NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile vs NVIDIA RTX 2000 Max-Q Ada Generation Comparison

The Verdict

The recorded data positions the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile and the NVIDIA RTX 2000 Max-Q Ada Generation as distinctly different mobile graphics solutions. The RTX 3050 A Mobile has a measured average benchmark score of 8746, placing it at the 44th percentile of all GPUs in the database. The RTX 2000 Max-Q Ada Generation holds a higher percentile rank at 50, though it currently has no recorded benchmark scores or average score in the database.

For users selecting between these two, the data points in opposite directions. The RTX 3050 A Mobile is an end-of-life product from the GeForce 30-series, built on the Ampere architecture. Its benchmark results are fully documented, with a Passmark G3D score of 11664 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 52998. The RTX 2000 Max-Q Ada Generation, in contrast, is an active product from the Ada-MW generation, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture. It offers substantially higher theoretical specifications: 3072 shading units versus 1792, 96 texture mapping units versus 56, and 48 raster output pipelines versus 32.

The RTX 2000 Max-Q Ada Generation also delivers double the memory capacity at 8 GB versus 4 GB, along with higher memory bandwidth at 256.0 GB/s versus 192.0 GB/s. Its FP32 compute rating of 8.940 TFLOPS is nearly double the RTX 3050 A Mobile's 4.813 TFLOPS. The RTX 2000 Max-Q Ada Generation achieves this with a lower TDP of 35 W compared to 45 W for the RTX 3050 A Mobile, indicating greater compute efficiency per watt in the recorded specifications.

The RTX 3050 A Mobile, however, has a higher base clock at 1065 MHz versus 930 MHz, though its boost clock of 1343 MHz is lower than the 1455 MHz boost of the RTX 2000 Max-Q Ada Generation. The data suggests that for workloads relying on sustained base-clock operation, the RTX 3050 A Mobile may hold an edge, but for peak single-core or lightly threaded performance, the RTX 2000 Max-Q Ada Generation's higher boost clock prevails.

The absence of benchmark scores for the RTX 2000 Max-Q Ada Generation limits direct performance comparison. The database shows its average benchmark score as 0, and its nearest rivals list is empty. Users requiring validated performance data would choose the RTX 3050 A Mobile based solely on its documented results. Users prioritizing architectural longevity, higher memory capacity, and superior theoretical compute throughput would select the RTX 2000 Max-Q Ada Generation.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations. The RTX 3050 A Mobile uses the GA106 chip on the Ampere architecture, fabricated on an 8 nm process by Samsung. The RTX 2000 Max-Q Ada Generation uses the AD107 chip on the Ada Lovelace architecture, fabricated on a 5 nm process by TSMC. This process difference is significant: the Ada chip achieves a transistor density of 118.9M per mm² versus 43.5M per mm² for the Ampere chip, despite the Ada chip having a smaller die size of 159 mm² compared to 276 mm².

The transistor counts differ accordingly. The GA106 chip contains 12,000 million transistors, while the AD107 chip contains 18,900 million transistors. The denser 5 nm process allows the Ada chip to pack more transistors into a smaller physical area, which contributes to its higher shading unit count and compute throughput.

Core configuration differences are substantial. The RTX 3050 A Mobile has 1792 shading units, 56 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The RTX 2000 Max-Q Ada Generation has 3072 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. The Ada chip also carries more ray tracing cores, 24 versus 14, and more tensor cores, 96 versus 56. These increases align with the Ada architecture's focus on ray tracing and AI-accelerated workloads.

Memory architecture differs in capacity and bandwidth. Both GPUs use GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, but the RTX 2000 Max-Q Ada Generation has 8 GB of memory versus 4 GB for the RTX 3050 A Mobile. The memory clock is also higher on the Ada part: 2000 MHz with 16 Gbps effective data rate versus 1500 MHz with 12 Gbps effective. This yields a bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s for the Ada GPU versus 192.0 GB/s for the Ampere GPU.

The bus interface also differs. The RTX 3050 A Mobile connects via PCIe 4.0 x8, while the RTX 2000 Max-Q Ada Generation uses PCIe 4.0 x16. This doubles the available bus bandwidth for the Ada part, which can matter for data transfer in compute-heavy scenarios.

Both GPUs support DirectX 12 Ultimate with feature level 12_2, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The production statuses differ, with the RTX 3050 A Mobile marked as end-of-life and the RTX 2000 Max-Q Ada Generation marked as active. The release dates also differ, with the RTX 3050 A Mobile released at the end of December 2023 and the RTX 2000 Max-Q Ada Generation released in March 2023.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head benchmark section in the database is empty, with no recorded comparative tests between these two GPUs. The RTX 2000 Max-Q Ada Generation has no individual benchmark entries at all, so a direct score-by-score comparison is impossible from the recorded data.

The RTX 3050 A Mobile's benchmark results provide a baseline for what the Ampere part achieves. Its Passmark G3D score is 11664, which is the strongest result among its Passmark tests. The Passmark GPU Compute score is 4419, indicating compute performance roughly 38 percent of its graphics score. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 52998 reflects a different workload profile, one that often favors GPUs with higher raw throughput.

The nearest rivals for the RTX 3050 A Mobile offer context for its performance tier. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 v2 has an average score of 8743, a delta of 0 percent from the RTX 3050 A Mobile's 8746 average. The NVIDIA Quadro P2200 scores 8686, which is 0.7 percent lower. The AMD Radeon R9 M265X scores 8851, which is 1.2 percent higher, and the AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100 scores 8863, which is 1.3 percent higher. These deltas are small, placing the RTX 3050 A Mobile in a tightly clustered performance band where no rival exceeds it by more than 1.3 percent.

The data indicates that the RTX 3050 A Mobile is a mid-tier mobile GPU from the previous generation. Its average benchmark score of 8746 and 44th percentile ranking show it sits below the median of all GPUs in the database. The RTX 2000 Max-Q Ada Generation, with a 50th percentile ranking, sits exactly at the median, though without recorded scores this ranking carries no measured validation.

For users judging on theoretical specifications alone, the RTX 2000 Max-Q Ada Generation shows a clear advantage. Its FP32 throughput of 8.940 TFLOPS is 85.8 percent higher than the RTX 3050 A Mobile's 4.813 TFLOPS. Its texture rate of 139.7 GTexel/s is 85.8 percent higher than 75.21 GTexel/s. Its pixel rate of 69.84 GPixel/s is 62.5 percent higher than 42.98 GPixel/s. These figures derive directly from the higher core counts and clock speeds recorded for the Ada part.

The RTX 3050 A Mobile has a base clock advantage of 135 MHz over the RTX 2000 Max-Q Ada Generation, but the Ada part's boost clock is 112 MHz higher. The memory bandwidth gap is 64.0 GB/s in favor of the Ada part, which becomes more relevant as workloads scale with memory capacity and data movement.

Specification Differences

The following fields differ between the two GPUs, based solely on the recorded data:

Chip and Process: The RTX 3050 A Mobile uses GA106 on 8 nm from Samsung. The RTX 2000 Max-Q Ada Generation uses AD107 on 5 nm from TSMC.

Transistors and Die Size: The RTX 3050 A Mobile has 12,000 million transistors on a 276 mm² die. The RTX 2000 Max-Q Ada Generation has 18,900 million transistors on a 159 mm² die. Transistor density is 43.5M per mm² versus 118.9M per mm².

Clocks: Base clock is 1065 MHz for the RTX 3050 A Mobile versus 930 MHz for the RTX 2000 Max-Q Ada Generation. Boost clock is 1343 MHz versus 1455 MHz. Memory clock is 1500 MHz with 12 Gbps effective versus 2000 MHz with 16 Gbps effective.

Memory: Capacity is 4 GB versus 8 GB. Bandwidth is 192.0 GB/s versus 256.0 GB/s. Both use GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus.

Core Counts: Shading units are 1792 versus 3072. TMUs are 56 versus 96. ROPs are 32 versus 48. RT cores are 14 versus 24. Tensor cores are 56 versus 96.

Rates: Pixel rate is 42.98 GPixel/s versus 69.84 GPixel/s. Texture rate is 75.21 GTexel/s versus 139.7 GTexel/s. FP32 is 4.813 TFLOPS versus 8.940 TFLOPS. FP16 is 4.813 TFLOPS versus 8.940 TFLOPS, both at 1:1 ratio.

TDP: The RTX 3050 A Mobile is rated at 45 W. The RTX 2000 Max-Q Ada Generation is rated at 35 W.

Bus Interface: PCIe 4.0 x8 versus PCIe 4.0 x16.

Production Status: End-of-life versus Active.

Release Date: December 31, 2023 for the RTX 3050 A Mobile. March 20, 2023 for the RTX 2000 Max-Q Ada Generation.

Generation and Successor: The RTX 3050 A Mobile is in the GeForce 30 Mobile generation with no successor recorded. The RTX 2000 Max-Q Ada Generation is in the Ada-MW generation, with its predecessor listed as Ampere-MW and successor as Blackwell-MW.

The fields that do not differ include manufacturer (both NVIDIA), memory type (GDDR6), bus width (128 bit), slot width (IGP), power connectors (None), display outputs (Portable Device Dependent), and API support (DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, Vulkan 1.4). Neither GPU has a recorded launch MSRP.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile has a recorded average benchmark score of 8746. The NVIDIA RTX 2000 Max-Q Ada Generation has an average benchmark score of 0, as no benchmark results are recorded for it in the database.

Q: How much memory does each GPU have?

A: The RTX 3050 A Mobile has 4 GB of GDDR6 memory. The RTX 2000 Max-Q Ada Generation has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory. Both use a 128-bit memory bus.

Q: Which GPU has higher memory bandwidth?

A: The RTX 2000 Max-Q Ada Generation has a memory bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s, which is 64.0 GB/s higher than the 192.0 GB/s of the RTX 3050 A Mobile. The Ada part also has a higher effective memory clock at 16 Gbps versus 12 Gbps.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The RTX 3050 A Mobile has a TDP of 45 W. The RTX 2000 Max-Q Ada Generation has a TDP of 35 W, which is 10 W lower despite having higher core counts and compute throughput.

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in FP32 compute performance?

A: The RTX 2000 Max-Q Ada Generation delivers 8.940 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, compared to 4.813 TFLOPS for the RTX 3050 A Mobile. This represents an 85.8 percent advantage for the Ada part.

Q: Are both GPUs currently in production?

A: No. The RTX 3050 A Mobile is marked as end-of-life in the database. The RTX 2000 Max-Q Ada Generation is marked as active. The RTX 3050 A Mobile was released in December 2023, while the RTX 2000 Max-Q Ada Generation was released in March 2023.