AMD Radeon RX 470 vs NVIDIA A2 Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The recorded benchmark data splits cleanly between these two cards, with each taking one victory in the head-to-head tests. The NVIDIA A2 wins the Geekbench OpenCL workload, while the AMD Radeon RX 470 takes the Geekbench Vulkan test. That split suggests the two cards are not simply faster or slower than one another, but rather that their strengths emerge under different compute interfaces.

The NVIDIA A2 posts a Geekbench OpenCL score of 35357, which is 5.3% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 470's 33568 in the same test. This is the A2's only head-to-head win, and it aligns with the card's workstation positioning. The A2 also sits at the 79th percentile among all GPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 34690. Its nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA T1000 8 GB (0.4% ahead), the AMD Radeon HD 7970 (0.4% ahead), the NVIDIA TITAN V (1% ahead), and the NVIDIA RTX A1000 (1.4% ahead). These are tight margins, meaning the A2's overall average score places it in a crowded cluster of GPUs separated by less than two percentage points.

The AMD Radeon RX 470, by contrast, wins the Geekbench Vulkan test decisively. Its score of 39884 beats the NVIDIA A2's 34023 by 14.7%. This is a substantial gap, and it shows that in Vulkan workloads the RX 470 is clearly the stronger card. However, the RX 470's average benchmark score is only 28996, which places it at the 74th percentile among all GPUs. That average is dragged down by its OpenCL result and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 842, a test that the A2 does not appear in. The RX 470's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6800M (0.4% ahead), the Intel Arc A370M (0.6% ahead), the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GH (0.7% ahead), and the AMD FirePro W8000 (0.7% ahead). These deltas are small, but they are all negative from the RX 470's perspective, meaning the card sits slightly below those four rivals in average score.

The use-case split is therefore clear. For OpenCL compute tasks, the NVIDIA A2 holds a modest but real advantage. For Vulkan rendering or compute, the AMD Radeon RX 470 is the stronger choice by a wide margin. The data does not support calling either card a universal winner.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations and are built on different manufacturing processes. The NVIDIA A2 uses the GA107 chip, based on the Ampere architecture, and belongs to the Workstation Ampere (Ax000) generation. It is fabricated on an 8 nm process at Samsung. The AMD Radeon RX 470 uses the Ellesmere chip, based on GCN 4.0, and belongs to the Arctic Islands (RX 400) generation. It is fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries.

These process differences show up in the transistor counts and die sizes. The NVIDIA A2 packs 8,700 million transistors into a 200 mm² die, giving it a transistor density of 43.5 million per square millimeter. The AMD Radeon RX 470 has 5,700 million transistors on a larger 232 mm² die, resulting in a lower transistor density of 24.6 million per square millimeter. The A2's smaller, denser die reflects its newer manufacturing node.

The memory subsystems also differ significantly. The NVIDIA A2 comes with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 200.1 GB/s of bandwidth. The AMD Radeon RX 470 has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 211.2 GB/s of bandwidth. Despite having four times less memory capacity, the RX 470 has slightly higher memory bandwidth due to its wider bus. The memory clocks tell a similar story: the A2 runs at 1563 MHz (12.5 Gbps effective), while the RX 470 runs at 1650 MHz (6.6 Gbps effective).

The compute resources are arranged differently as well. The NVIDIA A2 has 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. It also includes 10 ray tracing cores and 40 tensor cores, which are absent from the AMD card. The RX 470 has 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The RX 470 has more shading units and four times as many TMUs, but the A2 brings dedicated ray tracing and tensor hardware that the RX 470 cannot match.

Clock speeds are also far apart. The NVIDIA A2 runs at a base clock of 1440 MHz and a boost clock of 1770 MHz. The AMD Radeon RX 470 runs at a base clock of 926 MHz and a boost clock of 1206 MHz. The A2's higher clocks help it compete despite its lower raw shader count.

The cards differ in power and physical design as well. The A2 has a TDP of 60 W, requires no power connectors, and is a single-slot card with a suggested PSU of 250 W. The RX 470 has a TDP of 120 W, requires a single 6-pin power connector, and is a dual-slot card with a suggested PSU of 300 W. The A2 also has no display outputs, while the RX 470 offers 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records two direct comparisons between these cards. The first is Geekbench OpenCL. The NVIDIA A2 scores 35357, and the AMD Radeon RX 470 scores 33568. The A2 wins by 5.3%. This is a moderate margin, not a blowout, but it is consistent with the A2's higher boost clock and its newer architecture. The A2's OpenCL result is also its better score of the two benchmarks it appears in, beating its own Vulkan result by about 3.9%.

The second comparison is Geekbench Vulkan, and here the result flips dramatically. The AMD Radeon RX 470 scores 39884 against the NVIDIA A2's 34023. The RX 470 wins by 14.7%. This is nearly three times the margin of the OpenCL victory, making Vulkan clearly the more lopsided test of the pair. The RX 470's Vulkan score is also its strongest recorded benchmark, and it is about 16..4% higher than its OpenCL result. The data suggests the RX 470's architecture handles Vulkan workloads particularly well, while the A2 is more balanced between the two APIs.

It is worth remembering the RX 470 also has a Geekbench Metal score of 41690 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 842, but the A2 has no recorded results for these tests, so no direct comparison is possible from the database.

The Verdict

The choice between these two cards depends entirely on the workload. The data shows the NVIDIA A2 winning the OpenCL test by 5.3%, with an average benchmark score of 34690 and a 79th percentile ranking. The AMD Radeon RX 470 wins the Vulkan test by 14.7%, but its average benchmark score is only 28996, ranking at the 74th percentile. The A2's average score is about 19.7% higher than the RX 470's average, a gap driven by the RX 470's additional benchmark results that include lower-scoring tests.

For users prioritizing OpenCL compute performance, the NVIDIA A2 is the stronger pick based on the recorded data. It also offers 16 GB of memory, dedicated ray tracing and tensor cores, and a much lower power draw of 60 W with no external power connectors. For users prioritizing Vulkan performance, the AMD Radeon RX 470 is the clear winner with a score of 39884, beating the A2 by 14.7%. However, the RX 470 draws 120 W, requires a 6-pin connector, and has only 4 GB of memory.

The A2's lack of display outputs means it cannot function as a standalone graphics card for output, while the RX 470 offers full display connectivity. The A2 is an end-of-life product from the Workstation Ampere generation, released in November 2021, while the RX 470 is also end-of-life but from the Arctic Islands generation, released in August 2016. The A2 has no recorded launch MSRP, while the RX 470 had a launch MSRP of 179 USD.

FAQ

Q: Which card wins in OpenCL benchmarks?

A: The NVIDIA A2 wins the Geekbench OpenCL test with a score of 35357, which is 5.3% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 470's score of 33568.

Q: Which card wins in Vulkan benchmarks?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 470 wins the Geekbench Vulkan test with a score of 39884, which is 14.7% higher than the NVIDIA A2's score of 34023.

Q: How do the two cards' average benchmark scores compare?

A: The NVIDIA A2 has an average benchmark score of 34690, while the AMD Radeon RX 470 has an average score of 28996. This gives the A2 a roughly 19.7% higher average score.

Q: What memory configurations do the two cards have?

A: The NVIDIA A2 has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 200.1 GB/s bandwidth. The AMD Radeon RX 470 has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus with 211.2 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Does either card support ray tracing?

A: The NVIDIA A2 includes 10 ray tracing cores and 40 tensor cores. The AMD Radeon RX 470 has no ray tracing cores and no tensor cores.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The NVIDIA A2 has a TDP of 60 W, requires no power connectors, and suggests a 250 W PSU. The AMD Radeon RX 470 has a TDP of 120 W, requires one 6-pin power connector, and suggests a 300 W PSU.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA A2 | AMD Radeon RX 470 |

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

| Architecture | Ampere | GCN 4.0 |

| Generation | Workstation Ampere (Ax000) | Arctic Islands (RX 400) |

| Chip | GA107 | Ellesmere |

| Process Node | 8 nm | 14 nm |

| Foundry | Samsung | GlobalFoundries |

| Transistors | 8,700 million | 5,700 million |

| Die Size | 200 mm² | 232 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 43.5M / mm² | 24.6M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1440 MHz | 926 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1770 MHz | 1206 MHz |

| Memory Size | 16 GB | 4 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR5 |

| Memory Bus Width | 128 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 200.1 GB/s | 211.2 GB/s |

| Memory Clock | 1563 MHz (12.5 Gbps effective) | 1650 MHz (6.6 Gbps effective) |

| Shading Units | 1280 | 2048 |

| TMUs | 40 | 128 |

| ROPs | 32 | 32 |

| RT Cores | 10 | None |

| Tensor Cores | 40 | None |

| Pixel Rate | 56.64 GPixel/s | 38.59 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 70.80 GTexel/s | 154.4 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 4.531 TFLOPS | 4.940 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 4.531 TFLOPS (1:1) | 4.940 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 60 W | 120 W |

| Slot Width | Single-slot | Dual-slot |

| Power Connectors | None | 1x 6-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 250 W | 300 W |

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

| Display Outputs | No outputs | 1x HDMI 2.0b, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a |

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

| OpenGL Support | 4.6 | 4.6 |

| Vulkan Support | 1.4 | 1.3 |

| Release Date | 2021-11-09 | 2016-08-03 |

| Production Status | End-of-life | End-of-life |

| Predecessor | Quadro Turing | Pirate Islands |

| Successor | Workstation Ada | Polaris |