NVIDIA A2 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a decisive performance gap between the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile and the NVIDIA A2, with the RTX 4090 Mobile winning both head-to-head benchmark comparisons. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 4090 Mobile scores 180,831 against the A2's 35,357, a delta of 411.4%. The Vulkan result is similarly lopsided: 170,774 versus 34,023, a 401.9% advantage for the RTX 4090 Mobile. These are not marginal differences; the mobile GeForce part delivers roughly five times the compute throughput in both API tests.

The average benchmark score reinforces this hierarchy. The RTX 4090 Mobile sits at 43,667, placing it in the 84th percentile of all GPUs in the database. The A2 averages 34,690, which is still respectable at the 79th percentile, but the gap between them is substantial. Looking at the RTX 4090 Mobile's nearest rivals, it trails the NVIDIA RTX A6000 by 0.9% (43,667 vs 44,075) and leads the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 by 0.8% (43,301). The A2, meanwhile, sits within 1.4% of the NVIDIA RTX A1000 (34,207), 1.0% of the NVIDIA TITAN V (34,355), and 0.4% of both the NVIDIA T1000 8 GB (34,561) and AMD Radeon HD 7970 (34,541). So while the A2 competes in the upper-midrange of the database, the RTX 4090 Mobile operates in a different performance class entirely.

The RTX 4090 Mobile also shows a broader benchmark footprint in the database. It has recorded scores across nine tests, including Passmark DirectX 9, 10, 11, 12, G2D, G3D, and GPU compute. Its Passmark G3D score is 27,212, while its GPU compute score is 12,347. The A2 has only two recorded benchmarks (Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan), which limits direct comparison beyond those two APIs. However, the available data is unambiguous: in every shared test, the RTX 4090 Mobile holds a commanding lead.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different NVIDIA architectures and generations. The RTX 4090 Mobile uses the AD103 chip, built on Ada Lovelace architecture, and belongs to the GeForce 40 Mobile generation. It is fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC, with 45,900 million transistors on a 379 mm² die. The A2 uses the GA107 chip, built on Ampere architecture, and belongs to the Workstation Ampere (Ax000) generation. It is fabricated on an 8 nm process at Samsung, with 8,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die. The RTX 4090 Mobile has more than five times the transistor count and nearly twice the die area, resulting in a transistor density of 121.1 million per mm² versus 43.5 million per mm² for the A2.

The compute resources differ by an order of magnitude. The RTX 4090 Mobile has 9,728 shading units, 304 texture mapping units, 112 render output units, 76 ray tracing cores, and 304 tensor cores. The A2 has 1,280 shading units, 40 TMUs, 32 ROPs, 10 ray tracing cores, and 40 tensor cores. This translates into a peak FP32 throughput of 32.98 TFLOPS for the RTX 4090 Mobile versus 4.531 TFLOPS for the A2, a ratio of roughly 7.3 to 1. FP16 performance is identical to FP32 at a 1:1 ratio for both parts.

Memory configurations also diverge. Both GPUs have 16 GB of GDDR6 memory, but the RTX 4090 Mobile uses a 256-bit bus with 576.0 GB/s of bandwidth, while the A2 uses a 128-bit bus with 200.1 GB/s. The RTX 4090 Mobile's memory clock is 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective), whereas the A2's is 1563 MHz (12.5 Gbps effective). The pixel rate for the RTX 4090 Mobile is 189.8 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 515.3 GTexel/s. The A2 manages 56.64 GPixel/s and 70.80 GTexel/s.

Clock speeds are closer than the compute gaps might suggest. The RTX 4090 Mobile has a base clock of 1335 MHz and a boost of 1695 MHz. The A2 runs at 1440 MHz base and 1770 MHz boost. The A2 actually has higher clock speeds, but its much smaller execution engine means far lower aggregate throughput. Power envelopes are also distinct: the RTX 4090 Mobile is rated at 120 W, while the A2 is rated at 60 W. The A2 is a single-slot card with no power connectors and a suggested PSU of 250 W; the RTX 4090 Mobile is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with no power connectors and no suggested PSU listed.

Both support PCIe 4.0, but the RTX 4090 Mobile uses an x16 interface while the A2 uses x8. The RTX 4090 Mobile has portable-device-dependent display outputs, whereas the A2 has no display outputs at all. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The RTX 4090 Mobile is listed as Active production status, released on 2023-01-02, with a predecessor of GeForce 30 Mobile and a successor of GeForce 50 Mobile. The A2 is End-of-life, released on 2021-11-09, with a predecessor of Quadro Turing and a successor of Workstation Ada.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 43,667, compared to 34,690 for the NVIDIA A2.

Q: How large is the performance gap in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The RTX 4090 Mobile scores 180,831 versus 35,357 for the A2, a delta of 411.4% in favor of the RTX 4090 Mobile.

Q: Do both GPUs have the same memory capacity?

A: Yes, both have 16 GB of GDDR6 memory. However, the RTX 4090 Mobile uses a 256-bit bus with 576.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the A2 uses a 128-bit bus with 200.1 GB/s.

Q: Which GPU has more ray tracing cores?

A: The RTX 4090 Mobile has 76 ray tracing cores, while the A2 has 10.

Q: Are both GPUs still in production?

A: No. The RTX 4090 Mobile is listed as Active, while the A2 is End-of-life.

Q: What is the FP32 compute difference?

A: The RTX 4090 Mobile delivers 32.98 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, while the A2 delivers 4.531 TFLOPS, a ratio of approximately 7.3 to 1.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every major specification category. The RTX 4090 Mobile uses a 5 nm TSMC process with 45,900 million transistors on a 379 mm² die, while the A2 uses an 8 nm Samsung process with 8,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die. Transistor density is 121.1M/mm² for the RTX 4090 Mobile versus 43.5M/mm² for the A2.

Compute resources: the RTX 4090 Mobile has 9,728 shading units, 304 TMUs, 112 ROPs, 76 ray tracing cores, and 304 tensor cores. The A2 has 1,280 shading units, 40 TMUs, 32 ROPs, 10 ray tracing cores, and 40 tensor cores. FP32 and FP16 are both 32.98 TFLOPS for the RTX 4090 Mobile and 4.531 TFLOPS for the A2.

Clock speeds: the RTX 4090 Mobile runs at 1335 MHz base and 1695 MHz boost, with memory at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective). The A2 runs at 1440 MHz base and 1770 MHz boost, with memory at 1563 MHz (12.5 Gbps effective).

Memory and bandwidth: both have 16 GB GDDR6, but with different bus widths (256-bit vs 128-bit) and bandwidth (576.0 GB/s vs 200.1 GB/s). Pixel rate is 189.8 GPixel/s for the RTX 4090 Mobile versus 56.64 GPixel/s for the A2. Texture rate is 515.3 GTexel/s versus 70.80 GTexel/s.

Power and physical: the RTX 4090 Mobile has a 120 W TDP, is IGP slot width, and has no power connectors. The A2 has a 60 W TDP, is single-slot, has no power connectors, and lists a suggested PSU of 250 W.

Interface and outputs: the RTX 4090 Mobile uses PCIe 4.0 x16 and has portable-device-dependent display outputs. The A2 uses PCIe 4.0 x8 and has no display outputs.

Lifecycle: the RTX 4090 Mobile is Active, released 2023-01-02, with a GeForce 30 Mobile predecessor and GeForce 50 Mobile successor. The A2 is End-of-life, released 2021-11-09, with a Quadro Turing predecessor and Workstation Ada successor. Both share the same API support: DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 4090 Mobile wins in every measured performance category. In the two shared benchmarks, it leads by over 400% in both OpenCL and Vulkan. Its average score is 26.0% higher than the A2's (43,667 vs 34,690). It also has a higher percentile ranking (84th vs 79th). For any workload that depends on raw compute throughput, ray tracing, or memory bandwidth, the RTX 4090 Mobile is the clear choice. Its 576.0 GB/s of bandwidth versus 200.1 GB/s, its 76 ray tracing cores versus 10, and its 32.98 TFLOPS versus 4.531 TFLOPS all point to superior performance in rendering, simulation, and AI inference tasks.

The A2's strengths are more situational. It has a lower TDP of 60 W versus 120 W, making it more power-efficient per watt for workloads that fit within its smaller execution engine. It is a single-slot card with no display outputs, which suits headless server deployments where space is constrained. Its higher boost clock (1770 MHz vs 1695 MHz) suggests it can sustain moderate compute loads with lower power draw. It also has a suggested PSU of 250 W, indicating it can be integrated into systems with modest power supplies. For low-power inference at the edge or in dense server environments, the A2's 16 GB of memory combined with its 60 W envelope may be preferable, even though its throughput is far lower.

The RTX 4090 Mobile, as an IGP with portable-device-dependent outputs, is designed for high-performance laptops or compact devices where the display is built in. Its 120 W TDP is high for a mobile part, but it delivers workstation-class performance in a form factor that the A2 cannot match. The A2, with no display outputs, is strictly a compute accelerator. The data indicates that the RTX 4090 Mobile is the superior performer in all shared tests, while the A2 offers a lower-power, single-slot alternative for compute-focused deployments where the RTX 4090 Mobile's performance headroom is unnecessary.