NVIDIA CMP 90HX vs NVIDIA RTX A4500 Comparison

The NVIDIA RTX A4500 and NVIDIA CMP 90HX are both built on the GA102 chip and the Ampere architecture, but they are engineered for completely different purposes. The benchmark data shows a decisive victory for the RTX A4500 in general compute workloads, with a 105.6% lead over the CMP 90HX in the only available head-to-head test. The CMP 90HX, designed as a dedicated mining GPU, lacks display outputs and uses a severely limited PCIe interface, making it unsuitable for conventional workstation tasks.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison available between these two cards is the Geekbench OpenCL test. In this compute-focused benchmark, the NVIDIA RTX A4500 scores 141837, while the NVIDIA CMP 90HX scores 69000. This represents a delta of 105.6%, meaning the RTX A4500 is more than twice as fast as the CMP 90HX in this OpenCL workload. The margin is enormous and immediately establishes the RTX A4500 as the superior choice for any general-purpose or professional compute application.

The RTX A4500's 105.6% lead in OpenCL is consistent with its broader benchmark profile. The A4500 achieves an average benchmark score of 91671, placing it in the 93rd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX A4500 Mobile (0.6% ahead), the AMD Radeon Instinct MI60 (0.9% behind), the NVIDIA Quadro GP100 (4.8% behind), and the AMD Radeon PRO W7600 (5.2% behind). This indicates that the A4500 sits comfortably in a competitive tier of high-end workstation and datacenter cards.

In contrast, the CMP 90HX has an average benchmark score of just 69000, placing it in the 90th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Arc A770 (0.3% behind), the AMD Radeon Instinct MI25 (0.6% behind), the AMD Radeon Pro WX 8200 (1.2% ahead), and the NVIDIA Quadro P6000 (1.4% ahead). The CMP 90HX is essentially performance-equivalent to these mid-range to high-end cards from previous generations, but it is nowhere near the performance tier occupied by the RTX A4500.

Looking at the raw specifications, the compute gap is also evident. The RTX A4500 delivers 23.65 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, while the CMP 90HX delivers 21.89 TFLOPS. The A4500 also has a higher pixel rate (158.4 GPixel/s vs 136.8 GPixel/s) and texture rate (369.6 GTexel/s vs 342.0 GTexel/s). While these differences are smaller than the OpenCL benchmark delta suggests, they still favor the RTX A4500 across the board. The massive OpenCL score difference likely reflects the CMP 90HX's limited driver support and its optimization for mining workloads rather than general compute.

The RTX A4500 also has additional benchmark data points: it scores 3196 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 and 129980 in Geekbench Vulkan. The CMP 90HX has no corresponding scores for these tests, reinforcing the notion that it was not designed or validated for standard graphics or general-purpose compute workloads.

FAQ

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A4500 has an average benchmark score of 91671, while the NVIDIA CMP 90HX has an average score of 69000. The A4500 is also in the 93rd percentile of all GPUs, compared to the 90th percentile for the CMP 90HX.

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

A: The RTX A4500 features 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 320-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 640.0 GB/s. The CMP 90HX has 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus, providing a higher bandwidth of 760.3 GB/s. The CMP 90HX has less capacity but faster memory technology.

Q: How do the two cards compare in terms of memory bandwidth?

A: The CMP 90HX has higher memory bandwidth at 760.3 GB/s, compared to the RTX A4500's 640.0 GB/s. However, the A4500 has twice the memory capacity (20 GB vs 10 GB), which is often more critical for large workstation datasets.

Q: What are the core count differences?

A: The RTX A4500 has 7168 shading units, 224 TMUs, 96 ROPs, 56 RT cores, and 224 tensor cores. The CMP 90HX has 6400 shading units, 200 TMUs, 80 ROPs, 50 RT cores, and 200 tensor cores. The A4500 has more of every core type.

Q: Does the CMP 90HX support display output?

A: No. The CMP 90HX has no display outputs, while the RTX A4500 features 4x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. This makes the CMP 90HX unsuitable for any interactive or display-driven workload.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The RTX A4500 has a TDP of 200 W and requires a single 8-pin power connector with a suggested PSU of 550 W. The CMP 90HX has a TDP of 320 W, requires two 8-pin connectors, and has a suggested PSU of 700 W.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA RTX A4500 is the superior GPU for virtually any workload that requires compute performance, graphics output, or broad software compatibility. It wins the only head-to-head benchmark by 105.6%, has a 32.8% higher average benchmark score (91671 vs 69000), and places higher in the overall GPU percentile ranking (93rd vs 90th). The A4500 also offers double the memory capacity (20 GB vs 10 GB) and significantly more cores across every category.

The NVIDIA CMP 90HX, on the other hand, is a niche product with a single purpose. Its complete lack of display outputs ensures it cannot be used as a standard graphics card. Its PCIe 1.0 x4 interface is a bottleneck for data transfer, and its 320 W power draw with a 700 W suggested PSU makes it less efficient. Its only advantage over the A4500 is memory bandwidth (760.3 GB/s vs 640.0 GB/s) and a slightly higher boost clock (1710 MHz vs 1650 MHz). These advantages do not translate into any benchmark win.

For any user needing a professional workstation GPU, an AI inference card, or a general-purpose compute accelerator, the RTX A4500 is the clear choice. For a user with a mining-specific rig where display output and software compatibility are irrelevant, the CMP 90HX might have been considered, but the data shows it is still slower in OpenCL compute. The verdict is straightforward: the RTX A4500 wins decisively.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every measurable specification. The RTX A4500 has a base clock of 1050 MHz and a boost clock of 1650 MHz, while the CMP 90HX has a much higher base clock of 1500 MHz and a boost clock of 1710 MHz. The memory configuration is a key differentiator: the A4500 uses 20 GB of GDDR6 at 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective), while the CMP 90HX uses 10 GB of GDDR6X at 1188 MHz (19 Gbps effective). This results in bandwidth of 640.0 GB/s for the A4500 and 760.3 GB/s for the CMP 90HX.

The core counts also differ substantially. The RTX A4500 has 7168 shading units, 224 TMUs, 96 ROPs, 56 RT cores, and 224 tensor cores. The CMP 90HX has 6400 shading units, 200 TMUs, 80 ROPs, 50 RT cores, and 200 tensor cores. These differences lead to pixel rates of 158.4 GPixel/s for the A4500 and 136.8 GPixel/s for the CMP 90HX, and texture rates of 369.6 GTexel/s and 342.0 GTexel/s, respectively.

Power and connectivity are also major differentiators. The RTX A4500 has a TDP of 200 W, a single 8-pin power connector, and a suggested PSU of 550 W. The CMP 90HX has a TDP of 320 W, two 8-pin connectors, and a suggested PSU of 700 W. The A4500 uses a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, while the CMP 90HX uses a PCIe 1.0 x4 interface. The A4500 has 4x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs; the CMP 90HX has no outputs. Physically, the A4500 is 267 mm long, while the CMP 90HX is 285 mm long; both are dual-slot and 112 mm high.

Architecture Differences

Both cards share the same fundamental architecture: they are based on the GA102 chip, use the Ampere architecture, are manufactured on an 8 nm process at Samsung, and contain 28,300 million transistors on a 628 mm² die. The transistor density is identical at 45.1M / mm². Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

The core architectural difference lies in their intended roles. The RTX A4500 is part of the Workstation Ampere (Ax000) generation, designed for professional graphics, compute, and rendering tasks. It has full display output support and a standard PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, enabling it to function as a primary GPU in a workstation. The CMP 90HX is part of the "Mining GPUs" generation, stripped of display outputs and limited to a PCIe 1.0 x4 interface. This interface limitation is severe and would bottleneck data transfers in any compute task that requires frequent host-device communication.

The memory types also differ architecturally: the A4500 uses GDDR6, while the CMP 90HX uses GDDR6X. The CMP 90HX's higher memory bandwidth (760.3 GB/s) comes from the faster GDDR6X standard, but this is offset by its lower capacity. The RTX A4500 has 56 RT cores and 224 tensor cores, versus 50 RT cores and 200 tensor cores on the CMP 90HX, making the A4500 more capable for ray tracing and AI-accelerated workloads. The CMP 90HX also lacks any display engine, which is a fundamental architectural limitation for general use.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA RTX A4500 wins in every category that matters for a general-purpose GPU. It wins the OpenCL benchmark by 105.6%. It wins on average benchmark score (91671 vs 69000). It wins on memory capacity (20 GB vs 10 GB). It wins on core counts across the board. It wins on pixel rate and texture rate. It wins on power efficiency, drawing 200 W versus 320 W. It wins on connectivity, with a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface versus PCIe 1.0 x4.

The A4500 is the choice for professional workstation users: 3D modelers, video editors, engineers running CAD or simulation software, and researchers working with large datasets. Its 20 GB memory capacity is essential for loading large models or textures, and its display outputs allow direct connection to monitors. Its 93rd percentile ranking indicates it is a top-tier GPU among all products.

The NVIDIA CMP 90HX has only two specification wins: memory bandwidth (760.3 GB/s) and boost clock (1710 MHz). It also has a higher base clock (1500 MHz vs 1050 MHz). However, these advantages do not produce a single benchmark victory. The CMP 90HX was designed for a mining workload that is not represented in the benchmark data, and even then, its compute performance is inferior to the A4500. For any task that requires graphics output, standard PCIe communication, or broad software compatibility, the CMP 90HX is not a viable option. The data supports only one conclusion: the RTX A4500 is the superior product in every measurable way.