NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile Comparison

The data presents a generational clash between a modern mobile Ampere GPU and a legacy desktop Kepler flagship. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 share a manufacturer and little else. The benchmark results show dramatic shifts in compute capability, while the specification sheets reveal fundamentally different design philosophies separated by nearly a decade of silicon evolution.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

Only two benchmarks were directly run against both cards, and the results are decisive. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile scores 57,915 points against the GTX 680’s 16,906. This is a 242.6% advantage for the mobile part, meaning it delivers more than three times the raw compute performance. The gap is slightly narrower but still massive in Geekbench Vulkan, where the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile posts 55,812 points versus 17,646 for the GTX 680, a 216.3% lead.

These are not marginal improvements; they represent a complete reordering of performance expectations. The GTX 680’s highest score in any benchmark is its Vulkan result at 17,646, which is less than one-third of the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile’s OpenCL score. Even the GTX 680’s best showing, the Geekbench Metal score of 7,897, is dwarfed by the mobile chip’s compute output. The data suggests that the architectural advancements in the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile, particularly its dedicated tensor and ray tracing cores, have a profound impact on these synthetic workloads.

The win count is a clean sweep: the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile wins both head-to-head tests, with zero victories for the GTX 680. The average benchmark scores tell a similar story, though with less extreme margins. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile averages 12,940 points across its suite, while the GTX 680 averages 14,150. This is a curious inversion; despite losing both head-to-head tests, the GTX 680 holds a 9.3% higher average score. This is explained by the different benchmark sets: the mobile card’s average includes lower DirectX scores, while the desktop card’s average is skewed by its Metal result. The head-to-head data is unambiguous, but the average scores highlight how benchmark selection can alter the narrative.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on contrasting foundations. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile uses the GA106 chip on an 8 nm Samsung process, packing 12,000 million transistors into a 276 mm² die. The GTX 680 uses the GK104 chip on a 28 nm TSMC process, with 3,540 million transistors on a 294 mm² die. The transistor density difference is stark: 43.5 million transistors per square millimeter for the mobile chip versus 12.0 million for the desktop chip. This density advantage is the physical basis for the performance gap.

The core configuration diverges significantly. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile has 2,560 shading units, 80 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. It also includes 20 ray tracing cores and 80 tensor cores, features entirely absent from the GTX 680, which has 1,536 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The desktop card compensates with more texture units and higher clock speeds, but the sheer shader count difference favors the mobile part. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile’s FP32 throughput is 5.299 TFLOPS, while the GTX 680 manages 3.250 TFLOPS.

Memory systems also differ fundamentally. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile uses 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, yielding 192.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX 680 uses 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, yielding 192.3 GB/s. The bandwidth is nearly identical, but the mobile card has double the capacity. The GTX 680’s higher memory clock of 1502 MHz versus 1500 MHz is offset by its narrower effective data rate of 6 Gbps versus 12 Gbps. The API support also reflects the generational leap: the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the GTX 680 is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0) and Vulkan 1.2.175.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile wins in compute-heavy scenarios, as evidenced by its OpenCL and Vulkan dominance. Its 242.6% lead in OpenCL suggests it is far better suited for general-purpose GPU workloads, machine learning inference, and any application that leverages its tensor cores. The 216.3% Vulkan advantage points to superior performance in modern game engines that use Vulkan’s low-overhead API. The mobile card’s 4 GB memory capacity also gives it a practical edge in texture-heavy scenes or datasets that exceed the GTX 680’s 2 GB limit.

The GTX 680, despite its losses, retains a theoretical edge in texture throughput. Its 135.4 GTexel/s texture rate is substantially higher than the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile’s 82.80 GTexel/s. This could translate to better performance in legacy DirectX 9 or 10 titles where texture fill rate is the bottleneck. The GTX 680’s pixel rate of 33.86 GPixel/s is also slightly ahead of the mobile card’s 33.12 GPixel/s. The desktop card’s higher base clock of 1006 MHz versus 735 MHz and boost clock of 1058 MHz versus 1035 MHz provide a raw speed advantage that older workloads might utilize.

The GTX 680’s higher average benchmark score of 14,150 versus 12,940 indicates it may still hold its own in certain rasterization-focused tests. Its PassMark DirectX 9 score would likely be competitive, given its architecture was designed for that era. However, the absence of head-to-head data for those tests means this remains speculative. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile’s wins are concentrated in modern APIs, while the GTX 680’s potential wins are confined to legacy scenarios.

FAQ

Q: Which card has better OpenCL performance?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile scores 57,915 in Geekbench OpenCL, a 242.6% improvement over the GTX 680’s 16,906. This indicates the mobile chip is overwhelmingly faster for OpenCL compute workloads.

Q: Does the GTX 680 have any advantage in memory bandwidth?

A: No, the bandwidth is nearly identical. The GTX 680 achieves 192.3 GB/s on a 256-bit bus, while the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile achieves 192.0 GB/s on a 128-bit bus. The difference is only 0.3 GB/s in favor of the desktop card.

Q: What is the transistor count difference?

A: The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile has 12,000 million transistors on its GA106 chip, while the GTX 680 has 3,540 million on its GK104 chip. The mobile chip packs over three times as many transistors.

Q: Which card supports more advanced DirectX features?

A: The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the GTX 680 is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0). The mobile card also adds ray tracing and tensor cores, which the GTX 680 lacks entirely.

Q: How do the average benchmark scores compare?

A: The GTX 680 has a higher average benchmark score of 14,150, compared to the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile’s 12,940. However, this is based on different benchmark suites, and the head-to-head tests show the mobile card winning by over 200%.

Q: What is the memory capacity difference?

A: The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile has 4 GB of GDDR6, while the GTX 680 has 2 GB of GDDR5. The mobile card offers double the capacity, which is significant for modern game textures.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 |

|---|---|---|

| Process Node | 8 nm | 28 nm |

| Foundry | Samsung | TSMC |

| Transistors | 12,000 million | 3,540 million |

| Die Size | 276 mm² | 294 mm² |

| Base Clock | 735 MHz | 1006 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1035 MHz | 1058 MHz |

| Memory Size | 4 GB | 2 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR5 |

| Memory Bus | 128 bit | 256 bit |

| Shading Units | 2560 | 1536 |

| TMUs | 80 | 128 |

| Ray Tracing Cores | 20 | None |

| Tensor Cores | 80 | None |

| Texture Rate | 82.80 GTexel/s | 135.4 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 5.299 TFLOPS | 3.250 TFLOPS |

| TDP | 75 W | 195 W |

| Slot Width | IGP | Dual-slot |

| Power Connectors | None | 2x 6-pin |

| Suggested PSU | None | 450 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

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

| Vulkan Support | 1.4 | 1.2.175 |

| Release Date | 2021-05-10 | 2012-03-21 |

| Launch MSRP | None | 499 USD |

The Verdict

The data supports a clear choice for nearly every scenario: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile is the superior processor. Its 242.6% OpenCL and 216.3% Vulkan leads are decisive, and its 5.299 TFLOPS FP32 performance versus 3.250 TFLOPS confirms a fundamental compute advantage. The mobile chip also offers double the memory capacity, modern API support, and ray tracing capabilities that the GTX 680 cannot match. Its 75 W TDP is a fraction of the GTX 680’s 195 W, making it far more efficient.

The GTX 680’s case rests on narrow technicalities. Its higher texture rate of 135.4 GTexel/s and slightly higher pixel rate of 33.86 GPixel/s suggest it might outperform in very specific legacy rasterization workloads. Its higher average benchmark score of 14,150 versus 12,940 offers a statistical counterpoint, but this is an artifact of different test suites. The GTX 680’s 256-bit memory bus and higher clocks are relics of its era, unable to compensate for the architectural advancements of the Ampere generation.

For users considering modern applications, games, or compute tasks, the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile is the only rational choice. Its benchmark victories are not marginal but transformative, representing a multi-generational leap. The GTX 680 remains a historical artifact, relevant only for those running software from its 2012 launch era. The data is unambiguous: the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile wins where it matters, and the GTX 680’s theoretical advantages are too narrow to matter in practice.