GeForce GTX 960M vs RTX 3050 4GB Mobile

Place in the ranking	226	492
Place by popularity	74	not in top-100
Power efficiency	27.99	8.01
Architecture	Ampere (2020−2024)	Maxwell (2014−2017)
GPU code name	GN20-P0	GM107
Market segment	Laptop	Laptop
Release date	11 May 2021 (3 years ago)	13 March 2015 (9 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	2048	640
Core clock speed	1238 MHz	1096 MHz
Boost clock speed	1500 MHz	1176 MHz
Number of transistors	no data	1,870 million
Manufacturing process technology	8 nm	28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	60 Watt (35 - 80 Watt TGP)	75 Watt
Texture fill rate	no data	47.04
Floating-point processing power	no data	1.505 TFLOPS
ROPs	no data	16
TMUs	no data	40

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	medium sized
Bus support	no data	PCI Express 3.0
Interface	no data	MXM-B (3.0)
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	GDDR6	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	4 GB	4 GB
Memory bus width	128 Bit	128 Bit
Memory clock speed	12000 MHz	2500 MHz
Memory bandwidth	no data	80 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 data	No outputs
VGA аnalog display support	no data	+
DisplayPort Multimode (DP++) support	no data	+
HDMI	-	+

Supported technologies

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

GameStream	-	+
GeForce ShadowPlay	-	+
GPU Boost	no data	2.0
GameWorks	-	+
H.264, VC1, MPEG2 1080p video decoder	-	+
Optimus	-	+
BatteryBoost	-	+
Ansel	no data	+

API compatibility

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

DirectX	12_2	12 (11_0)
Shader Model	no data	5.1
OpenGL	no data	4.5
OpenCL	no data	1.2
Vulkan	-	1.1.126
CUDA	-	+

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.

RTX 3050 4GB Mobile 24.50
+180%

GTX 960M 8.76

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.

RTX 3050 4GB Mobile 15712
+198%

GTX 960M 5278

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.

RTX 3050 4GB Mobile 11949
+177%

GTX 960M 4318

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.

RTX 3050 4GB Mobile 65252
+117%

GTX 960M 30086

3DMark Ice Storm GPU

Ice Storm Graphics is an obsolete benchmark, part of 3DMark suite. Ice Storm was used to measure entry level laptops and Windows-based tablets performance. It utilizes DirectX 11 feature level 9 to display a battle between two space fleets near a frozen planet in 1280x720 resolution. Discontinued in January 2020, it is now superseded by 3DMark Night Raid.

RTX 3050 4GB Mobile 480364
+112%

GTX 960M 226308

3DMark Time Spy Graphics

RTX 3050 4GB Mobile 4497
+292%

GTX 960M 1148

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:

900p	260−270 +174%	95 −174%
Full HD	63 +85.3%	34 −85.3%
1440p	45 +200%	15 −200%
4K	26 +85.7%	14 −85.7%

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077

66
+371%

14−16

−371%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	55−60 +120%	25 −120%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	58 +346%	12−14 −346%
Battlefield 5	80−85 +173%	30 −173%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	50−55 +183%	18−20 −183%
Cyberpunk 2077	52 +271%	14−16 −271%
Far Cry 5	55−60 +104%	28 −104%
Far Cry New Dawn	65−70 +110%	31 −110%
Forza Horizon 4	140−150 +72.6%	84 −72.6%
Hitman 3	57 +235%	16−18 −235%
Horizon Zero Dawn	110−120 +130%	50−55 −130%
Metro Exodus	126 +306%	31 −306%
Red Dead Redemption 2	87 +263%	24−27 −263%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	80−85 +75%	48 −75%
Watch Dogs: Legion	186 +215%	55−60 −215%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	55−60 +77.4%	31 −77.4%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	32 +146%	12−14 −146%
Battlefield 5	80−85 +257%	23 −257%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	50−55 +183%	18−20 −183%
Cyberpunk 2077	41 +193%	14−16 −193%
Far Cry 5	55−60 +138%	24 −138%
Far Cry New Dawn	65−70 +183%	23 −183%
Forza Horizon 4	140−150 +104%	71 −104%
Hitman 3	55 +224%	16−18 −224%
Horizon Zero Dawn	110−120 +130%	50−55 −130%
Metro Exodus	95 +265%	26 −265%
Red Dead Redemption 2	63 +163%	24−27 −163%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	94 +224%	27−30 −224%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	50−55 −35.2%	73 +35.2%
Watch Dogs: Legion	180 +205%	55−60 −205%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	55−60 +400%	11 −400%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	24 +84.6%	12−14 −84.6%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	50−55 +183%	18−20 −183%
Cyberpunk 2077	34 +143%	14−16 −143%
Far Cry 5	55−60 +217%	18 −217%
Forza Horizon 4	140−150 +480%	25 −480%
Hitman 3	51 +200%	16−18 −200%
Horizon Zero Dawn	74 +48%	50−55 −48%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	81 +179%	27−30 −179%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	46 +229%	14 −229%
Watch Dogs: Legion	26 −127%	55−60 +127%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

72
+200%

24−27

−200%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5	45−50 +236%	14 −236%
Far Cry New Dawn	35−40 +153%	15 −153%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	24−27 +225%	8 −225%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	22 +450%	4−5 −450%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	27−30 +211%	9−10 −211%
Cyberpunk 2077	18 +350%	4−5 −350%
Far Cry 5	27−30 +190%	10 −190%
Forza Horizon 4	140−150 +218%	45 −218%
Hitman 3	37 +208%	12−14 −208%
Horizon Zero Dawn	59 +228%	18−20 −228%
Metro Exodus	52 +247%	15 −247%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	56 +460%	10−11 −460%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	30−35 +288%	8−9 −288%
Watch Dogs: Legion	166 +196%	55−60 −196%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

53
+253%

14−16

−253%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5	24−27 +317%	6 −317%
Far Cry New Dawn	18−20 +171%	7 −171%
Hitman 3	15 +200%	5−6 −200%
Horizon Zero Dawn	120−130 +266%	35−40 −266%
Metro Exodus	37 +363%	8 −363%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	29 +190%	10 −190%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	14−16 +200%	5−6 −200%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	12−14 +225%	4−5 −225%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	14−16 +250%	4−5 −250%
Cyberpunk 2077	6 +500%	1−2 −500%
Far Cry 5	14−16 +250%	4 −250%
Forza Horizon 4	30−35 +209%	10−12 −209%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	34 +580%	5−6 −580%
Watch Dogs: Legion	10−12 +267%	3−4 −267%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

25
+178%

9−10

−178%

This is how RTX 3050 4GB Mobile and GTX 960M compete in popular games:

RTX 3050 4GB Mobile is 174% faster in 900p
RTX 3050 4GB Mobile is 85% faster in 1080p
RTX 3050 4GB Mobile is 200% faster in 1440p
RTX 3050 4GB Mobile is 86% faster in 4K

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

in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, with 4K resolution and the Ultra Preset, the RTX 3050 4GB Mobile is 580% faster.
in Watch Dogs: Legion, with 1080p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the GTX 960M is 127% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

RTX 3050 4GB Mobile is ahead in 70 tests (97%)
GTX 960M is ahead in 2 tests (3%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	24.50	8.76
Recency	11 May 2021	13 March 2015
Chip lithography	8 nm	28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	60 Watt	75 Watt

RTX 3050 4GB Mobile has a 179.7% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 6 years, a 250% more advanced lithography process, and 25% lower power consumption.

The GeForce RTX 3050 4GB Mobile is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTX 960M in performance tests.

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