AMD Radeon HD 7950 vs NVIDIA A2 Comparison

# NVIDIA A2 vs AMD Radeon HD 7950

The NVIDIA A2 and AMD Radeon HD 7950 occupy nearly identical positions in the aggregate benchmark hierarchy, yet they represent fundamentally different eras of GPU design. The A2 posts an average benchmark score of 34,690, placing it in the 79th percentile of all GPUs, while the HD 7950 achieves 33,951, sitting in the 78th percentile. The gap between them is remarkably slim — roughly 2.2% — but the architectural chasm separating a 2021 Ampere workstation accelerator from a 2012 Southern Islands gaming card could hardly be wider.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

Direct comparison data is limited, as the two cards were tested under different benchmark suites. The NVIDIA A2 was evaluated with Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan tests, scoring 35,357 and 34,023 respectively. The AMD Radeon HD 7950 was only tested with Geekbench Metal, producing a score of 33,951. When compared through the lens of their respective average scores, the A2 leads by 739 points, or approximately 2.2% of the HD 7950's result.

The A2's nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA T1000 8 GB (average score 34,561, delta 0.4%), the AMD Radeon HD 7970 (average score 34,541, delta 0.4%), the NVIDIA TITAN V (average score 34,355, delta 1%), and the NVIDIA RTX A1000 (average score 34,207, delta 1.4%). These deltas show the A2 sits at the top of a tightly clustered group of cards separated by less than 1.5% in either direction.

The HD 7950's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 480 (average score 33,997, delta -0.1%), the AMD Radeon RX 7700S (average score 33,849, delta 0.3%), the AMD Radeon RX 560 XT (average score 34,133, delta -0.5%), and the NVIDIA RTX A2000 12 GB (average score 34,154, delta -0.6%). Notably, the HD 7950 ranks below its nearest competitors in all but one case, trailing the RX 480 by 0.1% and the RX 560 XT by 0.5%, while only edging out the RX 7700S by 0.3%.

The data suggests the A2 has a slight edge in raw aggregate throughput, but the margin is small enough that real-world application performance would likely vary depending on workload characteristics. The A2's OpenCL score of 35,357 is particularly strong, exceeding its own Vulkan result by 1,334 points, indicating compute-heavy loads may favor the Ampere architecture's design. The HD 7950's single Metal benchmark score of 33,951 provides only a narrow window into its capabilities, yet it remains competitive with much newer hardware nearly a decade its junior.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA A2 wins decisively in modern compute workloads. Its FP32 throughput of 4.531 TFLOPS represents a 58% advantage over the HD 7950's 2.867 TFLOPS. The A2 also offers FP16 compute at 4.531 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio, a capability the HD 7950 lacks entirely. This makes the A2 substantially better suited for AI inference, machine learning, and scientific computing tasks that leverage reduced-precision arithmetic.

The A2 further distinguishes itself with dedicated ray tracing cores (10) and tensor cores (40), neither of which exist on the HD 7950. These specialized units enable hardware-accelerated ray tracing and tensor operations that the older GCN architecture cannot perform, giving the A2 a categorical advantage in any workload that can utilize them. The A2 also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the HD 7950 is limited to DirectX 12 (11_1), meaning the newer card can access the full feature set of modern graphics APIs.

The AMD Radeon HD 7950 wins in texturing throughput. Its 89.60 GTexel/s texture rate exceeds the A2's 70.80 GTexel/s by roughly 27%. This advantage stems from the HD 7950's larger count of texture mapping units — 112 versus the A2's 40. For traditional rasterization workloads with heavy texture sampling, particularly older games or applications optimized for GCN-style architectures, the HD 7950 may sustain higher fill rates in texture-bound scenarios.

The HD 7950 also holds a memory bandwidth advantage, delivering 240.0 GB/s compared to the A2's 200.1 GB/s. This 20% bandwidth lead comes from its wider 384-bit memory bus, although the A2 compensates with faster GDDR6 memory running at 12.5 Gbps effective versus the HD 7950's 5 Gbps GDDR5. The HD 7950's pixel rate of 25.60 GPixel/s, however, trails the A2's 56.64 GPixel/s by a substantial 121% margin, indicating the A2 handles pixel-heavy workloads far more efficiently.

Architecture Differences

The NVIDIA A2 is built on the Ampere architecture using the GA107 chip, manufactured on Samsung's 8 nm process. It integrates 8,700 million transistors into a 200 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 43.5 million per square millimeter. The HD 7950 employs AMD's GCN 1.0 architecture with the Tahiti chip, fabricated on TSMC's 28 nm process. This older design packs 4,313 million transistors into a larger 352 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of just 12.3 million per square millimeter — approximately 3.5 times less dense than the A2.

The A2's architecture incorporates 1,280 shading units, 40 TMUs, 32 ROPs, 10 ray tracing cores, and 40 tensor cores. The HD 7950 counters with 1,792 shading units, 112 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, but lacks any dedicated ray tracing or tensor hardware. The HD 7950's higher shader count and TMU count reflect its design as a wide, parallel rasterization engine, while the A2's leaner configuration emphasizes specialized compute units and modern acceleration features.

The A2 supports FP16 computation at the same rate as FP32, a hallmark of modern compute-oriented GPUs. The HD 7950 has no FP16 support listed, limiting its usefulness for half-precision workloads. Both cards support OpenGL 4.6, but the A2 offers Vulkan 1.4 while the HD 7950 is limited to Vulkan 1.2.170. The A2's DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) certification enables features like mesh shaders and variable rate shading that the HD 7950's DirectX 12 (11_1) cannot provide.

Power efficiency represents the starkest architectural divergence. The A2 draws a 60 W TDP with no power connectors required, while the HD 7950 consumes 200 W and needs two 6-pin connectors. The A2's suggested power supply is 250 W versus 550 W for the HD 7950. This efficiency gap reflects not only process node advantages but also fundamentally different design philosophies — the A2 prioritizes compute density per watt, while the HD 7950 was engineered for raw performance within the power budgets of its era.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every measurable specification. Memory capacity: the A2 offers 16 GB of GDDR6, while the HD 7950 provides 3 GB of GDDR5. Memory bus width: 128-bit versus 384-bit. Memory bandwidth: 200.1 GB/s versus 240.0 GB/s. Clock speeds: the A2 runs at a base of 1440 MHz with a 1770 MHz boost, while the HD 7950 lists only a memory clock of 1250 MHz (5 Gbps effective) with no base or boost figures specified.

Shading units: 1,280 versus 1,792. TMUs: 40 versus 112. ROPs: 32 versus 32 — the only identical specification. Pixel rate: 56.64 GPixel/s versus 25.60 GPixel/s. Texture rate: 70.80 GTexel/s versus 89.60 GTexel/s. FP32 throughput: 4.531 TFLOPS versus 2.867 TFLOPS. The A2 has no display outputs, while the HD 7950 provides 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.2.

Physical specifications differ as well. The A2 is single-slot with no power connectors; the HD 7950 is dual-slot with 2x 6-pin connectors. The HD 7950 measures 278 mm in length, 111 mm in height, and 38 mm in width. The A2's dimensions are not listed. Bus interface: PCIe 4.0 x8 for the A2 versus PCIe 3.0 x16 for the HD 7950. Process node: 8 nm versus 28 nm. Transistor count: 8,700 million versus 4,313 million. Die size: 200 mm² versus 352 mm². The HD 7950 has a launch MSRP of 449 USD.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher FP32 compute performance?

A: The NVIDIA A2 delivers 4.531 TFLOPS of FP32 throughput, which is 58% higher than the AMD Radeon HD 7950's 2.867 TFLOPS.

Q: Does either card support hardware ray tracing?

A: Only the NVIDIA A2 includes dedicated ray tracing cores — 10 of them. The AMD Radeon HD 7950 has no ray tracing hardware.

Q: How do their memory configurations compare?

A: The A2 has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 200.1 GB/s bandwidth, while the HD 7950 has 3 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus with 240.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card is more power-efficient?

A: The NVIDIA A2 has a 60 W TDP and requires no power connectors, whereas the AMD Radeon HD 7950 has a 200 W TDP and needs two 6-pin connectors. The A2 suggests a 250 W power supply versus 550 W for the HD 7950.

Q: What are their average benchmark scores?

A: The NVIDIA A2 averages 34,690 across its benchmark tests, and the AMD Radeon HD 7950 averages 33,951. The A2 ranks in the 79th percentile of all GPUs, while the HD 7950 ranks in the 78th.

Q: Do both cards support modern graphics APIs?

A: Both support OpenGL 4.6, but the A2 offers Vulkan 1.4 and DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the HD 7950 supports Vulkan 1.2.170 and DirectX 12 (11_1).