NVIDIA A2 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile Comparison

The benchmark data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile is in a different performance class entirely, dominating the NVIDIA A2 in every recorded metric. With an average benchmark score of 38,135 versus the A2’s 34,690, the RTX 4080 Mobile sits at the 81st percentile of all GPUs, while the A2 ranks at the 79th percentile. However, this comparison is not about raw speed alone; the A2 is a specialized workstation product with a different physical profile and memory configuration, making the choice between them a matter of workload fit rather than a simple performance contest. The RTX 4080 Mobile is the clear pick for any application demanding maximum throughput, while the A2 serves a niche for high-capacity memory in a constrained power envelope.

The Verdict

Choose the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile if your priority is outright compute performance. The data shows it is 351.3% ahead of the A2 in Geekbench OpenCL and 328.6% ahead in Geekbench Vulkan. This is not a marginal lead; it is a generational gap. The RTX 4080 Mobile delivers 24.72 TFLOPS of FP32 performance versus the A2’s 4.531 TFLOPS, a 5.5x advantage in raw shading power. It also has nearly six times the shading units (7,424 vs 1,280), more than five times the texture mapping units (232 vs 40), and 2.5 times the ROPs (80 vs 32). For gaming, content creation, or any GPU-accelerated workload where frames or computations per second matter, the RTX 4080 Mobile is the only rational selection from this data.

Choose the NVIDIA A2 if your workload is constrained by power, physical space, or requires more memory capacity than the RTX 4080 Mobile offers. The A2 is a single-slot, 60 W card with no power connectors, while the RTX 4080 Mobile is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with a 110 W TDP and no specified slot width. The A2 also provides 16 GB of memory versus the RTX 4080 Mobile’s 12 GB, a 33% capacity advantage. The A2’s production status is end-of-life, whereas the RTX 4080 Mobile is active, but for a specific deployment needing 16 GB in a low-power, single-slot form factor, the A2 is the only option that fits the specifications.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 4080 Mobile wins every performance benchmark recorded in the data set. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 159,575 against the A2’s 35,357. In Geekbench Vulkan, it scores 145,807 against 34,023. The RTX 4080 Mobile also holds wins across all Passmark tests, though the A2 has no scores in those categories for direct comparison. The RTX 4080 Mobile’s wins extend to architectural features: it has 58 ray tracing cores and 232 tensor cores, while the A2 has only 10 and 40, respectively. The RTX 4080 Mobile’s pixel rate of 133.2 GPixel/s and texture rate of 386.3 GTexel/s dwarf the A2’s 56.64 GPixel/s and 70.80 GTexel/s. The RTX 4080 Mobile’s memory bandwidth of 432.0 GB/s is more than double the A2’s 200.1 GB/s.

The A2 wins in areas outside raw compute. It has a higher memory capacity at 16 GB versus 12 GB. It has a lower TDP of 60 W versus 110 W, making it more power-efficient per watt, though the performance per watt is not directly calculated in the data. The A2 is a single-slot card with no power connectors, while the RTX 4080 Mobile is an IGP, meaning the A2 is designed for standalone installation in a server chassis. The A2 also has a higher base clock at 1440 MHz versus 1290 MHz, and a higher boost clock at 1770 MHz versus 1665 MHz, though this does not translate into performance wins due to the massive core count difference. The A2’s suggested PSU is 250 W, indicating a modest system requirement, whereas the RTX 4080 Mobile has no suggested PSU listed.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on fundamentally different architectures and fabrication processes. The RTX 4080 Mobile uses the Ada Lovelace architecture on a 5 nm process from TSMC, featuring the AD104 chip. The A2 uses the Ampere architecture on an 8 nm process from Samsung, featuring the GA107 chip. This process difference is significant: the RTX 4080 Mobile packs 35,800 million transistors into a 294 mm² die, yielding a density of 121.8 million transistors per mm². The A2 has just 8,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die, for a density of 43.5 million per mm². The RTX 4080 Mobile’s transistor density is 2.8 times higher, reflecting the more advanced manufacturing node.

The core configurations diverge sharply. The RTX 4080 Mobile has 7,424 shading units, 232 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. The A2 has 1,280 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. Ray tracing hardware is present on both, but the RTX 4080 Mobile has 58 RT cores versus the A2’s 10. Tensor core counts are 232 versus 40, favoring the RTX 4080 Mobile by a factor of 5.8. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so API-level features are identical, but the underlying hardware capability is not.

Memory architecture also differs. The RTX 4080 Mobile uses a 192-bit bus with 12 GB of GDDR6 at 18 Gbps effective, delivering 432.0 GB/s bandwidth. The A2 uses a 128-bit bus with 16 GB of GDDR6 at 12.5 Gbps effective, delivering 200.1 GB/s. The RTX 4080 Mobile’s bandwidth advantage is 116%, but the A2’s capacity advantage is 33%. The A2 has no display outputs, while the RTX 4080 Mobile’s display outputs are listed as portable device dependent, indicating the former is purely for compute and the latter is designed for mobile systems with integrated displays. The bus interface differs as well: PCIe 4.0 x16 for the RTX 4080 Mobile versus PCIe 4.0 x8 for the A2.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute performance?

A: The RTX 4080 Mobile is overwhelmingly faster. It delivers 24.72 TFLOPS of FP32 performance versus the A2’s 4.531 TFLOPS. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 4080 Mobile scores 159,575 versus the A2’s 35,357, a 351.3% advantage.

Q: Does the A2 have any advantage over the RTX 4080 Mobile?

A: Yes, the A2 has 16 GB of memory versus the RTX 4080 Mobile’s 12 GB, a 33% capacity lead. It also has a lower TDP of 60 W versus 110 W, and it is a single-slot card with no power connectors, making it suitable for space- and power-constrained server environments.

Q: What are the architecture and process node differences?

A: The RTX 4080 Mobile uses the Ada Lovelace architecture on a 5 nm TSMC process with the AD104 chip. The A2 uses the Ampere architecture on an 8 nm Samsung process with the GA107 chip. The RTX 4080 Mobile has 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die, while the A2 has 8,700 million on a 200 mm² die.

Q: How do their memory bandwidths compare?

A: The RTX 4080 Mobile has a 192-bit bus with 432.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the A2 has a 128-bit bus with 200.1 GB/s. The RTX 4080 Mobile’s bandwidth is more than double the A2’s.

Q: Which GPU is better for ray tracing workloads?

A: The RTX 4080 Mobile is significantly better equipped, with 58 RT cores versus the A2’s 10. It also has 232 tensor cores versus the A2’s 40, indicating stronger AI and ray tracing acceleration capabilities.

Q: What is the production status and release timeline for each?

A: The RTX 4080 Mobile is active and was released on 2023-01-02. The A2 is end-of-life and was released on 2021-11-09. The RTX 4080 Mobile’s predecessor is the GeForce 30 Mobile, while the A2’s predecessor is the Quadro Turing.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only two directly comparable benchmark scores in the data set are Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan, and the RTX 4080 Mobile wins both by a landslide.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 4080 Mobile scores 159,575, while the A2 scores 35,357. The delta is 351.3%, meaning the RTX 4080 Mobile is approximately 4.5 times faster. This test is a general compute workload, measuring raw shader throughput and memory bandwidth. The RTX 4080 Mobile’s 24.72 TFLOPS FP32 output and 432.0 GB/s bandwidth are the primary drivers of this result. The A2’s 4.531 TFLOPS and 200.1 GB/s bandwidth are simply not competitive.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the RTX 4080 Mobile scores 145,807, versus the A2’s 34,023. The delta is 328.6%, a slightly smaller but still overwhelming margin. Vulkan is a low-overhead graphics API, so this test also reflects the efficiency of the architecture. The RTX 4080 Mobile’s 58 RT cores and 232 tensor cores likely contribute to its superiority in this test, as Vulkan can leverage these specialized units. The A2’s 10 RT cores and 40 tensor cores are a fraction of that capability.

Beyond these two, the RTX 4080 Mobile has additional benchmark scores in Passmark tests: DirectX 10 (157), DirectX 11 (244), DirectX 12 (96), DirectX 9 (286), G2D (929), G3D (24,926), and GPU Compute (11,191). The A2 has no scores in these tests, so no direct comparison is possible. However, the RTX 4080 Mobile’s Passmark G3D score of 24,926 is notable, placing it in the 81st percentile of all GPUs. The A2’s average benchmark score of 34,690 is based only on the two Geekbench tests, and it sits at the 79th percentile. The RTX 4080 Mobile’s average score of 38,135 is 9.9% higher than the A2’s, even when including the RTX 4080 Mobile’s lower Passmark scores, which drag down its average.

Specification Differences

The key specification differences between the two GPUs are stark and define their respective roles.

• Architecture: Ada Lovelace (RTX 4080 Mobile) vs Ampere (A2).
• Process Node: 5 nm (RTX 4080 Mobile) vs 8 nm (A2).
• Foundry: TSMC (RTX 4080 Mobile) vs Samsung (A2).
• Transistors: 35,800 million (RTX 4080 Mobile) vs 8,700 million (A2).
• Die Size: 294 mm² (RTX 4080 Mobile) vs 200 mm² (A2).
• Transistor Density: 121.8M / mm² (RTX 4080 Mobile) vs 43.5M / mm² (A2).
• Base Clock: 1290 MHz (RTX 4080 Mobile) vs 1440 MHz (A2).
• Boost Clock: 1665 MHz (RTX 4080 Mobile) vs 1770 MHz (A2).
• Memory Size: 12 GB (RTX 4080 Mobile) vs 16 GB (A2).
• Memory Type: GDDR6 for both, but effective speed is 18 Gbps (RTX 4080 Mobile) vs 12.5 Gbps (A2).
• Memory Bus Width: 192 bit (RTX 4080 Mobile) vs 128 bit (A2).
• Memory Bandwidth: 432.0 GB/s (RTX 4080 Mobile) vs 200.1 GB/s (A2).
• Shading Units: 7,424 (RTX 4080 Mobile) vs 1,280 (A2).
• TMUs: 232 (RTX 4080 Mobile) vs 40 (A2).
• ROPs: 80 (RTX 4080 Mobile) vs 32 (A2).
• RT Cores: 58 (RTX 4080 Mobile) vs 10 (A2).
• Tensor Cores: 232 (RTX 4080 Mobile) vs 40 (A2).
• Pixel Rate: 133.2 GPixel/s (RTX 4080 Mobile) vs 56.64 GPixel/s (A2).
• Texture Rate: 386.3 GTexel/s (RTX 4080 Mobile) vs 70.80 GTexel/s (A2).
• FP32 Performance: 24.72 TFLOPS (RTX 4080 Mobile) vs 4.531 TFLOPS (A2).
• FP16 Performance: 24.72 TFLOPS (RTX 4080 Mobile) vs 4.531 TFLOPS (A2), both at 1:1 ratio.
• TDP: 110 W (RTX 4080 Mobile) vs 60 W (A2).
• Slot Width: IGP (RTX 4080 Mobile) vs Single-slot (A2).
• Power Connectors: None for both.
• Suggested PSU: Not listed (RTX 4080 Mobile) vs 250 W (A2).
• Bus Interface: PCIe 4.0 x16 (RTX 4080 Mobile) vs PCIe 4.0 x8 (A2).
• Display Outputs: Portable Device Dependent (RTX 4080 Mobile) vs No outputs (A2).
• Production Status: Active (RTX 4080 Mobile) vs End-of-life (A2).
• Release Date: 2023-01-02 (RTX 4080 Mobile) vs 2021-11-09 (A2).