NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile Comparison

The desktop NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is the decisive winner in this comparison, taking 9 of 10 head-to-head benchmarks and leading by substantial margins in raw compute and traditional rasterization. The RTX 3080 Mobile, however, is not without its own claim: it delivers a staggering 209.5% advantage in Geekbench Vulkan, a result that flips the expected performance hierarchy entirely. For most workloads, the desktop card is the clear choice; for Vulkan-specific applications, the mobile part is uniquely dominant.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the desktop RTX 3080 wins 9 of 10 direct comparisons, with an average benchmark score of 23172 versus the mobile part's 23628. Despite the mobile chip's higher average score, the head-to-head results show the desktop card leading in every DirectX and OpenCL test, often by 28-50%. The desktop part's PassMark G3D score of 25086 is 34.9% higher than the mobile's 16321, and its PassMark GPU Compute score of 14397 is nearly double the mobile's 7276.

The mobile RTX 3080 is the pick for one specific scenario: applications that leverage the Vulkan API. Its Geekbench Vulkan score of 104066 crushes the desktop's 33620 by 209.5%, a margin so large it suggests architectural or driver-level optimization differences that favor the mobile implementation in that API. For everything else — DirectX 9 through 12, OpenCL, and 3DMark Steel Nomad — the desktop card is the superior performer. The desktop part also holds a 69th percentile ranking versus the mobile's 69th percentile, but the direct deltas tell the real story: the desktop is 40% faster in Steel Nomad and 49.5% faster in GPU compute.

Architecture Differences

Both GPUs are built on the Ampere architecture, using Samsung's 8 nm process node, but they are fundamentally different chips. The mobile RTX 3080 uses the GA104 die, which contains 17,400 million transistors on a 392 mm² die with a transistor density of 44.4M per mm². The desktop RTX 3080 uses the larger GA102 die, packing 28,300 million transistors on a 628 mm² die with a density of 45.1M per mm².

The desktop part's larger die translates directly into more execution resources. It has 8704 shading units, 272 texture mapping units, 68 ray tracing cores, and 272 tensor cores. The mobile part is cut down significantly: 6144 shading units, 192 TMUs, 48 RT cores, and 192 tensor cores. Both have 96 ROPs, but the desktop's larger core count drives a substantially higher texture rate of 465.1 GTexel/s versus the mobile's 296.6 GTexel/s.

Clocks also differ sharply. The desktop runs at a 1440 MHz base and 1710 MHz boost, while the mobile part is constrained to 1110 MHz base and 1545 MHz boost. This is reflected in raw throughput: the desktop delivers 29.77 TFLOPS of FP32 and FP16 compute, while the mobile manages 18.98 TFLOPS in both. The desktop's pixel rate of 164.2 GPixel/s edges out the mobile's 148.3 GPixel/s, though the gap is smaller than the compute difference.

Memory configurations are also distinct. The desktop uses 10 GB of GDDR6X on a 320-bit bus, yielding 760.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The mobile uses 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, with 448.0 GB/s. Effective memory speed is 19 Gbps on the desktop versus 14 Gbps on the mobile. The foundry is Samsung for both, and both support PCIe 4.0 x16, DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The largest single win for the desktop RTX 3080 comes in PassMark GPU Compute, where it scores 14397 against the mobile's 7276, a 49.5% advantage. This test measures general-purpose compute throughput, and the desktop's higher core count, clock speed, and memory bandwidth all contribute to this near-doubling of performance. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the desktop scores 4407 versus 2644, a 40% lead, indicating a strong advantage in modern DX12 gaming workloads.

Geekbench OpenCL shows the desktop ahead by 31.2%, with scores of 152423 versus 104831. PassMark G3D, a broader gaming-oriented test, gives the desktop a 34.9% lead (25086 versus 16321). The remaining DirectX tests follow a similar pattern: DirectX 9 (258 versus 170, a 34.1% lead), DirectX 11 (207 versus 146, 29.5%), DirectX 10 (170 versus 120, 29.4%), and DirectX 12 (100 versus 72, 28%). PassMark G2D, a 2D graphics test, shows the desktop ahead by 39.6% (1054 versus 637).

The sole exception is Geekbench Vulkan, where the mobile RTX 3080 scores 104066 against the desktop's 33620. This 209.5% advantage is the largest delta in either direction across all tests. It is an outlier in an otherwise consistent pattern of desktop dominance, and it suggests that the mobile GPU's driver or hardware implementation is exceptionally well-tuned for Vulkan workloads, despite its lower raw specs.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every major specification category. The desktop RTX 3080 uses the GA102 chip, while the mobile uses GA104. Transistor count is 28,300 million versus 17,400 million, and die size is 628 mm² versus 392 mm². The desktop has 8704 shading units, 272 TMUs, 68 RT cores, and 272 tensor cores; the mobile has 6144 shading units, 192 TMUs, 48 RT cores, and 192 tensor cores. ROPs are equal at 96.

Clock speeds favor the desktop: base 1440 MHz versus 1110 MHz, boost 1710 MHz versus 1545 MHz. Memory differs in size (10 GB versus 8 GB), type (GDDR6X versus GDDR6), bus width (320-bit versus 256-bit), and bandwidth (760.3 GB/s versus 448.0 GB/s). Effective memory speed is 19 Gbps versus 14 Gbps.

Texture rate is 465.1 GTexel/s versus 296.6 GTexel/s, and FP32/FP16 compute is 29.77 TFLOPS versus 18.98 TFLOPS. Pixel rate is 164.2 GPixel/s versus 148.3 GPixel/s. The desktop has a TDP of 320 W versus the mobile's 115 W. The desktop is a dual-slot card measuring 285 mm in length, 112 mm in height, and 40 mm in width, with a 1x 12-pin power connector and a suggested PSU of 700 W. The mobile has no slot width, dimensions, or power connector data, and its display outputs are listed as "Portable Device Dependent." The desktop has 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs.

The desktop was released on 2020-08-31 with a launch MSRP of 699 USD, while the mobile launched on 2021-01-11 with no MSRP listed. The desktop's successor is the GeForce 40 series; the mobile has no successor listed. Both are end-of-life products.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in raw compute performance?

A: The desktop RTX 3080 is significantly faster. It delivers 29.77 TFLOPS of FP32 compute versus the mobile's 18.98 TFLOPS, and in PassMark GPU Compute it scores 14397 versus 7276, a 49.5% advantage.

Q: Is there any benchmark where the mobile RTX 3080 beats the desktop model?

A: Yes, in Geekbench Vulkan the mobile scores 104066 versus the desktop's 33620, a 209.5% advantage. This is the only head-to-head test the mobile wins.

Q: How do the memory configurations compare?

A: The desktop uses 10 GB of GDDR6X on a 320-bit bus with 760.3 GB/s bandwidth, while the mobile uses 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s. The desktop's effective memory speed is 19 Gbps versus 14 Gbps.

Q: What are the core count differences?

A: The desktop has 8704 shading units, 272 TMUs, 68 RT cores, and 272 tensor cores. The mobile has 6144 shading units, 192 TMUs, 48 RT cores, and 192 tensor cores. Both have 96 ROPs.

Q: Do both cards support the same APIs?

A: Yes, both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. They also both use a PCIe 4.0 x16 bus interface.

Q: What is the desktop card's power requirement?

A: The desktop RTX 3080 has a TDP of 320 W and a suggested PSU of 700 W, with a single 12-pin power connector. The mobile card has a TDP of 115 W.

Where Each One Wins

The desktop RTX 3080 wins across the board in traditional gaming and compute workloads. Its 40% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 suggests it is the better choice for modern DirectX 12 games. Its 34.9% lead in PassMark G3D reinforces this for general gaming performance. For compute-heavy tasks like GPU-accelerated rendering or scientific workloads, the 49.5% advantage in PassMark GPU Compute and the 31.2% lead in Geekbench OpenCL make the desktop card the clear pick.

The mobile RTX 3080 wins in one specific area: Vulkan-based applications. The 209.5% advantage in Geekbench Vulkan is so large that it overrides the card's lower raw specs in that API. For users running Vulkan-exclusive workloads or games that heavily utilize Vulkan, the mobile GPU is unexpectedly the superior choice. This could be relevant for certain emulators, Linux gaming environments, or specialized Vulkan compute tasks.

For all other scenarios, the desktop card's higher core counts, faster clocks, larger memory bus, and higher bandwidth make it the dominant performer. Its 10 GB of GDDR6X memory versus the mobile's 8 GB of GDDR6 also provides more capacity and bandwidth for high-resolution textures and data-intensive workloads. The desktop's 68 RT cores versus 48 may also benefit ray-traced games, though no direct ray tracing benchmark is included in the data. Ultimately, the desktop RTX 3080 is the default recommendation, with the mobile part reserved for Vulkan-specific use cases where its unique advantage is relevant.