NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 records an average benchmark score of 17208, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM sits at 15199. That is a 13.2% difference in the database's aggregate measurements.

Q: Does the RTX 3050 OEM win any benchmark against the RTX 3070?

A: Yes, in Geekbench Vulkan the RTX 3050 OEM scores 57103 versus the RTX 3070's 21022, a 63.2% lead. It is the only head-to-head test in the recorded data where the RTX 3050 OEM comes out ahead.

Q: How large is the gap in DirectX 12 performance?

A: In Passmark DirectX 12, the RTX 3070 scores 85 against the RTX 3050 OEM's 58, which is a 46.6% advantage. The gap is smaller than in DirectX 11, where the RTX 3070 leads by 111.6%.

Q: What are the memory specifications of each card?

A: Both cards have 8 GB of GDDR6 memory. The RTX 3070 uses a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the RTX 3050 OEM uses a 128-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth. Both run memory at 1750 MHz with 14 Gbps effective.

Q: How do the two cards compare in compute workloads?

A: In Passmark GPU Compute, the RTX 3070 scores 11195 against the RTX 3050 OEM's 5779, a 93.7% lead. Both cards have the same DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 API support.

Q: How does each card rank against all GPUs in the database?

A: The RTX 3070 sits in the 61st percentile of all GPUs, while the RTX 3050 OEM sits in the 57th percentile. Their nearest rivals show similar positioning: the RTX 3070 is 0.7% above the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT, and the RTX 3050 OEM is 0.2% above the AMD Radeon RX 7600.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear split in use cases. For the vast majority of gaming and compute workloads, the RTX 3070 is the stronger card: it wins 8 of the 9 head-to-head benchmarks in the database. Its leads are often dramatic, ranging from 46.6% in DirectX 12 to 145.9% in DirectX 10. Gamers targeting high frame rates in modern DirectX 12 titles should look at the RTX 3070 without hesitation.

The RTX 3050 OEM, however, has one striking advantage in Vulkan. If a user's primary applications rely heavily on Vulkan rendering, the RTX 3050 OEM's 63.2% lead in Geekbench Vulkan makes it the better pick for those specific workloads. The RTX 3050 OEM is also a suitable pick for systems with a 300 W suggested PSU requirement, compared to 550 W for the RTX 3070, though power draw figures are otherwise limited to the recorded TDP values.

The RTX 3070 is the choice for older DirectX 9 and DirectX 10 applications, where its scores of 247 and 150 respectively dwarf the RTX 3050 OEM's 137 and 61. For compute-heavy tasks, the RTX 3070's Passmark GPU Compute score of 11195 nearly doubles the RTX 3050 OEM's 5779.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The RTX 3070 dominates the Passmark suite. In DirectX 9, it posts 247 against the RTX 3050 OEM's 137, an 80.3% advantage. DirectX 10 sees the largest single delta at 145.9%, with scores of 150 versus 61. DirectX 11 shows a 111.6% lead, 182 against 86. DirectX 12 narrows the gap somewhat to 46.6%, 85 versus 58.

The compute-oriented Passmark GPU Compute test gives the RTX 3070 a 93.7% lead, 11195 versus 5779. The general 3D score follows a similar pattern: 22214 for the RTX 3070 versus 11857 for the RTX 3050 OEM, an 87.3% difference.

Geekbench OpenCL shows the RTX 3070 ahead by 85.7%, scoring 112821 versus 60740. The one reversal comes in Geekbench Vulkan, where the RTX 3050 OEM scores 57103 and the RTX 3070 manages only 21022. That 63.2% swing in favor of the RTX 3050 OEM is the single largest win either card records in either direction, and it stands out as an anomaly in an otherwise one-sided comparison.

The 2D workload is nearly a tie. Passmark G2D shows 1001 for the RTX 3070 versus 973 for the RTX 3050 OEM, a marginal 2.9% difference that suggests neither card has a meaningful edge in desktop composition tasks.

Specification Differences

The two cards share the same 8 GB GDDR6 memory capacity, but the memory subsystem diverges sharply. The RTX 3070 uses a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth; the RTX 3050 OEM uses a 128-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth. That is exactly double the bandwidth for the RTX 3070.

Clock speeds are close. The RTX 3070 has a base clock of 1500 MHz and a boost of 1725 MHz. The RTX 3050 OEM boosts slightly higher at 1755 MHz with a 1515 MHz base. Both cards run memory at 1750 MHz with 14 Gbps effective.

The compute configuration differs by a wide margin. The RTX 3070 has 5888 shading units, 184 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The RTX 3050 OEM has 2304 shading units, 72 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. Ray tracing and tensor cores follow the same pattern: 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores on the RTX 3070 versus 18 RT cores and 72 tensor cores on the RTX 3050 OEM.

Rates and throughput reflect these differences. The RTX 3070 delivers 165.6 GPixel/s pixel rate, 317.4 GTexel/s texture rate, and 20.31 TFLOPS FP32 and FP16 (1:1). The RTX 3050 OEM delivers 56.56 GPixel/s, 126.4 GTexel/s, and 8.087 TFLOPS FP32 and FP16 (1:1). The RTX 3070 FP32 figure is 2.5 times the RTX 3050 OEM's.

Power and interface also differ. The RTX 3070 has a TDP of 220 W and uses a 1x 12-pin connector, with a suggested PSU of 550 W. The RTX 3050 OEM has a TDP of 130 W, a 1x 8-pin connector, and a suggested PSU of 300 W. The RTX 3050 OEM also uses a narrower PCIe 4.0 x8 bus interface compared to the RTX 3070's PCIe 4.0 x16.

Architecture Differences

Both cards are built on the same Ampere architecture and GeForce 30-series generation. Both use Samsung's 8 nm process node. The RTX 3070 uses the GA104 chip with 17,400 million transistors on a 392 mm² die size and a transistor density of 44.4M per mm². The RTX 3050 OEM uses the GA106 chip with 12,000 million transistors on 276 mm² with a transistor density of 43.5M per mm².

Physical dimensions are identical. Both cards measure 242 mm (9.5 inches) long and 112 mm (4.3x DisplayPort 4.5 inches tall. The 3070 dimensions field lists 112 mm (4.4 inches) for height) and the RTX 3050 OEM lists the same 112 mm (4.4 inches) height. For completeness, the RTX 3070 has 1x HDMI 2.13x DisplayPort outputs, and the RTX 3050 OEM has 1x HDMI 2.1) outputs. Both, the RTX 3070 lists 1x HDMI 2.1 ports, and DisplayPort outputs.

The RTX 3070 has 1x HDMI 2.13x DisplayPort 2.1 outputs.

The transistor counts scale closely with die size: the RTX 3070 packs 17,400 million transistors at 44.4M per mm², while the RTX 3050 OEM has 12,000 million at 43.5M per mm². The RTX 3070's RTX 3050 OEM transistor density is 43.5M per mm².

The RTX 3070 has 1x HDMI 2.1.

The RTX 3050 OEM has 1x HDMI 2.1 outputs.

Both have 1x HDMI 4.1 ports.

End-of-life status applies to production status applies to both cards to both cards.

Predecessor 2020-08-31T17:00:00.000Z is the release date for the RTX 3070, while the RTX 3050 OEM released on 2022-01-03T17:00:00.000Z.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 3070 wins in every DirectX-based workload recorded. DirectX 9, 10, 11, and 12 all show substantial leads ranging from 46.6% to 145.9%. It also wins OpenCL, G3D, G2D, and GPU Compute. This makes it the clear pick for gaming across legacy and modern DirectX titles, for general 3D rendering, and for compute workloads such as those measured by Passmark GPU Compute.

The RTX 3050 OEM wins exactly one recorded benchmark: Geekbench Vulkan. Its 57103 score against the RTX 3070's 21022 is a 63.2% advantage. For applications that render through Vulkan, the RTX 3050 OEM is the better choice in this pairing. The RTX 3050 OEM also has the advantage of a lower TDP at 130 W versus 220 W, and a lower suggested PSU at 300 W versus 550 W, which may make it suitable for smaller power envelopes.

The RTX 3070 is the winner for users who prioritize raw throughput: its 448.0 GB/s memory bandwidth, 20.31 TFLOPS FP32, and 317.4 GTexel/s texture rate are all far above the RTX 3050 OEM's corresponding figures. The RTX 3050 OEM's higher boost clock of 1755 MHz does not compensate for its smaller compute configuration. The database's percentile ranks reinforce this: the RTX 3070 sits at the 61st percentile, the RTX 3050 OEM at the 57th.

For users who need PCIe 4.0 x16 bandwidth, the RTX 3070 is the only option of the two, since the RTX 3050 OEM is limited to PCIe 4.0 x8. For users whose workloads are Vulkan-centric, the RTX 3050 OEM is the only option, since it holds the sole head-to-head win in that API. Outside of that specific scenario, the recorded data consistently favors the RTX 3070 across every other benchmark category.