NVIDIA A2 vs NVIDIA T600 Mobile Comparison

The NVIDIA A2 and NVIDIA T600 Mobile are both end-of-life workstation-oriented graphics solutions, but they target fundamentally different physical and performance profiles. The A2 is a single-slot, low-power PCIe card with no display outputs, while the T600 Mobile is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) designed for portable devices. Benchmark data reveals a near-split decision between the two, with each claiming a victory in one of the two available tests. This analysis breaks down the head-to-head results, architectural differences, and the specific use cases where each card holds an advantage.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark results are remarkably close in one test and decisively split in the other. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the NVIDIA T600 Mobile scores 35,486, narrowly edging out the NVIDIA A2’s score of 35,357. The delta here is a mere 0.4%, which places both cards within a statistical margin of error. The A2’s average benchmark score of 34,690 and the T600 Mobile’s average of 32,849 are heavily influenced by their respective Vulkan results.

The Vulkan test provides the most significant performance gap between the two. The NVIDIA A2 scores 34,023, while the NVIDIA T600 Mobile trails with 30,211. This gives the A2 a decisive 12.6% advantage in this API. This is a substantial lead, suggesting that the A2’s architecture is better suited for low-level, multi-threaded graphics workloads. The T600 Mobile’s OpenCL win is negligible, while the A2’s Vulkan win is commanding.

Looking at the broader context, the A2’s average score places it in the 79th percentile of all GPUs, while the T600 Mobile sits in the 77th percentile. The A2’s nearest rivals include the NVIDIA T1000 8 GB (average score 34,561, a 0.4% delta) and the NVIDIA TITAN V (average score 34,355, a 1% delta). The T600 Mobile’s closest competitors are the NVIDIA P104-100 (average score 32,982, a -0.4% delta) and the NVIDIA T550 Mobile (average score 33,161, a -0.9% delta). These figures show that the A2 competes in a slightly higher performance tier than the T600 Mobile.

When summing the head-to-head wins, both cards take one test each. However, the magnitude of the victories differs greatly. The T600 Mobile’s win is a marginal 0.4% in OpenCL, while the A2’s win is a substantial 12.6% in Vulkan. Therefore, while the scoreboard reads 1-1, the data indicates that the A2 has the stronger overall performance profile, particularly in modern graphics APIs.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA A2 has a higher average benchmark score of 34,690, compared to the NVIDIA T600 Mobile’s average of 32,849.

Q: In which specific test does the NVIDIA T600 Mobile outperform the NVIDIA A2?

A: The NVIDIA T600 Mobile wins in the Geekbench OpenCL test, scoring 35,486 against the A2’s 35,357, a difference of 0.4%.

Q: How large is the NVIDIA A2’s advantage in the Vulkan benchmark?

A: The NVIDIA A2 scores 34,023 in Vulkan, which is 12.6% higher than the T600 Mobile’s score of 30,211.

Q: What are the percentile rankings for these two GPUs?

A: The NVIDIA A2 is in the 79th percentile of all GPUs, while the NVIDIA T600 Mobile is in the 77th percentile.

Q: Which GPU has a higher transistor count?

A: The NVIDIA A2 has 8,700 million transistors, while the NVIDIA T600 Mobile has 4,700 million transistors.

Q: Do both GPUs support the same DirectX version?

A: No. The NVIDIA A2 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the NVIDIA T600 Mobile supports DirectX 12 (12_1).

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA A2 is the clear winner for compute-heavy applications that leverage the Vulkan API. Its 12.6% lead in the Geekbench Vulkan test suggests that it can handle low-level graphics workloads and newer rendering paths with significantly more efficiency. This makes it a better option for tasks like GPU-accelerated rendering, scientific computation, or any workload that can take advantage of Vulkan’s multi-threading capabilities. The A2’s higher FP32 performance of 4.531 TFLOPS, compared to the T600 Mobile’s 2.527 TFLOPS, reinforces its advantage in raw compute tasks.

The NVIDIA T600 Mobile’s sole benchmark win is in Geekbench OpenCL, where it matches the A2 almost exactly. This indicates that for legacy OpenCL workloads, the two cards are functionally equivalent. However, the T600 Mobile’s real advantage lies outside raw performance. As an IGP with "Portable Device Dependent" display outputs, it is designed for integration into laptops and mobile workstations. Its lower 40 W TDP makes it a more power-efficient choice for battery-powered devices. Its 2:1 FP16 ratio (5.053 TFLOPS) also gives it a theoretical advantage in FP16 compute tasks, though this is not directly reflected in the benchmark data.

The choice between the two is not simply about performance; it is about the physical platform. The A2 is a single-slot card that requires a PCIe 4.0 x8 slot and a 250 W suggested power supply, making it unsuitable for portable devices. The T600 Mobile is an IGP, which means it is soldered onto a motherboard, offering no upgrade path but enabling a thin and light form factor.

Specification Differences

The most obvious differences lie in the memory configuration and physical design. The NVIDIA A2 comes with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 200.1 GB/s of bandwidth. The NVIDIA T600 Mobile has only 4 GB of GDDR6 memory on the same 128-bit bus, resulting in 192.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This gives the A2 a fourfold advantage in memory capacity, which is critical for large datasets and high-resolution textures.

Clock speeds also differ significantly. The A2 has a base clock of 1440 MHz and a boost clock of 1770 MHz, while the T600 Mobile has a much lower base clock of 780 MHz and a boost clock of 1410 MHz. The A2’s memory runs at 1563 MHz (12.5 Gbps effective), while the T600 Mobile’s memory runs at 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective).

The bus interface is another differentiator. The A2 uses PCIe 4.0 x8, while the T600 Mobile uses the older PCIe 3.0 x16 standard. The TDP figures are 60 W for the A2 and 40 W for the T600 Mobile. The A2 has no display outputs, while the T600 Mobile’s outputs are dependent on the portable device it is integrated into. The A2 is single-slot, whereas the T600 Mobile is classified as an IGP.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs represent two different NVIDIA architectures and manufacturing processes. The NVIDIA A2 is built on the Ampere architecture using the GA107 chip, fabricated on an 8 nm process at Samsung. It contains 8,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 43.5M / mm². The NVIDIA T600 Mobile is based on the older Turing architecture with the TU117 chip, fabricated on a 12 nm process at TSMC. It packs 4,700 million transistors on the same 200 mm² die size, resulting in a much lower transistor density of 23.5M / mm².

The A2 features 1280 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. It also includes 10 RT cores and 40 tensor cores. In contrast, the T600 Mobile has 896 shading units, 56 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. It has no RT cores and no tensor cores, meaning it lacks dedicated hardware for ray tracing and AI acceleration.

These architectural differences directly impact performance metrics. The A2’s pixel rate is 56.64 GPixel/s and its texture rate is 70.80 GTexel/s. The T600 Mobile’s pixel rate is lower at 45.12 GPixel/s, but its texture rate is slightly higher at 78.96 GTexel/s. The A2’s FP32 performance is 4.531 TFLOPS, while the T600 Mobile’s is 2.527 TFLOPS. Notably, the T600 Mobile offers 5.053 TFLOPS of FP16 performance due to a 2:1 ratio, while the A2 offers 4.531 TFLOPS of FP16 with a 1:1 ratio.

The A2 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and has a newer feature set, while the T600 Mobile is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4. The A2’s generation is listed as "Workstation Ampere (Ax000)", while the T600 Mobile is from the "Quadro Turing-M (Tx000)" generation.

The Verdict

The data presents a clear choice based on the intended use case. The NVIDIA A2 is the superior performer in modern graphics APIs, evidenced by its 12.6% lead in the Vulkan benchmark. Its 16 GB of memory, higher transistor count, and support for DirectX 12 Ultimate make it the better option for future-proofed compute tasks, AI inference (thanks to its tensor cores), and any workload that demands large memory capacity. Its 79th percentile ranking and higher average benchmark score of 34,690 confirm its place in a higher performance tier.

The NVIDIA T600 Mobile is the appropriate choice for a specific niche: mobile workstations where power consumption and form factor are paramount. Its 40 W TDP and IGP nature make it suitable for battery-powered devices where discrete card upgrades are impossible. While its OpenCL performance matches the A2, its 4 GB memory capacity and lack of RT and tensor cores limit its utility for modern, memory-intensive workloads. Its 77th percentile ranking and lower average score of 32,849 reflect its more modest capabilities.

In summary, if the physical platform can accommodate a single-slot PCIe card, the NVIDIA A2 is the more capable and versatile GPU, offering a significant advantage in Vulkan performance and a massive memory capacity advantage. The NVIDIA T600 Mobile is a specialized mobile component that trades raw compute power and memory for efficiency and an integrated form factor. The data does not support choosing the T600 Mobile for raw performance; it only wins when the requirement is a low-power, embedded graphics solution for a portable device.