NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile present a fascinating contradiction: a desktop card with a lower model number consistently outperforms a higher-tier mobile part across nearly every benchmark, yet the mobile chip packs more hardware. The data shows a clear overall winner in the RTX 5070, which takes 9 of 10 head-to-head tests, but the margins vary wildly depending on the workload. The largest gap appears in Passmark GPU Compute, where the RTX 5070 scores 15,787 against the RTX 5080 Mobile's 12,134, a decisive 30.1% advantage. Conversely, the single win for the mobile part comes in Passmark DirectX 12, where it scores 116 versus 108, a 6.9% edge that hints at efficiency in specific API paths.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The RTX 5070 dominates the compute-heavy and synthetic 3D tests. In Passmark GPU Compute, its 30.1% lead is the standout result, indicating that raw floating-point throughput translates directly into a massive advantage for non-graphics workloads. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test also goes to the desktop card, with a score of 5,077 versus 4,952, a 2.5% win that suggests better sustained performance under modern DX12 rendering. The Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan results reinforce this pattern, with the RTX 5070 leading by 3.4% (172,660 vs. 166,986) and 5.4% (178,923 vs. 169,754), respectively. These are moderate but consistent margins, showing that the desktop part is faster across both compute and graphics APIs.

The Passmark DirectX 11 test shows the RTX 5070's strongest lead among legacy APIs, scoring 277 against 253, a 9.5% gap. DirectX 10 follows with a 5.3% advantage (180 vs. 171), while DirectX 9 is closer at 1.9% (320 vs. 314). The 2D test is an outlier, with the RTX 5070 winning by a massive 19.2% (1,305 vs. 1,095), which likely reflects the desktop card's dedicated display outputs and higher pixel fill rate. The overall Passmark G3D score, a composite of many tests, lands at 29,137 for the RTX 5070 versus 27,711 for the mobile chip, a 5.1% victory.

The RTX 5080 Mobile's only triumph is in Passmark DirectX 12, where it scores 116 versus 108. This 6.9% win is intriguing because it contradicts the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 result, where the desktop card won. It suggests that the mobile chip's architecture, despite lower clock speeds, is particularly well-optimized for the specific shader workloads and driver paths in that particular Passmark test, even though it loses the broader DX12 benchmark from 3DMark. This isolated victory prevents the RTX 5080 Mobile from being a complete washout, but it does not change the overall narrative.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 has an average benchmark score of 40,377, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile averages 38,349. This places the RTX 5070 in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs, compared to the 81st percentile for the mobile part.

Q: How much faster is the RTX 5070 in compute workloads?

A: In Passmark GPU Compute, the RTX 5070 scores 15,787, which is 30.1% higher than the RTX 5080 Mobile's 12,134. This is the largest margin of victory in any test.

Q: What is the closest benchmark result between the two cards?

A: The closest result is in Passmark DirectX 9, where the RTX 5070 scores 320 and the RTX 5080 Mobile scores 314, a difference of just 1.9%. The 3DMark Steel Nomad test is also close, with a 2.5% gap.

Q: Does the RTX 5080 Mobile win any benchmarks?

A: Yes, it wins exactly one test: Passmark DirectX 12, with a score of 116 compared to the RTX 5070's 108, a 6.9% advantage.

Q: How do the nearest rivals compare to the RTX 5070?

A: The RTX 5070's closest rival is the AMD Radeon Pro 580, which scores 40,318, a negligible 0.1% difference. Other close rivals include the AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 (40,063, 0.8% behind) and the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile (39,568, 2% behind).

Q: How does the RTX 5080 Mobile compare to the previous generation mobile flagship?

A: The RTX 5080 Mobile's nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile, which has an average score of 38,135. The RTX 5080 Mobile is 0.6% ahead of that part.

Architecture Differences

Both GPUs are built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture and use a 5 nm process at TSMC, but they are fundamentally different chips. The RTX 5070 uses the GB205 chip, while the RTX 5080 Mobile uses the GB203. This is a critical distinction: the mobile chip is physically larger, with a die size of 378 mm² versus 263 mm², and contains 45,600 million transistors compared to 31,100 million. The transistor density is slightly higher on the mobile chip at 120.6M per mm² versus 118.3M per mm².

The mobile part also has more execution resources. It features 7,680 shading units, 240 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 96 ROPs, while the desktop card has 6,144 shaders, 192 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. Ray tracing and tensor core counts follow suit, with the RTX 5080 Mobile offering 60 RT cores and 240 tensor cores versus 48 and 192 on the RTX 5070. Despite this hardware advantage, the desktop card achieves higher clock speeds, which flips the performance equation.

The most telling architectural difference is in the power envelope. The RTX 5070 is rated at 250 W TDP and requires a dual-slot cooler with a 16-pin power connector, while the RTX 5080 Mobile is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with an 80 W TDP and no power connectors. This explains the clock disparity: the RTX 5070 boosts to 2,512 MHz, while the RTX 5080 Mobile is capped at 1,500 MHz. The mobile part compensates with a wider 256-bit memory bus and 16 GB of GDDR7, versus the 192-bit bus and 12 GB on the desktop card.

Specification Differences

The specification sheets reveal a classic desktop-versus-laptop trade-off. The RTX 5070 has a base clock of 2,325 MHz and a boost clock of 2,512 MHz, while the RTX 5080 Mobile operates at a much lower 975 MHz base and 1,500 MHz boost. Memory bandwidth heavily favors the mobile chip: 896.0 GB/s versus 672.0 GB/s, thanks to the wider 256-bit bus, though both use GDDR7 at the same 1,750 MHz (28 Gbps effective) memory clock.

The RTX 5070 produces higher theoretical fill rates, with a pixel rate of 201.0 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 482.3 GTexel/s, compared to the RTX 5080 Mobile's 144.0 GPixel/s and 360.0 GTexel/s. Floating-point performance (FP32) is also higher on the desktop card at 30.87 TFLOPS versus 23.04 TFLOPS. The memory capacity differs as well: 12 GB on the RTX 5070 versus 16 GB on the RTX 5080 Mobile.

Physical and power characteristics diverge sharply. The RTX 5070 is a dual-slot card measuring 245 mm in length, 115 mm in height, and 40 mm in width, with a 250 W TDP and a suggested 600 W PSU. The RTX 5080 Mobile has no listed dimensions, is an IGP, and draws only 80 W. The desktop card requires one 16-pin power connector, while the mobile part uses none. Display outputs also differ: the RTX 5070 has 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1b, whereas the RTX 5080 Mobile's outputs are "Portable Device Dependent." Both support PCIe 5.0 x16 and the same API set, including DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

The Verdict

The benchmark data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is the faster GPU in nearly every scenario. Its 30.1% lead in compute, 5.1% lead in overall 3D performance, and 19.2% lead in 2D tests make it the superior choice for anyone building a desktop system. The only test where the RTX 5080 Mobile wins is Passmark DirectX 12, a niche result that does not offset the 8-of-9 loss in other categories. The RTX 5070's higher average score (40,377 vs. 38,349) and higher percentile ranking (82nd vs. 81st) confirm its overall superiority.

For laptop buyers, the RTX 5080 Mobile still represents a capable option, as it is 0.6% faster than the previous generation's RTX 4080 Mobile. However, its lower clocks and TDP cap mean it cannot match the desktop card's raw throughput, despite having more cores and memory. The choice is clear: if you need maximum performance and have room for a 250 W, dual-slot card, the RTX 5070 is the winner. If you require mobility and are willing to accept lower absolute performance, the RTX 5080 Mobile is the only option, but it is not the performance leader in this comparison.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 5070 wins in all compute-heavy scenarios, making it the pick for GPU-accelerated tasks like rendering, scientific simulations, and machine learning inference. Its 30.1% advantage in Passmark GPU Compute is the single largest differentiator, and it also leads in OpenCL (3.4%) and Vulkan (5.4%) compute paths. For gaming, the RTX 5070 wins across DirectX 9, 10, and 11, with margins from 1.9% to 9.5%, and it also takes the modern 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test by 2.5%. The desktop card's 19.2% win in Passmark G2D suggests it is also better suited for multi-monitor setups and high-resolution 2D desktop work, likely due to its dedicated display outputs.

The RTX 5080 Mobile's single win in Passmark DirectX 12 (6.9%) is its only clear use-case advantage. This could indicate that in specific DX12 titles or workloads that align with that test's characteristics, the mobile chip's wider memory bus (256-bit vs. 192-bit) and higher bandwidth (896.0 GB/s vs. 672.0 GB/s) provide a tangible benefit. The mobile part also offers 16 GB of VRAM versus 12 GB, which is not directly benchmarked here but suggests it may handle larger textures or datasets better in memory-constrained scenarios. For users prioritizing battery life and portability, the RTX 5080 Mobile's 80 W TDP is a decisive advantage over the 250 W desktop card, though this is a power efficiency metric, not a performance one.