GeForce RTX 3050 8 GB vs GTX 870M

Place in the ranking	488	166
Place by popularity	not in top-100	11
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	no data	68.22
Power efficiency	6.20	17.37
Architecture	Kepler (2012−2018)	Ampere (2020−2024)
GPU code name	GK104	GA106
Market segment	Laptop	Desktop
Release date	12 March 2014 (10 years ago)	4 January 2022 (3 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	no data	$249

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 cores	1344	2560
Core clock speed	941 MHz	1552 MHz
Boost clock speed	967 MHz	1777 MHz
Number of transistors	3,540 million	12,000 million
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	8 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	100 Watt	130 Watt
Texture fill rate	108.3	142.2
Floating-point processing power	2.599 TFLOPS	9.098 TFLOPS
ROPs	24	32
TMUs	112	80
Tensor Cores	no data	80
Ray Tracing Cores	no data	20

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 size	large	no data
Bus support	PCI Express 2.0, PCI Express 3.0	no data
Interface	MXM-B (3.0)	PCIe 4.0 x8
Length	no data	242 mm
Width	no data	2-slot
Supplementary power connectors	None	1x 8-pin
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 type	GDDR5	GDDR6
Maximum RAM amount	3 GB	8 GB
Standard memory configuration	GDDR5	no data
Memory bus width	192 Bit	128 Bit
Memory clock speed	Up to 2500 MHz	1750 MHz
Memory bandwidth	120.0 GB/s	224.0 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 Connectors	No outputs	1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a
eDP 1.2 signal support	Up to 3840x2160	no data
LVDS signal support	Up to 1920x1200	no data
VGA аnalog display support	Up to 2048x1536	no data
DisplayPort Multimode (DP++) support	Up to 3840x2160	no data
HDMI	+	+
HDCP content protection	+	-
7.1 channel HD audio on HDMI	+	-
TrueHD and DTS-HD audio bitstreaming	+	-

Supported technologies

Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.

H.264, VC1, MPEG2 1080p video decoder	+	-
Optimus	+	-

API compatibility

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

DirectX	12 (11_0)	12 Ultimate (12_2)
Shader Model	5.1	6.6
OpenGL	4.5	4.6
OpenCL	1.1	3.0
Vulkan	1.1.126	1.3
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 870M 9.01

RTX 3050 8 GB 32.81
+264%

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 870M 3462

RTX 3050 8 GB 12612
+264%

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 HD	45 −256%	160−170 +256%
4K	20 −250%	70−75 +250%

Cost per frame, $

1080p	no data	1.56
4K	no data	3.56

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2	16−18 −253%	60−65 +253%
Cyberpunk 2077	18−20 −261%	65−70 +261%
Elden Ring	24−27 −260%	90−95 +260%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5	27−30 −245%	100−105 +245%
Counter-Strike 2	16−18 −253%	60−65 +253%
Cyberpunk 2077	18−20 −261%	65−70 +261%
Forza Horizon 4	35−40 −261%	130−140 +261%
Metro Exodus	24−27 −254%	85−90 +254%
Red Dead Redemption 2	24−27 −254%	85−90 +254%
Valorant	30−35 −244%	110−120 +244%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5	27−30 −245%	100−105 +245%
Counter-Strike 2	16−18 −253%	60−65 +253%
Cyberpunk 2077	18−20 −261%	65−70 +261%
Dota 2	24 −254%	85−90 +254%
Elden Ring	24−27 −260%	90−95 +260%
Far Cry 5	35−40 −242%	130−140 +242%
Fortnite	50−55 −258%	190−200 +258%
Forza Horizon 4	35−40 −261%	130−140 +261%
Grand Theft Auto V	36 −261%	130−140 +261%
Metro Exodus	24−27 −254%	85−90 +254%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	70−75 −252%	250−260 +252%
Red Dead Redemption 2	24−27 −254%	85−90 +254%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	31 −255%	110−120 +255%
Valorant	30−35 −244%	110−120 +244%
World of Tanks	130−140 −238%	450−500 +238%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	27−30 −245%	100−105 +245%
Counter-Strike 2	16−18 −253%	60−65 +253%
Cyberpunk 2077	18−20 −261%	65−70 +261%
Dota 2	30−35 −244%	110−120 +244%
Far Cry 5	35−40 −242%	130−140 +242%
Forza Horizon 4	35−40 −261%	130−140 +261%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	70−75 −252%	250−260 +252%
Valorant	30−35 −244%	110−120 +244%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2	10−12 −264%	40−45 +264%
Elden Ring	12−14 −233%	40−45 +233%
Grand Theft Auto V	10−12 −264%	40−45 +264%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	40−45 −264%	160−170 +264%
Red Dead Redemption 2	7−8 −243%	24−27 +243%
World of Tanks	65−70 −254%	230−240 +254%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	16−18 −253%	60−65 +253%
Counter-Strike 2	10−11 −250%	35−40 +250%
Cyberpunk 2077	7−8 −243%	24−27 +243%
Far Cry 5	18−20 −242%	65−70 +242%
Forza Horizon 4	18−20 −242%	65−70 +242%
Metro Exodus	16−18 −244%	55−60 +244%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	10−12 −264%	40−45 +264%
Valorant	21−24 −264%	80−85 +264%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2	3−4 −233%	10−11 +233%
Dota 2	18−20 −242%	65−70 +242%
Elden Ring	5−6 −260%	18−20 +260%
Grand Theft Auto V	18−20 −242%	65−70 +242%
Metro Exodus	4−5 −250%	14−16 +250%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	24−27 −246%	90−95 +246%
Red Dead Redemption 2	6−7 −250%	21−24 +250%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	18−20 −242%	65−70 +242%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	8−9 −238%	27−30 +238%
Counter-Strike 2	3−4 −233%	10−11 +233%
Cyberpunk 2077	2−3 −250%	7−8 +250%
Dota 2	18−20 −242%	65−70 +242%
Far Cry 5	10−12 −264%	40−45 +264%
Fortnite	9−10 −233%	30−33 +233%
Forza Horizon 4	10−12 −264%	40−45 +264%
Valorant	9−10 −233%	30−33 +233%

This is how GTX 870M and RTX 3050 8 GB compete in popular games:

RTX 3050 8 GB is 256% faster in 1080p
RTX 3050 8 GB is 250% faster in 4K

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	9.01	32.81
Recency	12 March 2014	4 January 2022
Maximum RAM amount	3 GB	8 GB
Chip lithography	28 nm	8 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	100 Watt	130 Watt

GTX 870M has 30% lower power consumption.

RTX 3050 8 GB, on the other hand, has a 264.2% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 7 years, a 166.7% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 250% more advanced lithography process.

The GeForce RTX 3050 8 GB is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTX 870M in performance tests.

Be aware that GeForce GTX 870M is a notebook card while GeForce RTX 3050 8 GB is a desktop one.

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