NVIDIA GeForce GTX 465 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile Comparison

The GeForce GTX 465 and the GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile represent two distant points in NVIDIA’s architectural timeline, separated by over a decade of process and design evolution. The data shows a decisive generational leap, with the mobile Ampere part delivering a dominant victory in raw compute benchmarks, while the older Fermi card remains a reference point for early DX11-era performance. This analysis compares the two strictly on the available benchmark scores and technical specifications.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The sole direct comparison available is the Geekbench OpenCL test, and the result is not close. The RTX 3050 A Mobile scores 52,998 points, while the GTX 465 manages only 9,294 points. This represents a delta of -82.5% for the GTX 465, meaning the newer mobile GPU is roughly 5.7 times faster in this compute-oriented workload. The absolute difference of 43,704 points dwarfs any variation seen among the rivals listed for either card.

Context from the nearest rivals underscores the magnitude of this gap. The GTX 465’s closest competitors in average score are the GeForce GTX 850M (9,302), AMD Radeon R7 M380 (9,313), and GeForce GTX 960 (9,273), all within a 0.8% delta. The RTX 3050 A Mobile, by contrast, sits near the GeForce GTX 460 v2 (8,743) and Quadro P2200 (8,686), with deltas of 0% and 0.7% respectively. The 3050 A Mobile’s OpenCL result is so far beyond its own nearest rivals that the comparison highlights its compute advantage rather than a tight race.

When looking at the broader Passmark suite, only the RTX 3050 A Mobile has data, but the scores reveal its character. Its Passmark G3D score is 11,664, which is substantial, while its DirectX 9 score of 152 is the highest among its API-specific results. DirectX 11 comes next at 94, followed by DirectX 10 at 61 and DirectX 12 at 55. The GPU Compute score of 4,419 further indicates strong general-purpose throughput. The GTX 465 has no equivalent Passmark entries, so the comparison rests entirely on the OpenCL result where the Ampere card wins the only head-to-head matchup, giving it a 1-0 record in wins.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the RTX 3050 A Mobile is the superior performer in compute benchmarks. Its OpenCL score of 52,998 is not just a win; it is a category-defining margin that places it far ahead of the GTX 465’s 9,294. For any workload leveraging OpenCL, the choice is clear. Benchmark results indicate the RTX 3050 A Mobile delivers over five times the compute throughput, making it the only viable option for modern compute tasks.

However, the GTX 465 is not without its place in this comparison. Its 46th percentile versus all GPUs is slightly higher than the RTX 3050 A Mobile’s 44th percentile, a counterintuitive finding given the raw score disparity. This suggests that while the older card is slower in absolute terms, its performance profile is more consistent with a broader range of legacy workloads. For users constrained to older software or driver environments, the GTX 465 might still function adequately, but the data does not support choosing it for any performance-sensitive application.

The verdict hinges on workload relevance. If the task is modern compute, the RTX 3050 A Mobile wins outright. If the task is historical accuracy or compatibility with a 2010-era system, the GTX 465 retains a niche. For all practical purposes, the RTX 3050 A Mobile is the benchmark winner, and the GTX 465’s only advantage is its higher percentile ranking, which reflects a different comparison pool rather than actual speed.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 3050 A Mobile wins in every measurable compute scenario. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 52,998 is the definitive data point, and its Passmark results—particularly the G3D score of 11,664 and GPU Compute score of 4,419—reinforce its strength in both graphics and general-purpose tasks. The DirectX 12 score of 55, while lower than its DX9 score, still indicates functional support for the latest API, which the GTX 465 lacks entirely (DirectX 12 with 11_0 feature level). This makes the RTX 3050 A Mobile the choice for any workload requiring modern API features, ray tracing (14 RT cores), or tensor operations (56 tensor cores).

The GTX 465’s wins are more subtle and derive from its specification profile rather than benchmark victories. It has a higher transistor density per square millimeter? No, that is false—the RTX 3050 A Mobile has 43.5M / mm² versus 5.9M / mm² for the GTX 465. The GTX 465 does have a larger die size at 529 mm² versus 276 mm², but that is a drawback, not a win. Its 256-bit memory bus is wider than the RTX 3050 A Mobile’s 128-bit bus, but the newer card compensates with faster GDDR6 memory achieving 192.0 GB/s bandwidth versus 102.7 GB/s for the GTX 465.

The only area where the GTX 465 might be preferred is in its desktop form factor with dual-slot cooling and 2x 6-pin power connectors, which could fit certain legacy systems. Its 200W TDP is much higher than the RTX 3050 A Mobile’s 45W, but that is a disadvantage in efficiency. In terms of use-case, the RTX 3050 A Mobile is the clear winner for gaming, compute, and any modern workload. The GTX 465 is only relevant for vintage system builds or non-performance-critical tasks where its PCIe 2.0 x16 interface and older display outputs (2x DVI, 1x mini-HDMI) are acceptable.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher Geekbench OpenCL score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile scores 52,998 points, compared to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 465’s 9,294 points, making the RTX 3050 A Mobile the clear winner with an 82.5% delta.

Q: How does the RTX 3050 A Mobile compare to its nearest rivals?

A: Its average benchmark score is 8,746, placing it within 1.3% of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 v2 (8,743), NVIDIA Quadro P2200 (8,686), AMD Radeon R9 M265X (8,851), and AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100 (8,863).

Q: What is the memory configuration difference?

A: The GTX 465 has 1024 MB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus with 102.7 GB/s bandwidth, while the RTX 3050 A Mobile has 4 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 192.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Does the RTX 3050 A Mobile support ray tracing?

A: Yes, it includes 14 RT cores and 56 tensor cores, which are part of its Ampere architecture. The GTX 465 has no RT or tensor cores.

Q: Which card has a higher percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The GTX 465 sits at the 46th percentile, while the RTX 3050 A Mobile is at the 44th percentile, despite the RTX 3050 A Mobile having a much higher absolute benchmark score.

Q: What are the process node and transistor counts?

A: The GTX 465 is built on TSMC’s 40 nm process with 3,100 million transistors, while the RTX 3050 A Mobile uses Samsung’s 8 nm process with 12,000 million transistors.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two GPUs is vast. The GTX 465 uses the GF100 chip based on the Fermi architecture, fabricated on a 40 nm process at TSMC. It packs 3,100 million transistors into a 529 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 5.9M / mm². The RTX 3050 A Mobile uses the GA106 chip based on Ampere, built on Samsung’s 8 nm process. This newer chip contains 12,000 million transistors on a much smaller 276 mm² die, achieving a density of 43.5M / mm²—over seven times higher.

Core configurations differ dramatically. The GTX 465 has 352 shading units, 44 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The RTX 3050 A Mobile has 1,792 shading units, 56 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The shading unit count is over five times higher on the Ampere card, which directly contributes to its FP32 performance of 4.813 TFLOPS versus the GTX 465’s 855.4 GFLOPS. The RTX 3050 A Mobile also features 14 RT cores and 56 tensor cores, which are absent from the Fermi architecture entirely. Its FP16 performance matches FP32 at 4.813 TFLOPS (1:1), while the GTX 465 has no listed FP16 capability.

Memory and bus specifications also reflect the generational shift. The GTX 465 uses GDDR5 with a 256-bit bus, achieving 102.7 GB/s. The RTX 3050 A Mobile uses GDDR6 with a 128-bit bus, but achieves 192.0 GB/s due to faster effective clock speeds (12 Gbps versus 3.2 Gbps). The pixel rate is 42.98 GPixel/s on the RTX 3050 A Mobile versus 13.38 GPixel/s on the GTX 465, and the texture rate is 75.21 GTexel/s versus 26.75 GTexel/s.

The power and form factor differences are stark. The GTX 465 is a dual-slot desktop card with a 200W TDP, requiring 2x 6-pin power connectors and a 550W suggested power supply. The RTX 3050 A Mobile is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with a 45W TDP and no power connectors, designed for portable devices. The GTX 465 uses PCIe 2.0 x16 and has fixed display outputs (2x DVI, 1x mini-HDMI), while the RTX 3050 A Mobile uses PCIe 4.0 x8 and has portable-device-dependent outputs. API support also differs, with the GTX 465 limited to DirectX 12 (11_0) and the RTX 3050 A Mobile supporting DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4. The release dates are 2010-05-30 for the GTX 465 and 2023-12-31 for the RTX 3050 A Mobile, with both now end-of-life.