NVIDIA A2 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data includes two shared benchmark tests between the NVIDIA A2 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti, and the results are decisive in both cases. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 2080 Ti scores 128,171 against the A2's 35,357, a delta of -72.4% for the A2. In Geekbench Vulkan, the gap is similar: the RTX 2080 Ti reaches 132,930 while the A2 manages 34,023, a delta of -74.4%. This means the RTX 2080 Ti is roughly 3.6x faster in OpenCL and roughly 3.9x faster in Vulkan, based on the raw scores. The A2 wins zero head-to-head tests, while the RTX 2080 Ti wins both.

However, the average benchmark score tells a more nuanced story. The A2 has an average benchmark score of 34,690 across its recorded tests, while the RTX 2080 Ti averages 29,783. That is a 16.5% advantage for the A2 in aggregate, despite losing both direct comparisons. This discrepancy arises because the two cards are measured across different test sets: the A2 is only evaluated in Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan, whereas the RTX 2080 Ti has additional data points, including PassMark DirectX tests and 3DMark Steel Nomad, which drag its average down. The RTX 2080 Ti's PassMark G3D score is 21,548, its GPU Compute score is 10,056, and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 result is 3,537, none of which have direct A2 counterparts in the database.

Percentile rankings also position the cards differently. The A2 sits at the 79th percentile among all GPUs, while the RTX 2080 Ti is at the 75th percentile. The A2's nearest rivals in the database are the NVIDIA T1000 8 GB at 34,561 average score (0.4% higher), the AMD Radeon HD 7970 at 34,541 (0.4% higher), the NVIDIA TITAN V at 34,355 (1% higher), and the NVIDIA RTX A1000 at 34,207 (1.4% higher). The RTX 2080 Ti, by contrast, sits near the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile at 29,928 (-0.5% delta), the RTX 3070 Ti at 29,945 (-0.5%), the AMD Radeon RX 6800 at 30,095 (-1%), and the AMD FirePro W8000 at 29,211 (2%). These rival sets show that in aggregate, the A2 competes in a higher percentile bracket, but the direct tests where both are present favor the RTX 2080 Ti overwhelmingly.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA A2, with an average benchmark score of 34,690 compared to the RTX 2080 Ti's 29,783. The A2 also holds a higher percentile rank at 79 versus 75.

Q: Does the RTX 2080 Ti beat the A2 in every shared benchmark?

A: Yes. The RTX 2080 Ti wins both recorded head-to-head tests: Geekbench OpenCL (128,171 vs 35,357, a -72.4% delta) and Geekbench Vulkan (132,930 vs 34,023, a -74.4% delta).

Q: Why does the A2 have a higher average score if it loses both direct comparisons?

A: The A2 is only represented by its two Geekbench scores, both around 34,000 to 35,000. The RTX 2080 Ti's average includes additional tests like PassMark DirectX 9 (235), DirectX 10 (153), DirectX 11 (190), DirectX 12 (84), G2D (927), G3D (21,548), and GPU Compute (10,056), which lower its overall mean.

Q: What is the closest rival to the A2 in the database?

A: The NVIDIA T1000 8 GB has an average score of 34,561, just 0.4% higher than the A2's 34,690. The AMD Radeon HD 7970 is equally close at 34,541, also 0.4% higher.

Q: How does the RTX 2080 Ti compare to its nearest rival, the RTX 3070 Ti?

A: The RTX 2080 Ti's average of 29,783 is nearly identical to the RTX 3070 Ti's 29,945, a delta of -0.5%. The RTX 5070 Mobile is also within -0.5% at 29,928.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference between the two cards?

A: The A2 has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 200.1 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 2080 Ti has 11 GB of GDDR6 on a 352-bit bus with 616.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Architecture Differences

The A2 is built on the Ampere architecture using the GA107 chip, fabricated on an 8 nm process at Samsung. The RTX 2080 Ti uses the Turing architecture with the TU102 chip, fabricated on a 12 nm process at TSMC. This is a two-generation gap in process technology, and it shows in transistor density: the A2 packs 8,700 million transistors into a 200 mm² die, yielding 43.5 million transistors per square millimeter. The RTX 2080 Ti integrates 18,600 million transistors across a much larger 754 mm² die, for a density of 24.7 million per square millimeter. The A2's smaller, denser die reflects the newer node, while the RTX 2080 Ti's larger die reflects an older process and a more complex GPU layout.

The A2 is a low-power, compute-oriented card with 1,280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. It also includes 10 RT cores and 40 tensor cores. The RTX 2080 Ti is a far larger GPU with 4,352 shading units, 272 TMUs, and 88 ROPs, plus 68 RT cores and 544 tensor cores. The shading unit count is 3.4x higher on the RTX 2080 Ti, and the tensor core count is 13.6x higher. Pixel and texture rates follow suit: the RTX 2080 Ti delivers 136.0 GPixel/s and 420.2 GTexel/s, while the A2 delivers 56.64 GPixel/s and 70.80 GTexel/s.

FP32 compute also diverges sharply. The A2 has 4.531 TFLOPS FP32 and the same 4.531 TFLOPS FP16, meaning its FP16 is handled at a 1:1 ratio. The RTX 2080 Ti has 13.45 TFLOPS FP32 and 26.90 TFLOPS FP16, a 2:1 ratio, which indicates it can double its throughput on FP16 workloads. Both cards support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so API-level compatibility is identical. However, the A2 is a single-slot card with no display outputs and no power connectors, drawing 60 W TDP. The RTX 2080 Ti is a dual-slot card with 1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, and 1x USB Type-C outputs, requiring 2x 8-pin power connectors and a 250 W TDP.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every physical and performance specification. The A2 has a base clock of 1440 MHz and a boost clock of 1770 MHz, while the RTX 2080 Ti has a base clock of 1350 MHz and a boost clock of 1545 MHz. The A2's memory runs at 1563 MHz with 12.5 Gbps effective speed, while the RTX 2080 Ti's memory runs at 1750 MHz with 14 Gbps effective. Memory capacity is 16 GB on the A2 versus 11 GB on the RTX 2080 Ti, but the bus width is 128-bit versus 352-bit, and bandwidth is 200.1 GB/s versus 616.0 GB/s. The RTX 2080 Ti has a 3.1x bandwidth advantage.

The A2 uses PCIe 4.0 x8, while the RTX 2080 Ti uses PCIe 3.0 x16. The A2 has no display outputs; the RTX 2080 Ti has a full set including HDMI, DisplayPort, and USB Type-C. The A2 is a single-slot card with no power connectors and a suggested PSU of 250 W. The RTX 2080 Ti is a dual-slot card with 2x 8-pin connectors and a suggested PSU of 600 W. The A2's TDP is 60 W, while the RTX 2080 Ti's is 250 W, a 4.2x difference. The RTX 2080 Ti also has physical dimensions recorded: 267 mm in length, 116 mm in height, and 35 mm in width.

The release dates are far apart. The RTX 2080 Ti launched on September 19, 2018, with a launch MSRP of 999 USD. The A2 launched on November 9, 2021, with no recorded MSRP. Both are end-of-life products. The A2's predecessor is Quadro Turing and its successor is Workstation Ada. The RTX 2080 Ti's predecessor is GeForce 10 and its successor is GeForce 30.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 2080 Ti wins decisively in raw graphics throughput. Its FP32 compute of 13.45 TFLOPS is 2.97x the A2's 4.531 TFLOPS. Its FP16 compute of 26.90 TFLOPS is 5.94x the A2's 4.531 TFLOPS. Its texture rate of 420.2 GTexel/s is 5.94x the A2's 70.80 GTexel/s, and its pixel rate of 136.0 GPixel/s is 2.4x the A2's 56.64 GPixel/s. The RTX 2080 Ti also has far more RT cores (68 vs 10) and tensor cores (544 vs 40), which positions it as the stronger choice for ray-traced workloads and tensor-heavy inference tasks that can leverage its 2:1 FP16 throughput. Its memory bandwidth of 616.0 GB/s is more than triple the A2's, which favors large textures, high resolutions, and memory-intensive rendering.

The A2 wins in efficiency and form factor. Its 60 W TDP is 190 W lower than the RTX 2080 Ti's 250 W, and it requires no external power connectors, while the RTX 2080 Ti needs 2x 8-pin. The A2 is single-slot, the RTX 2080 Ti is dual-slot. The A2 also has more memory capacity (16 GB vs 11 GB), which can be an advantage for certain large-model inference or dataset caching workloads, provided they fit within its narrower 128-bit bus. Its PCIe 4.0 x8 interface offers a newer standard, though the RTX 2080 Ti's PCIe 3.0 x16 has a wider physical lane count. The A2's higher average benchmark score (34,690 vs 29,783) and higher percentile rank (79 vs 75) suggest that in the database's aggregate metrics, the A2 is the better-scoring card overall, despite losing the two direct application tests. The A2 also sits in a closer rival cluster with the T1000 8 GB and RTX A1000, both workstation-oriented cards, whereas the RTX 2080 Ti's rivals are gaming-class products like the RTX 3070 Ti and RX 6800.

The Verdict

The data presents two distinct use cases. For any workload that depends on raw rendering throughput, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti is the clear choice. It dominates in FP32, FP16, texture rate, pixel rate, RT core count, tensor core count, and memory bandwidth. Its Geekbench scores are 3.6x to 3.9x higher than the A2 in the shared tests, and it wins both head-to-head benchmarks with deltas of -72.4% and -74.4%. The RTX 2080 Ti also provides display outputs, making it suitable for interactive work, and its 11 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 352-bit bus provides 616.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is the strongest memory throughput in this comparison.

For deployments where power, space, and memory capacity matter more than peak throughput, the NVIDIA A2 is the more sensible option. Its 60 W TDP requires no power connectors and a suggested PSU of only 250 W, compared to the RTX 2080 Ti's 250 W TDP, 2x 8-pin connectors, and 600 W suggested PSU. The A2 is single-slot with no display outputs, indicating a headless compute or inference role. Its 16 GB of memory exceeds the RTX 2080 Ti's 11 GB, and its 8 nm process node delivers a far higher transistor density of 43.5 million per square millimeter versus 24.7 million. The A2's average benchmark score of 34,690 and 79th percentile rank also indicate that, in aggregate database metrics, it outperforms the RTX 2080 Ti's 29,783 average and 75th percentile.

The verdict from the recorded data: the RTX 2080 Ti is the performance leader for graphics-intensive tasks, while the A2 is the efficiency leader with greater memory capacity and a smaller physical footprint. The RTX 2080 Ti is the pick for anyone who needs maximum compute and memory bandwidth, and it carries a launch MSRP of 999 USD. The A2 is the pick for constrained environments that prioritize low power draw, single-slot installation, and larger memory capacity over raw speed. Neither card is currently in production, but the benchmark data clearly separates their roles.