NVIDIA GeForce 930A vs NVIDIA RTX A400 Comparison

The Verdict

For any task that the benchmark data covers, the NVIDIA RTX A400 is the decisive choice. The recorded measurements show a single head-to-head comparison, and the RTX A400 wins it by a commanding margin. The GeForce 930A, by contrast, is an end-of-life part with a dramatically lower average score. The data indicates that the RTX A400 belongs in a professional workstation context, while the GeForce 930A is a legacy mobile part that cannot keep pace. If the choice is between these two for any compute or graphics workload captured in the database, the RTX A400 is the only rational selection. The GeForce 930A offers no recorded advantage in any test.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from entirely different architectural generations. The RTX A400 is built on the Ampere architecture, using the GA107 chip, while the GeForce 930A is based on the Maxwell architecture with the GM108 chip. The RTX A400 is fabricated on an 8 nm process at Samsung, whereas the GeForce 930A uses a 28 nm process at TSMC. This process gap is substantial: the RTX A400 packs 8,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 43.5 million per square millimeter. The GeForce 930A has only 1,020 million transistors on a 77 mm² die, for a density of 13.2 million per square millimeter.

The RTX A400 has double the shading units of the GeForce 930A, with 768 versus 384. Both have 24 texture mapping units, but the RTX A400 doubles the render output units, 16 versus 8. The RTX A400 also includes 6 ray tracing cores and 24 tensor cores, features that are entirely absent from the GeForce 930A. Memory technology differs as well: the RTX A400 uses 4 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 64-bit bus, while the GeForce 930A has 2 GB of DDR3 memory on the same 64-bit bus. Memory bandwidth reflects this, with the RTX A400 delivering 96.00 GB/s versus 16.02 GB/s for the GeForce 930A.

Clock speeds also favor the newer part. The RTX A400 has a base clock of 1417 MHz and a boost clock of 1762 MHz, while the GeForce 930A runs at 928 MHz base and 941 MHz boost. The interface differs: PCIe 4.0 x8 for the RTX A400 versus PCIe 3.0 x8 for the GeForce 930A. The RTX A400 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the GeForce 930A is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4. The RTX A400 is an active production part released in 2024, while the GeForce 930A is end-of-life and was released in 2015.

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data gives a simple answer: the RTX A400 wins the only test where both were measured, and the GeForce 930A has no wins anywhere. The head-to-head comparison consists of a single Geekbench OpenCL test, and the RTX A400 is the winner. For any compute workload represented by that test, the RTX A400 is superior. The GeForce 930A's profile shows no scenario in the database where it outperforms the RTX A400.

That said, the GeForce 930A has a much lower power draw, with a 33 W TDP versus 50 W for the RTX A400. It is also an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with portable-device-dependent display outputs, which suggests it was designed for low-power laptops. The RTX A400, by contrast, is a single-slot card with four mini-DisplayPort 1.4a outputs and no power connectors, requiring a 250 W suggested PSU. So while the RTX A400 dominates in performance, the GeForce 930A may have been suited to ultra-portable systems where minimal power consumption was the priority. But in terms of raw benchmark scores, the RTX A400 is the clear winner.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A400 has an average benchmark score of 6078, while the NVIDIA GeForce 930A has an average score of 5317. The RTX A400's score places it in the 35th percentile of all GPUs, while the GeForce 930A sits in the 31st percentile.

Q: What is the performance difference in the head-to-head test?

A: In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the RTX A400 scored 22844 against 5317 for the GeForce 930A. That is a 329.6% advantage for the RTX A400.

Q: Does the GeForce 930A support ray tracing or tensor cores?

A: No. The GeForce 930A has no ray tracing cores and no tensor cores. The RTX A400 has 6 ray tracing cores and 24 tensor cores.

Q: What are the memory specifications for each GPU?

A: The RTX A400 has 4 GB of GDDR6 memory with a 64-bit bus and 96.00 GB/s bandwidth. The GeForce 930A has 2 GB of DDR3 memory with a 64-bit bus and 16.02 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU is currently in production?

A: The RTX A400 is listed as Active in production status, while the GeForce 930A is marked as End-of-life.

Q: What is the difference in transistor count and die size?

A: The RTX A400 has 8,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die, while the GeForce 930A has 1,020 million transistors on a 77 mm² die. The RTX A400's transistor density is 43.5 million per square millimeter versus 13.2 million for the GeForce 930A.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains exactly one head-to-head benchmark between these two GPUs: Geekbench OpenCL. In that test, the RTX A400 scored 22844, while the GeForce 930A scored 5317. The delta is 329.6% in favor of the RTX A400. This is not a marginal lead; it is a multi-generational gap.

To put that score in context, the RTX A400's nearest rivals in the database are the NVIDIA GeForce MX230 (average score 6077, 0% delta), the NVIDIA Quadro P2000 (6049, 0.5% delta), the Intel Iris Pro Graphics 6200 (6117, -0.6% delta), and the AMD Radeon 760M (6019, 1% delta). The RTX A400 sits right in that pack, meaning its 22844 OpenCL score is a strong outlier relative to its average performance profile, likely reflecting a compute-heavy workload where its architecture excels.

The GeForce 930A's nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce 840M (5322, -0.1% delta), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M (5308, 0.2% delta), the NVIDIA GeForce 940M (5284, 0.6% delta), and the AMD Radeon R7 M445 (5358, -0.8% delta). Its 5317 OpenCL score is essentially in line with its average, which is consistent with a part that performs uniformly at a low level. The GTX 980M result is notable: a high-end gaming laptop GPU from the same era scores within 0.2% of the GeForce 930A in this comparison, suggesting the 930A is not a high-performance part even by the standards of its own generation.

The RTX A400 also has a much broader benchmark profile. It has scores for Geekbench OpenCL (22844), Geekbench Vulkan (22237), Passmark DirectX 10 (32), DirectX 11 (37), DirectX 12 (27), DirectX 9 (87), G2D (899), G3D (5983), and GPU Compute (2557). The GeForce 930A only has the single Geekbench OpenCL score. So while the head-to-head is limited, the RTX A400's additional scores show a balanced part that handles both graphics and compute tasks, with its Vulkan score (22237) nearly matching its OpenCL score. The Passmark DirectX 9 score of 87 is notably higher than its DirectX 10 and 11 scores, which is typical for a modern GPU relying on driver translation for older APIs.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every measurable specification. The RTX A400 uses the GA107 chip on the Ampere architecture, while the GeForce 930A uses the GM108 chip on Maxwell. Process nodes are 8 nm (Samsung) versus 28 nm (TSMC). Transistors are 8,700 million versus 1,020 million, and die size is 200 mm² versus 77 mm². Transistor density is 43.5 million per square millimeter versus 13.2 million.

Clock speeds: the RTX A400 runs at 1417 MHz base and 1762 MHz boost, while the GeForce 930A runs at 928 MHz base and 941 MHz boost. Memory clocks are 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective) for the RTX A400 versus 1001 MHz (2 Gbps effective) for the GeForce 930A. Memory size is 4 GB GDDR6 versus 2 GB DDR3, with bandwidth of 96.00 GB/s versus 16.02 GB/s. Both have a 64-bit memory bus.

Shader resources: the RTX A400 has 768 shading units, 24 TMUs, 16 ROPs, 6 RT cores, and 24 tensor cores. The GeForce 930A has 384 shading units, 24 TMUs, 8 ROPs, and no RT or tensor cores. Pixel rate is 28.19 GPixel/s versus 7.528 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 42.29 GTexel/s versus 22.58 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 2.706 TFLOPS for the RTX A400 versus 722.7 GFLOPS for the GeForce 930A. The RTX A400 has FP16 at 2.706 TFLOPS (1:1), while the GeForce 930A has no recorded FP16 capability.

Power and physical characteristics: the RTX A400 has a 50 W TDP and is a single-slot card, while the GeForce 930A has a 33 W TDP and is an IGP. Both have no power connectors, but the RTX A400 lists a 250 W suggested PSU, while the GeForce 930A has none. The RTX A400 uses PCIe 4.0 x8, the GeForce 930A uses PCIe 3.0 x8. Display outputs are 4x mini-DisplayPort 1.4a for the RTX A400 versus portable-device-dependent outputs for the GeForce 930A. The RTX A400 measures 163 mm in length and 69 mm in height; the GeForce 930A has no recorded dimensions. DirectX support is 12 Ultimate (12_2) versus 12 (11_0), with both supporting OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4. The RTX A400 was released in 2024 and is active; the GeForce 930A was released in 2015 and is end-of-life.