AMD Radeon RX 6700 vs NVIDIA A2 Comparison

The NVIDIA A2 and AMD Radeon RX 6700 occupy very different positions in the database, despite both being end-of-life products. The A2 is a low-profile workstation accelerator, while the RX 6700 is a full-sized consumer gaming card. The data shows a clear split in capabilities, with the AMD card dominating raw compute benchmarks and the NVIDIA card offering specialized features that are not reflected in the recorded scores.

Where Each One Wins

The recorded benchmark results show a decisive advantage for the AMD Radeon RX 6700 in every test where both cards were measured. The head-to-head data contains two entries, both won by the AMD card. The RX 6700 scores 97,841 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 63.9% higher than the A2's 35,357. In Geekbench Vulkan, the RX 6700 achieves 83,974, a 59.5% advantage over the A2's 34,023. This represents a comprehensive win for the AMD card in compute workloads and graphics API performance.

The NVIDIA A2, however, is not without its own strengths. The database shows its average benchmark score of 34,690, which places it at the 79th percentile of all GPUs. This is a higher percentile than the RX 6700's 75th percentile, despite the RX 6700 having a significantly higher raw average score of 30,433. The A2's nearest rivals, all with average scores within 1.4% of its own, include the NVIDIA T1000 8 GB, AMD Radeon HD 7970, NVIDIA TITAN V, and NVIDIA RTX A1000. This suggests the A2 is competitive within its own performance tier, even if it falls behind the RX 6700 in absolute throughput.

The use-case split is therefore clear. The RX 6700 is the superior choice for tasks that rely on raw compute and graphics rendering, as evidenced by its benchmark wins. The A2, with its 60 W power draw and single-slot design, is positioned for environments where physical footprint and power consumption are more critical than raw performance. The data indicates that the A2's strengths lie in its form factor and efficiency, not in speed.

Architecture Differences

The two cards are built on fundamentally different architectures. The NVIDIA A2 uses the GA107 chip based on the Ampere architecture, manufactured by Samsung on an 8 nm process. The AMD Radeon RX 6700 uses the Navi 22 chip based on RDNA 2.0, manufactured by TSMC on a 7 nm process. This difference in process node gives the AMD card a higher transistor density, at 51.3 million transistors per square millimeter, compared to the A2's 43.5 million. The RX 6700 also has far more transistors overall, with 17,200 million versus the A2's 8,700 million.

The chip sizes differ substantially. The Navi 22 die measures 335 mm², while the GA107 die is only 200 mm². The AMD card allocates these resources differently, featuring 2,304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation pipelines. The NVIDIA card has 1,280 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The RX 6700 also has 36 ray tracing cores, whereas the A2 has only 10. The A2 does include 40 tensor cores, a feature that the RX 6700 completely lacks, as its tensor core count is listed as null.

The memory subsystems reflect their different design goals. The A2 has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 200.1 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 6700 has 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, delivering 320.0 GB/s. The AMD card's memory clock is higher, with a 16 Gbps effective data rate compared to the A2's 12.5 Gbps. The A2's larger memory capacity is a clear nod to workstation tasks, while the RX 6700's higher bandwidth favors gaming and graphics rendering.

Both cards support the same API levels, including DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The physical design also differs: the A2 is a single-slot card with no power connectors, while the RX 6700 is a dual-slot card requiring a single 8-pin connector. The A2 has no display outputs, confirming its role as a compute or server accelerator, whereas the RX 6700 offers 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two Geekbench tests included in the head-to-head comparison show the RX 6700's dominance. In the OpenCL test, the AMD card scores 97,841 against the A2's 35,357, a delta of -63.9% for the A2. This is a massive gap that indicates the RX 6700 is nearly three times faster in this compute workload. The Vulkan test shows a similar pattern, with the RX 6700 scoring 83,974 and the A2 scoring 34,023, a delta of -59.5%. These are the only two benchmarks where both cards were tested, and the results are unambiguous.

The RX 6700's broader benchmark suite provides additional context. Its Geekbench Metal score of 122,223 is exceptionally high, though the A2 has no corresponding Metal test. In Passmark tests, the RX 6700 records its best result in DirectX 9 with a score of 250, and its worst in DirectX 12 with a score of 71. Its Passmark G3D score is 18,931, and its GPU compute score is 8,240. These numbers show that the RX 6700's performance varies significantly across different APIs and workloads, but it consistently outperforms the A2 in the shared tests.

The A2's average benchmark score of 34,690 is derived from only its two recorded tests. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA T1000 8 GB, scores 34,561, just 0.4% lower. The AMD Radeon HD 7970 scores 34,541, also 0.4% lower, and the NVIDIA TITAN V scores 34,355, 1% lower. The NVIDIA RTX A1000 scores 34,207, 1.4% lower. This tight cluster around the A2's score suggests that it is well-matched with these other cards, despite being far behind the RX 6700.

Specification Differences

The specification table shows clear divergences in nearly every category. The process node differs, with the A2 on 8 nm and the RX 6700 on 7 nm. The transistor count is 8,700 million for the A2 and 17,200 million for the RX 6700, a difference of more than 8.5 billion transistors. The die size is 200 mm² for the A2 and 335 mm² for the RX 6700. Transistor density is 43.5M per mm² for the A2 and 51.3M per mm² for the RX 6700.

The clock speeds are higher on the AMD card. The A2 has a base clock of 1440 MHz and a boost clock of 1770 MHz. The RX 6700 has a base clock of 1941 MHz, a game clock of 2174 MHz, and a boost clock of 2450 MHz. The memory clock also favors AMD, with the RX 6700 running at 2000 MHz or 16 Gbps effective, versus the A2's 1563 MHz or 12.5 Gbps effective.

Memory capacity and bandwidth go in opposite directions. The A2 has 16 GB, while the RX 6700 has 10 GB. However, the RX 6700 has a wider 160-bit bus and higher bandwidth of 320.0 GB/s, versus the A2's 128-bit bus and 200.1 GB/s. The compute units show the RX 6700's advantage: 2,304 shading units versus 1,280, 144 TMUs versus 40, and 64 ROPs versus 32. The ray tracing core count is 36 for the RX 6700 and 10 for the A2. The A2 has 40 tensor cores, while the RX 6700 has none.

The power requirements are starkly different. The A2 has a TDP of 60 W, while the RX 6700 has a TDP of 175 W. The suggested PSU is 250 W for the A2 and 450 W for the RX 6700. The A2 is single-slot with no power connectors, while the RX 6700 is dual-slot with a single 8-pin connector. The bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x8 for the A2 and PCIe 4.0 x16 for the RX 6700. The A2 has no display outputs, while the RX 6700 has 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The RX 6700 has physical dimensions of 267 mm length, 110 mm height, and 40 mm width, while the A2's dimensions are not recorded.

FAQ

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA A2 has a higher average benchmark score of 34,690, compared to the AMD Radeon RX 6700's 30,433. This is despite the RX 6700 winning both head-to-head tests.

Q: How does the NVIDIA A2 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The A2's nearest rival is the NVIDIA T1000 8 GB, with an average score of 34,561, which is 0.4% lower. The AMD Radeon HD 7970 is also 0.4% lower, while the NVIDIA TITAN V is 1% lower and the NVIDIA RTX A1000 is 1.4% lower.

Q: What is the biggest performance gap in the head-to-head tests?

A: The largest delta is in Geekbench OpenCL, where the RX 6700 scores 97,841 versus the A2's 35,357, a difference of 63.9% in favor of the AMD card.

Q: Why does the A2 have a higher percentile despite losing the head-to-head?

A: The A2 is at the 79th percentile of all GPUs, while the RX 6700 is at the 75th percentile. This reflects the A2's position relative to the entire database, where it sits closer to the top of its performance tier, even though its absolute scores are lower than the RX 6700's.

Q: What are the memory capacity and bandwidth differences?

A: The A2 has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory with 200.1 GB/s bandwidth on a 128-bit bus. The RX 6700 has 10 GB of GDDR6 memory with 320.0 GB/s bandwidth on a 160-bit bus.

Q: What is the difference in power consumption?

A: The A2 has a TDP of 60 W and requires no power connectors, while the RX 6700 has a TDP of 175 W and requires a single 8-pin connector. The suggested PSU is 250 W for the A2 and 450 W for the RX 6700.