NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM Comparison

The RTX 3050 OEM and GTX 1070 Ti are two end-of-life graphics cards from different NVIDIA generations, and the benchmark data shows a clear split in their strengths. The GTX 1070 Ti wins the majority of direct comparisons, taking 6 of the 9 head-to-head tests, but the RTX 3050 OEM secures the newer API and compute workloads. These results paint a picture of a classic generational trade-off: the older card often has more raw rasterization power, while the newer card brings architectural features that matter in specific modern scenarios.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most decisive victory for the GTX 1070 Ti comes in legacy DirectX workloads. In the Passmark DirectX 10 test, the GTX 1070 Ti scores 90 against the RTX 3050 OEM’s 61, a 32.2% advantage. The pattern repeats in DirectX 9, where the GTX 1070 Ti posts 207 versus 137, a 33.8% lead. These are not small margins; they represent a substantial performance gap in older titles that rely on these APIs. The GTX 1070 Ti also wins the Passmark DirectX 11 test with a score of 107 compared to 86, a 19.6% difference. In the overall Passmark G3D benchmark, which aggregates many tests, the GTX 1070 Ti scores 14674, beating the RTX 3050 OEM’s 11857 by 19.2%. This is the single largest aggregate lead for the older card.

The GTX 1070 Ti also dominates in compute throughput. In the Passmark GPU Compute test, it scores 7165 versus 5779, a 19.3% advantage. This suggests the Pascal architecture’s raw shader count and memory subsystem still deliver strong parallel processing performance. The Geekbench Vulkan test also goes to the GTX 1070 Ti, with a score of 61006 against 57103, a 6.4% lead. This is a closer contest, but it still shows the older card holding its own in a modern cross-platform graphics API.

The RTX 3050 OEM’s wins are fewer but notable. Its largest victory is in Geekbench OpenCL, where it scores 60740 against the GTX 1070 Ti’s 49219, a substantial 23.4% lead. This indicates that the Ampere architecture’s compute capabilities, likely enhanced by its tensor cores, translate to better performance in OpenCL workloads. The RTX 3050 OEM also wins the Passmark DirectX 12 test with a score of 58 versus 51, a 13.7% advantage. While the absolute numbers are low, this is the key modern gaming API, and the newer card shows a clear edge. Finally, the RTX 3050 OEM wins the Passmark G2D test, scoring 973 against 876, an 11.1% lead, indicating better 2D and desktop rendering performance.

The Verdict

The data points to a straightforward conclusion: the GTX 1070 Ti is the stronger card for traditional rasterized gaming, particularly in older or DirectX 11 titles. Its wins in DirectX 10, 11, and 9, combined with its 19.2% lead in the Passmark G3D aggregate, make it the better choice for a large library of existing games. If the primary use case is playing games released before the current console generation, the GTX 1070 Ti is the clear winner based on these benchmark results.

However, the RTX 3050 OEM is the better option for users who prioritize modern API support and compute performance. The 23.4% lead in Geekbench OpenCL and the 13.7% win in DirectX 12 suggest that the newer card is better suited for applications that leverage these technologies, such as newer game engines or compute-heavy tasks like machine learning inference. The RTX 3050 OEM’s support for DirectX 12 Ultimate, a feature the GTX 1070 Ti lacks, means it is future-proofed for titles that use ray tracing and mesh shaders, even if the performance in those specific scenarios is not directly measured here. For a builder assembling a system today with an eye toward newer software, the RTX 3050 OEM is the more sensible pick.

Architecture Differences

The two cards are built on fundamentally different architectures. The RTX 3050 OEM uses the Ampere architecture, built on an 8 nm process at Samsung, while the GTX 1070 Ti uses the older Pascal architecture, fabricated on TSMC’s 16 nm node. This process difference explains the RTX 3050 OEM’s higher transistor density of 43.5M per mm² versus 22.9M for the GTX 1070 Ti. The Ampere chip, GA106, contains 12,000 million transistors on a 276 mm² die, whereas the Pascal chip, GP104, has 7,200 million transistors on a larger 314 mm² die.

The most significant architectural gap is in feature support. The RTX 3050 OEM includes 18 ray tracing cores and 72 tensor cores, which are entirely absent from the GTX 1070 Ti. This enables the RTX 3050 OEM to support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the GTX 1070 Ti is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1). The RTX 3050 OEM also has a different memory configuration, using 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, while the GTX 1070 Ti uses 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus. The GTX 1070 Ti has a higher memory bandwidth of 256.3 GB/s versus 224.0 GB/s for the RTX 3050 OEM.

The compute pipelines also differ substantially. The RTX 3050 OEM has 2304 shading units, 72 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, while the GTX 1070 Ti has 2432 shading units, 152 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The GTX 1070 Ti’s higher texture and pixel rates, 255.8 GTexel/s and 107.7 GPixel/s respectively, compared to 126.4 GTexel/s and 56.16 GPixel/s for the RTX 3050 OEM, directly explain its rasterization advantage. The FP32 performance is nearly identical, with the RTX 3050 OEM at 8.087 TFLOPS and the GTX 1070 Ti at 8.186 TFLOPS, but the FP16 performance is starkly different: the RTX 3050 OEM achieves 8.087 TFLOPS (1:1), while the GTX 1070 Ti only manages 127.9 GFLOPS (1:64). The RTX 3050 OEM also uses a PCIe 4.0 x8 interface, while the GTX 1070 Ti uses PCIe 3.0 x16.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in overall gaming performance?

A: Based on the Passmark G3D benchmark, the GTX 1070 Ti is faster, scoring 14674 versus 11857 for the RTX 3050 OEM, a 19.2% difference.

Q: Does the RTX 3050 OEM support ray tracing?

A: Yes, it has 18 ray tracing cores and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), which includes ray tracing features. The GTX 1070 Ti has no ray tracing cores and is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1).

Q: Which card has better compute performance in OpenCL?

A: The RTX 3050 OEM wins the Geekbench OpenCL test with a score of 60740, which is 23.4% higher than the GTX 1070 Ti’s score of 49219.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The GTX 1070 Ti has a higher memory bandwidth of 256.3 GB/s with a 256-bit bus, compared to the RTX 3050 OEM’s 224.0 GB/s with a 128-bit bus.

Q: Which card has a lower power draw?

A: The RTX 3050 OEM has a TDP of 130 W, while the GTX 1070 Ti has a TDP of 180 W. The RTX 3050 OEM also suggests a 300 W power supply, versus 450 W for the GTX 1070 Ti.

Q: In which API does the GTX 1070 Ti have its largest lead?

A: The GTX 1070 Ti’s largest lead is in the Passmark DirectX 9 test, where it scores 207 versus 137, a 33.8% advantage.

Where Each One Wins

The GTX 1070 Ti is the card for legacy gaming and raw rasterization. Its wins in DirectX 9, 10, and 11, alongside the 19.2% lead in the Passmark G3D aggregate, make it a strong choice for playing older titles or games that do not heavily utilize DirectX 12. Its higher texture rate of 255.8 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 107.7 GPixel/s provide a solid foundation for high-resolution texture work. It also wins in Vulkan and GPU compute, making it suitable for a wider range of general-purpose GPU tasks.

The RTX 3050 OEM is the choice for modern workloads and API adoption. Its 23.4% win in Geekbench OpenCL indicates superior compute throughput in applications that use that API, potentially including productivity software. The 13.7% win in DirectX 12 positions it better for newer games that use the latest rendering features. The presence of tensor cores, despite not being directly benchmarked here, suggests an advantage in AI-accelerated workloads. Its lower TDP of 130 W also makes it easier to cool and power in a compact system. For a new build focused on current and future software, the RTX 3050 OEM is the more forward-looking option.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every major specification. The RTX 3050 OEM uses the Ampere architecture on an 8 nm Samsung process, while the GTX 1070 Ti uses Pascal on a 16 nm TSMC process. The RTX 3050 OEM has 12,000 million transistors on a 276 mm² die, whereas the GTX 1070 Ti has 7,200 million on a 314 mm² die. The RTX 3050 OEM has a base clock of 1515 MHz and a boost clock of 1755 MHz, while the GTX 1070 Ti has a higher base clock of 1607 MHz but a lower boost clock of 1683 MHz.

Memory configurations are distinct: the RTX 3050 OEM uses 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the GTX 1070 Ti uses 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 256.3 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 3050 OEM has 2304 shading units, 72 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, while the GTX 1070 Ti has 2432 shading units, 152 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The RTX 3050 OEM has 18 RT cores and 72 tensor cores; the GTX 1070 Ti has none. The RTX 3050 OEM has a TDP of 130 W with a suggested 300 W PSU, while the GTX 1070 Ti has a TDP of 180 W with a suggested 450 W PSU. The RTX 3050 OEM uses a PCIe 4.0 x8 interface, while the GTX 1070 Ti uses PCIe 3.0 x16. The GTX 1070 Ti is longer at 267 mm versus 242 mm for the RTX 3050 OEM, and it includes a DVI output, while the RTX 3050 OEM uses only HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4a. The GTX 1070 Ti was released in 2017 with a launch MSRP of 399 USD, while the RTX 3050 OEM was released in 2022.