GeForce RTX 3050 6GB Mobile vs Radeon R9 280

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Radeon HD 7870 XT Radeon HD 7950 Radeon HD 7970 Radeon HD 8950 OEM Radeon R9 280 Radeon R9 280X
VS
RTX 3050 4GB Mobile RTX 3050 6GB Mobile RTX 3050 A Mobile RTX 3050 Max-Q RTX 3050 Max-Q Refresh 6 GB RTX 3050 Mobile RTX 3050 Mobile Refresh RTX 3050 Mobile Refresh 4 GB RTX 3050 Mobile Refresh 6 GB RTX 3050 Ti Max-Q RTX 3050 Ti Mobile

Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon R9 280 with GeForce RTX 3050 6GB Mobile, including specs and performance data.

R9 280
2014
3 GB GDDR5, 200 Watt
14.45

RTX 3050 6GB Mobile outperforms R9 280 by an impressive 74% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Contents

R9 280 R9 280
RTX 3050 6GB Mobile RTX 3050 6GB Mobile

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking365217
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation5.35no data
Power efficiency4.9928.96
ArchitectureGCN 1.0 (2011−2020)Ampere (2020−2024)
GPU code nameTahitiGN20-P0-R 6 GB
Market segmentDesktopLaptop
Designreferenceno data
Release date4 March 2014 (10 years ago)6 January 2023 (2 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$279 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 cores17922560
Core clock speedno data1237 MHz
Boost clock speed933 MHz1492 MHz
Number of transistors4,313 millionno data
Manufacturing process technology28 nm8 nm
Power consumption (TDP)200 Watt60 Watt (35 - 80 Watt TGP)
Texture fill rate104.5no data
Floating-point processing power3.344 TFLOPSno data
ROPs32no data
TMUs112no data

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
Bus supportPCIe 3.0no data
InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16no data
Length275 mmno data
Width2-slotno data
Supplementary power connectors1 x 6-pin + 1 x 8-pinno data

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 typeGDDR5GDDR6
Maximum RAM amount3 GB6 GB
Memory bus width384 Bit96 Bit
Memory clock speed1250 MHz12000 MHz
Memory bandwidth240 GB/sno data
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 Connectors2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPortno data
Eyefinity+-
HDMI+-

Supported technologies

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

CrossFire+-
FreeSync+-
HD3D+-
LiquidVR+-
TressFX+-
TrueAudio+-
UVD+-
DDMA audio+no data

API compatibility

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

DirectXDirectX® 1212_2
Shader Model5.1no data
OpenGL4.6no data
OpenCL1.2no data
Vulkan+-

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.

R9 280 14.45
RTX 3050 6GB Mobile 25.18
+74.3%

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.

R9 280 8020
RTX 3050 6GB Mobile 11960
+49.1%

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 HD35−40
−97.1%
69
+97.1%
1440p21−24
−76.2%
37
+76.2%

Cost per frame, $

1080p7.97no data
1440p13.29no data

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 81
+0%
81
+0%
Elden Ring 80−85
+0%
80−85
+0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5 75−80
+0%
75−80
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 32
+0%
32
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 105
+0%
105
+0%
Metro Exodus 65−70
+0%
65−70
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 55−60
+0%
55−60
+0%
Valorant 100−110
+0%
100−110
+0%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5 75−80
+0%
75−80
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 40
+0%
40
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 23
+0%
23
+0%
Dota 2 61
+0%
61
+0%
Elden Ring 80−85
+0%
80−85
+0%
Far Cry 5 97
+0%
97
+0%
Fortnite 120−130
+0%
120−130
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 86
+0%
86
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 91
+0%
91
+0%
Metro Exodus 65−70
+0%
65−70
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 150−160
+0%
150−160
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 55−60
+0%
55−60
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 80−85
+0%
80−85
+0%
Valorant 100−110
+0%
100−110
+0%
World of Tanks 250−260
+0%
250−260
+0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 75−80
+0%
75−80
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 19
+0%
19
+0%
Dota 2 85−90
+0%
85−90
+0%
Far Cry 5 75−80
+0%
75−80
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 76
+0%
76
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 150−160
+0%
150−160
+0%
Valorant 100−110
+0%
100−110
+0%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2 40
+0%
40
+0%
Elden Ring 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 40
+0%
40
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 170−180
+0%
170−180
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
World of Tanks 160−170
+0%
160−170
+0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Far Cry 5 70−75
+0%
70−75
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 57
+0%
57
+0%
Metro Exodus 55−60
+0%
55−60
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 37
+0%
37
+0%
Valorant 65−70
+0%
65−70
+0%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Dota 2 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
Elden Ring 20−22
+0%
20−22
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
Metro Exodus 18−20
+0%
18−20
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 75−80
+0%
75−80
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%
Dota 2 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
Far Cry 5 30−35
+0%
30−35
+0%
Fortnite 30−35
+0%
30−35
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Valorant 30−35
+0%
30−35
+0%

This is how R9 280 and RTX 3050 6GB Mobile compete in popular games:

  • RTX 3050 6GB Mobile is 97% faster in 1080p
  • RTX 3050 6GB Mobile is 76% faster in 1440p

All in all, in popular games:

  • there's a draw in 63 tests (100%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score 14.45 25.18
Recency 4 March 2014 6 January 2023
Maximum RAM amount 3 GB 6 GB
Chip lithography 28 nm 8 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 200 Watt 60 Watt

RTX 3050 6GB Mobile has a 74.3% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 8 years, a 100% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 250% more advanced lithography process, and 233.3% lower power consumption.

The GeForce RTX 3050 6GB Mobile is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon R9 280 in performance tests.

Be aware that Radeon R9 280 is a desktop card while GeForce RTX 3050 6GB 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

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite graphics card.

AMD Radeon R9 280
Radeon R9 280
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 6GB Mobile
GeForce RTX 3050 6GB Mobile
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R9 280 Radeon R9 280
vs
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RTX 3050 6GB Mobile GeForce RTX 3050 6GB Mobile
vs
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vs
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vs
Apple M3 Max 40-Core GPU M3 Max 40-Core GPU
Quadro P4000 Quadro P4000
vs
RTX 3070 Ti Max-Q GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Max-Q
HD Graphics 520 HD Graphics 520
vs
GeForce 8300 GeForce 8300
Iris Graphics 550 Iris Graphics 550
vs
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GeForce 930M GeForce 930M
vs
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vs
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GT 740M GeForce GT 740M
vs
7600 GS GeForce 7600 GS

Community ratings

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

3.6 410 votes

Rate Radeon R9 280 on a scale of 1 to 5:

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4.1 689 votes

Rate GeForce RTX 3050 6GB Mobile on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
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  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Questions & comments

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