AMD Radeon RX 7800M vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile Comparison

The Verdict

The benchmark data splits cleanly between two very different mobile graphics solutions. The AMD Radeon RX 7800M wins 7 of 10 head-to-head tests, including every modern API workload that matters most for current gaming. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile takes 3 wins, all in legacy DirectX tests and the synthetic PassMark G3D suite. The RX 7800M posts an average benchmark score of 27,883 against the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile's 25,740, a gap of roughly 8.3%. In percentile terms, the AMD part sits at the 73rd percentile of all GPUs, while the NVIDIA part sits at the 71st. The verdict: if you are buying new and care about DirectX 12, Vulkan, and compute performance, the RX 7800M is the stronger pick. The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile remains competitive only for legacy API workloads and its larger 16 GB frame buffer, which the data shows but does not directly benchmark. The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile is also end-of-life, while the RX 7800M remains active in production.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different foundries, nodes, and architectural generations. AMD builds the RX 7800M on a 5 nm TSMC process with 28,100 million transistors on a 346 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 81.2 million per mm². NVIDIA builds the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile on Samsung's 8 nm node with 22,000 million transistors on a larger 496 mm² die, for a density of just 44.4 million per mm². The RX 7800M uses the Navi 32 chip with RDNA 3.0 architecture, codenamed "Wheat Nas," and belongs to the Navi Mobile (RX 7000M) generation. The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile uses the GA103 chip with Ampere architecture and belongs to the GeForce 30 Mobile generation.

Core counts differ substantially. The RX 7800M has 3,840 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 96 ROPs. The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile has 7,424 shading units, 232 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The NVIDIA part nearly doubles the shader count, yet its FP32 throughput is only 18.71 TFLOPS versus the AMD part's 35.87 TFLOPS. That inversion reflects both the higher boost clock on the AMD side — 2,335 MHz versus 1,260 MHz — and architectural efficiency. The RX 7800M also has 60 ray tracing cores; the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile has 58 RT cores plus 232 tensor cores, which the AMD part lacks entirely. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Memory configurations diverge in capacity and bandwidth. The RX 7800M uses 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, delivering 432.0 GB/s. The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile uses 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 512.0 GB/s. The NVIDIA part has a clear bandwidth advantage of 80 GB/s and 4 GB more capacity. Clock speeds tell the opposite story: the AMD part has a base clock of 1,295 MHz and a game clock of 2,145 MHz, while the NVIDIA part sits at just 810 MHz base. Power draw also differs, with the RX 7800M rated at 180 W and the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile at 115 W — a 65 W gap that favors NVIDIA's efficiency envelope, though the AMD part delivers higher raw throughput.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The largest single win for the AMD Radeon RX 7800M comes in Geekbench Vulkan, where it scores 126,668 against 107,502 for the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile — a 17.8% advantage. That is a decisive margin in a modern cross-platform graphics API. The AMD part also wins Geekbench OpenCL with 120,778 versus 117,866, a 2.5% edge. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the RX 7800M scores 2,994 against 2,869, a 4.4% win. PassMark DirectX 11 shows a 7.3% lead for AMD (176 vs. 164), and PassMark DirectX 12 is nearly even at 89 vs. 88, a 1.1% margin. The AMD part wins PassMark G2D by 9% (892 vs. 818) and PassMark GPU Compute by 10.3% (9,342 vs. 8,471).

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile's wins are concentrated in legacy and rasterization-focused tests. PassMark DirectX 10 gives NVIDIA a 24.4% lead (131 vs. 99) — its largest margin anywhere. PassMark DirectX 9 shows a 13.4% advantage (201 vs. 174). The PassMark G3D suite, which aggregates general 3D rendering performance, favors NVIDIA at 19,288 versus 17,613, an 8.7% edge. That G3D result is notable because it is the only overall 3D aggregate where NVIDIA wins, despite losing the modern API tests.

Looking at the nearest rival data for context: the RX 7800M's average score of 27,883 places it 0.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 (27,839) and 0.3% behind the AMD Radeon Pro W5500X (27,973). It also sits 0.5% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti (28,020) and 0.8% ahead of the AMD FirePro S7150 (28,117). The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile's average of 25,740 is 0.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W5700 (25,726), 0.4% behind the AMD FirePro D700 (25,842), 0.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6700M (25,633), and 0.4% behind the AMD FirePro W7100 (25,856). These deltas are small, but they confirm the RX 7800M sits in a slightly higher performance tier overall.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7800M averages 27,883 across all benchmark tests, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile averages 25,740. That is a difference of 2,143 points, or roughly 8.3% in AMD's favor.

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in modern DirectX 12 performance?

A: In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the RX 7800M scores 2,994 against 2,869 for the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile, a 4.4% win. In PassMark DirectX 12, the margin narrows to 1.1% (89 vs. 88), still favoring AMD.

Q: Where does the NVIDIA GPU win decisively?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile wins PassMark DirectX 10 by 24.4% (131 vs. 99) and PassMark DirectX 9 by 13.4% (201 vs. 174). It also takes PassMark G3D by 8.7% (19,288 vs. 17,613).

Q: What is the memory capacity difference?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 512.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RX 7800M has 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus with 432.0 GB/s bandwidth. The NVIDIA part offers 4 GB more memory and 80 GB/s more bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU has higher compute throughput?

A: The RX 7800M delivers 35.87 TFLOPS FP32 and FP16, while the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile delivers 18.71 TFLOPS for both. PassMark GPU Compute also favors AMD at 9,342 vs. 8,471, a 10.3% lead.

Q: What are the production statuses of these GPUs?

A: The RX 7800M is listed as Active in production, released on 2024-09-10. The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile is End-of-life, released on 2022-01-24.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 7800M is the clear winner for modern gaming workloads. Its 17.8% Vulkan lead and 4.4% DirectX 12 lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad indicate strong forward-looking performance for current and upcoming titles that rely on these APIs. The 10.3% edge in PassMark GPU Compute makes it the better choice for compute-adjacent tasks like physics simulation or GPU-accelerated workloads that are not CUDA-dependent. The 9% win in PassMark G2D suggests better 2D desktop and windowed performance. With 7 of 10 head-to-head wins, the RX 7800M is the more versatile part across the benchmark suite.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile wins in legacy API scenarios. Its 24.4% DirectX 10 and 13.4% DirectX 9 margins are substantial, making it the better option for older game libraries that still rely on those APIs. The 8.7% PassMark G3D win indicates stronger aggregate 3D rasterization in that specific test suite. The 16 GB frame buffer and 512.0 GB/s bandwidth also give it a capacity and bandwidth advantage that could matter for texture-heavy workloads at high resolutions, though the benchmark data does not explicitly test that scenario. The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile's 115 W TDP is also 65 W lower than the RX 7800M's 180 W, which may favor thin-and-light laptop designs where thermal headroom is limited.

The data does not show a single winner across all scenarios. The RX 7800M leads in every modern API test and overall average, while the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile retains a niche for older DirectX titles and general 3D aggregate scores. The RX 7800M's 73rd percentile versus the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile's 71st percentile confirms the AMD part's higher standing in the overall GPU hierarchy. For a new purchase today, the RX 7800M's active production status and modern API dominance make it the more future-proof option. For legacy compatibility or maximum memory capacity, the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile retains specific advantages that the benchmark numbers support.