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

The recorded data presents a clear hierarchy between these two Ampere-based NVIDIA parts, with the desktop-oriented RTX 3070 Ti winning every single benchmark comparison against the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile. The average benchmark score of 29,945 for the desktop card versus 25,740 for the mobile part places them in different performance tiers, a 16.3% gap in aggregate. This is not a case of a mobile chip merely being a lower-clocked version of the same silicon; the architecture, memory subsystem, and power envelope all point to fundamentally different design goals.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 3070 Ti is the outright winner across every recorded workload, making a use-case split based on benchmark wins a one-sided affair. Out of 10 head-to-head comparisons, the desktop card claims all 10 victories. The most decisive advantage appears in compute-heavy tasks, where the RTX 3070 Ti scores 11,601 in Passmark GPU Compute, a 36.9% lead over the mobile part's 8,471. This suggests the desktop card is better suited for productivity tasks, rendering, and any workload that leverages raw FP32 throughput.

The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile does not win any benchmark, but its role is defined by the constraints of its form factor. Its 115 W TDP and lack of dedicated power connectors indicate it is designed for laptops where thermal and power limits are strict. The data shows it is not a competitor to the desktop card in absolute performance, but its 16 GB memory capacity doubles the desktop card's 8 GB, making it a more practical choice for workloads that require large datasets or high-resolution texture pools, even if the compute speed is lower. The mobile part's 71st percentile ranking versus the 75th percentile for the desktop card confirms it sits slightly below in the overall GPU hierarchy, but its nearest rivals are other mobile and professional cards, not desktop flagships.

Architecture Differences

Both GPUs use the Ampere architecture and are built on Samsung's 8 nm process node, with identical transistor density of 44.4M per mm². The silicon itself differs. The RTX 3070 Ti uses the GA104 chip with 17,400 million transistors on a 392 mm² die, while the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile uses the larger GA103 chip with 22,000 million transistors on a 496 mm² die. Despite having more transistors and a larger die, the mobile part has a lower transistor count per unit area, which is identical in density but lower in absolute count.

The compute configuration is inverted relative to the die size. The mobile GA103 houses 7,424 shading units, 232 TMUs, 58 RT cores, and 232 tensor cores, whereas the desktop GA104 has 6,144 shading units, 192 TMUs, 48 RT cores, and 192 tensor cores. The mobile chip has 20.8% more shading units, 20.8% more TMUs, 20.8% more RT cores, and 20.8% more tensor cores. Yet the desktop card produces higher throughput: 21.75 TFLOPS FP32 versus 18.71 TFLOPS, a 16.2% difference. This is explained by clock speeds. The desktop card runs at a 1,575 MHz base and 1,770 MHz boost, while the mobile part is severely downclocked to 810 MHz base and 1,260 MHz boost. The mobile chip's extra cores cannot compensate for its 28.8% lower boost clock.

Memory architecture also diverges. The RTX 3070 Ti uses 8 GB of GDDR6X on a 256-bit bus, achieving 608.3 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile uses 16 GB of GDDR6 on the same 256-bit bus, but the bandwidth drops to 512.0 GB/s. The memory clock is 1,188 MHz (19 Gbps effective) for the desktop card versus 2,000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) for the mobile part, but the desktop's GDDR6X standard yields higher effective throughput. The desktop card also has a higher pixel rate of 169.9 GPixel/s versus 121.0 GPixel/s and a higher texture rate of 339.8 GTexel/s versus 292.3 GTexel/s, despite the mobile card having more TMUs.

Power consumption is the defining difference. The desktop RTX 3070 Ti has a 290 W TDP, requires a 600 W suggested PSU, and uses a dual-slot cooler with a 1x 12-pin power connector. The mobile RTX 3080 Ti has a 115 W TDP, no power connectors (soldered or on-board), and no suggested PSU. The desktop card is 267 mm long and 112 mm tall, while the mobile part has no recorded dimensions, being portable-device dependent. Both support PCIe 4.0 x16 and the same API set: DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The largest single victory for the RTX 3070 Ti comes in Passmark GPU Compute, where it scores 11,601 against 8,471 for the mobile part, a 36.9% delta. This is a massive gap in compute throughput, far exceeding the 16.2% difference in FP32 TFLOPS, suggesting the benchmark captures more than raw shading unit efficiency, possibly memory bandwidth or driver scheduling.

The second-largest win is in Geekbench Vulkan, where the desktop card scores 139,541 versus 107,502, a 29.8% delta. This is followed closely by Passmark DirectX 9, with the desktop scoring 261 versus 201, a 29.9% gap, and Passmark G2D, with 1,055 versus 818, a 29% delta. These three wins are all above 29%, indicating the desktop card has a consistent advantage in both legacy API performance and 2D operations.

In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the desktop card scores 3,478 versus 2,869, a 21.2% lead. Passmark G3D shows a similar 21.1% delta (23,356 versus 19,288). These are the two most modern 3D workloads in the dataset, and the desktop card leads by roughly a fifth in both. The smallest margins are in Passmark DirectX 12, where the desktop scores 91 versus 88, a mere 3.4% delta, and Geekbench OpenCL, where the desktop scores 119,718 versus 117,866, a 1.6% delta. These close results indicate that in some compute and DX12 workloads, the mobile part's higher core count narrows the gap significantly, even with lower clocks.

Passmark DirectX 10 and DirectX 11 show intermediate deltas of 18.3% (155 versus 131) and 17.1% (192 versus 164), respectively. Across all 10 tests, the desktop card leads by an average of 21.2% per test, with the median delta around 21.1%. The mobile part never comes within single digits except in OpenCL and DX12, where it trails by less than 4%.

FAQ

Q: Is the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile ever faster than the RTX 3070 Ti in any benchmark?

A: No. The recorded data shows the RTX 3070 Ti winning all 10 head-to-head benchmark comparisons, with zero wins for the mobile part.

Q: Why does the mobile card have more shading units but lower performance?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile has 7,424 shading units versus 6,144 for the desktop card, but its boost clock is 1,260 MHz versus 1,770 MHz for the desktop. The lower clock speed results in 18.71 TFLOPS FP32 versus 21.75 TFLOPS, a 16.2% deficit.

Q: What is the memory capacity difference?

A: The RTX 3070 Ti has 8 GB of GDDR6X, while the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile has 16 GB of GDDR6. Both use a 256-bit bus, but the desktop card achieves 608.3 GB/s bandwidth versus 512.0 GB/s for the mobile part.

Q: How do their average benchmark scores compare?

A: The RTX 3070 Ti has an average benchmark score of 29,945, placing it at the 75th percentile of all GPUs. The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile averages 25,740, at the 71st percentile.

Q: What are the nearest rivals for each card based on average score?

A: The RTX 3070 Ti's nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile (29,928 average, 0.1% delta), followed by the AMD Radeon RX 6800 (30,095, -0.5%) and the RTX 2080 Ti (29,783, 0.5%). The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile's nearest rival is the AMD Radeon Pro W5700 (25,726, 0.1%), with the AMD Radeon RX 6700M (25,633, 0.4%) close behind.

Q: Which card uses more power?

A: The RTX 3070 Ti has a 290 W TDP and requires a 600 W suggested PSU, while the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile has a 115 W TDP and no recorded PSU suggestion.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti is the higher-performing card in every recorded metric. Its 21.75 TFLOPS FP32, 608.3 GB/s memory bandwidth, and 1,770 MHz boost clock deliver a 36.9% lead in compute and a 21.2% lead in modern 3D workloads. The desktop card's 75th percentile ranking and average score of 29,945 place it in a different class from the mobile part's 71st percentile and 25,740 average.

The RTX 3080 Ti Mobile is not a performance competitor; it is a capacity and efficiency play. Its 16 GB GDDR6 memory doubles the desktop card's 8 GB GDDR6X, making it suitable for memory-bound scenarios despite its 512.0 GB/s bandwidth. Its 115 W TDP and lack of power connectors are the opposite of the desktop card's 290 W TDP and 600 W PSU requirement, making it the only viable choice for portable systems. The mobile part's higher core count (7,424 shading units) does not overcome its 1,260 MHz boost clock, but it does narrow the gap in DirectX 12 and OpenCL to under 4%.

For a desktop user seeking maximum frame rates, texture throughput, or compute performance, the RTX 3070 Ti is the clear pick from this comparison. For a laptop buyer who needs 16 GB of VRAM and can accept lower absolute performance, the RTX 3080 Ti Mobile is the only option between these two, and its 1.6% gap in OpenCL shows it can hold its own in some compute tasks. The data does not support any scenario where the mobile card wins in speed, only in memory capacity and power efficiency.