GPU Comparison

The AMD Radeon PRO W7900 and NVIDIA RTX A4500 target the same workstation segment but deliver starkly different performance profiles. Benchmark data shows the RTX A4500 leads decisively in OpenCL compute, while the W7900 counters in Vulkan and brings substantially larger memory capacity. The W7900 posts an average benchmark score of 110,725, placing it at the 94th percentile of all GPUs, versus the RTX A4500’s 91,671 average and 93rd percentile. This close percentile ranking masks a 17.3% gap in average scores, driven by the RTX A4500’s massive OpenCL advantage.

FAQ

Q: Which card wins in OpenCL performance?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A4500 dominates OpenCL with a Geekbench score of 141,837, versus the AMD Radeon PRO W7900’s 84,379. That is a 40.5% deficit for the W7900, making the RTX A4500 the clear choice for OpenCL-heavy workloads.

Q: Which card wins in Vulkan performance?

A: The AMD Radeon PRO W7900 takes Vulkan with a score of 137,070, beating the RTX A4500’s 129,980. The margin is 5.5%, a meaningful but modest lead for AMD in this API.

Q: How much memory does each card offer?

A: The AMD Radeon PRO W7900 features 48 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 864.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The NVIDIA RTX A4500 offers 20 GB of GDDR6 on a 320-bit bus, with 640.0 GB/s bandwidth. The W7900 has 2.4x the capacity and 35% more bandwidth.

Q: What are the power and physical requirements?

A: The W7900 has a 295 W TDP, requires a 600 W power supply, uses 2x 8-pin connectors, and occupies a triple-slot width. The RTX A4500 has a 200 W TDP, needs a 550 W PSU, uses a single 8-pin connector, and fits in a dual-slot design.

Q: Which card is newer and still in production?

A: The AMD Radeon PRO W7900 was released on 2023-05-25 and has Active production status. The NVIDIA RTX A4500 was released on 2021-11-22 and is marked End-of-life, with its successor listed as Workstation Ada.

Q: How do the two cards compare in raw compute throughput?

A: The W7900 delivers 61.32 TFLOPS FP32 and 61.32 TFLOPS FP16, while the RTX A4500 provides 23.65 TFLOPS in both FP32 and FP16. The W7900 offers 2.6x the FP32 throughput, though its OpenCL benchmark results tell a different story.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear split: choose the NVIDIA RTX A4500 for OpenCL-centric workflows, and the AMD Radeon PRO W7900 for Vulkan-based rendering and memory-hungry tasks. The RTX A4500’s OpenCL score of 141,837 crushes the W7900’s 84,379, a 40.5% margin that cannot be ignored for compute applications reliant on that API. Its 93rd percentile ranking, while slightly below the W7900’s 94th, is backed by a higher single-benchmark peak.

The W7900 wins the Vulkan contest at 137,070 versus 129,980, a 5.5% edge. More importantly, it offers 48 GB of memory versus 20 GB, a 2.4x capacity advantage that matters for large datasets, simulations, or massive scene files. Its 61.32 TFLOPS FP32 and FP16 throughput are both 2.6x higher than the RTX A4500’s 23.65 TFLOPS figures, suggesting better raw compute headroom despite the OpenCL shortfall.

For users who prioritize OpenCL performance, common in scientific computing or certain rendering pipelines, the RTX A4500 is the data-backed choice. For those who need max VRAM, Vulkan speed, or higher peak theoretical compute, the W7900 wins. The RTX A4500 also runs cooler in terms of power draw at 200 W versus 295 W, and fits in a dual-slot form factor versus triple-slot, making it easier to integrate into dense systems.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The Geekbench OpenCL test delivers the largest differential. The RTX A4500 scores 141,837, while the W7900 manages only 84,379. This 40.5% gap is the defining statistic of this comparison, indicating that the NVIDIA card’s architecture handles OpenCL workloads with far greater efficiency. Notably, the W7900’s OpenCL score is even below its own average benchmark score of 110,725, while the RTX A4500’s OpenCL result exceeds its average of 91,671 by a wide margin.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the tables turn. The W7900 posts 137,070, beating the RTX A4500’s 129,980 by 5.5%. This 7,090-point difference is substantial but modest compared to the OpenCL chasm. The W7900’s Vulkan score is its strongest benchmark, while the RTX A4500’s Vulkan result trails its OpenCL score by 11,857 points, showing a clear API preference for NVIDIA.

The average benchmark scores reflect these extremes. The W7900 averages 110,725 across its two tests, while the RTX A4500 averages 91,671 across its three tests, which include a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3,196. That DX12 result is not comparable head-to-head, but it contributes to the RTX A4500’s overall profile. The W7900’s nearest rival, the NVIDIA RTX A5500 Mobile, scores 113,944, just 2.8% higher, while the RTX A4500’s closest competitor, the NVIDIA RTX A4500 Mobile, scores 91,134, a 0.6% difference.

Specification Differences

Memory capacity is the most striking divergence: the W7900 has 48 GB GDDR6 versus the RTX A4500’s 20 GB GDDR6. Bus width follows, at 384-bit versus 320-bit, and bandwidth is 864.0 GB/s versus 640.0 GB/s, a 35% higher figure for AMD. Clock speeds differ widely: the W7900 runs at 1760 MHz base and 2495 MHz boost, while the RTX A4500 runs at 1050 MHz base and 1650 MHz boost. Memory clocks also diverge, with 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) on the W7900 versus 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) on the RTX A4500.

Compute unit counts favor NVIDIA in shading units (7168 versus 6144) but AMD in texture mapping units (384 versus 224) and render output units (192 versus 96). The W7900 has 96 ray tracing cores, while the RTX A4500 has 56 RT cores but adds 224 tensor cores, a feature the W7900 lacks entirely. Pixel and texture rates reflect these differences: the W7900 achieves 479.0 GPixel/s and 958.1 GTexel/s, versus 158.4 GPixel/s and 369.6 GTexel/s for the RTX A4500. Power envelopes differ by 95 W (295 W versus 200 W), with corresponding PSU recommendations of 600 W versus 550 W. Physical dimensions show the W7900 at 280 mm length, 110 mm height, and 51 mm width, while the RTX A4500 is 267 mm long and 112 mm tall with no width listed.

Architecture Differences

The W7900 is built on AMD’s RDNA 3.0 architecture, using the Navi 31 chip with the Plum Bonito codename, part of the Radeon Pro Navi (Navi III Series) generation. It is fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC, containing 57,700 million transistors on a 529 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 109.1M per mm². The RTX A4500 uses NVIDIA’s Ampere architecture, built on the GA102 chip, from the Workstation Ampere (Ax000) generation. It is manufactured on an 8 nm process at Samsung, with 28,300 million transistors on a 628 mm² die, giving a density of 45.1M per mm². The W7900’s 5 nm node is denser and newer, but the RTX A4500’s larger die area compensates with more shading units.

Cache hierarchies are not fully specified in the data, but feature sets differ clearly. The W7900 includes 96 RT cores for ray tracing but no tensor cores, while the RTX A4500 pairs 56 RT cores with 224 tensor cores, enabling AI acceleration that the W7900 cannot offer. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so API compatibility is identical. Display outputs diverge: the W7900 has 3x DisplayPort 2.1 and 1x mini-DisplayPort 2.1, while the RTX A4500 provides 4x DisplayPort 1.4a. The newer DisplayPort 2.1 standard on AMD supports higher bandwidth for future monitors, though the RTX A4500 offers more physical display connections.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA RTX A4500 wins in OpenCL-centric environments. Its score of 141,837 is 40.5% ahead of the W7900, making it the default choice for applications that rely heavily on OpenCL compute, common in medical imaging, physics simulations, or certain 3D renderers. Its 200 W TDP and dual-slot design also make it easier to deploy in multi-GPU or space-constrained workstations. The presence of 224 tensor cores adds AI inference capability that the W7900 cannot match, beneficial for machine learning inference tasks. Its predecessor is Quadro Turing, and its successor is Workstation Ada, indicating a clear product line evolution.

The AMD Radeon PRO W7900 wins where memory capacity and raw compute matter. Its 48 GB VRAM is 2.4x the RTX A4500’s 20 GB, enabling larger datasets without swapping to system memory. Its 864.0 GB/s bandwidth is 35% higher, and its 61.32 TFLOPS FP32 is 2.6x the RTX A4500’s 23.65 TFLOPS. Vulkan performance is 5.5% ahead at 137,070 versus 129,980, which benefits modern game engines and Vulkan-based renderers. The W7900’s 96 RT cores versus 56 give it a 71% advantage in ray tracing hardware, though the RTX A4500’s tensor cores counterbalance AI tasks. Its release date of 2023-05-25 is 18 months newer than the RTX A4500’s 2021-11-22, and it remains in active production, whereas the RTX A4500 is end-of-life. The W7900’s nearest rival is the NVIDIA RTX A5500 Mobile at 113,944 average score, only 2.8% higher, showing it sits at the top of its performance tier. Its launch MSRP is 3,999 USD.