AMD Radeon Pro 570X vs NVIDIA A2 Comparison

# NVIDIA A2 vs AMD Radeon Pro 570X

The NVIDIA A2 and AMD Radeon Pro 570X represent two distinct approaches to workstation graphics, separated by two generations of architecture and aimed at different use cases. The A2 is a 60 W single-slot accelerator built on Samsung's 8 nm process with Ampere architecture, while the Radeon Pro 570X is a 150 W integrated graphics processor (IGP) on GlobalFoundries' 14 nm node using GCN 4.0. Benchmark data from Geekbench shows the A2 winning both head-to-head tests, with a 28.1% lead in OpenCL and a 17.9% lead in Vulkan, though the Radeon Pro 570X counters with a strong Metal score of 40066 that the A2 cannot match due to its lack of Metal support.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA A2 scores 34690 on average, while the AMD Radeon Pro 570X scores 32176. This places the A2 in the 79th percentile of all GPUs, versus the 76th percentile for the Radeon Pro 570X.

Q: How significant is the OpenCL performance gap between the two cards?

A: The NVIDIA A2 achieves 35357 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 28.1% ahead of the Radeon Pro 570X's 27604. This is the largest performance delta in the head-to-head comparison.

Q: Does the AMD card have any benchmark advantage over the NVIDIA card?

A: Yes, the Radeon Pro 570X posts a Metal score of 40066, which is its strongest benchmark result. The NVIDIA A2 has no Metal benchmark listed, so in Metal-specific workloads, the AMD card is the only option of the two.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference between these two GPUs?

A: The NVIDIA A2 features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 200.1 GB/s bandwidth. The AMD Radeon Pro 570X has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, providing 217.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: How do the two cards compare in transistor density?

A: The NVIDIA A2 packs 8,700 million transistors into a 200 mm² die, yielding a density of 43.5M transistors per mm². The AMD Radeon Pro 570X contains 5,700 million transistors on a larger 232 mm² die, resulting in 24.6M per mm².

Q: What API level does each card support?

A: The NVIDIA A2 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The AMD Radeon Pro 570X supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on fundamentally different architectures from different eras. The NVIDIA A2 uses the GA107 chip based on Ampere architecture, manufactured on Samsung's 8 nm process. It integrates 8,700 million transistors across a 200 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 43.5M per mm². The AMD Radeon Pro 570X employs the Ellesmere chip with GCN 4.0 architecture, fabricated by GlobalFoundries on a 14 nm node. This older process packs 5,700 million transistors into a larger 232 mm² die, with a density of just 24.6M per mm² — roughly 57% of the A2's density.

Clock behavior also differs substantially. The A2 operates at a 1440 MHz base clock and boosts to 1770 MHz, while the Radeon Pro 570X runs at a 1000 MHz base and 1105 MHz boost. The A2's memory clock is 1563 MHz (12.5 Gbps effective), compared to 1695 MHz (6.8 Gbps effective) for the AMD card. Despite the higher memory clock on the AMD card, its GDDR5 memory and narrower overall throughput profile result in lower effective bandwidth per watt.

The compute resources diverge significantly. The A2 has 1280 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, supplemented by 10 ray-tracing cores and 40 tensor cores — features entirely absent from the Radeon Pro 570X. The AMD card counters with more traditional compute: 1792 shading units, 112 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, but no dedicated ray-tracing or tensor hardware. This reflects GCN 4.0's design, which predates dedicated AI and RT acceleration. Pixel rates favor the A2 at 56.64 GPixel/s versus 35.36 GPixel/s, while texture rate favors the AMD card at 123.8 GTexel/s versus 70.80 GTexel/s, reflecting its higher TMU count.

Power and interface differences are stark. The A2 is rated at 60 W TDP with no power connectors and a 250 W suggested PSU, while the Radeon Pro 570X draws 150 W and also uses no power connectors but is classified as an IGP with no suggested PSU listed. The A2 uses PCIe 4.0 x8, whereas the AMD card uses PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs also differ: the A2 has no outputs, making it a pure compute accelerator, while the Radeon Pro 570X is "portable device dependent."

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head data shows a decisive NVIDIA win in both available cross-platform tests. In Geekbench OpenCL, the A2 scores 35357 against the Radeon Pro 570X's 27604, a 28.1% advantage. This is the largest single-test gap between the two cards and reflects the A2's higher FP32 throughput (4.531 TFLOPS versus 3.960 TFLOPS) combined with its much higher boost clock and modern architecture. The 28.1% delta is substantial enough to represent a full performance tier in many compute workloads, especially those that scale with raw shader and tensor throughput.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the A2 again takes the lead with 34023 versus 28859, a 17.9% margin. This smaller gap suggests that Vulkan workloads benefit somewhat more from the AMD card's higher TMU count and texture rate, which narrows the architectural advantage of the Ampere design. Still, the A2's superior geometry and pixel processing capabilities, evidenced by its 56.64 GPixel/s pixel rate, keep it comfortably ahead.

The AMD card's best result — its Metal score of 40066 — is not part of the direct head-to-head comparison because the A2 lacks Metal support entirely. However, this score demonstrates that in Apple-centric environments, the Radeon Pro 570X can outperform the A2's OpenCL and Vulkan results. This Metal score also exceeds the A2's average benchmark score of 34690, indicating that the AMD card has a specific strength that the NVIDIA card cannot address.

Specification Differences

The most consequential specification gaps between the NVIDIA A2 and AMD Radeon Pro 570X are:

• Process node: 8 nm (Samsung) vs 14 nm (GlobalFoundries)
• Transistors: 8,700 million vs 5,700 million
• Die size: 200 mm² vs 232 mm²
• Transistor density: 43.5M / mm² vs 24.6M / mm²
• Base clock: 1440 MHz vs 1000 MHz
• Boost clock: 1770 MHz vs 1105 MHz
• Memory clock: 1563 MHz (12.5 Gbps effective) vs 1695 MHz (6.8 Gbps effective)
• Memory size: 16 GB GDDR6 vs 4 GB GDDR5
• Memory bus width: 128 bit vs 256 bit
• Memory bandwidth: 200.1 GB/s vs 217.0 GB/s
• Shading units: 1280 vs 1792
• TMUs: 40 vs 112
• ROPs: 32 vs 32
• RT cores: 10 vs null
• Tensor cores: 40 vs null
• Pixel rate: 56.64 GPixel/s vs 35.36 GPixel/s
• Texture rate: 70.80 GTexel/s vs 123.8 GTexel/s
• FP32: 4.531 TFLOPS vs 3.960 TFLOPS
• FP16: 4.531 TFLOPS (1:1) vs 3.960 TFLOPS (1:1)
• TDP: 60 W vs 150 W
• Slot width: Single-slot vs IGP
• Suggested PSU: 250 W vs null
• Bus interface: PCIe 4.0 x8 vs PCIe 3.0 x16
• Display outputs: No outputs vs Portable Device Dependent
• DirectX support: 12 Ultimate (12_2) vs 12 (12_0)
• Vulkan support: 1.4 vs 1.3
• Release date: 2021-11-09 vs 2019-03-17

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA A2 is the clear winner in raw compute performance and efficiency. Its 28.1% OpenCL advantage and 17.9% Vulkan lead make it the better choice for general-purpose GPU compute, machine learning inference (thanks to its 40 tensor cores), and ray-tracing workloads (10 RT cores). The A2's 16 GB of GDDR6 memory quadruples the AMD card's capacity, which is critical for large datasets and models that exceed 4 GB. Its 60 W TDP means it can be deployed in power-constrained environments, and the lack of display outputs positions it as a dedicated accelerator for server or edge deployments. The 79th percentile ranking versus the AMD card's 76th percentile confirms its overall superiority in the benchmark database.

The AMD Radeon Pro 570X wins specifically in Metal-based environments. Its Metal score of 40066 is the highest benchmark result between the two cards, and this is the only major workload category where the AMD card has a definitive advantage. The Radeon Pro 570X also offers higher texture rate (123.8 GTexel/s) and larger memory bus width (256 bit), which could benefit certain texture-heavy or bandwidth-sensitive applications that are not well-represented by the OpenCL and Vulkan tests. Its status as an IGP with portable device dependent outputs makes it suitable for integrated systems, particularly in Apple's Mac lineup where Metal is the primary graphics API.

For Vulkan performance specifically, the A2 leads but by a smaller margin (17.9% versus 28.1% in OpenCL). This suggests that developers optimizing for Vulkan may find the AMD card's higher TMU count and texture throughput partially compensates for its older architecture. However, the A2's overall compute advantage remains decisive. The A2's PCIe 4.0 x8 interface, while narrower than the Radeon Pro 570X's PCIe 3.0 x16, provides higher per-lane bandwidth and is a more modern interconnect standard.

In terms of production status, both cards are end-of-life, but the A2's November 2021 release date makes it a significantly newer product than the March 2019 Radeon Pro 570X. The A2 sits in the Workstation Ampere generation, with a predecessor in Quadro Turing and successor in Workstation Ada, while the Radeon Pro 570X has no listed predecessor or successor, reflecting its niche status in the Radeon Pro Mac lineup.