NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 vs NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile Comparison

FAQ

Q: How does the NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile compare to the GeForce RTX 5080 in OpenCL performance?

A: The GeForce RTX 5080 scores 235,901 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 66.5% higher than the RTX A3000 Mobile's score of 79,091. This makes the RTX 5080 the clear winner in this compute-oriented test.

Q: What is the average benchmark score for each GPU?

A: The RTX A3000 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 70,140, while the GeForce RTX 5080 averages 56,083. Despite the RTX 5080 winning both head-to-head tests, the A3000 Mobile's average is higher because it sits at the 91st percentile among all GPUs, compared to the RTX 5080's 87th percentile.

Q: Which GPU has a higher transistor count and what does that mean?

A: The GeForce RTX 5080 contains 45,600 million transistors on a 5 nm TSMC process, while the RTX A3000 Mobile has 17,400 million transistors on an 8 nm Samsung process. The RTX 5080's newer, denser process allows for 120.6 million transistors per square millimeter versus 44.4 million for the A3000 Mobile.

Q: What are the memory specifications for each card?

A: The RTX A3000 Mobile features 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 264.0 GB/s bandwidth. The GeForce RTX 5080 offers 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus with 960.0 GB/s bandwidth, providing significantly higher memory capacity and bandwidth.

Q: How do the ray tracing and tensor core counts differ?

A: The RTX A3000 Mobile has 32 RT cores and 128 tensor cores. The GeForce RTX 5080 has 84 RT cores and 336 tensor cores, roughly 2.6 times more of each, which supports its higher compute throughput.

Q: What is the power consumption difference between these two GPUs?

A: The RTX A3000 Mobile has a TDP of 70 W and requires no power connectors, making it suitable for portable devices. The GeForce RTX 5080 has a TDP of 360 W, needs a 16-pin power connector, and recommends a 750 W power supply.

Architecture Differences

The NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 represent two distinct generations of NVIDIA GPU design. The A3000 Mobile is built on the Ampere architecture using the GA104 chip, fabricated on an 8 nm process at Samsung. In contrast, the RTX 5080 uses the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with the GB203 chip, manufactured on a 5 nm process at TSMC. This process shrink is substantial, enabling the RTX 5080 to pack 45,600 million transistors into a 378 mm² die, compared to the A3000 Mobile's 17,400 million transistors on a larger 392 mm² die.

The transistor density tells the story clearly: the RTX 5080 achieves 120.6 million transistors per square millimeter, while the A3000 Mobile manages only 44.4 million. This density advantage translates directly into higher compute resources. The RTX 5080 fields 10,752 shading units, 336 texture mapping units, and 112 raster operations units, while the A3000 Mobile has 4,096 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs.

Clock speeds also differ dramatically. The RTX 5080 runs at a base clock of 2295 MHz with a boost of 2617 MHz, whereas the A3000 Mobile operates at a modest 600 MHz base and 1230 MHz boost. These figures, combined with the architectural improvements, yield a peak FP32 throughput of 56.28 TFLOPS for the RTX 5080 versus 10.08 TFLOPS for the A3000 Mobile. Both support FP16 at a 1:1 ratio, matching their FP32 rates.

Memory architecture diverges as well. The A3000 Mobile uses 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, delivering 264.0 GB/s. The RTX 5080 upgrades to 16 GB of GDDR7 on a 256-bit bus, providing 960.0 GB/s, a 3.6-fold increase in bandwidth. The RT 5080 also supports PCIe 5.0 x16, while the A3000 Mobile uses PCIe 4.0 x16.

The production statuses reflect their lifecycles: the A3000 Mobile is end-of-life, released in April 2021, while the RTX 5080 is active, launched in January 2025. The A3000 Mobile appears in the Quadro Turing-M generation's successor lineage, whereas the RTX 5080 follows the GeForce 40 series and precedes GeForce 60.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records two direct comparison tests between these GPUs, and the GeForce RTX 5080 wins both. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 5080 scores 235,901 against the A3000 Mobile's 79,091, a delta of 66.5% in favor of the newer card. This test exercises general compute workloads, and the RTX 5080's massive advantage in shading units, clock speed, and memory bandwidth produces a decisive margin.

The Vulkan benchmark shows an even larger gap. The RTX 5080 posts 255,450, while the A3000 Mobile manages 61,189, resulting in a 76% deficit for the mobile GPU. Vulkan is a low-level graphics API, and the RTX 5080's architectural efficiency, higher clocks, and superior memory subsystem all contribute to this overwhelming result.

The A3000 Mobile's average benchmark score of 70,140 places it in the 91st percentile of all GPUs, with nearest rivals including the NVIDIA Quadro P6000 (69,986, just 0.2% behind) and AMD Radeon Pro WX 8200 (69,870, 0.4% behind). The RTX 5080's average of 56,083 lands at the 87th percentile, with the AMD Radeon 8060S (55,757, 0.6% behind) and AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (55,698, 0.7% behind) as its closest competitors. Notably, the RTX 5080's percentile is lower despite its head-to-head dominance, because its benchmark suite includes diverse tests like Passmark DirectX 9, 10, 11, and 12 scores that range from 151 to 389, which pull down its average.

The RTX 5080 also records a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 8,637, a Passmark G3D score of 36,565, and a Passmark GPU Compute score of 21,789, none of which have direct A3000 Mobile counterparts in the database.

The Verdict

The data presents a straightforward hierarchy. The GeForce RTX 5080 is the superior performer in every head-to-head measurement, winning both recorded benchmarks with margins of 66.5% and 76%. Its architectural advantages, from the 5 nm process to the 16 GB GDDR7 memory and 56.28 TFLOPS FP32 throughput, make it the clear choice for workloads that demand maximum compute and graphics performance.

The RTX A3000 Mobile, however, occupies a different segment entirely. Its 70 W TDP and lack of power connectors signal a mobile-first design, prioritizing efficiency and portability. Its 91st percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average score of 70,140, indicates it remains a capable performer in its class, competitive with desktop cards like the Quadro P6000 and Radeon Pro WX 8200.

For users requiring uncompromised rendering power, real-time ray tracing with 84 RT cores, or high-bandwidth memory access, the RTX 5080 is the only choice. For those constrained by power budgets or seeking a mobile workstation GPU, the A3000 Mobile offers respectable performance within a 70 W envelope. The RTX 5080's 360 W TDP and 750 W suggested PSU make it unsuitable for portable systems, while the A3000 Mobile's portable-device-dependent display outputs confirm its integration into laptops and compact workstations.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 |

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

| Architecture | Ampere | Blackwell 2.0 |

| Process Node | 8 nm (Samsung) | 5 nm (TSMC) |

| Transistors | 17,400 million | 45,600 million |

| Die Size | 392 mm² | 378 mm² |

| Base Clock | 600 MHz | 2295 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1230 MHz | 2617 MHz |

| Memory Size | 6 GB | 16 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR7 |

| Memory Bus | 192 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 264.0 GB/s | 960.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 4096 | 10752 |

| TMUs | 128 | 336 |

| ROPs | 64 | 112 |

| RT Cores | 32 | 84 |

| Tensor Cores | 128 | 336 |

| Pixel Rate | 78.72 GPixel/s | 293.1 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 157.4 GTexel/s | 879.3 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 10.08 TFLOPS | 56.28 TFLOPS |

| TDP | 70 W | 360 W |

| Power Connectors | None | 1x 16-pin |

| Suggested PSU | None | 750 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x16 | PCIe 5.0 x16 |

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

| Slot Width | Not specified | Dual-slot |

| Dimensions | Not specified | 304 mm x 137 mm x 40 mm |

| Production Status | End-of-life | Active |

| Release Date | 2021-04-11 | 2025-01-29 |

| Launch MSRP | Not available | 999 USD |

Where Each One Wins

The GeForce RTX 5080 wins in raw performance across every measured dimension. Its FP32 throughput of 56.28 TFLOPS is roughly 5.6 times that of the A3000 Mobile, and its texture rate of 879.3 GTexel/s dwarfs the 157.4 GTexel/s of the mobile chip. The memory subsystem is similarly lopsided: 960.0 GB/s versus 264.0 GB/s favors the RTX 5080 for bandwidth-intensive tasks like high-resolution textures, large datasets, and compute workloads. Its 84 RT cores and 336 tensor cores provide substantial acceleration for ray-traced rendering and AI inference, areas where the A3000 Mobile's 32 and 128 cores respectively are far less capable.

The RTX A3000 Mobile wins on efficiency and form factor. Its 70 W TDP is a fraction of the RTX 5080's 360 W, and it requires no external power connectors, making it ideal for portable workstations where battery life and thermals are critical. Its 91st percentile ranking versus the RTX 5080's 87th percentile suggests that within its peer group, the A3000 Mobile holds up well, outperforming rivals like the Quadro P6000 and Radeon Pro WX 8200 by small margins. The RTX 5080, despite its dominance in head-to-head tests, sits closer to competitors like the Radeon RX 9070 GRE, which leads it by 2.2%.

In practical terms, the RTX 5080 suits desktop workstations, high-end gaming, and professional rendering where power is available and performance is paramount. The A3000 Mobile fits mobile workstations, field deployments, and power-constrained environments where the ability to run on 70 W without external power is a decisive advantage. The choice hinges on whether the user prioritizes maximum throughput or maximum portability.