NVIDIA A2 vs NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation Comparison

FAQ

Q: What is the performance difference between the NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation and the NVIDIA A2 in the database's head-to-head benchmark?

A: In the only shared benchmark test, Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 5880 Ada Generation scores 326,898 compared to the A2's 35,357, a delta of 824.6% in favor of the RTX 5880.

Q: How does the NVIDIA A2 compare to its nearest rivals in average benchmark score?

A: The A2 has an average benchmark score of 34,690, which places it 0.4% behind the NVIDIA T1000 8 GB and 0.4% behind the AMD Radeon HD 7970, while it sits 1% behind the NVIDIA TITAN V and 1.4% behind the NVIDIA RTX A1000.

Q: Where does the RTX 5880 Ada Generation rank among all GPUs in the database?

A: The RTX 5880 Ada Generation sits at the 85th percentile among all GPUs, while the NVIDIA A2 sits at the 79th percentile.

Q: What are the memory specifications of each card?

A: The RTX 5880 Ada Generation comes with 48 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 864.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The NVIDIA A2 has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 200.1 GB/s.

Q: What is the production status of each GPU?

A: The RTX 5880 Ada Generation is listed as Active, while the NVIDIA A2 is listed as End-of-life.

Q: Which GPU has a higher transistor count and what process node does each use?

A: The RTX 5880 Ada Generation uses 76,300 million transistors on a 5 nm TSMC process, while the NVIDIA A2 uses 8,700 million transistors on an 8 nm Samsung process.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from entirely different architectural generations. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD102 chip, fabricated by TSMC on a 5 nm process. The NVIDIA A2, by contrast, uses the Ampere architecture with the GA107 chip, fabricated by Samsung on an 8 nm process. This node difference is substantial: the RTX 5880 packs 76,300 million transistors into a 609 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 125.3 million per square millimeter. The A2 contains just 8,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die, for a density of 43.5 million per square millimeter. The RTX 5880 has nearly nine times the transistor count and more than triple the die area.

The compute resources are equally divergent. The RTX 5880 fields 14,080 shading units, 440 texture mapping units, 176 ROPs, 110 RT cores, and 440 tensor cores. The A2 has 1,280 shading units, 40 TMUs, 32 ROPs, 10 RT cores, and 40 tensor cores. The RTX 5880 therefore has 11 times the shading units, 11 times the TMUs, 5.5 times the ROPs, 11 times the RT cores, and 11 times the tensor cores.

Clock behavior also differs. The A2 actually runs higher base and boost clocks at 1,440 MHz and 1,770 MHz respectively, compared to the RTX 5880's 975 MHz base and 2,460 MHz boost. The RTX 5880's boost clock is considerably higher, but its base clock is lower, reflecting the much larger and more power-hungry chip.

The RTX 5880 is a dual-slot card with a 1x 16-pin power connector and a suggested PSU of 600 W. The A2 is a single-slot card with no power connectors and a suggested PSU of 250 W. The A2 also has no display outputs, while the RTX 5880 has four DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. The bus interface differs too: the RTX 5880 uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while the A2 uses PCIe 4.0 x8. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records only one benchmark where both cards have scores: Geekbench OpenCL. In that test, the RTX 5880 Ada Generation scores 326,898, while the NVIDIA A2 scores 35,357. The delta is 824.6%, an enormous margin that reflects the sheer difference in compute resources, memory bandwidth, and architectural generation.

To put the RTX 5880's OpenCL score in context, its average benchmark score across all recorded tests is 45,972, which places it in the 85th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals by average score are the NVIDIA RTX A2000 at 46,043 (0.2% ahead of the RTX 5880), the Intel Arc A730M at 45,592 (0.8% behind), the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT at 45,384 (1.3% behind), and the AMD Radeon RX 5600M at 46,601 (1.4% behind). The RTX 5880's individual benchmark scores vary widely: it hits 25,096 in Passmark G3D, 14,208 in Passmark GPU Compute, 777 in Passmark G2D, 335 in Passmark DirectX 9, 228 in Passmark DirectX 11, 167 in Passmark DirectX 10, and 70 in Passmark DirectX 12.

The A2's average benchmark score is 34,690, putting it in the 79th percentile. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA T1000 8 GB at 34,561 (0.4% behind the A2), the AMD Radeon HD 7970 at 34,541 (0.4% behind), the NVIDIA TITAN V at 34,355 (1% behind), and the NVIDIA RTX A1000 at 34,207 (1.4% behind). The A2 has only two recorded benchmarks: Geekbench OpenCL at 35,357 and Geekbench Vulkan at 34,023.

The head-to-head single test is decisive, but the broader pattern is clear. The RTX 5880's average score of 45,972 is 32.5% higher than the A2's 34,690. Even accounting for the fact that the two cards are tested in different benchmark suites, the RTX 5880 sits six percentile points higher in the overall GPU ranking. The A2's nearest rivals cluster tightly within 1.4% of its score, suggesting it is a modest performer in its class. The RTX 5880's nearest rivals are similarly close in average score, but that average is dragged down by low scores in legacy DirectX tests; its modern compute-oriented results are far stronger.

The Verdict

The data points to a straightforward conclusion: the RTX 5880 Ada Generation is in a completely different performance class from the NVIDIA A2. The single shared benchmark shows an 824.6% advantage for the RTX 5880 in Geekbench OpenCL, and the architectural specs support that margin. With 14,080 shading units against 1,280, 48 GB of memory against 16 GB, and 864.0 GB/s of bandwidth against 200.1 GB/s, the RTX 5880 is designed for heavy workstation compute and rendering workloads. The A2, with its 60 W TDP, single-slot profile, and no display outputs, is positioned as a low-power inference or server-side accelerator.

For users who need maximum compute throughput, high-bandwidth memory, and display outputs, the RTX 5880 Ada Generation is the clear choice. Its 85th percentile ranking, 48 GB frame buffer, and 69.27 TFLOPS of FP32 performance make it suitable for large datasets, complex simulations, and GPU-accelerated rendering. Its Active production status also means it remains available for new deployments.

The NVIDIA A2, on the other hand, serves a different purpose. Its 60 W TDP and lack of power connectors make it easy to install in dense servers or constrained environments. The 16 GB memory capacity is still useful for inference workloads that fit within that footprint, and its 79th percentile ranking is respectable given its low power envelope. However, its End-of-life production status suggests it is not the right choice for new long-term deployments.

The RTX 5880 also wins on memory bandwidth by a factor of 4.3, and its texture rate of 1,082.4 GTexel/s versus 70.80 GTexel/s shows a 15.3x advantage in texturing throughput. Pixel rate is similarly lopsided at 433.0 GPixel/s versus 56.64 GPixel/s, a 7.6x gap. The RTX 5880's FP16 performance matches its FP32 at a 1:1 ratio, as does the A2's, but the absolute numbers are 69.27 TFLOPS versus 4.531 TFLOPS.

Users who need a card for interactive visualization, AI training, or large-scale rendering should select the RTX 5880 Ada Generation. Users who need a low-power, single-slot accelerator for lightweight inference or edge deployment might consider the A2, but its End-of-life status and 79th percentile ranking make it a less compelling option than newer alternatives.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation | NVIDIA A2 |

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

| Architecture | Ada Lovelace | Ampere |

| Chip | AD102 | GA107 |

| Process Node | 5 nm | 8 nm |

| Foundry | TSMC | Samsung |

| Transistors | 76,300 million | 8,700 million |

| Die Size | 609 mm² | 200 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 125.3M / mm² | 43.5M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 975 MHz | 1440 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2460 MHz | 1770 MHz |

| Memory Size | 48 GB | 16 GB |

| Memory Bus Width | 384 bit | 128 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 864.0 GB/s | 200.1 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 14080 | 1280 |

| TMUs | 440 | 40 |

| ROPs | 176 | 32 |

| RT Cores | 110 | 10 |

| Tensor Cores | 440 | 40 |

| Pixel Rate | 433.0 GPixel/s | 56.64 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 1,082.4 GTexel/s | 70.80 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 69.27 TFLOPS | 4.531 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 69.27 TFLOPS (1:1) | 4.531 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 285 W | 60 W |

| Slot Width | Dual-slot | Single-slot |

| Power Connectors | 1x 16-pin | None |

| Suggested PSU | 600 W | 250 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x8 |

| Display Outputs | 4x DisplayPort 1.4a | No outputs |

| Production Status | Active | End-of-life |

| Release Date | 2024-01-04 | 2021-11-09 |

| Predecessor | Workstation Ampere | Quadro Turing |

| Successor | Blackwell PRO W | Workstation Ada |