AMD Radeon RX 560 XT vs NVIDIA RTX A2000 12 GB Comparison

The Verdict

The benchmark database places the NVIDIA RTX A2000 12 GB and the AMD Radeon RX 560 XT at nearly identical average performance scores, making this a fascinating comparison of two very different design philosophies. The RTX A2000 12 GB posts an average benchmark score of 34,154, while the RX 560 XT trails by a mere 0.1% with an average score of 34,133. Both cards sit at the 79th percentile among all GPUs, meaning they occupy the same performance tier in the aggregate data. However, the single head-to-head benchmark available—Geekbench OpenCL—shows the RTX A2000 12 GB delivering a dominant 113.5% higher score (66,998 versus 31,387), winning the only direct comparison.

For users prioritizing raw compute throughput in OpenCL workloads, the NVIDIA RTX A2000 12 GB is the clear choice, as its performance advantage is overwhelming in that specific test. The data also reveals that the RTX A2000 12 GB is the more modern, feature-rich product, built on a newer architecture with ray tracing and tensor cores, while the RX 560 XT is an older, simpler design from AMD’s GCN era. The RTX A2000 12 GB additionally offers three times the memory capacity (12 GB versus 4 GB) and a higher memory bandwidth (288.0 GB/s versus 224.0 GB/s).

That said, the RX 560 XT is not without merit—it has a higher texture fill rate (137.3 GTexel/s versus 124.8 GTexel/s), a wider memory bus (256-bit versus 192-bit), and a lower launch price point, though exact pricing data for the RX 560 XT is not available in the fact pack. The choice ultimately depends on workload: the RTX A2000 12 GB is superior for compute-heavy tasks and future-proofing, while the RX 560 XT offers competitive aggregate performance in a simpler, lower-power package. The data shows a clear winner for OpenCL compute, but the aggregate scores suggest that in mixed workloads, the two cards are far closer than the head-to-head result implies.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is substantial, reflecting their different release generations and design goals. The NVIDIA RTX A2000 12 GB is built on the Ampere architecture using the GA106 chip, fabricated on Samsung’s 8 nm process node. It packs 12,000 million transistors into a 276 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 43.5 million per square millimeter. The RX 560 XT, by contrast, uses AMD’s GCN 4.0 architecture with the Ellesmere chip, manufactured on GlobalFoundries’ 14 nm node. It contains 5,700 million transistors on a 232 mm² die, with a lower transistor density of 24.6 million per square millimeter. This means the RTX A2000 12 GB crams more than twice the transistors into a die that is only about 19% larger.

The RTX A2000 12 GB features 3,328 shading units, 104 texture mapping units, and 48 raster operation pipelines. It also includes 26 dedicated ray tracing cores and 104 tensor cores, which the RX 560 XT completely lacks—the AMD card has no ray tracing or tensor core hardware at all. The RX 560 XT counters with 1,792 shading units, 112 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. While the NVIDIA card has nearly double the shading units, the AMD card has slightly more texture mapping units. The compute capabilities diverge sharply: the RTX A2000 12 GB delivers 7.987 TFLOPS of FP32 and FP16 performance (at a 1:1 ratio), while the RX 560 XT manages 4.394 TFLOPS in both precision formats. This represents a significant 81.7% advantage for the NVIDIA card in raw floating-point throughput.

The architecture differences also extend to API support. The RTX A2000 12 GB supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The RX 560 XT supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The newer DirectX 12 Ultimate feature set on the NVIDIA card enables hardware ray tracing and other advanced rendering techniques that are simply unavailable on the AMD card. Memory technology also differs—the RTX A2000 12 GB uses GDDR6 memory operating at 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective), while the RX 560 XT uses GDDR5 at 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective). The NVIDIA card’s memory runs faster per pin, though the AMD card’s wider 256-bit bus partially compensates.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison available in the data is the Geekbench OpenCL test, and the results are striking. The NVIDIA RTX A2000 12 GB scores 66,998 points, while the AMD Radeon RX 560 XT manages just 31,387 points. This translates to a 113.5% advantage for the NVIDIA card—more than double the performance in this compute-oriented workload. This result aligns perfectly with the architectural differences discussed above, as the RTX A2000 12 GB’s 3328 shading units, tensor cores, and nearly doubled FP32 throughput (7.987 TFLOPS versus 4.394 TFLOPS) give it a massive edge in OpenCL compute tasks.

However, the aggregate benchmark scores tell a more nuanced story. The RTX A2000 12 GB has an average benchmark score of 34,154, while the RX 560 XT averages 34,133—a difference of just 0.1%. This suggests that in the broader suite of benchmarks contributing to the average score, the two cards perform nearly identically. The nearest rivals data reinforces this picture: the RTX A2000 12 GB is 0.1% ahead of the RX 560 XT, 0.2% behind the NVIDIA RTX A1000, 0.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 480, and 0.6% behind the NVIDIA TITAN V. Meanwhile, the RX 560 XT is 0.1% behind the RTX A2000 12 GB, 0.2% behind the RTX A1000, 0.4% ahead of the RX 480, and 0.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon HD 7950.

The discrepancy between the Geekbench OpenCL result and the aggregate scores likely stems from the specific nature of the workloads. OpenCL is heavily compute-bound, where the RTX A2000 12 GB’s superior shading unit count and tensor cores shine. In gaming or graphics-focused benchmarks, the RX 560 XT’s higher texture fill rate (137.3 GTexel/s versus 124.8 GTexel/s) and wider memory bus may help it close the gap. The data shows that the RTX A2000 12 GB wins the only direct head-to-head benchmark (1 win, 0 losses), but the aggregate results indicate that this win may not translate to every workload.

Specification Differences

The specification sheets for these two GPUs reveal several key differences beyond the obvious performance gap. The most significant divergence is in memory configuration: the RTX A2000 12 GB offers 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 560 XT provides 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, with 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. While the AMD card has a wider memory bus, the NVIDIA card ultimately provides 28.6% more memory bandwidth and three times the capacity.

Clock speeds paint an interesting picture. The RX 560 XT has higher base and boost clocks—1074 MHz base and 1226 MHz boost—versus the RTX A2000 12 GB’s 562 MHz base and 1200 MHz boost. However, the NVIDIA card’s architecture allows it to achieve far higher performance despite lower clocks, thanks to its larger shader count and architectural efficiency. The memory clocks also differ: the RTX A2000 12 GB runs its GDDR6 at 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective), while the RX 560 XT runs GDDR5 at 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective).

Power requirements show a stark contrast. The RTX A2000 12 GB has a TDP of just 70 W and requires no external power connectors, with a suggested PSU of 250 W. The RX 560 XT draws 150 W, requires a single 6-pin power connector, and needs a 450 W PSU. This means the RTX A2000 12 GB delivers superior compute performance at less than half the power consumption—a remarkable efficiency advantage. Physical dimensions also differ: the RTX A2000 12 GB is 167 mm (6.6 inches) long and 69 mm (2.7 inches) high, while the RX 560 XT stretches to 241 mm (9.5 inches) in length. Both are dual-slot cards.

The bus interface and display outputs diverge as well. The RTX A2000 12 GB uses PCIe 4.0 x16 and provides 4x mini-DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. The RX 560 XT uses PCIe 3.0 x16 and offers 1x HDMI 2.0b plus 3x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. The NVIDIA card also has a launch MSRP of 449 USD, while the RX 560 XT has no listed launch MSRP in the data. Finally, the release dates differ by over two years—the RTX A2000 12 GB launched on 2021-11-22, while the RX 560 XT launched on 2019-03-12.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A2000 12 GB has an average benchmark score of 34,154, which is 0.1% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 560 XT’s average score of 34,133.

Q: How much faster is the RTX A2000 12 GB in the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The RTX A2000 12 GB scores 66,998 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the RX 560 XT scores 31,387, giving the NVIDIA card a 113.5% advantage in that specific benchmark.

Q: Does the RX 560 XT support ray tracing?

A: No, the RX 560 XT has no ray tracing cores or tensor cores. The RTX A2000 12 GB, by contrast, includes 26 ray tracing cores and 104 tensor cores.

Q: What are the memory specifications of each GPU?

A: The RTX A2000 12 GB has 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 288.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RX 560 XT has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card is more power-efficient?

A: The RTX A2000 12 GB has a TDP of 70 W and requires no external power connectors, while the RX 560 XT has a TDP of 150 W and needs a 6-pin power connector. The NVIDIA card also suggests a 250 W PSU versus 450 W for the AMD card.

Q: What is the transistor count difference between the two GPUs?

A: The RTX A2000 12 GB contains 12,000 million transistors on a 276 mm² die, while the RX 560 XT contains 5,700 million transistors on a 232 mm² die. The NVIDIA card has more than double the transistor count.