NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile vs NVIDIA Switch 2 GPU Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The recorded data divides these two Ampere-based NVIDIA parts into distinct usage profiles. The GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile holds all available benchmark entries, with scores spanning legacy DirectX titles, modern compute workloads, and general 2D operations. The Switch 2 GPU has no recorded benchmark scores in the database, which means its comparative position rests entirely on architectural specifications and the 50th percentile placement assigned to it.

The RTX 3050 A Mobile shows its strongest relative performance in the Passmark DirectX 9 test with a score of 152, while its weakest showing comes from the Passmark DirectX 12 test at 55. The Passmark G3D score of 11664 places the card at the 44th percentile among all GPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 8746. The Switch 2 GPU, by contrast, holds a 50th percentile placement despite having no measured scores, indicating the database ranks its expected capability slightly above the RTX 3050 A Mobile.

For gaming-oriented workloads, the RTX 3050 A Mobile delivers a DirectX 12 score of 55 against a DirectX 11 score of 94, suggesting the older API path is more efficient on this implementation. The Switch 2 GPU, with its console-oriented design, has no such measurements available, so direct API-level comparison is impossible from the recorded data.

Compute performance favors the RTX 3050 A Mobile in the available metrics: Passmark GPU compute returns 4419, while the Switch 2 GPU has no compute score recorded. The Geekbench OpenCL result of 52998 further emphasizes the mobile card's compute capability, though the Switch 2 GPU's FP16 throughput of 8.602 TFLOPS exceeds the RTX 3050 A Mobile's 4.813 TFLOPS in that specific precision format.

Architecture Differences

Both GPUs share the Ampere architecture and use Samsung's 8 nm process node, but their chip implementations diverge significantly. The RTX 3050 A Mobile uses the GA106 chip with a die size of 276 mm² and 12,000 million transistors, yielding a transistor density of 43.5 million per mm². The Switch 2 GPU uses the GA10B chip with a 200 mm² die and an unknown transistor count, which prevents density calculations.

Core configurations differ across every unit type. The RTX 3050 A Mobile has 1792 shading units, 56 texture mapping units, 32 raster operations pipelines, 14 ray tracing cores, and 56 tensor cores. The Switch 2 GPU has 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, 16 ROPs, 12 ray tracing cores, and 48 tensor cores. The RTX 3050 A Mobile therefore leads by 256 shading units, 8 TMUs, 16 ROPs, 2 ray tracing cores, and 8 tensor cores.

Clock behavior reverses the core-count advantage. The RTX 3050 A Mobile runs at a 1065 MHz base and 1343 MHz boost, while the Switch 2 GPU operates at a 561 MHz base and 1400 MHz boost. The Switch 2 GPU's boost clock is 57 MHz higher, and its FP16 compute output doubles to 8.602 TFLOPS due to a 2:1 FP16 ratio, whereas the RTX 3050 A Mobile runs FP16 at a 1:1 ratio with 4.813 TFLOPS.

Memory subsystems take different approaches. The RTX 3050 A Mobile uses 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 1500 MHz memory clock (12 Gbps effective) for 192.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Switch 2 GPU uses 12 GB of LPDDR5X on a 128-bit bus with 800 MHz memory clock (6.4 Gbps effective) for 102.4 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 3050 A Mobile has 89.6 GB/s more bandwidth, while the Switch 2 GPU has three times the capacity.

Rasterization rates follow the core and clock mix. The RTX 3050 A Mobile achieves 42.98 GPixel/s and 75.21 GTexel/s. The Switch 2 GPU achieves 22.40 GPixel/s and 67.20 GTexel/s. Pixel throughput favors the RTX 3050 A Mobile by nearly double, while texture throughput is closer with a 8.01 GTexel/s gap.

Power and physical design differ substantially. The RTX 3050 A Mobile has a 45 W TDP, no power connectors, and an IGP slot width with PCIe 4.0 x8 interface. The Switch 2 GPU has a 40 W TDP, no recorded power connectors or bus interface, and measures 272 mm by 116 mm by 14 mm. The RTX 3050 A Mobile carries a 2023 release date and is marked end-of-life, while the Switch 2 GPU launched in 2025 and remains active.

API support is identical: both list DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

The Verdict

The database positions the Switch 2 GPU at the 50th percentile, six points above the RTX 3050 A Mobile's 44th percentile. This placement suggests the console chip is expected to outperform the mobile card in aggregate, despite lacking any recorded benchmark scores. The RTX 3050 A Mobile's nearest rivals corroborate its mid-range standing: the GeForce GTX 460 v2 scores 8743 with a 0% delta, the Quadro P2200 scores 8686 with a 0.7% delta, the Radeon R9 M265X scores 8851 with a -1.2% delta, and the Radeon Pro WX 5100 scores 8863 with a -1.3% delta.

For raw pixel throughput and memory bandwidth, the RTX 3050 A Mobile is the clear choice: 42.98 GPixel/s versus 22.40 GPixel/s, and 192.0 GB/s versus 102.4 GB/s. These figures directly impact fill-rate-bound scenarios and high-resolution texture streaming. The RTX 3050 A Mobile also leads in shading units, TMUs, ROPs, ray tracing cores, and tensor cores, which should translate to better sustained geometry and effects workloads.

The Switch 2 GPU compensates with 12 GB of memory versus 4 GB, and a higher boost clock at 1400 MHz versus 1343 MHz. Its FP16 output of 8.602 TFLOPS doubles the RTX 3050 A Mobile's 4.813 TFLOPS, which matters for workloads that leverage mixed-precision computation. The 40 W TDP versus 45 W also indicates a lower power envelope, though both are modest mobile-class parts.

Users requiring measured benchmark data should default to the RTX 3050 A Mobile, as its 8746 average score and 11664 G3D result are concrete. Users prioritizing memory capacity and the console-specific feature set should consider the Switch 2 GPU, whose 50th percentile ranking implies competitive overall performance despite zero recorded scores.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has more memory bandwidth?

A: The RTX 3050 A Mobile has 192.0 GB/s bandwidth from its 128-bit GDDR6 bus, while the Switch 2 GPU has 102.4 GB/s from its 128-bit LPDDR5X bus.

Q: How do the core counts compare?

A: The RTX 3050 A Mobile has 1792 shading units, 56 TMUs, 32 ROPs, 14 ray tracing cores, and 56 tensor cores. The Switch 2 GPU has 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, 16 ROPs, 12 ray tracing cores, and 48 tensor cores.

Q: What is the FP16 compute difference?

A: The Switch 2 GPU delivers 8.602 TFLOPS FP16 with a 2:1 ratio, while the RTX 3050 A Mobile delivers 4.813 TFLOPS FP16 with a 1:1 ratio.

Q: Which GPU has a higher boost clock?

A: The Switch 2 GPU boosts to 1400 MHz, which is 57 MHz higher than the RTX 3050 A Mobile's 1343 MHz boost.

Q: Are the benchmark scores for the Switch 2 GPU available?

A: No, the database lists no benchmark entries for the Switch 2 GPU. Its percentile placement is 50, and its average benchmark score is 0.

Q: What are the memory capacities?

A: The Switch 2 GPU has 12 GB of LPDDR5X, while the RTX 3050 A Mobile has 4 GB of GDDR6.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

No direct head-to-head benchmark entries exist between these two GPUs in the database. The comparison therefore relies on the RTX 3050 A Mobile's measured results and the Switch 2 GPU's specification-derived position.

The RTX 3050 A Mobile's Passmark G3D score of 11664 anchors its performance tier. Its nearest rival, the GeForce GTX 460 v2, averages 8743, a 0% delta, which places the two effectively equal in aggregate. The Quadro P2200 trails at 8686 with a 0.7% delta, and the Radeon R9 M265X leads slightly at 8851 with a -1.2% delta. The Radeon Pro WX 5100 tops the group at 8863 with a -1.3% delta. These margins are narrow, indicating the RTX 3050 A Mobile sits in a tightly contested performance band.

The RTX 3050 A Mobile's DirectX scores show API-specific behavior. DirectX 9 returns 152, DirectX 11 returns 94, DirectX 10 returns 61, and DirectX 12 returns 55. The DirectX 12 result being the lowest suggests the Ampere architecture on this chip does not scale efficiently with the newer API, or the driver path for this mobile implementation favors legacy pipelines. The G2D score of 526 and GPU compute score of 4419 round out the measurable profile.

The Switch 2 GPU's 50th percentile placement, when set against the RTX 3050 A Mobile's 44th, implies a six-point advantage in the database's overall ranking. Without benchmark scores, that placement likely derives from the 12 GB memory capacity, the higher boost clock, and the doubled FP16 throughput. The Switch 2 GPU's FP32 output of 4.301 TFLOPS trails the RTX 3050 A Mobile's 4.813 TFLOPS by 0.512 TFLOPS, a 10.6% deficit.

Pixel and texture rates reinforce the RTX 3050 A Mobile's advantage in traditional raster workloads. At 42.98 GPixel/s, it outpaces the Switch 2 GPU's 22.40 GPixel/s by 20.58 GPixel/s, nearly a 2:1 ratio. Texture rate shows a smaller gap: 75.21 GTexel/s against 67.20 GTexel/s, a 12% lead for the RTX 3050 A Mobile.

The transistor count difference, where the GA106 packs 12,000 million transistors into 276 mm² versus the GA10B's 200 mm² die with unknown transistor counts, indicates the RTX 3050 A Mobile has more silicon area to work with. This directly explains its higher core counts and ROP count, which drive the pixel rate advantage.

Clock behavior tells the opposite story. The Switch 2 GPU's boost clock of 1400 MHz exceeds the RTX 3050 A Mobile's 1343 MHz, and its base clock of 561 MHz is nearly half the RTX 3050 A Mobile's 1065 MHz. The wide base-to-boost range on the Switch 2 GPU suggests a power-adaptive design that can scale up when thermal headroom allows.

Memory bandwidth remains the largest functional gap. The RTX 3050 A Mobile's 192.0 GB/s is 87.5% higher than the Switch 2 GPU's 102.4 GB/s. This affects texture streaming and framebuffer operations directly. Conversely, the Switch 2 GPU's 12 GB capacity versus 4 GB changes the working set possible in a single frame, favoring the console part for larger scenes.

In the absence of head-to-head results, the data supports a split verdict: the RTX 3050 A Mobile wins on fill rate, bandwidth, and measured scores; the Switch 2 GPU wins on memory capacity, FP16 throughput, and percentile ranking.