AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile and the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT are two compact, end-of-life GPUs that target different segments of the market: one is a mobile-only part for laptops, and the other is a desktop card. The benchmark data reveals a clear but nuanced picture: the NVIDIA part wins the majority of head-to-head tests, while the AMD card takes decisive victories in specific workloads, particularly those involving 2D rendering and compute. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile holds a higher average benchmark score of 12,940 compared to the RX 6500 XT's 11,842, placing the NVIDIA part in the 53rd percentile of all GPUs versus the AMD's 51st percentile. The data shows that while the AMD card is competitive, the NVIDIA mobile GPU offers superior performance in most modern 3D and API-specific tests, though the gap is not uniform across all workloads.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most significant disparity in the head-to-head results appears in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile scores 469, which is a massive 99.6% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT's score of 235. This is the largest delta between the two cards in any benchmark and indicates a major advantage for the NVIDIA architecture in this specific DX12 workload. This result is particularly striking because it suggests that the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile's feature set and driver optimization provide a substantial edge in this modern, demanding test.

Moving to compute and general-purpose benchmarks, the NVIDIA card continues its lead but with a smaller margin. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile scores 57,915, which is 19.9% ahead of the RX 6500 XT's 48,289. The Geekbench Vulkan test shows a much closer contest, with the NVIDIA card scoring 55,812 against the AMD's 54,724, a slim 2% advantage. This suggests that while the NVIDIA GPU has a clear edge in OpenCL compute, the Vulkan API narrows the performance gap considerably, with both cards performing at a similar level.

In the Passmark suite, the results are mixed. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile wins the DirectX 12 test decisively with a score of 49 versus 38, a 28.9% advantage. It also leads in DirectX 9, scoring 120 against the RX 6500 XT's 108, an 11.1% difference. In the DirectX 10 test, both cards are exactly tied at 60. However, the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT takes the DirectX 11 test with a score of 90, beating the NVIDIA card's 76 by 15.6%. This is a notable reversal, as the AMD card demonstrates superior performance in the older DirectX 11 API.

For 3D gaming performance, the Passmark G3D score shows the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile at 10,093, only 5% ahead of the RX 6500 XT's 9,608. This is a much closer margin than the 3DMark result suggests, indicating that the NVIDIA card's advantage is highly workload-dependent. Finally, in the Passmark GPU Compute test, the AMD card wins with a score of 4,456, beating the NVIDIA's 4,305 by 3.4%. The overall tally shows the NVIDIA card winning 7 out of 10 benchmarks, but the AMD card's wins in DirectX 11, G2D, and compute show it is not without its strengths.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile is the clear winner in modern, API-heavy workloads. Its performance in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, where it is 99.6% ahead, is its most dominant victory. This indicates that for users running the latest DirectX 12 titles, the NVIDIA card offers a significantly smoother and higher-fidelity experience. Furthermore, its wins in Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan show that it is also the more capable card for general-purpose compute tasks that leverage these APIs, with a 19.9% lead in OpenCL being particularly substantial. The NVIDIA card also holds a decisive edge in Passmark's DirectX 12 test, reinforcing its strength in modern graphics APIs.

The AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT, while losing the overall performance war, has specific areas where it excels. Its most significant victory is in the Passmark G2D test, where it scores 815 against the NVIDIA's 498, a 38.9% advantage. This indicates that the AMD card is substantially better at 2D rendering and desktop composition tasks, which could translate to snappier UI responsiveness in certain applications. The AMD card also wins the Passmark DirectX 11 test with a 15.6% lead, making it the better choice for older games and applications that rely on this legacy API. Additionally, it edges out the NVIDIA card in the Passmark GPU Compute test, suggesting a slight advantage in certain compute workloads that use this specific benchmark's methodology.

For pure 3D gaming, the Passmark G3D scores are close, with the NVIDIA card leading by only 5%. This suggests that in a broad range of gaming scenarios, the two cards are relatively comparable, with the NVIDIA card holding a modest edge. The choice between them, therefore, depends heavily on the specific applications and APIs a user prioritizes. The data shows the NVIDIA card is a more future-proof option for modern titles, while the AMD card has distinct advantages in 2D performance and legacy API support.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two GPUs is stark, explaining their different performance profiles. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile is built on the Ampere architecture using Samsung's 8 nm process node. It features a large GA106 chip with 12,000 million transistors on a 276 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 43.5M per mm². Its configuration includes 2,560 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. It also has 20 RT cores and 80 tensor cores, enabling dedicated ray tracing and AI acceleration. The card's FP32 performance is rated at 5.299 TFLOPS, with FP16 performance also at 5.299 TFLOPS, indicating a 1:1 ratio.

In contrast, the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT is based on the RDNA 2.0 architecture, manufactured by TSMC on a more advanced 6 nm process. Its Navi 24 chip is significantly smaller, containing only 5,400 million transistors on a 107 mm² die, which gives it a higher transistor density of 50.5M per mm². The AMD card has only 1,024 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. It also includes 16 RT cores for ray tracing but lacks the dedicated tensor cores found in the NVIDIA part. Its FP32 performance is higher at 5.765 TFLOPS, and its FP16 performance is rated at 11.53 TFLOPS due to a 2:1 ratio, meaning it can process twice as many FP16 operations as FP32.

These fundamental differences explain the benchmark results. The NVIDIA card's much higher shader count (2,560 vs 1,024) is a major factor in its dominant 3DMark Steel Nomad performance, as it can handle more parallel work. The AMD card's higher clock speeds, with a boost clock of 2,815 MHz compared to the NVIDIA's 1,035 MHz, help it compensate for its lower core count in certain tests like DirectX 11. The presence of tensor cores in the NVIDIA card also gives it a potential advantage in AI-accelerated workloads, though this is not directly measured in the provided benchmarks. The memory systems also differ, with the NVIDIA card using a 128-bit bus for 192.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the AMD card uses a narrower 64-bit bus, limiting it to 143.9 GB/s. The AMD card's higher FP32 and FP16 throughput, combined with its higher boost clock, likely contribute to its win in the Passmark GPU Compute test.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile has a higher average benchmark score of 12,940, compared to the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT's 11,842. The NVIDIA card also ranks in the 53rd percentile of all GPUs, while the AMD card ranks in the 51st.

Q: How does the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT has an average score of 11,842. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080, which scores 11,960, placing the AMD card 1% behind. It is also 1.3% behind the GTX 960A and 1.4% ahead of the GTX 1660.

Q: In which benchmark does the AMD card have its largest victory?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT's largest victory is in the Passmark G2D test, where it scores 815 compared to the NVIDIA's 498, a 38.9% advantage. This indicates superior 2D rendering performance.

Q: What is the most significant performance gap in the head-to-head tests?

A: The most significant gap is in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, where the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile scores 469, which is 99.6% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT's score of 235.

Q: Do both GPUs support the same modern APIs?

A: Yes, both the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile and the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. This means they are both compatible with the latest graphics features.

Q: Which card has a higher FP32 performance rating?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT has a higher FP32 performance rating of 5.765 TFLOPS, compared to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile's 5.299 TFLOPS. The AMD card also has a much higher FP16 rating at 11.53 TFLOPS.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile | AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT |

| :--- | :--- | :--- |

| Architecture | Ampere | RDNA 2.0 |

| Process Node | 8 nm | 6 nm |

| Foundry | Samsung | TSMC |

| Chip | GA106 | Navi 24 |

| Transistors | 12,000 million | 5,400 million |

| Die Size | 276 mm² | 107 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 43.5M / mm² | 50.5M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 735 MHz | 2310 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1035 MHz | 2815 MHz |

| Game Clock | N/A | 2610 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective) | 2248 MHz (18 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Bus Width | 128 bit | 64 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 192.0 GB/s | 143.9 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 2560 | 1024 |

| TMUs | 80 | 64 |

| RT Cores | 20 | 16 |

| Tensor Cores | 80 | N/A |

| Pixel Rate | 33.12 GPixel/s | 90.08 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 82.80 GTexel/s | 180.2 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 5.299 TFLOPS | 5.765 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 5.299 TFLOPS (1:1) | 11.53 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 75 W | 107 W |

| Slot Width | IGP | Dual-slot |

| Power Connectors | None | 1x 6-pin |

| Suggested PSU | N/A | 300 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x4 |

| Display Outputs | Portable Device Dependent | 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x DisplayPort 1.4a |

| Release Date | 2021-05-10 | 2022-01-18 |

| Predecessor | GeForce 20 Mobile | Navi |

| Successor | N/A | Navi III |

| Launch MSRP | N/A | 199 USD |