NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile Comparison

The GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile and the GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost are separated by a decade of GPU architecture, and the benchmark data reflects a generational chasm. The RTX 3050 A Mobile is not just faster; it is in a different performance class, as evidenced by its 44th percentile ranking among all GPUs compared to the GTX 650 Ti Boost’s 42nd percentile. The average benchmark score of 8,746 for the mobile part versus 8,067 for the desktop card shows a clear overall edge, but the real story is in the specific workloads where the newer architecture completely redefines expectations.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The single head-to-head data point available is a decisive one: in Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 3050 A Mobile scores 52,998, while the GTX 650 Ti Boost manages 9,302. That is a delta of 469.7%, meaning the Ampere-based mobile GPU delivers nearly five times the compute throughput of the Kepler-based desktop card. This is not a marginal improvement; it is a leap that makes the older card effectively non-competitive for any modern compute task.

Looking at the broader benchmark suite, the RTX 3050 A Mobile shows a well-rounded profile. Its Passmark G3D score of 11,664 is the strongest single result, while its Geekbench OpenCL score of 52,998 suggests exceptional parallel compute capability. The Passmark DirectX 9 score of 152 and DirectX 11 score of 94 indicate solid legacy API performance, which is notable because the GTX 650 Ti Boost does not even have comparable results in these tests. The GTX 650 Ti Boost’s available scores are limited to Geekbench Metal (4,858), Vulkan (10,041), and OpenCL (9,302), which are far below the mobile part’s numbers.

The deltaPct in the nearestRivals data for the RTX 3050 A Mobile places it within 1.3% of the AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100 and 1.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon R9 M265X, showing it sits in a competitive mid-range tier. Conversely, the GTX 650 Ti Boost is nearly tied with the NVIDIA GRID K2 (0.2% behind) and the GeForce GTX 650 Ti (0.2% ahead), which underscores its position as a low-end legacy part. The RTX 3050 A Mobile’s win count of 1 versus 0 for the GTX 650 Ti Boost in the head-to-head tests confirms the direction of travel, but the magnitude of that single win is what truly separates them.

Architecture Differences

The RTX 3050 A Mobile is built on the Ampere architecture with the GA106 chip, fabricated on an 8 nm process at Samsung. It packs 12,000 million transistors into a 276 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 43.5 million per square millimeter. The GTX 650 Ti Boost, in contrast, uses the Kepler architecture with the GK106 chip, made on TSMC’s 28 nm process. It contains 2,540 million transistors on a 221 mm² die, giving a density of just 11.5 million per square millimeter. The 8 nm node is dramatically more advanced, allowing the RTX 3050 A Mobile to fit nearly five times the transistors in only 25% more die area.

The feature set diverges sharply. The RTX 3050 A Mobile includes 14 ray tracing cores and 56 tensor cores, which are entirely absent from the GTX 650 Ti Boost. This gives the mobile part hardware support for DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the older card is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0). The RTX 3050 A Mobile also supports Vulkan 1.4 compared to the GTX 650 Ti Boost’s Vulkan 1.2.175. The shading unit count tells a similar story: 1,792 shading units on the Ampere chip versus 768 on Kepler, with the RTX 3050 A Mobile also having 56 texture mapping units and 32 ROPs compared to 64 TMUs and 24 ROPs on the older card. The RTX 3050 A Mobile’s FP32 compute is listed at 4.813 TFLOPS with a 1:1 FP16 ratio, while the GTX 650 Ti Boost manages only 1.585 TFLOPS with no FP16 support listed.

Memory architecture is another fundamental split. The RTX 3050 A Mobile uses 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 192.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX 650 Ti Boost has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a wider 192-bit bus, but slower 6 Gbps effective memory clocks yield only 144.2 GB/s. The newer part’s higher bandwidth and double the capacity make it far better suited to modern textures and data sets. Power requirements also differ massively: the RTX 3050 A Mobile is rated at 45 W TDP and is an IGP (integrated into the mobile platform), while the GTX 650 Ti Boost consumes 134 W, requires a 6-pin power connector, and suggests a 300 W PSU.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile has an average benchmark score of 8,746, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost averages 8,067.

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

A: Yes, it includes 14 dedicated ray tracing cores, a feature the GTX 650 Ti Boost lacks entirely.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference between the two?

A: The RTX 3050 A Mobile provides 192.0 GB/s from 4 GB of GDDR6, whereas the GTX 650 Ti Boost provides 144.2 GB/s from 2 GB of GDDR5.

Q: How does the GTX 650 Ti Boost compare to its direct predecessor?

A: The GTX 650 Ti Boost’s nearest rival data shows it is 0.2% ahead of the GeForce GTX 650 Ti, indicating a very minor generational step within the same family.

Q: Which GPU has the higher transistor density?

A: The RTX 3050 A Mobile has a transistor density of 43.5 million per mm², compared to 11.5 million per mm² for the GTX 650 Ti Boost.

Q: Can the GTX 650 Ti Boost run Vulkan applications?

A: Yes, it supports Vulkan 1.2.175, but the RTX 3050 A Mobile supports the newer Vulkan 1.4 specification.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every measurable specification. The process node is 8 nm for the RTX 3050 A Mobile versus 28 nm for the GTX 650 Ti Boost. Transistor count is 12,000 million versus 2,540 million, and die size is 276 mm² versus 221 mm². The base clock is 1065 MHz for the mobile part versus 980 MHz, with boost clocks at 1343 MHz versus 1032 MHz. The RTX 3050 A Mobile has 1,792 shading units, 56 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, compared to 768 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 24 ROPs on the GTX 650 Ti Boost. The former has 14 RT cores and 56 tensor cores; the latter has none.

Memory capacity is 4 GB GDDR6 versus 2 GB GDDR5, with bus widths of 128-bit versus 192-bit. Bandwidth is 192.0 GB/s versus 144.2 GB/s. Pixel rate is 42.98 GPixel/s versus 16.51 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 75.21 GTexel/s versus 66.05 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 4.813 TFLOPS versus 1.585 TFLOPS. The RTX 3050 A Mobile is rated at 45 W TDP, is IGP slot width, has no power connectors, and uses PCIe 4.0 x8. The GTX 650 Ti Boost is 134 W, dual-slot, requires a 6-pin connector, uses PCIe 3.0 x16, and is 241 mm long. The mobile part supports DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4, while the desktop card supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and Vulkan 1.2.175.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the RTX 3050 A Mobile is the superior GPU in every benchmark and specification category that matters. Its 469.7% lead in Geekbench OpenCL is not an outlier but a reflection of the architectural gulf between Ampere and Kepler. The RTX 3050 A Mobile’s 4.813 TFLOPS FP32 compute is over three times the GTX 650 Ti Boost’s 1.585 TFLOPS, and its 192.0 GB/s bandwidth outpaces the older card’s 144.2 GB/s despite a narrower memory bus. The 45 W TDP versus 134 W TDP also means the mobile part achieves this performance at a fraction of the power draw, making it the clear choice for any system that values efficiency.

The GTX 650 Ti Boost is a legacy part. Its 42nd percentile ranking and average score of 8,067 place it just below the RTX 3050 A Mobile’s 44th percentile and 8,746 average. It has no ray tracing, no tensor cores, and only 2 GB of VRAM, which is insufficient for modern games. If you are building a new system or upgrading, the RTX 3050 A Mobile is the only rational option from this comparison. The GTX 650 Ti Boost’s only advantage is its 192-bit memory bus, but that does not compensate for the massive compute and feature disadvantages.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 3050 A Mobile wins in all compute-heavy workloads. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 52,998 versus 9,302 makes it ideal for GPU-accelerated tasks like rendering, machine learning inference, and scientific computing. The 14 RT cores and 56 tensor cores enable hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI features that the GTX 650 Ti Boost cannot perform at all. Its 4 GB VRAM and higher bandwidth also make it suitable for 1080p gaming with modern textures, whereas the GTX 650 Ti Boost’s 2 GB would be a bottleneck.

The GTX 650 Ti Boost does not win any benchmark category in the provided data. Its only positive differentiator is the wider 192-bit memory bus, which gives it a theoretical advantage in raw memory addressing width, but this does not translate into a performance win given the lower bandwidth and older memory technology. Its Geekbench Vulkan score of 10,041 is respectable for its era but is dwarfed by the RTX 3050 A Mobile’s capabilities. For legacy DirectX 9 or 10 applications, the GTX 650 Ti Boost might still function, but it offers no tangible benefit over the newer part. In any scenario where performance, features, or efficiency are the priority, the RTX 3050 A Mobile is the definitive pick.