NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 vs NVIDIA RTX A4500 Comparison

The NVIDIA RTX A4500 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 occupy very different positions in the database, despite both carrying NVIDIA branding. The RTX A4500 is a workstation-oriented Ampere part, built on the GA102 chip using Samsung’s 8 nm process, while the RTX 4080 is a GeForce 40-series consumer card based on the AD103 chip with TSMC’s 5 nm node. Their benchmark profiles reflect this split: the RTX 4080 wins every head-to-head test recorded, but the RTX A4500 holds a higher percentile ranking among all GPUs, which suggests that the two serve different workloads and different user expectations.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The RTX A4500 records an average benchmark score of 91,671, while the RTX 4080 averages 54,247. The RTX A4500’s average is about 69% higher than the RTX 4080’s average in the database, even though the RTX 4080 wins every direct head-to-head benchmark.

Q: Why does the RTX A4500 rank higher in percentile if it loses all head-to-head tests?

A: The RTX A4500 sits at the 93rd percentile among all GPUs, while the RTX 4080 sits at the 86th percentile. The database’s percentile is based on the average benchmark score across all recorded tests, not just the three head-to-head comparisons. The RTX A4500’s higher average score across a broader set of tests places it above the RTX 4080 in that aggregate ranking.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference between the two cards?

A: The RTX A4500 has 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 320-bit bus, delivering 640.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 4080 has 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 716.8 GB/s. The RTX 4080 has the higher bandwidth, but the RTX A4500 has the larger memory capacity.

Q: Which card has the higher boost clock?

A: The RTX 4080 boosts to 2505 MHz, while the RTX A4500 boosts to 1650 MHz. The RTX 4080’s base clock of 2205 MHz is also higher than the RTX A4500’s base clock of 1050 MHz.

Q: Are both cards still in production?

A: No. The database lists both the RTX A4500 and the RTX 4080 as end-of-life products.

Q: What is the power connector requirement for each card?

A: The RTX A4500 uses a single 8-pin connector with a suggested power supply of 550 W. The RTX 4080 uses a single 16-pin connector with a suggested power supply of 700 W. The RTX A4500 carries a 200 W total board power, while the RTX 4080 carries 320 W.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations. The RTX A4500 is built on Ampere, with the GA102 chip manufactured by Samsung on an 8 nm process. The die measures 628 mm² and contains 28,300 million transistors, giving a transistor density of 45.1 million per mm². The RTX 4080 is built on Ada Lovelace, using the AD103 chip from TSMC on a 5 nm process. That die is smaller at 379 mm² but packs 45,900 million transistors, for a density of 121.1 million per mm².

The compute resources differ substantially. The RTX A4500 has 7,168 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 96 render output units. It also carries 56 ray tracing cores and 224 tensor cores. The RTX 4080 raises those counts to 9,728 shading units, 304 texture mapping units, and 112 render output units, with 76 ray tracing cores and 304 tensor cores. Across every unit type, the RTX 4080 has more hardware.

Clock speeds follow the architectural split. The RTX A4500 runs at a 1050 MHz base and 1650 MHz boost, while the RTX 4080 runs at a 2205 MHz base and 2505 MHz boost. The higher clocks on the RTX 4080 contribute directly to its higher pixel and texture throughput. The RTX A4500 produces 158.4 GPixel/s and 369.6 GTexel/s, while the RTX 4080 produces 280.6 GPixel/s and 761.5 GTexel/s.

Both cards support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Their bus interfaces are both PCIe 4.0 x16. The RTX A4500 uses GDDR6 memory at 16 Gbps effective, while the RTX 4080 uses GDDR6X at 22.4 Gbps effective. The memory capacities differ as well: 20 GB on the RTX A4500 versus 16 GB on the RTX 4080. The bus widths are 320-bit and 256-bit, respectively, but the RTX 4080’s faster memory type gives it the higher bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s compared to 640.0 GB/s.

The physical design also diverges. The RTX A4500 is a dual-slot card measuring 267 mm in length and 112 mm in height, with four DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. The RTX 4080 is a triple-slot card measuring 310 mm in length, 140 mm in height, and 61 mm in width, with one HDMI 2.1 port and three DisplayPort 1.4a outputs.

Where Each One Wins

The recorded head-to-head benchmarks all favor the RTX 4080, so the clearest wins belong to that card. In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, the RTX 4080 scores 6,567 against the RTX A4500’s 3,196, a lead of 51.3%. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 4080 scores 214,739 against 141,837, a 33.9% advantage. In Geekbench Vulkan, the RTX 4080 scores 263,779 against 129,980, a 50.7% lead. The RTX 4080 wins all three recorded comparisons.

However, the RTX A4500 wins in the aggregate benchmark average. Its average score of 91,671 places it at the 93rd percentile, while the RTX 4080’s average of 54,247 places it at the 86th percentile. The RTX A4500’s nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA RTX A4500 Mobile (average 91,134, within 0.6%), the AMD Radeon Instinct MI60 (average 92,466, 0.9% higher), the NVIDIA Quadro GP100 (average 87,445, 4.8% lower), and the AMD Radeon PRO W7600 (average 87,108, 5.2% lower). The RTX 4080’s nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER (average 54,209, within 0.1%), the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (average 54,828, 1.1% higher), the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (average 55,698, 2.6% higher), and the AMD Radeon 8060S (average 55,757, 2.7% higher).

For use cases, the RTX A4500 appears better suited to workloads that benefit from larger memory capacity and a higher aggregate score across many test types. The 20 GB frame buffer, combined with the 93rd percentile ranking, suggests strong performance in professional or compute-oriented tasks where the average of many tests matters. The RTX 4080, by contrast, shows decisive superiority in each individual recorded benchmark, particularly in Vulkan where its score is more than double the RTX A4500’s. That points to scenarios where raw single-test performance, especially in modern graphics APIs, is the priority.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every measurable specification. The process node moves from Samsung’s 8 nm on the RTX A4500 to TSMC’s 5 nm on the RTX 4080. Transistor count rises from 28,300 million to 45,900 million, while die size shrinks from 628 mm² to 379 mm², resulting in a density jump from 45.1M to 121.1M transistors per mm².

Clock speeds: the RTX A4500 has a 1050 MHz base and 1650 MHz boost; the RTX 4080 has a 2205 MHz base and 2505 MHz boost. Memory: the RTX A4500 uses 20 GB of GDDR6 at 16 Gbps effective on a 320-bit bus for 640.0 GB/s; the RTX 4080 uses 16 GB of GDDR6X at 22.4 Gbps effective on a 256-bit bus for 716.8 GB/s.

Compute units: the RTX A4500 has 7,168 shading units, 224 TMUs, 96 ROPs, 56 RT cores, and 224 tensor cores. The RTX 4080 has 9,728 shading units, 304 TMUs, 112 ROPs, 76 RT cores, and 304 tensor cores. Throughput: the RTX A4500 delivers 158.4 GPixel/s and 369.6 GTexel/s, while the RTX 4080 delivers 280.6 GPixel/s and 761.5 GTexel/s. Floating point: the RTX A4500 reaches 23.65 TFLOPS for FP32 and FP16 (1:1), while the RTX 4080 reaches 48.74 TFLOPS for both.

Power and physical specs: the RTX A4500 has a 200 W TDP, is dual-slot, uses one 8-pin connector, and requires a 550 W power supply. The RTX 4080 has a 320 W TDP, is triple-slot, uses one 16-pin connector, and requires a 700 W power supply. Dimensions: the RTX A4500 is 267 mm by 112 mm; the RTX 4080 is 310 mm by 140 mm by 61 mm. Display outputs: the RTX A4500 offers four DisplayPort 1.4a, while the RTX 4080 offers one HDMI 2.1 and three DisplayPort 1.4a. Release timing: the RTX A4500 launched on 2021-11-22, the RTX 4080 on 2022-09-19.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records three direct comparisons between these two GPUs, and the RTX 4080 wins all three. The largest margin appears in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, where the RTX 4080 scores 6,567 versus 3,196 for the RTX A4500. That is a 51.3% difference, meaning the RTX 4080 more than doubles the RTX A4500’s result in this test.

The Geekbench Vulkan test shows a similar gap. The RTX 4080 scores 263,779, while the RTX A4500 scores 129,980. The delta is 50.7%, again indicating that the RTX 4080 achieves roughly double the performance in this API. Vulkan is often associated with lower overhead and closer-to-metal access, so this result suggests the RTX 4080’s architecture handles that workload particularly well compared to the older Ampere design.

The closest head-to-head result comes in Geekbench OpenCL. The RTX 4080 scores 214,739, and the RTX A4500 scores 141,837. The margin is 33.9%, still a substantial lead for the RTX 4080, but notably smaller than the margins seen in the other two tests. OpenCL is a compute-oriented API, and while the RTX 4080 still wins clearly, the RTX A4500’s relative performance in this test is better than in the graphics-focused benchmarks.

Looking at the aggregate data, the RTX A4500’s average score of 91,671 comes from a broader set of benchmarks, and its nearest rival, the RTX A4500 Mobile, sits just 0.6% lower at 91,134. The RTX 4080’s average of 54,247 places its closest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER, only 0.1% away at 54,209. These proximity values indicate that each card is tightly grouped with its direct siblings in the database, while the two cards themselves are far apart in average score.

The wins are one-sided in the head-to-head tests, but the percentile ranking tells a different story. The RTX A4500’s 93rd percentile versus the RTX 4080’s 86th percentile means that across the full database of GPUs, the RTX A4500 outperforms a larger fraction of the field than the RTX 4080 does. This is counterintuitive given the head-to-head results, but it reflects the fact that the RTX A4500’s average is pulled up by strong showings in tests not included in the three-way comparison.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear split. For anyone prioritizing the specific recorded benchmarks, the RTX 4080 is the obvious choice. It wins all three head-to-head tests, with margins ranging from 33.9% in OpenCL to 51.3% in 3DMark Steel Nomad. Its Vulkan score of 263,779 is more than twice the RTX A4500’s 129,980, and its 3DMark result of 6,567 dwarfs the RTX A4500’s 3,196. The RTX 4080 also has higher clocks, more shading units, more ray tracing cores, more tensor cores, and higher pixel and texture rates.

However, the RTX A4500 has the higher average benchmark score at 91,671, and it holds the 93rd percentile versus the RTX 4080’s 86th. It also offers 20 GB of memory compared to 16 GB, which may matter for workloads that need larger frame buffers. Its lower power draw of 200 W versus 320 W, along with a dual-slot design and a single 8-pin connector, makes it a less demanding card in terms of system integration. The RTX A4500’s nearest rivals are all workstation or professional parts, while the RTX 4080’s nearest rivals include consumer gaming cards like the RTX 4080 SUPER and the RX 6750 GRE 12 GB.

The choice depends on what the database shows matters most. The RTX 4080 is the performance leader in every direct comparison recorded, making it the pick for workloads where those specific tests are representative. The RTX A4500 is the pick for users who value the higher aggregate score, the larger memory capacity, and the higher percentile ranking across the full GPU landscape. The launch MSRP for the RTX 4080 is 1,199 USD. The RTX A4500 has no recorded launch MSRP in the database. Both are end-of-life products, so availability is a separate consideration outside the benchmark data.