NVIDIA A2 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile Comparison

The NVIDIA A2 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile are both Ampere-generation parts built on the GA107 chip, but they target fundamentally different use cases within the same architecture. The A2 is a low-profile workstation accelerator with 16 GB of memory and no display outputs, while the RTX 3050 Mobile is a laptop GPU with a higher compute throughput but a much smaller memory pool. Benchmark data shows the RTX 3050 Mobile leading in raw compute tests, but the A2’s memory capacity and workstation positioning give it a distinct role in specific workloads.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA A2 has an average benchmark score of 34690, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile has an average of 33170. Despite this, the RTX 3050 Mobile wins both head-to-head tests listed.

Q: How much memory does each card have?

A: The NVIDIA A2 features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, whereas the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile has 4 GB of GDDR6 on the same 128-bit bus width.

Q: Are the two GPUs based on the same silicon?

A: Yes, both use the GA107 chip, built on an 8 nm Samsung process. They share identical transistor counts of 8,700 million and a die size of 200 mm².

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

A: The RTX 3050 Mobile has 2048 shading units and 16 RT cores, compared to the A2’s 1280 shading units and 10 RT cores.

Q: What is the power draw difference?

A: The A2 has a TDP of 60 W, while the RTX 3050 Mobile is rated at 45 W. The A2 also lists a suggested PSU of 250 W, while the mobile part does not specify one.

Q: Do either of these GPUs support the latest APIs?

A: Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so they are on par for modern graphics API compatibility.

Architecture Differences

Both the NVIDIA A2 and the GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile are built on the Ampere architecture using the GA107 chip. They share the same 8 nm Samsung process, 8,700 million transistors, and a 200 mm² die size, resulting in an identical transistor density of 43.5M per mm². The fundamental silicon is the same, but the configurations diverge significantly.

The RTX 3050 Mobile has a much fuller implementation of the GA107 die. It packs 2048 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, and 16 ray tracing cores, alongside 64 tensor cores. In contrast, the A2 is cut down to 1280 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 10 RT cores, with 40 tensor cores. This means the mobile part has more parallel processing capacity for compute-heavy tasks, while the A2 focuses on efficiency and memory capacity.

Clock speeds also differ notably. The A2 runs at a base clock of 1440 MHz and boosts to 1770 MHz, whereas the RTX 3050 Mobile operates at a lower 1065 MHz base and 1343 MHz boost. The A2’s higher clocks help it compensate somewhat for its fewer cores, but they also push its TDP to 60 W versus the mobile part’s 45 W. Memory clocks are close: the A2 runs at 1563 MHz (12.5 Gbps effective) against the RTX 3050 Mobile’s 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective). The A2’s slightly faster memory and larger 16 GB capacity give it a bandwidth of 200.1 GB/s, while the RTX 3050 Mobile’s 4 GB pool yields 192.0 GB/s.

The most significant architectural difference lies in physical form and purpose. The A2 is a single-slot, power-efficient accelerator with no display outputs, designed for server or edge inference tasks. The RTX 3050 Mobile is an integrated laptop part (IGP) with portable-device-dependent outputs. Both use PCIe 4.0 x8, but their intended environments are worlds apart.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 3050 Mobile wins decisively in raw compute benchmarks. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 50038 against the A2’s 35357, a 29.3% advantage. In Geekbench Vulkan, it scores 49051 versus 34023, a 30.6% lead. This performance gap stems from the mobile part’s higher shading unit count (2048 vs 1280) and higher FP32 throughput of 5.501 TFLOPS versus the A2’s 4.531 TFLOPS. For general-purpose compute, graphics rendering, or any workload that scales with core count, the RTX 3050 Mobile is the clear winner.

The A2 wins in memory capacity and bandwidth per watt considerations. With 16 GB of VRAM, it offers four times the memory of the RTX 3050 Mobile. This makes it suitable for larger models or datasets that exceed 4 GB, even if its raw compute is lower. The A2 also has a higher pixel rate (56.64 GPixel/s vs 42.98 GPixel/s) due to its higher boost clock, and a higher memory bandwidth of 200.1 GB/s. Its 60 W TDP is higher than the mobile part’s 45 W, but it is still a low-power card for a server context.

The A2’s workstation lineage, with its predecessor being Quadro Turing and successor being Workstation Ada, positions it for professional tasks where display output is unnecessary. The RTX 3050 Mobile, succeeding GeForce 20 Mobile, is aimed at consumer laptops. In practice, the data suggests the RTX 3050 Mobile wins on speed, while the A2 wins on capacity and form factor for embedded use.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA A2 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile |

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

| Generation | Workstation Ampere (Ax000) | GeForce 30 Mobile |

| Base Clock | 1440 MHz | 1065 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1770 MHz | 1343 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1563 MHz (12.5 Gbps effective) | 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 16 GB | 4 GB |

| Memory Bandwidth | 200.1 GB/s | 192.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 1280 | 2048 |

| TMUs | 40 | 64 |

| RT Cores | 10 | 16 |

| Tensor Cores | 40 | 64 |

| Pixel Rate | 56.64 GPixel/s | 42.98 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 70.80 GTexel/s | 85.95 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 4.531 TFLOPS | 5.501 TFLOPS |

| TDP | 60 W | 45 W |

| Slot Width | Single-slot | IGP |

| Suggested PSU | 250 W | None |

| Display Outputs | No outputs | Portable Device Dependent |

| Release Date | 2021-11-09 | 2021-05-10 |

| Predecessor | Quadro Turing | GeForce 20 Mobile |

| Successor | Workstation Ada | None |

The two GPUs share identical process node, foundry, transistor count, die size, memory type, bus width, bus interface, and API support. The differences above highlight where they diverge: the A2 trades compute units for memory capacity and higher clocks, while the RTX 3050 Mobile maximizes shading units and ray tracing hardware within a lower TDP envelope.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head data contains two tests, both won by the RTX 3050 Mobile. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 3050 Mobile scores 50038 against the A2’s 35357, a delta of -29.3% from the A2’s perspective. This means the A2 trails by nearly a third in this compute test. The RTX 3050 Mobile’s advantage comes from its 2048 shading units and 5.501 TFLOPS FP32 throughput, which is roughly 21% higher than the A2’s 4.531 TFLOPS.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the margin is similar but slightly larger. The RTX 3050 Mobile scores 49051, while the A2 scores 34023, yielding a delta of -30.6%. Vulkan tests often exercise draw calls and geometry throughput, where the RTX 3050 Mobile’s 64 TMUs and higher texture rate of 85.95 GTexel/s versus the A2’s 70.80 GTexel/s likely contribute. The A2’s higher pixel rate (56.64 vs 42.98 GPixel/s) does not translate into a win here, indicating that the compute advantage of the RTX 3050 Mobile overwhelms the A2’s clock speed benefits.

Notably, the A2’s average benchmark score of 34690 is higher than the RTX 3050 Mobile’s 33170, despite losing both head-to-head tests. This discrepancy suggests the A2’s score distribution is tighter, or that the RTX 3050 Mobile’s additional benchmark (3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, scoring 421) pulls its average down. The percentile ranking is close: the A2 sits at the 79th percentile of all GPUs, while the RTX 3050 Mobile is at the 78th. In terms of nearest rivals, the A2 is within 0.4% of the NVIDIA T1000 8 GB and AMD Radeon HD 7970, while the RTX 3050 Mobile is statistically tied with the NVIDIA T550 Mobile and within 0.1% of the AMD Radeon Pro 570.

These results indicate that while the RTX 3050 Mobile is faster in these specific compute tests, the A2 holds its own in overall benchmark standing, likely due to its memory configuration and driver optimizations for workstation workloads.

The Verdict

The data paints a clear picture for different buyers. If your workload requires maximum raw compute performance in OpenCL or Vulkan, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile is the pick. It leads by 29-30% in both head-to-head tests, offers more shading units, more RT cores, and higher FP32 throughput. This makes it suitable for tasks like rendering, gaming, or general GPU compute where core count matters more than memory size.

However, the RTX 3050 Mobile’s 4 GB memory is a hard limit. Any workload that needs to hold large models, big textures, or extensive datasets in VRAM will hit that wall quickly. The NVIDIA A2’s 16 GB capacity is four times larger, and its higher memory bandwidth of 200.1 GB/s versus 192.0 GB/s gives it a slight edge in memory-bound scenarios. The A2 also has a higher pixel rate, which could benefit certain rasterization tasks, and its single-slot, no-output design is ideal for server racks or embedded systems where display connectivity is irrelevant.

The verdict depends on your environment. For a laptop user or anyone needing portable graphics performance, the RTX 3050 Mobile is the obvious choice — it wins every benchmark in the data. For a server administrator deploying inference or AI workloads that require large memory footprints, the A2’s 16 GB VRAM and workstation lineage make it the safer bet, even though it is slower per compute unit. The A2’s 60 W TDP and 250 W suggested PSU are modest for a server, while the RTX 3050 Mobile’s 45 W fits mobile constraints. Both are end-of-life products, but the A2 has a defined successor (Workstation Ada), whereas the RTX 3050 Mobile does not. Choose the RTX 3050 Mobile for speed, the A2 for capacity and server deployment.