NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile vs NVIDIA P104-100 Comparison

# Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data presents a clear split: the NVIDIA P104-100 wins two of the three head-to-head tests, while the GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile takes the remaining one — and the margins tell very different stories. In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, the P104-100 delivers a score of 1413 against the RTX 3050 Mobile's 421, a commanding 70.2% advantage. That is not a narrow victory; it is a dominant one. The P104-100 also edges out the RTX 3050 Mobile in Geekbench OpenCL, scoring 52368 versus 50038, a 4.4% difference. The RTX 3050 Mobile's sole win comes in Geekbench Vulkan, where it posts 49051 against the P104-100's 45165, an 8.6% lead.

The average benchmark scores place both GPUs in the same performance tier, with the RTX 3050 Mobile averaging 33170 and the P104-100 averaging 32982 — a gap of just 0.6% in favor of the RTX 3050 Mobile. This near-parity in aggregate scores makes the lopsided Steel Nomad result all the more striking. The P104-100's 70.2% margin in that test suggests it is substantially stronger in modern DirectX 12 workloads, while the RTX 3050 Mobile's Vulkan advantage points to architecture-level differences in API efficiency.

Contextualizing against the nearest rivals, both GPUs sit in a tight cluster. The RTX 3050 Mobile's closest competitor is the AMD Radeon Pro 570, which scores 33207 — 0.1% higher. The NVIDIA T550 Mobile trails by 0%, essentially a tie. The P104-100's closest rival is the NVIDIA T600 Mobile at 32849, 0.4% behind, while the T550 Mobile sits 0.5% ahead. The data shows both cards are firmly mid-pack performers, with the RTX 3050 Mobile holding a 1% edge over the T600 Mobile and the P104-100 sitting 0.6% behind the RTX 3050 Mobile. The percentile rankings confirm this: the RTX 3050 Mobile sits at the 78th percentile of all GPUs, the P104-100 at the 77th.

# Where Each One Wins

The P104-100's strengths are in raw compute throughput and traditional rasterization-bound tasks. Its 6.655 TFLOPS of FP32 performance exceeds the RTX 3050 Mobile's 5.501 TFLOPS by 21%. The texture rate differential is even more pronounced: 208.0 GTexel/s versus 85.95 GTexel/s, a 142% advantage. Pixel rate also favors the P104-100 at 110.9 GPixel/s versus 42.98 GPixel/s. These figures explain its dominance in the DX12 Steel Nomad benchmark, which stresses exactly these kinds of workloads. The P104-100's 64 ROPs and 120 TMUs, versus 32 ROPs and 64 TMUs on the RTX 3050 Mobile, give it a structural edge in fill-rate-limited scenarios.

The RTX 3050 Mobile wins in API compatibility and features that the P104-100 simply lacks. It supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the P104-100 is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1). The RTX 3050 Mobile also includes 16 ray-tracing cores and 64 tensor cores — hardware the P104-100 does not have at all. Its Vulkan score advantage of 8.6% suggests the Ampere architecture handles Vulkan's explicit command model more efficiently. For users running Vulkan-based applications, the RTX 3050 Mobile is the clear choice.

Memory bandwidth is another differentiator, though it favors the P104-100. Its 320.3 GB/s bandwidth, delivered over a 256-bit bus with GDDR5X memory, dwarfs the RTX 3050 Mobile's 192.0 GB/s over a 128-bit bus. The P104-100's memory clock of 1251 MHz (10 Gbps effective) is lower than the RTX 3050 Mobile's 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective), but the wider bus more than compensates. The P104-100's 4 GB of GDDR5X memory matches the RTX 3050 Mobile's 4 GB of GDDR6, but the bandwidth advantage matters in texture-heavy scenes and high-resolution workloads.

# Architecture Differences

The two GPUs represent fundamentally different design philosophies separated by four years of architectural evolution. The RTX 3050 Mobile uses the GA107 chip built on Ampere architecture, manufactured by Samsung on an 8 nm process. The P104-100 uses the GP104 chip on Pascal architecture, manufactured by TSMC on a 16 nm process. The node difference is significant: the RTX 3050 Mobile packs 8,700 million transistors into a 200 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 43.5M per mm². The P104-100 contains 7,200 million transistors across a larger 314 mm² die, giving it a density of just 22.9M per mm². The RTX 3050 Mobile's density advantage is nearly 2x, a direct result of the more modern manufacturing process.

The shader configurations differ in ways that reflect their architectural priorities. The RTX 3050 Mobile has 2048 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The P104-100 has 1920 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. Despite having fewer shading units, the P104-100 achieves higher FP32 throughput because of its higher clocks: 1607 MHz base and 1733 MHz boost, versus the RTX 3050 Mobile's 1065 MHz base and 1343 MHz boost. The P104-100's boost clock is 29% higher, and its base clock is 51% higher.

The FP16 capability shows a stark contrast. The RTX 3050 Mobile delivers 5.501 TFLOPS of FP16 at a 1:1 ratio with FP32, a hallmark of Ampere's unified design. The P104-100 manages only 104.0 GFLOPS of FP16, a 1:64 ratio that makes it effectively useless for half-precision workloads. The RTX 3050 Mobile's inclusion of tensor cores and RT cores adds dedicated hardware for AI inference and ray tracing that the P104-100 cannot replicate through any software path.

Memory subsystems also diverge. The RTX 3050 Mobile uses 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, while the P104-100 uses 4 GB of GDDR5X on a 256-bit bus. The P104-100's bandwidth advantage of 67% (320.3 GB/s versus 192.0 GB/s) is substantial. The bus interface highlights their different intended roles: the RTX 3050 Mobile uses PCIe 4.0 x8, while the P104-100 uses PCIe 1.0 x4 — a legacy interface that severely limits data transfer from the host system but matters less for a mining-focused card.

# FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile averages 33170, which is 0.6% higher than the NVIDIA P104-100's 32982.

Q: How large is the performance gap in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12?

A: The P104-100 scores 1413 versus the RTX 3050 Mobile's 421, a 70.2% advantage for the P104-100.

Q: Does the RTX 3050 Mobile support ray tracing?

A: Yes, it has 16 dedicated ray-tracing cores. The P104-100 has no RT cores at all.

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

A: The P104-100 has 320.3 GB/s of bandwidth over a 256-bit bus, while the RTX 3050 Mobile has 192.0 GB/s over a 128-bit bus.

Q: Which GPU has a higher FP32 compute throughput?

A: The P104-100 leads with 6.655 TFLOPS, compared to the RTX 3050 Mobile's 5.501 TFLOPS.

Q: What API level does each GPU support?

A: The RTX 3050 Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the P104-100 supports DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4.

# Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile | NVIDIA P104-100 |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | Ampere | Pascal |

| Process Node | 8 nm (Samsung) | 16 nm (TSMC) |

| Transistors | 8,700 million | 7,200 million |

| Die Size | 200 mm² | 314 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 43.5M / mm² | 22.9M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1065 MHz | 1607 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1343 MHz | 1733 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective) | 1251 MHz (10 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR5X |

| Memory Bus Width | 128 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 192.0 GB/s | 320.3 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 2048 | 1920 |

| TMUs | 64 | 120 |

| ROPs | 32 | 64 |

| RT Cores | 16 | None |

| Tensor Cores | 64 | None |

| Pixel Rate | 42.98 GPixel/s | 110.9 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 85.95 GTexel/s | 208.0 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 5.501 TFLOPS | 6.655 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 5.501 TFLOPS (1:1) | 104.0 GFLOPS (1:64) |

| TDP | 45 W | Not specified |

| Slot Width | IGP | Dual-slot |

| Power Connectors | None | 1x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | Not specified | 200 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x8 | PCIe 1.0 x4 |

| Display Outputs | Portable Device Dependent | No outputs |

| Release Date | 2021-05-10 | 2017-12-11 |

# The Verdict

The data points to a clear conclusion: these are two GPUs built for entirely different purposes, and the right choice depends on the workload. The P104-100 is the stronger performer in raw compute and bandwidth-bound tasks. Its 70.2% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, combined with a 21% advantage in FP32 throughput and 67% more memory bandwidth, makes it the superior choice for compute-heavy applications that do not require modern API features. Its dual-slot design, 8-pin power connector, and 200 W suggested PSU indicate a desktop card designed for sustained load, not mobility.

The RTX 3050 Mobile is the more versatile and future-proof option. Its 8.6% Vulkan advantage shows better API efficiency, and its support for DirectX 12 Ultimate, ray tracing cores, and tensor cores opens up workloads the P104-100 cannot handle. The 1:1 FP16 ratio and 43.5M / mm² transistor density reflect a modern architecture that extracts more performance per watt and per square millimeter. Its 45 W TDP and IGP slot width make it suitable for thin-and-light laptops, whereas the P104-100 has no display outputs at all and is effectively restricted to mining or compute roles.

For users prioritizing raw throughput in DX12 or memory-bandwidth-intensive tasks, the P104-100 is the data-backed pick. For those needing Vulkan performance, modern API support, or any form of display output, the RTX 3050 Mobile is the only viable option. The aggregate scores are nearly identical — 33170 versus 32982 — but the underlying strengths could not be more different. The P104-100 wins on brute force; the RTX 3050 Mobile wins on capability and efficiency. Choose accordingly.