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.

Head-to-Head Verdict, Benchmarks, Value & Long-Term Outlook

This comparison brings together gaming FPS, raw graphics performance, VRAM, feature set, power efficiency, pricing context, and long-term value so you can see which GPU actually makes more sense.

GeForce RTX 3050 A Laptop GPU

2022

Why buy it

✅Draws 130W instead of 250W, a 120W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌Less VRAM, with 4 GB vs 8 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌No equivalent frame-generation stack like DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation (2025).
❌Weaker long-term outlook: RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU is the safer future-proof pick thanks to newer hardware and better gaming feature support.

RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU

2023

Why buy it

✅88.9% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Access to a newer frame-generation stack with DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation (2025).
✅100% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (8 GB vs 4 GB).
✅More future proof: Ada Lovelace (2022−2024) on 5nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌92.3% higher power demand at 250W vs 130W.

GeForce RTX 3050 A Laptop GPU

2022

RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU

2023

Why buy it

✅Draws 130W instead of 250W, a 120W reduction.

Why buy it

✅88.9% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Access to a newer frame-generation stack with DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation (2025).
✅100% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (8 GB vs 4 GB).
✅More future proof: Ada Lovelace (2022−2024) on 5nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌Less VRAM, with 4 GB vs 8 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌No equivalent frame-generation stack like DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation (2025).
❌Weaker long-term outlook: RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU is the safer future-proof pick thanks to newer hardware and better gaming feature support.

Trade-offs

❌92.3% higher power demand at 250W vs 130W.

Quick Answers

So, is RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU better than GeForce RTX 3050 A Laptop GPU?

Yes. RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU is clearly the better overall GPU here. RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU averages 88.9% more FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. You are also looking at 11,153 vs 11,240 in G3D Mark. On top of that, RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU is a 2023 card with DLSS 4 + Multi Frame Gen, while GeForce RTX 3050 A Laptop GPU is a 2022 model from an older generation with DLSS Super Resolution. So this is not really a tight same-tier comparison. It is more a modern card against an older, weaker alternative.

Which one is more future-proof for 2026 and beyond?

RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer 2023 generation instead of 2022, more VRAM at 8 GB instead of 4 GB, better upscaling support with DLSS 4 Super Resolution (2025) instead of DLSS 2 Super Resolution (2020) and better frame-generation support with DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation (2025) instead of DLSS Super Resolution, and a 5nm process instead of 8nm. That extra memory headroom makes it the safer pick for newer games, heavier textures, and higher settings over time.

Which one is the smarter buy today, not just the cheaper card?

RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU is priced in an unclear MSRP range at an unclear MSRP versus an unclear MSRP, and you are getting 88.9% more estimated average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and a lower G3D Mark (11,153 vs 11,240). G3D-per-dollar is basically tied between them. If you are comfortable paying the premium for the stronger gaming result, RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU is the one to buy. If staying closer to budget matters more, GeForce RTX 3050 A Laptop GPU still makes more sense on price alone and remains capable enough for modern gaming.

Is GeForce RTX 3050 A Laptop GPU still worth buying for gaming in 2026?

Yes. GeForce RTX 3050 A Laptop GPU is still a strong gaming GPU in 2026: it is still comfortable for 1080p and decent for 1440p, though 4K is more situational. This mostly comes down to price. If you want to stay closer to an unclear MSRP, it remains a strong choice; if you are comfortable paying more, RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU earns that extra money with a clearly stronger gaming result and a more complete overall package.

Games Benchmarks

Real-world benchmarks and performance projections based on comprehensive hardware analysis and comparative metrics. Values represent expected performance on High/Ultra settings at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K. Modeled using a Ryzen 7 9800X3D reference profile to minimize specific CPU bottlenecks.

Note: Performance behavior can vary per game. Specific architectures may perform better or worse depending on game engine optimizations and API implementation.

GeForce RTX 3050 A Laptop GPU Benchmark Check

RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	GeForce RTX 3050 A Laptop GPU	RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU
1080p
low	101 FPS	178 FPS
medium	89 FPS	153 FPS
high	76 FPS	130 FPS
ultra	63 FPS	87 FPS
1440p
low	93 FPS	144 FPS
medium	78 FPS	118 FPS
high	65 FPS	94 FPS
ultra	54 FPS	63 FPS
4K
low	45 FPS	70 FPS
medium	42 FPS	60 FPS
high	30 FPS	43 FPS
ultra	27 FPS	36 FPS

Open GeForce RTX 3050 A Laptop GPU Open RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	GeForce RTX 3050 A Laptop GPU	RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU
1080p
low	238 FPS	502 FPS
medium	200 FPS	402 FPS
high	156 FPS	335 FPS
ultra	121 FPS	251 FPS
1440p
low	159 FPS	376 FPS
medium	129 FPS	301 FPS
high	104 FPS	251 FPS
ultra	83 FPS	188 FPS
4K
low	85 FPS	251 FPS
medium	69 FPS	201 FPS
high	57 FPS	167 FPS
ultra	43 FPS	125 FPS

Open GeForce RTX 3050 A Laptop GPU Open RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	GeForce RTX 3050 A Laptop GPU	RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU
1080p
low	499 FPS	502 FPS
medium	405 FPS	402 FPS
high	337 FPS	335 FPS
ultra	253 FPS	251 FPS
1440p
low	356 FPS	376 FPS
medium	303 FPS	301 FPS
high	253 FPS	251 FPS
ultra	190 FPS	188 FPS
4K
low	220 FPS	251 FPS
medium	185 FPS	201 FPS
high	141 FPS	167 FPS
ultra	108 FPS	125 FPS

Open GeForce RTX 3050 A Laptop GPU Open RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	GeForce RTX 3050 A Laptop GPU	RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU
1080p
low	323 FPS	389 FPS
medium	269 FPS	346 FPS
high	243 FPS	303 FPS
ultra	214 FPS	251 FPS
1440p
low	245 FPS	283 FPS
medium	201 FPS	257 FPS
high	168 FPS	222 FPS
ultra	147 FPS	186 FPS
4K
low	131 FPS	188 FPS
medium	113 FPS	163 FPS
high	98 FPS	124 FPS
ultra	81 FPS	101 FPS

Open GeForce RTX 3050 A Laptop GPU Open RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of GeForce RTX 3050 A Laptop GPU and RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU

GeForce RTX 3050 A Laptop GPU

The GeForce RTX 3050 A Laptop GPU 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: 11,240 points. Launch price was $249.

RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU

The RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in August 9 2023. It features the Ada Lovelace architecture. The core clock ranges from 1155 MHz to 2550 MHz. It has 12800 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 250W. Manufactured using 5 nm process technology. It features 100 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 11,153 points.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The GeForce RTX 3050 A Laptop GPU scores 11,240 and the RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU reaches 11,153 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.8% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce RTX 3050 A Laptop GPU is built on Ampere while the RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU uses Ada Lovelace, both on 8 nm vs 5 nm. Shader units: 2,560 (GeForce RTX 3050 A Laptop GPU) vs 12,800 (RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU). Raw compute: 9.098 TFLOPS (GeForce RTX 3050 A Laptop GPU) vs 65.28 TFLOPS (RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU). Boost clocks: 1777 MHz vs 2550 MHz. Ray tracing: 20 RT cores (GeForce RTX 3050 A Laptop GPU) vs 100 (RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU) with 80 Tensor cores vs 400.

Feature	GeForce RTX 3050 A Laptop GPU	RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU
G3D Mark Score	11,240	11,153
Architecture	Ampere	Ada Lovelace
Process Node	8 nm	5 nm
Shading Units	2560	12800+400%
Compute (TFLOPS)	9.098 TFLOPS	65.28 TFLOPS+618%
Boost Clock	1777 MHz	2550 MHz+44%
ROPs	32	176+450%
TMUs	80	400+400%
L1 Cache	2.5 MB	12.5 MB+400%
L2 Cache	2 MB	72 MB+3500%
Ray Tracing Cores	20	100+400%
Tensor Cores	80	400+400%

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

A critical advantage for the RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU is support for DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation. This allows it to generate entire frames using AI/Algorithms, essentially doubling the frame rate in CPU-bound scenarios or heavy ray-tracing titles. The GeForce RTX 3050 A Laptop GPU lacks specific hardware/driver support for this native frame generation tier.The RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU supports the newer DLSS 4 Super Resolution, whereas the GeForce RTX 3050 A Laptop GPU is capped at DLSS 2 Super Resolution.

Feature	GeForce RTX 3050 A Laptop GPU	RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU
Upscaling Tech	DLSS 2 Super Resolution	DLSS 4 Super Resolution
Frame Generation	Not Supported	DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation
Ray Reconstruction	No	Yes (DLSS 4)
Low Latency	NVIDIA Reflex	NVIDIA Reflex

💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

The GeForce RTX 3050 A Laptop GPU comes with 4 GB of VRAM, while the RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU has 8 GB. The RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU offers 100% more capacity, crucial for higher resolutions and texture-heavy games. Bus width: 64-bit vs 64-bit. L2 Cache: 2 MB (GeForce RTX 3050 A Laptop GPU) vs 72 MB (RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU) — the RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce RTX 3050 A Laptop GPU	RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU
VRAM Capacity	4 GB	8 GB+100%
Memory Type	GDDR6	GDDR6
Memory Bandwidth	128 GB/s	128 GB/s
Bus Width	64-bit	64-bit
L2 Cache	2 MB	72 MB+3500%

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12_2 (GeForce RTX 3050 A Laptop GPU) vs 12.2 (RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU). Maximum simultaneous displays: 0 vs 4.

Feature	GeForce RTX 3050 A Laptop GPU	RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU
DirectX	12_2	12.2+2%
Max Displays	0	4

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC 7th Gen (GeForce RTX 3050 A Laptop GPU) vs 8th Gen NVENC (RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU). Decoder: NVDEC 5th Gen vs 5th Gen NVDEC. Supported codecs: H.264,H.265/HEVC,AV1 (GeForce RTX 3050 A Laptop GPU) vs MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9,AV1 (RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU).

Feature	GeForce RTX 3050 A Laptop GPU	RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU
Encoder	NVENC 7th Gen	8th Gen NVENC
Decoder	NVDEC 5th Gen	5th Gen NVDEC
Codecs	H.264,H.265/HEVC,AV1	MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9,AV1

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce RTX 3050 A Laptop GPU draws 130W versus the RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU's 250W — a 63.2% difference. The GeForce RTX 3050 A Laptop GPU is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 500W (GeForce RTX 3050 A Laptop GPU) vs 500W (RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs PCIe-powered. Card length: 1mm vs 0mm, occupying 0 vs 0 slots. Typical load temperature: 80°C vs 80°C.

Feature	GeForce RTX 3050 A Laptop GPU	RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU
TDP	130W-48%	250W
Recommended PSU	500W	500W
Power Connector	PCIe-powered	PCIe-powered
Length	1mm	0mm
Height	—	0mm
Slots	0	0
Temp (Load)	80°C	80°C
Perf/Watt	86.5+94%	44.6