NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D vs NVIDIA RTX A4500 Mobile Comparison

The NVIDIA RTX A4500 Mobile and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D occupy opposite ends of the GPU spectrum, and benchmark data confirms a decisive performance gap. The RTX 5090 D wins both head-to-head benchmark comparisons, with a 66.1% lead in Geekbench OpenCL and a 79.6% lead in Geekbench Vulkan. However, the RTX A4500 Mobile holds a higher percentile ranking (93rd vs. 92nd), reflecting its optimized standing among all GPUs, despite the RTX 5090 D’s raw numerical superiority. The choice between them is not about performance alone; it is about form factor, power constraints, and workload context, as the data reveals two very different design philosophies.

The Verdict

The data indicates that the RTX 5090 D is the clear winner for raw compute and graphics workloads where power and space are not limiting factors. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 310,674 is nearly triple the A4500 Mobile’s 105,307, and its Vulkan score of 376,915 dwarfs the mobile part’s 76,960. For any user prioritizing absolute frame rates, rendering throughput, or compute performance in a desktop environment, the RTX 5090 D is the only logical choice based on benchmark results.

Conversely, the RTX A4500 Mobile is designed for a different purpose entirely. With a 140 W TDP and no power connectors, it is a portable device-dependent solution, meaning its performance is constrained by the laptop or mobile chassis it resides in. The data shows it is an end-of-life product from 2022, yet it still achieves a 93rd percentile ranking, outperforming its nearest rival, the NVIDIA RTX A4500, by a slim margin (deltaPct of -0.6% from the rival’s perspective, meaning the mobile part is slightly ahead). This suggests that for professional mobile workstations, the A4500 Mobile remains a relevant option for users who need CUDA acceleration on the go without the 575 W power appetite of the RTX 5090 D.

The RTX 5090 D, with a launch MSRP of 2,299 USD, is an active, current-generation product that targets enthusiasts and professionals with desktop workstations. Its nearest rivals list includes laptop-class parts like the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (deltaPct -1.6%) and the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (deltaPct +1.1%), which shows its average benchmark score of 77,712 is in a different league than the A4500 Mobile’s 91,134 average. This discrepancy arises because the RTX 5090 D’s average includes diverse tests like PassMark DirectX 9 (434) and PassMark G2D (1487), which are not comparable to the A4500 Mobile’s limited Geekbench-only profile. In short, pick the RTX 5090 D for uncompromised performance; pick the RTX A4500 Mobile for mobile professional work where its 16 GB GDDR6 memory and 512.0 GB/s bandwidth suffice within a 140 W envelope.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two GPUs is generational and fundamental. The RTX A4500 Mobile is built on the Ampere architecture using the GA104 chip, fabricated on Samsung’s 8 nm process node. It packs 17,400 million transistors on a 392 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 44.4 million per mm². In contrast, the RTX 5090 D employs the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with the GB202 chip, manufactured by TSMC on a 5 nm process. This newer node enables 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die, achieving a significantly higher density of 122.9 million per mm².

Core counts reflect this generational leap. The A4500 Mobile has 5,888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units (TMUs), 96 raster output units (ROPs), 46 ray tracing cores, and 184 tensor cores. The RTX 5090 D more than triples the shading units to 21,760, increases TMUs to 680, ROPs to 176, ray tracing cores to 170, and tensor cores to 680. This translates into raw throughput figures that are starkly different: the A4500 Mobile delivers 17.66 TFLOPS FP32 and FP16 (1:1), while the RTX 5090 D achieves 104.8 TFLOPS in both precision modes, a nearly 6x increase.

Clock speeds also differ substantially. The A4500 Mobile runs at a 930 MHz base and 1500 MHz boost, whereas the RTX 5090 D operates at 2017 MHz base and 2407 MHz boost. Memory architecture is another key divider: the A4500 Mobile uses 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 512.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the RTX 5090 D uses 32 GB of GDDR7 on a 512-bit bus with 1.79 TB/s bandwidth. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, but the RTX 5090 D features PCIe 5.0 x16 connectivity versus the A4500 Mobile’s PCIe 4.0 x16. The RTX 5090 D also has a dual-slot cooling design with a 1x 16-pin power connector and a suggested 950 W PSU, whereas the A4500 Mobile has no power connectors and relies on the host device.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The RTX A4500 Mobile has a higher average benchmark score of 91,134 compared to the RTX 5090 D’s 77,712. This is counterintuitive given the head-to-head results, but it reflects the different test suites each GPU was subjected to, with the RTX 5090 D including lower-scoring PassMark tests.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 D compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 5090 D’s average score of 77,712 places it 1.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT but 1.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT. It is also 2.1% behind the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB and 2.4% behind the Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB.

Q: What is the performance delta in the head-to-head benchmarks?

A: In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 5090 D scores 310,674 versus the A4500 Mobile’s 105,307, a delta of -66.1% from the A4500 Mobile’s perspective. In Geekbench Vulkan, the RTX 5090 D scores 376,915 versus 76,960, a delta of -79.6%.

Q: Which GPU has more memory and bandwidth?

A: The RTX 5090 D has 32 GB of GDDR7 memory with a 512-bit bus and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth. The RTX A4500 Mobile has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory with a 256-bit bus and 512.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Are these GPUs architecturally similar?

A: No. The RTX A4500 Mobile uses the Ampere architecture on an 8 nm Samsung process, while the RTX 5090 D uses the Blackwell 2.0 architecture on a 5 nm TSMC process. The transistor count is 17,400 million versus 92,200 million, respectively.

Q: What is the production status of each GPU?

A: The RTX A4500 Mobile is end-of-life, with a release date of 2022-03-21. The RTX 5090 D is active, released on 2025-01-29, and is part of the GeForce 50-series.

Specification Differences

The specification sheets for these two GPUs differ in nearly every measurable field, reflecting their distinct market positions. The RTX A4500 Mobile uses the GA104 chip on an 8 nm Samsung process, while the RTX 5090 D uses the GB202 chip on a 5 nm TSMC process. Transistor counts are 17,400 million versus 92,200 million, and die sizes are 392 mm² versus 750 mm². Clock speeds are lower on the mobile part: 930 MHz base and 1500 MHz boost, compared to 2017 MHz base and 2407 MHz boost on the RTX 5090 D.

Memory configuration is a major differentiator: the A4500 Mobile has 16 GB GDDR6 with a 256-bit bus and 512.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the RTX 5090 D has 32 GB GDDR7 with a 512-bit bus and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth. Core counts are vastly different, with the RTX 5090 D having 21,760 shading units, 680 TMUs, 176 ROPs, 170 RT cores, and 680 tensor cores, versus the A4500 Mobile’s 5,888 shading units, 184 TMUs, 96 ROPs, 46 RT cores, and 184 tensor cores. Pixel rate is 144.0 GPixel/s for the A4500 Mobile versus 423.6 GPixel/s for the RTX 5090 D, and texture rate is 276.0 GTexel/s versus 1,636.8 GTexel/s. FP32 and FP16 compute are 17.66 TFLOPS versus 104.8 TFLOPS.

Power and physical specs also diverge sharply. The A4500 Mobile has a 140 W TDP with no power connectors, while the RTX 5090 D has a 575 W TDP, a dual-slot cooler, and a 1x 16-pin connector with a suggested 950 W PSU. The RTX 5090 D measures 304 mm in length, 137 mm in height, and 48 mm in width, while the A4500 Mobile has no listed dimensions, being portable device dependent. Bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x16 for the mobile part and PCIe 5.0 x16 for the desktop part. Display outputs are portable device dependent for the A4500 Mobile, versus 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1b for the RTX 5090 D. Release dates are 2022-03-21 and 2025-01-29, respectively, with the A4500 Mobile being end-of-life and the RTX 5090 D active.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data provides only two direct comparisons, both of which are decisive victories for the RTX 5090 D. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 5090 D scores 310,674 against the A4500 Mobile’s 105,307, a delta of -66.1% from the mobile part’s perspective. This means the RTX 5090 D delivers roughly triple the OpenCL compute performance, a gap that is consistent with its 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 rating versus 17.66 TFLOPS for the A4500 Mobile. The RTX 5090 D’s 5 nm process and 92,200 million transistors enable this scale of improvement, though the A4500 Mobile’s 93rd percentile ranking shows it still competes well against its own peers.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the margin widens further. The RTX 5090 D scores 376,915, while the A4500 Mobile scores 76,960, resulting in a delta of -79.6%. This nearly 5x difference in Vulkan performance highlights the RTX 5090 D’s superior graphics pipeline, with 170 RT cores and 680 tensor cores versus 46 and 184, respectively. The RTX 5090 D’s 1.79 TB/s memory bandwidth and 423.6 GPixel/s pixel rate also contribute to this result, as Vulkan workloads often stress memory throughput and rasterization.

The RTX A4500 Mobile’s best showing is in Geekbench OpenCL, where its 105,307 score is 4.2% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro GP100’s 87,445 and 4.6% ahead of the AMD Radeon PRO W7600’s 87,108, according to its nearest rivals data. However, against the RTX 5090 D, the gap is insurmountable. The RTX 5090 D’s nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT, which is only 1.6% behind, and the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT, which is 1.1% ahead, indicating its average score is competitive within its own segment but not representative of its peak performance in the head-to-head tests. Overall, the RTX 5090 D wins 2 out of 2 head-to-head comparisons, confirming its dominance in raw performance metrics.