NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile vs NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile is in a completely different performance class than the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile, and the benchmark data confirms this without ambiguity. In the two shared head-to-head tests, the RTX 4090 Mobile wins both by overwhelming margins, delivering an average benchmark score of 43,667 compared to the A500's 39,568. The RTX 4090 Mobile sits at the 84th percentile of all GPUs, while the A500 sits at the 82nd percentile, but that narrow percentile gap hides a massive raw performance disparity that becomes obvious when examining the individual scores.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile dominates the RTX A500 Mobile in every single benchmark where both were tested. The most striking result comes from Geekbench OpenCL, where the RTX 4090 Mobile scores 180,831 against the A500's 41,263. That represents a 338.2% advantage for the RTX 4090 Mobile. To put that in perspective, the RTX 4090 Mobile is roughly 4.4 times faster than the A500 in this compute-heavy workload. This is not a marginal lead; it is a generational gap that reflects the fundamental differences in silicon size, core count, and memory bandwidth.

The Geekbench Vulkan test tells a similar story, with the RTX 4090 Mobile scoring 170,774 compared to the A500's 37,873. The delta here is even larger at 350.9%, meaning the RTX 4090 Mobile delivers more than 4.5 times the Vulkan performance of the A500. Graphics API performance scales almost linearly with the underlying hardware resources, and the RTX 4090 Mobile has vastly more of everything: 9,728 shading units versus 2,048, 304 texture mapping units versus 64, and 112 render output units versus 32.

The RTX 4090 Mobile also shows its strength in the Passmark suite, though the A500 was not tested in these specific workloads. The RTX 4090 Mobile achieves a Passmark G3D score of 27,212, a Passmark GPU Compute score of 12,347, and a Passmark G2D score of 984. Its DirectX 9, 10, 11, and 12 scores are 310, 173, 262, and 107 respectively. These numbers place the RTX 4090 Mobile well above its nearest rivals in the database, including the NVIDIA RTX A6000 which scores 44,075 on average, a 0.9% delta against the RTX 4090 Mobile's 43,667 average. The RTX 4090 Mobile also edges out the Quadro M6000 (43,301, 0.8% delta) and the GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile (43,268, 0.9% delta).

Looking at the A500's competitive position, its average benchmark score of 39,568 puts it in the same neighborhood as the AMD Radeon Pro 575 (39,555, 0% delta) and the AMD Radeon Pro 575X (39,116, 1.2% delta). The A500 trails the AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 (40,063, -1.2% delta) and the AMD Radeon Pro 580 (40,318, -1.9% delta). None of these rivals come anywhere close to the RTX 4090 Mobile's performance level, which is why the head-to-head comparison is so one-sided.

The FP32 compute figures reinforce the benchmark results. The RTX 4090 Mobile delivers 32.98 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, while the A500 manages only 6.296 TFLOPS. That is a 5.2x difference in theoretical peak compute, which aligns closely with the observed 4.4x to 4.5x real-world deltas. Pixel fill rate tells the same story: 189.8 GPixel/s for the RTX 4090 Mobile versus 49.18 GPixel/s for the A500. Texture fill rate is 515.3 GTexel/s versus 98.37 GTexel/s. Every measurable compute metric shows the RTX 4090 Mobile at roughly 4 to 5 times the A500's capability.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile is the superior GPU for anyone who needs maximum performance. It wins 2 out of 2 head-to-head benchmarks, with deltas of 338.2% and 350.9%. The RTX 4090 Mobile's average benchmark score of 43,667 places it at the 84th percentile of all GPUs, and it outperforms or matches every one of its nearest rivals in the database. The RTX A500 Mobile, by contrast, scores 39,568 on average and sits at the 82nd percentile, but its nearest rivals are all AMD Radeon Pro workstation cards from a previous generation.

The RTX 4090 Mobile is the clear choice for compute-heavy workloads, gaming, and any application that can leverage its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and 576.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The A500's 4 GB of memory and 96.00 GB/s bandwidth are a fraction of that, which will bottleneck any memory-intensive task. For professional 3D rendering, machine learning inference, or high-resolution video editing, the RTX 4090 Mobile's advantages in shading units (9,728 vs 2,048), RT cores (76 vs 16), and tensor cores (304 vs 64) translate directly into faster completion times.

However, the RTX A500 Mobile is not without a reason to exist. Its 30 W TDP is dramatically lower than the RTX 4090 Mobile's 120 W TDP, making it suitable for thin-and-light mobile workstations where battery life and thermal management are priorities. The A500's 8 nm process node from Samsung, while older than the RTX 4090 Mobile's 5 nm TSMC node, still delivers adequate performance for basic professional tasks. The A500 is also end-of-life, which means it may be available at reduced cost in existing systems, though pricing considerations are outside the scope of this analysis.

For users who prioritize raw performance above all else, the RTX 4090 Mobile is the only rational choice. For users who need a low-power GPU for light professional work in a portable chassis, the A500 offers a functional, if modest, solution. The benchmark data does not support any scenario where the A500 outperforms the RTX 4090 Mobile.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 4090 Mobile wins in every benchmark category where both GPUs were tested. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 180,831 is 338.2% higher than the A500's 41,263, indicating a massive advantage in general-purpose compute tasks such as physics simulations, data processing, and scientific workloads. Its Geekbench Vulkan score of 170,774 is 350.9% higher than the A500's 37,873, showing dominance in graphics-intensive applications like games and real-time visualization.

The RTX 4090 Mobile also wins in memory bandwidth, with 576.0 GB/s versus the A500's 96.00 GB/s. This 6x difference means the RTX 4090 Mobile can feed its 9,728 shading units far more effectively than the A500 can feed its 2,048. The RTX 4090 Mobile's 16 GB memory capacity is 4x the A500's 4 GB, allowing it to hold larger textures, bigger datasets, and more complex scenes without spilling to system memory.

The A500's only potential advantage is power consumption. At 30 W TDP, it uses one-quarter of the RTX 4090 Mobile's 120 W TDP. This makes the A500 viable in ultra-portable laptops where cooling and battery capacity are limited. The A500's 64-bit memory bus and 8 nm Samsung process are older technologies, but they keep the chip small and efficient. For workloads that are not compute-bound and do not require large memory footprints, the A500 could be sufficient, such as basic CAD, 2D graphics, or office productivity.

Neither GPU has a distinct win in API support, as both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Both are mobile GPUs with IGP slot width and no external power connectors. The RTX 4090 Mobile uses a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, while the A500 uses PCIe 4.0 x8, which gives the RTX 4090 Mobile double the host bandwidth for data transfer.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the RTX 4090 Mobile than the RTX A500 Mobile in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The RTX 4090 Mobile scores 180,831 versus the A500's 41,263, a 338.2% advantage.

Q: Which GPU has more memory bandwidth?

A: The RTX 4090 Mobile has 576.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is 6 times the A500's 96.00 GB/s.

Q: Does the RTX A500 Mobile win in any benchmark against the RTX 4090 Mobile?

A: No. The RTX 4090 Mobile wins 2 out of 2 head-to-head benchmarks, with no wins for the A500.

Q: What are the transistor counts for each GPU?

A: The RTX 4090 Mobile has 45,900 million transistors on a 379 mm² die, while the A500 has 8,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die.

Q: Which GPU has a higher percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The RTX 4090 Mobile is at the 84th percentile, while the RTX A500 Mobile is at the 82nd percentile.

Q: What is the FP32 performance difference?

A: The RTX 4090 Mobile delivers 32.98 TFLOPS, compared to the A500's 6.296 TFLOPS, a 5.2x difference.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different NVIDIA architectures. The RTX 4090 Mobile uses the AD103 chip based on Ada Lovelace architecture, while the RTX A500 Mobile uses the GA107S chip based on Ampere architecture. This generational gap is significant. Ada Lovelace is built on a 5 nm TSMC process, whereas Ampere uses an 8 nm Samsung process. The RTX 4090 Mobile's die measures 379 mm² and contains 45,900 million transistors, giving it a transistor density of 121.1M per mm². The A500's die is 200 mm² with 8,700 million transistors, a density of 43.5M per mm².

The RTX 4090 Mobile features 9,728 shading units, 304 TMUs, 112 ROPs, 76 RT cores, and 304 tensor cores. The A500 has 2,048 shading units, 64 TMUs, 32 ROPs, 16 RT cores, and 64 tensor cores. These numbers show the RTX 4090 Mobile has roughly 4.75x the shading units, 4.75x the TMUs, 3.5x the ROPs, 4.75x the RT cores, and 4.75x the tensor cores compared to the A500.

The memory subsystems are also architecturally different. The RTX 4090 Mobile uses a 256-bit memory bus with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory running at 18 Gbps effective, yielding 576.0 GB/s bandwidth. The A500 uses a 64-bit bus with 4 GB of GDDR6 memory at 12 Gbps effective, yielding 96.00 GB/s. The RTX 4090 Mobile's memory clock is 2250 MHz, while the A500's is 1500 MHz. Both support PCIe 4.0, but the RTX 4090 Mobile uses x16 lanes while the A500 uses x8.

Both GPUs support the same API set: DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The production status differs, with the RTX 4090 Mobile listed as Active and the A500 as End-of-life. The RTX 4090 Mobile was released on 2023-01-02, while the A500 was released on 2022-03-21. The RTX 4090 Mobile's predecessor is the GeForce 30 Mobile and its successor is the GeForce 50 Mobile. The A500's predecessor is the Quadro Turing-M and its successor is the Ada-MW.

Specification Differences

The most consequential specification differences are in core counts and memory. The RTX 4090 Mobile has 9,728 shading units versus the A500's 2,048, a 4.75x difference. Texture mapping units are 304 versus 64, and render output units are 112 versus 32. RT cores are 76 versus 16, and tensor cores are 304 versus 64. These differences directly explain the benchmark deltas.

Memory capacity is 16 GB on the RTX 4090 Mobile versus 4 GB on the A500. Bus width is 256-bit versus 64-bit, and memory bandwidth is 576.0 GB/s versus 96.00 GB/s. Memory clock is 2250 MHz versus 1500 MHz, with effective rates of 18 Gbps versus 12 Gbps.

Clock speeds also differ. The RTX 4090 Mobile has a base clock of 1335 MHz and a boost clock of 1695 MHz. The A500 has a base clock of 832 MHz and a boost clock of 1537 MHz. The RTX 4090 Mobile's higher clocks, combined with its larger core count, produce pixel rates of 189.8 GPixel/s versus 49.18 GPixel/s, and texture rates of 515.3 GTexel/s versus 98.37 GTexel/s.

Power consumption is a major differentiator. The RTX 4090 Mobile has a 120 W TDP, while the A500 has a 30 W TDP. Both are IGP slot width with no power connectors and no suggested PSU. The RTX 4090 Mobile uses a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, while the A500 uses PCIe 4.0 x8. Both have "Portable Device Dependent" display outputs.

The process node and foundry differ: 5 nm TSMC for the RTX 4090 Mobile versus 8 nm Samsung for the A500. Transistor counts are 45,900 million versus 8,700 million, and die sizes are 379 mm² versus 200 mm². Transistor density is 121.1M per mm² versus 43.5M per mm². The RTX 4090 Mobile is in the GeForce 40-series with the Ada Lovelace architecture, while the A500 is in the Ampere-MW (Ax000) generation with the Ampere architecture.