NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760M vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains no shared benchmark tests between the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760M and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB. The two GPUs were measured with entirely separate workloads, making a direct score-for-score comparison impossible. The GTX 760M was evaluated using Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan tests, producing scores of 5604 and 4868 respectively, with an average benchmark score of 5236. The RTX 3080 12 GB was evaluated solely with the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, scoring 4791.

Because no head-to-head benchmark results exist in the database, the wins counter shows zero for both parts. This does not imply parity; rather, it reflects the fundamental mismatch in their testing environments and generations. The GTX 760M's average score of 5236 sits in the 31st percentile of all GPUs, while the RTX 3080 12 GB's single score of 4791 places it in the 28th percentile. The percentile comparison is intriguing: the RTX 3080 12 GB, despite its massive hardware specifications, shows a lower percentile ranking than the older mobile chip. This is likely due to the different benchmark suites used, where the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test may be far more demanding than the Geekbench compute tests.

Looking at nearest rivals provides some context. The GTX 760M's closest competitors include the NVIDIA Quadro 4000M with an average score of 5211 (0.5% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce 940M at 5284 (0.9% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M at 5308 (1.3% higher), and the AMD Radeon R7 M260X at 5161 (1.5% lower). These delta percentages show the GTX 760M is tightly clustered with its peers, all within a 2.8% band. For the RTX 3080 12 GB, the nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon R5 M255 at 4788 (0.1% lower), the AMD Radeon R5 M335 at 4752 (0.8% lower), the NVIDIA GeForce 940MX at 4844 (1.1% higher), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M at 4855 (1.3% higher). The RTX 3080 12 GB's score sits in an even tighter band, within 2.2% of its nearest rivals, which is surprising for a card with such advanced specifications.

The data suggests that benchmark scores alone do not capture the architectural gulf between these two products. The GTX 760M's Geekbench results reflect compute-oriented workloads that may favor its Kepler architecture's relatively simple design. The RTX 3080 12 GB's 3DMark Steel Nomad result represents a modern DirectX 12 Ultimate workload with ray tracing and mesh shading demands, which could penalize older architectures more severely. The percentile rankings, while lower for the RTX 3080 12 GB, should not be read as a performance verdict. Instead, they highlight that benchmark methodology and workload selection dramatically influence where a GPU lands in the database.

Where Each One Wins

The GTX 760M shows clear strengths in compute-style benchmarks. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 5604 and Vulkan score of 4868 indicate reasonable performance for general-purpose compute tasks, particularly for a mobile GPU from the Kepler generation. The average of 5236 places it above several contemporary rivals, including the AMD Radeon R7 M260X by 1.5%. This suggests the GTX 760M handles OpenCL and Vulkan compute workloads competently, likely due to its 768 shading units and 64 texture mapping units operating at modest clock speeds.

The RTX 3080 12 GB wins decisively in raw architectural capability. Its 8960 shading units, 280 texture mapping units, and 96 ROPs dwarf the GTX 760M's respective counts of 768, 64, and 16. The RTX 3080 12 GB also brings 70 RT cores and 280 tensor cores, features entirely absent from the GTX 760M. These hardware resources enable features like real-time ray tracing and DLSS, which the GTX 760M cannot perform at all. The RTX 3080 12 GB's pixel rate of 164.2 GPixel/s and texture rate of 478.8 GTexel/s represent a 14.3x and 10.4x advantage respectively over the GTX 760M's 11.50 GPixel/s and 46.02 GTexel/s.

For gaming workloads, the RTX 3080 12 GB is the clear choice based on its DirectX 12 Ultimate support, which includes features like mesh shaders and variable rate shading. The GTX 760M only supports DirectX 12 (11_0), meaning it cannot leverage the newer rendering techniques. The RTX 3080 12 GB also supports Vulkan 1.4 compared to the GTX 760M's Vulkan 1.2.175, offering better driver-level optimizations for modern game engines. Memory capacity is another decisive factor: the RTX 3080 12 GB provides 12 GB of GDDR6X across a 384-bit bus with 912.4 GB/s bandwidth, versus the GTX 760M's 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus at 64.13 GB/s. This 14.2x bandwidth advantage means the RTX 3080 12 GB can feed its massive compute throughput without bottlenecks.

The GTX 760M wins on power efficiency and form factor. Its 55 W TDP makes it suitable for thin-and-light laptops with no external power connectors, whereas the RTX 3080 12 GB requires a 350 W TDP and a 750 W suggested PSU. The GTX 760M uses an MXM module form factor, while the RTX 3080 12 GB is a dual-slot card measuring 285 mm in length, 112 mm in height, and 40 mm in width. For users prioritizing portability and battery life, the GTX 760M is the only practical option.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760M has an average benchmark score of 5236, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB has an average benchmark score of 4791. However, these scores come from different test suites, so they are not directly comparable.

Q: What are the nearest rivals for each GPU?

A: For the GTX 760M, the nearest rivals are the NVIDIA Quadro 4000M (5211, 0.5% higher), NVIDIA GeForce 940M (5284, 0.9% higher), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M (5308, 1.3% higher), and AMD Radeon R7 M260X (5161, 1.5% lower). For the RTX 3080 12 GB, the nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon R5 M255 (4788, 0.1% lower), AMD Radeon R5 M335 (4752, 0.8% lower), NVIDIA GeForce 940MX (4844, 1.1% higher), and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M (4855, 1.3% higher).

Q: Does the RTX 3080 12 GB support ray tracing?

A: Yes, the RTX 3080 12 GB includes 70 RT cores specifically designed for ray tracing workloads. The GTX 760M has no RT cores and cannot perform hardware-accelerated ray tracing.

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

A: The RTX 3080 12 GB offers 912.4 GB/s of memory bandwidth using 12 GB of GDDR6X across a 384-bit bus. The GTX 760M provides 64.13 GB/s using 2 GB of GDDR5 across a 128-bit bus. This represents a 14.2x advantage for the RTX 3080 12 GB.

Q: Which GPU has a higher transistor density?

A: The RTX 3080 12 GB has a transistor density of 45.1M per mm², while the GTX 760M has a density of 11.5M per mm². The RTX 3080 12 GB packs 28,300 million transistors into a 628 mm² die, compared to the GTX 760M's 2,540 million transistors in a 221 mm² die.

Q: What are the API support differences?

A: The GTX 760M supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175. The RTX 3080 12 GB supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The RTX 3080 12 GB also supports newer features like mesh shaders and variable rate shading through DirectX 12 Ultimate.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every measurable specification. The GTX 760M uses the GK106S chip built on a 28 nm process at TSMC, while the RTX 3080 12 GB uses the GA102 chip on an 8 nm process at Samsung. The GTX 760M's die measures 221 mm² with 2,540 million transistors, while the RTX 3080 12 GB's die measures 628 mm² with 28,300 million transistors. Transistor density jumps from 11.5M per mm² on the GTX 760M to 45.1M per mm² on the RTX 3080 12 GB.

Clock speeds show a significant gap. The GTX 760M has a base clock of 628 MHz and a boost clock of 719 MHz, while the RTX 3080 12 GB runs at 1260 MHz base and 1710 MHz boost. Memory clocks differ as well: the GTX 760M uses 1002 MHz with 4 Gbps effective GDDR5, while the RTX 3080 12 GB uses 1188 MHz with 19 Gbps effective GDDR6X. Memory configuration differs dramatically: 2 GB on a 128-bit bus for the GTX 760M versus 12 GB on a 384-bit bus for the RTX 3080 12 GB.

Compute resources are vastly different. The GTX 760M has 768 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. The RTX 3080 12 GB has 8960 shading units, 280 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, plus 70 RT cores and 280 tensor cores. Pixel rate improves from 11.50 GPixel/s to 164.2 GPixel/s, and texture rate from 46.02 GTexel/s to 478.8 GTexel/s. FP32 performance scales from 1,104.4 GFLOPS on the GTX 760M to 30.64 TFLOPS on the RTX 3080 12 GB.

Power and physical specifications differ substantially. The GTX 760M consumes 55 W TDP with no power connectors and uses an MXM Module form factor. The RTX 3080 12 GB consumes 350 W TDP, requires a 1x 12-pin power connector and a 750 W suggested PSU, and uses a dual-slot, 285 mm long design. Bus interfaces also differ: PCIe 3.0 x16 for the GTX 760M versus PCIe 4.0 x16 for the RTX 3080 12 GB.

Architecture Differences

The GTX 760M is built on the Kepler architecture, released in 2013 as part of the GeForce 700M mobile generation. Kepler was designed for efficiency and scalability in mobile and desktop parts, with a focus on balanced compute and graphics throughput. The GK106S chip is a mid-range Kepler implementation, using a 28 nm process at TSMC. Kepler lacks dedicated ray tracing or tensor cores, instead relying on traditional shader-based rendering. The architecture supports DirectX 12 (11_0), which means it can run some DirectX 12 titles but without the advanced features of newer hardware.

The RTX 3080 12 GB is built on the Ampere architecture, released in 2022 as part of the GeForce 30-series desktop generation. Ampere represents a major architectural leap, introducing dedicated RT cores for ray tracing and tensor cores for AI-accelerated workloads like DLSS. The GA102 chip is the top-tier Ampere silicon, using an 8 nm process at Samsung. Ampere supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, which includes feature level 12_2, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing, mesh shaders, variable rate shading, and other modern rendering techniques. The architecture also supports Vulkan 1.4, a newer version than the GTX 760M's Vulkan 1.2.175.

The transistor density difference reflects the process node advancement. The GTX 760M's 28 nm process yields 11.5M transistors per mm², while the RTX 3080 12 GB's 8 nm process achieves 45.1M per mm². This 3.9x density improvement allows the RTX 3080 12 GB to pack far more compute units into a similar die size envelope. The GTX 760M's die is 221 mm², while the RTX 3080 12 GB's die is 628 mm², showing that Ampere also uses a much larger physical footprint to house its additional cores.

Shading unit count is the most stark architectural difference. The GTX 760M's 768 shading units are arranged in Kepler's typical SMX structure, while the RTX 3080 12 GB's 8960 shading units use Ampere's SM architecture with improved scheduling and execution efficiency. The RTX 3080 12 GB also includes 280 tensor cores, which enable FP16 and INT8/INT4 inference workloads at high throughput. The GTX 760M has no tensor cores and lists no FP16 performance, while the RTX 3080 12 GB achieves 30.64 TFLOPS in both FP32 and FP16 (1:1 ratio), showing Ampere's unified compute approach.

Memory technology also represents an architectural shift. The GTX 760M uses GDDR5 with a 128-bit bus, while the RTX 3080 12 GB uses GDDR6X with a 384-bit bus. GDDR6X uses PAM4 signaling to achieve higher data rates, resulting in 19 Gbps effective speed versus the GTX 760M's 4 Gbps. The RTX 3080 12 GB's 912.4 GB/s bandwidth is essential for feeding its massive compute throughput, especially for ray tracing and high-resolution textures.

The Verdict

The data clearly separates these two GPUs into entirely different product categories. The GTX 760M is a mobile chip from 2013, designed for 55 W laptops with moderate gaming and compute needs. Its benchmark scores sit within 1.5% of its nearest rivals, including the Quadro 4000M, GeForce 940M, GTX 980M, and Radeon R7 M260X, showing it is a competent performer in its own generation. The RTX 3080 12 GB is a high-end desktop card from 2022, built for 350 W power envelopes and flagship gaming performance. Its benchmark score sits within 1.3% of its nearest rivals, which are notably all older or lower-tier parts, suggesting the 3DMark Steel Nomad test may not fully represent its capabilities.

For users with a 2013-era laptop, the GTX 760M provides adequate performance for older titles and compute workloads, with 2 GB of GDDR5 memory and Kepler's efficient design. For users building a modern desktop, the RTX 3080 12 GB offers 12 GB of GDDR6X, 70 RT cores, 280 tensor cores, and DirectX 12 Ultimate support, making it suitable for current and upcoming games with ray tracing and DLSS. The RTX 3080 12 GB's 30.64 TFLOPS FP32 performance is 27.7x higher than the GTX 760M's 1,104.4 GFLOPS, a gap that no driver update or overclock can bridge.

The verdict depends entirely on use case. The GTX 760M wins for portable, low-power systems where battery life and form factor matter more than raw performance. The RTX 3080 12 GB wins for desktop gaming, content creation, and AI workloads where its compute resources, memory bandwidth, and modern API support are decisive. The launch MSRP of 799 USD for the RTX 3080 12 GB reflects its high-end positioning, while the GTX 760M's mobile nature and end-of-life status make it a legacy component. Users should choose based on their platform and workload requirements, as these two GPUs serve completely different markets and eras.