NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile Comparison

The comparison between the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 is a study in generational contrast. The data places the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile at the 53rd percentile of all GPUs, while the GTX 590 sits at the 52nd, indicating they are close in overall standing despite their vastly different origins. However, the single head-to-head benchmark available reveals a decisive performance gap that defines their respective positions in the market.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison in the data is the Geekbench OpenCL test, and the results are stark. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile scores 57,915 points, while the GTX 590 manages only 12,830 points. This translates to a delta of 351.4% in favor of the mobile GPU, a massive lead that underscores the architectural advancements made over the decade separating these two products. The GTX 590, a dual-GPU flagship from the Fermi era, is simply outpaced by the modern Ampere-based mobile chip in this compute-heavy workload.

This result is not an isolated anomaly when considering the average benchmark scores. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile has an average benchmark score of 12,940 across its suite of tests, which is nearly identical to its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 580 (12,928), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER (12,986). In contrast, the GTX 590’s average benchmark score is 12,830, placing it just 0.1% behind the AMD FirePro W5100 (12,847) and 0.4% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 (12,773). While the average scores are similar, the disparity in the OpenCL test suggests that the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile has a significant edge in compute performance, whereas the GTX 590's strengths may lie elsewhere, though no other direct comparisons are available to confirm this.

Where Each One Wins

Based on the available data, the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile wins the only direct comparison, making it the clear victor in compute and general GPU workloads. Its 351.4% lead in OpenCL performance indicates that it is far more efficient at handling parallel processing tasks, which are common in modern games, physics simulations, and productivity applications. The mobile GPU also boasts a much higher FP32 compute rating of 5.299 TFLOPS, compared to the GTX 590’s 1,244.2 GFLOPS, reinforcing its dominance in raw number-crunching.

For the GTX 590, its win condition is not visible in the head-to-head data. The GPU was a dual-chip powerhouse in its era, and its specs suggest it could excel in memory-intensive tasks. It has a 384-bit memory bus, which is wider than the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile’s 128-bit bus, and a higher pixel rate of 19.46 GPixel/s versus 33.12 GPixel/s for the newer card. However, without a second head-to-head benchmark or a test where the GTX 590 wins, the data cannot support any specific victory for it. The only benchmark it has is Geekbench OpenCL, where it loses decisively. Therefore, the GTX 590’s potential advantages remain theoretical, as the data shows it is outclassed in the only measurable contest.

Architecture Differences

The fundamental difference lies in the architecture and manufacturing process. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile is built on the Ampere architecture using an 8 nm process at Samsung, while the GTX 590 uses the Fermi 2.0 architecture on a 40 nm process at TSMC. This process shrink is a major factor in the performance and efficiency gap. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile packs 12,000 million transistors on a 276 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 43.5M / mm². The GTX 590, by contrast, has only 3,000 million transistors spread across a massive 520 mm² die, resulting in a density of just 5.8M / mm². This means the newer chip is not only more powerful but also far more efficient in terms of space and power consumption.

The memory subsystems also differ significantly. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile uses 4 GB of GDDR6 memory with a 128-bit bus, providing 192.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX 590 uses 1536 MB of GDDR5 memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 164.0 GB/s. Despite the narrower bus, the newer GPU achieves higher bandwidth due to faster memory clocks. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile also features hardware ray tracing cores (20) and tensor cores (80), which are absent from the GTX 590. This gives the mobile GPU access to features like DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, whereas the GTX 590 is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0) and lacks Vulkan support entirely. The GTX 590 is a legacy product with no ray tracing or AI acceleration capabilities.

The Verdict

From the data, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile is the superior product in almost every measurable way. It wins the only head-to-head benchmark by a massive margin, has a higher average benchmark score, and offers modern features like ray tracing and tensor cores. The GTX 590, despite being a former flagship with a wide memory bus, is simply outclassed by the technological progress represented in the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile. The mobile GPU’s higher percentile ranking and better compute performance make it the obvious choice for any workload that relies on the metrics tested.

However, there is a caveat regarding the GTX 590. It was a high-end desktop card, and its 365 W TDP and dual-slot design are intended for a desktop system with a 750 W suggested PSU. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile, with a 75 W TDP and an IGP slot width, is designed for laptops. The data does not include any gaming or rasterization-specific benchmarks that might favor the GTX 590’s raw pixel throughput. Therefore, while the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile is the clear winner in compute, the GTX 590 might still hold value in legacy scenarios, but the data does not support that conclusion. For any user looking at the numbers, the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile is the definitive pick.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher score in the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile scores 57,915, which is 351.4% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590’s score of 12,830.

Q: What is the difference in their average benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile has an average benchmark score of 12,940, while the GTX 590 has an average of 12,830. This difference is small, but the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile edges ahead.

Q: Does the GTX 590 support ray tracing?

A: No, the GTX 590 has no ray tracing cores (rtCores) in its specifications. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile includes 20 RT cores.

Q: What are their respective memory sizes and bus widths?

A: The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile has 4 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, while the GTX 590 has 1536 MB of GDDR5 memory on a 384-bit bus.

Q: How do their power requirements compare?

A: The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile has a TDP of 75 W and uses no power connectors, while the GTX 590 has a TDP of 365 W and requires two 8-pin power connectors.

Q: Which GPU has a higher transistor density?

A: The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile has a transistor density of 43.5M / mm², compared to the GTX 590’s 5.8M / mm².

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 |

| :--- | :--- | :--- |

| Architecture | Ampere | Fermi 2.0 |

| Process Node | 8 nm (Samsung) | 40 nm (TSMC) |

| Transistors | 12,000 million | 3,000 million |

| Die Size | 276 mm² | 520 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 43.5M / mm² | 5.8M / mm² |

| Memory Size | 4 GB GDDR6 | 1536 MB GDDR5 |

| Memory Bus Width | 128 bit | 384 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 192.0 GB/s | 164.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 2560 | 512 |

| TMUs | 80 | 64 |

| ROPs | 32 | 48 |

| RT Cores | 20 | None |

| Tensor Cores | 80 | None |

| Pixel Rate | 33.12 GPixel/s | 19.46 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 82.80 GTexel/s | 38.91 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Compute | 5.299 TFLOPS | 1,244.2 GFLOPS |

| TDP | 75 W | 365 W |

| Slot Width | IGP | Dual-slot |

| Power Connectors | None | 2x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | None | 750 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x16 | PCIe 2.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | Portable Device Dependent | 3x DVI, 1x mini-DisplayPort |

| DirectX Support | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | 12 (11_0) |

| Vulkan Support | 1.4 | None |

| Release Date | 2021-05-10 | 2011-03-23 |

| Launch MSRP | None | 699 USD |