NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER vs NVIDIA RTX A4000 Comparison

The Verdict

The RTX A4000 is the pick for compute-focused and modern API workloads. It wins 6 of 10 head-to-head tests, including every major modern benchmark: 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 (38.4% ahead), GeekBench Vulkan (14.7% ahead), and GeekBench OpenCL (6.6% ahead). Its average benchmark score is 26683 versus 24170 for the RTX 2080 SUPER, a 10.4% overall advantage. The RTX 2080 SUPER still leads in legacy DirectX tests (DX10, DX11, DX12) and in PassMark G3D, but those wins are narrow, ranging from 0.2% to 10%. If you need raw compute throughput, the A4000 delivers 17.7% more in PassMark GPU Compute. If you are optimizing for older DirectX titles and rasterization at the G3D level, the 2080 SUPER retains a marginal edge, but the data overwhelmingly favors the A4000 for modern workloads and future-proofing.

Architecture Differences

The RTX A4000 is built on the Ampere architecture using the GA104 chip, manufactured on an 8 nm process at Samsung. The RTX 2080 SUPER uses the older Turing architecture with the TU104 chip, built on a 12 nm process at TSMC. This process shrink allows the A4000 to pack 17,400 million transistors into a 392 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 44.4 million per mm². The 2080 SUPER has 13,600 million transistors on a much larger 545 mm² die, with a density of just 25.0 million per mm². The A4000 is the denser, more modern design.

The A4000 doubles the shading units (6144 vs 3072) and ROPs (96 vs 64), while keeping the same TMU count (192). Both cards have 48 RT cores. However, the A4000 has 192 tensor cores, half the 384 found on the 2080 SUPER. The FP32 throughput tells the story: the A4000 hits 19.17 TFLOPS, while the 2080 SUPER manages 11.15 TFLOPS. In FP16, the A4000 matches FP32 at 19.17 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio), whereas the 2080 SUPER achieves 22.30 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio), meaning the older card has a theoretical FP16 advantage that does not translate to real-world benchmark wins. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The A4000 uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while the 2080 SUPER is limited to PCIe 3.0 x16.

Power efficiency is a major differentiator. The A4000 has a 140 W TDP with a single 6-pin power connector and a 300 W suggested PSU. The 2080 SUPER draws 250 W, needs both a 6-pin and 8-pin connector, and requires a 600 W PSU. The A4000 is also physically smaller: 241 mm long and single-slot, versus 267 mm long and dual-slot for the 2080 SUPER. Display outputs differ too: the A4000 offers 4x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the 2080 SUPER has 1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, and 1x USB Type-C.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The largest victory for the RTX A4000 comes in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, where it scores 2604 against 1882 for the 2080 SUPER, a 38.4% lead. This is a definitive modern API win. GeekBench Vulkan shows a 14.7% advantage (127645 vs 111284), and GeekBench OpenCL shows a 6.6% edge (105739 vs 99226). PassMark GPU Compute goes to the A4000 by 17.7% (9760 vs 8290), confirming its compute superiority. PassMark G2D also favors the A4000 by 11.3% (1024 vs 920), and even in the older PassMark DirectX 9 test, the A4000 wins by 5.7% (240 vs 227).

The RTX 2080 SUPER's wins are concentrated in legacy DirectX benchmarks. Its largest margin is in PassMark DirectX 10, where it scores 140 versus 126, a 10% lead. PassMark DirectX 11 shows a 4.2% advantage (165 vs 158), and PassMark DirectX 12 a 4% edge (75 vs 72). In PassMark G3D, the 2080 SUPER barely edges ahead: 19490 vs 19459, a 0.2% difference that is essentially a tie. These legacy wins are small, and they do not offset the A4000's dominance in modern tests and compute workloads.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12?

A: The RTX A4000, by a significant 38.4%. It scores 2604 versus 1882 for the RTX 2080 SUPER.

Q: Does the RTX 2080 SUPER win any benchmarks?

A: Yes, it wins 4 of 10 head-to-head tests: PassMark DirectX 10 (140 vs 126, 10% lead), DirectX 11 (165 vs 158, 4.2% lead), DirectX 12 (75 vs 72, 4% lead), and PassMark G3D (19490 vs 19459, 0.2% lead).

Q: Which card is better for compute workloads?

A: The RTX A4000. It wins PassMark GPU Compute by 17.7% (9760 vs 8290) and GeekBench OpenCL by 6.6% (105739 vs 99226).

Q: How do their memory configurations compare?

A: The A4000 has 16 GB GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. The 2080 SUPER has 8 GB GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 495.9 GB/s bandwidth. The 2080 SUPER has higher memory bandwidth, but the A4000 has double the capacity.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The A4000 has a 140 W TDP with a 300 W suggested PSU and a single 6-pin connector. The 2080 SUPER has a 250 W TDP, requires a 600 W PSU, and needs both 6-pin and 8-pin connectors.

Q: Which card occupies less space in a chassis?

A: The A4000 is a single-slot card measuring 241 mm in length. The 2080 SUPER is a dual-slot card measuring 267 mm in length and 35 mm in width.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX A4000 is the clear winner for modern gaming, professional graphics, and compute-heavy tasks. Its 38.4% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 indicates strong performance in current DirectX 12 titles. The 14.7% Vulkan advantage matters for games and applications using Vulkan, which includes many modern engines and emulators. The 17.7% GPU Compute lead makes it the better choice for rendering, simulation, machine learning inference, and any workload that stresses FP32 throughput. Its 19.17 TFLOPS FP32 performance is nearly double the 11.15 TFLOPS of the 2080 SUPER, and the 16 GB memory capacity is double the 8 GB of the older card, which is critical for large datasets and high-resolution textures. The A4000 also wins on efficiency: 140 W versus 250 W TDP, with a single-slot form factor that is easier to fit in small or multi-GPU systems. The 11.3% G2D lead suggests better 2D desktop performance as well.

The RTX 2080 SUPER retains a niche for legacy DirectX 10 and DirectX 11 applications. Its 10% lead in DX10 and 4.2% lead in DX11 show that older APIs still favor the Turing architecture. The 4% DX12 win in PassMark is notable, but it is a synthetic legacy test, and the A4000 crushes it in the modern 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test. The G3D score is effectively tied, meaning rasterization performance in older game engines is comparable. The 2080 SUPER also has higher memory bandwidth (495.9 GB/s vs 448.0 GB/s) and more tensor cores (384 vs 192), which could theoretically benefit FP16 workloads, but the benchmark data shows the A4000 winning in OpenCL and Vulkan compute anyway. If you are locked into DX10 or DX11 titles from that era, the 2080 SUPER is marginally better, but the margins are small and the overall average score gap (26683 vs 24170) favors the A4000 by over 10%.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every major specification. The A4000 uses the GA104 chip on an 8 nm Samsung process, while the 2080 SUPER uses TU104 on a 12 nm TSMC process. Transistor counts are 17,400 million versus 13,600 million, and die sizes are 392 mm² versus 545 mm². The A4000 has a transistor density of 44.4M per mm², far above the 25.0M per mm² of the 2080 SUPER. Base clocks differ substantially: 735 MHz for the A4000 versus 1650 MHz for the 2080 SUPER, with boost clocks of 1560 MHz versus 1815 MHz. Memory clocks are 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) for the A4000 and 1937 MHz (15.5 Gbps effective) for the 2080 SUPER.

Memory capacity is 16 GB versus 8 GB, both GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus. Bandwidth favors the 2080 SUPER at 495.9 GB/s versus 448.0 GB/s. Shading units are 6144 versus 3072, ROPs are 96 versus 64, and TMUs are equal at 192. RT cores are equal at 48, but tensor cores differ: 192 for the A4000 versus 384 for the 2080 SUPER. Pixel rates are 149.8 GPixel/s versus 116.2 GPixel/s, and texture rates are 299.5 GTexel/s versus 348.5 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 19.17 TFLOPS versus 11.15 TFLOPS; FP16 is 19.17 TFLOPS (1:1) versus 22.30 TFLOPS (2:1). TDP is 140 W versus 250 W, with the A4000 using a single 6-pin connector and the 2080 SUPER requiring 6-pin plus 8-pin. Suggested PSU is 300 W versus 600 W. The A4000 is single-slot, 241 mm long, and 112 mm high; the 2080 SUPER is dual-slot, 267 mm long, 116 mm high, and 35 mm wide. Bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x16 versus PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs are 4x DisplayPort 1.4a versus 1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, and 1x USB Type-C. The A4000 released on 2021-04-11, the 2080 SUPER on 2019-07-22. Both are end-of-life. The 2080 SUPER had a launch MSRP of 699 USD.