NVIDIA A2 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile and the NVIDIA A2 target entirely different segments, yet both share the NVIDIA brand and 16 GB of memory. The benchmark data, however, reveals a stark performance chasm, with the mobile GeForce part dominating every measured metric. This analysis compares the two based strictly on the provided benchmark scores and architectural specifications.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head comparison is brief, as only two common benchmark tests were recorded for both GPUs: Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan. In both instances, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile delivers a decisive victory.

In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the RTX 5080 Mobile scores 166,986 points, while the NVIDIA A2 scores 35,357 points. This represents a delta of 372.3%, meaning the RTX 5080 Mobile is nearly four times faster in this compute-heavy workload. The margin is even larger in the Geekbench Vulkan test, where the RTX 5080 Mobile achieves 169,754 points against the A2’s 34,023 points, a delta of 398.9%. This indicates that the architectural advantages of the newer Blackwell chip translate into a significant lead in graphics API performance.

Looking at the broader average benchmark scores reinforces this dominance. The RTX 5080 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 38,349, while the A2 sits at 34,690. This places the RTX 5080 Mobile in the 81st percentile of all GPUs, slightly ahead of the A2, which sits in the 79th percentile. The delta between their average scores is roughly 10.5%, a substantial gap, but the individual test deltas of 372-399% show that the gap is far more pronounced in specific, modern workloads. The A2’s nearest rivals include the NVIDIA T1000 8 GB (0.4% delta) and the AMD Radeon HD 7970 (0.4% delta), while the RTX 5080 Mobile’s closest competitors are the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 (0.1% delta) and the RTX 4080 Mobile (0.6% delta). This shows that while their average scores are within a similar range, the RTX 5080 Mobile is competing with a different class of hardware.

The Verdict

From the data, the choice is unambiguous for performance. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile is categorically superior in all recorded benchmarks. Its 372.3% lead in OpenCL and 398.9% lead in Vulkan are not incremental improvements; they represent a generational leap. Anyone requiring maximum compute or graphics throughput should select the RTX 5080 Mobile.

The NVIDIA A2, however, has a distinct purpose. Its specifications show it is a low-power, single-slot card with no display outputs, designed for server-side inference and virtualized workloads. Its 60 W TDP and 250 W suggested PSU contrast with the RTX 5080 Mobile’s 80 W TDP and integrated (IGP) form factor. The A2 is an end-of-life product from 2021, while the RTX 5080 Mobile is an active product from 2025. The A2 is not a competitor in the same arena; it is a specialized accelerator where raw benchmark scores are not the primary metric. For a user comparing these two for a standard graphics or compute task, the RTX 5080 Mobile is the only viable choice. The data shows no scenario where the A2 wins a direct benchmark comparison.

Where Each One Wins

Based strictly on benchmark wins, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile wins in every category measured. It is the clear victor in both the Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan tests. This makes it the superior option for any workload that leverages these APIs, which includes general-purpose GPU compute (OpenCL) and modern cross-platform graphics (Vulkan). Its higher pixel rate of 144.0 GPixel/s and texture rate of 360.0 GTexel/s, compared to the A2’s 56.64 GPixel/s and 70.80 GTexel/s, further solidify its advantage in rasterization-heavy tasks.

The NVIDIA A2 does not win any of the head-to-head benchmarks. Its wins are not in performance but in its physical and power characteristics. It is a single-slot card with no power connectors, making it suitable for dense server environments where space and power are at a premium. Its 60 W TDP is 20 W lower than the RTX 5080 Mobile’s. It also has a higher base and boost clock (1440 MHz and 1770 MHz) compared to the RTX 5080 Mobile (975 MHz and 1500 MHz), but this is irrelevant given the massive difference in core count and architecture. The A2’s advantage lies solely in its form factor and power efficiency, not in any measurable performance metric in this data set. Its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory matches the RTX 5080 Mobile’s 16 GB capacity, but the latter’s GDDR7 memory and 256-bit bus provide 896.0 GB/s of bandwidth versus the A2’s 200.1 GB/s.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile is significantly faster, scoring 166,986 compared to the NVIDIA A2’s 35,357, a delta of 372.3%.

Q: How much memory does each GPU have?

A: Both the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile and the NVIDIA A2 have 16 GB of memory. The RTX 5080 Mobile uses GDDR7, while the A2 uses GDDR6.

Q: What are the power consumption figures for these two GPUs?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile has a TDP of 80 W, while the NVIDIA A2 has a lower TDP of 60 W. The A2 also lists a suggested PSU of 250 W.

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile has a higher average benchmark score of 38,349, compared to the NVIDIA A2’s 34,690. This places the RTX 5080 Mobile in the 81st percentile, versus the A2’s 79th.

Q: What architecture does each GPU use?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile uses the Blackwell 2.0 architecture on a 5 nm process, while the NVIDIA A2 uses the older Ampere architecture on an 8 nm process.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile has 7,680 shading units, while the NVIDIA A2 has only 1,280. The RTX 5080 Mobile also has 60 RT cores and 240 tensor cores, compared to the A2’s 10 RT cores and 40 tensor cores.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is fundamental. The RTX 5080 Mobile is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture using a 5 nm process at TSMC, featuring the GB203 chip. In contrast, the A2 is based on the older Ampere architecture, fabricated on an 8 nm process at Samsung, using the GA107 chip. This process node difference (5 nm versus 8 nm) contributes to the RTX 5080 Mobile’s transistor density of 120.6M per mm², far exceeding the A2’s 43.5M per mm². The RTX 5080 Mobile packs 45,600 million transistors on a 378 mm² die, while the A2 has 8,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die.

The core configurations are wildly different. The RTX 5080 Mobile has 7,680 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The A2 has 1,280 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. This translates to a massive difference in raw throughput: the RTX 5080 Mobile delivers 23.04 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, while the A2 delivers 4.531 TFLOPS. The RTX 5080 Mobile also has 60 RT cores and 240 tensor cores for ray tracing and AI workloads, versus the A2’s 10 RT cores and 40 tensor cores.

Memory architecture further separates them. The RTX 5080 Mobile uses a 256-bit bus with GDDR7 memory, achieving 896.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The A2 uses a 128-bit bus with GDDR6, providing only 200.1 GB/s. The RTX 5080 Mobile also supports PCIe 5.0 x16, while the A2 uses PCIe 4.0 x8. Finally, the RTX 5080 Mobile is an integrated (IGP) part with no display outputs of its own, being "Portable Device Dependent," whereas the A2 is a single-slot card with no display outputs at all, explicitly designed for server use. The RTX 5080 Mobile is part of the GeForce 50-series (successor to GeForce 40 Mobile), while the A2 belongs to the Workstation Ampere generation (predecessor to Workstation Ada). These differences explain the RTX 5080 Mobile’s overwhelming benchmark lead and highlight the A2’s role as a specialized, low-power compute accelerator rather than a general-purpose graphics processor.