NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile is a decisive generational leap over the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M, delivering a 443.8% advantage in the only shared benchmark, the Geekbench OpenCL test. The data shows the RTX 3050 A Mobile is not merely faster; it is in a different performance class, with an average benchmark score of 8746 compared to the GTX 950M's 8135, despite the GTX 950M holding a slightly higher percentile ranking among all GPUs (42 vs 44 for the RTX part, indicating the latter is faster than a larger share of the database). While the GTX 950M was a capable entry-level mobile part of its era, the RTX 3050 A Mobile's architectural overhaul—moving from Maxwell to Ampere—yields a 443.8% delta in raw compute, making it the only rational choice for any modern workload.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile is overwhelmingly faster, scoring 52998 points versus the GTX 950M's 9745 points. This represents a 443.8% performance advantage for the RTX 3050 A Mobile.

Q: How do their average benchmark scores compare?

A: The RTX 3050 A Mobile has a higher average benchmark score of 8746, while the GTX 950M averages 8135. This places the RTX part 7.5% ahead on average, though the single head-to-head test shows a far larger gap.

Q: Which GPU has a better percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The GTX 950M has a higher percentile rank of 42, meaning it outperforms 42% of all GPUs in the database. The RTX 3050 A Mobile ranks at the 44th percentile, which is lower despite its higher raw performance, likely due to the different benchmark suites used for each.

Q: Do both GPUs support the same DirectX version?

A: No. The RTX 3050 A Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the GTX 950M is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0). This gives the RTX part access to newer rendering features.

Q: What are the memory type differences between the two?

A: The RTX 3050 A Mobile uses 4 GB of GDDR6 memory with a bandwidth of 192.0 GB/s, while the GTX 950M uses 4 GB of DDR3 memory with a bandwidth of just 28.80 GB/s. The RTX part offers 6.7 times the memory bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units and ray tracing cores?

A: The RTX 3050 A Mobile has 1792 shading units and 14 ray tracing cores, whereas the GTX 950M has only 640 shading units and no ray tracing cores at all. The RTX part also includes 56 tensor cores, which the GTX 950M lacks.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are separated by multiple generations of NVIDIA architecture, and the data highlights a complete redesign in nearly every fundamental aspect. The RTX 3050 A Mobile is built on the Ampere architecture using the GA106 chip, fabricated on an 8 nm process by Samsung. In contrast, the GTX 950M is a Maxwell architecture part built on the GM107 chip, using a much older 28 nm process from TSMC. This process shift is reflected in transistor density: the RTX part packs 43.5 million transistors per square millimeter across a 276 mm² die containing 12,000 million transistors, while the GTX 950M has a density of just 12.6M / mm² on a 148 mm² die with 1,870 million transistors.

The core configurations differ massively. The RTX 3050 A Mobile features 1792 shading units, 56 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 32 render output units (ROPs). It also introduces 14 ray tracing cores and 56 tensor cores, which are entirely absent from the GTX 950M. The older Maxwell part has 640 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. This translates to a pixel rate of 42.98 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 75.21 GTexel/s for the RTX part, versus 17.98 GPixel/s and 44.96 GTexel/s for the GTX 950M. The RTX 3050 A Mobile's FP32 compute is listed at 4.813 TFLOPS with a 1:1 FP16 ratio, while the GTX 950M manages 1,438.7 GFLOPS and has no listed FP16 capability.

Memory architecture is another major divergence. Both cards have 4 GB of VRAM on a 128-bit bus, but the RTX 3050 A Mobile uses GDDR6 at a 1500 MHz clock (12 Gbps effective), yielding 192.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX 950M uses DDR3 at 900 MHz (1800 Mbps effective), yielding just 28.80 GB/s. The RTX part also runs on a PCIe 4.0 x8 interface (versus PCIe 3.0 x8) and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) compared to the GTX 950M's DirectX 12 (11_0). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4, but the RTX part's feature set is clearly aimed at modern workloads, while the GTX 950M is a legacy part.

The Verdict

The verdict is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile is the superior GPU for virtually all applications, and the GTX 950M should only be considered for legacy system compatibility. The data shows a 443.8% win for the RTX 3050 A Mobile in the only direct benchmark comparison, which is a generational chasm rather than an incremental improvement. The RTX 3050 A Mobile also has a higher average benchmark score (8746 vs 8135), even though its percentile rank (44) is slightly lower than the GTX 950M's (42), which suggests the newer part is held to a higher standard by the benchmark database's scoring distribution.

For any user seeking to run modern 3D applications, the RTX 3050 A Mobile is the only option with its 1792 shading units, 14 ray tracing cores, and 56 tensor cores. The GTX 950M's 640 shading units and lack of RT and tensor cores make it obsolete for any workload leveraging DirectX 12 Ultimate features. The GTX 950M's 75 W TDP is higher than the RTX 3050 A Mobile's 45 W, meaning the newer part is also more power-efficient while delivering far more performance. There is no scenario in the data where the GTX 950M wins; the only reason to pick it is if a system is locked to its older Maxwell-era drivers or PCIe 3.0 interface, but even then, the performance penalty is severe.

Specification Differences

The specification table reveals substantial differences across every major category, with the RTX 3050 A Mobile being newer, denser, and faster in all respects.

• Architecture: Ampere (GA106) vs Maxwell (GM107)
• Process Node: 8 nm (Samsung) vs 28 nm (TSMC)
• Transistors: 12,000 million vs 1,870 million
• Die Size: 276 mm² vs 148 mm²
• Transistor Density: 43.5M / mm² vs 12.6M / mm²
• Base Clock: 1065 MHz vs 993 MHz
• Boost Clock: 1343 MHz vs 1124 MHz
• Memory Clock: 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective) vs 900 MHz (1800 Mbps effective)
• Memory Type: GDDR6 vs DDR3
• Memory Bandwidth: 192.0 GB/s vs 28.80 GB/s
• Shading Units: 1792 vs 640
• TMUs: 56 vs 40
• ROPs: 32 vs 16
• RT Cores: 14 vs null (none)
• Tensor Cores: 56 vs null (none)
• Pixel Rate: 42.98 GPixel/s vs 17.98 GPixel/s
• Texture Rate: 75.21 GTexel/s vs 44.96 GTexel/s
• FP32 Compute: 4.813 TFLOPS vs 1,438.7 GFLOPS
• FP16 Compute: 4.813 TFLOPS (1:1) vs null
• TDP: 45 W vs 75 W
• Bus Interface: PCIe 4.0 x8 vs PCIe 3.0 x8
• DirectX Support: 12 Ultimate (12_2) vs 12 (11_0)

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head data contains a single shared benchmark, and it is a total rout. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the RTX 3050 A Mobile scores 52998, while the GTX 950M scores 9745. That is a delta of 443.8%, meaning the RTX part is roughly 5.4 times faster in this compute workload. This is not a close contest; it is a complete generational wipeout.

To put this in context, the RTX 3050 A Mobile's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 v2 (avg score 8743, delta 0%), the AMD Radeon R9 M265X (avg score 8851, delta -1.2%), and the AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100 (avg score 8863, delta -1.3%). The GTX 950M's rivals include the AMD Radeon R9 M360 (avg score 8129, delta 0.1%), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 (avg score 8167, delta -0.4%), and the NVIDIA GeForce 945M (avg score 8099, delta 0.4%). The RTX 3050 A Mobile's average score of 8746 is closer to its rivals than its OpenCL result would suggest, indicating that the OpenCL test is particularly favorable to its architecture. Still, the 443.8% delta in that test is the only direct comparison available, and it is decisive.

The GTX 950M does have a second benchmark result—a Geekbench Vulkan score of 6525—but the RTX 3050 A Mobile has no corresponding Vulkan score in the data, so no direct comparison is possible. The wins tally is 1 for the RTX 3050 A Mobile and 0 for the GTX 950M, which accurately reflects the one-sided nature of the available evidence.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 3050 A Mobile wins in every category where data exists, and the wins are not marginal. Its primary strength is raw compute performance, as demonstrated by the 443.8% lead in Geekbench OpenCL. For tasks like GPU-accelerated rendering, machine learning inference (thanks to 56 tensor cores), or any workload leveraging ray tracing (14 RT cores), the RTX 3050 A Mobile is the only functional choice. Its 192.0 GB/s memory bandwidth versus 28.80 GB/s is a 6.7x advantage, which is critical for texture-heavy games or large dataset processing. The lower 45 W TDP also makes it more suitable for thin-and-light laptops, while the GTX 950M's 75 W TDP is a relic of an older, less efficient era.

The GTX 950M has no benchmark wins in the data. Its only potential advantage is its higher percentile rank (42 vs 44), which is a statistical artifact of the different benchmark suites used, not a performance metric. In practical terms, the GTX 950M might be found in older systems where its Maxwell architecture has mature driver support, but the data provides no evidence of any workload where it outperforms the RTX 3050 A Mobile. For legacy DirectX 11 applications, the GTX 950M can still function, but the RTX 3050 A Mobile's DirectX 12 Ultimate support ensures it will handle both old and new titles. The conclusion is stark: the RTX 3050 A Mobile is a modern, efficient, and vastly more powerful GPU, while the GTX 950M is a historical footnote with no competitive standing in the current benchmark landscape.