AMD Radeon RX 480 vs NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data presents a direct split between the two contenders in the head-to-head benchmark results. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile records a score of 41,263, which places it 8.6% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 480's score of 37,998. This is a clear win for the NVIDIA mobile workstation part, and the margin is substantial enough to indicate a meaningful advantage in compute workloads that leverage OpenCL.

However, the story flips completely when examining the Geekbench Vulkan results. The AMD Radeon RX 480 posts a score of 45,968, which is 17.6% higher than the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile's score of 37,873. This is a significant reversal, and the margin is more than double the NVIDIA advantage seen in OpenCL. The Vulkan result suggests that the AMD architecture, despite being older, has a particular strength in this API that the NVIDIA part cannot match.

When looking at the broader benchmark averages, the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile holds an average benchmark score of 39,568 across all recorded tests, while the AMD Radeon RX 480 averages 33,997. This gives the NVIDIA part a clear lead in the aggregate, but the caveat is that the AMD card has more benchmark entries in the database, including a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 966 and a Geekbench Metal score of 51,057. The Metal score is particularly notable, as it is the highest single score recorded for either product in any test.

The percentile rankings tell a similar story. The NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile sits at the 82nd percentile among all GPUs, while the AMD Radeon RX 480 sits at the 78th percentile. This five-point gap in percentile ranking is consistent with the average score difference, but the head-to-head results show that the AMD card is not simply inferior across the board. The data indicates a product that wins decisively in one API and loses decisively in another.

Where Each One Wins

The use-case split is clear from the benchmark data. The NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile wins in OpenCL compute workloads, where its 8.6% advantage translates to a tangible performance lead. This is relevant for professional applications that rely on OpenCL for GPU-accelerated tasks, such as video rendering, scientific simulations, and certain CAD workflows. The NVIDIA part's architecture appears better suited to these types of parallel compute workloads.

The AMD Radeon RX 480, on the other hand, wins in Vulkan-based applications. The 17.6% lead in Vulkan is substantial and suggests that the GCN 4.0 architecture has a particular efficiency in this API. Vulkan is commonly used in modern game engines and increasingly in professional visualization tools, so this advantage could matter for users running Vulkan-native applications. The AMD card also shows a strong Metal score of 51,057, which is the highest single benchmark result in the entire dataset for either product, indicating a particular strength in Apple's Metal API.

For users whose primary workloads are OpenCL-heavy, the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile is the clear choice. For users who depend on Vulkan or Metal, the AMD Radeon RX 480 offers a measurable performance advantage. The aggregate average score favors NVIDIA, but the per-API results show that the AMD card is not a poor performer; it simply excels in different areas.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 39,568, which is higher than the AMD Radeon RX 480's average of 33,997.

Q: How much faster is the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile in OpenCL?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile scores 41,263 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 8.6% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 480's score of 37,998.

Q: By what margin does the AMD Radeon RX 480 win in Vulkan?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 480 scores 45,968 in Geekbench Vulkan, which is 17.6% higher than the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile's score of 37,873.

Q: What is the percentile ranking of each GPU?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile is at the 82nd percentile among all GPUs, while the AMD Radeon RX 480 is at the 78th percentile.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon RX 480 have any benchmark scores that are the highest recorded?

A: Yes, the AMD Radeon RX 480 records a Geekbench Metal score of 51,057, which is the highest single test score for either product in the database.

Q: Which GPU has more benchmark entries in the database?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 480 has four recorded benchmark scores, including 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, Geekbench Metal, OpenCL, and Vulkan, while the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile has two recorded scores in OpenCL and Vulkan.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ significantly across nearly all specification categories. The NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile uses 4 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 64-bit bus, delivering 96.00 GB/s of bandwidth. The AMD Radeon RX 480 uses 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The AMD card has four times the memory capacity and nearly three times the memory bandwidth.

The shading unit counts differ as well. The NVIDIA part has 2,048 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, and 32 render output units. The AMD part has 2,304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 32 render output units. The AMD card has more shading units and more than double the texture mapping units, though both have the same number of ROPs.

Clock speeds show a different pattern. The NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile has a base clock of 832 MHz and a boost clock of 1,537 MHz. The AMD Radeon RX 480 has a base clock of 1,120 MHz and a boost clock of 1,266 MHz. The AMD card has a higher base clock, but the NVIDIA card boosts to a higher frequency.

Memory clocks also differ. The NVIDIA part runs at 1,500 MHz with 12 Gbps effective speed, while the AMD part runs at 2,000 MHz with 8 Gbps effective speed. The power profile is starkly different: the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile has a TDP of 30 W and uses no power connectors, while the AMD Radeon RX 480 has a TDP of 150 W and requires a single 6-pin power connector, with a suggested PSU of 450 W.

The bus interface differs too. The NVIDIA part uses PCIe 4.0 x8, while the AMD part uses PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs also vary: the NVIDIA part is listed as "Portable Device Dependent," while the AMD part has 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. Physical dimensions are only recorded for the AMD card, which measures 240 mm in length, 95 mm in height, and 35 mm in width.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two GPUs is fundamental. The NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile is built on the Ampere architecture, using the GA107S chip, fabricated on an 8 nm process at Samsung. The AMD Radeon RX 480 uses the GCN 4.0 architecture, with the Ellesmere chip, fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. The NVIDIA part uses a much more advanced process node, which explains how it achieves higher performance in a dramatically lower power envelope.

The transistor counts and die sizes differ considerably. The NVIDIA chip packs 8,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 43.5 million per mm². The AMD chip has 5,700 million transistors on a 232 mm² die, with a transistor density of 24.6 million per mm². The NVIDIA part has over 50% more transistors on a smaller die, which is a direct result of the more advanced process node.

Feature support shows a clear generational gap. The NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile includes 16 ray tracing cores and 64 tensor cores, which are absent from the AMD Radeon RX 480, which lists no RT or tensor core counts. The NVIDIA part supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the AMD part supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3. Both support OpenGL 4.6.

The NVIDIA part's pixel rate is 49.18 GPixel/s, which is higher than the AMD part's 40.51 GPixel/s. However, the AMD part has a texture rate of 182.3 GTexel/s, which is nearly double the NVIDIA part's 98.37 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is close, with the NVIDIA part at 6.296 TFLOPS and the AMD part at 5.834 TFLOPS, both with 1:1 FP16 ratios.

The release dates are separated by nearly six years. The AMD Radeon RX 480 launched on June 28, 2016, while the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile launched on March 21, 2022. Both are now listed as end-of-life products.

The Verdict

The data presents two very different products with distinct strengths. The NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile wins in OpenCL compute, holds a higher average benchmark score (39,568 vs. 33,997), and achieves a higher percentile ranking (82nd vs. 78th). It also does all of this at a dramatically lower power draw of 30 W compared to 150 W, making it suitable for thin-and-light mobile workstations where power efficiency is critical.

The AMD Radeon RX 480 wins decisively in Vulkan performance, with a 17.6% lead, and shows a strong Metal score of 51,057. It also offers significantly more memory (8 GB vs. 4 GB) and much higher memory bandwidth (256.0 GB/s vs. 96.00 GB/s), which could be an advantage in memory-heavy workloads.

Users who prioritize OpenCL compute performance, modern API support with ray tracing and tensor cores, and maximum power efficiency should choose the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile. The architecture is newer, the process node is more advanced, and the aggregate benchmark score is higher.

Users who rely heavily on Vulkan or Metal applications, or who need more memory capacity and bandwidth, should consider the AMD Radeon RX 480. The Vulkan performance lead is substantial, and the higher memory specifications are objective advantages. The launch MSRP for the AMD card was 229 USD, which is the only pricing information recorded in the database.

Ultimately, the choice depends on which API and workload profile matters more. The NVIDIA part is the better overall performer in the database averages, but the AMD part is the better choice for Vulkan-centric workflows. Both are end-of-life products, so purchasing decisions will depend on availability and specific application requirements rather than future support.