GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile vs GTX 280

Aggregate performance score

We've compared GeForce GTX 280 with GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile, including specs and performance data.

GTX 280
2008
1 GB GDDR3, 236 Watt
3.33

RTX 3060 Mobile outperforms GTX 280 by a whopping 878% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.

Place in the ranking738168
Place by popularitynot in top-10069
Cost-effectiveness evaluation0.12no data
Power efficiency0.9727.91
ArchitectureTesla 2.0 (2007−2013)Ampere (2020−2024)
GPU code nameGT200GA106
Market segmentDesktopLaptop
Release date16 June 2008 (16 years ago)12 January 2021 (3 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$649 no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

no data

Detailed specifications

General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores2403840
Core clock speed602 MHz900 MHz
Boost clock speedno data1425 MHz
Number of transistors1,400 million13,250 million
Manufacturing process technology65 nm8 nm
Power consumption (TDP)236 Watt80 Watt
Maximum GPU temperature105 °Cno data
Texture fill rate48.16171.0
Floating-point processing power0.6221 TFLOPS10.94 TFLOPS
ROPs3248
TMUs80120
Tensor Coresno data120
Ray Tracing Coresno data30

Form factor & compatibility

Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).

Laptop sizeno datalarge
InterfacePCIe 2.0 x16PCIe 4.0 x16
Length267 mmno data
Height4.376" (111 mm) (11.1 cm)no data
Width2-slotno data
Supplementary power connectors1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pinno data
SLI options+-

VRAM capacity and type

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory typeGDDR3GDDR6
Maximum RAM amount1 GB6 GB
Memory bus width512 Bit192 Bit
Memory clock speed1107 MHz1750 MHz
Memory bandwidth141.7 GB/s336.0 GB/s
Shared memory--

Connectivity and outputs

Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.

Display ConnectorsHDTVDual Link DVINo outputs
Multi monitor support+no data
Maximum VGA resolution2048x1536no data
Audio input for HDMIS/PDIFno data

API compatibility

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX11.1 (10_0)12 Ultimate (12_2)
Shader Model4.06.5
OpenGL2.14.6
OpenCL1.12.0
VulkanN/A1.2
CUDA+8.6

Synthetic benchmark performance

Non-gaming benchmark results comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.


Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

GTX 280 3.33
RTX 3060 Mobile 32.57
+878%

Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.

GTX 280 1285
RTX 3060 Mobile 12550
+877%

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

Average FPS across all PC games

Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:

Full HD10−12
−880%
98
+880%
1440p6−7
−1000%
66
+1000%
4K4−5
−900%
40
+900%

Cost per frame, $

1080p64.90no data
1440p108.17no data
4K162.25no data

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 103
+0%
103
+0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 70−75
+0%
70−75
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 76
+0%
76
+0%
Battlefield 5 100−110
+0%
100−110
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 65−70
+0%
65−70
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 86
+0%
86
+0%
Far Cry 5 70−75
+0%
70−75
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 80−85
+0%
80−85
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 170−180
+0%
170−180
+0%
Hitman 3 106
+0%
106
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 140−150
+0%
140−150
+0%
Metro Exodus 164
+0%
164
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 80−85
+0%
80−85
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 70−75
+0%
70−75
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 64
+0%
64
+0%
Battlefield 5 100−110
+0%
100−110
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 65−70
+0%
65−70
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 69
+0%
69
+0%
Far Cry 5 70−75
+0%
70−75
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 80−85
+0%
80−85
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 170−180
+0%
170−180
+0%
Hitman 3 108
+0%
108
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 189
+0%
189
+0%
Metro Exodus 129
+0%
129
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 102
+0%
102
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 158
+0%
158
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 65−70
+0%
65−70
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 158
+0%
158
+0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 70−75
+0%
70−75
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 56
+0%
56
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 65−70
+0%
65−70
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 62
+0%
62
+0%
Far Cry 5 70−75
+0%
70−75
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 170−180
+0%
170−180
+0%
Hitman 3 96
+0%
96
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 120
+0%
120
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 140
+0%
140
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 78
+0%
78
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 46
+0%
46
+0%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 96
+0%
96
+0%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5 60−65
+0%
60−65
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 48
+0%
48
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 39
+0%
39
+0%
Far Cry 5 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 180−190
+0%
180−190
+0%
Hitman 3 64
+0%
64
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 85
+0%
85
+0%
Metro Exodus 85
+0%
85
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 101
+0%
101
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 116
+0%
116
+0%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 80
+0%
80
+0%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5 30−35
+0%
30−35
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Hitman 3 41
+0%
41
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 160−170
+0%
160−170
+0%
Metro Exodus 60
+0%
60
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 55
+0%
55
+0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 11
+0%
11
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 20−22
+0%
20−22
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 15
+0%
15
+0%
Far Cry 5 18−20
+0%
18−20
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 60
+0%
60
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 19
+0%
19
+0%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 44
+0%
44
+0%

This is how GTX 280 and RTX 3060 Mobile compete in popular games:

  • RTX 3060 Mobile is 880% faster in 1080p
  • RTX 3060 Mobile is 1000% faster in 1440p
  • RTX 3060 Mobile is 900% faster in 4K

All in all, in popular games:

  • there's a draw in 72 tests (100%)

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 3.33 32.57
Recency 16 June 2008 12 January 2021
Maximum RAM amount 1 GB 6 GB
Chip lithography 65 nm 8 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 236 Watt 80 Watt

RTX 3060 Mobile has a 878.1% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 12 years, a 500% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 712.5% more advanced lithography process, and 195% lower power consumption.

The GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTX 280 in performance tests.

Be aware that GeForce GTX 280 is a desktop card while GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile is a notebook one.


Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

Vote for your favorite

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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280
GeForce GTX 280
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile
GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile

Comparisons with similar GPUs

We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.

Community ratings

Here you can see the user ratings of the compared graphics cards, as well as rate them yourself.


3.5 107 votes

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4.1 5024 votes

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Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about this comparison, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.