AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile Comparison

The Verdict

The recorded data presents a clear split between these two mobile graphics solutions. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile is the decisive performance leader, with its average benchmark score of 8746 placing it at the 44th percentile of all GPUs, while the AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile sits at 7203 points and the 39th percentile. The RTX 3050 A is 21.4% faster overall based on the average score, and in the single head-to-head benchmark available, it delivers a 612.8% advantage in Geekbench OpenCL. The Vega 8 Mobile, as a 2019 integrated part, is not a competitor for the same workloads. Users needing discrete-level performance, ray tracing, or dedicated memory should choose the RTX 3050 A. Users constrained to a 25 W power envelope with system-shared memory and light 2D or legacy DirectX tasks may find the Vega 8 Mobile sufficient, but the data does not support any scenario where it wins outright.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations and foundries. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile uses the GA106 chip on the Ampere architecture, fabricated by Samsung on an 8 nm process. It integrates 12,000 million transistors on a 276 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 43.5 million per mm². The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile uses the Raven-M chip on the GCN 5.0 architecture, built by GlobalFoundries on a 14 nm process. It contains 4,940 million transistors on a 210 mm² die, with a density of 23.5 million per mm². The NVIDIA part is significantly denser and physically larger, reflecting its more complex feature set.

The RTX 3050 A features dedicated hardware that the Vega 8 lacks entirely. It has 14 ray tracing cores and 56 tensor cores, while the Vega 8 has none of either. This translates into API support differences: the RTX 3050 A supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, whereas the Vega 8 only reaches DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.3. Both support OpenGL 4.6. The NVIDIA chip also has 1792 shading units, 56 texture mapping units, and 32 raster operations pipelines, compared to 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 8 ROPs on the AMD part. Clock behavior also differs: the RTX 3050 A runs at a base of 1065 MHz and boosts to 1343 MHz, while the Vega 8 has a 300 MHz base and a 1101 MHz boost, which is typical for an integrated GPU.

Memory architecture is another fundamental split. The RTX 3050 A has 4 GB of dedicated GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 192.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Vega 8 Mobile uses system-shared memory with a bus width and bandwidth described as "System Dependent," meaning performance scales with the host system's RAM configuration. The NVIDIA part also has a PCIe 4.0 x8 bus interface, while the Vega 8 is an IGP with no external bus interface. Power targets differ as well, with the RTX 3050 A rated at 45 W and the Vega 8 at 25 W, though both are listed as IGP slot width with no power connectors.

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data shows only one head-to-head comparison, and it is a complete sweep for NVIDIA. The Geekbench OpenCL test records a score of 52998 for the RTX 3050 A versus 7435 for the Vega 8, a 612.8% difference. There are no recorded tests where the Vega 8 beats the RTX 3050 A. The wins tally confirms this: 1 win for the NVIDIA part, 0 for AMD.

Looking at the broader benchmark suite, the RTX 3050 A has scores across multiple legacy DirectX tests and compute workloads. It records 61 in Passmark DirectX 10, 94 in DirectX 11, 55 in DirectX 12, 152 in DirectX 9, 526 in G2D, 11664 in G3D, and 4419 in GPU compute. The Vega 8 only has two recorded benchmarks: Geekbench OpenCL at 7435 and Geekbench Vulkan at 6970. This means the NVIDIA part is the only one of the two with data for DirectX 9 through 12 workloads, and it also has a significantly higher OpenCL score. For any task that relies on OpenCL compute, dedicated graphics memory, or modern API features like DirectX 12 Ultimate or Vulkan 1.4, the RTX 3050 A is the only viable choice. The Vega 8 may handle basic display output and older DirectX 11-era workloads, but the data does not show any measurable advantage.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile has an average benchmark score of 8746, while the AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile scores 7203. This puts the RTX 3050 A at the 44th percentile of all GPUs and the Vega 8 at the 39th percentile.

Q: Does the Vega 8 Mobile have ray tracing or tensor cores?

A: No. The Vega 8 Mobile has no ray tracing cores and no tensor cores. The RTX 3050 A has 14 ray tracing cores and 56 tensor cores.

Q: How do the memory configurations differ?

A: The RTX 3050 A has 4 GB of dedicated GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 192.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Vega 8 uses system-shared memory with bus width and bandwidth listed as system dependent.

Q: What is the Geekbench OpenCL score difference?

A: The RTX 3050 A scores 52998, and the Vega 8 scores 7435. This represents a 612.8% advantage for the NVIDIA part.

Q: Which GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate?

A: Only the RTX 3050 A supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2). The Vega 8 Mobile is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1).

Q: Are both GPUs end-of-life products?

A: Yes, both are listed with end-of-life production status. The RTX 3050 A released on 2023-12-31, and the Vega 8 released on 2019-01-07.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only recorded head-to-head test is Geekbench OpenCL, where the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile produces 52998 points versus 7435 for the AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile. This is a 612.8% delta, meaning the RTX 3050 A is over seven times faster in this compute workload. The magnitude of this gap is substantial, and it reflects the fundamental differences in hardware: the RTX 3050 A has 1792 shading units, 14 ray tracing cores, and 56 tensor cores, while the Vega 8 has only 512 shading units and no dedicated compute accelerators.

Beyond the head-to-head, the RTX 3050 A also has a suite of Passmark scores that the Vega 8 does not have recorded. In Passmark G3D, the RTX 3050 A scores 11664, which is a strong result for a laptop GPU. Its Passmark GPU compute score of 4419 further reinforces its compute capability. The Vega 8 does have a Geekbench Vulkan score of 6970, but there is no corresponding Vulkan score for the RTX 3050 A in the database, so no direct comparison is possible for that API.

The average benchmark score comparison tells the same story. The RTX 3050 A averages 8746, placing it near the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 v2 (8743, 0% delta) and the Quadro P2200 (8686, 0.7% delta). The Vega 8 averages 7203, sitting near the GeForce GTX 750 (7222, -0.3% delta) and the GTX 560 SE (7171, 0.4% delta). This means the RTX 3050 A competes with older mid-range discrete desktop GPUs, while the Vega 8 aligns with entry-level discrete cards from a decade ago.

Specification Differences

The following fields differ between the two GPUs:

• Manufacturer: NVIDIA versus AMD.
• Chip: GA106 versus Raven-M.
• Architecture: Ampere versus GCN 5.0.
• Generation: GeForce 30 Mobile versus Vega IGP (Raven Ridge-M).
• Process Node: 8 nm (Samsung) versus 14 nm (GlobalFoundries).
• Transistors: 12,000 million versus 4,940 million.
• Die Size: 276 mm² versus 210 mm².
• Transistor Density: 43.5M per mm² versus 23.5M per mm².
• Base Clock: 1065 MHz versus 300 MHz.
• Boost Clock: 1343 MHz versus 1101 MHz.
• Memory Size: 4 GB GDDR6 versus System Shared.
• Memory Type: GDDR6 versus System Shared.
• Memory Bus Width: 128 bit versus System Shared.
• Memory Bandwidth: 192.0 GB/s versus System Dependent.
• Shading Units: 1792 versus 512.
• TMUs: 56 versus 32.
• ROPs: 32 versus 8.
• RT Cores: 14 versus none.
• Tensor Cores: 56 versus none.
• Pixel Rate: 42.98 GPixel/s versus 8.808 GPixel/s.
• Texture Rate: 75.21 GTexel/s versus 35.23 GTexel/s.
• FP32 Performance: 4.813 TFLOPS versus 1,127.4 GFLOPS (1.127 TFLOPS).
• FP16 Performance: 4.813 TFLOPS (1:1) versus 2.255 TFLOPS (2:1).
• TDP: 45 W versus 25 W.
• Bus Interface: PCIe 4.0 x8 versus IGP.
• DirectX Support: 12 Ultimate (12_2) versus 12 (12_1).
• Vulkan Support: 1.4 versus 1.3.
• Release Date: 2023-12-31 versus 2019-01-07.
• Predecessor: GeForce 20 Mobile versus GCN 3.0 IGP.
• Successor: none versus Navi II IGP.