NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile occupies a specific tier in the mobile graphics landscape, delivering a balanced feature set and performance that sits just above the median of all GPUs. Benchmark data positions it at the 52nd percentile, indicating a middle-of-the-pack standing that is competent for its intended segment, yet not a performance leader. Its average benchmark score of 12940 places it in a tightly contested cluster, where rival products are separated by less than one percent, making the choice between them a matter of specific workload strengths rather than overwhelming generational leaps.

Memory Subsystem

The memory configuration of the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile is a defining characteristic, featuring 4 GB of GDDR6 memory. This capacity is paired with a 128-bit memory bus, which together produce a memory bandwidth of 192.0 GB/s. This is a modest bandwidth figure, and it directly influences performance at higher resolutions and with demanding texture loads. At 1080p, the 4 GB frame buffer is generally sufficient for many titles, but benchmark results indicate that the card is not optimized for 1440p or 4K gaming, where the capacity and bandwidth become limiting factors. The data shows a significant drop in performance expectations at higher resolutions, as the memory subsystem struggles to feed the GPU's 2560 shading units efficiently. For high-resolution workloads, the 4 GB capacity can lead to texture thrashing and reduced frame rates, making this a component best suited for 1080p scenarios where its bandwidth is adequate for the data being processed.

Who Should Consider It

Based on the benchmark scores, the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile is a viable option for gamers targeting 1080p resolution with medium to high settings in most modern titles. The card’s PassMark G3D score of 10093 indicates a baseline of DirectX 11 and 12 performance that can handle esports titles and older AAA games with ease. Users who prioritize high frame rates in competitive shooters will find the performance satisfactory. However, for users expecting to run the latest AAA releases at maximum settings, the data suggests that compromises will be necessary. The 4 GB VRAM is a particular bottleneck for texture-heavy games, and the 192.0 GB/s bandwidth will hinder performance in titles that demand high memory throughput. This is not a card for 1440p or 4K gaming, nor is it intended for professional content creation with large scenes. It is best suited for a mainstream laptop audience seeking a dedicated GPU for standard 1080p gaming and general multimedia tasks, where its performance is adequate without being exceptional.

Power and Cooling

The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile is a power-efficient part, with a TDP of 75 W. This low thermal design power makes it suitable for thinner and lighter laptops, as it does not require an elaborate cooling solution. The power connector is listed as "None," which indicates that the GPU draws all its power from the motherboard, a common configuration for mobile GPUs with this power envelope. The slot width is designated as "IGP," which is unusual for a discrete GPU and suggests it may be integrated into the motherboard package in some designs. The absence of a suggested PSU rating is consistent with its mobile nature, where power delivery is handled by the laptop's internal power supply unit. The 8 nm process node and 75 W TDP mean that thermal management is less of a concern than with higher-tier mobile GPUs, allowing for quieter operation in portable form factors. The data shows no need for external power connections, simplifying laptop design and reducing overall system weight.

How It Compares

The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile sits in a fiercely competitive performance bracket, with its nearest rivals all scoring within a single percentage point of its average. This indicates that benchmark results will vary depending on the specific workload and driver optimizations.

NVIDIA Quadro P5000: The Quadro P5000 is a professional-grade card that scores an average of 12880, which is 0.5% lower than the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile. This near-identical performance in synthetic benchmarks suggests that the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile offers comparable compute power, but the Quadro's optimized drivers for professional applications may yield different real-world results in CAD or DCC software.

AMD Radeon 740M: The Radeon 740M is an integrated graphics solution that achieves an average score of 12870, just 0.5% behind the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile. This is a notable data point, as it shows that modern integrated graphics can nearly match this dedicated mobile GPU in overall benchmark averages, though the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile retains advantages in feature support and sustained performance.

AMD FirePro M6100: The FirePro M6100 is an older professional mobile GPU with an average score of 13012, which is 0.6% higher than the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile. This result indicates that the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile is marginally slower in aggregate benchmarks, but the newer architecture and feature set of the NVIDIA card, such as hardware ray tracing, provide modern capabilities that the older AMD part lacks.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590: The GTX 590 is a legacy desktop dual-GPU card that scores an average of 12830, which is 0.9% lower than the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile. Despite its age, the GTX 590's raw compute power remains competitive, but the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile benefits from a more modern architecture with support for newer APIs and features that the GTX 590 cannot utilize.

Benchmark Performance

The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile's overall average benchmark score of 12940 places it in a position where performance differences against its rivals are marginal. The largest delta is a 0.9% advantage over the GTX 590, while the smallest is a 0.5% edge over both the Quadro P5000 and Radeon 740M. However, these aggregate scores mask the card's specific strengths and weaknesses. In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, the card scores 469, which is a low absolute number but indicates a baseline for modern DirectX 12 workloads. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 57915 is significantly higher than the Vulkan score of 55812, suggesting that the card performs better in compute-oriented tasks than in pure graphics rendering via Vulkan. The PassMark suite shows a varied picture: DirectX 9 score is 120, DirectX 10 is 60, DirectX 11 is 76, and DirectX 12 is 49. This indicates that the card is strongest in legacy DirectX 9 workloads and weakest in DirectX 12, which is a critical consideration for modern gaming. The GPU compute score of 4305 in PassMark suggests modest compute performance, aligning with its mid-range positioning. The pixel rate of 33.12 GPixel/s and texture rate of 82.80 GTexel/s provide a theoretical ceiling that is consistent with its 1080p focus. Overall, the data shows a card that is competitive with its immediate rivals but does not offer a decisive performance advantage in any single metric, making it a balanced but unremarkable performer.

FAQ

Q: What is the memory bandwidth of the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile?

A: The memory bandwidth is 192.0 GB/s, derived from a 128-bit memory bus and 4 GB of GDDR6 memory running at 12 Gbps effective.

Q: How does the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile compare to the AMD Radeon 740M?

A: The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile has an average benchmark score of 12940, which is 0.5% higher than the Radeon 740M's score of 12870. This indicates a slight performance edge, though both are closely matched.

Q: What is the thermal design power (TDP) of this GPU?

A: The TDP is 75 W, and it does not require any external power connectors, drawing all power from the motherboard.

Q: Does the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile support DirectX 12 Ultimate?

A: Yes, it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), along with OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4.

Q: What is the transistor count and die size of the GA106 chip?

A: The GA106 chip contains 12,000 million transistors on a die size of 276 mm², manufactured on an 8 nm process at Samsung.

Q: What is the pixel fill rate of the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile?

A: The pixel fill rate is 33.12 GPixel/s, and the texture fill rate is 82.80 GTexel/s.

Ray Tracing and Feature Set

The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile is built on the Ampere architecture, which includes dedicated hardware for ray tracing and AI acceleration. It features 20 RT cores and 80 tensor cores, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing and DLSS capabilities. The presence of these cores is a significant advantage over older competitors like the GTX 590 and FirePro M6100, which lack such dedicated hardware. The API support includes DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, ensuring compatibility with modern gaming and professional applications. The FP32 performance is rated at 5.299 TFLOPS, with a 1:1 FP16 ratio, indicating that the card does not have a dedicated FP16 path but can handle compute tasks effectively. The shading units number 2560, with 80 TMUs and 32 ROPs, which are modest figures for a 30-series card but appropriate for its power envelope. The pixel rate of 33.12 GPixel/s and texture rate of 82.80 GTexel/s are consistent with its mid-range status. The display outputs are listed as "Portable Device Dependent," meaning they vary by laptop manufacturer, and the bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x16. The card is now end-of-life, with a release date of May 10, 2021, and it succeeds the GeForce 20 Mobile series. The combination of RT and tensor cores makes this a feature-rich option for its performance class, providing access to technologies that are absent in its closest rivals, even if the raw performance is not always superior.