NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER vs NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile Comparison

The Verdict

The recorded benchmark data presents a clear, if lopsided, picture. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER wins all nine head-to-head benchmark comparisons against the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile. Its average benchmark score of 24,170 versus the A4000 Mobile's 21,379 gives the desktop card a decisive overall lead. The RTX 2080 SUPER also holds a higher percentile rank among all GPUs at 69, compared to 66 for the mobile part.

For users selecting between these two, the choice depends almost entirely on form factor and power constraints. The RTX 2080 SUPER is a dual-slot desktop card with a 250 W TDP, requiring a 600 W suggested PSU and dual power connectors. The RTX A4000 Mobile is a portable device component, drawing only 115 W with no power connectors, making it the only viable option for laptop or compact mobile workstations. If the system can physically accommodate the desktop card, the data overwhelmingly favors the RTX 2080 SUPER for raw performance. If portability or power efficiency is mandatory, the RTX A4000 Mobile is the necessary choice despite its lower scores.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations and process nodes. The RTX 2080 SUPER uses the TU104 chip based on the Turing architecture, manufactured on a 12 nm process at TSMC. The RTX A4000 Mobile uses the GA104 chip based on the Ampere architecture, manufactured on an 8 nm process at Samsung. The transistor counts differ substantially: the A4000 Mobile packs 17,400 million transistors on a 392 mm² die, while the RTX 2080 SUPER has 13,600 million transistors on a larger 545 mm² die. The resulting transistor density is 44.4 million per mm² for the Ampere chip versus 25.0 million per mm² for the Turing chip.

The shading unit count favors the A4000 Mobile, which has 5,120 shading units compared to 3,072 on the RTX 2080 SUPER. However, the RTX 2080 SUPER has more texture mapping units (192 versus 160) and more tensor cores (384 versus 160). The RTX 2080 SUPER also has more RT cores at 48 versus 40, though the A4000 Mobile has more ROPs at 80 versus 64.

Clock speeds are higher on the RTX 2080 SUPER. Its base clock is 1650 MHz and boost clock is 1815 MHz, while the A4000 Mobile runs at 1140 MHz base and 1680 MHz boost. Memory clocks also favor the Turing card: 1937 MHz (15.5 Gbps effective) versus 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective). Both cards feature 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, but the RTX 2080 SUPER achieves 495.9 GB/s bandwidth versus 384.0 GB/s for the A4000 Mobile.

The architectural differences impact compute characteristics. The RTX 2080 SUPER has a higher texture rate at 348.5 GTexel/s versus 268.8 GTexel/s. Its FP32 output is 11.15 TFLOPS versus 17.20 TFLOPS for the A4000 Mobile, which is a notable reversal. The FP16 values also diverge: the RTX 2080 Super offers 22.30 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio), while the A4000 Mobile provides 17.20 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio). The pixel rate is higher on the A4000 Mobile at 134.4 GPixel/s versus 116.2 GPixel/s.

The bus interface differs as well: PCIe 3.0 x16 on the RTX 2080 SUPER versus PCIe 4.0 x16 on the A4000 Mobile. Power connectors are absent on the mobile part, while the desktop card requires a dual 6-pin and 8-pin setup. The RTX 2080 SUPER is a dual-slot desktop card with dimensions of 267 mm length, 116 mm height, and 35 mm width, while the A4000 Mobile has no listed physical dimensions, as it is portable-device dependent.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The RTX 2080 SUPER wins all nine head-to-head comparisons. The largest delta is in Geekbench Vulkan, where the RTX 2080 SUPER scores 111,284 against 73,002, a 52.4% advantage. This is the most striking performance gap in the entire dataset.

The PassMark G2D test shows the second-largest margin at 57.3% (920 versus 585). DirectX 9 results give a 44.6% lead (227 versus 157), and DirectX 10 follows at 33.3% (140 versus 105). The PassMark G3D score is 19,490 for the RTX 2080 SUPER versus 14,796 for the A4000 Mobile, a 31.7% gap. DirectX 11 shows a 29.9% advantage (165 versus 127). The GPU compute benchmark is another 29.7% win, with 8,290 versus 6,394. DirectX 12 has the smallest delta among the API tests, 13.6% (75 versus 66). Geekbench OpenCL is the closest overall, with the RTX 2080 Super ahead by only 2.1% (99,226 versus 97,178).

The data indicates that the RTX 2080 SUPER is particularly strong in legacy DirectX 9 and DirectX 10 workloads, as well as in Vulkan and 2D operations. The A4000 Mobile comes closest in OpenCL, where the gap narrows to just 2.1%. The DirectX 12 gap of 13.6% is also relatively modest compared to other tests. These results suggest that the Turing card's advantage is not uniform across all workload types; it is most pronounced in certain API paths and less dominant in compute-oriented OpenCL.

FAQ

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 24,170, while the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile scores 21,379. The RTX 2080 Super is ahead by about 8.1%.

Q: What is the single largest performance difference between the two cards?

A: The largest delta is in the Geekbench Vulkan test, where the RTX 2080 SUPER scores 111,284 versus 73,002 for the A4000 Mobile, a 52.4% advantage.

Q: Are there any benchmarks where the RTX A4000 Mobile wins?

A: No. Across all nine head-to-head benchmarks, the RTX 2080 SUPER wins every test. The A4000 Mobile does not secure a single win.

Q: How do the cards compare in compute performance?

A: The RTX 2080 SUPER has an FP32 rating of 11.5 TFLOPS and an FP16 rating of 22.30 TFLOPS (2:1). The RTX A4000 Mobile has a higher FP32 rating of 17.20 TFLOPS and an FP16 rating of 17.20 TFLOPS (1:1). In the Passmark GPU compute benchmark, the RTX 2080 SUPER scores 8,290 versus 6,394 for the A4000 Mobile.

Q: What role does the nearest rival comparison play in understanding these cards?

A: The RTX 2080 SUPER's closest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti, which is 0.3% behind, and the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT, which is 1.1% ahead. The RTX A4000 Mobile's closest rival is the AMD Radeon HD 8970M, which is 0.7% behind, and the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL, which is 1.1% ahead. This shows both cards sit in a competitive mid-range band, but the RTX 2080 Super sits slightly higher overall.

Q: How do the two cards compare in terms of power requirements?

A: The RTX 2080 SUPER has a TDP of 250 W and requires a 600 W PSU with 1x 6-pin and 1x 8-pin connectors. The RTX A4000 Mobile has a TDP of 115 W and has no power connectors.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 2080 SUPER wins on every benchmark in the dataset. Its most decisive victories are in Vulkan (52.4% delta), G2D (57.3% delta), and DirectX 9 (44.6% delta). These results indicate strong driver optimization and raw throughput for both legacy and modern graphics APIs. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test shows a score of 1,882 for the RTX 2080 Super, which is not present for the A4000 Mobile, further reinforcing its 3D gaming capability. For anyone building a desktop workstation or gaming rig with space and power headroom, the RTX 2080 SUPER is the unequivocal performance choice.

The RTX A4000 Mobile wins in the context of portability. It has no physical dimensions listed and is described as "Portable Device Dependent," meaning it is designed for laptops and mobile workstations. Its 115 W TDP and lack of power connectors make it suitable for battery-powered systems. It also has a higher FP32 compute rating at 17.20 TFLOPS and a higher pixel rate at 134.4 GPixel/s, which might be relevant for certain professional compute tasks that favor raw FP32 throughput. However, these theoretical advantages do not translate into benchmark wins in the recorded data. The A4000 Mobile's closest benchmark result is in OpenCL, where it trails only 2.1%. This suggests that for compute workloads that leverage OpenCL, the mobile card is nearly comparable to the desktop card.

Specification Differences

The table below lists only the fields where the two GPUs differ, according to the recorded specifications. Fields that are identical (such as 8 GB GDDR6 memory, 256-bit bus, 12 Ultimate DirectX, OpenGL 4.6, Vulkan 1.4, and 8 GB memory size) are not repeated here.

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER | NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | Turing | Ampere |

| Process Node | 12 nm | 8 nm |

| Foundry | TSMC | Samsung |

| Transistors | 13,600 million | 17,400 million |

| Die Size | 545 mm² | 392 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 25.0M / mm² | 44.4M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1650 MHz | 1140 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1815 MHz | 1680 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1937 MHz (15.5 Gbps effective) | 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective) |

| Bandwidth | 495.9 GB/s | 384.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 3072 | 5120 |

| TMUs | 192 | 160 |

| ROPs | 64 | 80 |

| RT Cores | 48 | 40 |

| Tensor Cores | 384 | 160 |

| Pixel Rate | 116.2 GPixel/s | 134.4 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 348.5 GTexel/s | 268.8 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 11.15 TFLOPS | 17.20 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 22.30 TFLOPS (2:1) | 17.20 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 250 W | 115 W |

| Slot Width | Dual-slot | None (portable) |

| Power Connectors | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin | None |

| Suggested PSU | 600 W | Not specified |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, 1x USB Type-C | Portable Device Dependent |

| Release Date | 2019-07-22 | 2021-04-11 |

| Launch MSRP | 699 USD | Not specified |

| Average Benchmark Score | 24,170 | 21,379 |

| GPU Percentile | 69 | 66 |

The data shows that the RTX 2080 SUPER wins on most measurable performance metrics, while the A4000 Mobile wins on transistor density, FP32 throughput, pixel rate, and power efficiency. The RTX 2080 SUPER has a higher boost clock, more texture units, more tensor cores, and a higher memory bandwidth. The A4000 Mobile has twice the shading units, a newer PCIe interface, and a higher ROP count. The actual benchmark results, however, clearly favor the Turing card in every recorded test.