AMD Steam Machine GPU vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data separates these two GPUs into different competitive classes. The AMD Steam Machine GPU holds the 50th percentile among all GPUs in the database, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile sits at the 81st percentile. That 31-point percentile gap translates into a clear performance hierarchy, though the AMD part still delivers substantial throughput in its own right.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile dominates in raw compute metrics. Its FP32 throughput of 24.72 TFLOPS exceeds the AMD Steam Machine GPU’s 17.56 TFLOPS by roughly 41%. Texture processing also favors NVIDIA: 386.3 GTexel/s versus 274.4 GTexel/s, a 40.8% advantage. The NVIDIA part’s pixel rate, however, is lower at 133.2 GPixel/s compared to 156.8 GPixel/s for AMD, a 17.7% deficit that matters for resolution-bound rasterization workloads.

In actual recorded benchmark scores, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile posts an average score of 38,135 across its test suite. Its PassMark G3D score reaches 24,926, while GPU compute hits 11,191. Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan scores come in at 159,575 and 145,807 respectively. The AMD Steam Machine GPU has no recorded benchmark scores in the database, so direct numerical comparisons rely on specification-derived metrics rather than measured application tests.

The use-case split becomes evident when examining architectural priorities. The AMD Steam Machine GPU pairs a 128-bit memory bus with 8 GB of GDDR6 delivering 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile uses a 192-bit bus with 12 GB of GDDR6 reaching 432.0 GB/s. For memory-bound scenarios such as high-resolution textures or large dataset processing, the NVIDIA part’s 50% bandwidth advantage provides a meaningful edge.

For ray tracing workloads, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile includes 58 RT cores versus 28 for the AMD Steam Machine GPU. The NVIDIA part also carries 232 tensor cores, which the AMD chip lacks entirely. Applications leveraging tensor operations, whether for AI inference or DLSS-style upscaling, will only run efficiently on the NVIDIA hardware. The AMD part’s RDNA 3.0 architecture does include ray accelerators, but the core count differential suggests a substantial gap in complex lighting scenarios.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different foundry processes and design philosophies. The AMD Steam Machine GPU uses TSMC’s 6 nm process with a die size of 204 mm² housing 13,300 million transistors, yielding a transistor density of 65.2 million per mm². The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile moves to TSMC’s 5 nm node with a 294 mm² die containing 35,800 million transistors, achieving 121.8 million per mm². The NVIDIA chip packs nearly 2.7 times the transistor count into roughly 1.44 times the die area.

Clock behavior differs notably. The AMD Steam Machine GPU runs a base clock of 1720 MHz with a boost of 2450 MHz and a game clock of 2250 MHz. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile operates at a lower 1290 MHz base and 1665 MHz boost. Despite lower clocks, the NVIDIA part achieves higher overall throughput due to its much larger execution resource pool: 7424 shading units versus 1792, 232 TMUs versus 112, and 80 ROPs versus 64.

Both GPUs list a 110 W TDP, placing them in the same power envelope. This makes the NVIDIA part’s higher transistor count and larger die particularly notable, as it delivers more compute per watt. The AMD part’s higher clock speeds partially compensate for its smaller resource allocation, but the arithmetic resources tell the story: NVIDIA has 4.1 times the shading units and 2.1 times the TMUs.

Memory subsystem architecture also diverges. Both use GDDR6 at 2250 MHz with 18 Gbps effective data rate. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile’s 192-bit bus width enables 432.0 GB/s versus 288.0 GB/s for the AMD part’s 128-bit bus. The NVIDIA chip also carries twice the VRAM capacity at 12 GB versus 8 GB.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile exposes a PCIe 4.0 x16 bus interface, while the AMD Steam Machine GPU lists no bus interface in the database. The AMD chip provides fixed display outputs: one HDMI 2.1a and one DisplayPort 2.1. The NVIDIA part’s display outputs are listed as portable device dependent, reflecting its mobile integration target. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher FP32 compute throughput?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile delivers 24.72 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, while the AMD Steam Machine GPU provides 17.56 TFLOPS, a 40.8% advantage for NVIDIA.

Q: Do both GPUs support the same graphics APIs?

A: Yes, both list DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 as supported APIs.

Q: How do memory bandwidth figures compare?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile reaches 432.0 GB/s over a 192-bit bus with 12 GB of GDDR6. The AMD Steam Machine GPU offers 288.0 GB/s over a 128-bit bus with 8 GB of GDDR6.

Q: Which GPU has more ray tracing hardware?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile contains 58 RT cores, while the AMD Steam Machine GPU has 28 RT cores. The NVIDIA part also includes 232 tensor cores, which the AMD chip does not have.

Q: What is the transistor density difference between the two chips?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile’s AD104 chip achieves 121.8 million transistors per mm² on TSMC 5 nm. The AMD Steam Machine GPU’s Navi 33 chip reaches 65.2 million per mm² on TSMC 6 nm.

Q: How do the recorded benchmark scores position the NVIDIA part?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile posts an average benchmark score of 38,135, with a PassMark G3D score of 24,926 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 159,575. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 at 38,299 (0.4% higher) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 at 37,648 (1.3% lower).

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every major specification category. The AMD Steam Machine GPU uses the Navi 33 chip on RDNA 3.0 architecture with the codename Hotpink Bonefish, belonging to the Console GPU (Valve) generation. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile uses AD104 on Ada Lovelace architecture, part of the GeForce 40 Mobile generation.

Process technology separates them: 6 nm for AMD versus 5 nm for NVIDIA, both from TSMC. Transistor counts stand at 13,300 million for AMD and 35,800 million for NVIDIA. Die sizes measure 204 mm² and 294 mm² respectively. Transistor density favors NVIDIA at 121.8M per mm² versus 65.2M per mm².

Clock speeds favor AMD in raw frequency. The AMD part runs 1720 MHz base and 2450 MHz boost, with a 2250 MHz game clock. The NVIDIA part runs 1290 MHz base and 1665 MHz boost. Memory clocks match at 2250 MHz with 18 Gbps effective for both.

Execution resources heavily favor NVIDIA: 7424 shading units versus 1792, 232 TMUs versus 112, 80 ROPs versus 64, 58 RT cores versus 28, and 232 tensor cores versus none. Pixel rate favors AMD at 156.8 GPixel/s versus 133.2 GPixel/s. Texture rate favors NVIDIA at 386.3 GTexel/s versus 274.4 GTexel/s. FP32 and FP16 both favor NVIDIA at 24.72 TFLOPS versus 17.56 TFLOPS.

Memory capacity and bandwidth favor NVIDIA: 12 GB versus 8 GB, 192-bit versus 128-bit bus, 432.0 GB/s versus 288.0 GB/s. Both use GDDR6. Both carry a 110 W TDP. The NVIDIA part lists PCIe 4.0 x16 as its bus interface and slot width as IGP, while the AMD part lists neither. Display outputs differ: AMD provides one HDMI 2.1a and one DisplayPort 2.1, NVIDIA lists portable device dependent.

Release dates differ substantially. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile launched on January 2, 2023, with the GeForce 30 Mobile as predecessor and GeForce 50 Mobile as successor. The AMD Steam Machine GPU carries a June 28, 2026 release date with no predecessor or successor listed.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

Direct benchmark comparisons between these two GPUs are limited because the AMD Steam Machine GPU has no recorded benchmark scores in the database. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile, however, provides a full benchmark profile that establishes its performance tier.

The NVIDIA part’s average benchmark score of 38,135 places it near several close rivals. The NVIDIA GeForce MX570 scores 38,299, just 0.4% higher. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile scores 38,349, 0.6% higher. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 scores 37,648, 1.3% lower. The NVIDIA Tesla P4 scores 37,628, also 1.3% lower. This clustering places the RTX 4080 Mobile in a dense performance band where small percentage differences separate products.

Within its own benchmark suite, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile shows varying strengths across API generations. Its PassMark DirectX 11 score of 244 exceeds its DirectX 10 score of 157 by 55.4%. The DirectX 12 score drops to 96, while DirectX 9 reaches 286. The 2D score of 929 and 3D score of 24,926 illustrate the gap between rasterization and compute workloads. The GPU compute score of 11,191 represents 44.9% of the G3D score, indicating strong compute relative to graphics.

Geekbench results show OpenCL at 159,575 and Vulkan at 145,807, a 9.4% advantage for OpenCL. These cross-API differences suggest driver optimization variances rather than architectural limitations.

For the AMD Steam Machine GPU, specification-derived comparisons must substitute for measured results. Its 17.56 TFLOPS FP32 throughput trails the NVIDIA part by 40.8%. Its texture rate of 274.4 GTexel/s trails by 40.8% as well. The AMD part’s pixel rate of 156.8 GPixel/s leads by 17.7%, a rarity in its favor. Memory bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s trails by 33.3%.

The 110 W TDP shared by both parts makes the performance gap particularly significant. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile achieves substantially higher compute throughput, texture processing, and memory bandwidth within the same power envelope. The AMD Steam Machine GPU counters with higher clocks, a higher pixel rate, and fixed display outputs that suit a console-style form factor.

The percentile ranking confirms the separation: 81st for NVIDIA versus 50th for AMD. In the database’s overall GPU distribution, the NVIDIA part sits well above the midpoint, while the AMD part sits exactly at it. The AMD Steam Machine GPU remains competitive in specific rasterization metrics, but the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile’s broader resource pool, larger memory subsystem, and dedicated tensor and RT hardware position it clearly ahead in the recorded data.