AMD Radeon Pro WX 8200 vs NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile Comparison

The NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile and AMD Radeon Pro WX 8200 are two professional GPUs from different eras, with the data showing a near-total performance stalemate despite radically different designs. The RTX A3000 Mobile edges ahead in the average benchmark score at 70,140 versus 69,408 for the WX 8200, a marginal delta of just 1.1%. However, this average conceals a complete split: the NVIDIA part wins decisively in Geekbench OpenCL with a 13.4% lead, while the AMD part takes Geekbench Vulkan by 11.4%. The architectural gulf between them—a 2021 mobile Ampere chip versus a 2018 desktop Vega part—explains why their overall performance lands so close together, but the workload-specific outcomes are starkly different.

Architecture Differences

The RTX A3000 Mobile is built on NVIDIA's Ampere architecture using the GA104 chip, fabricated on an 8 nm process at Samsung. This is a mobile-first design with a 70 W TDP, reflecting its intended use in portable workstations. The GA104 die measures 392 mm² and packs 17,400 million transistors, yielding a transistor density of 44.4M per mm². In contrast, the Radeon Pro WX 8200 uses AMD's older GCN 5.0 architecture with the Vega 10 chip, built on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. The Vega 10 die is substantially larger at 495 mm² but contains fewer transistors—12,500 million—resulting in a much lower density of 25.3M per mm². The WX 8200 is a desktop card with a 230 W TDP, a dual-slot cooler, and requires both a 6-pin and 8-pin power connector.

The compute configurations diverge significantly. The RTX A3000 Mobile has 4,096 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, augmented by 32 dedicated ray tracing cores and 128 tensor cores—features that simply do not exist on the WX 8200, which has no RT or tensor core hardware. The AMD card counters with 3,584 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. This means the WX 8200 has substantially higher texture throughput at 336.0 GTexel/s versus 157.4 GTexel/s for the RTX A3000 Mobile, a 2.1x advantage. Pixel rates are closer: 96.00 GPixel/s for AMD versus 78.72 GPixel/s for NVIDIA. In raw FP32 compute, the WX 8200 leads with 10.75 TFLOPS against 10.08 TFLOPS. However, the AMD card's FP16 performance is 21.50 TFLOPS (2:1 rate) while the NVIDIA part delivers 10.08 TFLOPS (1:1 rate), meaning the WX 8200 has a 2.1x FP16 advantage if the workload can exploit it.

Memory architecture is another fundamental split. The RTX A3000 Mobile uses 6 GB of GDDR6 across a 192-bit bus, providing 264.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The WX 8200 uses 8 GB of HBM2 on a massive 2048-bit bus, delivering 512.0 GB/s—nearly double the bandwidth. Clock speeds tell a similar story: the NVIDIA chip runs at a 600 MHz base and 1230 MHz boost with memory at 1375 MHz (11 Gbps effective), while the AMD chip runs at 1200 MHz base and 1500 MHz boost with memory at 1000 MHz (2 Gbps effective). The AMD card also supports PCIe 3.0 x16, whereas the NVIDIA part uses PCIe 4.0 x16, though both are end-of-life products. The WX 8200 offers four mini-DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, while the RTX A3000 Mobile's display outputs are portable device dependent.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile has a higher average benchmark score of 70,140 compared to 69,408 for the AMD Radeon Pro WX 8200, a lead of 1.1%. Both cards sit at the 92nd percentile among all GPUs.

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

A: The RTX A3000 Mobile scores 79,091 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 13.4% higher than the WX 8200's 69,774. This is the NVIDIA card's single largest win in the head-to-head benchmarks.

Q: How do the two cards compare in Geekbench Vulkan?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro WX 8200 wins Geekbench Vulkan with a score of 69,041 against the RTX A3000 Mobile's 61,189. The AMD card leads by 11.4% in this test, flipping the result from OpenCL.

Q: What are the memory specifications for each card?

A: The RTX A3000 Mobile has 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus with 264.0 GB/s bandwidth. The WX 8200 has 8 GB of HBM2 on a 2048-bit bus with 512.0 GB/s bandwidth, giving it roughly double the memory bandwidth.

Q: Which card has ray tracing and tensor core support?

A: Only the NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile has dedicated hardware: 32 ray tracing cores and 128 tensor cores. The AMD Radeon Pro WX 8200 has no RT or tensor cores, as it is based on the older GCN 5.0 architecture.

Q: What are the TDP and power requirements for each card?

A: The RTX A3000 Mobile has a 70 W TDP and requires no external power connectors. The WX 8200 has a 230 W TDP, uses a 6-pin and 8-pin power connector, and AMD recommends a 550 W power supply.

The Verdict

The benchmark data indicates a split decision that comes down to workload and form factor. For users who prioritize OpenCL performance, the NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile is the clear choice—it leads by 13.4% in that test, which is a substantial margin in professional rendering and compute tasks that rely on OpenCL. For those who need Vulkan performance, the AMD Radeon Pro WX 8200 wins by 11.4%, making it the better option for Vulkan-based applications and game engines. The overall average scores are nearly identical, with the NVIDIA card holding a 1.1% edge, so neither GPU is categorically faster.

The decision should also factor in physical deployment. The RTX A3000 Mobile is a mobile chip with a 70 W TDP, designed for portable workstations, and its display outputs are dependent on the host device. The WX 8200 is a desktop dual-slot card with a 230 W TDP, requiring a 550 W power supply and a 6-pin plus 8-pin connector, but it offers four mini-DisplayPort outputs. The WX 8200 also has a 2x advantage in memory bandwidth (512.0 GB/s versus 264.0 GB/s) and 2x more VRAM (8 GB versus 6 GB), which matters for large datasets. The RTX A3000 Mobile counters with modern features like ray tracing cores, tensor cores, and PCIe 4.0 support. The data shows the RTX A3000 Mobile is the better pick for OpenCL-heavy workflows in a mobile chassis, while the WX 8200 is superior for Vulkan tasks and memory-bandwidth-intensive workloads on a desktop.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The Geekbench OpenCL test is the single most lopsided result in favor of the RTX A3000 Mobile. The NVIDIA card scores 79,091 against the WX 8200's 69,774, producing a delta of 13.4%. This is a significant win, especially given that the AMD card has higher raw FP32 throughput (10.75 TFLOPS versus 10.08 TFLOPS) and more than double the texture fill rate (336.0 GTexel/s versus 157.4 GTexel/s). The fact that the RTX A3000 Mobile still wins by this margin suggests that NVIDIA's Ampere architecture, with its 1:1 FP16 rate and tensor cores, translates better to OpenCL workloads despite lower theoretical compute figures. The RTX A3000 Mobile also benefits from a newer process node (8 nm versus 14 nm) and a higher transistor density (44.4M per mm² versus 25.3M per mm²).

The Geekbench Vulkan test reverses the outcome completely. The AMD Radeon Pro WX 8200 scores 69,041, beating the RTX A3000 Mobile's 61,189 by 11.4%. This result is notable because the WX 8200 lacks any ray tracing or tensor core hardware, yet it still outperforms the NVIDIA part in a modern graphics API. The AMD card's advantages in this test likely stem from its massive memory bandwidth (512.0 GB/s versus 264.0 GB/s) and higher pixel rate (96.00 GPixel/s versus 78.72 GPixel/s). The WX 8200's 2048-bit HBM2 memory bus is a generational advantage that Ampere's 192-bit GDDR6 setup cannot overcome in Vulkan. The 8 GB VRAM capacity also provides more headroom for Vulkan workloads that use larger textures or buffers.

These two benchmark results are a perfect mirror: each card wins one test by a double-digit margin. The average benchmark scores are 70,140 for NVIDIA and 69,408 for AMD, meaning the OpenCL win slightly outweighs the Vulkan loss in the aggregate. The delta between the two cards' average scores is just 1.1%, which is within the range of run-to-run variance. The nearest rival data confirms the tight grouping: the Intel Arc A770 sits between them at 68,809, while the AMD Radeon Instinct MI25 is at 68,562. The RTX A3000 Mobile is 3% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6650M, and the WX 8200 is 3.1% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro P6000.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile wins in scenarios where OpenCL is the primary API. Its 13.4% lead in Geekbench OpenCL is the largest performance gap between the two cards, and this advantage is enough to give it a higher average benchmark score overall. The RTX A3000 Mobile is also the only option with ray tracing cores and tensor cores, making it the better choice for workloads that leverage these features, such as AI inference or ray-traced rendering. Its 70 W TDP and lack of power connectors mean it can be deployed in thin-and-light mobile workstations where the 230 W WX 8200 is physically impossible to use. The NVIDIA card's PCIe 4.0 interface also provides double the bandwidth of the WX 8200's PCIe 3.0 link for data transfer to the host system.

The AMD Radeon Pro WX 8200 wins in Vulkan-centric applications, where its 11.4% lead is decisive. Its memory subsystem is the key differentiator: 8 GB of HBM2 at 512.0 GB/s is a massive advantage over 6 GB of GDDR6 at 264.0 GB/s, both in capacity and bandwidth. For workloads that are memory-bound—such as large texture sets, high-resolution compute, or scientific visualization—the WX 8200's 2x bandwidth headroom is a critical asset. The AMD card also has higher texture throughput (336.0 GTexel/s versus 157.4 GTexel/s) and higher pixel rate (96.00 GPixel/s versus 78.72 GPixel/s), which benefits fill-rate-limited tasks. The four mini-DisplayPort 1.4a outputs make it a natural fit for multi-monitor desktop setups, whereas the RTX A3000 Mobile's outputs depend on the host laptop.

The data shows a clear workload split: OpenCL and mobile deployment favor NVIDIA, while Vulkan and memory-intensive desktop workloads favor AMD. Users who need both APIs at peak performance would need to choose based on their primary application, as neither card dominates the other across the board.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every specification category. The RTX A3000 Mobile uses an 8 nm process at Samsung with 17,400 million transistors on a 392 mm² die (44.4M per mm²), while the WX 8200 uses 14 nm at GlobalFoundries with 12,500 million transistors on a 495 mm² die (25.3M per mm²). Clock speeds are lower on the NVIDIA part: 600 MHz base and 1230 MHz boost versus 1200 MHz base and 1500 MHz boost for AMD.

Memory is a major divergence: the RTX A3000 Mobile has 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus at 264.0 GB/s, while the WX 8200 has 8 GB of HBM2 on a 2048-bit bus at 512.0 GB/s. The RTX A3000 Mobile has 4,096 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, plus 32 RT cores and 128 tensor cores. The WX 8200 has 3,584 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, with no RT or tensor cores. Pixel rates are 78.72 GPixel/s for NVIDIA versus