NVIDIA A2 vs NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile Comparison

The Verdict

The data presents a clear split between these two Ampere-generation NVIDIA cards. The NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile is the stronger performer in the recorded benchmarks, winning both head-to-head tests, while the NVIDIA A2 is the higher-capacity card for memory-bound workloads.

Choose the RTX A500 Mobile if your priority is raw compute throughput in a mobile or embedded form factor. It delivers 6.296 TFLOPS FP32 performance, which is 39% higher than the A2's 4.531 TFLOPS, and it holds a 16.7% lead in OpenCL and an 11.3% lead in Vulkan. The A500 Mobile also carries more shading units (2048 versus 1280), more texture mapping units (64 versus 40), and more ray tracing cores (16 versus 10).

Choose the NVIDIA A2 if your workload needs large memory capacity and bandwidth. The A2 offers 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 200.1 GB/s bandwidth, compared to the A500 Mobile's 4 GB on a 64-bit bus with 96.00 GB/s. That is four times the capacity and roughly twice the bandwidth. The A2 also runs at higher clocks (1440 MHz base, 1770 MHz boost versus 832 MHz base, 1537 MHz boost), which helps its pixel rate exceed the A500 Mobile's despite fewer render output units being equal at 32.

The A500 Mobile sits at the 82nd percentile among all GPUs in the database, while the A2 sits at the 79th. In terms of average benchmark score, the A500 Mobile records 39568, which places it within 1.2% of the AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 and 1.9% of the AMD Radeon Pro 580. The A2's average of 34690 places it just 0.4% ahead of the NVIDIA T1000 8 GB and 1.4% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX A1000.

Neither card is in production; both are marked end-of-life. The A2 launched in November 2021, and the A500 Mobile followed in March 2022.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX A500 Mobile wins every benchmark in the head-to-head comparison. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 41263 against the A2's 35357, a 16.7% advantage. In Geekbench Vulkan, it scores 37873 against 34023, an 11.3% advantage. These wins stem from its larger compute configuration: 2048 shading units, 64 TMUs, 16 RT cores, and 64 tensor cores versus the A2's 1280 shading units, 40 TMUs, 10 RT cores, and 40 tensor cores.

The A2's strengths are not in compute throughput but in memory and clocks. Its 16 GB capacity is four times the A500 Mobile's 4 GB, and its 200.1 GB/s bandwidth is 108% higher than 96.00 GB/s. The A2 also boosts to 1770 MHz, which is 233 MHz higher than the A500 Mobile's 1537 MHz boost. This higher clock rate allows the A2 to achieve a pixel rate of 56.64 GPixel/s, which is 15% higher than the A500 Mobile's 49.18 GPixel/s, even though both cards have 32 ROPs. The A2's texture rate of 70.80 GTexel/s, however, trails the A500 Mobile's 98.37 GTexel/s because the A500 Mobile has 24 more TMUs.

For inference or rendering workloads that fit in 4 GB, the A500 Mobile is the clear choice. For datasets, models, or framebuffers that exceed 4 GB, the A2's 16 GB capacity is the decisive factor, regardless of its lower compute throughput.

Architecture Differences

Both GPUs are built on the same NVIDIA Ampere architecture, using the GA107 chip family. The A500 Mobile uses the GA107S variant, while the A2 uses the full GA107. Both are fabricated by Samsung on an 8 nm process, with identical transistor counts of 8,700 million and identical die sizes of 200 mm², yielding the same transistor density of 43.5 million transistors per square millimeter.

The key architectural difference is in the compute configuration. The A500 Mobile enables 2048 shading units, 64 TMUs, 32 ROPs, 16 RT cores, and 64 tensor cores. The A2 enables 1280 shading units, 40 TMUs, 32 ROPs, 10 RT cores, and 40 tensor cores. This means the A500 Mobile has 60% more shaders, 60% more TMUs, 60% more RT cores, and 60% more tensor cores than the A2, while they share the same ROP count.

Memory architecture differs substantially. The A500 Mobile uses 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus with a 1500 MHz memory clock (12 Gbps effective), producing 96.00 GB/s of bandwidth. The A2 uses 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with a 1563 MHz memory clock (12.5 Gbps effective), producing 200.1 GB/s of bandwidth. The A2's memory subsystem is wider and faster, which explains its higher capacity and bandwidth.

Clock behavior diverges as well. The A2's base clock of 1440 MHz is 608 MHz higher than the A500 Mobile's 832 MHz, and its boost clock of 1770 MHz is 233 MHz higher than 1537 MHz. The A2's lower shader count is partially offset by these higher clocks, but not enough to overcome the A500 Mobile's raw compute advantage.

Power and physical design differentiate the two. The A500 Mobile is rated at 30 W TDP, uses no power connectors, and is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) form factor, meaning it is typically soldered to a mobile board. The A2 is rated at 60 W TDP, also uses no power connectors, and is a single-slot card with a suggested PSU of 250 W. The A2 has no display outputs; the A500 Mobile's display outputs are portable-device dependent. Both use a PCIe 4.0 x8 bus interface.

API support is identical: DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute performance?

A: The RTX A500 Mobile. It delivers 6.296 TFLOPS FP32 versus the A2's 4.531 TFLOPS, a 39% advantage. It also wins both head-to-head benchmarks: 16.7% in Geekbench OpenCL and 11.3% in Geekbench Vulkan.

Q: Which GPU has more memory?

A: The NVIDIA A2. It has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 200.1 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX A500 Mobile has 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus with 96.00 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Are these GPUs the same architecture?

A: Yes, both use NVIDIA's Ampere architecture. The A500 Mobile uses the GA107S chip and the A2 uses the GA107 chip. Both are built on Samsung's 8 nm process with 8,700 million transistors and a 200 mm² die size.

Q: Which GPU has more cores?

A: The RTX A500 Mobile. It has 2048 shading units, 64 TMUs, 16 RT cores, and 64 tensor cores. The A2 has 1280 shading units, 40 TMUs, 10 RT cores, and 40 tensor cores. Both have 32 ROPs.

Q: What is the power requirement for each?

A: The RTX A500 Mobile is rated at 30 W TDP and is an IGP with no power connectors. The NVIDIA A2 is rated at 60 W TDP, is a single-slot card, has no power connectors, and requires a suggested PSU of 250 W.

Q: Can either card output to a display?

A: The A2 has no display outputs. The RTX A500 Mobile's display outputs are portable-device dependent, meaning they depend on the host device.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records two direct benchmark comparisons between these GPUs, and the RTX A500 Mobile wins both.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the A500 Mobile scores 41263 against the A2's 35357, a 16.7% advantage. This is the larger of the two wins. The A500 Mobile's 2048 shading units and 64 TMUs provide the compute headroom for OpenCL workloads that scale with shader count. Its FP32 throughput of 6.296 TFLOPS is 1.765 TFLOPS higher than the A2's 4.531 TFLOPS. The A2's higher boost clock of 1770 MHz does not compensate for having 768 fewer shading units and 24 fewer TMUs.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the A500 Mobile scores 37873 against the A2's 34023, an 11.3% advantage. The margin narrows compared to OpenCL, which suggests the A2's higher clocks and memory bandwidth help somewhat in Vulkan workloads, but the A500 Mobile's larger core configuration still carries it to victory. The A500 Mobile's texture rate of 98.37 GTexel/s versus the A2's 70.80 GTexel/s is a 39% advantage, reflecting the 64 versus 40 TMU split.

The A2's one notable performance win is pixel rate. It achieves 56.64 GPixel/s versus the A500 Mobile's 49.18 GPixel/s, a 15% advantage, thanks to its 1770 MHz boost clock and equal 32 ROPs. This matters for fill-rate-bound scenarios, but neither benchmark in the database isolates pixel throughput.

Context from the rivals list reinforces the positioning. The A500 Mobile's average score of 39568 is essentially tied with the AMD Radeon Pro 575 (39555, 0% delta), slightly ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 575X (39116, 1.2% ahead), and slightly behind the AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 (40063, 1.2% behind) and AMD Radeon Pro 580 (40318, 1.9% behind). The A2's average score of 34690 edges past the NVIDIA T1000 8 GB (34561, 0.4% ahead), the AMD Radeon HD 7970 (34541, 0.4% ahead), the NVIDIA TITAN V (34355, 1% ahead), and the NVIDIA RTX A1000 (34207, 1.4% ahead). The A500 Mobile's 82nd percentile versus the A2's 79th percentile reflects this overall performance gap.

Specification Differences

The following fields differ between the two GPUs in the database:

| Specification | NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile | NVIDIA A2 |

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

| Chip | GA107S | GA107 |

| Generation | Ampere-MW (Ax000) | Workstation Ampere (Ax000) |

| Base clock | 832 MHz | 1440 MHz |

| Boost clock | 1537 MHz | 1770 MHz |

| Memory clock | 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective) | 1563 MHz (12.5 Gbps effective) |

| Memory size | 4 GB | 16 GB |

| Memory bus width | 64 bit | 128 bit |

| Memory bandwidth | 96.00 GB/s | 200.1 GB/s |

| Shading units | 2048 | 1280 |

| TMUs | 64 | 40 |

| RT cores | 16 | 10 |

| Tensor cores | 64 | 40 |

| Pixel rate | 49.18 GPixel/s | 56.64 GPixel/s |

| Texture rate | 98.37 GTexel/s | 70.80 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 6.296 TFLOPS | 4.531 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 6.296 TFLOPS (1:1) | 4.531 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 30 W | 60 W |

| Slot width | IGP | Single-slot |

| Suggested PSU | None listed | 250 W |

| Display outputs | Portable Device Dependent | No outputs |

| Release date | 2022-03-21 | 2021-11-09 |

| Predecessor | Quadro Turing-M | Quadro Turing |

| Successor | Ada-MW | Workstation Ada |

| Geekbench OpenCL | 41263 | 35357 |

| Geekbench Vulkan | 37873 | 34023 |

| Average benchmark score | 39568 | 34690 |

| Percentile vs all GPUs | 82 | 79 |

Fields that are identical include the manufacturer (NVIDIA), architecture (Ampere), process node (8 nm), foundry (Samsung), transistor count (8,700 million), die size (200 mm²), transistor density (43.5M / mm²), memory type (GDDR6), ROPs (32), bus interface (PCIe 4.0 x8), and API support (DirectX 12 Ultimate 12_2, OpenGL 4.6, Vulkan 1.4). Both cards are end-of-life with no launch MSRP recorded.