NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile Comparison

The Verdict

The benchmark data delivers an unambiguous conclusion: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile is the superior product in every measured category. In the only head-to-head benchmark available, Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 3050 A Mobile scores 52,998 against the GTX 560 Ti’s 10,690, a delta of -79.8% from the perspective of the older card. That is not a marginal improvement; it is a generational leap of roughly 5x in raw compute performance.

The GTX 560 Ti, despite its age, still holds a respectable position in the database. Its average benchmark score of 10,690 places it in the 49th percentile of all GPUs, with nearest rivals including the AMD Radeon RX 6600S (0.6% faster) and the NVIDIA Quadro K2200 (0.7% slower). The RTX 3050 A Mobile, however, shows a more complex profile. Its average benchmark score across all tests is 8,746, placing it in the 44th percentile, but this average is dragged down by low DirectX scores (61 in DirectX 10, 94 in DirectX 11, 55 in DirectX 12). Its PassMark G3D score of 11,664 and Geekbench OpenCL score of 52,998 reveal a GPU that excels in modern compute workloads.

Who should pick which? The RTX 3050 A Mobile is the clear choice for anyone running contemporary applications, particularly those leveraging DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), Vulkan 1.4, or OpenCL compute. The GTX 560 Ti is only relevant for legacy scenarios, and even then, its 1,024 MB of GDDR5 memory and lack of modern API support limit its usefulness. The data shows no scenario where the GTX 560 Ti wins a single benchmark, so the verdict is straightforward: choose the RTX 3050 A Mobile unless software compatibility with a 2011-era driver stack is an absolute requirement.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs spans over a decade of NVIDIA design evolution. The GTX 560 Ti uses the GF114 chip, built on Fermi 2.0 architecture, manufactured on a 40 nm process at TSMC with 1,950 million transistors on a 332 mm² die. The transistor density is 5.9M per mm². In contrast, the RTX 3050 A Mobile uses the GA106 chip, built on Ampere architecture, manufactured on an 8 nm process at Samsung with 12,000 million transistors on a 276 mm² die. The transistor density jumps to 43.5M per mm², a 7.4x improvement in packing efficiency.

The compute core counts tell a similar story of generational scaling. The GTX 560 Ti has 384 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The RTX 3050 A Mobile has 1,792 shading units, 56 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. While the TMU count is lower on the newer card, the shading unit count is 4.7x higher. Critically, the RTX 3050 A Mobile adds 14 RT cores and 56 tensor cores, hardware that simply does not exist on the Fermi architecture. These enable hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI-based features such as DLSS, capabilities the GTX 560 Ti cannot access at all.

The memory subsystem also differs fundamentally. The GTX 560 Ti uses 1,024 MB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, achieving 128.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 3050 A Mobile uses 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, achieving 192.0 GB/s. The newer card has 4x the capacity but only 50% more bandwidth, a trade-off that reflects the efficiency of GDDR6 versus GDDR5. The API support diverges sharply as well: the GTX 560 Ti supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6 but has no Vulkan support. The RTX 3050 A Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct head-to-head benchmark recorded in the database is Geekbench OpenCL, and the result is decisive. The RTX 3050 A Mobile scores 52,998, while the GTX 560 Ti scores 10,690. That is a delta of -79.8% when viewed from the GTX 560 Ti’s side, meaning the newer card is approximately 395% faster. This single metric encapsulates the entire architectural generational leap: more shading units, faster memory, modern process node, and dedicated compute hardware all contribute to this massive OpenCL advantage.

Looking beyond the head-to-head, the broader benchmark suite for the RTX 3050 A Mobile reinforces its compute strength. Its PassMark GPU Compute score is 4,419, and its PassMark G3D score is 11,664. The GTX 560 Ti has no comparable DirectX or PassMark scores in the database, so the comparison rests on the Geekbench result. The RTX 3050 A Mobile’s nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 v2, matches its average score at 8,746 with a delta of 0%, while the NVIDIA Quadro P2200 trails by 0.7%. The GTX 560 Ti’s nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6600S, is only 0.6% faster, placing the old card squarely in a mid-2010s performance tier.

The wins tally is one-sided: the RTX 3050 A Mobile records 1 win in head-to-head benchmarks, while the GTX 560 Ti records 0. There is no benchmark in the database where the older card outperforms the newer one. Every recorded metric, from OpenCL compute to DirectX 12 capability, favors the Ampere-based mobile GPU.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every specification field. The GTX 560 Ti is a desktop card with a dual-slot form factor, 229 mm length (9 inches), and 2x 6-pin power connectors, requiring a 450 W suggested power supply. The RTX 3050 A Mobile is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) with no slot width, no power connectors, no suggested PSU, and no recorded dimensions. The power draw difference is substantial: 170 W for the GTX 560 Ti versus 45 W for the RTX 3050 A Mobile, a 73.5% reduction in power consumption while delivering far higher performance.

The clock speeds differ in structure as well. The GTX 560 Ti has no base or boost clock listed, only a memory clock of 1002 MHz (4 Gbps effective). The RTX 3050 A Mobile has a base clock of 1065 MHz and a boost clock of 1343 MHz, with a memory clock of 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective). The memory type, capacity, and bus width all differ: GDDR5 versus GDDR6, 1024 MB versus 4 GB, and 256-bit versus 128-bit. Bandwidth is higher on the newer card at 192.0 GB/s versus 128.3 GB/s.

The bus interface advances from PCIe 2.0 x16 to PCIe 4.0 x8. Display outputs change from 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a to "Portable Device Dependent," reflecting the mobile nature of the RTX 3050 A Mobile. The production status is end-of-life for both, but the release dates are 2011-01-24 for the GTX 560 Ti and 2023-12-31 for the RTX 3050 A Mobile. The GTX 560 Ti launched with an MSRP of 249 USD (stated once here), while the RTX 3050 A Mobile has no recorded launch MSRP. The GTX 560 Ti’s predecessor is GeForce 400 and successor is GeForce 600; the RTX 3050 A Mobile’s predecessor is GeForce 20 Mobile with no successor listed. The GTX 560 Ti has 384 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 32 ROPs; the RTX 3050 A Mobile has 1,792 shading units, 56 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The newer card adds 14 RT cores and 56 tensor cores, which the older card lacks entirely. Pixel rate jumps from 13.17 GPixel/s to 42.98 GPixel/s, and texture rate from 52.67 GTexel/s to 75.21 GTexel/s. FP32 performance goes from 1,263.4 GFLOPS to 4.813 TFLOPS, and FP16 is absent on the GTX 560 Ti but present at 4.813 TFLOPS (1:1) on the RTX 3050 A Mobile.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher Geekbench OpenCL score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile scores 52,998, which is 79.8% higher than the GTX 560 Ti’s score of 10,690 in the head-to-head comparison.

Q: Does the GTX 560 Ti support ray tracing?

A: No. The GTX 560 Ti has no RT cores, while the RTX 3050 A Mobile has 14 RT cores. Ray tracing hardware is exclusive to the newer Ampere architecture.

Q: How much memory does each card have?

A: The GTX 560 Ti has 1,024 MB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus. The RTX 3050 A Mobile has 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The GTX 560 Ti has a TDP of 170 W with 2x 6-pin power connectors. The RTX 3050 A Mobile has a TDP of 45 W and no power connectors, as it is an integrated graphics processor.

Q: Which card supports DirectX 12 Ultimate?

A: Only the RTX 3050 A Mobile, which supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4. The GTX 560 Ti supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, with no Vulkan support.

Q: How many shading units does each card have?

A: The GTX 560 Ti has 384 shading units. The RTX 3050 A Mobile has 1,792 shading units, roughly 4.7x more.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 3050 A Mobile wins in every recorded benchmark category. In Geekbench OpenCL, it crushes the GTX 560 Ti with a score of 52,998 versus 10,690. Its PassMark G3D score of 11,664 and GPU Compute score of 4,419 further demonstrate its dominance in both graphics and compute workloads. The DirectX scores, while lower than the G3D score (61 in DirectX 10, 94 in DirectX 11, 55 in DirectX 12), still represent a functional modern API stack that the GTX 560 Ti cannot match, given its limitation to DirectX 12 (11_0) and lack of Vulkan.

The GTX 560 Ti wins nowhere in the recorded data. Its only benchmark score, 10,690 in Geekbench OpenCL, is 79.8% lower than the newer card. Its nearest rivals cluster tightly around its score: the AMD Radeon RX 6600S is 0.6% faster, the NVIDIA Quadro K2200 is 0.7% slower, and the AMD Radeon R9 M275X is 1% faster. This places the GTX 560 Ti in a performance tier roughly equivalent to mid-range mobile GPUs from the mid-2010s. The RTX 3050 A Mobile, despite its lower 44th percentile ranking overall, clearly outperforms its nearest rivals in compute: the GeForce GTX 460 v2 matches its average at 0% delta, but the RTX 3050 A Mobile’s Geekbench score is far above any competitor in its class.

For use cases, the RTX 3050 A Mobile is the only viable choice for modern gaming, content creation, or any workload that benefits from ray tracing, tensor cores, or Vulkan support. Its 4 GB of GDDR6 memory and 192.0 GB/s bandwidth provide adequate capacity for contemporary textures and assets. The GTX 560 Ti, with its 1,024 MB of GDDR5 and lack of modern API support, is limited to legacy applications and old operating systems. Its 170 W power draw and dual-slot design also make it impractical in any modern system context, especially compared to the RTX 3050 A Mobile’s 45 W IGP form factor. The data is unambiguous: the RTX 3050 A Mobile is the superior GPU in every measurable way.