GPU Comparison

The benchmark data places the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile firmly ahead of the AMD FirePro S10000 in both tested workloads, with the gap ranging from roughly 44% to 63%. The GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile wins both head-to-head comparisons decisively, leveraging its newer architecture and higher clock speeds to overcome the FirePro S10000's advantages in memory bandwidth and texture rate. While the AMD card holds a slight edge in overall percentile ranking relative to its own rivals, the direct comparison shows a clear generational leap in compute performance for the NVIDIA part.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most significant victory for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile comes in the Geekbench OpenCL test, where it scores 50,038 against the FirePro S10000's 30,631. This represents a 63.4% advantage, a massive margin that underscores the efficiency of the Ampere architecture. The RTX 3050 Mobile delivers this performance at a 45 W TDP, compared to the FirePro S10000's 375 W, meaning the NVIDIA part achieves far higher performance per watt despite the older card's larger physical footprint.

In the Geekbench Vulkan test, the RTX 3050 Mobile again takes the lead, scoring 49,051 versus 34,145 for the FirePro S10000. The 43.7% delta is smaller than the OpenCL gap but still represents a commanding win. This result suggests that the NVIDIA card's modern API support, including Vulkan 1.4 versus the AMD card's Vulkan 1.2.170, contributes to its superior performance in contemporary graphics workloads. The RTX 3050 Mobile's 5.501 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power versus the FirePro S10000's 3.405 TFLOPS directly correlates with these benchmark outcomes.

The average benchmark score tells a similar story: the RTX 3050 Mobile averages 33,170 across all its tested workloads, while the FirePro S10000 averages 32,388. Although this overall average is closer than the head-to-head results, it reflects that the AMD card is competitive in some other tests not directly compared here. However, in the two direct comparisons available, the NVIDIA part wins both, giving it a 2-0 record in head-to-head matchups. The RTX 3050 Mobile also sits in the 78th percentile of all GPUs, slightly above the FirePro S10000's 77th percentile, reinforcing its overall position in the broader market.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile, with an average score of 33,170 compared to the AMD FirePro S10000's 32,388.

Q: How much faster is the RTX 3050 Mobile in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The RTX 3050 Mobile scores 50,038 versus 30,631 for the FirePro S10000, a 63.4% advantage.

Q: Does the FirePro S10000 win any benchmark comparison?

A: No. In the two head-to-head tests (Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan), the FirePro S10000 loses both, with the RTX 3050 Mobile winning 2-0.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference between the two cards?

A: The AMD FirePro S10000 has higher memory bandwidth at 240.0 GB/s, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile offers 192.0 GB/s.

Q: Which card has a higher FP32 compute throughput?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile, with 5.501 TFLOPS compared to the FirePro S10000's 3.405 TFLOPS.

Q: What are the release dates for these GPUs?

A: The AMD FirePro S10000 was released on 2012-11-11, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile came later on 2021-05-10.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two GPUs is stark, representing nearly a decade of GPU evolution. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile uses the GA107 chip built on Ampere architecture, fabricated on an 8 nm process at Samsung. This modern node packs 8,700 million transistors into a 200 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 43.5 million per square millimeter. In contrast, the AMD FirePro S10000 relies on the older Tahiti chip with GCN 1.0 architecture, produced on a 28 nm process at TSMC. This older node houses 4,313 million transistors across a larger 352 mm² die, yielding a much lower density of 12.3 million per square millimeter.

The RTX 3050 Mobile's Ampere architecture brings dedicated hardware features that the FirePro S10000 simply lacks. It includes 16 ray tracing cores and 64 tensor cores, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI workloads. The FirePro S10000 has no RT cores or tensor cores at all, making it unable to handle these modern workloads efficiently. Furthermore, the NVIDIA card supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the AMD card is limited to DirectX 12 (11_1), meaning the RTX 3050 Mobile can take advantage of features like mesh shaders and variable rate shading that the FirePro S10000 cannot.

The process node difference also has profound implications for power efficiency. The RTX 3050 Mobile is rated at 45 W TDP and is an integrated GPU (IGP) with no power connectors, while the FirePro S10000 draws a massive 375 W and requires two 8-pin power connectors plus a 750 W suggested PSU. This efficiency gap is a direct result of the 8 nm versus 28 nm manufacturing processes, allowing the NVIDIA chip to deliver more than 1.6 times the FP32 performance while consuming only 12% of the power.

Specification Differences

The memory subsystems of these two cards highlight their different design philosophies. The RTX 3050 Mobile comes with 4 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, running at 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective), providing 192.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The FirePro S10000 offers 3 GB of GDDR5 memory on a wider 384-bit bus, clocked at 1250 MHz (5 Gbps effective), delivering a higher 240.0 GB/s bandwidth. While the AMD card has more raw bandwidth, the NVIDIA card's faster memory technology and higher effective clock speed compensate for its narrower bus.

Compute unit counts also differ significantly between the two. The RTX 3050 Mobile features 2,048 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The FirePro S10000 has 1,792 shading units, 112 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. Although the AMD card has more texture units, resulting in a higher texture rate of 106.4 GTexel/s versus 85.95 GTexel/s for the NVIDIA card, the RTX 3050 Mobile's higher clock speeds (1343 MHz boost versus 950 MHz boost) give it a superior pixel rate of 42.98 GPixel/s versus 30.40 GPixel/s.

The physical specifications further differentiate these cards. The FirePro S10000 is a dual-slot card measuring 305 mm in length and 111 mm in height, designed for server installations with display outputs of 1x DVI and 4x mini-DisplayPort 1.2. The RTX 3050 Mobile, being an IGP, has no defined dimensions and its display outputs are listed as "Portable Device Dependent," reflecting its mobile laptop orientation. The bus interface also differs: the RTX 3050 Mobile uses PCIe 4.0 x8, while the FirePro S10000 uses the older PCIe 3.0 x16 standard.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile is the clear winner in raw compute performance, as evidenced by its 63.4% lead in Geekbench OpenCL and 43.7% lead in Geekbench Vulkan. It also dominates in modern feature support, with ray tracing cores, tensor cores, and DirectX 12 Ultimate compatibility. For any workload that leverages these features, such as real-time ray tracing, AI inference, or modern game engines, the RTX 3050 Mobile is the only viable option between the two. Its 5.501 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 16 GB/s higher effective memory clock make it superior for general compute tasks.

The AMD FirePro S10000's strengths are more limited but still notable in specific areas. It offers higher memory bandwidth at 240.0 GB/s, which could benefit bandwidth-bound workloads that don't require modern features. Its texture rate of 106.4 GTexel/s also exceeds the RTX 3050 Mobile's 85.95 GTexel/s, potentially giving it an edge in certain texture-heavy rendering tasks. Furthermore, the FirePro S10000 has a 384-bit memory bus versus the RTX 3050 Mobile's 128-bit bus, which could provide advantages in large data transfers if the software is optimized for GCN architecture.

However, these advantages are largely theoretical in the context of the benchmark data. The FirePro S10000's higher bandwidth and texture rate did not translate into wins in either Geekbench test, suggesting that the RTX 3050 Mobile's superior compute throughput and architectural efficiency outweigh these factors. The AMD card's only practical advantage may be in legacy software compatibility, given its older GCN 1.0 architecture and support for DirectX 12 (11_1), though this is speculative based on the available data.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the benchmark results, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile is the superior GPU for virtually any modern workload. It wins both head-to-head benchmark comparisons by substantial margins, 63.4% in OpenCL and 43.7% in Vulkan, and offers a higher average benchmark score of 33,170 versus 32,388. The RTX 3050 Mobile also achieves this performance at a fraction of the power draw (45 W versus 375 W) and includes modern features like ray tracing and tensor cores that the FirePro S10000 completely lacks.

The FirePro S10000, despite being an older server-oriented card with a higher launch MSRP of 3,599 USD, cannot compete with the RTX 3050 Mobile's architectural advantages. Its higher memory bandwidth and texture rate are not reflected in the benchmark scores, and its lack of modern API support (DirectX 12 (11_1) versus 12 Ultimate) puts it at a fundamental disadvantage. The RTX 3050 Mobile's 8 nm process node versus the FirePro's 28 nm node represents a generational leap that no amount of additional memory bandwidth can overcome.

For mobile users, laptop manufacturers, or anyone needing efficient, high-performance compute, the RTX 3050 Mobile is the clear choice. The FirePro S10000 might still find a place in legacy server environments where its specific GCN architecture is required, but the data shows that the RTX 3050 Mobile delivers more than 60% better performance in key workloads while consuming 88% less power. The verdict is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile wins this comparison decisively.