NVIDIA A2 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Comparison

The Verdict

The recorded benchmark data splits these two Ampere-based NVIDIA cards into entirely different performance classes. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti dominates the shared compute tests, winning both head-to-head benchmarks by margins of 70.5% and 75.6%. The A2, despite its lower raw scores, holds a higher percentile ranking in the overall database at 79 versus the RTX 3070 Ti's 75, which reflects a different distribution of workloads across the full GPU landscape rather than direct equivalence.

The NVIDIA A2 is the appropriate choice when the workload fits within its 16 GB memory pool and the system requires a single-slot, passively powered board with no display outputs. The RTX 3070 Ti is the appropriate choice when raw compute throughput, memory bandwidth, and rendering capability take priority, as every direct comparison in the database shows it outperforming the A2 by a wide margin.

For users who need a compact accelerator for inference or compute tasks with a 60 W power envelope, the A2's specifications align with that role. For anyone building a workstation or gaming system that also handles compute, the RTX 3070 Ti delivers roughly 3.4 times the OpenCL score and 4.1 times the Vulkan score of the A2, making it the clear choice when performance is the deciding factor.

Architecture Differences

Both cards use the Ampere architecture and are manufactured on Samsung's 8 nm process, but they employ different chips with substantially different configurations. The A2 uses the GA107 chip with 8,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die, while the RTX 3070 Ti uses the GA104 chip with 17,400 million transistors on a 392 mm² die. This gives the RTX 3070 Ti exactly twice the transistor count and a die that is nearly double the area.

The transistor density is similar between the two, with the A2 at 43.5 million transistors per square millimeter and the RTX 3070 Ti at 44.4 million per square millimeter. The differences appear in the execution resources. The RTX 3070 Ti packs 6,144 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, 96 render output units, 48 RT cores, and 192 tensor cores. The A2 has 1,280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, 32 render output units, 10 RT cores, and 40 tensor cores. That is 4.8 times more shading units and tensor cores, and 4.8 times more RT cores on the larger card.

The RTX 3070 Ti also runs higher clocks, with a base of 1575 MHz and boost of 1770 MHz, versus the A2's 1440 MHz base and same 1770 MHz boost. The memory subsystems diverge sharply as well: the A2 has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus for 200.1 GB/s, while the RTX 3070 Ti has 8 GB of GDDR6X on a 256-bit bus for 608.3 GB/s. The smaller memory capacity on the RTX 3070 Ti is offset by over three times the bandwidth.

The power and physical design differ just as much. The A2 draws 60 W, is single-slot, has no power connectors, and requires a 250 W power supply. The RTX 3070 Ti draws 290 W, is dual-slot, uses a 1x 12-pin connector, and requires a 600 W power supply. The A2 has no display outputs, while the RTX 3070 Ti provides 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The RTX 3070 Ti uses a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, while the A2 uses PCIe 4.0 x8.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains two direct comparisons between these cards, both in Geekbench compute workloads. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 3070 Ti scores 119,718 against the A2's 35,357, a delta of 70.5% in favor of the RTX 3070 Ti. In Geekbench Vulkan, the RTX 3070 Ti scores 139,541 against the A2's 34,023, a delta of 75.6% in favor of the RTX 3070 Ti.

These are not close contests. The RTX 3070 Ti is more than three times faster in OpenCL and more than four times faster in Vulkan. The A2's average benchmark score of 34,690 places it just ahead of the NVIDIA T1000 8 GB (34,561, 0.4% delta) and the AMD Radeon HD 7970 (34,541, 0.4% delta), and slightly ahead of the NVIDIA TITAN V (34,355, 1% delta) and NVIDIA RTX A1000 (34,207, 1.4% delta). That cluster of scores shows the A2 sits at a performance level typical of mid-range workstation and older high-end parts.

The RTX 3070 Ti's average benchmark score of 29,945 is pulled down by its broader benchmark suite, which includes PassMark tests that are not available for the A2. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile (29,928, 0.1% delta), the AMD Radeon RX 6800 (30,095, -0.5% delta), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti (29,783, 0.5% delta), and the AMD Radeon RX 6700 (30,433, -1.6% delta). The RTX 3070 Ti's best recorded scores come from Geekbench Vulkan at 139,541 and Geekbench OpenCL at 119,718, while its PassMark G3D score is 23,356 and its PassMark GPU Compute score is 11,601.

The A2's own benchmark results are limited to the two Geekbench tests, with no 3DMark or PassMark entries in the database. This means the head-to-head comparison relies entirely on those two shared tests, and both show the same direction of performance advantage.

FAQ

Q: Which card has better compute performance in the shared benchmarks?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti wins both shared benchmarks. In Geekbench OpenCL it scores 119,718 versus the A2's 35,357, and in Geekbench Vulkan it scores 139,541 versus the A2's 34,023.

Q: How much faster is the RTX 3070 Ti than the A2 in these tests?

A: The RTX 3070 Ti leads by 70.5% in Geekbench OpenCL and by 75.6% in Geekbench Vulkan, according to the recorded delta percentages.

Q: Does the A2 have more memory than the RTX 3070 Ti?

A: Yes, the A2 has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory, while the RTX 3070 Ti has 8 GB of GDDR6X. However, the RTX 3070 Ti has a 256-bit bus and 608.3 GB/s bandwidth, while the A2 has a 128-bit bus and 200.1 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The A2 has a 60 W TDP and a suggested power supply of 250 W, with no power connectors. The RTX 3070 Ti has a 290 W TDP and a suggested power supply of 600 W, using a 1x 12-pin connector.

Q: Which card has a higher percentile ranking in the database?

A: The A2 ranks at the 79th percentile among all GPUs, while the RTX 3070 Ti ranks at the 75th percentile.

Q: Do both cards support the same APIs?

A: Yes, both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 3070 Ti wins every head-to-head benchmark in the database, so its advantage is straightforward: it is the faster card by a large margin in both OpenCL and Vulkan compute workloads. Its architecture provides 4.8 times the shading units, 4.8 times the tensor cores, 4.8 times the RT cores, and over three times the memory bandwidth. It also has a much higher pixel rate at 169.9 GPixel/s versus the A2's 56.64 GPixel/s, and a higher texture rate at 339.8 GTexel/s versus 70.80 GTexel/s. For rendering, gaming, or any compute task that can use the extra bandwidth and execution resources, the RTX 3070 Ti is the stronger option.

The A2 does not win any direct benchmark, but it has characteristics that suit specific deployment scenarios. Its 16 GB memory capacity is double that of the RTX 3070 Ti, which matters for models or datasets that exceed 8 GB. Its 60 W TDP allows operation without external power connectors, and its single-slot design with no display outputs makes it suitable for dense server installations where space and power are constrained. The A2's nearest rivals in the database, such as the T1000 8 GB and RTX A1000, are also workstation-oriented cards, reinforcing its positioning as a low-power compute accelerator rather than a performance leader.

The RTX 3070 Ti's nearest rivals include gaming-oriented cards like the RX 6800 and RTX 2080 Ti, which shows its performance class aligns with high-end consumer GPUs. Its dual-slot form factor, display outputs, and 290 W TDP reflect a desktop workstation or gaming card design. The RTX 3070 Ti also has a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, double the lane width of the A2's x8 connection.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every major specification category. The A2 uses the GA107 chip while the RTX 3070 Ti uses the GA104. The A2 has 8,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die; the RTX 3070 Ti has 17,400 million on a 392 mm² die. Transistor density is close at 43.5M per mm² versus 44.4M per mm².

Base clocks differ, with the A2 at 1440 MHz and the RTX 3070 Ti at 1575 MHz. Boost clocks are identical at 1770 MHz. Memory clocks differ substantially: the A2 runs at 1563 MHz with 12.5 Gbps effective, while the RTX 3070 Ti runs at 1188 MHz with 19 Gbps effective. Memory size, type, bus width, and bandwidth all differ, with the A2 offering 16 GB GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus at 200.1 GB/s and the RTX 3070 Ti offering 8 GB GDDR6X on a 256-bit bus at 608.3 GB/s.

Execution resources scale up dramatically on the RTX 3070 Ti: 6,144 shading units versus 1,280, 192 TMUs versus 40, 96 ROPs versus 32, 48 RT cores versus 10, and 192 tensor cores versus 40. Pixel rate is 169.9 GPixel/s versus 56.64 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 339.8 GTexel/s versus 70.80 GTexel/s. FP32 and FP16 performance are both 21.75 TFLOPS on the RTX 3070 Ti versus 4.531 TFLOPS on the A2.

Power and physical specifications also diverge. The A2 has a 60 W TDP, single-slot width, no power connectors, and a 250 W suggested PSU. The RTX 3070 Ti has a 290 W TDP, dual-slot width, a 1x 12-pin connector, and a 600 W suggested PSU. The A2 has no display outputs; the RTX 3070 Ti has 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. Bus interfaces differ, with the A2 on PCIe 4.0 x8 and the RTX 3070 Ti on PCIe 4.0 x16. The RTX 3070 Ti measures 267 mm by 112 mm, while the A2 has no recorded dimensions. Release dates differ as well, with the A2 launching on November 9, 2021 and the RTX 3070 Ti on May 30, 2021. The RTX 3070 Ti has a launch MSRP of 599 USD.