NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 represent two very different eras of NVIDIA’s GPU design. The RTX 3060 Ti is a modern Ampere-generation card built on an 8 nm process, while the GTX 580 is a Fermi 2.0-era card from 2010 built on a 40 nm process. The benchmark data shows a single direct comparison, but the architectural and specification gaps between these two cards are vast. The RTX 3060 Ti holds a clear performance advantage, but the GTX 580 remains a historically significant piece of hardware with its own legacy.

Where Each One Wins

Based on the available benchmark data, the RTX 3060 Ti wins the only head-to-head test, and it wins by a massive margin. In the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark, the RTX 3060 Ti scores 78,927 points against the GTX 580’s 15,283 points. This represents a 416.4% delta, meaning the RTX 3060 Ti is over five times faster in this compute-oriented test. This is not a close contest; the RTX 3060 Ti dominates in raw computational throughput.

The GTX 580 does not win any head-to-head tests. Its only benchmark result is that same Geekbench OpenCL score of 15,283, which places it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs. The RTX 3060 Ti, by comparison, sits in the 59th percentile. While their percentile rankings are close, the actual scores are not. The RTX 3060 Ti’s average benchmark score across all its tested workloads is 16,129, while the GTX 580’s average is 15,283, a difference of roughly 5.5% in favor of the newer card.

For use-case purposes, the RTX 3060 Ti is the clear choice for any modern workload involving compute, DirectX 12 Ultimate, or Vulkan, given its support for these APIs and its much higher scores. The GTX 580, with its older architecture and lack of modern feature support, is only relevant for legacy applications or historical collection, not for current gaming or productivity tasks where the RTX 3060 Ti will be decisively faster.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is generational. The RTX 3060 Ti uses the GA104 chip built on Ampere architecture, fabricated by Samsung on an 8 nm process. It packs 17,400 million transistors into a 392 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 44.4M per mm². The GTX 580 uses the GF110 chip based on Fermi 2.0 architecture, built by TSMC on a 40 nm process. It contains just 3,000 million transistors on a larger 520 mm² die, resulting in a much lower transistor density of 5.8M per mm².

The RTX 3060 Ti features 4,864 shading units, 152 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output units. It also includes 38 ray tracing cores and 152 tensor cores, which are absent entirely from the GTX 580. The GTX 580 has only 512 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. This means the RTX 3060 Ti has roughly 9.5 times more shading units, 2.4 times more TMUs, and 1.7 times more ROPs than the GTX 580.

Memory architecture differs substantially as well. The RTX 3060 Ti uses 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX 580 uses 1536 MB of GDDR5 memory on a 384-bit bus, providing 192.4 GB/s of bandwidth. Despite the GTX 580 having a wider bus, the RTX 3060 Ti’s faster memory type and larger capacity give it over twice the bandwidth and over five times the memory capacity.

The RTX 3060 Ti supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The GTX 580 supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, but has no Vulkan support listed. The RTX 3060 Ti also uses a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, while the GTX 580 uses PCIe 2.0 x16. These differences mean the RTX 3060 Ti is compatible with modern software and APIs, while the GTX 580 is limited to older standards.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the RTX 3060 Ti than the GTX 580 in the only shared benchmark?

A: In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the RTX 3060 Ti scores 78,927 versus the GTX 580’s 15,283, a delta of 416.4% in favor of the RTX 3060 Ti.

Q: Does the GTX 580 have ray tracing or tensor cores?

A: No. The GTX 580 has no RT cores and no tensor cores listed. The RTX 3060 Ti includes 38 ray tracing cores and 152 tensor cores.

Q: What are the memory capacities of each card?

A: The RTX 3060 Ti has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, while the GTX 580 has 1536 MB of GDDR5 memory.

Q: Which card has a higher transistor density?

A: The RTX 3060 Ti has a transistor density of 44.4M per mm², compared to the GTX 580’s 5.8M per mm².

Q: What is the power connector requirement for each card?

A: The RTX 3060 Ti uses a single 12-pin connector, while the GTX 580 requires one 6-pin and one 8-pin connector. Both have a suggested PSU of 550 W.

Q: Do both cards support the same DirectX version?

A: No. The RTX 3060 Ti supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the GTX 580 supports DirectX 12 (11_0).

Specification Differences

The following specifications differ between the two GPUs:

• Chip: GA104 (RTX 3060 Ti) vs GF110 (GTX 580)
• Architecture: Ampere vs Fermi 2.0
• Generation: GeForce 30 vs GeForce 500
• Process Node: 8 nm (Samsung) vs 40 nm (TSMC)
• Transistors: 17,400 million vs 3,000 million
• Die Size: 392 mm² vs 520 mm²
• Transistor Density: 44.4M / mm² vs 5.8M / mm²
• Base Clock: 1410 MHz vs not specified
• Boost Clock: 1665 MHz vs not specified
• Memory Clock: 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) vs 1002 MHz (4 Gbps effective)
• Memory Size: 8 GB vs 1536 MB
• Memory Type: GDDR6 vs GDDR5
• Memory Bus Width: 256 bit vs 384 bit
• Memory Bandwidth: 448.0 GB/s vs 192.4 GB/s
• Shading Units: 4864 vs 512
• TMUs: 152 vs 64
• ROPs: 80 vs 48
• RT Cores: 38 vs not applicable
• Tensor Cores: 152 vs not applicable
• Pixel Rate: 133.2 GPixel/s vs 24.70 GPixel/s
• Texture Rate: 253.1 GTexel/s vs 49.41 GTexel/s
• FP32: 16.20 TFLOPS vs 1.581 TFLOPS
• FP16: 16.20 TFLOPS (1:1) vs not specified
• TDP: 200 W vs 244 W
• Power Connectors: 1x 12-pin vs 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin
• Bus Interface: PCIe 4.0 x16 vs PCIe 2.0 x16
• Display Outputs: 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a vs 2x DVI, 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a
• DirectX: 12 Ultimate (12_2) vs 12 (11_0)
• Vulkan: 1.4 vs not specified
• Length: 242 mm (9.5 inches) vs 267 mm (10.5 inches)
• Release Date: 2020-11-30 vs 2010-11-08
• Predecessor: GeForce 20 vs GeForce 400
• Successor: GeForce 40 vs GeForce 600
• Launch MSRP: 399 USD vs 499 USD

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

There is only one direct benchmark comparison available between these two cards, and it is a decisive victory for the RTX 3060 Ti. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 3060 Ti achieves a score of 78,927 points. The GTX 580 manages only 15,283 points in the same test. The delta percentage is 416.4%, meaning the RTX 3060 Ti is more than five times faster in this workload. This is not a marginal improvement; it is a generational leap in compute performance.

The RTX 3060 Ti’s average benchmark score across all its tests is 16,129, while the GTX 580’s average is 15,283. This 846-point gap (about 5.5%) is much smaller than the OpenCL delta, but it still favors the newer card. The RTX 3060 Ti also has a wider range of benchmark results, including scores for 3DMark Steel Nomad (2,626), Geekbench Vulkan (47,784), and Passmark G3D (20,349). The GTX 580 has no comparable results in these tests, so its performance in those areas cannot be measured against the RTX 3060 Ti.

Looking at the nearest rivals for each card provides additional context. The RTX 3060 Ti’s nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 9060, which scores 16,014 with a delta of 0.7%. The GTX 580’s nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, which scores 15,290 with a delta of 0%. This means the GTX 580 is effectively tied with an RTX 2060 in average score, while the RTX 3060 Ti is slightly ahead of an RX 9060. The RTX 3060 Ti’s raw score in OpenCL, however, is in a completely different league from the GTX 580’s.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the RTX 3060 Ti is the superior GPU in every measurable way. Its single head-to-head benchmark win is by a factor of over five, and its average benchmark score is higher. For anyone building a system today or upgrading an older one, the RTX 3060 Ti is the only sensible choice between these two. It offers modern API support, ray tracing and tensor cores, a much larger memory pool, and dramatically higher compute throughput.

The GTX 580 is a relic of a bygone era. It may have been a flagship card in its day, but its 512 shading units, 1.581 TFLOPS FP32 performance, and 1536 MB of GDDR5 memory cannot compete with the RTX 3060 Ti’s 4,864 shading units and 16.20 TFLOPS. Its only benchmark score places it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs, but that score is so low relative to the RTX 3060 Ti that the percentile difference is misleading.

Who should pick the GTX 580? Only someone interested in retro hardware or a historical collection. It is end-of-life, lacks modern display outputs, and cannot handle contemporary workloads. Everyone else should choose the RTX 3060 Ti, which, despite also being end-of-life, offers a level of performance that remains relevant for modern gaming and compute tasks. The RTX 3060 Ti’s launch MSRP was 399 USD, while the GTX 580 launched at 499 USD, but the performance difference is so vast that the newer card is the obvious pick on merit alone.