NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile Comparison

The Verdict

The database comparison between the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile is decisively one-sided. The RTX 5080 Mobile wins all eight recorded head-to-head benchmarks, with margins ranging from 51.6% to 68.3%. The RTX 3050 A Mobile records zero wins across the entire test suite.

The RTX 5080 Mobile belongs to the GeForce 50-series and sits at the 81st percentile of all GPUs in the database, while the RTX 3050 A Mobile, from the GeForce 30-series, sits at the 44th percentile. The average benchmark score gap is stark: 38349 for the RTX 5080 Mobile versus 8746 for the RTX 3050 A Mobile, a difference of roughly 4.4 times.

For gaming workloads, the RTX 5080 Mobile delivers substantially higher DirectX performance. It scores 253 in DirectX 11 versus 94 for the RTX 3050 A Mobile, and 116 versus 55 in DirectX 12. The RTX 5080 Mobile also leads in legacy DirectX 9, scoring 314 versus 152. Compute workloads show the same pattern, with the RTX 5080 Mobile scoring 12134 in GPU compute versus 4419.

The RTX 3050 A Mobile is an end-of-life product released in early 2024, built on the Ampere architecture with an 8 nm Samsung process. Its 45 W TDP and integrated form factor make it a low-power option, but the performance data shows it cannot compete with the RTX 5080 Mobile, which uses the Blackwell 2.0 architecture on a 5 nm TSMC process with an 80 W TDP.

The practical verdict from the data: the RTX 5080 Mobile is the choice for anyone prioritizing raw graphics performance, modern API support, and compute throughput. The RTX 3050 A Mobile remains viable only for scenarios where its lower power draw is the primary consideration, but the benchmark evidence shows no area where it outperforms its newer counterpart.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs represent entirely different generations of NVIDIA mobile hardware. The RTX 3050 A Mobile uses the GA106 chip built on Ampere architecture, manufactured by Samsung on an 8 nm process. It contains 12,000 million transistors on a 276 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 43.5 million per square millimeter. The RTX 5080 Mobile uses the GB203 chip with Blackwell 2.0 architecture, manufactured by TSMC on a 5 nm process. It packs 45,600 million transistors into a 378 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 120.6 million per square millimeter.

The memory subsystems reflect the generational leap. The RTX 3050 A Mobile pairs 4 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 192.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 5080 Mobile uses 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 896.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is more than 4.6 times the bandwidth of the older part.

Core counts differ by a wide margin. The RTX 3050 A Mobile has 1792 shading units, 56 texture mapping units, 32 ROPs, 14 RT cores, and 56 tensor cores. The RTX 5080 Mobile has 7680 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, 96 ROPs, 60 RT cores, and 240 tensor cores. The newer GPU quadruples or nearly quadruples every major processing block.

Clock behavior also differs. The RTX 3050 A Mobile has a base clock of 1065 MHz and a boost clock of 1343 MHz. The RTX 5080 Mobile has a lower base clock of 975 MHz but a higher boost clock of 1500 MHz. Memory clocks show a similar pattern: 1500 MHz with 12 Gbps effective for the older part versus 1750 MHz with 28 Gbps effective for the newer one.

The bus interface has been upgraded from PCIe 4.0 x8 to PCIe 5.0 x16. Both cards use integrated form factors (IGP) with no power connectors and portable-device-dependent display outputs. API support is identical in name: DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 for both.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has more memory bandwidth?

A: The RTX 5080 Mobile delivers 896.0 GB/s, while the RTX 3050 A Mobile delivers 192.0 GB/s. The newer GPU offers more than 4.6 times the bandwidth.

Q: How does the RTX 5080 Mobile compare to the RTX 3050 A Mobile in DirectX 12 performance?

A: The RTX 5080 Mobile scores 116 in Passmark DirectX 12, while the RTX 3050 A Mobile scores 55. The RTX 5080 Mobile leads by 52.6%.

Q: What is the transistor count difference between the two chips?

A: The RTX 5080 Mobile's GB203 chip contains 45,600 million transistors, whereas the RTX 3050 A Mobile's GA106 chip contains 12,000 million transistors.

Q: Are both GPUs still in production?

A: No. The RTX 3050 A Mobile is marked end-of-life, while the RTX 5080 Mobile is listed as active in production.

Q: Which GPU has more RT cores?

A: The RTX 5080 Mobile has 60 RT cores, compared to 14 on the RTX 3050 A Mobile. That is more than 4 times as many.

Q: What is the average benchmark score for each GPU?

A: The RTX 5080 Mobile averages 38349 across all recorded benchmarks, while the RTX 3050 A Mobile averages 8746.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every specification field in the database.

Process and die: The RTX 3050 A Mobile uses an 8 nm Samsung process with a 276 mm² die and 12,000 million transistors. The RTX 5080 Mobile uses a 5 nm TSMC process with a 378 mm² die and 45,600 million transistors.

Architecture and generation: The RTX 3050 A Mobile is Ampere architecture from the GeForce 30 Mobile generation. The RTX 5080 Mobile is Blackwell 2.0 from the GeForce 50 Mobile generation.

Clock speeds: The RTX 3050 A Mobile has a 1065 MHz base and 1343 MHz boost. The RTX 5080 Mobile has a 975 MHz base and 1500 MHz boost. Memory clocks are 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective) versus 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective).

Memory: The RTX 3050 A Mobile uses 4 GB GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus. The RTX 5080 Mobile uses 16 GB GDDR7 on a 256-bit bus. Bandwidth is 192.0 GB/s versus 896.0 GB/s.

Core configuration: The RTX 3050 A Mobile has 1792 shading units, 56 TMUs, 32 ROPs, 14 RT cores, and 56 tensor cores. The RTX 5080 Mobile has 7680 shading units, 240 TMUs, 96 ROPs, 60 RT cores, and 240 tensor cores.

Fill rates and throughput: Pixel rate is 42.98 GPixel/s versus 144.0 GPixel/s. Texture rate is 75.21 GTexel/s versus 360.0 GTexel/s. FP32 and FP16 are both 4.813 TFLOPS for the older part and 23.04 TFLOPS for the newer part.

Power and interface: The RTX 3050 A Mobile has a 45 W TDP, while the RTX 5080 Mobile has an 80 W TDP. Both are IGP with no power connectors. The bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x8 versus PCIe 5.0 x16.

Production status and release: The RTX 3050 A Mobile was released in early 2024 and is end-of-life. The RTX 5080 Mobile was released in April 2025 and is active.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The RTX 5080 Mobile wins every recorded head-to-head benchmark. The largest margin comes in Geekbench OpenCL, where the RTX 5080 Mobile scores 166986 versus 52998 for the RTX 3050 A Mobile, a delta of 68.3% in favor of the newer GPU.

In Passmark DirectX tests, the RTX 5080 Mobile leads by 64.3% in DirectX 10 (171 versus 61), by 62.8% in DirectX 11 (253 versus 94), by 52.6% in DirectX 12 (116 versus 55), and by 51.6% in DirectX 9 (314 versus 152). The DirectX 9 margin is the smallest relative gap between the two, though the absolute scores remain far apart.

Compute performance follows the same trend. The RTX 5080 Mobile scores 12134 in Passmark GPU compute against 4419 for the RTX 3050 A Mobile, a 63.6% advantage. Passmark G3D shows 27711 versus 11664, a 57.9% lead for the RTX 5080 Mobile. The 2D graphics test, Passmark G2D, has the RTX 5080 Mobile at 1095 versus 526, a 52% difference.

The RTX 5080 Mobile also has an additional benchmark in its record: 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 with a score of 4952. The RTX 3050 A Mobile has no corresponding entry in the database for that test. Geekbench Vulkan is likewise only recorded for the RTX 5080 Mobile, scoring 169754.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 5080 Mobile wins in every measured category. The data shows no benchmark where the RTX 3050 A Mobile takes the lead.

For gaming, the RTX 5080 Mobile dominates across all DirectX versions. The smallest relative margin is DirectX 9 at 51.6%, which suggests that even older API workloads favor the newer GPU substantially. DirectX 12 and DirectX 11 show even larger gaps at 52.6% and 62.8% respectively, indicating that modern gaming workloads benefit most from the RTX 5080 Mobile's architecture.

For compute, the RTX 5080 Mobile delivers 2.7 times the GPU compute score of the RTX 3050 A Mobile (12134 versus 4419). The Geekbench OpenCL result is even more lopsided, with the RTX 5080 Mobile scoring 3.2 times higher (166986 versus 52998). Applications that rely on OpenCL or general GPU compute will see the largest performance advantage.

The RTX 5080 Mobile also wins on memory capacity and bandwidth, which matters for large textures, high resolutions, and data-heavy workloads. Its 16 GB GDDR7 pool with 896.0 GB/s bandwidth is a fundamental advantage over the 4 GB GDDR6 with 192.0 GB/s on the RTX 3050 A Mobile.

The RTX 3050 A Mobile's only advantage in the database is its 45 W TDP, which is 35 W lower than the RTX 5080 Mobile's 80 W TDP. For systems where power draw is the absolute constraint, the older GPU draws less, but the benchmark evidence shows it cannot match the RTX 5080 Mobile's performance in any test.

The RTX 5080 Mobile sits at the 81st percentile of all GPUs, while the RTX 3050 A Mobile sits at the 44th percentile. The nearest rivals for the RTX 5080 Mobile include the RTX 4080 Mobile at a 0.6% delta, while the RTX 3050 A Mobile's nearest rivals include the GTX 460 v2 at a 0% delta. These neighboring comparisons confirm that the RTX 5080 Mobile competes in a much higher performance tier.