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NVIDIA RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation

NVIDIA RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation

NVIDIA RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation: A Comprehensive Overview

The NVIDIA RTX 3500 Mobile GPU, part of the Ada Lovelace architecture, is a powerful graphics solution designed primarily for laptops, delivering high performance for gaming and professional tasks. This article delves into the architecture, memory specifications, gaming performance, suitability for professional applications, energy efficiency, comparisons with competitors, practical advice, and an overall assessment of this GPU.

1. Architecture and Key Features

Ada Lovelace Architecture

The NVIDIA RTX 3500 Mobile is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture, which marks a significant advancement in NVIDIA’s GPU technology. This architecture is manufactured using TSMC's 4N process technology, which allows for improved efficiency and performance compared to previous generations.

Unique Features

One of the standout features of the RTX 3500 is its support for Real-Time Ray Tracing (RTX), which enhances visual fidelity by simulating the way light interacts with objects in a scene. Additionally, the GPU supports NVIDIA’s Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) technology, which uses AI to upscale lower-resolution images to higher resolutions, improving frame rates without sacrificing image quality.

Moreover, the RTX 3500 is compatible with AMD’s FidelityFX technologies, further enhancing graphical performance and quality in supported games.

2. Memory Specifications

Memory Type and Capacity

The RTX 3500 Mobile is equipped with GDDR6 memory, which provides a balance of speed and efficiency. This type of memory is well-suited for gaming and professional applications, offering faster data rates and lower power consumption compared to older GDDR5 technology.

The GPU typically features 8GB of GDDR6 memory, which is adequate for most gaming scenarios and professional workloads.

Memory Bandwidth and Performance Impact

With a memory bandwidth of around 256 GB/s, the RTX 3500 can handle the demands of modern games and applications. Higher bandwidth allows for faster data transfers between the GPU and memory, which is crucial for maintaining high frame rates and smooth performance, especially in high-resolution gaming scenarios.

3. Gaming Performance

Real-World Performance Metrics

In terms of gaming performance, the RTX 3500 Mobile excels across various popular titles. For instance, in Call of Duty: Warzone, it achieves an average of 90 FPS at 1080p with high settings, while maintaining around 60 FPS at 1440p. In more demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077, you can expect around 45 FPS at 1440p with ray tracing enabled, showcasing the GPU's capability to handle modern graphics technologies.

Resolution Support

The RTX 3500 is versatile across resolutions. At 1080p, it delivers excellent performance with high frame rates in most AAA titles. At 1440p, gamers can still enjoy smooth gameplay with minor adjustments to settings. However, 4K gaming might be challenging without significant compromises on graphical fidelity, especially in graphically intensive games.

Ray Tracing Impact

Ray tracing significantly enhances the visual experience, but it does come at a cost to performance. The RTX 3500's DLSS technology mitigates this impact, allowing gamers to enjoy ray tracing features without a drastic drop in frame rates. This capability makes the RTX 3500 a strong contender for gamers who prioritize both performance and visual quality.

4. Professional Applications

Video Editing and 3D Modeling

For professionals engaged in video editing or 3D modeling, the RTX 3500 Mobile offers substantial performance benefits. Software such as Adobe Premiere Pro and Blender can leverage the GPU’s capabilities, resulting in faster rendering times and smoother playback of high-resolution videos.

Scientific Calculations

NVIDIA’s CUDA technology allows the RTX 3500 to excel in scientific computations and machine learning tasks. The GPU can handle complex calculations efficiently, making it suitable for researchers and professionals who utilize CUDA or OpenCL frameworks for their workflows.

5. Energy Consumption and Thermal Management

Thermal Design Power (TDP)

The TDP of the RTX 3500 Mobile is approximately 80-100 watts, depending on the laptop configuration and manufacturer. This relatively moderate power consumption is beneficial for mobile devices, as it allows for longer battery life compared to more power-hungry desktop GPUs.

Cooling Recommendations

Given the TDP, effective cooling solutions are crucial. Laptops featuring the RTX 3500 should have adequate airflow and cooling systems, such as dual-fan setups or vapor chamber cooling, to maintain optimal performance without thermal throttling.

6. Comparison with Competitors

AMD Rivalry

When comparing the RTX 3500 Mobile with AMD’s offerings, such as the Radeon RX 6700S, the RTX 3500 generally outperforms in ray tracing capabilities due to its dedicated hardware. However, the RX 6700S may excel in traditional rasterization performance in certain titles, making the choice dependent on specific use cases.

NVIDIA's Own Line-Up

Compared to other NVIDIA models like the RTX 3060 Mobile, the RTX 3500 offers improved performance and efficiency, particularly in ray tracing and DLSS support. This makes it a more future-proof option for gamers and professionals alike.

7. Practical Advice

Power Supply Selection

For laptops featuring the RTX 3500, ensure that the power adapter provides sufficient wattage to support the GPU under load. A power supply with a rating of at least 180 watts is recommended to ensure stable performance.

Platform Compatibility

The RTX 3500 is designed for mobile platforms, so compatibility with specific laptop models may vary. Always check the manufacturer’s specifications to ensure that the laptop can adequately support the GPU without thermal or power supply issues.

Driver Considerations

Keeping drivers updated is crucial for optimal performance. NVIDIA regularly releases driver updates that enhance compatibility and performance in newer games and applications. Make it a habit to check for updates regularly.

8. Pros and Cons of the RTX 3500

Advantages

- Outstanding Ray Tracing Performance: The dedicated RT cores allow for impressive ray tracing capabilities.

- DLSS Support: Enhances frame rates while maintaining high image quality.

- Efficient Power Consumption: Balanced TDP makes it suitable for laptops with longer battery life.

- Versatile for Gaming and Professional Work: Performs well in both gaming and demanding professional tasks.

Disadvantages

- Limited 4K Gaming Capability: May struggle with 4K gaming without sacrificing graphical settings.

- Price Point: As a mobile GPU, it may come at a premium depending on the laptop configuration.

- Competition from AMD: Some AMD GPUs may offer better performance in specific scenarios without ray tracing.

9. Final Thoughts

The NVIDIA RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation GPU stands out as a versatile graphics solution for both gamers and professionals. With its advanced architecture, robust performance in modern games, and capabilities in professional applications, it offers a well-rounded experience.

This GPU is particularly suited for gamers who demand high performance with ray tracing features and professionals requiring reliable performance for tasks such as video editing and 3D modeling. If you're in the market for a laptop with a strong GPU that balances efficiency and power, the RTX 3500 Mobile is an excellent choice.

Top Mobile GPU: 30

Basic

Label Name
NVIDIA
Platform
Mobile
Launch Date
March 2023
Model Name
RTX 3500 Mobile Ada Generation
Generation
Quadro Ada-M
Base Clock
1110MHz
Boost Clock
1545MHz
Shading Units
?
The most fundamental processing unit is the Streaming Processor (SP), where specific instructions and tasks are executed. GPUs perform parallel computing, which means multiple SPs work simultaneously to process tasks.
5120
SM Count
?
Multiple Streaming Processors (SPs), along with other resources, form a Streaming Multiprocessor (SM), which is also referred to as a GPU's major core. These additional resources include components such as warp schedulers, registers, and shared memory. The SM can be considered the heart of the GPU, similar to a CPU core, with registers and shared memory being scarce resources within the SM.
40
Transistors
35,800 million
RT Cores
40
Tensor Cores
?
Tensor Cores are specialized processing units designed specifically for deep learning, providing higher training and inference performance compared to FP32 training. They enable rapid computations in areas such as computer vision, natural language processing, speech recognition, text-to-speech conversion, and personalized recommendations. The two most notable applications of Tensor Cores are DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) and AI Denoiser for noise reduction.
160
TMUs
?
Texture Mapping Units (TMUs) serve as components of the GPU, which are capable of rotating, scaling, and distorting binary images, and then placing them as textures onto any plane of a given 3D model. This process is called texture mapping.
160
L1 Cache
128 KB (per SM)
L2 Cache
48MB
Bus Interface
PCIe 4.0 x16
Foundry
TSMC
Process Size
5 nm
Architecture
Ada Lovelace
TDP
100W

Memory Specifications

Memory Size
12GB
Memory Type
GDDR6
Memory Bus
?
The memory bus width refers to the number of bits of data that the video memory can transfer within a single clock cycle. The larger the bus width, the greater the amount of data that can be transmitted instantaneously, making it one of the crucial parameters of video memory. The memory bandwidth is calculated as: Memory Bandwidth = Memory Frequency x Memory Bus Width / 8. Therefore, when the memory frequencies are similar, the memory bus width will determine the size of the memory bandwidth.
192bit
Memory Clock
2250MHz
Bandwidth
?
Memory bandwidth refers to the data transfer rate between the graphics chip and the video memory. It is measured in bytes per second, and the formula to calculate it is: memory bandwidth = working frequency × memory bus width / 8 bits.
432.0 GB/s

Theoretical Performance

Pixel Rate
?
Pixel fill rate refers to the number of pixels a graphics processing unit (GPU) can render per second, measured in MPixels/s (million pixels per second) or GPixels/s (billion pixels per second). It is the most commonly used metric to evaluate the pixel processing performance of a graphics card.
98.88 GPixel/s
Texture Rate
?
Texture fill rate refers to the number of texture map elements (texels) that a GPU can map to pixels in a single second.
247.2 GTexel/s
FP16 (half)
?
An important metric for measuring GPU performance is floating-point computing capability. Half-precision floating-point numbers (16-bit) are used for applications like machine learning, where lower precision is acceptable. Single-precision floating-point numbers (32-bit) are used for common multimedia and graphics processing tasks, while double-precision floating-point numbers (64-bit) are required for scientific computing that demands a wide numeric range and high accuracy.
15.82 TFLOPS
FP64 (double)
?
An important metric for measuring GPU performance is floating-point computing capability. Double-precision floating-point numbers (64-bit) are required for scientific computing that demands a wide numeric range and high accuracy, while single-precision floating-point numbers (32-bit) are used for common multimedia and graphics processing tasks. Half-precision floating-point numbers (16-bit) are used for applications like machine learning, where lower precision is acceptable.
247.2 GFLOPS
FP32 (float)
?
An important metric for measuring GPU performance is floating-point computing capability. Single-precision floating-point numbers (32-bit) are used for common multimedia and graphics processing tasks, while double-precision floating-point numbers (64-bit) are required for scientific computing that demands a wide numeric range and high accuracy. Half-precision floating-point numbers (16-bit) are used for applications like machine learning, where lower precision is acceptable.
15.502 TFlops

Miscellaneous

Vulkan Version
?
Vulkan is a cross-platform graphics and compute API by Khronos Group, offering high performance and low CPU overhead. It lets developers control the GPU directly, reduces rendering overhead, and supports multi-threading and multi-core processors.
1.3
OpenCL Version
3.0
OpenGL
4.6
DirectX
12 Ultimate (12_2)
CUDA
8.9
Power Connectors
None
ROPs
?
The Raster Operations Pipeline (ROPs) is primarily responsible for handling lighting and reflection calculations in games, as well as managing effects like anti-aliasing (AA), high resolution, smoke, and fire. The more demanding the anti-aliasing and lighting effects in a game, the higher the performance requirements for the ROPs; otherwise, it may result in a sharp drop in frame rate.
64
Shader Model
6.7

FP32 (float)

15.502 TFlops

Blender

5430

Compared to Other GPU

29%
57%
89%
Better then 29% GPU over the past year
Better then 57% GPU over the past 3 years
Better then 89% GPU

SiliconCat Rating

30
Ranks 30 among Mobile GPU on our website
192
Ranks 192 among all GPU on our website
FP32 (float)
TITAN RTX
NVIDIA, December 2018
16.634 TFlops
Tesla V100 DGXS 16 GB
NVIDIA, March 2018
15.982 TFlops
15.502 TFlops
14.666 TFlops
Radeon Pro Vega II
AMD, June 2019
14.086 TFlops
Blender
GeForce RTX 4090
NVIDIA, September 2022
12577
5430
Radeon RX 6600
AMD, October 2021
1005.46
Radeon Pro Vega 56
AMD, August 2017
521