NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a clear overall winner in this comparison: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile takes 9 of the 10 head-to-head benchmark wins, with the RTX 3070 Mobile managing only a single narrow victory. Across the full suite, the RTX 3080 Mobile averages a decisive lead, though the margin varies significantly depending on the workload.

The largest gap appears in the Geekbench Vulkan test, where the RTX 3080 Mobile scores 104066 against 86768 for the RTX 3070 Mobile, a 19.9% advantage. This is the single biggest delta in the entire comparison, and it suggests that the RTX 3080 Mobile's extra hardware resources translate particularly well into Vulkan API performance. The Geekbench OpenCL result follows a similar pattern: 104831 versus 92939, a 12.8% win for the RTX 3080 Mobile.

In DirectX 12 workloads, the 3DMark Steel Nomad test shows the RTX 3080 Mobile at 2644 points versus 2380 for the RTX 3070 Mobile, an 11.1% advantage. The Passmark DirectX 12 test reinforces this with a 12.5% gap (72 versus 64). These results indicate that modern DX12 titles should see a meaningful fps uplift on the RTX 3080 Mobile, though the percentage difference is smaller than the Vulkan gap.

Older DirectX APIs tell a more moderate story. In Passmark DirectX 11, the RTX 3080 Mobile scores 146 versus 138, a 5.8% lead. DirectX 10 shows 120 versus 113, a 6.2% lead. DirectX 9 shows 170 versus 160, a 6.3% lead. These legacy API tests consistently favor the RTX 3080 Mobile, but the margins are tighter, suggesting that older games may not fully utilize the additional hardware.

The two most comprehensive synthetic benchmarks, Passmark G3D and Passmark GPU Compute, both show a 6.6% advantage for the RTX 3080 Mobile. The G3D score is 16321 versus 15309, while the compute score is 7276 versus 6827. These are the closest overall indicators of real-world gaming and compute performance, and they confirm that the RTX 3080 Mobile is consistently ahead, but not by a massive margin in every scenario.

The single win for the RTX 3070 Mobile comes in the Passmark G2D test, where it scores 641 versus 637 for the RTX 3080 Mobile, a negligible 0.6% difference. This test measures 2D graphics performance, which is largely irrelevant for gaming workloads, so this win carries little practical weight. It does, however, highlight that the two GPUs are essentially identical in basic 2D output capabilities.

Looking at the broader benchmark averages, the RTX 3080 Mobile posts an average benchmark score of 23628, while the RTX 3070 Mobile averages 20534. That is a 15% gap in aggregate performance. The percentile rankings reflect this too: the RTX 3080 Mobile sits at the 69th percentile among all GPUs, while the RTX 3070 Mobile sits at the 65th percentile. Both are solidly mid-to-upper tier parts, but the RTX 3080 Mobile holds a clear position above its sibling.

The nearest rivals in the database further contextualize these scores. The RTX 3080 Mobile's average score of 23628 places it 0.5% ahead of the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile (23518), 0.5% behind the GTX TITAN Z (23736), 1% behind the AMD Radeon RX 9070 (23877), and 1.3% ahead of the AMD Radeon AI PRO R9700 (23315). The RTX 3070 Mobile, by contrast, is effectively tied with the Intel Arc B570 (20556, a 0.1% difference), the Intel Arc A750 (20582, a 0.2% difference), and the AMD Radeon R9 M390X (20662, a 0.6% difference), while sitting 0.3% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (20480). This shows that the RTX 3070 Mobile competes in a lower performance tier, while the RTX 3080 Mobile reaches into the next bracket.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the recorded data, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile is the superior part for nearly every use case. It wins 9 out of 10 benchmarks, with margins ranging from 5.8% to 19.9%. The average benchmark score is 15% higher than the RTX 3070 Mobile, and it holds a 4-percentile advantage in the global GPU ranking. If you are choosing between these two for a gaming laptop, the RTX 3080 Mobile is the straightforward pick whenever the system price difference is not a concern (though the database does not record any price information, so this is a performance-only judgment).

The RTX 3070 Mobile is not a bad GPU; it is simply a slower one in this comparison. Its only win is in 2D graphics, which does not affect gaming. In every 3D and compute test, the RTX 3080 Mobile is ahead. The most compelling reason to choose the RTX 3070 Mobile would be if the surrounding laptop platform offers other advantages (better cooling, display, or battery), but from a pure GPU benchmark perspective, the data does not support picking it over the RTX 3080 Mobile.

For users who play Vulkan-based games or use Vulkan compute applications, the RTX 3080 Mobile's 19.9% lead in that API is the single strongest argument in its favor. For DX12 gaming, the 11.1% to 12.5% leads are also substantial. For older DX9/DX10/DX11 titles, the advantage narrows to the 5.8% to 6.3% range, which is still consistent but less dramatic. The RTX 3070 Mobile is a capable fallback for those who prioritize 2D desktop performance (though the difference is negligible) or who find a system with the RTX 3080 Mobile unavailable.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 3080 Mobile wins in all 3D gaming scenarios across every DirectX version and Vulkan. Its strongest territory is Vulkan compute and rendering, where it outperforms the RTX 3070 Mobile by 19.9%. The next best win is in DirectX 12, with an 11.1% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad and a 12.5% lead in Passmark DX12. For users running modern game engines that target DX12 or Vulkan, the RTX 3080 Mobile delivers a clearly measurable performance advantage.

The RTX 3080 Mobile also wins in OpenCL compute workloads (12.8% ahead) and in the Passmark GPU Compute test (6.6% ahead). This makes it the better choice for GPU-accelerated tasks like rendering, machine learning inference, or any OpenCL-based application. The 6.6% lead in Passmark G3D is the broadest indicator of overall 3D performance, and it confirms the RTX 3080 Mobile as the faster gaming GPU.

The RTX 3070 Mobile wins only the Passmark G2D test, scoring 641 versus 637, a 0.6% margin. This is a 2D desktop performance metric, which has no bearing on gaming or 3D rendering. In practical terms, the RTX 3070 Mobile has no meaningful winning scenario against the RTX 3080 Mobile. It is, however, a more modestly configured GPU, and in laptops that pair it with lower-power platforms, it may run cooler or quieter, but those attributes are not captured in the benchmark data.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster overall?

A: The RTX 3080 Mobile. It wins 9 of 10 benchmarks, with an average score of 23628 versus 20534 for the RTX 3070 Mobile, a 15% advantage.

Q: What is the biggest performance gap between the two?

A: The Geekbench Vulkan test shows the largest difference: the RTX 3080 Mobile scores 104066 versus 86768, a 19.9% lead.

Q: Is the RTX 3070 Mobile better at anything?

A: Yes, in the Passmark G2D test it scores 641 versus 637, a 0.6% lead. This is a 2D graphics test and does not affect gaming performance.

Q: How do these GPUs compare to their nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 3080 Mobile is 0.5% ahead of the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile and 1% behind the AMD Radeon RX 9070. The RTX 3070 Mobile is effectively tied with the Intel Arc B570 (0.1% difference) and Intel Arc A750 (0.2% difference).

Q: Do both GPUs support the same DirectX version?

A: Yes, both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Q: What is the memory configuration of each GPU?

A: Both have 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Architecture Differences

Both GPUs are built on the same Ampere architecture and use the same GA104 chip, manufactured on Samsung's 8 nm process. The transistor count is identical at 17,400 million, and the die size is the same at 392 mm², with a transistor density of 44.4M per mm². This means the underlying silicon is the same, and the performance difference comes from how many of the chip's resources are enabled in each mobile variant.

The RTX 3080 Mobile enables more of the chip's compute units. It has 6144 shading units, while the RTX 3070 Mobile has 5120. That is a 20% increase in raw shader count. The texture mapping units scale similarly: 192 TMUs on the RTX 3080 Mobile versus 160 on the RTX 3070 Mobile, also a 20% increase. The render output units are 96 versus 80, a 20% increase as well.

The ray tracing and tensor core counts follow the same proportional pattern. The RTX 3080 Mobile has 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores, while the RTX 3070 Mobile has 40 RT cores and 160 tensor cores. Again, this is a 20% difference. This uniform scaling suggests that NVIDIA disabled identical portions of the GA104 die for the RTX 3070 Mobile, reducing all execution resources by the same factor.

The clock speeds are very close. The base clock is identical at 1110 MHz for both. The boost clock is slightly higher on the RTX 3070 Mobile at 1560 MHz versus 1545 MHz on the RTX 3080 Mobile, a 15 MHz difference that is not enough to offset the RTX 3080 Mobile's extra cores. The memory clock is identical at 1750 MHz, with 14 Gbps effective data rate.

The result of these differences is that the RTX 3080 Mobile achieves higher peak throughput rates. Its pixel rate is 148.3 GPixel/s versus 124.8 GPixel/s for the RTX 3070 Mobile. Its texture rate is 296.6 GTexel/s versus 249.6 GTexel/s. Its FP32 compute is 18.98 TFLOPS versus 15.97 TFLOPS, and its FP16 is also 18.98 TFLOPS (1:1) versus 15.97 TFLOPS (1:1) for the RTX 3070 Mobile. These are all direct consequences of having 20% more execution units at nearly identical clocks.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs share many specifications, but the key differences are all in the execution resource counts and the resulting throughput figures. Both use the GA104 chip, Ampere architecture, 8 nm process, Samsung foundry, 17,400 million transistors, and a 392 mm² die size. Both have 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth, and both run at a 1110 MHz base clock with 1750 MHz memory clock (14 Gbps effective).

The differences are as follows:

• Shading units: 6144 on the RTX 3080 Mobile, 5120 on the RTX 3070 Mobile
• TMUs: 192 versus 160
• ROPs: 96 versus 80
• RT cores: 48 versus 40
• Tensor cores: 192 versus 160
• Boost clock: 1545 MHz on the RTX 3080 Mobile, 1560 MHz on the RTX 3070 Mobile
• Pixel rate: 148.3 GPixel/s versus 124.8 GPixel/s
• Texture rate: 296.6 GTexel/s versus 249.6 GTexel/s
• FP32: 18.98 TFLOPS versus 15.97 TFLOPS
• FP16: 18.98 TFLOPS (1:1) versus 15.97 TFLOPS (1:1)

Both have a TDP of 115 W, no power connectors (portable device dependent), PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, and portable device dependent display outputs. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Both are end-of-life products released on 2021-01-11, and both succeed the GeForce 20 Mobile series. Neither has a recorded launch MSRP in the database.