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

The Verdict

The data presents a clear generational split. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile is the decisive winner in raw compute performance, taking both head-to-head benchmark victories. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN, while a former flagship, is now positioned as a legacy part with a different set of trade-offs.

For users prioritizing compute workloads and modern API support, the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile is the obvious choice. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 57,915 is more than double the GTX TITAN’s 24,873, a massive 57.1% lead. In Vulkan, the gap is even more stark: the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile scores 55,812 versus the GTX TITAN’s 10,027, a 82% advantage. This indicates a fundamental shift in compute efficiency and driver maturity for modern workloads.

However, the GTX TITAN retains relevance in a specific context: available memory and raw memory bandwidth. With 6 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, it offers 288.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile, with 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, provides 192.0 GB/s. For legacy applications or scenarios that are bandwidth-limited and cannot utilize the newer architecture’s features, the TITAN retains a notable edge. Its average benchmark score of 14,373 also places it in the 56th percentile of all GPUs, slightly ahead of the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile’s 12,940 and 53rd percentile. This is a nuanced result: the older card wins in aggregate across all available tests, but loses decisively in the modern compute tests where the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile excels.

For a desktop system with ample power and a need for maximum legacy memory bandwidth, the GTX TITAN is the data-supported choice. For any mobile system, laptop, or workload that leverages DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, or ray tracing, the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile is the only option, and it is also the faster option in compute. The verdict is simple: the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile is the better performer for modern tasks, but the GTX TITAN is not obsolete in every metric.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs represent a generational leap in design philosophy. The GTX TITAN is built on the Kepler architecture, utilizing the GK110 chip on a 28 nm process from TSMC. This is a large, power-hungry die, measuring 561 mm² with 7,080 million transistors. Its design is focused on raw throughput, featuring 2,688 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. It lacks dedicated hardware for ray tracing or tensor operations.

In contrast, the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile is a modern Ampere architecture part, using the GA106 chip fabricated by Samsung on an 8 nm process. This is a significantly denser design: a smaller 276 mm² die holds 12,000 million transistors, resulting in a transistor density of 43.5M / mm², compared to the TITAN’s 12.6M / mm². This architectural shift allows Ampere to integrate specialized hardware. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile includes 20 RT cores for ray tracing and 80 tensor cores for AI-accelerated workloads. Its compute unit layout is also different, with 2,560 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. While it has fewer shading units than the TITAN, its architecture is more efficient, leading to higher FP32 throughput (5.299 TFLOPS for the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile versus 4.709 TFLOPS for the GTX TITAN). The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile also supports FP16 at a 1:1 ratio, a feature the GTX TITAN does not have.

The process node and transistor density directly explain the power disparity. The GTX TITAN has a TDP of 250 W and requires a dual-slot cooler with 1x 6-pin and 1x 8-pin power connectors. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile, designed as an integrated graphics processor (IGP), has a TDP of 75 W and requires no power connectors. This confirms the efficiency gains of the newer architecture and process.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head data shows a decisive victory for the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile in both recorded tests. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile scores 57,915, while the GTX TITAN scores 24,873. This represents a 57.1% performance gap. In this test, the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile is the winner.

The second test, Geekbench Vulkan, is a catastrophic mismatch. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile scores 55,812, a staggering 82% higher than the GTX TITAN’s 10,027. This enormous delta highlights the Kepler architecture's lack of modern API optimization. The GTX TITAN’s Vulkan driver path is clearly not optimized for this workload, where as the Ampere architecture and its associated driver stack excel.

Looking at the aggregate data, the GTX TITAN does fare better. Its average benchmark score of 14,373 is higher than the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile’s 12,940. This is because the GTX TITAN has a larger presence in the database with multiple tests, including OpenCL and Vulkan, and its score in those tests contributes to its average. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile has many lower-scoring tests like Passmark DirectX 10 (60), Passmark DirectX 11 (76), and Passmark DirectX 9 (120), which pull its average down. The GTX TITAN’s nearest challenger is the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 with a score of 14,385, a delta of -0.1%. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile’s closest rival is the NVIDIA GTX 1660 SUPER, which scores 12,986, a delta of -0.4%. This shows that the GTX TITAN is still competitive with its immediate peers, while the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile is similarly matched.

Specification Differences

The two cards diverge sharply on nearly every specification. The process node is a clear difference: 28 nm for the TITAN versus 8 nm for the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile. The chips are different, with the TITAN using the GK110 and the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile using the GA106. The transistor count is higher on the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile (12,000 million versus 7,080 million) but the die is larger on the TITAN (561 mm² versus 276 mm²). This leads to a much higher transistor density on the newer card.

Memory is a major point of divergence. The GTX TITAN has 6 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 384-bit bus, yielding 288.4 GB/s. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile has 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, yielding 192.0 GB/s. The compute units differ: the TITAN has more shading units (2,688 versus 2,560) and more TMUs (224 versus 80), but the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile has more ROPs (48 versus 32). The newer card has 20 RT cores and 40 tensor cores, features the TITAN does not support.

Clock speeds are also different. The GTX TITAN has a base clock of 836 MHz and a boost of 876 MHz. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile has a lower base clock of 735 MHz, but a significantly higher boost of 1,035 MHz. The memory clock is also different: the TITAN runs at 1,502 MHz (6 Gbps effective), while the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile runs at 1,500 MHz but at a faster 12 Gbps effective data rate.

The TDP is a major difference: 250 W for the TITAN versus 75 W for the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile. The TITAN is a dual-slot card with power connectors, while the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile is an IGP with no connectors. The TITAN has a PCIe 3.0 x16 interface, while the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile has PCIe 4.0 x16. The API support differs: the TITAN supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and Vulkan 1.2.175, while the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute performance?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile has a higher FP32 performance of 5.299 TFLOPS, compared to the GTX TITAN’s 4.709 TFLOPS. It also has a 1:1 FP16 ratio, which the TITAN does not have.

Q: Is the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile faster in all benchmarks?

A: No. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile wins the Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan tests, but the GTX TITAN has a higher overall average benchmark score (14,373 versus 12,940) and a higher percentile rank (56 vs 53) across all GPUs.

Q: Does the older GTX TITAN have any advantages?

A: Yes, the GTX TITAN offers a larger memory capacity (6 GB vs 4 GB) and a much higher memory bandwidth (288.4 GB/s vs 192.0 GB/s) due to its 384-bit bus. It also has a higher pixel rate (49.06 GPixel/s vs 33.12 GPixel/s).

Q: Why is the GTX TITAN’s Vulkan score so low?

A: The recorded data shows a score of 10,027 for the GTX TITAN versus 55,812 for the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile in the Geekbench Vulkan test. This is likely due to the GTX TITAN’s older Kepler architecture and its support for an older version of Vulkan (1.2.175) compared to the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile’s support for Vulkan 1.4.

Q: Can the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile be used in a desktop?

A: The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile is an IGP, meaning it is designed for portable devices. Its display outputs are listed as "Portable Device Dependent" and its dimensions are null, indicating it is not a standalone card. It has no power connectors, and its power comes from the host system.

Q: Which GPU supports ray tracing?

A: The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile has dedicated RT cores (20 of them) for ray tracing. The GTX TITAN has no RT cores and does not support this feature.