GeForce RTX 3050 Max-Q vs GT 520M

Primary details

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

Place in performance ranking1125not rated
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation0.01no data
ArchitectureFermi (2010−2014)Ampere (2020−2022)
GPU code nameN12P-GP/LVGA107
Market segmentLaptopDesktop
Release date5 January 2011 (13 years ago)11 May 2021 (3 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$59.99 no data
Current price$237 (4x MSRP)$999

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

no data

Detailed specifications

General performance parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. These parameters indirectly speak of performance, but for precise assessment you have to consider their benchmark and gaming test results. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores482048
CUDA cores48no data
Core clock speed740 / 600 MHzno data
Boost clock speedno data1057 MHz
Number of transistors585 millionno data
Manufacturing process technology40 nm8 nm
Power consumption (TDP)12 Watt35 Watt
Texture fill rate5.9 billion/sec67.65
Floating-point performance129.02 gflopsno data

Form factor & compatibility

Information on GeForce GT 520M and GeForce RTX 3050 Max-Q compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop video cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility). For notebook video cards it's notebook size, connection slot and bus, if the video card is inserted into a slot instead of being soldered to the notebook motherboard.

InterfacePCIe 2.0 x16PCIe 4.0 x8
Widthno dataIGP
Supplementary power connectorsNoneNone

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 typeDDR3GDDR6
Maximum RAM amount1536 MB4 GB
Memory bus width64 Bit128 Bit
Memory clock speed800 MHz11 GB/s
Memory bandwidth12.8 GB/s176.0 GB/s
Shared memory-no data

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 ConnectorsNo outputsNo outputs

Supported technologies

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

Optimus+no data

API compatibility

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

DirectX12 API12 Ultimate (12_2)
Shader Model5.16.6
OpenGL4.54.6
OpenCL1.13.0
VulkanN/A1.3
CUDA+8.6

Pros & cons summary


Recency 5 January 2011 11 May 2021
Maximum RAM amount 1536 MB 4 GB
Chip lithography 40 nm 8 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 12 Watt 35 Watt

We couldn't decide between GeForce GT 520M and GeForce RTX 3050 Max-Q. We've got no test results to judge.

Be aware that GeForce GT 520M is a notebook card while GeForce RTX 3050 Max-Q is a desktop one.


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

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NVIDIA GeForce GT 520M
GeForce GT 520M
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Max-Q
GeForce RTX 3050 Max-Q

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Community ratings

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3 389 votes

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3.1 119 votes

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Questions & comments

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