NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile 12 GB vs NVIDIA Rubin GPU Comparison

FAQ

Q: What are the core architectural differences between the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile 12 GB and the NVIDIA Rubin GPU?

A: The RTX 5070 Mobile uses the GB206 chip on a 5 nm TSMC process with Blackwell 2.0 architecture. The Rubin GPU uses the GR100 chip on a 3 nm TSMC process with the Rubin architecture, designed for server applications.

Q: How do the memory subsystems compare between these two GPUs?

A: The RTX 5070 Mobile has 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 576.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Rubin GPU has 288 GB of HBM4 memory on a 16384-bit bus, delivering 22.1 TB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU has higher FP32 compute throughput?

A: The Rubin GPU delivers 130.0 TFLOPS FP32, which is approximately 9.9 times the 13.13 TFLOPS of the RTX 5070 Mobile.

Q: What are the physical and power characteristics of each GPU?

A: The RTX 5070 Mobile is an IGP with a 50 W TDP and no power connectors. The Rubin GPU is an SXM Module with a 2300 W TDP and a suggested PSU of 2700 W.

Q: Do these GPUs support the same graphics APIs?

A: No. The RTX 5070 Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The Rubin GPU reports N/A for DirectX, OpenGL, and Vulkan, indicating it is not designed for conventional graphics API workloads.

Q: What are the transistor counts and die sizes?

A: The RTX 5070 Mobile has 21,900 million transistors on a 181 mm² die. The Rubin GPU has 336,000 million transistors on a 1456 mm² die, with a transistor density of 230.8M per mm² versus 121.0M per mm² for the mobile chip.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs represent fundamentally different design philosophies. The RTX 5070 Mobile is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture using the GB206 chip, fabricated on a 5 nm TSMC process. It integrates 21,900 million transistors into a 181 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 121.0M per mm². This is a mobile-oriented design with a 50 W TDP, slot width of IGP, and no external power connectors.

The Rubin GPU uses the GR100 chip with the Rubin architecture, fabricated on a 3 nm TSMC process. It contains 336,000 million transistors, more than 15 times the count of the mobile chip, spread across a 1456 mm² die. The transistor density reaches 230.8M per mm², reflecting the more advanced process node. This is a server-class part in an SXM Module form factor with a 2300 W TDP and a suggested PSU of 2700 W.

Memory architecture diverges sharply. The RTX 5070 Mobile uses 12 GB of GDDR7 on a 192-bit bus with 576.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Rubin GPU uses 288 GB of HBM4 on a 16384-bit bus with 22.1 TB/s bandwidth, a 38-fold increase in capacity and a 38-fold increase in bandwidth. The memory clock differs as well: 1500 MHz (24 Gbps effective) for the mobile part versus 2695 MHz (10.8 Gbps effective) for the Rubin.

Compute resources are scaled accordingly. The RTX 5070 Mobile has 4608 shading units, 144 TMUs, 48 ROPs, 36 RT cores, and 144 tensor cores. The Rubin GPU has 28672 shading units, 896 TMUs, 24 ROPs, no listed RT cores, and 896 tensor cores. The Rubin has 6.2 times the shading units and 6.2 times the TMUs of the mobile GPU, but fewer ROPs (24 versus 48). FP16 throughput on the Rubin is 260.0 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio), while the mobile part delivers 13.13 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio). FP32 on the Rubin is 130.0 TFLOPS versus 13.13 TFLOPS on the mobile chip.

The bus interface differs: PCIe 5.0 x16 for the RTX 5070 Mobile, PCIe 6.0 x16 for the Rubin GPU. Display outputs are Portable Device Dependent for the mobile part, while the Rubin has no outputs at all. The Rubin reports no DirectX, OpenGL, or Vulkan support, whereas the mobile chip supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 5070 Mobile is designed for portable devices. Its 50 W TDP and IGP form factor make it suitable for laptops and compact systems where power draw and physical footprint are constrained. The presence of RT cores, a full graphics API stack, and display outputs indicate a focus on gaming, content creation, and general consumer graphics workloads. The pixel rate of 68.40 GPixel/s, despite being lower in absolute terms than the Rubin's 54.41 GPixel/s, is notable because the mobile chip achieves this with far fewer ROPs (48 versus 24). The mobile part also has a higher base clock (907 MHz versus 700 MHz) and a lower boost clock (1425 MHz versus 2267 MHz), suggesting a different clock strategy optimized for thermal limits.

The Rubin GPU wins in raw compute and memory capacity. Its 130.0 TFLOPS FP32 and 260.0 TFLOPS FP16 are designed for server workloads, AI training, and scientific computing where massive parallel throughput is required. The 288 GB HBM4 memory with 22.1 TB/s bandwidth enables handling of very large datasets that would be impossible on a 12 GB frame buffer. The Rubin's 896 tensor cores, matching its TMU count, indicate a heavy emphasis on tensor operations. The lack of display outputs and graphics API support confirms this is not a rendering product but a compute accelerator.

The data shows a clear split: the RTX 5070 Mobile wins on portability, graphics features, and consumer-oriented specifications. The Rubin wins on compute density, memory subsystem, and server-scale performance. The transistor density advantage of the Rubin (230.8M per mm² versus 121.0M per mm²) reflects the newer 3 nm process, but the mobile chip's lower power envelope allows it to be deployed in devices where the Rubin's 2300 W TDP is impossible.

Specification Differences

| Specification | RTX 5070 Mobile | Rubin GPU |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | Blackwell 2.0 | Rubin |

| Chip | GB206 | GR100 |

| Process Node | 5 nm | 3 nm |

| Transistors | 21,900 million | 336,000 million |

| Die Size | 181 mm² | 1456 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 121.0M / mm² | 230.8M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 907 MHz | 700 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1425 MHz | 2267 MHz |

| Memory Size | 12 GB | 288 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR7 | HBM4 |

| Memory Bus | 192 bit | 16384 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 576.0 GB/s | 22.1 TB/s |

| Memory Clock | 1500 MHz (24 Gbps effective) | 2695 MHz (10.8 Gbps effective) |

| Shading Units | 4608 | 28672 |

| TMUs | 144 | 896 |

| ROPs | 48 | 24 |

| RT Cores | 36 | null |

| Tensor Cores | 144 | 896 |

| Pixel Rate | 68.40 GPixel/s | 54.41 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 205.2 GTexel/s | 2,031.2 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 13.13 TFLOPS | 130.0 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 13.13 TFLOPS (1:1) | 260.0 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 50 W | 2300 W |

| Slot Width | IGP | SXM Module |

| Power Connectors | None | null |

| Suggested PSU | null | 2700 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 5.0 x16 | PCIe 6.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | Portable Device Dependent | No outputs |

| DirectX | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | N/A |

| OpenGL | 4.6 | N/A |

| Vulkan | 1.4 | N/A |

| Release Date | 2026-05-31 | 2025-12-31 |

| Predecessor | GeForce 40 Mobile | Server Blackwell |

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

Direct benchmark scores are not recorded in the database for either GPU, so the comparison relies on specification-derived metrics. The FP32 throughput shows the most dramatic gap: the Rubin GPU delivers 130.0 TFLOPS, which is 9.9 times the 13.13 TFLOPS of the RTX 5070 Mobile. This is the single largest performance differential in the compute category.

Texture rate follows a similar pattern. The Rubin GPU processes 2,031.2 GTexel/s, which is 9.9 times the 205.2 GTexel/s of the mobile chip. This aligns with the TMU count difference (896 versus 144), confirming that texture throughput scales directly with the number of texture mapping units.

The FP16 comparison is even more lopsided. The Rubin GPU delivers 260.0 TFLOPS, exactly 19.8 times the 13.13 TFLOPS of the RTX 5070 Mobile. The Rubin's 2:1 FP16 ratio versus the mobile chip's 1:1 ratio means the server part doubles its FP32 throughput when operating in FP16 mode, while the mobile part does not.

Memory bandwidth shows the largest absolute gap. The Rubin GPU's 22.1 TB/s is 38.4 times the 576.0 GB/s of the RTX 5070 Mobile. This is driven by the 16384-bit bus versus the 192-bit bus, a difference of 85.3 times, partially offset by the mobile chip's faster effective memory clock (24 Gbps versus 10.8 Gbps).

The RTX 5070 Mobile wins in two specification-derived categories. Its pixel rate of 68.40 GPixel/s is 25.7% higher than the Rubin GPU's 54.41 GPixel/s. This is despite the Rubin having a higher boost clock (2267 MHz versus 1425 MHz), because the mobile chip's 48 ROPs double the Rubin's 24 ROPs. The mobile part also has a higher base clock at 907 MHz versus 700 MHz for the Rubin.

Shading unit count favors the Rubin by a factor of 6.2 (28672 versus 4608), and tensor core count favors the Rubin by the same factor (896 versus 144). The RTX 5070 Mobile has 36 RT cores while the Rubin lists none, indicating the server part does not include ray tracing hardware in its specification.

The release dates place the Rubin GPU earlier in the database, with a release date of 2025-12-31, while the RTX 5070 Mobile follows on 2026-05-31. Both are listed as Active in production status. The Rubin GPU's predecessor is Server Blackwell, while the RTX 5070 Mobile's predecessor is GeForce 40 Mobile. Neither part has a listed successor.

The transistor count difference is the most striking physical comparison: 336,000 million transistors for the Rubin versus 21,900 million for the mobile chip, a 15.3-fold increase. The die size difference is 8.0 times (1456 mm² versus 181 mm²), and the transistor density difference is 1.9 times (230.8M per mm² versus 121.0M per mm²). The Rubin GPU's 3 nm process enables higher density despite the much larger physical die.

Power consumption scales with performance but not proportionally. The Rubin GPU's 2300 W TDP is 46 times the 50 W TDP of the RTX 5070 Mobile, while its FP32 throughput is only 9.9 times higher. This means the mobile chip delivers 0.263 TFLOPS per watt, while the Rubin delivers 0.057 TFLOPS per watt. The efficiency advantage belongs to the RTX 5070 Mobile, though the Rubin's absolute performance is in a different class.

The bus interface difference (PCIe 6.0 x16 versus PCIe 5.0 x16) positions the Rubin for newer server platforms, while the mobile part uses the current generation interface. The suggested PSU of 2700 W for the Rubin indicates a system-level power requirement far beyond any portable device configuration.