GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design vs RTX A3000 Mobile

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 RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design vs RTX A3000 Mobile 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 RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design vs RTX A3000 Mobile: 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 RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design

2019

Why buy it

✅1.9% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Access to DLSS 2 Super Resolution (2020).

Trade-offs

❌RTX A3000 Mobile is the safer long-term pick here because the hardware is newer and the feature stack is stronger.

RTX A3000 Mobile

2021

Why buy it

✅Better long-term bet: Ampere (2020−2025) on 8nm gives it a newer hardware base for upcoming games.
✅More future proof: Ampere (2020−2025) on 8nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌No DLSS support; it relies on Upscaling support instead.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 1.9% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 0.4% in PassMark G3D (12,766 vs 12,720), so the answer here is pretty clean.

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

RTX A3000 Mobile is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a 8nm process instead of 12nm and a newer 2021 generation instead of 2019. That makes it the less risky pick as game demands keep moving.

Which GPU is the better buy today?

GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design makes the most sense today based on the pricing and value data we have for this matchup. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and lighter 1440p, GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and lighter 1440p headroom, RTX A3000 Mobile has the stronger long-term case.

GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design vs RTX A3000 Mobile Technical Specifications

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

GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design

The GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in January 29 2019. It features the Turing architecture. The core clock ranges from 735 MHz to 1095 MHz. It has 2944 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 80W. Manufactured using 12 nm process technology. It features 46 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 12,766 points.

RTX A3000 Mobile

The RTX A3000 Mobile is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in April 12 2021. It features the Ampere architecture. The core clock ranges from 600 MHz to 1230 MHz. It has 4096 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 70W. Manufactured using 8 nm process technology. It features 32 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 12,720 points.

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Graphics Performance

The GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design scores 12,766 and the RTX A3000 Mobile reaches 12,720 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.4% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design is built on Turing while the RTX A3000 Mobile uses Ampere, both on 12 nm vs 8 nm. Shader units: 2,944 (GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design) vs 4,096 (RTX A3000 Mobile). Raw compute: 6.447 TFLOPS (GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design) vs 10.08 TFLOPS (RTX A3000 Mobile). Boost clocks: 1095 MHz vs 1230 MHz. Ray tracing: 46 RT cores (GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design) vs 32 (RTX A3000 Mobile) with 368 Tensor cores vs 128.

Feature	GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design	RTX A3000 Mobile
G3D Mark Score	12,766	12,720
Architecture	Turing	Ampere
Process Node	12 nm	8 nm
Shading Units	2944	4096+39%
Compute (TFLOPS)	6.447 TFLOPS	10.08 TFLOPS+56%
Boost Clock	1095 MHz	1230 MHz+12%
ROPs	64	64
TMUs	184+44%	128
L1 Cache	2.9 MB	4 MB+38%
L2 Cache	4 MB	4 MB
Ray Tracing Cores	46+44%	32
Tensor Cores	368+188%	128

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Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The RTX A3000 Mobile supports the newer Upscaling support, whereas the GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design is capped at DLSS 2 Super Resolution.

Feature	GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design	RTX A3000 Mobile
Upscaling Tech	DLSS 2 Super Resolution	Upscaling support
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 GDDR6. Memory bus width is 256-bit on the GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design and 128-bit on the RTX A3000 Mobile.

Feature	GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design	RTX A3000 Mobile
VRAM Capacity	8 GB	8 GB
Memory Type	GDDR6	GDDR6
Bus Width	256-bit+100%	128-bit
L2 Cache	4 MB	4 MB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 (12_2) (GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design) vs 12.2 (RTX A3000 Mobile). Vulkan: 1.3 vs 1.3. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 4.

Feature	GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design	RTX A3000 Mobile
DirectX	12 (12_2)	12.2+2%
Vulkan	1.3	1.3
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
Max Displays	4	4

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC 6 (GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design) vs 7th Gen NVENC (RTX A3000 Mobile). Decoder: NVDEC 4 vs 5th Gen NVDEC. Supported codecs: H.264,H.265,VP9,AV1 (GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design) vs MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9,AV1 (Decode) (RTX A3000 Mobile).

Feature	GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design	RTX A3000 Mobile
Encoder	NVENC 6	7th Gen NVENC
Decoder	NVDEC 4	5th Gen NVDEC
Codecs	H.264,H.265,VP9,AV1	MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9,AV1 (Decode)

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Power & Dimensions

The GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design draws 80W versus the RTX A3000 Mobile's 70W — a 13.3% difference. The RTX A3000 Mobile is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 0W (GeForce RTX 2080 with Max-Q Design) vs 500W (RTX A3000 Mobile). Power connectors: None vs PCIe-powered. Card length: 0mm vs 0mm, occupying 0 vs 0 slots. Typical load temperature: 80 vs 80°C.