RTX 5080 vs RTX 3050
Short answer: which is best?
RTX 5080 is 649.9 % stronger than RTX 3050. RTX 5080 ranks #3 of 67 measured graphics cards at WhatFPS (16,422 GPU score over 4 verified runs). RTX 3050 ranks #50 of 67 measured graphics cards at WhatFPS (2,190 GPU score over 1 verified runs). The numbers are measured in 5 verified WhatFPS runs — not estimated, not self-reported.
Measured comparison
| Metric | RTX 5080 | RTX 3050 |
|---|---|---|
| GPU score (the card's own performance) | 16,422 | 2,190 |
| Best rig (GAMING — whole PC) | 15,624 | 2,861 |
| Earth II (Vulkan) | 72.7 FPS | 9.1 FPS |
| Mission to Earth II (DX12) | 87.2 FPS | 11.1 FPS |
| Earth II Landing (DX12 Ultimate) | 75.9 FPS | 10.9 FPS |
| Supernova (DX11) | 128.9 FPS | 30.4 FPS |
| Memory bandwidth | 326 GB/s | 55 GB/s |
| VRAM | 16 GB | 6 GB |
| Ray tracing | Yes | Yes |
Fragz' verdict
Fragz here with the verdict on these two GPUs. The RTX 5080 absolutely crushes the RTX 3050, leading by a massive 660.7% in overall GPU score. This performance gap is evident across the board, with the RTX 5080 delivering significantly higher frame rates in Earth II Vulkan, Mission to Earth II DX12, and Earth II Landing DX12 Ultimate. Its raw power is undeniable, boasting a vastly superior ALU index, much higher memory bandwidth at 331 GB/s, 16 GB of VRAM, and a faster peak clock speed of 3225 MHz compared to the RTX 3050's 6 GB VRAM and 1972 MHz. For gamers, this translates to a night and day difference in playability and visual fidelity. While the RTX 3050's single verified run means our data for it is a thin sample, it's clearly an entry-level card that might only make sense if you're on a very tight budget and understand the significant performance trade-off.
Generated October 29, 2026 from the 5 verified runs available then. The verdict is never silently rewritten — new numbers get a new verdict.
What the numbers mean
The GPU score is the graphics card's own performance — that is what we rank on. GAMING is the whole rig's score in the best PC we measured the card in, and depends on processor, memory and storage. We show both and never mix them.
All numbers come from our benchmark suite: four hand-built 3D scenes written directly against the graphics APIs in Rust, the same load on every PC. The methodology is open at https://whatfps.com/metodik
All measurements for RTX 5080 · All measurements for RTX 3050