GeForce GTX 980 SLI (móvel) vs GeForce RTX 3050 8GB

G3D Mark is a standard benchmark that measures graphics performance in real-world gaming scenarios. It simplifies comparing cards from different brands, where higher scores directly correlate with better fps and smoother gaming experiences.

GeForce GTX 980 SLI (móvel) vs GeForce RTX 3050 8GB FPS Benchmarks

Predicted gaming performance across popular games. Tested paired with Ryzen 7 9800X3D to isolate GPU performance.

Search any supported game below to compare 1080p FPS for both components.

GeForce GTX 980 SLI (móvel) vs GeForce RTX 3050 8GB: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict

See where each GPU makes more sense in practice: raw FPS, VRAM, features, power draw, pricing, and long-term headroom.

GeForce GTX 980 SLI (móvel)

2015

Why buy it

✅Competitive enough if your priority is price, power, or specific feature preference.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than GeForce RTX 3050 8GB across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌No DLSS support; it relies on Upscaling support instead.
❌2015 hardware with 8 GB of VRAM already sits in legacy territory for modern games.
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 50.3 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $249 MSRP).
❌153.8% higher power demand at 330W vs 130W.

GeForce RTX 3050 8GB

2022

Why buy it

✅56.8% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 50.3 vs 0 G3D/$ ($249 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).
✅Access to DLSS 2 Super Resolution (2020).
✅Better long-term bet: Ampere (2020−2025) on 8nm gives it a newer hardware base for upcoming games.
✅Draws 130W instead of 330W, a 200W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Fewer clear downsides in this head-to-head, aside from the usual pricing and availability swings.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

GeForce RTX 3050 8GB is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 56.8% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 0.1% in PassMark G3D (12,535 vs 12,523), so the answer here is pretty clean.

Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?

GeForce RTX 3050 8GB is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: the newer upscaling stack, DLSS 2 Super Resolution (2020) instead of no meaningful modern upscaling stack, a 8nm process instead of 28nm, 20 vs 0 ray-tracing units, and a newer 2022 generation instead of 2015. That gives it the more rounded hardware package for newer games.

Which GPU is the better buy today?

GeForce RTX 3050 8GB makes the most sense today based on the pricing and value data we have for this matchup.

GeForce GTX 980 SLI (móvel) vs GeForce RTX 3050 8GB Technical Specifications

Side-by-side specs, architecture details, clocks, memory, power, and platform differences.

GeForce GTX 980 SLI (móvel)

The GeForce GTX 980 SLI (móvel) is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in September 22 2015. It features the Maxwell architecture. The core clock ranges from 1126 MHz to 1228 MHz. It has 4096 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 330W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 12,523 points.

GeForce RTX 3050 8GB

The GeForce RTX 3050 8GB is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in January 4 2022. It features the Ampere architecture. The core clock ranges from 1552 MHz to 1777 MHz. It has 2560 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 130W. Manufactured using 8 nm process technology. It features 20 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 12,535 points. Launch price was $249.

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Graphics Performance

The GeForce GTX 980 SLI (móvel) scores 12,523 and the GeForce RTX 3050 8GB reaches 12,535 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.1% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 980 SLI (móvel) is built on Maxwell while the GeForce RTX 3050 8GB uses Ampere, both on 28 nm vs 8 nm. Shader units: 4,096 (GeForce GTX 980 SLI (móvel)) vs 2,560 (GeForce RTX 3050 8GB). Boost clocks: 1228 MHz vs 1777 MHz.

Feature	GeForce GTX 980 SLI (móvel)	GeForce RTX 3050 8GB
G3D Mark Score	12,523	12,535
Architecture	Maxwell	Ampere
Process Node	28 nm	8 nm
Shading Units	4096+60%	2560
Boost Clock	1228 MHz	1777 MHz+45%

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce RTX 3050 8GB supports the newer DLSS 2 Super Resolution, whereas the GeForce GTX 980 SLI (móvel) is capped at Upscaling support.

Feature	GeForce GTX 980 SLI (móvel)	GeForce RTX 3050 8GB
Upscaling Tech	Upscaling support	DLSS 2 Super Resolution
Frame Generation	Not Supported	Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	NVIDIA Reflex	NVIDIA Reflex

💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards ship with 8 GB of video memory. Memory bus width is 256-bit on the GeForce GTX 980 SLI (móvel) and 128-bit on the GeForce RTX 3050 8GB.

Feature	GeForce GTX 980 SLI (móvel)	GeForce RTX 3050 8GB
VRAM Capacity	8 GB	8 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR6
Memory Bandwidth	224 GB/s	224 GB/s
Bus Width	256-bit+100%	128-bit

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12.1 (GeForce GTX 980 SLI (móvel)) vs 12 Ultimate (GeForce RTX 3050 8GB). Vulkan: 1.1 vs 1.4. OpenGL: 4.4 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 4.

Feature	GeForce GTX 980 SLI (móvel)	GeForce RTX 3050 8GB
DirectX	12.1	12 Ultimate
Vulkan	1.1	1.4+27%
OpenGL	4.4	4.6+5%
Max Displays	4	4

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC 4.0 (2x) (GeForce GTX 980 SLI (móvel)) vs NVENC 7th gen (GeForce RTX 3050 8GB). Decoder: PureVideo HD VP6 (2x) vs NVDEC 5th gen. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC (GeForce GTX 980 SLI (móvel)) vs H.264,H.265/HEVC,AV1,VP9 (GeForce RTX 3050 8GB).

Feature	GeForce GTX 980 SLI (móvel)	GeForce RTX 3050 8GB
Encoder	NVENC 4.0 (2x)	NVENC 7th gen
Decoder	PureVideo HD VP6 (2x)	NVDEC 5th gen
Codecs	MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC	H.264,H.265/HEVC,AV1,VP9

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Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 980 SLI (móvel) draws 330W versus the GeForce RTX 3050 8GB's 130W — a 87% difference. The GeForce RTX 3050 8GB is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 500W (GeForce GTX 980 SLI (móvel)) vs 450W (GeForce RTX 3050 8GB). Power connectors: 1x 6-pin vs 8-pin. Card length: 267mm vs 242mm, occupying 2 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 85°C vs 66°C.

Feature	GeForce GTX 980 SLI (móvel)	GeForce RTX 3050 8GB
TDP	330W	130W-61%
Recommended PSU	500W	450W-10%
Power Connector	1x 6-pin	8-pin
Length	267mm	242mm
Height	111mm	112mm
Slots	2	2
Temp (Load)	85°C	66°C-22%
Perf/Watt	37.9	96.4+154%

💰

Value Analysis

The newer card here is GeForce RTX 3050 8GB (2022 vs 2015).

Feature	GeForce GTX 980 SLI (móvel)	GeForce RTX 3050 8GB
MSRP	—	$249
Codename	N16E-GXX SLI	GA106
Release	September 22 2015	January 4 2022
Ranking	#145	#211

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