NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER vs NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins more head-to-head benchmarks?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER dominates, winning 8 of the 9 head-to-head benchmark comparisons. The NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile wins only the Geekbench OpenCL test.

Q: How large is the RTX 2080 SUPER's average benchmark advantage?

A: Across all nine head-to-head tests, the RTX 2080 SUPER's lead ranges from 4% in Passmark DirectX 12 to 31.6% in Passmark G2D. The RTX A5000 Mobile's sole win is an 11.7% margin in Geekbench OpenCL.

Q: What is the RTX A5000 Mobile's closest rival in the overall database?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 590 sits just 0.1% above the RTX A5000 Mobile's average benchmark score of 24,763. The Intel Arc A350M is 0.5% ahead, and the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT is 1.3% ahead.

Q: How does the RTX 2080 SUPER compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 2080 SUPER's average score of 24,170 places it 0.3% below the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti and 0.4% below the GTX 1630. It runs 0.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6800S and 1.1% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units and ray tracing cores?

A: The RTX A5000 Mobile has 6,144 shading units versus 3,072 on the RTX 2080 SUPER. Both cards feature 48 ray tracing cores, but the RTX A5000 Mobile has 192 tensor cores while the RTX 2080 SUPER has 384.

Q: What are the memory capacity differences?

A: The RTX A5000 Mobile packs 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 2080 SUPER has 8 GB of GDDR6 on the same 256-bit bus but delivers higher bandwidth at 495.9 GB/s.

The Verdict

The data delivers a clear verdict: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER is the superior performer in nearly every measured workload. Its 8-1 head-to-head record is decisive, with wins across DirectX 9, 10, 11, and 12, Vulkan, G2D, G3D, and compute tests. The RTX A5000 Mobile's single Geekbench OpenCL victory, while meaningful, does not offset the breadth of the 2080 SUPER's dominance.

For gaming and general 3D rendering, the RTX 2080 SUPER is the unambiguous choice. Its Passmark G3D score of 19,490 is 19% ahead of the RTX A5000 Mobile's 15,779. The 2080 SUPER also excels in legacy DirectX workloads, leading by 17.9% in DirectX 10, 19.4% in DirectX 11, and 25.6% in DirectX 9. Even in DirectX 12, where the A5000's newer architecture might be expected to shine, the 2080 SUPER holds a 4% edge.

The RTX A5000 Mobile should be selected primarily by users who need massive memory capacity and higher raw compute throughput in specific OpenCL applications. Its 16 GB frame buffer doubles the 2080 SUPER's 8 GB, and its 19.35 TFLOPS FP32 performance is substantially higher than the 2080 SUPER's 11.15 TFLOPS. The A5000 Mobile also consumes 100 W less power (150 W vs 250 W) and uses a more advanced 8 nm process from Samsung versus TSMC's 12 nm node.

However, benchmark results indicate that architectural efficiency does not automatically translate to real-world wins. The RTX 2080 SUPER's higher boost clock of 1815 MHz versus 1575 MHz, combined with superior memory bandwidth, appears to matter more in practice. The 2080 SUPER also offers a launch MSRP of 699 USD. For most users, the RTX 2080 SUPER is the better buy based on measured performance alone.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The RTX 2080 SUPER's largest victory comes in Passmark G2D, where its score of 920 crushes the RTX A5000 Mobile's 629 — a 31.6% margin. This suggests the 2080 SUPER handles 2D desktop workloads and compositing far more efficiently.

In compute workloads, the 2080 SUPER continues its dominance. Passmark GPU Compute shows 8,290 versus 6,945, a 16.2% lead. The Geekbench Vulkan test reveals an even larger gap: 111,284 for the 2080 SUPER versus 88,144 for the A5000 Mobile, a 20.8% disadvantage for the Ampere card. This is particularly notable because Vulkan is a modern API where the newer architecture might be expected to excel.

Legacy DirectX performance strongly favors the 2080 SUPER. Passmark DirectX 9 scores 227 versus 169 (25.6% lead), DirectX 10 scores 140 versus 115 (17.9% lead), and DirectX 11 scores 165 versus 133 (19.4% lead). The smallest gap is in DirectX 12, where the 2080 SUPER's 75 barely edges out the A5000 Mobile's 72.

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, available only for the 2080 SUPER, records a score of 1,882, though no direct comparison exists for the A5000 Mobile.

The RTX A5000 Mobile's single win in Geekbench OpenCL (110,877 versus 99,226) shows an 11.7% advantage. This indicates that OpenCL compute workloads — common in scientific and professional applications — can benefit from the A5000 Mobile's higher FP32 throughput and additional shading units.

Overall, the RTX 2080 SUPER's average benchmark score of 24,170 versus the A5000 Mobile's 24,763 appears close, but this aggregate masks the 2080's superiority in the majority of individual tests.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ significantly in core configuration. The RTX A5000 Mobile features 6,144 shading units, double the RTX 2080 SUPER's 3,072. Texture mapping units are identical at 192, but the A5000 Mobile has 96 ROPs versus 64 on the 2080 SUPER.

Ray tracing cores are equal at 48, but tensor core counts diverge: the 2080 SUPER has 384 tensor cores while the A5000 Mobile has 192. This means the 2080 SUPER has twice the tensor core density relative to its shading units.

Clock speeds favor the 2080 SUPER. Its base clock runs at 1650 MHz and boosts to 1815 MHz, while the A5000 Mobile operates at 900 MHz base and 1575 MHz boost. Memory clocks also differ, with the 2080 SUPER at 1937 MHz (15.5 Gbps effective) versus 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) on the A5000 Mobile.

Pixel and texture rates tell a mixed story. The A5000 Mobile achieves 151.2 GPixel/s versus 116.2 GPixel/s on the 2080 SUPER, but the 2080 SUPER's texture rate of 348.5 GTexel/s surpasses the A5000 Mobile's 302.4 GTexel/s.

Power requirements differ substantially. The A5000 Mobile draws 150 W with no power connectors, while the 2080 SUPER consumes 250 W and requires 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin connectors with a 600 W suggested PSU.

Form factors also diverge. The 2080 SUPER is a dual-slot card measuring 267 mm long, 116 mm high, and 35 mm wide. The A5000 Mobile's dimensions are not specified, and its display outputs are described as "Portable Device Dependent," indicating a mobile form factor.

Architecture Differences

The RTX A5000 Mobile uses the GA104 chip built on NVIDIA's Ampere architecture, fabricated on Samsung's 8 nm process. The RTX 2080 SUPER employs the TU104 chip on the older Turing architecture, manufactured on TSMC's 12 nm node.

Transistor counts and die sizes reflect the process generation gap. The Ampere chip packs 17,400 million transistors into 392 mm², achieving a density of 44.4 million transistors per square millimeter. The Turing chip contains 13,600 million transistors spread across 545 mm², with a density of 25.0 million per square millimeter.

Memory architecture differs in capacity but not bus width. Both use GDDR6 on a 256-bit interface. The A5000 Mobile offers 16 GB, while the 2080 SUPER provides 8 GB. Bandwidth favors the 2080 SUPER at 495.9 GB/s versus 448.0 GB/s, despite its smaller capacity.

FP32 compute shows the A5000 Mobile's advantage: 19.35 TFLOPS versus 11.15 TFLOPS on the 2080 SUPER. However, FP16 performance reverses this, with the 2080 SUPER reaching 22.30 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio) versus the A5000 Mobile's 19.35 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio).

The bus interface differs by one generation: the A5000 Mobile uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while the 2080 SUPER uses PCIe 3.0 x16. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Display outputs favor the 2080 SUPER, which includes 1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, and 1x USB Type-C. The A5000 Mobile's outputs are device-dependent, reflecting its mobile positioning.

Release timing differs by nearly two years, with the 2080 SUPER launching in July 2019 and the A5000 Mobile in April 2021. Both are now end-of-life products.

Where Each One Wins

Choose the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER for:

• DirectX gaming: It wins every DirectX benchmark — 9 through 12 — with margins from 4% to 25.6%. The 25.6% lead in DirectX 9 is particularly strong for legacy titles.
• Vulkan applications: The 20.8% advantage in Geekbench Vulkan makes it the better choice for modern cross-platform engines.
• General 3D performance: Its Passmark G3D score of 19,490 is 19% higher, indicating stronger overall rasterization.
• Compute workloads: Despite the A5000's higher FP32 rating, the 2080 SUPER wins Passmark GPU Compute by 16.2%.
• Desktop/2D tasks: The 31.6% G2D margin shows clear superiority in everyday desktop rendering.
• Ray tracing with tensor acceleration: With 384 tensor cores versus 192, the 2080 SUPER offers more AI-assisted features.

Choose the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile for:

• OpenCL compute: Its 11.7% Geekbench OpenCL win suggests better performance in OpenCL-based scientific and professional applications.
• Large memory workloads: The 16 GB frame buffer is essential for datasets exceeding 8 GB, such as large 3D scenes or machine learning models.
• Power-constrained environments: At 150 W versus 250 W, it draws 100 W less, making it suitable for mobile workstations.
• Higher pixel throughput: Its 151.2 GPixel/s rate exceeds the 2080 SUPER's 116.2 GPixel/s, potentially benefiting fill-rate-bound tasks.
• Newer PCIe interface: PCIe 4.0 x16 provides double the bandwidth of PCIe 3.0 x16 for data transfer.
• Denser transistor design: The 8 nm process with 44.4M transistors per mm² indicates more advanced manufacturing efficiency.