AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The recorded data splits this comparison cleanly by workload type. The AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU wins on raw shader throughput and pixel-filling capability, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile wins on memory bandwidth and API-level feature execution in older DirectX tests.

The Ryzen Z2 GPU delivers 8.294 TFLOPS of FP32 compute versus 4.813 TFLOPS for the RTX 3050 A Mobile. That is a 72% advantage in raw floating-point throughput. The AMD part also pushes 86.40 GPixel/s pixel rate versus 42.98 GPixel/s, a 101% lead in rasterization fill rate. Texture rate favors AMD as well: 129.6 GTexel/s against 75.21 GTexel/s, a 72% margin. These are the metrics that drive modern DirectX 12 and Vulkan workloads, where the AMD architecture shows clear dominance.

The NVIDIA part wins in memory bandwidth. The RTX 3050 A Mobile uses GDDR6 memory at 12 Gbps effective with a 128-bit bus, yielding 192.0 GB/s. The Ryzen Z2 GPU uses LPDDR5X at 7.5 Gbps effective on the same 128-bit bus, yielding 119.9 GB/s. That is a 60% bandwidth advantage for NVIDIA, which matters for texture-heavy scenes and data-intensive compute. The NVIDIA part also has 56 tensor cores and 14 RT cores, whereas the AMD part has 12 RT cores and no tensor core entry in the database. For ray tracing and tensor-accelerated workloads, the RTX 3050 A Mobile has dedicated hardware that the Ryzen Z2 GPU lacks.

The benchmark scores in the database come only from the NVIDIA side. The RTX 3050 A Mobile scores 52998 in Geekbench OpenCL, 11664 in Passmark G3D, and 4419 in Passmark GPU Compute. Its Passmark DirectX 9 score is 152, DirectX 11 is 94, and DirectX 12 is 55. The DirectX 10 score is 61, and the G2D score is 526. The AMD part has no recorded benchmark scores, so direct numerical comparison across identical tests is not possible from the database. However, the architectural specs provide a clear functional split: AMD for compute-heavy and raster-heavy workloads, NVIDIA for bandwidth-bound and tensor-heavy tasks.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher FP32 compute performance?

A: The AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU delivers 8.294 TFLOPS FP32, which is 72% higher than the NVIDIA RTX 3050 A Mobile's 4.813 TFLOPS.

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

A: The NVIDIA RTX 3050 A Mobile has 192.0 GB/s bandwidth from its GDDR6 memory, while the AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU has 119.9 GB/s from LPDDR5X. NVIDIA leads by 60%.

Q: Does the AMD part support ray tracing?

A: Yes, the AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU has 12 RT cores. The NVIDIA RTX 3050 A Mobile has 14 RT cores plus 56 tensor cores, which the AMD part does not list.

Q: What is the process node difference?

A: The AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU is built on TSMC's 4 nm process with 25,390 million transistors on a 178 mm² die. The NVIDIA RTX 3050 A Mobile uses Samsung's 8 nm process with 12,000 million transistors on a 276 mm² die.

Q: How do the benchmark scores compare?

A: The database contains scores only for the NVIDIA part. Its average benchmark score is 8746, with a Geekbench OpenCL score of 52998 and Passmark G3D score of 11664. The AMD part has no recorded benchmark scores.

Q: What is the TDP difference?

A: The AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU has a 28 W TDP, while the NVIDIA RTX 3050 A Mobile has a 45 W TDP. The AMD part consumes 38% less power.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head benchmark table in the database is empty, so no direct side-by-side scores exist for these two specific parts. The analysis must rely on the recorded specifications and the NVIDIA part's benchmark results.

The NVIDIA RTX 3050 A Mobile's Passmark G3D score of 11664 places it at the 44th percentile among all GPUs in the database. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 v2 with an average score of 8743 (0% delta), the NVIDIA Quadro P2200 at 8686 (0.7% higher), the AMD Radeon R9 M265X at 8851 (1.2% lower), and the AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100 at 8863 (1.3% lower). The RTX 3050 A Mobile sits essentially in a dead heat with these four parts, within a 1.3% band. This indicates the NVIDIA part performs at a modest tier relative to the full database.

The AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU sits at the 50th percentile in the database, six percentage points higher than the NVIDIA part. That percentile rank reflects its architectural strengths: higher pixel rate, texture rate, and FP32 throughput. The AMD part's 86.40 GPixel/s pixel rate is more than double the NVIDIA part's 42.98 GPixel/s. For fill-rate-bound scenarios, such as high-resolution rasterization with heavy overdraw, the AMD part should deliver noticeably higher frame throughput.

The NVIDIA part counters with a higher boost clock of 1343 MHz versus 2700 MHz for AMD, but that is a misleading comparison because the architectures differ completely. The AMD part has 768 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The NVIDIA part has 1792 shading units, 56 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. Despite having more than twice the shading units, NVIDIA's FP32 output is lower because its architecture uses a different execution model. The AMD part's higher clock speed and RDNA 3.0 efficiency compensate for the lower unit count.

Memory bandwidth is the clearest NVIDIA win. The 192.0 GB/s versus 119.9 GB/s gap means the NVIDIA part can feed its shaders and tensor cores with data faster. In workloads that are bandwidth-limited, such as large texture fetches or neural network inference with tensor cores, the RTX 3050 A Mobile has a structural advantage. The Passmark GPU Compute score of 4419 reflects this capability, though it is not directly comparable to the AMD part without a score.

The DirectX 9 score of 152, DirectX 10 score of 61, DirectX 11 score of 94, and DirectX 12 score of 55 for the NVIDIA part show that older API workloads run better on this GPU than newer ones, relative to its G3D average. The DirectX 12 score being the lowest suggests the NVIDIA part struggles with modern API overhead, while the AMD RDNA 3.0 architecture is designed for DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, both of which both parts support.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every measured specification. The AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU uses a 4 nm process from TSMC, while the NVIDIA RTX 3050 A Mobile uses 8 nm from Samsung. Transistor count favors AMD: 25,390 million versus 12,000 million. Die size favors NVIDIA in the opposite direction: 276 mm² versus 178 mm². The transistor density of 142.6M per mm² for AMD versus 43.5M per mm² for NVIDIA shows a 3.3x density advantage for the AMD part.

Clock speeds differ substantially. The AMD part has a base clock of 800 MHz and boost of 2700 MHz. The NVIDIA part has a base of 1065 MHz and boost of 1343 MHz. The AMD boost clock is exactly double the NVIDIA boost clock. Memory clocks differ: AMD runs at 937 MHz (7.5 Gbps effective) while NVIDIA runs at 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective).

Memory configuration diverges on size and type. AMD has 16 GB of LPDDR5X; NVIDIA has 4 GB of GDDR6. Both use a 128-bit bus, but bandwidth differs as noted. The AMD part has no power connectors, no bus interface listed, and no slot width. The NVIDIA part has no power connectors either, but lists a bus interface of PCIe 4.0 x8 and a slot width of "IGP."

Display outputs differ: AMD has 1x USB Type-C, while NVIDIA is "Portable Device Dependent." Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The production status differs: AMD is "Active," NVIDIA is "End-of-life." Release dates differ: AMD released on 2024-12-31, NVIDIA on 2023-12-31. The NVIDIA part has a predecessor in the GeForce 20 Mobile series; the AMD part has no predecessor or successor listed.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture, code-named Hawk Point, and belongs to the Console GPU generation. It has 768 shading units, 48 TMUs, 32 ROPs, and 12 RT cores. It has no tensor cores listed. The FP32 and FP16 throughput are both 8.294 TFLOPS at a 1:1 ratio, meaning no dedicated half-precision path. The 4 nm TSMC process with 25,390 million transistors on a 178 mm² die gives it the highest transistor density in this comparison.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile uses the Ampere architecture with the GA106 chip, belonging to the GeForce 30 Mobile generation. It has 1792 shading units, 56 TMUs, 32 ROPs, 14 RT cores, and 56 tensor cores. Its FP32 and FP16 throughput are both 4.813 TFLOPS at 1:1. The 8 nm Samsung process with 12,000 million transistors on a 276 mm² die gives it a much lower transistor density.

The architectural split is clear: AMD uses a newer, denser process with higher clocks to achieve raw throughput, while NVIDIA uses a larger die with more shading units and dedicated tensor cores. The RTX 3050 A Mobile's 56 tensor cores enable features like DLSS and other tensor-accelerated operations that the AMD part cannot match. The AMD part's 12 RT cores handle ray tracing, but NVIDIA has 14 RT cores plus the tensor hardware.

The memory architecture also differs fundamentally. AMD uses unified LPDDR5X, which is system memory shared with the CPU in typical console-style designs. NVIDIA uses dedicated GDDR6 with higher bandwidth. This affects how each GPU accesses data and how much memory is available for textures and compute buffers. The AMD part's 16 GB capacity is four times the NVIDIA part's 4 GB, which matters for large datasets and high-resolution textures.

The power envelope differs as well: 28 W for AMD versus 45 W for NVIDIA. The AMD part achieves its performance at 62% of the NVIDIA part's power draw, which is consistent with the 4 nm process advantage.

The Verdict

The data supports a clear split based on workload priorities. For compute-heavy and raster-heavy tasks, the AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU is the stronger part. Its FP32 throughput of 8.294 TFLOPS is 72% higher than NVIDIA's 4.813 TFLOPS. Its pixel rate of 86.40 GPixel/s is more than double the NVIDIA part's 42.98 GPixel/s. Its texture rate of 129.6 GTexel/s exceeds NVIDIA's 75.21 GTexel/s by 72%. These metrics indicate superior performance in DirectX 12 and Vulkan workloads that stress shader execution and fill rate. The 50th percentile rank versus NVIDIA's 44th percentile reinforces this conclusion.

For bandwidth-bound and tensor-accelerated workloads, the NVIDIA RTX 3050 A Mobile is the better choice. Its 192.0 GB/s memory bandwidth is 60% higher than AMD's 119.9 GB/s. Its 56 tensor cores provide dedicated hardware for neural network inference and AI-accelerated rendering features that the AMD part cannot access. The 14 RT cores also give it a slight edge in ray tracing hardware count over AMD's 12.

The AMD part's 16 GB memory capacity is a significant advantage for large workloads, four times the NVIDIA part's 4 GB. Combined with the lower 28 W TDP, the AMD part delivers more memory and higher compute throughput at lower power. The NVIDIA part counters with higher bandwidth and tensor capability, but at 45 W and with only 4 GB of memory.

The database shows the NVIDIA part's nearest rivals are all within 1.3% of its average score, indicating it sits in a crowded performance tier. The AMD part's 50th percentile suggests it outperforms the median GPU, while NVIDIA's 44th percentile indicates slightly below-median performance. Users prioritizing raw shader throughput, rasterization speed, memory capacity, and power efficiency should select the AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU. Users needing tensor-core acceleration, maximum memory bandwidth, or working within the GeForce 30-series ecosystem should select the NVIDIA RTX 3050 A Mobile. The production status also matters: AMD is active, NVIDIA is end-of-life.