NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Mobile vs NVIDIA RTX A4000 Comparison

The NVIDIA RTX A4000 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Mobile are both Ampere-generation parts, sharing the same GA104 chip, but they are built for very different environments. The A4000 is a single-slot workstation card aimed at professional tasks, while the 3070 Ti Mobile is a laptop GPU designed for gaming and portable performance. The benchmark data reveals a clear pattern of wins for the desktop card, but the mobile part holds its own in specific compute workloads. This analysis breaks down the recorded measurements, architectural details, and the practical implications of each GPU's design.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head results show the RTX A4000 winning 8 out of 10 recorded tests. The largest margin comes in the Passmark G2D test, where the A4000 scores 1024 against the mobile card's 783, a 30.8% advantage. This is a 2D graphics test, indicating the workstation card has a significant edge in desktop rendering and basic display operations. Similarly, in Passmark GPU Compute, the A4000 leads with 9760 points versus 7504, a 30.1% gap. This suggests the A4000 handles general-purpose compute tasks substantially faster, which aligns with its workstation positioning.

Another major victory for the A4000 is in Geekbench Vulkan, where it scores 127645 compared to the 3070 Ti Mobile's 100027, a 27.6% difference. Vulkan is a low-level graphics API, and the A4000's advantage here points to stronger raw graphics throughput in modern, CPU-efficient rendering paths. The Passmark DirectX 9 test also favors the A4000 heavily: 240 versus 196, a 22.4% lead. While DirectX 9 is an older API, this result still indicates the desktop card has more headroom in legacy compatibility scenarios.

The gaps narrow in more modern gaming-oriented tests. In Passmark G3D, which measures overall 3D rendering performance, the A4000 scores 19459 against 17727, a 9.8% win. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test is closer still: the A4000 scores 2604, the mobile card 2572, a mere 1.2% difference. This suggests that in current DirectX 12 gaming workloads, the two GPUs perform nearly identically. The Passmark DirectX 11 test shows a 3.3% lead for the A4000 (158 versus 153), and DirectX 10 shows a 1.6% lead (126 versus 124).

The RTX 3070 Ti Mobile wins two tests. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 106022 against the A4000's 105739, a 0.3% margin. This is a small but real victory in OpenCL compute, which is often used in scientific and media applications. The other win is in Passmark DirectX 12, where the mobile card scores 73 versus the A4000's 72, a 1.4% difference. This is a negligible margin, but it shows the mobile GPU can match the desktop card in at least one modern API test.

Overall, the average benchmark score reinforces the pattern. The A4000 has an average score of 26683, while the 3070 Ti Mobile sits at 23518. That is a 13.5% difference in favor of the A4000. The percentile rankings also differ: the A4000 sits in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs, while the mobile card is in the 69th. These figures place both cards in the upper mid-range tier, but the A4000 consistently edges ahead in most recorded workloads.

Architecture Differences

Both GPUs are built on the same GA104 chip, use the Ampere architecture, and are manufactured on Samsung's 8 nm process. The transistor count is identical at 17,400 million, and the die size is the same at 392 mm². The transistor density is also identical at 44.4 million transistors per square millimeter. This means the fundamental silicon is the same, but the configurations differ.

The RTX A4000 has 6144 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 96 raster output pipelines. The RTX 3070 Ti Mobile has 5888 shading units and 184 TMUs, but also 96 ROPs. The A4000 thus has 256 more shading units and 8 more TMUs, which explains its higher theoretical pixel and texture rates. The A4000's pixel rate is 149.8 GPixel/s and its texture rate is 299.5 GTexel/s, while the mobile card's rates are 135.4 GPixel/s and 259.4 GTexel/s. These differences are directly tied to the higher core counts.

Ray tracing and tensor cores also differ. The A4000 has 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores, while the mobile card has 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores. This gives the A4000 a slight edge in ray-traced workloads and AI acceleration, though the difference is small in percentage terms. The FP32 floating-point performance tells a similar story: the A4000 delivers 19.17 TFLOPS, while the mobile card delivers 16.60 TFLOPS. Both have 1:1 FP16 to FP32 ratios, so half-precision performance matches the FP32 figures.

The clock speeds are notably different. The A4000 has a base clock of 735 MHz and a boost clock of 1560 MHz. The 3070 Ti Mobile has a higher base clock at 915 MHz but a lower boost clock at 1410 MHz. This is typical for mobile parts, which are often constrained by thermal and power limits. The memory clocks are identical at 1750 MHz, translating to 14 Gbps effective. Both use GDDR6 memory with a 256-bit bus, giving the same 448.0 GB/s bandwidth.

The power envelopes diverge significantly. The A4000 has a TDP of 140 W and requires a single 6-pin power connector, with a suggested power supply of 300 W. The 3070 Ti Mobile has a TDP of 115 W and uses no external power connectors, as it draws power from the laptop's motherboard. This 25 W difference is modest, but it reflects the mobile card's need to operate within a laptop thermal design.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX A4000 is the clear winner in desktop-oriented and compute-heavy tasks. Its 30.8% lead in Passmark G2D suggests it excels in 2D and general desktop environments, which is relevant for professional workstations that handle large displays, CAD interfaces, and multi-monitor setups. The 30.1% lead in Passmark GPU Compute indicates strong performance in non-graphics compute, such as physics simulations, data processing, and certain rendering tasks. The 27.6% advantage in Geekbench Vulkan also points to efficient modern graphics API handling, which benefits both professional visualization and high-end gaming.

The A4000's 22.4% win in Passmark DirectX 9 and its 9.8% win in Passmark G3D show that it maintains an edge across a broad range of 3D workloads, including older titles and general 3D rendering. Its higher shading unit count and boost clock contribute to these results. For users who need a single-slot card with four DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, the A4000 is also the only option with fixed display outputs, as the mobile card's outputs are listed as "Portable Device Dependent."

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Mobile wins in Geekbench OpenCL by a slim 0.3% margin. This indicates that in OpenCL compute workloads, such as certain video encoding or scientific applications, the mobile card can match or slightly exceed the A4000. The 1.4% win in Passmark DirectX 12 is also notable because DirectX 12 is the foundation of most modern games. While the margin is tiny, it shows that the mobile GPU is not outclassed in current gaming APIs. The mobile card also has a higher base clock (915 MHz versus 735 MHz), which may help in bursty workloads that do not sustain boost clocks.

For gaming specifically, the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test shows only a 1.2% difference, meaning the two GPUs are effectively tied in this scenario. The 3070 Ti Mobile's 8 GB of memory may be sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming, while the A4000's 16 GB is overkill for most games but essential for large datasets in professional applications. The mobile card's lower TDP of 115 W also makes it suitable for laptops, where power efficiency is critical.

Specification Differences

The most obvious difference is memory capacity. The A4000 has 16 GB of GDDR6, while the 3070 Ti Mobile has 8 GB. Both use the same 256-bit bus and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth, but the double capacity gives the A4000 a substantial advantage in memory-intensive workloads like large 3D scenes, machine learning inference, or multi-application workflows. The shading units differ (6144 versus 5888), as do TMUs (192 versus 184) and RT cores (48 versus 46). Tensor cores also differ (192 versus 184).

The clock speeds are reversed in a way: the mobile card has a higher base clock (915 MHz versus 735 MHz) but a lower boost clock (1410 MHz versus 1560 MHz). The A4000's higher boost clock contributes to its higher pixel rate (149.8 GPixel/s versus 135.4 GPixel/s) and texture rate (299.5 GTexel/s versus 259.4 GTexel/s). The FP32 and FP16 performance figures are higher on the A4000, as expected from the extra cores.

The TDP differs by 25 W (140 W versus 115 W), which reflects the desktop card's ability to draw more power and sustain higher clocks. The A4000 has a single-slot form factor, a 6-pin power connector, and a suggested PSU of 300 W. The mobile card has no slot width specification, no power connector, and no suggested PSU. The A4000 is 241 mm long and 112 mm high, while the mobile card has no recorded dimensions. The display outputs also differ: the A4000 has 4x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the mobile card's outputs are dependent on the laptop design.

The release dates differ by about nine months: the A4000 launched on April 11, 2021, while the 3070 Ti Mobile launched on January 3, 2022. Both are end-of-life products. The A4000's predecessor is Quadro Turing, and its successor is Workstation Ada. The mobile card's predecessor is GeForce 20 Mobile, with no recorded successor.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has more memory, and why does it matter?

A: The RTX A4000 has 16 GB of GDDR6, while the RTX 3070 Ti Mobile has 8 GB. Both share the same 256-bit bus and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. The extra memory on the A4000 allows it to handle larger datasets, more complex scenes, and multiple simultaneous tasks without hitting memory limits.

Q: How do they compare in raw compute performance?

A: The A4000 has a 30.1% lead in Passmark GPU Compute (9760 versus 7504). Its FP32 performance is 19.17 TFLOPS compared to 16.60 TFLOPS. The mobile card wins Geekbench OpenCL by a tiny 0.3% margin (106022 versus 105739), showing that OpenCL-specific workloads can favor the laptop part.

Q: Are they tied in gaming performance?

A: Not exactly. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the A4000 wins by only 1.2% (2604 versus 2572). The mobile card wins Passmark DirectX 12 by 1.4% (73 versus 72). The A4000 has larger leads in Passmark DirectX 9 (22.4%) and Passmark G3D (9.8%), so the A4000 is generally faster in gaming, but the margin is small in modern APIs.

Q: What is the clock speed difference?

A: The A4000 has a base clock of 735 MHz and a boost clock of 1560 MHz. The 3070 Ti Mobile has a higher base clock of 915 MHz but a lower boost clock of 1410 MHz. The A4000's higher boost clock likely contributes to its higher pixel and texture rates.

Q: Do they use the same chip and process?

A: Yes, both use the GA104 chip, the Ampere architecture, and Samsung's 8 nm process. They have identical transistor counts (17,400 million), die size (392 mm²), and transistor density (44.4M per mm²). The differences come from core counts and clock settings.

Q: Which one has more RT and tensor cores?

A: The A4000 has 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores, while the 3070 Ti Mobile has 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores. This gives the A4000 a slight advantage in ray tracing and AI-accelerated tasks, though the percentage difference is small.

The Verdict

The data shows a clear split in intended use cases. The NVIDIA RTX A4000 is the stronger performer in the majority of recorded benchmarks, winning 8 of 10 head-to-head tests. Its biggest advantages are in 2D performance (30.8% ahead), GPU compute (30.1% ahead), and Vulkan (27.6% ahead). It also has double the memory (16 GB versus 8 GB) and a higher boost clock (1560 MHz versus 1410 MHz). This makes it the appropriate choice for professional workstations, where large memory footprints, multi-display setups, and sustained compute loads are common. The A4000's single-slot design and four DisplayPort outputs also make it suitable for dense server or workstation configurations.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Mobile is the better pick for portable gaming systems. It wins Geekbench OpenCL by a slim margin and matches the A4000 in Passmark DirectX 12. Its lower TDP of 115 W means it fits into laptops without external power connectors. The 8 GB memory is sufficient for most gaming scenarios, and its higher base clock (915 MHz) may help in short, bursty workloads. Users who prioritize mobility over peak performance will find the 3070 Ti Mobile adequate, especially since it trails the A4000 by only 1.2% in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, which is a good proxy for modern gaming.

The average benchmark scores confirm the A4000's overall lead: 26683 versus 23518, a 13.5% difference. The percentile rankings (72nd versus 69th) also favor the A4000, but both cards are within a similar performance tier. For a desktop workstation, the A4000 is the data-backed choice. For a gaming laptop, the 3070 Ti Mobile offers competitive performance in a power-constrained form factor. The decision comes down to whether the user needs the A4000's extra memory, compute throughput, and display flexibility, or the mobile card's portability and efficiency.