NVIDIA GeForce GTX 870M vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile Comparison

The Verdict

The data presents a clear generational split. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile is the decisive winner in the only direct head-to-head comparison recorded, delivering a 76.2% higher score in the Geekbench OpenCL test. For any user prioritizing raw compute performance in modern workloads, the RTX 3050 A Mobile is the obvious selection based on benchmark results.

The GTX 870M, however, still holds relevance in specific legacy scenarios. Its average benchmark score of 9959 places it in the 48th percentile of all GPUs, while the RTX 3050 A Mobile sits at 8746 average and the 44th percentile. This is a notable inversion: the older card has a higher average benchmark score across its recorded tests, despite losing the single head-to-head test. The GTX 870M's nearest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro 5300M, scores 10013, a mere 0.5% ahead. The RTX 3050 A Mobile's closest competitor, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 v2, scores 8743, effectively tied at a 0% delta.

The choice depends on the workload. If the task involves OpenCL compute, the RTX 3050 A Mobile is categorically superior. If the task relies on the specific set of benchmarks where the GTX 870M has recorded results, the older card shows a higher aggregate performance profile. The RTX 3050 A Mobile also brings architectural features like ray tracing cores and tensor cores, which the GTX 870M lacks entirely, making it the forward-looking option for applications that can utilize those capabilities.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from entirely different design eras. The GTX 870M is built on the Kepler architecture, using the GK104 chip manufactured on a 28 nm process at TSMC. The RTX 3050 A Mobile uses the Ampere architecture with the GA106 chip, produced on an 8 nm process at Samsung. This process shrink is substantial, and the transistor counts reflect it: the GTX 870M has 3,540 million transistors on a 294 mm² die, while the RTX 3050 A Mobile packs 12,000 million transistors into a smaller 276 mm² die. The transistor density jumps from 12.0 million per mm² to 43.5 million per mm².

Core configurations differ significantly. The GTX 870M has 1344 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, and 24 raster operation pipelines. The RTX 3050 A Mobile has 1792 shading units, but only 56 TMUs and 32 ROPs. The newer card compensates with dedicated hardware: 14 ray tracing cores and 56 tensor cores, features completely absent from the Kepler design. The shading unit count is 33% higher on the RTX 3050 A Mobile, but the texture unit count is exactly half that of the GTX 870M.

Memory subsystems also diverge. The GTX 870M uses 3 GB of GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus, delivering 120.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 3050 A Mobile uses 4 GB of GDDR6 on a narrower 128-bit bus, yet achieves 192.0 GB/s due to the faster memory standard. Clock behavior differs as well: the GTX 870M runs at 941 MHz base and 967 MHz boost, while the RTX 3050 A Mobile operates at 1065 MHz base and 1343 MHz boost. The memory clock on the older card is 1250 MHz with 5 Gbps effective, while the newer one runs at 1500 MHz with 12 Gbps effective.

API support separates the two further. The GTX 870M supports DirectX 12 (11_0), while the RTX 3050 A Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2). Vulkan support is 1.2.175 on the older card versus 1.4 on the newer one. OpenGL is identical at 4.6. Power and form factor also differ: the GTX 870M is an MXM Module with a 100 W TDP and MXM-B (3.0) bus interface, while the RTX 3050 A Mobile is an IGP with a 45 W TDP and PCIe 4.0 x8 interface. Neither requires external power connectors, and both have portable-device-dependent display outputs.

The GTX 870M was released on March 11, 2014, and is now end-of-life. The RTX 3050 A Mobile was released on December 31, 2023, and is also end-of-life. The older card's predecessor was the GeForce 700M and its successor was the GeForce 900M. The newer card's predecessor was the GeForce 20 Mobile, with no successor recorded.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 870M has an average benchmark score of 9959, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile has an average of 8746. The GTX 870M also sits in the 48th percentile of all GPUs, compared to the 44th percentile for the RTX 3050 A Mobile.

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

A: Yes. The RTX 3050 A Mobile has 14 ray tracing cores and 56 tensor cores. The GTX 870M has no ray tracing or tensor cores recorded in its specifications.

Q: How do the memory bandwidth figures compare?

A: The RTX 3050 A Mobile has 192.0 GB/s of bandwidth from 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus. The GTX 870M has 120.0 GB/s from 3 GB of GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus. The newer card delivers 60% more bandwidth despite a narrower bus.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The GTX 870M has a TDP of 100 W, while the RTX 3050 A Mobile has a TDP of 45 W. The newer card draws less than half the power of the older one.

Q: Which GPU has a higher pixel fill rate?

A: The RTX 3050 A Mobile has a pixel rate of 42.98 GPixel/s, compared to 27.08 GPixel/s for the GTX 870M. The newer card leads by roughly 59% in this metric.

Q: What is the transistor density difference?

A: The GTX 870M has a transistor density of 12.0 million per mm², while the RTX 3050 A Mobile has 43.5 million per mm². The newer card achieves 3.6 times the density.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every recorded specification. The process node moves from 28 nm (TSMC) to 8 nm (Samsung). Transistor count rises from 3,540 million to 12,000 million, while die size shrinks from 294 mm² to 276 mm². Transistor density grows from 12.0M per mm² to 43.5M per mm².

Clock speeds are higher on the newer card: base clock goes from 941 MHz to 1065 MHz, boost clock from 967 MHz to 1343 MHz, and memory clock from 1250 MHz with 5 Gbps effective to 1500 MHz with 12 Gbps effective. Memory configuration changes from 3 GB GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus with 120.0 GB/s bandwidth to 4 GB GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 192.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Shading units increase from 1344 to 1792. TMUs decrease from 112 to 56. ROPs increase from 24 to 32. The RTX 3050 A Mobile adds 14 ray tracing cores and 56 tensor cores, which the GTX 870M does not have. Pixel rate rises from 27.08 GPixel/s to 42.98 GPixel/s. Texture rate falls from 108.3 GTexel/s to 75.21 GTexel/s. FP32 compute rises from 2.599 TFLOPS to 4.813 TFLOPS. The RTX 3050 A Mobile also has an FP16 rate of 4.813 TFLOPS (1:1), while the GTX 870M has no recorded FP16 figure.

TDP drops from 100 W to 45 W. Form factor changes from MXM Module to IGP. Bus interface changes from MXM-B (3.0) to PCIe 4.0 x8. DirectX support improves from 12 (11_0) to 12 Ultimate (12_2). Vulkan support improves from 1.2.175 to 1.4. Release dates are March 11, 2014, versus December 31, 2023. The GTX 870M has a predecessor in the GeForce 700M and a successor in the GeForce 900M; the RTX 3050 A Mobile has a predecessor in the GeForce 20 Mobile and no successor.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct head-to-head benchmark recorded is Geekbench OpenCL. The GTX 870M scores 12630, while the RTX 3050 A Mobile scores 52998. The delta is 76.2% in favor of the RTX 3050 A Mobile. This is a dominant margin, showing that the newer architecture delivers over four times the OpenCL compute performance of the older card. The 4.813 TFLOPS FP32 figure for the RTX 3050 A Mobile versus 2.599 TFLOPS for the GTX 870M provides context for this result, though the benchmark gap is larger than the raw FP32 difference would suggest.

Beyond the head-to-head test, the GTX 870M has two recorded benchmarks: Geekbench Metal at 7288 and Geekbench OpenCL at 12630. The RTX 3050 A Mobile has a broader benchmark profile: Geekbench OpenCL at 52998, Passmark G3D at 11664, Passmark GPU Compute at 4419, Passmark G2D at 526, Passmark DirectX 9 at 152, Passmark DirectX 11 at 94, Passmark DirectX 10 at 61, and Passmark DirectX 12 at 55. The GTX 870M's average benchmark score of 9959 comes from its two tests, while the RTX 3050 A Mobile's average of 8746 comes from its eight tests. The averages are not directly comparable due to differing test sets, but the database records them as the overall performance indicators.

The RTX 3050 A Mobile also has additional feature-level wins. Its pixel rate of 42.98 GPixel/s is 59% higher than the GTX 870M's 27.08 GPixel/s. Its FP32 throughput of 4.813 TFLOPS is 85% higher than 2.599 TFLOPS. Its memory bandwidth of 192.0 GB/s is 60% higher. The GTX 870M retains wins in texture rate (108.3 GTexel/s versus 75.21 GTexel/s) and in average benchmark score.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 3050 A Mobile wins decisively in compute-heavy workloads. The Geekbench OpenCL result of 52998 versus 12630 is the strongest evidence, showing a 76.2% lead. Its higher FP32 throughput (4.813 TFLOPS), larger memory capacity (4 GB versus 3 GB), and faster memory bandwidth (192.0 GB/s versus 120.0 GB/s) all support its use case for modern applications that leverage general-purpose GPU compute. The presence of 14 ray tracing cores and 56 tensor cores extends its advantage to ray-traced rendering and AI-accelerated tasks, areas where the GTX 870M cannot compete at all. Its lower TDP of 45 W also makes it more suitable for thinner, cooler-running systems, assuming the IGP form factor fits the platform.

The GTX 870M wins in the aggregate benchmark comparison. Its average benchmark score of 9959 exceeds the RTX 3050 A Mobile's 8746, and its 48th percentile ranking beats the newer card's 44th percentile. Its nearest rivals cluster around 10000 to 10070, while the RTX 3050 A Mobile's rivals cluster around 8686 to 8863. The GTX 870M also has a higher texture rate (108.3 GTexel/s versus 75.21 GTexel/s), which may benefit certain texture-bound rendering workloads. Its 192-bit memory bus, while paired with slower GDDR5, provides more addressable parallelism than the 128-bit bus of the newer card.

The use-case split is therefore stark. For legacy software, older game titles, or workloads that align with the GTX 870M's recorded benchmark profile, the older card holds its own in aggregate performance. For modern compute, ray tracing, tensor-based workloads, or any application that can use DirectX 12 Ultimate features, the RTX 3050 A Mobile is the only viable choice. The data shows a generational trade-off: the GTX 870M offers a higher average score in its limited test set, while the RTX 3050 A Mobile offers dramatically higher peak performance in the one test where both were measured.