NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 vs NVIDIA RTX A6000 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded head-to-head data splits sharply between compute-oriented workloads and legacy DirectX paths. The NVIDIA RTX A6000 wins 2 of 9 direct comparisons, while the GeForce RTX 4070 takes 7. The largest A6000 victory comes in Geekbench OpenCL, where it scores 193,937 against 154,858, a 25.2% advantage. This is a substantial margin, reflecting the workstation card’s raw compute throughput. In Passmark DirectX 10, the A6000 also leads, posting 155 versus 139, an 11.5% edge, though the absolute scores are low and less representative of modern rendering workloads.

The RTX 4070’s wins are more numerous and often larger in percentage terms. Its biggest margin is in Passmark DirectX 9, where it scores 320 against the A6000’s 245, a 23.4% advantage. Passmark DirectX 11 shows a 21.7% lead for the 4070 (244 versus 191), and Passmark G2D gives a 21.6% gap (1164 versus 913). The 4070 also wins in Passmark G3D (26,927 versus 22,577, a 16.2% delta), Passmark DirectX 12 (103 versus 87, a 15.5% delta), Geekbench Vulkan (174,152 versus 164,462, a 5.6% delta), and Passmark GPU Compute (14,720 versus 14,110, a 4.1% delta). The compute result is notable: despite the A6000’s OpenCL lead, the 4070 edges ahead in the Passmark compute test, suggesting driver-optimized or architecture-specific differences across similar workloads. Overall, the 4070’s average benchmark score is 37,648, while the A6000 averages 44,075, a difference driven largely by the A6000’s strong OpenCL showing and the heavier weight of compute tests in the aggregate. The A6000 sits at the 84th percentile of all GPUs, the 4070 at the 81st, a narrow gap in overall standing. The A6000’s nearest rival, the RTX 4090 Mobile, scores 43,667 (0.9% behind), while the RTX 4070 Ti scores 44,795 (1.6% ahead of the A6000), placing the A6000 between those two mobile and desktop parts. The 4070’s nearest rivals are much lower: the Tesla P4 scores 37,628 (0.1% behind), the RX Vega 56 scores 37,507 (0.4% behind), and the RTX 4080 Mobile scores 38,135 (1.3% ahead).

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different design generations and foundries. The A6000 uses the GA102 chip on the Ampere architecture, built on Samsung’s 8 nm process. The 4070 uses the AD104 chip on the Ada Lovelace architecture, fabricated by TSMC on a 5 nm node. This process difference is stark: the A6000 packs 28,300 million transistors on a 628 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 45.1 million per mm². The 4070 fits 35,800 million transistors onto a 294 mm² die, achieving 121.8 million per mm², nearly triple the density. The 4070’s smaller die with more transistors reflects the newer process, and the data shows the architectural efficiency gains of Ada Lovelace over Ampere.

Core counts diverge significantly. The A6000 has 10,752 shading units, 336 texture mapping units, and 112 ROPs, with 84 RT cores and 336 tensor cores. The 4070 has 5,888 shading units, 184 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, with 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores. The A6000’s raw shading unit count is roughly 82% higher, and its TMU and ROP counts are substantially higher as well. However, clock speeds tell the opposite story. The A6000 runs at a 1410 MHz base and 1800 MHz boost, while the 4070 runs at 1920 MHz base and 2475 MHz boost. The 4070’s boost clock is 37.5% higher than the A6000’s, which partially compensates for its lower core counts in frequency-sensitive workloads. The FP32 throughput reflects this balance: the A6000 delivers 38.71 TFLOPS, while the 4070 delivers 29.15 TFLOPS, a 32.8% advantage for the A6000 despite the 4070’s higher clocks. Both cards offer FP16 at a 1:1 ratio with FP32, so the same proportional difference holds for half-precision compute.

Memory architecture also differs fundamentally. The A6000 uses 48 GB of GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus, yielding 768.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The 4070 uses 12 GB of GDDR6X on a 192-bit bus, yielding 504.2 GB/s. The A6000’s memory capacity is four times larger, and its bandwidth is 52.3% higher. The 4070’s memory clock runs at 1313 MHz with 21 Gbps effective, while the A6000’s runs at 2000 MHz with 16 Gbps effective; the A6000’s wider bus more than compensates for the lower effective data rate. Pixel rate and texture rate follow the core and memory differences: the A6000 reaches 201.6 GPixel/s and 604.8 GTexel/s, while the 4070 reaches 158.4 GPixel/s and 455.4 GTexel/s. The A6000 leads by 27.3% in pixel rate and 32.8% in texture rate. Power draw also differs: the A6000 has a 300 W TDP and requires a 700 W suggested PSU with an 8-pin EPS connector, while the 4070 has a 200 W TDP, a 550 W suggested PSU, and a single 16-pin connector. Both are dual-slot cards, but the A6000 is longer at 267 mm versus 240 mm, and slightly taller at 112 mm versus 110 mm; the 4070 adds a 40 mm width dimension while the A6000 does not list one.

Where Each One Wins

The data points to a clear split: the A6000 dominates in raw compute and memory-heavy workloads, while the 4070 wins in legacy graphics API paths and general 2D/3D rendering tasks. For compute, the A6000’s 25.2% OpenCL lead over the 4070 is the strongest single result, and its higher FP32 throughput (38.71 TFLOPS versus 29.15 TFLOPS) supports that edge. The 48 GB memory capacity and 768.0 GB/s bandwidth give the A6000 a decisive advantage for large datasets, such as scientific simulation, AI inference with very large models, or rendering scenes exceeding 12 GB. The A6000’s 84 RT cores and 336 tensor cores also outnumber the 4070’s 46 and 184, respectively, suggesting more headroom for ray tracing and tensor-accelerated workloads in workstation software.

The 4070 wins across the Passmark DirectX suite, including DirectX 9 (23.4% ahead), DirectX 11 (21.7% ahead), and DirectX 12 (15.5% ahead), plus the G2D test (21.6% ahead) and G3D test (16.2% ahead). These results indicate better driver optimization or architectural efficiency for legacy and general 3D rendering in consumer-oriented benchmarks. The 4070’s Geekbench Vulkan win (5.6% ahead) further suggests that its higher clock speeds and Ada Lovelace features benefit modern cross-platform graphics APIs. The 4070 also takes the Passmark GPU Compute test by 4.1%, which is interesting given the A6000’s OpenCL advantage; the Passmark compute test may rely on different execution paths or clock-sensitive code. For gaming or consumer 3D workloads, the 4070 is the stronger performer based on the recorded benchmarks. For professional compute, large memory allocations, or sustained FP32 throughput, the A6000 holds the edge. Users needing more than 12 GB of VRAM have only one option here, as the 4070’s 12 GB capacity will cap dataset sizes well below the A6000’s 48 GB.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every major specification group. The A6000 uses the GA102 chip on Ampere architecture, while the 4070 uses AD104 on Ada Lovelace. Process nodes differ: 8 nm Samsung for the A6000, 5 nm TSMC for the 4070. Transistor counts are 28,300 million versus 35,800 million, with die sizes of 628 mm² versus 294 mm². The A6000’s transistor density is 45.1M / mm², the 4070’s is 121.8M / mm². Base clocks are 1410 MHz versus 1920 MHz, boost clocks 1800 MHz versus 2475 MHz, and memory clocks 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) versus 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). Memory capacity is 48 GB GDDR6 versus 12 GB GDDR6X, with bus widths of 384 bit versus 192 bit and bandwidths of 768.0 GB/s versus 504.2 GB/s. Shading units are 10,752 versus 5,888, TMUs 336 versus 184, ROPs 112 versus 64, RT cores 84 versus 46, and tensor cores 336 versus 184. Pixel rates are 201.6 GPixel/s versus 158.4 GPixel/s, texture rates 604.8 GTexel/s versus 455.4 GTexel/s, and FP32/Fp16 throughput 38.71 TFLOPS versus 29.15 TFLOPS. TDP is 300 W versus 200 W, power connectors are 8-pin EPS versus 1x 16-pin, and suggested PSUs are 700 W versus 550 W. Both use PCIe 4.0 x16, but display outputs differ: the A6000 offers 4x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the 4070 offers 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The A6000 measures 267 mm by 112 mm, the 4070 measures 240 mm by 110 mm by 40 mm. Release dates are October 2020 for the A6000 and April 2023 for the 4070. The A6000’s launch MSRP is 4,649 USD, while the 4070’s is 599 USD. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The A6000 is designated as end-of-life with a predecessor of Quadro Turing and a successor of Workstation Ada; the 4070 is also end-of-life, with a predecessor of GeForce 30 and a successor of GeForce 50.

FAQ

Q: Which card has higher FP32 compute throughput?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A6000 delivers 38.71 TFLOPS FP32, while the GeForce RTX 4070 delivers 29.15 TFLOPS, a 32.8% advantage for the A6000.

Q: How much memory bandwidth does each card provide?

A: The A6000 offers 768.0 GB/s over a 384-bit bus, while the 4070 offers 504.2 GB/s over a 192-bit bus, making the A6000 52.3% higher in bandwidth.

Q: Which card wins in Geekbench Vulkan?

A: The GeForce RTX 4070 scores 174,152 versus the A6000’s 164,462, a 5.6% lead for the 4070.

Q: What is the largest percentage win for the A6000 in the head-to-head data?

A: The A6000’s biggest win is in Geekbench OpenCL, where it scores 193,937 versus 154,858, a 25.2% advantage.

Q: Do both cards support the same graphics APIs?

A: Yes, both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, according to the database.

Q: Which card has a higher pixel rate?

A: The A6000 reaches 201.6 GPixel/s, while the 4070 reaches 158.4 GPixel/s, giving the A6000 a 27.3% higher pixel rate.