NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile Comparison

The RTX 3080 and RTX 5060 Mobile are two very different interpretations of "NVIDIA GeForce" performance. The data shows a desktop card built for raw throughput against a mobile chip designed for efficiency, and the benchmark results reflect that split clearly. The RTX 3080 dominates the majority of tests, but the RTX 5060 Mobile pulls off a significant upset in one key API test, making this comparison less one-sided than the raw win count suggests.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The RTX 3080 takes 9 of the 10 head-to-head benchmarks, and it does so with substantial margins in most cases. The largest victory is in Passmark GPU Compute, where the RTX 3080 scores 14397 against 7607 for the RTX 5060 Mobile, a delta of 89.3%. This is a near-doubling of compute throughput, which speaks to the desktop card's massive shader array advantage in general-purpose workloads. The Geekbench OpenCL result follows a similar pattern: 152423 versus 96969, a 57.2% lead for the RTX 3080. These two tests alone show that for any task that scales with raw parallel processing, the older desktop card is in a different league.

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, which is a modern gaming workload, shows the RTX 3080 ahead by 46.2%, scoring 4407 versus 3013.5. This is a substantial gaming performance gap. The Passmark G3D test tells a similar story, with the RTX 3080 scoring 25086 against 18852, a 33.1% advantage. Even in older DirectX APIs, the RTX 3080 maintains its lead: DirectX 10 shows a 42.9% delta (170 vs 119), DirectX 11 shows 23.2% (207 vs 168), and DirectX 9 shows 27.1% (258 vs 203). The DirectX 12 test is closer, with the RTX 3080 winning by only 14.9% (100 vs 87), but it still wins.

The lone victory for the RTX 5060 Mobile is in Geekbench Vulkan. Here, the mobile chip scores 96451 while the RTX 3080 manages only 33620, resulting in a 65.1% lead for the RTX 5060 Mobile. This is a massive swing and not a small edge. It suggests that the newer architecture has a significant advantage in Vulkan API efficiency, or that the driver path for this specific test favors the Blackwell design. The Passmark G2D score also goes to the RTX 3080 (1054 vs 876, a 20.3% delta), but the Vulkan result is the standout outlier that prevents this from being a total shutout.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two is generational and physical. The RTX 3080 uses the GA102 chip on Samsung's 8 nm process, while the RTX 5060 Mobile uses the GB206 chip on TSMC's 5 nm node. The die sizes tell the story: the RTX 3080 has a massive 628 mm² die with 28,300 million transistors, while the RTX 5060 Mobile packs 21,900 million transistors into just 181 mm². This results in a transistor density of 45.1M per mm² for the RTX 3080 versus 121.0M per mm² for the RTX 5060 Mobile. The newer process is clearly more efficient at packing transistors.

The core configurations differ dramatically. The RTX 3080 has 8704 shading units, 272 TMUs, 96 ROPs, 68 RT cores, and 272 tensor cores. The RTX 5060 Mobile has 3328 shading units, 104 TMUs, 48 ROPs, 26 RT cores, and 104 tensor cores. This is a 2.6x advantage in shading units and a similar gap in other core counts for the desktop part. The memory subsystems are also different: the RTX 3080 uses 10 GB of GDDR6X on a 320-bit bus with 760.3 GB/s of bandwidth, while the RTX 5060 Mobile uses 8 GB of GDDR7 on a 128-bit bus with 384.0 GB/s. The RTX 3080 has nearly double the memory bandwidth, which matters for high-resolution textures and compute workloads.

The power envelopes are the most striking difference. The RTX 3080 has a TDP of 320 W and requires a 700 W suggested PSU with a dual-slot cooler and a 12-pin connector. The RTX 5060 Mobile has a TDP of 45 W, is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) form factor with no power connectors, and is described as "Portable Device Dependent" for display outputs. The bus interface also differs: the RTX 3080 uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while the RTX 5060 Mobile uses PCIe 5.0 x16. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so API feature parity exists despite the performance differences.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in raw compute performance?

A: The RTX 3080 is significantly faster. In Passmark GPU Compute, it scores 14397 versus 7607 for the RTX 5060 Mobile, a 89.3% lead. Geekbench OpenCL also shows the RTX 3080 ahead at 152423 versus 96969, a 57.2% difference.

Q: Is the RTX 5060 Mobile better for gaming in any scenario?

A: The data shows one notable win: the Geekbench Vulkan test. The RTX 5060 Mobile scores 96451 versus 33620 for the RTX 3080, a 65.1% lead. However, in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 gaming test, the RTX 3080 wins by 46.2%, scoring 4407 versus 3013.5.

Q: How does the memory configuration compare?

A: The RTX 3080 has 10 GB of GDDR6X on a 320-bit bus with 760.3 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 5060 Mobile has 8 GB of GDDR7 on a 128-bit bus with 384.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 3080 provides roughly double the memory bandwidth.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The RTX 3080 is rated at 320 W TDP, requires a 700 W suggested PSU, and uses a dual-slot cooler with a 12-pin power connector. The RTX 5060 Mobile is rated at 45 W TDP, uses an IGP form factor, and has no power connectors.

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The RTX 3080 has an average benchmark score of 23172, while the RTX 5060 Mobile has an average of 22435. The RTX 3080 also holds a slightly higher percentile rank at 68 versus 67 for the RTX 5060 Mobile.

Q: Are there any tests where the RTX 3080's lead is small?

A: The smallest win for the RTX 3080 is in Passmark DirectX 12, where it scores 100 versus 87, a 14.9% delta. The Passmark G2D test is also relatively close at 20.3% (1054 vs 876).

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every hardware specification. The process node is 8 nm for the RTX 3080 versus 5 nm for the RTX 5060 Mobile. The chip is GA102 for the RTX 3080 and GB206 for the RTX 5060 Mobile. Transistor count is 28,300 million versus 21,900 million, and die size is 628 mm² versus 181 mm². Transistor density is 45.1M / mm² versus 121.0M / mm².

Clock speeds also differ: the RTX 3080 has a base clock of 1440 MHz and boost of 1710 MHz, while the RTX 5060 Mobile has a base of 952 MHz and boost of 1455 MHz. Memory clock is 1188 MHz (19 Gbps effective) for the RTX 3080 versus 1500 MHz (24 Gbps effective) for the RTX 5060 Mobile. Memory size is 10 GB versus 8 GB, type is GDDR6X versus GDDR7, bus width is 320-bit versus 128-bit, and bandwidth is 760.3 GB/s versus 384.0 GB/s.

Core counts follow the same pattern: shading units are 8704 versus 3328, TMUs are 272 versus 104, ROPs are 96 versus 48, RT cores are 68 versus 26, and tensor cores are 272 versus 104. Pixel rate is 164.2 GPixel/s versus 69.84 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 465.1 GTexel/s versus 151.3 GTexel/s. FP32 and FP16 performance are both 29.77 TFLOPS for the RTX 3080 versus 9.684 TFLOPS for the RTX 5060 Mobile. TDP is 320 W versus 45 W. The RTX 3080 uses a dual-slot form factor with 1x 12-pin power, while the RTX 5060 Mobile is IGP with no power connectors. The suggested PSU is 700 W for the RTX 3080 and null for the RTX 5060 Mobile. Bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x16 versus PCIe 5.0 x16. Display outputs are 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a for the RTX 3080 versus "Portable Device Dependent" for the RTX 5060 Mobile. Dimensions are 285 mm x 112 mm x 40 mm for the RTX 3080 versus null for the RTX 5060 Mobile.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 3080 wins in every scenario that demands raw throughput. For desktop gaming at high resolutions or with heavy graphical mods, the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 result (4407 vs 3013.5) indicates it will provide a smoother experience. For content creation, video encoding, or any GPU-accelerated compute task, the Passmark GPU Compute score (14397 vs 7607) and Geekbench OpenCL score (152423 vs 96969) show a decisive advantage. The RTX 3080 also wins in older DirectX titles across the board, with deltas ranging from 14.9% in DX12 to 42.9% in DX10.

The RTX 5060 Mobile wins in the Geekbench Vulkan test by a wide margin (96451 vs 33620). This suggests that if a workload is heavily optimized for Vulkan, the newer architecture can deliver better results despite having far fewer cores. The RTX 5060 Mobile also wins in the practical sense of power consumption and physical size: at 45 W TDP with an IGP form factor, it fits in laptops where the 320 W dual-slot RTX 3080 cannot exist. For a portable gaming machine, the RTX 5060 Mobile is the only option between these two, regardless of performance.

The Verdict

The data is clear: the RTX 3080 is the faster card by almost every measurable metric. It wins 9 of 10 head-to-head benchmarks, with leads ranging from 14.9% in DirectX 12 to 89.3% in GPU compute. Its average benchmark score of 23172 is higher than the RTX 5060 Mobile's 22435, and it holds a 68th percentile rank versus 67th. For builders with a desktop system who want maximum performance, the RTX 3080 is the obvious choice.

The RTX 5060 Mobile is not without merit. Its Vulkan performance is exceptional, beating the RTX 3080 by 65.1% in that specific test, which could matter for users running Vulkan-native applications or games. More importantly, it operates at 45 W versus 320 W, making it the only viable option for a laptop. The RTX 5060 Mobile also uses a modern 5 nm process with GDDR7 memory, which brings efficiency gains that the RTX 3080 cannot match. For someone who needs a gaming GPU in a portable chassis, the RTX 5060 Mobile is the right pick. For anyone with a desktop case and a PSU that can handle it, the RTX 3080 delivers roughly 33% more gaming performance in 3DMark and nearly double the compute throughput. The choice comes down to form factor versus raw power, and the benchmark data supports the RTX 3080 for pure performance.