AMD FirePro S9300 X2 vs NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile leads with an average benchmark score of 39,568, while the AMD FirePro S9300 X2 trails at 32,540. This places the NVIDIA part in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs, versus the 77th percentile for the AMD card.

Q: How do the two cards compare in the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile scores 41,263, which is 47.5% higher than the AMD FirePro S9300 X2's 27,971. This is the single largest performance gap between the two in any recorded benchmark.

Q: What is the difference in memory bandwidth?

A: The AMD FirePro S9300 X2 delivers 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth through a 4096-bit HBM interface, while the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile provides 96.00 GB/s over a 64-bit GDDR6 bus. The AMD card has more than five times the bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU supports hardware ray tracing and tensor cores?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile includes 16 RT cores and 64 tensor cores, while the AMD FirePro S9300 X2 has neither feature. The NVIDIA card also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), whereas the AMD card is limited to DirectX 12 (12_0).

Q: Are both GPUs still in production?

A: No. Both are marked as end-of-life in the database. The NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile was released in 2022, while the AMD FirePro S9300 X2 came six years earlier in 2016.

Q: Which card has a higher transistor count?

A: The AMD FirePro S9300 X2 has 8,900 million transistors on a 596 mm² die, while the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile has 8,700 million on a 200 mm² die. The NVIDIA chip packs far more transistors per square millimeter.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs represent fundamentally different design philosophies and eras. The NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile is built on the Ampere architecture using Samsung's 8 nm process, while the AMD FirePro S9300 X2 relies on the older GCN 3.0 architecture fabricated by TSMC on 28 nm. This process gap explains the dramatic difference in die size: the AMD chip measures 596 mm², nearly three times the NVIDIA part's 200 mm², despite having only 200 million more transistors (8,900 million versus 8,700 million). The resulting transistor density tells the story, with NVIDIA achieving 43.5 million transistors per mm² against AMD's 14.9 million.

The compute resources also diverge sharply. The AMD FirePro S9300 X2 packs 4,096 shading units, 256 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs, all significantly higher than the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile's 2,048 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. However, the NVIDIA card adds specialized hardware that the AMD card lacks entirely: 16 RT cores for ray tracing and 64 tensor cores for AI acceleration. This makes the NVIDIA part far more versatile for modern workloads that leverage these accelerators.

Memory architecture represents another major split. The AMD FirePro S9300 X2 uses 4 GB of HBM on a 4096-bit bus, yielding 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile also has 4 GB, but uses GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus for 96.00 GB/s. The AMD card's bandwidth advantage is enormous, but it comes with the trade-off of a dual-slot form factor, dual 8-pin power connectors, and a 300 W TDP. The NVIDIA part is an IGP with no power connectors and a 30 W TDP, making it suitable for portable devices.

API support also differs. The NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The AMD FirePro S9300 X2 manages DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The NVIDIA card's newer API features align with its 2022 release date, while the AMD card's 2016 vintage shows in its lower Vulkan version and lack of DirectX 12 Ultimate.

The Verdict

The benchmark data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile wins both recorded tests and holds a decisive lead in average score. The 47.5% advantage in Geekbench OpenCL is the headline number, and even in Vulkan, where the AMD card comes closest, NVIDIA still leads by 2.1%. Anyone choosing purely on performance should select the NVIDIA part.

However, the AMD FirePro S9300 X2 is not without purpose. Its 512.0 GB/s memory bandwidth is unmatched in this comparison, and its higher raw compute rates (7.987 TFLOPS FP32 versus 6.296 TFLOPS) suggest it could handle bandwidth-intensive workloads that the database benchmarks do not capture. The AMD card also supports OpenGL 4.6, matching NVIDIA, and its 4 GB HBM could be an advantage for specific server-side tasks.

The NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile is the better all-around GPU. It wins the recorded benchmarks, includes ray tracing and tensor cores, draws far less power, and fits in an IGP form factor. The AMD FirePro S9300 X2, with its 300 W TDP, dual-slot footprint, and 700 W suggested PSU, is a server-oriented part from an older generation. For most modern workloads, the NVIDIA card's architecture and feature set make it the sensible pick.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile | AMD FirePro S9300 X2 |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | Ampere | GCN 3.0 |

| Process Node | 8 nm | 28 nm |

| Foundry | Samsung | TSMC |

| Die Size | 200 mm² | 596 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 43.5M / mm² | 14.9M / mm² |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | HBM |

| Memory Bus Width | 64 bit | 4096 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 96.00 GB/s | 512.0 GB/s |

| Memory Clock | 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective) | 500 MHz (1000 Mbps effective) |

| Shading Units | 2048 | 4096 |

| TMUs | 64 | 256 |

| ROPs | 32 | 64 |

| RT Cores | 16 | None |

| Tensor Cores | 64 | None |

| Pixel Rate | 49.18 GPixel/s | 62.40 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 98.37 GTexel/s | 249.6 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 6.296 TFLOPS | 7.987 TFLOPS |

| TDP | 30 W | 300 W |

| Slot Width | IGP | Dual-slot |

| Power Connectors | None | 2x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | None | 700 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x8 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | Portable Device Dependent | No outputs |

| DirectX Support | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | 12 (12_0) |

| Vulkan Support | 1.4 | 1.2.170 |

| Release Date | 2022-03-21 | 2016-03-30 |

| Launch MSRP | None | 5,999 USD |

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records two direct comparisons between these GPUs, and the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile wins both. The most significant result comes from Geekbench OpenCL, where the NVIDIA card scores 41,263 against the AMD FirePro S9300 X2's 27,971. This represents a 47.5% delta, the largest margin in any measured test. The gap likely stems from the NVIDIA card's newer architecture and specialized compute units, which can accelerate workloads that the older GCN design handles less efficiently.

The Geekbench Vulkan test is far closer. The NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile scores 37,873, while the AMD FirePro S9300 X2 posts 37,109, a mere 2.1% difference. This narrow margin suggests that when both GPUs are pushed through a modern graphics API, their raw throughput capabilities align more closely. The AMD card's higher shading unit count and texture rate (249.6 GTexel/s versus 98.37 GTexel/s) likely help it close the gap in Vulkan, even if its older architecture lacks the NVIDIA part's dedicated ray tracing and tensor hardware.

The average benchmark scores reinforce this pattern. The NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile averages 39,568 across all tests, while the AMD FirePro S9300 X2 averages 32,540. The NVIDIA card's nearest rival in the database is the AMD Radeon Pro 575 with an average score of 39,555, essentially a tie. The AMD FirePro S9300 X2's closest competitor is the AMD Radeon RX 590 GME at 32,601, which beats it by a slim 0.2%. These relative positions show that the NVIDIA card sits in a higher performance tier among its peers.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile wins in every recorded benchmark, so its strengths are clear. It dominates in synthetic OpenCL workloads with a 47.5% lead, indicating superior compute efficiency per watt. Its 16 RT cores and 64 tensor cores make it the only option here for ray-traced rendering or AI inference tasks, which the AMD card cannot accelerate at all. The NVIDIA part also wins on power consumption, drawing 30 W versus 300 W, and its IGP form factor means it requires no power connectors or dedicated PSU. For mobile workstations or compact systems, the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile is the only viable choice.

The AMD FirePro S9300 X2 still holds specific advantages that the database quantifies. Its 512.0 GB/s memory bandwidth is over five times the NVIDIA card's 96.00 GB/s, which could benefit workloads that are heavily memory-bound, such as large data transfers or certain server-side compute tasks. Its higher pixel rate (62.40 GPixel/s versus 49.18 GPixel/s) and texture rate (249.6 GTexel/s versus 98.37 GTexel/s) indicate faster fill and texturing throughput, which might matter in specific graphics pipelines. The AMD card also has double the shading units (4,096 versus 2,048) and ROPs (64 versus 32), offering more raw parallel processing capacity in scenarios that do not rely on newer API features.

The use-case split is accordingly stark. For modern applications, AI workloads, ray tracing, or any power-constrained environment, the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile is the clear winner. For legacy server deployments that prioritize raw memory bandwidth and fill rates, and where the 300 W TDP and dual-slot footprint are acceptable, the AMD FirePro S9300 X2 retains some relevance. The data shows NVIDIA winning the overall contest, but the AMD card's bandwidth and rasterization throughput remain its saving graces.