GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile vs GTX 870M

Place in the ranking	482	232
Place by popularity	not in top-100	45
Power efficiency	6.19	21.83
Architecture	Kepler (2012−2018)	Ampere (2020−2024)
GPU code name	GK104	GA107
Market segment	Laptop	Laptop
Release date	12 March 2014 (10 years ago)	11 May 2021 (3 years ago)

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	2048
Core clock speed	941 MHz	712 MHz
Boost clock speed	967 MHz	1057 MHz
Number of transistors	3,540 million	no data
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	8 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	100 Watt	75 Watt
Texture fill rate	108.3	67.65
Floating-point processing power	2.599 TFLOPS	4.329 TFLOPS
ROPs	24	40
TMUs	112	64
Tensor Cores	no data	64
Ray Tracing Cores	no data	16

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	large
Bus support	PCI Express 2.0, PCI Express 3.0	no data
Interface	MXM-B (3.0)	PCIe 4.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors	None	no 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 type	GDDR5	GDDR6
Maximum RAM amount	3 GB	4 GB
Standard memory configuration	GDDR5	no data
Memory bus width	192 Bit	128 Bit
Memory clock speed	Up to 2500 MHz	1500 MHz
Memory bandwidth	120.0 GB/s	192.0 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	No outputs
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	1.2
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 870M 8.94

RTX 3050 Mobile 23.64
+164%

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 3449

RTX 3050 Mobile 9122
+164%

3DMark 11 Performance GPU

3DMark 11 is an obsolete DirectX 11 benchmark by Futuremark. It used four tests based on two scenes, one being few submarines exploring the submerged wreck of a sunken ship, the other is an abandoned temple deep in the jungle. All the tests are heavy with volumetric lighting and tessellation, and despite being done in 1280x720 resolution, are relatively taxing. Discontinued in January 2020, 3DMark 11 is now superseded by Time Spy.

GTX 870M 7156

RTX 3050 Mobile 21358
+198%

3DMark Vantage Performance

3DMark Vantage is an outdated DirectX 10 benchmark using 1280x1024 screen resolution. It taxes the graphics card with two scenes, one depicting a girl escaping some militarized base located within a sea cave, the other displaying a space fleet attack on a defenseless planet. It was discontinued in April 2017, and Time Spy benchmark is now recommended to be used instead.

GTX 870M 24035

RTX 3050 Mobile 77234
+221%

3DMark Fire Strike Graphics

Fire Strike is a DirectX 11 benchmark for gaming PCs. It features two separate tests displaying a fight between a humanoid and a fiery creature made of lava. Using 1920x1080 resolution, Fire Strike shows off some realistic graphics and is quite taxing on hardware.

GTX 870M 4694

RTX 3050 Mobile 15685
+234%

3DMark Cloud Gate GPU

Cloud Gate is an outdated DirectX 11 feature level 10 benchmark that was used for home PCs and basic notebooks. It displays a few scenes of some weird space teleportation device launching spaceships into unknown, using fixed resolution of 1280x720. Just like Ice Storm benchmark, it has been discontinued in January 2020 and replaced by 3DMark Night Raid.

GTX 870M 31322

RTX 3050 Mobile 90224
+188%

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	44 −111%	93 +111%
1440p	18−20 −189%	52 +189%
4K	20 −60%	32 +60%

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077

14−16

−657%

106
+657%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	21−24 −136%	50−55 +136%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	12−14 −477%	75 +477%
Battlefield 5	27−30 −189%	75−80 +189%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	18−20 −167%	45−50 +167%
Cyberpunk 2077	14−16 −493%	83 +493%
Far Cry 5	20−22 −175%	55−60 +175%
Far Cry New Dawn	24−27 −148%	60−65 +148%
Forza Horizon 4	60−65 −133%	140−150 +133%
Hitman 3	16−18 −176%	45−50 +176%
Horizon Zero Dawn	50−55 −120%	110−120 +120%
Metro Exodus	27−30 −189%	80−85 +189%
Red Dead Redemption 2	24−27 −148%	60−65 +148%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	27−30 −176%	80−85 +176%
Watch Dogs: Legion	60−65 −66.7%	100−105 +66.7%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	21−24 −136%	50−55 +136%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	12−14 −377%	62 +377%
Battlefield 5	27−30 −189%	75−80 +189%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	18−20 −167%	45−50 +167%
Cyberpunk 2077	14−16 −336%	61 +336%
Far Cry 5	20−22 −175%	55−60 +175%
Far Cry New Dawn	24−27 −148%	60−65 +148%
Forza Horizon 4	60−65 −133%	140−150 +133%
Hitman 3	16−18 −176%	45−50 +176%
Horizon Zero Dawn	50−55 −120%	110−120 +120%
Metro Exodus	27−30 −189%	80−85 +189%
Red Dead Redemption 2	24−27 −148%	60−65 +148%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	27−30 −324%	123 +324%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	88 +72.5%	50−55 −72.5%
Watch Dogs: Legion	60−65 −66.7%	100−105 +66.7%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	21−24 −136%	50−55 +136%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	12−14 −308%	53 +308%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	18−20 −167%	45−50 +167%
Cyberpunk 2077	14−16 −336%	61 +336%
Far Cry 5	20−22 −175%	55−60 +175%
Forza Horizon 4	60−65 −133%	140−150 +133%
Hitman 3	16−18 −176%	45−50 +176%
Horizon Zero Dawn	50−55 −114%	107 +114%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	27−30 −266%	106 +266%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	15 −333%	65 +333%
Watch Dogs: Legion	60−65 −18.3%	71 +18.3%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

24−27

−148%

60−65
+148%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5	16−18 −165%	45−50 +165%
Far Cry New Dawn	14−16 −157%	35−40 +157%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	9−10 −167%	24−27 +167%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	5−6 −700%	40 +700%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	9−10 −200%	27−30 +200%
Cyberpunk 2077	4−5 −650%	30 +650%
Far Cry 5	10−11 −170%	27−30 +170%
Forza Horizon 4	35−40 −262%	130−140 +262%
Hitman 3	12−14 −133%	27−30 +133%
Horizon Zero Dawn	18−20 −311%	78 +311%
Metro Exodus	12−14 −475%	69 +475%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	10−11 −680%	78 +680%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	8−9 −263%	27−30 +263%
Watch Dogs: Legion	55−60 −137%	130−140 +137%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

14−16

−160%

35−40
+160%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5	8−9 −188%	21−24 +188%
Far Cry New Dawn	6−7 −200%	18−20 +200%
Hitman 3	5−6 −580%	34 +580%
Horizon Zero Dawn	35−40 −239%	120−130 +239%
Metro Exodus	7−8 −271%	24−27 +271%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	6−7 −633%	44 +633%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	5−6 −180%	14−16 +180%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	4−5 −500%	24 +500%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	4−5 −225%	12−14 +225%
Cyberpunk 2077	1−2 −1100%	12 +1100%
Far Cry 5	5−6 −160%	12−14 +160%
Forza Horizon 4	10−12 −191%	30−35 +191%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	5−6 −800%	45 +800%
Watch Dogs: Legion	3−4 −533%	19 +533%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

9−10

−133%

21−24
+133%

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

RTX 3050 Mobile is 111% faster in 1080p
RTX 3050 Mobile is 189% faster in 1440p
RTX 3050 Mobile is 60% faster in 4K

Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:

in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, with 1080p resolution and the High Preset, the GTX 870M is 73% faster.
in Cyberpunk 2077, with 4K resolution and the Ultra Preset, the RTX 3050 Mobile is 1100% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

GTX 870M is ahead in 1 test (1%)
RTX 3050 Mobile is ahead in 71 test (99%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	8.94	23.64
Recency	12 March 2014	11 May 2021
Maximum RAM amount	3 GB	4 GB
Chip lithography	28 nm	8 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	100 Watt	75 Watt

RTX 3050 Mobile has a 164.4% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 7 years, a 33.3% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 250% more advanced lithography process, and 33.3% lower power consumption.

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

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