NVIDIA CMP 70HX vs NVIDIA RTX A1000 Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which card has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A1000 has an average benchmark score of 34207, placing it in the 79th percentile of all GPUs. The NVIDIA CMP 70HX scores 30476 on average, which puts it in the 75th percentile.

Q: How do the two cards compare in OpenCL performance?

A: The RTX A1000 scores 52078 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the CMP 70HX scores 25135. That is a 107.2% advantage for the RTX A1000, meaning it more than doubles the CMP 70HX's OpenCL result.

Q: What kind of display outputs do these cards offer?

A: The RTX A1000 has 4x mini-DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, making it suitable for multi-monitor workstation setups. The CMP 70HX has no display outputs at all, as it was designed for mining operations where video output is unnecessary.

Q: Which card is closer to the RTX A2000 12 GB in performance?

A: The RTX A1000's average score of 34207 is only 0.2% above the NVIDIA RTX A2000 12 GB's 34154. This makes the A1000 a very close neighbor to the A2000 in the database's rankings.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference between these two cards?

A: Both cards have 8 GB of memory, but the RTX A1000 uses GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 192.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the CMP 70HX uses GDDR6X on a 256-bit bus with 608.3 GB/s bandwidth. The CMP 70HX has substantially higher raw memory bandwidth.

Q: Is the CMP 70HX still in production?

A: No, the CMP 70HX is listed as end-of-life in the database. The RTX A1000 is still marked as active production.

Architecture Differences

The two cards share the same Ampere architecture and are both built on Samsung's 8 nm process, but they diverge significantly in their chip designs and intended purposes.

The RTX A1000 uses the GA107 chip, a smaller die measuring 200 mm² with 8,700 million transistors, resulting in a transistor density of 43.5M per mm². The CMP 70HX uses the GA104 chip, which is nearly double the physical size at 392 mm² and packs 17,400 million transistors, giving a density of 44.4M per mm². The CMP 70HX therefore has a larger, more complex silicon footprint.

Compute resources differ substantially. The RTX A1000 has 2304 shading units, 72 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The CMP 70HX scales this up to 3840 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The CMP 70HX also carries 30 RT cores and 120 tensor cores, versus 18 RT cores and 72 tensor cores on the RTX A1000. In raw shading capacity, the CMP 70HX is clearly the more powerful processor.

Clock behavior is another distinguishing factor. The RTX A1000 runs at a 727 MHz base clock and boosts to 1462 MHz. The CMP 70HX has a much higher base clock of 1365 MHz but a boost clock of only 1395 MHz, meaning it barely boosts above its base frequency. The RTX A1000's boost clock is actually higher than its base by a wide margin, while the CMP 70HX is tuned to run nearly flat.

The memory subsystems are built around different philosophies. The RTX A1000 uses 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, with memory clocked at 1500 MHz for 12 Gbps effective and bandwidth of 192.0 GB/s. The CMP 70HX uses 8 GB of GDDR6X on a 256-bit bus, with memory at 1188 MHz for 19 Gbps effective and bandwidth of 608.3 GB/s. The CMP 70HX's bandwidth advantage is roughly 3.2 times the A1000's, which matters for memory-intensive workloads.

Thermal and physical design also differ. The RTX A1000 is a single-slot card with no power connectors, a 50 W TDP, and a suggested PSU of 250 W. It measures 163 mm in length and 69 mm in height. The CMP 70HX is a dual-slot card with a single 12-pin power connector, a suggested PSU of 200 W, and dimensions of 267 mm by 112 mm. The CMP 70HX does not have a TDP listed in the database.

Interface differences are stark. The RTX A1000 uses PCIe 4.0 x8 and supports 4x mini-DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. The CMP 70HX uses PCIe 1.0 x4, a legacy interface that severely limits host communication, and has no display outputs whatsoever.

Both cards support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so API compatibility is identical. The RTX A1000 is listed as active production with a release date of 2024-04-15, while the CMP 70HX is end-of-life with no recorded release date.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear split: the RTX A1000 is the better all-around card for anyone who needs a functional workstation GPU, while the CMP 70HX exists for a narrow mining-specific role that no longer has production support.

The RTX A1000 wins both head-to-head benchmarks. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 52078 against the CMP 70HX's 25135, a 107.2% lead. In Geekbench Vulkan, it scores 49574 against 35817, a 38.4% lead. The average benchmark score reinforces this: 34207 for the A1000 versus 30476 for the CMP 70HX, a difference of roughly 12.2%.

The CMP 70HX does have genuine hardware advantages on paper. Its 3840 shading units, 120 TMUs, 64 ROPs, and 608.3 GB/s of memory bandwidth are all far above the RTX A1000's specifications. Yet the recorded benchmark results show the A1000 outperforming it in both OpenCL and Vulkan. The CMP 70HX's PCIe 1.0 x4 interface and lack of display outputs likely hamper its real-world usability, and its end-of-life status means no ongoing driver or production support.

The RTX A1000 sits in the 79th percentile of all GPUs, just 0.2% above the RTX A2000 12 GB and the AMD Radeon RX 560 XT, and 0.6% above the Radeon RX 480. It is a well-rounded performer with an active production status. The CMP 70HX sits in the 75th percentile, essentially tied with the Tesla M60 at 0% delta, 0.1% above the Radeon RX 6700, 1.3% above the Radeon RX 6800, and 1.8% above the GeForce RTX 3070 Ti.

Choose the RTX A1000 for any workstation, compute, or general-purpose use case. Choose the CMP 70HX only if the specific mining workload benefits from its memory bandwidth and compute layout, and even then the end-of-life status is a serious concern.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every major specification category.

The chip and die are different: GA107 versus GA104, with the A1000 at 200 mm² and 8,700 million transistors, and the CMP 70HX at 392 mm² and 17,400 million transistors. Transistor density is nearly identical at 43.5M per mm² versus 44.4M per mm².

Clocks differ in both base and boost. The A1000 has a 727 MHz base and 1462 MHz boost. The CMP 70HX has a 1365 MHz base and 1395 MHz boost. Memory clocks also differ: 1500 MHz with 12 Gbps effective on the A1000, versus 1188 MHz with 19 Gbps effective on the CMP 70HX.

Memory configuration differs in type, bus width, and bandwidth. The A1000 uses GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 192.0 GB/s. The CMP 70HX uses GDDR6X on a 256-bit bus with 608.3 GB/s.

Compute unit counts differ: 2304 shading units, 72 TMUs, 32 ROPs, 18 RT cores, and 72 tensor cores on the A1000, versus 3840 shading units, 120 TMUs, 64 ROPs, 30 RT cores, and 120 tensor cores on the CMP 70HX.

Rates and throughput differ accordingly. The A1000 delivers 46.78 GPixel/s pixel rate, 105.3 GTexel/s texture rate, 6.737 TFLOPS FP32, and 6.737 TFLOPS FP16. The CMP 70HX delivers 89.28 GPixel/s, 167.4 GTexel/s, 10.71 TFLOPS FP32, and 10.71 TFLOPS FP16.

Physical design differs: single-slot versus dual-slot, no power connectors versus one 12-pin connector, 50 W TDP versus no listed TDP, 250 W versus 200 W suggested PSU, 163 mm versus 267 mm length, and 69 mm versus 112 mm height.

Bus interface and outputs differ completely: PCIe 4.0 x8 with 4x mini-DisplayPort 1.4a on the A1000, versus PCIe 1.0 x4 with no outputs on the CMP 70HX.

Production status differs: active for the A1000, end-of-life for the CMP 70HX. The A1000 has a release date of 2024-04-15, while the CMP 70HX has none recorded.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records two direct comparisons between these cards, and the RTX A1000 wins both.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX A1000 scores 52078 while the CMP 70HX scores 25135. The delta is 107.2%, meaning the A1000 delivers more than double the OpenCL performance. This is the largest gap between the two cards in any recorded test.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the RTX A1000 scores 49574 against the CMP 70HX's 35817. The delta is 38.4%, a substantial but smaller margin than the OpenCL result. The CMP 70HX closes some of the gap under Vulkan, but it still trails by a significant amount.

The average benchmark score tells a similar story. The A1000 averages 34207, while the CMP 70HX averages 30476. That is a difference of 3731 points, or roughly 12.2% in favor of the A1000.

For context on where each card sits among its peers, the A1000 is essentially tied with the RTX A2000 12 GB at 0.2% delta, tied with the Radeon RX 560 XT at 0.2%, 0.4% below the TITAN V, and 0.6% above the Radeon RX 480. The CMP 70HX is tied with the Tesla M60 at 0%, 0.1% above the Radeon RX 6700, 1.3% above the Radeon RX 6800, and 1.8% above the GeForce RTX 3070 Ti.

The CMP 70HX's paper specifications suggest it should be faster: more shading units, more memory bandwidth, higher FP32 throughput. But the recorded data shows the opposite. In both head-to-head tests, the A1000 wins, and the average score confirms the trend. The CMP 70HX's PCIe 1.0 x4 interface is a likely bottleneck, and its mining-oriented design does not translate into general compute wins in these benchmarks.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX A1000 wins in every benchmark category recorded in the database. It leads in OpenCL by 107.2%, in Vulkan by 38.4%, and in average score by roughly 12.2%. It also wins on practical usability: it has display outputs, a modern PCIe 4.0 x8 interface, active production status, and a single-slot low-profile form factor with no external power connectors.

The A1000 is the clear choice for workstation graphics, multi-monitor setups, and any compute workload measured by OpenCL or Vulkan. Its 79th percentile ranking and proximity to the RTX A2000 12 GB indicate it performs at a level expected of a capable professional GPU. The 50 W TDP and 250 W suggested PSU make it easy to integrate into existing systems.

The CMP 70HX wins on raw hardware specifications. It has 3840 shading units versus 2304, 120 TMUs versus 72, 64 ROPs versus 32, 30 RT cores versus 18, 120 tensor cores versus 72, and 608.3 GB/s memory bandwidth versus 192.0 GB/s. Its FP32 throughput of 10.71 TFLOPS exceeds the A1000's 6.737 TFLOPS. Its pixel rate of 89.28 GPixel/s and texture rate of 167.4 GTexel/s are also higher.

But these specification advantages do not translate into benchmark wins in the recorded data. The CMP 70HX trails in both head-to-head tests, and its average score is lower. The PCIe 1.0 x4 interface is a severe limitation for host communication, and the lack of display outputs rules out any visual workload. With end-of-life status and no recorded release date, the CMP 70HX is a legacy product with a narrow purpose.

The practical takeaway: the RTX A1000 is the card to buy for any task that involves actual use, whether that is rendering, compute, or multi-monitor output. The CMP 70HX should only be considered by someone with a specific mining workload that can exploit its memory bandwidth and compute layout, and even then the end-of-life status and PCIe 1.0 x4 bottleneck are serious drawbacks. The data does not support choosing the CMP 70HX for general-purpose work.