NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 vs NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile Comparison

The NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 are both Ampere-generation parts, but they target different segments of the market. The data shows a clear split in performance characteristics, with the desktop GeForce card dominating most rasterization and compute workloads, while the mobile workstation part shows a surprising strength in a specific API benchmark. This analysis breaks down their head-to-head results, architectural differences, and the implications for real-world workloads.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark results present a stark contrast in performance profiles. The RTX 3080 secures a decisive victory in 8 out of 9 direct comparisons, often by considerable margins. The most significant win for the GeForce card comes in the Passmark GPU Compute test, where it scores 14,397 against the A5000 Mobile's 6,945, a delta of -51.8%. This indicates a substantial advantage in general-purpose compute throughput, which is a critical metric for many professional and scientific applications.

Similarly, the RTX 3080 leads heavily in the Passmark DirectX 11 test, scoring 207 versus 133, a difference of -35.7%. This performance gap is reinforced in the DirectX 10 test, where the RTX 3080's 170 points eclipses the A5000 Mobile's 115, a -32.4% delta. The pattern continues with the Passmark G3D score, which is a strong indicator of overall 3D rendering capability. Here, the RTX 3080 scores 25,086, while the A5000 Mobile manages 15,779, resulting in a -37.1% performance deficit for the mobile part.

The memory subsystem also favors the RTX 3080 in the Passmark G2D test, which is sensitive to memory bandwidth. The GeForce card scores 1,054, a full -40.3% ahead of the A5000 Mobile's 629. This is likely a direct consequence of the RTX 3080's much higher memory bandwidth of 760.3 GB/s compared to 448.0 GB/s. Even in the DirectX 9 legacy test, the RTX 3080 maintains a lead, scoring 258 versus 169, a -34.5% delta. The DirectX 12 test also shows a significant gap, with the RTX 3080 scoring 100 points against the A5000 Mobile's 72, a -28% difference.

The Geekbench OpenCL test continues the trend, with the RTX 3080 scoring 152,423 versus 110,877 for the A5000 Mobile, a -27.3% delta. This is a broad compute benchmark, and the result aligns with the Passmark GPU Compute findings, solidifying the RTX 3080's raw compute advantage.

However, there is one notable exception to this pattern. In the Geekbench Vulkan test, the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile achieves a score of 88,144, which is a staggering 162.2% higher than the RTX 3080's 33,620. This is a massive victory for the mobile workstation card and suggests that its driver stack and hardware configuration are exceptionally well-optimized for the Vulkan API, at least in this specific benchmark. This single result is a significant outlier and highlights that the two cards have very different performance strengths depending on the workload.

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data paints a clear picture of divergent use cases. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is the undisputed winner for most graphics-intensive and compute-heavy tasks. Its victories across DirectX 10, 11, and 12 benchmarks indicate that it is the stronger card for modern gaming and DirectX-based rendering workloads. The substantial lead in Passmark G3D and GPU Compute further reinforces its suitability for tasks like 3D rendering, video encoding, and scientific computing that leverage raw FP32 power and memory bandwidth. The RTX 3080's performance profile makes it the clear choice for a high-performance desktop workstation where power consumption is not a primary constraint.

The NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile, despite being a mobile part with lower power limits, demonstrates a unique advantage in the Vulkan API. The 162.2% lead in Geekbench Vulkan is not a marginal win; it is a dominant performance in a specific, modern graphics API. This could be a significant factor for applications that rely heavily on Vulkan, such as certain CAD tools, game engines, or compute shaders. For a professional user whose software stack is Vulkan-centric, the A5000 Mobile's performance in this area could be a decisive advantage, potentially outweighing its deficits in other benchmarks.

Outside of the Vulkan result, the A5000 Mobile's wins are limited. It does not outperform the RTX 3080 in any other test within the dataset. This suggests that for general-purpose use, the RTX 3080 is the superior performer. However, the A5000 Mobile's design as a mobile workstation GPU implies it is built for reliability, driver certification, and power efficiency, which are not directly measured by these raw performance benchmarks. Its 16 GB of memory is also double that of the RTX 3080, though the benchmark scores do not directly reflect the capacity advantage in these specific tests.

Architecture Differences

Both GPUs are built on the Ampere architecture and use an 8 nm process node from Samsung, but they are fundamentally different chips. The RTX A5000 Mobile is based on the GA104 die, which is a smaller, more power-efficient chip. The RTX 3080 uses the larger GA102 die, which is designed for maximum performance. This difference is evident in the transistor counts: the GA102 in the RTX 3080 has 28,300 million transistors on a 628 mm² die, while the GA104 in the A5000 Mobile has 17,400 million transistors on a much smaller 392 mm² die. The transistor density is similar (45.1M / mm² vs 44.4M / mm²), but the RTX 3080's larger physical size allows for significantly more compute resources.

The core configurations reflect this hierarchy. The RTX 3080 has 8,704 shading units, 272 TMUs, and 68 RT cores, alongside 272 tensor cores. The A5000 Mobile is equipped with 6,144 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 48 RT cores, with 192 tensor cores. This gives the RTX 3080 a substantial lead in raw shader and ray-tracing capability, which translates directly into its higher FP32 performance of 29.77 TFLOPS compared to the A5000 Mobile's 19.35 TFLOPS. Both cards have 96 ROPs.

The memory subsystems are also starkly different. The RTX 3080 uses 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus, achieving a bandwidth of 760.3 GB/s. The A5000 Mobile uses 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, which provides 448.0 GB/s. While the A5000 Mobile has more capacity, the RTX 3080's use of faster GDDR6X memory and a wider bus gives it a massive bandwidth advantage. The clock speeds also differ, with the RTX 3080 having a base clock of 1440 MHz and a boost clock of 1710 MHz, while the A5000 Mobile is more conservatively clocked at 900 MHz base and 1575 MHz boost, likely to manage thermals within its 150 W mobile TDP.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in the Geekbench Vulkan benchmark?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile is significantly faster, scoring 88,144 compared to the RTX 3080's 33,620, a difference of 162.2%.

Q: What is the performance difference in the Passmark G3D test?

A: The RTX 3080 leads by a substantial margin, scoring 25,086 against the A5000 Mobile's 15,779, which is a -37.1% delta for the mobile card.

Q: How do the memory capacities and types differ?

A: The RTX A5000 Mobile has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the RTX 3080 has 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus with 760.3 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card has more shading units and RT cores?

A: The RTX 3080 has more, with 8,704 shading units and 68 RT cores, compared to the A5000 Mobile's 6,144 shading units and 48 RT cores.

Q: What are the TDPs for both cards?

A: The RTX A5000 Mobile has a TDP of 150 W, while the RTX 3080 has a significantly higher TDP of 320 W.

Q: In which benchmark does the A5000 Mobile win against the RTX 3080?

A: The A5000 Mobile wins in the Geekbench Vulkan test, achieving a score of 88,144 versus the RTX 3080's 33,620.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 |

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

| Chip | GA104 | GA102 |

| Transistors | 17,400 million | 28,300 million |

| Die Size | 392 mm² | 628 mm² |

| Base Clock | 900 MHz | 1440 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1575 MHz | 1710 MHz |

| Memory Size | 16 GB | 10 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR6X |

| Memory Bus | 256 bit | 320 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 448.0 GB/s | 760.3 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 6144 | 8704 |

| TMUs | 192 | 272 |

| RT Cores | 48 | 68 |

| Tensor Cores | 192 | 272 |

| Texture Rate | 302.4 GTexel/s | 465.1 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 19.35 TFLOPS | 29.77 TFLOPS |

| TDP | 150 W | 320 W |

| Power Connectors | None | 1x 12-pin |

| Suggested PSU | None | 700 W |

| Display Outputs | Portable Device Dependent | 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a |

| Dimensions (LxHxW) | None | 285 mm x 112 mm x 40 mm (11.2 x 4.4 x 1.6 inches) |

| Release Date | 2021-04-11 | 2020-08-31 |

| Predecessor | Quadro Turing-M | GeForce 20 |

| Successor | Ada-MW | GeForce 40 |

| Launch MSRP | None | 699 USD |