NVIDIA N1X 40SM vs NVIDIA RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher boost clock?

A: The NVIDIA N1X 40SM boosts to 2346 MHz, while the NVIDIA RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation boosts to 1545 MHz. The N1X 40SM also has a lower base clock at 741 MHz versus 1110 MHz on the RTX 3500 Mobile.

Q: How do the memory configurations differ?

A: The N1X 40SM uses 128 GB of LPDDR5X on a 256-bit bus, delivering 273.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 3500 Mobile uses 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, delivering 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 3500 Mobile has substantially higher memory bandwidth despite the smaller capacity.

Q: What is the process node and die size for each chip?

A: Both GPUs are fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. The N1X 40SM's GB20B chip measures 382 mm², while the RTX 3500 Mobile's AD104 chip measures 294 mm². The RTX 3500 Mobile has a transistor count of 35,800 million and a density of 121.8M per mm², whereas the N1X 40SM's transistor count is listed as unknown.

Q: Which GPU supports newer PCIe and API standards?

A: The N1X 40SM uses PCIe 5.0 x16 and lists DirectX, OpenGL, and Vulkan as N/A. The RTX 3500 Mobile uses PCIe 4.0 x16 and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Q: What are the pixel and texture rates for each GPU?

A: The N1X 40SM achieves 93.84 GPixel/s and 750.7 GTexel/s. The RTX 3500 Mobile achieves 98.88 GPixel/s and 247.2 GTexel/s. The RTX 3500 Mobile leads in pixel rate, while the N1X 40SM leads by a wide margin in texture rate.

Q: What is the power connector and slot configuration?

A: Both GPUs are IGP (integrated graphics processor) designs with no power connectors. The N1X 40SM has a TDP listed as unknown, while the RTX 3500 Mobile has a TDP of 100 W.

Architecture Differences

The NVIDIA N1X 40SM is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture using the GB20B chip, and it belongs to the Blackwell IGP (N1x) generation. The NVIDIA RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation uses the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD104 chip, and it belongs to the Ada-MW generation. Both are manufactured by TSMC on a 5 nm process, but their internal designs diverge significantly.

The N1X 40SM has a die size of 382 mm², which is larger than the RTX 3500 Mobile's 294 mm². The RTX 3500 Mobile's transistor count is recorded at 35,800 million with a density of 121.8M per mm², while the N1X 40SM's transistor count is unknown. This difference in die size and transistor density suggests different design priorities, with the N1X 40SM dedicating more area to specific functional blocks.

Shader configuration is identical in shading units and tensor cores: both GPUs have 5120 shading units and 160 tensor cores. The N1X 40SM also has 320 texture mapping units (TMUs) and 40 render output units (ROPs). The RTX 3500 Mobile has 160 TMUs and 64 ROPs. This means the N1X 40SM has twice the TMU count, while the RTX 3500 Mobile has a higher ROP count. Both GPUs have 40 ray tracing cores.

Clock behavior differs sharply. The N1X 40SM has a base clock of 741 MHz and a boost clock of 2346 MHz, giving it a much wider boost range. The RTX 3500 Mobile has a base clock of 1110 MHz and a boost clock of 1545 MHz. The N1X 40SM's memory runs at 1067 MHz (8.5 Gbps effective), while the RTX 3500 Mobile's memory runs at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective).

The bus interface also differs: the N1X 40SM uses PCIe 5.0 x16, while the RTX 3500 Mobile uses PCIe 4.0 x16. Display outputs differ as well: the N1X 40SM provides 1x HDMI, while the RTX 3500 Mobile's display outputs are listed as portable device dependent. The N1X 40SM lists DirectX, OpenGL, and Vulkan as N/A, whereas the RTX 3500 Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Release timing differs by about three years. The RTX 3500 Mobile was released on 2023-03-20, and the N1X 40SM was released on 2026-05-31. The RTX 3500 Mobile has a predecessor listed as Ampere-MW and a successor as Blackwell-MW, while the N1X 40SM has no predecessor or successor listed.

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data shows a clear division of strengths. The NVIDIA N1X 40SM wins in raw compute throughput, particularly in operations that rely on texture processing and FP32 arithmetic. Its FP32 performance is 24.02 TFLOPS, which is 51.8% higher than the RTX 3500 Mobile's 15.82 TFLOPS. Its texture rate of 750.7 GTexel/s is more than three times the RTX 3500 Mobile's 247.2 GTexel/s. These figures indicate that the N1X 40SM is better suited for workloads that are heavily texture-bound, such as certain rendering pipelines or compute tasks that use texture units for data manipulation.

The RTX 3500 Mobile wins in memory bandwidth and pixel throughput. Its memory bandwidth of 432.0 GB/s is 58.1% higher than the N1X 40SM's 273.2 GB/s. Its pixel rate of 98.88 GPixel/s edges out the N1X 40SM's 93.84 GPixel/s. The higher bandwidth means the RTX 3500 Mobile can feed data to the shader cores faster, which benefits workloads that are memory-bandwidth limited, such as large data transfers, frame buffer operations, or scenarios with high resolution and high color depth.

The RTX 3500 Mobile also wins on API compatibility. It supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, while the N1X 40SM lists these APIs as N/A. For software that requires these API standards, the RTX 3500 Mobile is the only one of the two that can run them. The RTX 3500 Mobile also has a defined TDP of 100 W, whereas the N1X 40SM's TDP is unknown, which makes the RTX 3500 Mobile the better-documented option for power-constrained designs.

The N1X 40SM, with its larger memory pool of 128 GB versus 12 GB, wins in capacity-sensitive applications. Workloads that need to hold very large datasets in local memory, such as certain AI inference or simulation tasks, have a significant capacity advantage with the N1X 40SM. The memory type also differs, with LPDDR5X on the N1X 40SM versus GDDR6 on the RTX 3500 Mobile.

In terms of connectivity, the N1X 40SM has a newer PCIe 5.0 x16 interface, which doubles the theoretical link speed of the RTX 3500 Mobile's PCIe 4.0 x16. This favors the N1X 40SM for data transfers between the GPU and system memory or other PCIe devices.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across several key specification fields. The process node is the same at 5 nm and the foundry is TSMC for both. The N1X 40SM uses the GB20B chip, and the RTX 3500 Mobile uses the AD104 chip. The N1X 40SM's die size is 382 mm², while the RTX 3500 Mobile's die size is 294 mm². The RTX 3500 Mobile has a listed transistor count of 35,800 million and a density of 121.8M per mm²; the N1X 40SM's transistor count and density are not listed.

Clock speeds differ notably. The N1X 40SM's base clock is 741 MHz versus 1110 MHz on the RTX 3500 Mobile. The boost clock is 2346 MHz on the N1X 40SM versus 1545 MHz on the RTX 3500 Mobile. Memory clocks are 1067 MHz (8.5 Gbps effective) on the N1X 40SM and 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) on the RTX 3500 Mobile.

Memory configuration is a major divergence. The N1X 40SM has 128 GB of LPDDR5X on a 256-bit bus, while the RTX 3500 Mobile has 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus. Bandwidth is 273.2 GB/s for the N1X 40SM and 432.0 GB/s for the RTX 3500 Mobile.

Shading units and tensor cores are equal at 5120 and 160 respectively, and both have 40 RT cores. TMU counts differ: 320 on the N1X 40SM versus 160 on the RTX 3500 Mobile. ROP counts are 40 on the N1X 40SM and 64 on the RTX 3500 Mobile.

Pixel rate is 93.84 GPixel/s on the N1X 40SM and 98.88 GPixel/s on the RTX 3500 Mobile. Texture rate is 750.7 GTexel/s versus 247.2 GTexel/s. FP32 and FP16 are both 24.02 TFLOPS on the N1X 40SM, and both 15.82 TFLOPS on the RTX 3500 Mobile.

The TDP is unknown for the N1X 40SM and 100 W for the RTX 3500 Mobile. Both have IGP slot width and no power connectors. The bus interface is PCIe 5.0 x16 on the N1X 40SM and PCIe 4.0 x16 on the RTX 3500 Mobile. Display outputs are 1x HDMI on the N1X 40SM and portable device dependent on the RTX 3500 Mobile.

API support differs entirely. The N1X 40SM lists DirectX, OpenGL, and Vulkan as N/A. The RTX 3500 Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Release dates are 2026-05-31 for the N1X 40SM and 2023-03-20 for the RTX 3500 Mobile. Production status is active for both.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows no direct head-to-head benchmark entries, but the specification-level compute metrics provide a basis for comparison. The largest win for the NVIDIA N1X 40SM is in texture rate. At 750.7 GTexel/s, it is 203.6% faster than the RTX 3500 Mobile's 247.2 GTexel/s. This is a decisive margin that reflects the N1X 40SM's doubled TMU count (320 versus 160) combined with its higher boost clock.

The second major win for the N1X 40SM is in FP32 compute. Its 24.02 TFLOPS is 51.8% higher than the RTX 3500 Mobile's 15.82 TFLOPS. The same margin applies to FP16, since both GPUs have a 1:1 FP32 to FP16 ratio. This positional advantage in raw arithmetic throughput suggests that the N1X 40SM will complete compute-heavy shader workloads faster, all other factors being equal.

The RTX 3500 Mobile's largest win is in memory bandwidth. Its 432.0 GB/s is 58.1% higher than the N1X 40SM's 273.2 GB/s. This comes from the GDDR6 memory clocked at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) on a 192-bit bus, versus LPDDR5X at 1067 MHz (8.5 Gbps effective) on a 256-bit bus. The effective data rate per pin is much higher on the RTX 3500 Mobile, which compensates for its narrower bus.

The RTX 3500 Mobile also wins in pixel rate, though by a smaller margin. Its 98.88 GPixel/s is 5.4% higher than the N1X 40SM's 93.84 GPixel/s. This is consistent with the RTX 3500 Mobile's higher ROP count (64 versus 40), even though its boost clock is lower.

Clock behavior favors the N1X 40SM in boost terms. The N1X 40SM's 2346 MHz boost is 51.9% higher than the RTX 3500 Mobile's 1545 MHz. However, the RTX 3500 Mobile has a higher base clock at 1110 MHz versus 741 MHz, a 49.8% advantage at the low end. This suggests the RTX 3500 Mobile maintains a higher floor, while the N1X 40SM has a much higher ceiling.

Memory capacity is a non-compute metric but represents a categorical difference: 128 GB on the N1X 40SM versus 12 GB on the RTX 3500 Mobile, a 10.7x disparity. For workloads that fit within the larger pool, the N1X 40SM avoids data spillover that would otherwise go to system memory.

The half-rate efficiency also differs. The N1X 40SM delivers 24.02 TFLOPS from a chip with unknown power draw, while the RTX 3500 Mobile delivers 15.82 TFLOPS within a 100 W TDP. The data does not include a power efficiency comparison, but the RTX 3500 Mobile has a documented power envelope, whereas the N1X 40SM does not.

API support is a binary differentiator. The RTX 3500 Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The N1X 40SM lists all three as N/A. For any application that requires one of these APIs, the RTX 3500 Mobile is the only viable option in this pairing. This is a functional win that overrides raw compute advantages in software compatibility.

The bus interface also differs. PCIe 5.0 x16 on the N1X 40SM provides double the link bandwidth of PCIe 4.0 x16 on the RTX 3500 Mobile, which matters for data movement between the GPU and host. The RTX 3500 Mobile's predecessor is Ampere-MW, and its successor is Blackwell-MW, indicating a clear generational lineage. The N1X 40SM has no predecessor or successor listed, marking it as an isolated design in the database.