AMD Radeon RX 5700 vs NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data reveals a clear overall winner, but the story is more nuanced than a simple scoreboard. The NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile takes 7 of the 9 recorded head-to-head comparisons, while the AMD Radeon RX 5700 claims 2. The most dramatic victory for NVIDIA comes in the Geekbench OpenCL test, where the A5000 Mobile scores 110,877 against the RX 5700's 69,603, a commanding 59.3% advantage. This is the single largest delta in the entire comparison, suggesting a substantial gap in raw compute throughput that favors NVIDIA's architecture.

Vulkan performance tells a similar story, though with a smaller margin. The A5000 Mobile posts 88,144 versus 64,166 for the RX 5700, a 37.4% lead. This pattern repeats across the DirectX tests, where NVIDIA wins every generation. In DirectX 10, the A5000 Mobile scores 115 against 87, a 32.2% edge. DirectX 11 shows 133 versus 101, a 31.7% gap. DirectX 12 delivers 72 versus 54, a 33.3% lead. These consistent margins across multiple API generations indicate that the NVIDIA part maintains its advantage regardless of the rendering path, which is notable given that the RX 5700 was designed for the same era of gaming workloads.

The overall 3D gaming performance, measured by Passmark G3D, puts the A5000 Mobile at 15,779 versus 14,314 for the RX 5700, a 10.2% lead. This is a closer contest than the API-specific tests suggest, meaning that real-world gaming performance is more competitive than compute workloads. The compute-focused Passmark GPU Compute test shows a narrower gap as well, with the A5000 Mobile scoring 6,945 against 6,517, a 6.6% advantage.

Where the AMD card fights back is in legacy and 2D workloads. The RX 5700 wins Passmark DirectX 9 by a wide margin, scoring 209 against 169, a 19.1% lead for AMD. This is intriguing because it suggests that the RDNA 1.0 architecture retains strong performance on older APIs, possibly due to driver optimization or architectural differences in how geometry and rasterization are handled. The 2D test is even more lopsided in AMD's favor: the RX 5700 scores 877 against 629, a 28.3% advantage. This is a significant gap that could matter for users who spend time in desktop compositing, image editing, or other 2D-accelerated tasks.

Looking at the average benchmark scores across all recorded tests, the A5000 Mobile lands at 24,763, while the RX 5700 averages 22,170. This puts the NVIDIA card in the 70th percentile of all GPUs in the database, while the AMD card sits at the 67th percentile. The nearest rivals for the A5000 Mobile include the AMD Radeon RX 590 at a 0.1% delta, the Intel Arc A350M at 0.5%, and the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT at 1.3%. For the RX 5700, the closest competitors are the AMD Radeon RX 6700S at 0.1%, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile at -1.2%, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB at 1.4%. These proximity figures show that both cards are tightly clustered with their direct competitors, meaning the head-to-head results are not outliers but representative of their respective tiers.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs represent fundamentally different design philosophies. The NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile uses the GA104 chip built on the Ampere architecture, manufactured on Samsung's 8 nm process. The die size is 392 mm², housing 17,400 million transistors, which works out to a transistor density of 44.4 million per square millimeter. In contrast, the AMD Radeon RX 5700 uses the Navi 10 chip with RDNA 1.0 architecture, built on TSMC's 7 nm process. The AMD die is smaller at 251 mm², containing 10,300 million transistors, yielding a density of 41.0 million per square millimeter. The process node advantage goes to AMD, but NVIDIA packs more transistors into a larger die.

The shader configuration diverges sharply. The A5000 Mobile has 6,144 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 96 raster output pipelines. The RX 5700 has just 2,304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. This is a 2.67x difference in shader count, which explains the massive compute gap in OpenCL. However, the A5000 Mobile also includes 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores, features that are entirely absent from the RX 5700. These dedicated hardware units for ray tracing and AI acceleration give NVIDIA a feature set that AMD's RDNA 1.0 cannot match in this comparison.

Clock speeds tell a different story. The RX 5700 runs at a base clock of 1465 MHz and boosts to 1725 MHz, with a game clock of 1625 MHz. The A5000 Mobile starts at a much lower 900 MHz base but boosts to 1575 MHz. Despite the lower clocks, NVIDIA's higher shader count and tensor core throughput deliver superior raw numbers. The FP32 performance is 19.35 TFLOPS for the A5000 Mobile versus 7.949 TFLOPS for the RX 5700. FP16 performance is 19.35 TFLOPS for NVIDIA (at a 1:1 ratio with FP32) and 15.90 TFLOPS for AMD (at a 2:1 ratio). The memory subsystems are identical in bus width (256 bit) and bandwidth (448.0 GB/s), but the A5000 Mobile has 16 GB of GDDR6 versus 8 GB for the RX 5700. The memory clock is the same at 1750 MHz, translating to 14 Gbps effective.

The power envelope differs as well. The A5000 Mobile has a TDP of 150 W and uses no external power connectors, reflecting its mobile design. The RX 5700 has a TDP of 180 W and requires both a 6-pin and an 8-pin power connector, along with a suggested PSU of 450 W. This makes the AMD card more demanding on system power delivery, despite being a desktop part. The A5000 Mobile also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate with feature level 12_2, while the RX 5700 only reaches DirectX 12 with feature level 12_1. Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile dominates in compute-heavy and modern rendering workloads. The 59.3% lead in OpenCL points to applications like scientific computing, machine learning inference, and video encoding that rely on massive parallel throughput. The 37.4% Vulkan advantage reinforces this, as Vulkan is often used in professional visualization and cross-platform game engines. The 33.3% DirectX 12 lead suggests the A5000 Mobile is better suited for current-generation games that utilize DX12's advanced features, including ray tracing, which the RT cores enable. The 10.2% G3D win in overall gaming performance, while smaller, still indicates a clear edge for NVIDIA in mainstream titles.

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 wins in two specific areas. The 19.1% DirectX 9 advantage makes it the better choice for legacy games, older MMOs, or any application that still relies on DX9 rendering. The 28.3% 2D performance lead suggests the RX 5700 excels in desktop environments, 2D image manipulation, and possibly browser acceleration. These wins are narrow in scope but could be decisive for users with specific workloads. For example, a user who plays older titles or runs a multi-monitor setup with heavy 2D compositing might notice the AMD card's superiority in those tasks.

The compute gap is the most telling. The A5000 Mobile's 6.6% lead in GPU Compute is smaller than the OpenCL margin, which suggests that the Passmark compute test may not fully exercise the tensor cores or the full FP32 throughput. In contrast, the OpenCL test appears to be more representative of the true compute potential. Users who rely on OpenCL-based applications, such as certain CAD tools or video renderers, would see a substantial benefit from the NVIDIA card.

The Verdict

The data points clearly to the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile as the superior GPU for most modern workloads. Its wins in OpenCL, Vulkan, and DirectX 10/11/12 are decisive, and its 10.2% lead in overall 3D performance means it will handle contemporary games with better frame rates. The 16 GB memory capacity doubles the AMD card's 8 GB, which matters for large textures, complex scenes, and AI model training. The presence of RT cores and tensor cores gives it a hardware advantage for ray tracing and DLSS-style upscaling, features that the RX 5700 lacks entirely.

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 should be the pick for users with specific legacy requirements. If the primary workload involves DirectX 9 titles or 2D-accelerated applications, the 19.1% and 28.3% leads, respectively, make it a viable option. The lower transistor count and smaller die size also suggest it is a more efficient design per transistor, though the 180 W TDP is actually higher than the A5000 Mobile's 150 W. The RX 5700's launch MSRP was 349 USD, which reflects its desktop consumer positioning, while the A5000 Mobile had no recorded launch MSRP due to its mobile OEM channel.

For a professional or enthusiast building a system today, the A5000 Mobile is the clear choice based on benchmark results. The 7 to 2 win count is not close, and the margins in compute-heavy tests are enormous. The RX 5700's wins are in areas that are increasingly irrelevant for modern software. The database places the A5000 Mobile at the 70th percentile versus the RX 5700's 67th, a small but meaningful separation in overall standing.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher raw compute performance?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile leads by 59.3% in Geekbench OpenCL, scoring 110,877 versus 69,603 for the AMD Radeon RX 5700. Its FP32 throughput is 19.35 TFLOPS against 7.949 TFLOPS for the AMD card.

Q: Does the AMD card win any benchmark tests?

A: Yes, the AMD Radeon RX 5700 wins Passmark DirectX 9 by 19.1% (209 versus 169) and Passmark G2D by 28.3% (877 versus 629), indicating strength in legacy API and 2D workloads.

Q: How do the memory capacities compare?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile has 16 GB of GDDR6, while the AMD Radeon RX 5700 has 8 GB. Both use a 256-bit bus and deliver 448.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: What architecture differences affect ray tracing?

A: The A5000 Mobile includes 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores on the Ampere architecture. The RX 5700 has no RT cores or tensor cores, as it uses RDNA 1.0 without dedicated ray tracing hardware.

Q: Which card is better for DirectX 12 gaming?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile wins Passmark DirectX 12 by 33.3% (72 versus 54) and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate with feature level 12_2, while the RX 5700 only reaches feature level 12_1.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The A5000 Mobile has a 150 W TDP and uses no external power connectors. The RX 5700 has a 180 W TDP and requires a 6-pin and 8-pin power connector, with a suggested PSU of 450 W.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile | AMD Radeon RX 5700 |

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

| Architecture | Ampere | RDNA 1.0 |

| Process Node | 8 nm (Samsung) | 7 nm (TSMC) |

| Transistors | 17,400 million | 10,300 million |

| Die Size | 392 mm² | 251 mm² |

| Base Clock | 900 MHz | 1465 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1575 MHz | 1725 MHz |

| Game Clock | Not specified | 1625 MHz |

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

| Shading Units | 6144 | 2304 |

| Texture Mapping Units | 192 | 144 |

| Raster Output Pipelines | 96 | 64 |

| RT Cores | 48 | None |

| Tensor Cores | 192 | None |

| FP32 Performance | 19.35 TFLOPS | 7.949 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 19.35 TFLOPS (1:1) | 15.90 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| Pixel Rate | 151.2 GPixel/s | 110.4 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 302.4 GTexel/s | 248.4 GTexel/s |

| TDP | 150 W | 180 W |

| Power Connectors | None | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | Not specified | 450 W |

| DirectX Support | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | 12 (12_1) |

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

| Slot Width | Not specified | Dual-slot |

| Dimensions | Not specified | 268 mm length, 111 mm height, 36 mm width |

| Release Date | 2021-04-11 | 2019-07-06 |

| Predecessor | Quadro Turing-M | Vega |

| Successor | Ada-MW | Navi II |