AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU vs NVIDIA RTX 2000 Mobile Ada Generation Comparison

FAQ

Q: What are the core architectural differences between the AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU and the NVIDIA RTX 2000 Mobile Ada Generation?

A: The AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU uses the RDNA 3.0 architecture on a 4 nm TSMC process, while the NVIDIA RTX 2000 Mobile Ada Generation uses the Ada Lovelace architecture on a 5 nm TSMC process. The AMD chip is named Hawk Point, and the NVIDIA chip is AD107.

Q: How do the memory subsystems compare between these two GPUs?

A: The AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU has 16 GB of LPDDR5X memory with a 128 bit bus and 119.9 GB/s bandwidth. The NVIDIA RTX 2000 Mobile has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, also on a 128 bit bus, but delivers 256.0 GB/s bandwidth, which is more than double the AMD part.

Q: Which GPU has a higher boost clock?

A: The NVIDIA RTX 2000 Mobile Ada Generation has a boost clock of 2115 MHz, while the AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU boosts to 2700 MHz. The AMD part has a higher boost clock despite a lower base clock of 800 MHz compared to the NVIDIA base of 1635 MHz.

Q: What is the transistor count and die size for each GPU?

A: The AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU contains 25,390 million transistors on a 178 mm² die, giving a density of 142.6M per mm². The NVIDIA RTX 2000 Mobile has 18,900 million transistors on a 159 mm² die, with a density of 118.9M per mm².

Q: What are the power requirements for each GPU?

A: The AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU has a TDP of 28 W. The NVIDIA RTX 2000 Mobile Ada Generation has a TDP of 50 W. Neither GPU uses external power connectors.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units and ray tracing cores?

A: The NVIDIA RTX 2000 Mobile has 3072 shading units and 24 ray tracing cores, while the AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU has 768 shading units and 12 ray tracing cores. The NVIDIA part also includes 96 tensor cores, a feature the AMD part does not list.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU is built around the RDNA 3.0 architecture, using TSMC's 4 nm process node. The chip, codenamed Hawk Point, packs 25,390 million transistors into a 178 mm² die. This results in a transistor density of 142.6M per mm². The GPU belongs to the Console GPU (AMD) generation and is produced by AMD.

The NVIDIA RTX 2000 Mobile Ada Generation uses the Ada Lovelace architecture, fabricated on TSMC's 5 nm process. The AD107 chip contains 18,900 million transistors on a 159 mm² die, yielding a density of 118.9M per mm². This part is part of the Ada-MW generation and comes from the GeForce 20-series family.

The compute resources differ substantially. The AMD GPU has 768 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 32 raster operation pipelines. It also includes 12 ray tracing cores but no tensor cores. In contrast, the NVIDIA GPU has 3072 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 48 ROPs, along with 24 ray tracing cores and 96 tensor cores. The NVIDIA part has four times the shading units and double the TMUs and ROPs.

Memory architecture also separates these two. The AMD part uses 16 GB of LPDDR5X memory running at 937 MHz (7.5 Gbps effective) across a 128 bit bus. The NVIDIA part uses 8 GB of GDDR6 memory at 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) on the same 128 bit bus width. The NVIDIA memory clock is more than double the AMD memory clock.

Clock behavior shows a similar divergence. The AMD GPU has a base clock of 800 MHz and a boost clock of 2700 MHz. The NVIDIA GPU starts at 1635 MHz base and boosts to 2115 MHz. The AMD boost clock is higher, but the NVIDIA base clock is substantially higher.

The manufacturing process and transistor budget favor AMD in raw density. The NVIDIA part counters with a wider compute layout and dedicated tensor hardware. Both GPUs support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The NVIDIA part uses a PCIe 4.0 x16 bus interface, while the AMD part lists no bus interface. Display outputs also differ: the AMD GPU has one USB Type-C output, while the NVIDIA GPU's outputs are portable device dependent.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU wins on memory capacity. With 16 GB of LPDDR5X, it holds double the frame buffer of the NVIDIA RTX 2000 Mobile's 8 GB. For workloads that need large working sets, such as high-resolution textures or complex scenes, the AMD part has a clear capacity advantage. It also has a higher boost clock at 2700 MHz versus 2115 MHz, which can help in lightly threaded or latency-sensitive tasks.

The AMD GPU also wins on power efficiency in terms of TDP. It consumes 28 W versus the NVIDIA part's 50 W. The data shows a 22 W difference in the AMD part's favor. For constrained thermal environments, the AMD GPU draws less power while still offering the larger memory pool.

The NVIDIA RTX 2000 Mobile wins on raw compute throughput. Its FP32 performance of 12.99 TFLOPS exceeds the AMD part's 8.294 TFLOPS. The NVIDIA part also has higher pixel rate (101.5 GPixel/s versus 86.40 GPixel/s) and texture rate (203.0 GTexel/s versus 129.6 GTexel/s). These metrics indicate faster rasterization and texture-heavy workloads.

The NVIDIA GPU also wins on memory bandwidth. Its 256.0 GB/s bandwidth is more than twice the AMD part's 119.9 GB/s. GDDR6 memory at 16 Gbps effective provides a significant throughput advantage over LPDDR5X at 7.5 Gbps effective. For bandwidth-bound operations, the NVIDIA part has a decisive edge.

The NVIDIA GPU wins on ray tracing and tensor hardware. It has 24 ray tracing cores versus 12, and 96 tensor cores compared to none on the AMD part. The recorded data shows the NVIDIA GPU is positioned for workloads that use these dedicated units. The AMD part has no tensor core support at all.

The transistor density metric favors AMD, with 142.6M per mm² versus 118.9M per mm². This indicates the AMD part packs more transistors into each square millimeter of silicon. However, this density advantage does not translate into higher compute throughput in the benchmark data.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every core specification. The AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU has 768 shading units, 48 TMUs, 32 ROPs, and 12 ray tracing cores. The NVIDIA RTX 2000 Mobile has 3072 shading units, 96 TMUs, 48 ROPs, 24 ray tracing cores, and 96 tensor cores.

Process node and die details diverge. AMD uses 4 nm TSMC with a 178 mm² die and 25,390 million transistors. NVIDIA uses 5 nm TSMC with a 159 mm² die and 18,900 million transistors. Transistor density is 142.6M per mm² for AMD and 118.9M per mm² for NVIDIA.

Clock speeds differ significantly. AMD lists a base clock of 800 MHz and boost clock of 2700 MHz. NVIDIA lists a base clock of 1635 MHz and boost clock of 2115 MHz. Memory clocks also differ: AMD runs at 937 MHz (7.5 Gbps effective), NVIDIA at 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective).

Memory configuration splits the two. AMD has 16 GB of LPDDR5X with a 128 bit bus and 119.9 GB/s bandwidth. NVIDIA has 8 GB of GDDR6 with a 128 bit bus and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth. Both use a 128 bit bus, but capacity and bandwidth favor opposite sides.

Performance rates differ across the board. AMD delivers 86.40 GPixel/s pixel rate and 129.6 GTexel/s texture rate. NVIDIA delivers 101.5 GPixel/s and 203.0 GTexel/s. FP32 and FP16 compute are both 8.294 TFLOPS on AMD, while NVIDIA delivers 12.99 TFLOPS in both.

Power and physical specifications also differ. AMD has a TDP of 28 W and no slot width listed. NVIDIA has a TDP of 50 W and an IGP slot width. Neither uses power connectors. The AMD GPU lists one USB Type-C display output; the NVIDIA GPU lists portable device dependent outputs. The NVIDIA part uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while AMD lists no bus interface.

Release timing and status also differ. The AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU has a release date of 2024-12-31. The NVIDIA RTX 2000 Mobile Ada Generation has a release date of 2023-03-20 and lists Ampere-MW as its predecessor and Blackwell-MW as its successor. Both are marked as Active in production status.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a clear split in strengths. The NVIDIA RTX 2000 Mobile Ada Generation leads in FP32 compute with 12.99 TFLOPS against the AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU's 8.294 TFLOPS. That is a 56.6% advantage for the NVIDIA part in raw floating point throughput. The same ratio applies to FP16 compute, where NVIDIA again delivers 12.99 TFLOPS versus 8.294 TFLOPS.

Memory bandwidth is another decisive NVIDIA win. The NVIDIA part delivers 256.0 GB/s, which is 2.13 times the AMD part's 119.9 GB/s. This more than doubles the bandwidth available to the GPU, a critical factor for memory-intensive rendering and compute tasks.

Texture rate favors NVIDIA by a wide margin. The NVIDIA GPU achieves 203.0 GTexel/s, compared to 129.6 GTexel/s on the AMD GPU. That is a 56.6% lead in texture fill rate. Pixel rate also favors NVIDIA at 101.5 GPixel/s versus 86.40 GPixel/s, a 17.5% advantage.

The AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU counters with its boost clock. At 2700 MHz, it runs 27.7% higher than the NVIDIA part's 2115 MHz boost. The AMD part also has a much lower base clock at 800 MHz, which is less than half of the NVIDIA base clock of 1635 MHz.

Memory capacity is the AMD advantage. The AMD GPU has 16 GB, exactly double the NVIDIA GPU's 8 GB. For applications that fit within the frame buffer, this capacity difference can be decisive, even when bandwidth is lower.

Transistor count and density favor AMD. The AMD part has 25,390 million transistors, which is 34.3% more than the NVIDIA part's 18,900 million. Die size is also larger at 178 mm² versus 159 mm², but the density metric shows AMD at 142.6M per mm² versus 118.9M per mm², a 19.9% density advantage.

The ray tracing core count shows NVIDIA leading with 24 cores versus 12 cores on AMD, a 2x difference. Tensor cores exist only on the NVIDIA part, with 96 available. Shading units on NVIDIA total 3072 versus 768 on AMD, a 4x difference. TMUs and ROPs also favor NVIDIA at 96 and 48 versus 48 and 32 respectively.

Power consumption shows AMD at 28 W TDP versus NVIDIA at 50 W TDP. The AMD part draws 44% less power according to the TDP figures. This efficiency difference is notable given the AMD part still provides the larger memory capacity.

The release timeline shows the NVIDIA part arrived earlier. The RTX 2000 Mobile Ada Generation has a release date of 2023-03-20, while the AMD Ryzen Z2 GPU has a release date of 2024-12-31. Both remain active in production status. The AMD GPU is classified as a Console GPU, while the NVIDIA part belongs to the GeForce 20-series with the Ada-MW generation label.