NVIDIA GeForce 830M vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains no direct head-to-head benchmark results between the NVIDIA GeForce 830M and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB. The recorded data instead places each GPU against its own set of nearest rivals, which makes a direct score comparison impossible from the available measurements. The GeForce 830M has an average benchmark score of 3957, while the RTX 3080 12 GB has an average benchmark score of 4791. That raw difference of 834 points is substantial, but the two scores come from different test suites and different generations of hardware, so the comparison carries limited analytical weight.

The 830M's recorded scores include a Geekbench OpenCL result of 4324 and a Geekbench Vulkan result of 3590. Its average score of 3957 places it in the 24th percentile of all GPUs in the database. Its nearest rivals are all within a narrow band: the AMD Radeon R5 M420 scores 3956 (0% delta), the NVIDIA GeForce GT 745M scores 3953 (0.1% delta), the NVIDIA Quadro K2000 scores 3964 (-0.2% delta), and the AMD Radeon HD 6850 X2 scores 3977 (-0.5% delta). The 830M sits effectively in the middle of this cluster, within half a percentage point of each neighbor. This indicates that in the database's ranking, the 830M is a mid-pack performer among its immediate peers, neither leading nor trailing by any meaningful margin.

The RTX 3080 12 GB has a single recorded benchmark score of 4791 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test. Its 28th percentile position across all GPUs is surprisingly modest for a card with its specifications, but the percentile reflects the full database population, not just desktop discrete GPUs. Its nearest rivals are similarly close: the AMD Radeon R5 M255 scores 4788 (0.1% delta), the AMD Radeon R5 M335 scores 4752 (0.8% delta), the NVIDIA GeForce 940MX scores 4844 (-1.1% delta), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M scores 4855 (-1.3% delta). The RTX 3080 12 GB is within 1.3 percentage points of all four rivals, which is a remarkably tight grouping. The data shows that in this particular benchmark, the RTX 3080 12 GB is effectively tied with much older and lower-tier mobile GPUs, a result that likely reflects the Steel Nomad workload rather than the card's overall capability.

Architecture Differences

The GeForce 830M is built on the Maxwell architecture using the GM108 chip, fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. The chip contains 1,020 million transistors on a die size of 77 mm², yielding a transistor density of 13.2 million transistors per square millimeter. It belongs to the GeForce 800M generation and was released in March 2014.

The RTX 3080 12 GB uses the Ampere architecture with the GA102 chip, fabricated on an 8 nm process at Samsung. The chip contains 28,300 million transistors on a die size of 628 mm², yielding a transistor density of 45.1 million transistors per square millimeter. It belongs to the GeForce 30-series generation and was released in January 2022.

The transistor count difference is enormous: the GA102 packs roughly 27.7 times more transistors than the GM108. The process node shrink from 28 nm to 8 nm allows for substantially higher density, and the die area is over eight times larger. The 830M's 256 shading units, 16 texture mapping units, and 8 ROPs compare to the RTX 3080 12 GB's 8960 shading units, 280 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The RTX 3080 12 GB also includes 70 RT cores and 280 tensor cores, hardware that the 830M lacks entirely.

Memory configurations differ by a wide margin. The 830M has 2 GB of DDR3 memory on a 64-bit bus, with a memory bandwidth of 14.40 GB/s. The RTX 3080 12 GB has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 912.4 GB/s. The latter's memory bandwidth is over 63 times higher, which reflects both the wider bus and the faster memory type.

Clock speeds show the RTX 3080 12 GB running at a base clock of 1260 MHz and a boost clock of 1710 MHz, compared to the 830M's 1082 MHz base and 1150 MHz boost. The memory clocks differ as well: the 830M runs at 900 MHz (1800 Mbps effective), while the RTX 3080 12 GB runs at 1188 MHz (19 Gbps effective).

Compute throughput metrics illustrate the gap. The 830M's pixel rate is 9.200 GPixel/s and its texture rate is 18.40 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance of 588.8 GFLOPS. The RTX 3080 12 GB's pixel rate is 164.2 GPixel/s, its texture rate is 478.8 GTexel/s, and its FP32 performance is 30.64 TFLOPS. The RTX 3080 12 GB also supports FP16 at 30.64 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio), while the 830M has no recorded FP16 capability. The API support differs as well: the 830M supports DirectX 12 (11_0), while the RTX 3080 12 GB supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4.

The power envelope is also distinct. The 830M has a TDP of 33 W, is an IGP form factor, and requires no power connectors. The RTX 3080 12 GB has a TDP of 350 W, is a dual-slot card, uses a 1x 12-pin power connector, and recommends a 750 W power supply. The bus interface differs: PCIe 3.0 x8 for the 830M versus PCIe 4.0 x16 for the RTX 3080 12 GB. The RTX 3080 12 GB measures 285 mm in length, 112 mm in height, and 40 mm in width.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The RTX 3080 12 GB has an average benchmark score of 4791, compared to the GeForce 830M's 3957. The RTX 3080 12 GB's score is 834 points higher.

Q: What are the nearest rivals for each GPU?

A: The 830M's nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon R5 M420 (3956, 0% delta), NVIDIA GeForce GT 745M (3953, 0.1% delta), NVIDIA Quadro K2000 (3964, -0.2% delta), and AMD Radeon HD 6850 X2 (3977, -0.5% delta). The RTX 3080 12 GB's nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon R5 M255 (4788, 0.1% delta), AMD Radeon R5 M335 (4752, 0.8% delta), NVIDIA GeForce 940MX (4844, -1.1% delta), and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M (4855, -1.3% delta).

Q: How do the shading unit counts compare?

A: The GeForce 830M has 256 shading units. The RTX 3080 12 GB has 8960 shading units, which is 35 times more.

Q: What memory configurations do the two GPUs use?

A: The 830M uses 2 GB of DDR3 memory on a 64-bit bus with 14.40 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 3080 12 GB uses 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus with 912.4 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU supports ray tracing?

A: The RTX 3080 12 GB includes 70 RT cores. The GeForce 830M has no RT cores listed in the database.

Q: What is the transistor count for each chip?

A: The 830M's GM108 chip contains 1,020 million transistors. The RTX 3080 12 GB's GA102 chip contains 28,300 million transistors.

The Verdict

The data supports a straightforward selection for compute-intensive workloads: the RTX 3080 12 GB is the stronger GPU by every recorded metric. Its FP32 performance of 30.64 TFLOPS is roughly 52 times higher than the 830M's 588.8 GFLOPS. Its texture rate of 478.8 GTexel/s is about 26 times higher than the 830M's 18.40 GTexel/s. Its pixel rate of 164.2 GPixel/s is about 18 times higher than the 830M's 9.200 GPixel/s. Memory bandwidth favors the RTX 3080 12 GB by a factor of over 63.

The RTX 3080 12 GB also brings hardware features that the 830M cannot match: 70 RT cores for ray tracing, 280 tensor cores for AI acceleration, and support for DirectX 12 Ultimate. The 830M is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0) and has no ray tracing or tensor hardware.

However, the power requirements tell a different story. The 830M's 33 W TDP and IGP form factor make it suitable for compact, low-power systems. The RTX 3080 12 GB demands 350 W, a 1x 12-pin power connector, a recommended 750 W power supply, and a dual-slot footprint measuring 285 mm in length. The 830M requires no power connectors and has no recorded dimensions, indicating a much smaller physical presence.

The percentile rankings complicate the narrative. The RTX 3080 12 GB sits at the 28th percentile of all GPUs, while the 830M sits at the 24th percentile. The difference is only 4 percentage points, despite the massive specification gap. This suggests that the database's percentile system weights factors beyond raw compute, or that the Steel Nomad benchmark for the RTX 3080 12 GB does not reflect its full performance range. The 830M's OpenCL and Vulkan scores are closer to its rivals than the RTX 3080 12 GB's Steel Nomad score is to its own rivals.

For users who need maximum compute throughput, ray tracing, and large memory capacity, the RTX 3080 12 GB is the clear choice from the recorded data. For users who need a low-power integrated GPU with no external power connectors, the 830M is the only viable option between these two. The choice is not about which GPU is better in absolute terms, but which fits the system constraints. The RTX 3080 12 GB is the performance leader in every specification category, while the 830M is the efficiency and form-factor leader.

Specification Differences

| Field | NVIDIA GeForce 830M | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | Maxwell | Ampere |

| Chip | GM108 | GA102 |

| Process Node | 28 nm | 8 nm |

| Foundry | TSMC | Samsung |

| Transistors | 1,020 million | 28,300 million |

| Die Size | 77 mm² | 628 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 13.2M / mm² | 45.1M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1082 MHz | 1260 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1150 MHz | 1710 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 900 MHz, 1800 Mbps effective | 1188 MHz, 19 Gbps effective |

| Memory Size | 2 GB | 12 GB |

| Memory Type | DDR3 | GDDR6X |

| Memory Bus Width | 64 bit | 384 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 14.40 GB/s | 912.4 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 256 | 8960 |

| TMUs | 16 | 280 |

| ROPs | 8 | 96 |

| RT Cores | None | 70 |

| Tensor Cores | None | 280 |

| Pixel Rate | 9.200 GPixel/s | 164.2 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 18.40 GTexel/s | 478.8 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 588.8 GFLOPS | 30.64 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | None recorded | 30.64 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 33 W | 350 W |

| Slot Width | IGP | Dual-slot |

| Power Connectors | None | 1x 12-pin |

| Suggested PSU | None | 750 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x8 | PCIe 4.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | Portable Device Dependent | 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a |

| DirectX Support | 12 (11_0) | 12 Ultimate (12_2) |

| Release Date | 2014-03-11 | 2022-01-10 |

| Generation | GeForce 800M | GeForce 30 |