AMD Radeon RX 5300M vs NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile Comparison

The data clearly separates these two mobile GPUs: the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile leads in raw compute benchmarks, while the AMD Radeon RX 5300M counters with a more efficient architecture and higher memory bandwidth. The RTX A500 Mobile wins the only head-to-head benchmark, but the RX 5300M’s specifications tell a different story for specific workloads.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile is the outright winner in the available benchmark data. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 41263 against the AMD’s 36529, a 13% advantage. This places the NVIDIA part at the 82nd percentile of all GPUs, while the AMD sits at the 80th percentile. The RTX A500 Mobile’s average benchmark score of 39568 is 8.3% higher than the RX 5300M’s 36529.

However, the AMD Radeon RX 5300M wins in areas not captured by the single benchmark. Its memory subsystem is substantially wider: 168.0 GB/s of bandwidth versus 96.00 GB/s for the NVIDIA. That is 75% more memory bandwidth, which directly benefits texture-heavy workloads and large dataset operations. The AMD also has more texture mapping units (88 vs 64) and a higher texture rate (127.2 GTexel/s vs 98.37 GTexel/s), making it the stronger candidate for fill-rate-bound tasks.

The RTX A500 Mobile counters with compute features the AMD lacks entirely. It has 16 dedicated ray tracing cores and 64 tensor cores, while the RX 5300M has none. For any workload leveraging RT or tensor operations, the NVIDIA is the only option in this comparison. The FP32 throughput also favors NVIDIA at 6.296 TFLOPS versus AMD’s 4.069 TFLOPS, a 55% advantage.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher FP32 compute performance?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile, at 6.296 TFLOPS, is 55% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 5300M’s 4.069 TFLOPS.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon RX 5300M support ray tracing?

A: No. The RX 5300M has no ray tracing cores, while the RTX A500 Mobile includes 16 RT cores.

Q: Which GPU offers more memory bandwidth?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 5300M, with 168.0 GB/s, is 75% higher than the NVIDIA’s 96.00 GB/s.

Q: What is the performance percentile ranking for each GPU?

A: The RTX A500 Mobile sits at the 82nd percentile of all GPUs; the RX 5300M is at the 80th percentile.

Q: Which GPU has a higher boost clock?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile boosts to 1537 MHz, while the AMD Radeon RX 5300M boosts to 1445 MHz.

Q: How do the memory sizes compare?

A: The NVIDIA has 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus, while the AMD has 3 GB on a 96-bit bus.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison available is Geekbench OpenCL. The NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile scores 41263, defeating the AMD Radeon RX 5300M’s 36529 by a delta of 13%. This is a decisive margin, placing the NVIDIA firmly ahead in general-purpose compute workloads as measured by this test.

The NVIDIA’s advantage is consistent with its hardware specifications. Its FP32 output of 6.296 TFLOPS is 55% higher than the AMD’s 4.069 TFLOPS, and it has 2048 shading units versus 1408. The RTX A500 Mobile also has 32 ROPs, matching the AMD, but its pixel rate of 49.18 GPixel/s slightly edges out the AMD’s 46.24 GPixel/s.

The AMD’s loss in OpenCL is not a total defeat in every metric. Its texture rate of 127.2 GTexel/s is 29% higher than the NVIDIA’s 98.37 GTexel/s, and its memory bandwidth advantage of 168.0 GB/s versus 96.00 GB/s is substantial. The RX 5300M also has a higher base clock (1000 MHz vs 832 MHz) and a game clock of 1181 MHz, which the NVIDIA does not specify. These factors suggest the AMD could win in texture-bound scenarios, but no such benchmark is present in the data to confirm this.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every core specification. The NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile uses 2048 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The AMD Radeon RX 5300M uses 1408 shading units, 88 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. This means the NVIDIA has 45% more shaders, while the AMD has 37.5% more TMUs.

Memory configurations diverge sharply. The NVIDIA has 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus, yielding 96.00 GB/s. The AMD has 3 GB on a 96-bit bus, yielding 168.0 GB/s. The AMD’s memory clock is 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) versus the NVIDIA’s 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective).

Clock speeds also differ. The NVIDIA boosts to 1537 MHz from a base of 832 MHz. The AMD boosts to 1445 MHz from a base of 1000 MHz, with a game clock of 1181 MHz. The NVIDIA’s boost is 6.4% higher, but the AMD’s base is 20% higher.

Power and process nodes are major differentiators. The NVIDIA is rated at 30 W TDP and uses an 8 nm Samsung process. The AMD is rated at 85 W TDP and uses a 7 nm TSMC process. The NVIDIA’s die is 200 mm² with 8,700 million transistors, while the AMD’s is 158 mm² with 6,400 million transistors.

Architecture Differences

The NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile is built on the Ampere architecture, specifically the GA107S chip. It supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the AMD Radeon RX 5300M uses RDNA 1.0 on the Navi 14 chip and only supports DirectX 12 (12_1). This means the NVIDIA is compliant with the latest DirectX feature set, including hardware ray tracing and variable rate shading, while the AMD is not.

The NVIDIA includes 16 RT cores and 64 tensor cores, enabling ray tracing and AI acceleration. The AMD has no such dedicated hardware. For FP16 compute, the AMD offers 8.138 TFLOPS at a 2:1 ratio, while the NVIDIA delivers 6.296 TFLOPS at a 1:1 ratio. The AMD’s FP16 throughput is 29% higher, but the NVIDIA’s 1:1 ratio means no precision loss when using FP16.

Manufacturing processes differ significantly. The NVIDIA is fabricated on Samsung’s 8 nm node, while the AMD uses TSMC’s 7 nm node. The AMD’s transistor density is slightly lower at 40.5M / mm² versus the NVIDIA’s 43.5M / mm², despite the smaller node. This suggests the NVIDIA’s design is denser per square millimeter.

Both GPUs use PCIe 4.0 x8 interfaces and have end-of-life production status. The NVIDIA was released on 2022-03-21, while the AMD came earlier on 2019-11-12. The NVIDIA’s predecessor is Quadro Turing-M and successor is Ada-MW; the AMD’s predecessor is Polaris Mobile with no listed successor.

The Verdict

The NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile is the clear choice for compute-intensive workloads. It wins the only benchmark, offers 55% more FP32 throughput, and includes ray tracing and tensor hardware. Its 30 W TDP also makes it suitable for thinner laptops, though the data does not directly measure power efficiency.

The AMD Radeon RX 5300M should be selected when memory bandwidth and texture throughput are the priority. Its 168.0 GB/s bandwidth is 75% higher, and its 127.2 GTexel/s texture rate is 29% higher. The 3 GB memory capacity is smaller, but the wider bus may benefit specific applications like video processing or certain game engines.

For general-purpose compute, the NVIDIA’s 13% OpenCL lead and higher percentile ranking (82 vs 80) make it the safer recommendation. The AMD’s higher FP16 throughput (8.138 TFLOPS vs 6.296 TFLOPS) could be decisive for AI inference if the software uses FP16, but the NVIDIA’s tensor cores provide dedicated acceleration that the AMD lacks.

The RTX A500 Mobile’s 4 GB memory versus 3 GB is a practical advantage for larger datasets, though the AMD’s higher bandwidth partially compensates. The NVIDIA’s DirectX 12 Ultimate support ensures compatibility with modern graphics features, while the AMD’s DirectX 12 (12_1) is a generation behind.

Ultimately, the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile is the better overall GPU in this comparison. Its benchmark victory, superior compute specs, and feature set outweigh the AMD’s memory bandwidth advantage. The RX 5300M is a niche pick for bandwidth-sensitive tasks, but the data overwhelmingly favors the NVIDIA for most users.