GPU Comparison

NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 5070 and RTX A500 Mobile occupy opposite ends of the GPU spectrum, yet both sit at the 82nd percentile among all GPUs. The RTX 5070 is a desktop powerhouse with a 30.87 TFLOPS FP32 rating and a 672.0 GB/s memory pipeline, while the RTX A500 Mobile is a 30 W IGP-class part with 6.296 TFLOPS and 96.00 GB/s. In the two shared benchmarks, the RTX 5070 leads by 318.4% in Geekbench OpenCL and 372.4% in Vulkan. But the A500 Mobile is not without purpose: its 30 W TDP and end-of-life status make it a legacy mobility option, whereas the RTX 5070 is an active, high-end desktop card. The data shows these are not direct competitors, they are solutions for different physical and thermal envelopes.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the RTX 5070 than the RTX A500 Mobile in compute workloads?

A: In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 5070 scores 172,660 versus 41,263 for the A500 Mobile, a 318.4% advantage. In Geekbench Vulkan, the gap widens to 372.4%, with scores of 178,923 and 37,873 respectively.

Q: What is the memory capacity difference between the two?

A: The RTX 5070 has 12 GB of GDDR7 on a 192-bit bus, delivering 672.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX A500 Mobile has 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus, with 96.00 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU has higher ray tracing core counts?

A: The RTX 5070 has 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores. The RTX A500 Mobile has 16 RT cores and 64 tensor cores. The RTX 5070 has triple the RT cores and triple the tensor cores.

Q: Are both GPUs from the same architecture generation?

A: No. The RTX 5070 uses Blackwell 2.0 on a 5 nm TSMC process, while the RTX A500 Mobile uses Ampere on an 8 nm Samsung process. The A500 Mobile is from the Ampere-MW generation.

Q: What is the TDP difference, and why does it matter?

A: The RTX 5070 has a 250 W TDP and requires a 600 W suggested PSU with a 1x 16-pin connector. The RTX A500 Mobile has a 30 W TDP with no power connectors and no suggested PSU, fitting an IGP form factor.

Q: Which GPU is still in production?

A: The RTX 5070 is marked as Active with a release date of 2025-03-03. The RTX A500 Mobile is End-of-life, released 2022-03-21.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gulf between these two is vast. The RTX 5070 is built on Blackwell 2.0, fabricated by TSMC on a 5 nm process. It packs 31,100 million transistors into a 263 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 118.3M per mm². The RTX A500 Mobile uses Ampere, made by Samsung on an 8 nm process, with 8,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die, a density of just 43.5M per mm². That is a 2.7x density advantage for the RTX 5070, which directly translates to more compute per square millimeter.

The RTX 5070 has 6144 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. The A500 Mobile has 2048 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. This means the RTX 5070 has exactly three times the shader count, three times the texture units, and 2.5 times the ROPs. RT core counts follow the same pattern: 48 vs 16, and tensor cores are 192 vs 64. The FP32 throughput tells the story: 30.87 TFLOPS for the RTX 5070 versus 6.296 TFLOPS for the A500 Mobile, a 4.9x difference in raw compute.

Memory architecture is equally divergent. The RTX 5070 uses GDDR7 with a 192-bit bus and 672.0 GB/s bandwidth. The A500 Mobile uses GDDR6 with a 64-bit bus and 96.00 GB/s. That is a 7x bandwidth gap. The RTX 5070 also has a 5 nm process node advantage, which explains how it achieves 250 W TDP performance in a dual-slot form factor while the A500 Mobile sips 30 W in an IGP layout. The RTX 5070 connects via PCIe 5.0 x16, while the A500 Mobile uses PCIe 4.0 x8. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so API-level features are identical.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

Only two benchmarks overlap between these GPUs, but both are decisive wins for the RTX 5070. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 5070 scores 172,660 against 41,263 for the A500 Mobile. The delta is 318.4%. In Geekbench Vulkan, the RTX 5070 hits 178,923 versus 37,873, a 372.4% advantage. These are not marginal gains; the RTX 5070 is roughly four times faster in both compute APIs.

The winsA count is 2, winsB is 0. The RTX 5070 wins every head-to-head test. Looking at the broader benchmark context, the RTX 5070’s average benchmark score is 40,377, while the A500 Mobile averages 39,568. That is a 2% delta in favor of the RTX 5070, per the nearestRivals data. Interestingly, the RTX 5070’s nearest rival is the AMD Radeon Pro 580 (0.1% delta), and the A500 Mobile’s nearest rival is the AMD Radeon Pro 575 (0% delta). Both GPUs sit at the 82nd percentile overall, but that is where the similarity ends.

The RTX 5070 also has additional benchmark data points that the A500 Mobile lacks, including 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 (5077), Passmark G3D (29,137), and Passmark GPU Compute (15,787). The A500 Mobile has no corresponding scores in these tests, so direct comparison is impossible. What the data does show is that in the two tests where both have results, the RTX 5070 is categorically dominant, with deltas exceeding 300%.

Specification Differences

| Field | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 | NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | Blackwell 2.0 | Ampere |

| Process Node | 5 nm (TSMC) | 8 nm (Samsung) |

| Transistors | 31,100 million | 8,700 million |

| Die Size | 263 mm² | 200 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 118.3M / mm² | 43.5M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 2325 MHz | 832 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2512 MHz | 1537 MHz |

| Memory Size | 12 GB | 4 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR7 | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus | 192 bit | 64 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 672.0 GB/s | 96.00 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 6144 | 2048 |

| TMUs | 192 | 64 |

| ROPs | 80 | 32 |

| RT Cores | 48 | 16 |

| Tensor Cores | 192 | 64 |

| Pixel Rate | 201.0 GPixel/s | 49.18 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 482.3 GTexel/s | 98.37 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 30.87 TFLOPS | 6.296 TFLOPS |

| TDP | 250 W | 30 W |

| Slot Width | Dual-slot | IGP |

| Power Connectors | 1x 16-pin | None |

| Suggested PSU | 600 W | None |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 5.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x8 |

| Display Outputs | 1x HDMI 2.1b, 3x DisplayPort 2.1b | Portable Device Dependent |

| Production Status | Active | End-of-life |

| Release Date | 2025-03-03 | 2022-03-21 |

| Launch MSRP | 549 USD | None |

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the RTX 5070 is the superior GPU in every measurable compute metric. It has 4.9x the FP32 performance, 7x the memory bandwidth, and 3x the RT and tensor core counts. In the two shared benchmarks, it wins by margins of 318.4% and 372.4%. If raw performance is the criterion, the RTX 5070 is the only choice.

However, the RTX A500 Mobile exists in a different context. Its 30 W TDP and IGP form factor mean it can be deployed in compact, power-limited mobile workstations where a 250 W dual-slot card physically cannot fit. The A500 Mobile requires no power connectors and no suggested PSU, making it a drop-in solution for portable devices. It is also end-of-life, released in 2022, whereas the RTX 5070 is active and current.

For desktop builders seeking maximum compute, the RTX 5070’s 12 GB GDDR7 and 672.0 GB/s bandwidth are decisive. For legacy mobile deployments where power draw is the binding constraint, the A500 Mobile’s 30 W envelope is the only viable option. The 82nd percentile ranking for both is a statistical coincidence, their workloads, power budgets, and physical requirements are worlds apart.

Where Each One Wins

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 wins in:

• Raw compute: 30.87 TFLOPS FP32 vs 6.296 TFLOPS, a 4.9x lead.
• Memory bandwidth: 672.0 GB/s eliminates any bandwidth bottleneck for large datasets.
• Ray tracing and AI: 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores handle complex scenes and AI workloads.
• Benchmark dominance: 318.4% and 372.4% leads in OpenCL and Vulkan.
• Future-proofing: Active production status, PCIe 5.0 x16, and GDDR7 memory.
• Display flexibility: 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1b outputs for multi-monitor setups.
• Desktop performance: Dual-slot cooler supports sustained 250 W operation.

NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile wins in:

• Power efficiency: 30 W TDP vs 250 W, an 8.3x reduction in power draw.
• Physical footprint: IGP form factor with no dimensions listed, fitting ultra-thin devices.
• Installation simplicity: No power connectors, no suggested PSU requirements.
• Thermal envelope: 8 nm Samsung process at 832 MHz base clock generates minimal heat.
• Mobility: Portable Device Dependent display outputs, designed for laptop integration.
• Legacy compatibility: Ampere generation from 2022, suitable for existing mobile workstation fleets.
• Cost of deployment: No launch MSRP, but the end-of-life status suggests lower acquisition costs for bulk buyers (though pricing data is not available in this pack).

The verdict is clear: pick the RTX 5070 for desktop compute, pick the A500 Mobile for constrained mobile designs. There is no overlap in their use cases.