AMD Radeon RX 9070 vs NVIDIA A2 Comparison

The NVIDIA A2 and AMD Radeon RX 9070 represent two vastly different approaches to GPU design, yet their average benchmark scores place them surprisingly close in the database. The A2, an end-of-life workstation accelerator from 2021, and the RX 9070, an active RDNA 4.0 consumer card from 2025, both achieve a 79th percentile ranking among all GPUs. The data shows a razor-thin margin in aggregate performance, with the A2 averaging 34,866 points against the RX 9070’s 34,780 points, a difference of just 0.2%. However, this near-parity in average score masks enormous architectural and use-case chasms that become apparent only when examining individual workloads.

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark results point to a complete dichotomy in workload suitability. The AMD Radeon RX 9070 is the clear winner in raw compute throughput across modern APIs. In the only directly comparable test, Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 9070 delivers a decisive victory with a score of 133,741 against the A2’s 34,866. This represents a 73.9% deficit for the NVIDIA card, meaning the RX 9070 produces nearly four times the OpenCL compute performance. The RX 9070 also carries a full suite of additional benchmark results—3DMark Steel Nomad, multiple Passmark DirectX tests, Passmark G2D, G3D, and GPU compute—where the A2 has no corresponding entries, indicating the AMD card is designed for and tested across a broad range of graphics and compute scenarios.

The NVIDIA A2’s sole advantage lies in its efficiency and form factor within the aggregate scoring context. Despite having roughly one-eighth the transistor count and one-third the die size, the A2 manages to match the RX 9070’s average score within 0.2%. The A2 achieves this with a 60 W TDP compared to the RX 9070’s 220 W, and it fits in a single slot with no power connectors required, whereas the RX 9070 is a dual-slot card needing two 8-pin connectors. For workloads that are not compute-intensive but require a compact, low-power presence, the A2’s profile is unmatched, even if its raw performance ceiling is far lower.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gulf between these two GPUs is generational and fundamental. The NVIDIA A2 is built on the Ampere architecture, specifically the GA107 chip, fabricated on Samsung’s 8 nm process. It packs 8,700 million transistors into a 200 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 43.5 million per square millimeter. In contrast, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 uses the RDNA 4.0 architecture with the Navi 48 chip, built on TSMC’s 4 nm node. This newer process allows AMD to cram 53,900 million transistors into a 357 mm² die, achieving a density of 151.0 million per square millimeter—over three times the density of the A2.

The compute resources tell a similar story of scale. The RX 9070 fields 3,584 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 128 ROPs, while the A2 manages just 1,280 shaders, 40 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. Ray tracing hardware favors AMD here as well, with 56 RT cores on the RX 9070 versus only 10 on the A2. For AI acceleration, the A2 does include 40 Tensor Cores, a feature class absent from the RX 9070’s specification list. The FP32 throughput difference is stark: the RX 9070 delivers 36.13 TFLOPS against the A2’s 4.531 TFLOPS. The FP16 picture is more nuanced, with the A2 offering a 1:1 FP16-to-FP32 ratio at 4.531 TFLOPS, while the RX 9070 doubles its FP32 rate to 72.25 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio.

Memory systems also diverge completely. Both cards use 16 GB of GDDR6, but the A2 employs a 128-bit bus providing 200.1 GB/s of bandwidth, while the RX 9070 uses a 256-bit bus delivering 644.6 GB/s. The RX 9070’s memory clock runs at 2518 MHz (20.1 Gbps effective) versus the A2’s 1563 MHz (12.5 Gbps effective). The RX 9070 also connects via PCIe 5.0 x16, whereas the A2 uses PCIe 4.0 x8. Clock speeds show the AMD card’s boost advantage at 2520 MHz versus 1770 MHz, though the A2 has a higher base clock at 1440 MHz against the RX 9070’s 1330 MHz.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The single directly comparable benchmark, Geekbench OpenCL, provides the clearest signal of relative performance. The AMD Radeon RX 9070 scores 133,741 points, while the NVIDIA A2 scores 34,866 points. The delta is -73.9% for the A2, meaning the NVIDIA card delivers only about 26% of the RX 9070’s OpenCL compute performance. This is not a marginal difference—it is a generational gap that reflects the fundamental architectural and process-node advantages held by the newer AMD part.

Beyond that single shared test, the benchmark database reveals the RX 9070’s capabilities across a broader spectrum. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the RX 9070 posts 6,290 points. Passmark results show G3D at 25,381, GPU compute at 14,737, G2D at 1,280, DirectX 11 at 281, DirectX 10 at 141, DirectX 9 at 343, and DirectX 12 at 74. The A2 has no entries for these tests, which is consistent with its workstation positioning—it is not designed for DirectX gaming workloads or general 2D desktop acceleration. The A2’s only benchmark entry is the Geekbench OpenCL result, and it has no display outputs, confirming its role as a compute-only accelerator.

The nearest rival data reinforces the odd pairing. For the A2, the RX 9070 is the closest competitor by average score, with a delta of 0.2%. The A2 also sits near the NVIDIA Quadro GV100 (0.5% delta), AMD Radeon HD 7970 (0.9%), and AMD Radeon PRO W6400 (1.0%). For the RX 9070, the same rivals appear in similar order: the A2 at -0.2% delta (meaning the RX 9070 trails the A2 by 0.2% in average score), the Quadro GV100 at 0.3%, HD 7970 at 0.7%, and PRO W6400 at 0.8%. The close aggregate scores suggest that for average mixed workloads, these cards cluster together, but the specific workload breakdown shows they achieve that parity through entirely different means.

FAQ

Q: Which card has higher raw compute performance in OpenCL?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 9070 dominates with a Geekbench OpenCL score of 133,741, which is 73.9% higher than the NVIDIA A2’s score of 34,866.

Q: Do both cards have the same memory capacity?

A: Yes, both the NVIDIA A2 and AMD Radeon RX 9070 feature 16 GB of GDDR6 memory, but the RX 9070 uses a 256-bit bus for 644.6 GB/s bandwidth versus the A2’s 128-bit bus at 200.1 GB/s.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The NVIDIA A2 has a 60 W TDP and requires no power connectors, while the AMD Radeon RX 9070 has a 220 W TDP and needs two 8-pin connectors. The A2 suggests a 250 W PSU, whereas the RX 9070 suggests a 550 W PSU.

Q: Which card includes Tensor Cores?

A: The NVIDIA A2 includes 40 Tensor Cores, while the AMD Radeon RX 9070’s specification does not list any Tensor Core equivalent.

Q: How do their process nodes compare?

A: The NVIDIA A2 uses Samsung’s 8 nm process with 8,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die, while the AMD Radeon RX 9070 uses TSMC’s 4 nm process with 53,900 million transistors on a 357 mm² die.

Q: Which card has display outputs?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 9070 has 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1a outputs, while the NVIDIA A2 has no display outputs, making it a compute-only accelerator.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every measurable specification. The NVIDIA A2 uses the GA107 chip on Ampere architecture, while the AMD Radeon RX 9070 uses Navi 48 on RDNA 4.0. The A2 is fabricated on an 8 nm Samsung process, whereas the RX 9070 uses TSMC’s 4 nm node. Transistor counts are 8,700 million for the A2 versus 53,900 million for the RX 9070, with die sizes of 200 mm² and 357 mm² respectively. Transistor density favors AMD at 151.0M per mm² against NVIDIA’s 43.5M per mm².

Clock speeds show the A2 with a 1440 MHz base and 1770 MHz boost, while the RX 9070 has a 1330 MHz base, 2520 MHz boost, and a 2070 MHz game clock. Memory clocks are 1563 MHz (12.5 Gbps effective) for the A2 and 2518 MHz (20.1 Gbps effective) for the RX 9070. The memory bus is 128-bit on the A2 versus 256-bit on the RX 9070, resulting in bandwidths of 200.1 GB/s and 644.6 GB/s respectively. Shading units number 1280 for the A2 and 3584 for the RX 9070, with TMUs at 40 versus 224 and ROPs at 32 versus 128. Ray tracing cores are 10 on the A2 and 56 on the RX 9070; the A2 adds 40 Tensor Cores where the RX 9070 has none listed.

Pixel and texture rates are far higher on the RX 9070 at 322.6 GPixel/s and 564.5 GTexel/s, versus the A2’s 56.64 GPixel/s and 70.80 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 4.531 TFLOPS on the A2 versus 36.13 TFLOPS on the RX 9070, while FP16 is 4.531 TFLOPS (1:1) on the A2 and 72.25 TFLOPS (2:1) on the RX 9070. TDP is 60 W versus 220 W, with the A2 being single-slot and the RX 9070 dual-slot. Power connectors are none on the A2 versus 2x 8-pin on the RX 9070, and suggested PSUs are 250 W and 550 W respectively. The bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x8 for the A2 and PCIe 5.0 x16 for the RX 9070. Display outputs are absent on the A2 but present as 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1a on the RX 9070. Production status is end-of-life for the A2 and active for the RX 9070, with release dates of November 2021 and March 2025 respectively. The A2’s predecessor is Quadro Turing and successor is Workstation Ada, while the RX 9070’s predecessor is Navi III with no successor listed.