NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded database shows only one direct head-to-head benchmark between these two cards: Geekbench OpenCL. In that test, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM scores 60,740, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 scores 12,830. That is a delta of -78.9% for the GTX 590, meaning the RTX 3050 OEM outperforms the older card by roughly 4.7 times in this compute-oriented workload. The result is decisive; the RTX 3050 OEM takes the only recorded win in this comparison.

Look closer at the broader benchmark averages to see where each card sits. The GTX 590 has an average benchmark score of 12,830, which places it at the 52nd percentile of all GPUs in the database. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon Pro 455 at 12,831 (delta 0%), the AMD FirePro W5100 at 12,847 (delta -0.1%), the AMD Radeon 740M at 12,870 (delta -0.3%), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 at 12,773 (delta 0.4%). These are essentially all within a fraction of a percent of each other, so the GTX 590 sits in a tight cluster of mid-range performers from its era.

The RTX 3050 OEM, by contrast, has an average benchmark score of 15,199, placing it at the 57th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX 7600 at 15,171 (delta 0.2%), the AMD Radeon 680M at 15,270 (delta -0.5%), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 at 15,283 (delta -0.5%), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 at 15,290 (delta -0.6%). While the RTX 3050 OEM's average is higher than the GTX 590's average, the gap in the direct OpenCL test is far larger than the gap in average scores. That discrepancy reflects the different workloads: the OpenCL test is heavily compute-parallel, which favors the newer architecture's raw throughput, while the average score pulls in a mix of other tests where the older Fermi card is less disadvantaged.

The RTX 3050 OEM also has additional recorded benchmarks that the GTX 590 lacks entirely. In Vulkan, it scores 57,103. In Passmark tests, it scores 61 in DirectX 10, 86 in DirectX 11, 58 in DirectX 12, 137 in DirectX 9, 973 in G2D, 11,857 in G3D, and 5,779 in GPU compute. These numbers give a fuller picture of the newer card's capabilities, but they do not directly translate to a comparison with the GTX 590, since the older card has no equivalent entries in the database.

FAQ

Q: Which card has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The RTX 3050 OEM has an average benchmark score of 15,199, versus 12,830 for the GTX 590. That places the RTX 3050 OEM at the 57th percentile of all GPUs, while the GTX 590 sits at the 52nd percentile.

Q: How much faster is the RTX 3050 OEM in the only direct head-to-head test?

A: In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the RTX 3050 OEM scores 60,740 versus 12,830 for the GTX 590, a delta of -78.9% for the older card. That means the RTX 3050 OEM delivers about 4.7 times the score.

Q: Do the two cards support the same DirectX version?

A: No. The RTX 3050 OEM supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the GTX 590 supports DirectX 12 (11_0). That is a significant gap in feature support, particularly for modern game titles that rely on DirectX 12 Ultimate features.

Q: Does the GTX 590 have any benchmark where it beats the RTX 3050 OEM?

A: In the recorded database, the GTX 590 has zero wins in head-to-head comparisons. The RTX 3050 OEM has one win. There are no recorded tests where the GTX 590 outperforms the RTX 3050 OEM.

Q: What is the production status of each card?

A: Both are marked as end-of-life in the database. The GTX 590 was released earlier, in March 2011, while the RTX 3050 OEM was released in January 2022.

Q: Which card has a larger memory bus width?

A: The GTX 590 has a 384-bit bus, while the RTX 3050 OEM has a 128-bit bus. However, the RTX 3050 OEM has higher memory bandwidth (224.0 GB/s) than the GTX 590 (164.0 GB/s) due to faster GDDR6 memory.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from completely different architectural generations. The GTX 590 is built on Fermi 2.0, using the GF110 chip on TSMC's 40 nm process. It packs 3,000 million transistors into a 520 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 5.8 million per mm². The RTX 3050 OEM, in contrast, uses Ampere architecture with the GA106 chip, fabricated by Samsung on an 8 nm process. It contains 12,000 million transistors on a 276 mm² die, for a transistor density of 43.5 million per mm². That density difference is enormous, roughly 7.5 times higher, and it is the core reason the newer card can deliver so much more performance in a smaller package.

The shading units tell a similar story. The GTX 590 has 512 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs. The RTX 3050 OEM has 2,304 shading units, 72 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The newer card has 4.5 times the shading units, which directly contributes to its massive FP32 compute advantage: 8.087 TFLOPS versus 1,244.2 GFLOPS for the GTX 590. That is a difference of roughly 6.5 times in raw single-precision floating-point throughput.

The RTX 3050 OEM also introduces hardware features that did not exist in Fermi. It has 18 ray tracing cores and 72 tensor cores, which enable hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI-based technologies like DLSS. The GTX 590 has none of these, as they were introduced several generations later. Additionally, the RTX 3050 OEM supports FP16 at a 1:1 ratio with FP32 (8.087 TFLOPS), while the GTX 590 has no recorded FP16 capability.

Memory architecture differs as well. The GTX 590 uses 1536 MB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, with memory clocked at 854 MHz (3.4 Gbps effective) for 164.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 3050 OEM uses 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, with memory clocked at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) for 224.0 GB/s bandwidth. Despite the narrower bus, the newer memory type delivers higher bandwidth and much more capacity, which is critical for modern textures and resolutions.

The process node and transistor count explain the power envelope difference. The GTX 590 has a TDP of 365 W and requires two 8-pin power connectors plus a 750 W suggested PSU. The RTX 3050 OEM has a TDP of 130 W, needs a single 8-pin connector, and suggests only a 300 W PSU. That is a 235 W reduction in power draw while delivering significantly more compute performance, a direct result of the 8 nm process efficiency.

The Verdict

The database data is unambiguous: the RTX 3050 OEM is the faster card by a wide margin in compute workloads, and it is the only one with recorded wins. The GTX 590's single OpenCL score of 12,830 is dwarfed by the RTX 3050 OEM's 60,740. Even when comparing average benchmark scores, the RTX 3050 OEM leads with 15,199 versus 12,830, though the gap is much smaller than the direct head-to-head test suggests.

Who should pick the GTX 590? Only someone seeking a piece of computing history, as it is end-of-life, has no modern API support beyond DirectX 12 (11_0), and offers no ray tracing or tensor core functionality. Its 40 nm process and 365 W TDP make it an inefficient choice by modern standards. The data shows it is competitive with cards like the GTX 670 and Radeon Pro 455 in its own era, but that era has passed.

Who should pick the RTX 3050 OEM? Anyone who wants a modern, efficient card with hardware ray tracing, tensor cores, and support for DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4. It delivers over four times the OpenCL performance of the GTX 590, uses 130 W instead of 365 W, and offers 8 GB of GDDR6 memory versus 1536 MB of GDDR5. The 57th percentile ranking among all GPUs means it sits in the upper half of the database, while the GTX 590 sits at the 52nd percentile. For any practical use case, the RTX 3050 OEM is the clear choice from the recorded measurements.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every specification category. The GTX 590 uses the GF110 chip on a 40 nm TSMC process, while the RTX 3050 OEM uses the GA106 chip on an 8 nm Samsung process. Transistor count jumps from 3,000 million to 12,000 million, and die size shrinks from 520 mm² to 276 mm². Transistor density goes from 5.8M per mm² to 43.5M per mm².

Memory differs in size, type, and bandwidth. The GTX 590 has 1536 MB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, with 164.0 GB/s bandwidth and 3.4 Gbps effective speed. The RTX 3050 OEM has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth and 14 Gbps effective speed. Shading units increase from 512 to 2,304, TMUs from 64 to 72, and ROPs decrease from 48 to 32. The RTX 3050 OEM adds 18 RT cores and 72 tensor cores, which the GTX 590 lacks entirely.

Clocks are not directly comparable because the GTX 590 has no recorded base or boost clock. The RTX 3050 OEM has a base clock of 1515 MHz and a boost of 1755 MHz. The GTX 590's memory clock is 854 MHz, while the RTX 3050 OEM's memory runs at 1750 MHz. Pixel rate rises from 19.46 GPixel/s to 56.16 GPixel/s, and texture rate from 38.91 GTexel/s to 126.4 GTexel/s. FP32 compute goes from 1,244.2 GFLOPS to 8.087 TFLOPS, and the RTX 3050 OEM also has FP16 at 8.087 TFLOPS.

Power and physical specs shift dramatically. The GTX 590 has a 365 W TDP, dual-slot width, two 8-pin connectors, and a 750 W suggested PSU. The RTX 3050 OEM has a 130 W TDP, dual-slot width, one 8-pin connector, and a 300 W suggested PSU. The GTX 590 is 279 mm long, 111 mm tall, and 40 mm wide. The RTX 3050 OEM is 242 mm long and 112 mm tall, with no recorded width. Bus interface changes from PCIe 2.0 x16 to PCIe 4.0 x8. Display outputs differ: the GTX 590 has 3x DVI and 1x mini-DisplayPort, while the RTX 3050 OEM has 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a.

API support is a major differentiator. The GTX 590 supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, with no Vulkan support recorded. The RTX 3050 OEM supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The GTX 590 was released in March 2011, while the RTX 3050 OEM was released in January 2022, and both are marked end-of-life.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 3050 OEM wins in every recorded benchmark category. In the direct OpenCL head-to-head, it dominates with 60,740 versus 12,830. Its average benchmark score of 15,199 also exceeds the GTX 590's 12,830. Beyond that, the RTX 3050 OEM has recorded wins in Vulkan, Passmark DirectX 10, 11, 12, and 9, Passmark G2D, G3D, and GPU compute, though the GTX 590 has no comparable entries for those tests.

The GTX 590's only theoretical advantages are in specifications that favor older hardware. It has a wider memory bus (384-bit versus 128-bit) and more ROPs (48 versus 32). It also has a larger physical footprint and a higher TDP, which are not performance advantages. In terms of recorded benchmark data, the GTX 590 does not win a single test.

For use-case splits, the data points to the RTX 3050 OEM for any compute-heavy task, including OpenCL workloads, modern gaming with DirectX 12 Ultimate, and Vulkan applications. The GTX 590, by contrast, has no recorded wins and no modern API support, making it unsuitable for current software. The only scenario where the GTX 590 might be selected is one where historical accuracy or legacy compatibility is the goal, but that is not a performance-based win. The RTX 3050 OEM is the practical choice across every measurable dimension in the database.