NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER vs NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile Comparison

FAQ

Q: How does the NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile compare to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER in raw compute?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER delivers 52.22 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, which is over five times the 10.08 TFLOPS of the RTX A3000 Mobile. The gap is consistent across FP16, where the 4080 SUPER also hits 52.22 TFLOPS versus 10.08 TFLOPS.

Q: Which GPU has more memory bandwidth, and by how much?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER has 736.3 GB/s of bandwidth from its 256-bit GDDR6X interface, while the RTX A3000 Mobile has 264.0 GB/s from a 192-bit GDDR6 bus. That is a 2.8x advantage for the desktop card.

Q: What are the benchmark scores for both GPUs in Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan?

A: In OpenCL, the RTX A3000 Mobile scores 79,091, while the RTX 4080 SUPER scores 219,065. In Vulkan, the mobile GPU scores 61,189, while the desktop card scores 260,075. The RTX 4080 SUPER wins both tests.

Q: Which GPU has the higher percentile ranking among all GPUs in the database?

A: The RTX A3000 Mobile sits at the 91st percentile, while the RTX 4080 SUPER ranks at the 86th percentile. Despite lower absolute scores, the mobile GPU ranks higher relative to all other recorded GPUs.

Q: What are the nearest rivals for each GPU in the database?

A: The RTX A3000 Mobile's closest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE, which is 1% faster on average. The RTX 4080 SUPER's nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, which is 0.1% faster on average.

Q: What is the production status and release timeframe for each card?

A: Both GPUs are end-of-life. The RTX A3000 Mobile was released on 2021-04-11, and the RTX 4080 SUPER was released on 2024-01-30.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs represent different NVIDIA architectures built on different foundry nodes. The RTX A3000 Mobile uses the GA104 chip on the Ampere architecture, fabricated on Samsung's 8 nm process. The RTX 4080 SUPER uses the AD103 chip on the Ada Lovelace architecture, fabricated on TSMC's 5 nm process. This node difference is substantial: the Ada chip packs 45,900 million transistors into a 379 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 121.1M per mm². The Ampere chip contains 17,400 million transistors on a larger 392 mm² die, giving a density of 44.4M per mm².

The RTX 4080 SUPER has more of every compute resource. It carries 10,240 shading units, 320 texture mapping units, and 112 render output units. The RTX A3000 Mobile has 4,096 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. Ray tracing hardware follows the same pattern: 80 RT cores on the Ada card versus 32 on the Ampere card. Tensor core counts are 320 versus 128.

Clock behavior differs significantly. The RTX 4080 SUPER runs at a base of 2295 MHz and boosts to 2550 MHz, while the RTX A3000 Mobile has a 600 MHz base and a 1230 MHz boost. Memory clocks also diverge: the desktop card runs at 1438 MHz with 23 Gbps effective speed, while the mobile card runs at 1375 MHz with 11 Gbps effective speed.

The memory subsystem is a major architectural differentiator. The RTX 4080 SUPER has 16 GB of GDDR6X on a 256-bit bus, producing 736.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX A3000 Mobile has 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, producing 264.0 GB/s. The desktop card also carries a triple-slot cooler design, a 16-pin power connector, and a suggested 700 W PSU, whereas the mobile GPU has no power connectors and consumes far less power.

Both GPUs support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The RTX 4080 SUPER offers display outputs of 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the RTX A3000 Mobile's outputs are portable device dependent. The RTX 4080 SUPER measures 310 mm in length, 140 mm in height, and 61 mm in width, while the mobile card has no recorded dimensions.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains two direct head-to-head comparisons, both from Geekbench. In OpenCL, the RTX 4080 SUPER scores 219,065 against the RTX A3000 Mobile's 79,091, a delta of -63.9% from the winner's perspective. In Vulkan, the margin is even wider: the RTX 4080 SUPER scores 260,075 versus 61,189, a delta of -76.5%. The RTX 4080 SUPER wins both head-to-head tests, giving it a 2-0 record.

The Vulkan result is particularly telling. The RTX 4080 SUPER's score is more than four times the mobile GPU's result. This aligns with the raw hardware advantage: the Ada card has 2.5x the shading units, 2.5x the RT cores, and 2.5x the tensor cores. The clock speed difference compounds this, since the desktop card boosts to 2550 MHz versus 1230 MHz.

The OpenCL gap, while large, is proportionally smaller than the Vulkan gap. The RTX 4080 SUPER is 177% faster in OpenCL but 325% faster in Vulkan. This suggests the newer architecture scales better in Vulkan workloads, likely due to driver optimizations and the improved memory subsystem.

Beyond the head-to-head, the average benchmark scores tell a broader story. The RTX A3000 Mobile has an average score of 70,140 across all tests, while the RTX 4080 SUPER has an average of 54,209. However, this average is skewed by the different test suites available for each card. The RTX A3000 Mobile's average is based on its two Geekbench results, while the RTX 4080 SUPER's average incorporates 10 tests, including 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, multiple Passmark tests, and Geekbench. The 3DMark result of 6,600 and the Passmark G3D score of 34,245 are particular strengths for the desktop card.

The RTX 4080 SUPER also shows strong compute performance in Passmark's GPU compute test, scoring 19,822. The mobile card has no equivalent recorded score. The desktop card's Passmark DirectX results range from 134 (DX12) to 381 (DX9), while its G2D score is 1,270.

Specification Differences

The specification tables reveal stark contrasts across every major category. The RTX 4080 SUPER uses the AD103 chip on Ada Lovelace architecture, while the RTX A3000 Mobile uses GA104 on Ampere. Process nodes differ: 5 nm TSMC versus 8 nm Samsung. Transistor counts are 45,900 million versus 17,400 million, and die sizes are 379 mm² versus 392 mm². Transistor density is 121.1M per mm² versus 44.4M per mm².

Clock speeds show the largest relative difference. The RTX 4080 SUPER has a 2295 MHz base and 2550 MHz boost, while the RTX A3000 Mobile has a 600 MHz base and 1230 MHz boost. Memory clocks are 1438 MHz with 23 Gbps effective versus 1375 MHz with 11 Gbps effective.

Memory configuration diverges completely: 16 GB GDDR6X on a 256-bit bus versus 6 GB GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus. Bandwidth is 736.3 GB/s versus 264.0 GB/s. Compute resources scale similarly: 10,240 shading units versus 4,096, 320 TMUs versus 128, 112 ROPs versus 64, 80 RT cores versus 32, and 320 tensor cores versus 128.

Pixel and texture rates follow the hardware counts. The RTX 4080 SUPER achieves 285.6 GPixel/s and 816.0 GTexel/s, while the RTX A3000 Mobile achieves 78.72 GPixel/s and 157.4 GTexel/s. FP32 and FP16 are both 52.22 TFLOPS on the desktop card versus 10.08 TFLOPS on the mobile card.

Power and physical specifications differ enormously. The RTX 4080 SUPER has a TDP of 320 W, is triple-slot, uses a 16-pin connector, and suggests a 700 W PSU. The RTX A3000 Mobile has a TDP of 70 W, no power connectors, and no suggested PSU. The desktop card has recorded dimensions of 310 mm x 140 mm x 61 mm; the mobile card has none. The RTX 4080 SUPER has a launch MSRP of 999 USD.

Release dates are separated by nearly three years: 2021-04-11 for the mobile GPU and 2024-01-30 for the desktop GPU. The mobile card's predecessor is Quadro Turing-M and its successor is Ada-MW. The desktop card's predecessor is GeForce 30 and its successor is GeForce 50.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 4080 SUPER wins everywhere in raw performance. It dominates the head-to-head benchmarks, with a 177% lead in OpenCL and a 325% lead in Vulkan. Its compute resources are 2.5x higher across shading units, RT cores, and tensor cores. The 16 GB memory capacity and 736.3 GB/s bandwidth make it suitable for large datasets, high-resolution textures, and ray tracing workloads. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6,600 and Passmark G3D score of 34,245 confirm its strength in modern gaming and D3D12 workloads.

The RTX A3000 Mobile's advantage is not in performance but in efficiency and form factor. Its 70 W TDP is a fraction of the desktop card's 320 W. With no power connectors required, it can be deployed in portable systems where the triple-slot, 310 mm long desktop card cannot fit. The mobile card's 91st percentile ranking versus the desktop card's 86th percentile is notable: despite lower absolute scores, the mobile GPU outperforms a larger share of the GPU population. This reflects the fact that the database includes many weaker mobile and entry-level parts.

For use cases, the RTX 4080 SUPER is the clear choice for desktop workstations and gaming rigs where power and space are not constraints. Its 16 GB GDDR6X memory and 80 RT cores make it suited for 3D rendering, real-time ray tracing, and AI inference workloads. The RTX A3000 Mobile is suited for professional mobile workstations where portability and low power draw are priorities, and where the 6 GB memory and 32 RT cores are sufficient for the intended tasks.

The nearest rival data reinforces this split. The RTX A3000 Mobile sits close to the AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE, which is only 1% faster, and the NVIDIA Quadro P6000, which is 0.2% slower. The RTX 4080 SUPER sits close to the RTX 4080, which is 0.1% faster, and the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X, which is 1.1% faster. These rivalries show that each card competes in its own performance tier, and neither overlaps with the other's market segment. The data records zero wins for the mobile GPU and two wins for the desktop GPU in direct comparisons, but the mobile card's lower power envelope and higher percentile rank give it a distinct role in the hardware ecosystem.