AMD Radeon RX 480 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile Comparison

# GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile vs Radeon RX 480: A Generational Leap in Mobile Graphics

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile and AMD Radeon RX 480 represent two vastly different eras of GPU design. The RTX 4090 Mobile is a current flagship laptop part built on Ada Lovelace architecture, while the RX 480 is an end-of-life desktop card from the GCN 4.0 generation. The benchmark data shows a decisive performance gap, with the RTX 4090 Mobile winning both head-to-head tests by massive margins. The RTX 4090 Mobile sits in the 84th percentile of all GPUs in the database, while the RX 480 occupies the 78th percentile, a difference that understates just how far apart these two parts are in raw compute capability. This comparison is less about competition and more about illustrating the architectural and generational progress between 2016 and 2023.

Where Each One Wins

The head-to-head benchmark results are unambiguous: the GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile wins both recorded tests, and the Radeon RX 480 has no recorded victories. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 4090 Mobile scores 180,831 against the RX 480's 37,998, a delta of 375.9%. In Geekbench Vulkan, the RTX 4090 Mobile scores 170,774 versus 45,968, a delta of 271.5%. There is no workload category in the recorded data where the RX 480 takes the lead.

The RTX 4090 Mobile's strengths lie in compute-heavy and API-modern workloads. Its OpenCL score of 180,831 reflects massive shader throughput, driven by 9,728 shading units and 32.98 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. The Vulkan score of 170,774 shows strong low-level API efficiency, which matters for modern game engines and compute applications. The RX 480, with 2,304 shading units and 5.834 TFLOPS, is simply outclassed in these tests. In the broader database, the RTX 4090 Mobile's average benchmark score of 43,667 places it just 0.8% above the Quadro M6000 and 0.9% above the RTX 5050 Mobile, while the RX 480's average of 33,997 is nearly tied with the HD 7950 and RX 560 XT. The RTX 4090 Mobile is also 0.9% ahead of the RTX A6000, a professional workstation card, in average score.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from completely different foundries, process nodes, and architectural philosophies. The RTX 4090 Mobile uses the AD103 chip built on TSMC's 5 nm process, packing 45,900 million transistors into a 379 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 121.1 million per square millimeter. The RX 480 uses the Ellesmere chip on GlobalFoundries' 14 nm process, with 5,700 million transistors on a 232 mm² die, for a density of 24.6 million per square millimeter. The RTX 4090 Mobile has roughly eight times the transistor count on a die that is only about 63% larger.

Architecturally, the RTX 4090 Mobile is built on Ada Lovelace, which includes dedicated ray tracing cores (76 of them) and tensor cores (304 of them). The RX 480 uses GCN 4.0, which has neither ray tracing nor tensor cores. This means the RTX 4090 Mobile supports hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI-based features like DLSS, while the RX 480 does not. The RTX 4090 Mobile also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, whereas the RX 480 is limited to DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3. Both support OpenGL 4.6.

Memory subsystems differ significantly. The RTX 4090 Mobile has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 576.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 480 has 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 256.0 GB/s. That is more than double the bandwidth for the RTX 4090 Mobile. The RTX 4090 Mobile's memory runs at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective), while the RX 480's runs at 2000 MHz (8 Gbps effective). The RX 480 also has a higher TDP of 150 W versus the RTX 4090 Mobile's 120 W, though the RTX 4090 Mobile is an IGP (integrated graphics package) with no power connectors, while the RX 480 is a dual-slot card requiring a 6-pin connector and a 450 W power supply.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The Geekbench OpenCL test shows the largest gap. The RTX 4090 Mobile scores 180,831, which is 375.9% higher than the RX 480's 37,998. This test stresses raw compute throughput, and the numbers reflect the RTX 4090 Mobile's 32.98 TFLOPS of FP32 performance versus 5.834 TFLOPS for the RX 480. The RTX 4090 Mobile also has 304 texture mapping units and 112 render output units, compared to 144 TMUs and 32 ROPs on the RX 480. Pixel rate is 189.8 GPixel/s versus 40.51 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 515.3 GTexel/s versus 182.3 GTexel/s.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the RTX 4090 Mobile scores 170,774 against 45,968 for the RX 480, a delta of 271.5%. Vulkan is a low-overhead API that benefits from efficient command processing and high shader counts. The RTX 4090 Mobile's Ada Lovelace architecture was designed with modern API efficiency in mind, while GCN 4.0 predates many of the optimizations now standard in GPU drivers and engines. The RTX 4090 Mobile's 76 ray tracing cores also contribute to its Vulkan performance, as the API can offload certain workloads to dedicated hardware.

The RTX 4090 Mobile also has a larger set of recorded benchmarks in the database, including PassMark tests for DirectX 10, 11, 12, and 9, plus 2D and compute workloads. Its PassMark G3D score is 27,212, and its GPU compute score is 12,347. The RX 480's recorded benchmarks are limited to 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 (966), Geekbench Metal (51,057), OpenCL, and Vulkan. The Metal score of 51,057 is notable, as it shows the RX 480 can still perform respectably in Apple's graphics API, but it does not appear in the head-to-head comparison.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has better ray tracing support?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile has 76 dedicated ray tracing cores and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2). The AMD Radeon RX 480 has no ray tracing cores and is limited to DirectX 12 (12_0).

Q: How much faster is the RTX 4090 Mobile in OpenCL?

A: The RTX 4090 Mobile scores 180,831 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 375.9% higher than the RX 480's score of 37,998.

Q: What are the memory capacities of each GPU?

A: The RTX 4090 Mobile has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 576.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RX 480 has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus with 256.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU has a higher transistor count?

A: The RTX 4090 Mobile has 45,900 million transistors on a 379 mm² die using TSMC's 5 nm process. The RX 480 has 5,700 million transistors on a 232 mm² die using GlobalFoundries' 14 nm process.

Q: Is the RX 480 still in production?

A: No, the AMD Radeon RX 480 is marked as end-of-life in the database. The RTX 4090 Mobile is listed as active.

Q: What API versions does each GPU support?

A: The RTX 4090 Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The RX 480 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile | AMD Radeon RX 480 |

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

| Architecture | Ada Lovelace | GCN 4.0 |

| Process Node | 5 nm (TSMC) | 14 nm (GlobalFoundries) |

| Transistors | 45,900 million | 5,700 million |

| Die Size | 379 mm² | 232 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 121.1M / mm² | 24.6M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1335 MHz | 1120 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1695 MHz | 1266 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) | 2000 MHz (8 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 16 GB GDDR6 | 8 GB GDDR5 |

| Memory Bandwidth | 576.0 GB/s | 256.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 9728 | 2304 |

| TMUs | 304 | 144 |

| ROPs | 112 | 32 |

| RT Cores | 76 | None |

| Tensor Cores | 304 | None |

| Pixel Rate | 189.8 GPixel/s | 40.51 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 515.3 GTexel/s | 182.3 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 32.98 TFLOPS | 5.834 TFLOPS |

| TDP | 120 W | 150 W |

| Slot Width | IGP | Dual-slot |

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

| Suggested PSU | None | 450 W |

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

| Display Outputs | Portable Device Dependent | 1x HDMI 2.0b, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a |

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

| Vulkan Support | 1.4 | 1.3 |

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

| Release Date | 2023-01-02 | 2016-06-28 |

The specification table makes the generational chasm clear. The RTX 4090 Mobile has more than four times the shading units, more than double the TMUs, more than three times the ROPs, and nearly six times the FP32 throughput. It also has dedicated hardware for ray tracing and AI workloads, which the RX 480 lacks entirely. The RX 480 does have a higher TDP at 150 W versus 120 W, but that is because it is a standalone desktop card with its own cooling and power delivery, while the RTX 4090 Mobile is designed as an integrated graphics package for laptops. The RX 480's launch MSRP was 229 USD, but no such figure exists for the RTX 4090 Mobile in the database, reflecting its status as a mobile-only part. The RX 480 also has physical dimensions of 240 mm in length, 95 mm in height, and 35 mm in width, while the RTX 4090 Mobile reports no dimensions due to its integrated nature.