for users prioritizing raw 3D performance and compute workloads. It wins eight of nine head-to-head tests, often by wide margins: 62.8 percent in DirectX 11, 54 percent in DirectX 9, 29.9 percent in G3D, and 29.4 percent in Vulkan compute. Its average benchmark score of 16696 places it in the 60th percentile of all GPUs, while the NVIDIA card sits at 15199 and the 57th percentile. The AMD card’s higher boost clock (2200 MHz versus 1755 MHz), greater memory bandwidth (256.0 GB/s versus 224.0 GB/s), and larger ROP count (64 versus 32) all support its superior measured output.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM does have one clear niche: 2D graphics performance. Its Passmark G2D score of 973 beats AMD’s 776 by 20.2 percent, making it the better choice for tasks that stress 2D rendering paths. NVIDIA also offers tensor cores, a feature absent from the AMD card, which may matter for workloads that leverage those units. Additionally, its 2304 shading units exceed AMD’s 1792, though this does not translate into better 3D benchmark results in the recorded data.

For general-purpose gaming and compute, the AMD Radeon RX 7600S is the clear recommendation. It delivers higher average scores, wins the majority of tests, and does so with a lower TDP of 75 W versus NVIDIA’s 130 W. The NVIDIA card’s only wins are in the narrow 2D segment, and its End-of-life production status suggests limited long-term relevance. Users who need 2D acceleration or tensor core support should consider the RTX 3050 OEM, but for everyone else, the benchmark record favors AMD.