NVIDIA L4 vs NVIDIA RTX A4500 Mobile Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark database records two cross-platform tests for these GPUs: Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan. In both, the NVIDIA L4 takes a decisive lead over the NVIDIA RTX A4500 Mobile, and the margins are substantial.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the L4 scores 140838, while the RTX A4500 Mobile scores 105307. That is a delta of 33.7% in favor of the L4. The gap is even more pronounced in the Vulkan test. The L4 records 121306, versus 76960 for the RTX A4500 Mobile, a 57.6% advantage. The data shows a clean sweep: the L4 wins both head-to-head comparisons, with winsA recorded as 2 and winsB as 0.

Looking at the broader database context, the L4's average benchmark score sits at 131072, which places it in the 95th percentile of all GPUs. The RTX A4500 Mobile, by contrast, averages 91134 and sits in the 93rd percentile. While both are high performers, the L4's average is roughly 44% higher than the mobile part's average, a difference that is visible across both recorded workloads.

The L4's nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti, which averages 131938, a delta of -0.7% against the L4. The NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada Generation and NVIDIA A10M both average 135218 and 135230 respectively, each sitting about 3.1% above the L4. The AMD Radeon PRO W6800 averages 135396, a 3.2% delta. These numbers indicate the L4 is competitive with desktop-class workstation cards, despite its modest power envelope.

For the RTX A4500 Mobile, the nearest rival is the desktop NVIDIA RTX A4500, which averages 91671, a delta of -0.6% against the mobile part. The AMD Radeon Instinct MI60 averages 92466, a -1.4% delta. The two rivals below it are the NVIDIA Quadro GP100 at 87445, which the mobile part beats by 4.2%, and the AMD Radeon PRO W7600 at 87108, which it beats by 4.6%. So the mobile GPU is essentially at parity with its desktop namesake, while the L4 sits in a higher performance tier altogether.

Where Each One Wins

The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA L4 wins in every recorded benchmark category. There is no test in the database where the RTX A4500 Mobile comes out ahead. That said, the use-case implications differ based on the nature of the workload and the platform.

The L4's largest advantage is in Vulkan, where it leads by 57.6%. This suggests a strong suitability for compute and graphics workloads that leverage Vulkan's low-overhead API. The OpenCL lead of 33.7% is still substantial, indicating broad compute capability across both major cross-vendor APIs. The L4's average benchmark score of 131072, relative to its nearest rivals, shows it sits just below the RTX 4000 Ada Generation and A10M, but above the RTX 3090 Ti. This places it in the upper echelon of server-class accelerators.

The RTX A4500 Mobile, despite losing both tests, still demonstrates competitive standing within its own peer group. Its average score of 91134 is nearly identical to the desktop RTX A4500, which averages 91671. It also beats the Quadro GP100 and Radeon PRO W7600 by margins of 4.2% and 4.6% respectively. For a mobile workstation part, this is respectable performance, but the database shows it is clearly outclassed by the L4 in raw compute throughput.

Use-case interpretation from the data: if the workload is Vulkan-centric, the L4 is the clear choice, given the near-58% advantage. If the workload is OpenCL-heavy, the L4 still wins by a third. There is no scenario in the recorded measurements where the RTX A4500 Mobile offers a performance edge.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs represent different generations of NVIDIA architecture, and the database highlights several fundamental differences.

The L4 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture, using the AD104 chip. It is fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC, with 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die. This yields a transistor density of 121.8 million per square millimeter. The RTX A4500 Mobile, on the other hand, uses the older Ampere architecture with the GA104 chip. It is built on an 8 nm process at Samsung, containing 17,400 million transistors on a larger 392 mm² die. Its transistor density is just 44.4 million per square millimeter. The density difference is stark: the L4 packs roughly 2.7 times more transistors per area despite having a smaller physical die.

The memory configurations diverge as well. The L4 offers 24 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, with memory clocked at 1563 MHz, or 12.5 Gbps effective, yielding 300.1 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX A4500 Mobile ships with 16 GB of GDDR6 on a wider 256-bit bus, with memory at 2000 MHz, or 16 Gbps effective, producing 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth. So the mobile part has a 71% bandwidth advantage, while the L4 has 50% more capacity.

Compute resources are heavily tilted toward the L4. It has 7424 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 80 ROPs. The RTX A4500 Mobile has 5888 shading units, 184 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The L4 also carries more RT cores (60 versus 46) and more tensor cores (240 versus 184). Pixel and texture rates reflect these differences: the L4 records 163.2 GPixel/s and 489.6 GTexel/s, while the mobile part manages 144.0 GPixel/s and 276.0 GTexel/s. FP32 and FP16 performance are both rated at 30.29 TFLOPS for the L4, versus 17.66 TFLOPS for the RTX A4500 Mobile. The L4's raw compute is roughly 71% higher in FP32.

Power and physical specifications also differ. The L4 has a TDP of 72 W and is a single-slot card, 169 mm long and 56 mm high, with no power connectors and a suggested PSU of 250 W. The RTX A4500 Mobile has a TDP of 140 W, nearly double, and its dimensions are not recorded in the database. It also has no power connectors, and its display outputs are listed as "Portable Device Dependent," whereas the L4 has no display outputs at all. Both use a PCIe 4.0 x16 bus interface.

API support is identical: both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The production status differs, with the L4 listed as Active and the RTX A4500 Mobile as End-of-life. The release dates are close, with the L4 launched on 2023-03-20 and the mobile part on 2022-03-21.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute performance in the database?

A: The NVIDIA L4, with FP32 and FP16 both rated at 30.29 TFLOPS, versus 17.66 TFLOPS for the NVIDIA RTX A4500 Mobile.

Q: How much faster is the L4 in the OpenCL benchmark?

A: The L4 scores 140838 versus 105307, a 33.7% advantage.

Q: What about the Vulkan benchmark?

A: The L4 scores 121306 versus 76960, a 57.6% advantage, its largest margin in the recorded tests.

Q: Does the RTX A4500 Mobile have any memory bandwidth advantage?

A: Yes. It has 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth versus 300.1 GB/s for the L4, due to a 256-bit bus versus 192-bit, and 16 Gbps effective memory speed versus 12.5 Gbps.

Q: Which GPU has more memory capacity?

A: The L4 has 24 GB, while the RTX A4500 Mobile has 16 GB.

Q: What are the power requirements?

A: The L4 has a TDP of 72 W and a suggested PSU of 250 W. The RTX A4500 Mobile has a TDP of 140 W, with no suggested PSU recorded.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every major specification field in the database:

• Chip: AD104 (L4) versus GA104 (RTX A4500 Mobile)
• Architecture: Ada Lovelace versus Ampere
• Process node: 5 nm (TSMC) versus 8 nm (Samsung)
• Transistors: 35,800 million versus 17,400 million
• Die size: 294 mm² versus 392 mm²
• Transistor density: 121.8M / mm² versus 44.4M / mm²
• Base clock: 795 MHz versus 930 MHz
• Boost clock: 2040 MHz versus 1500 MHz
• Memory clock: 1563 MHz (12.5 Gbps effective) versus 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective)
• Memory size: 24 GB versus 16 GB
• Memory bus width: 192 bit versus 256 bit
• Memory bandwidth: 300.1 GB/s versus 512.0 GB/s
• Shading units: 7424 versus 5888
• TMUs: 240 versus 184
• ROPs: 80 versus 96
• RT cores: 60 versus 46
• Tensor cores: 240 versus 184
• Pixel rate: 163.2 GPixel/s versus 144.0 GPixel/s
• Texture rate: 489.6 GTexel/s versus 276.0 GTexel/s
• FP32: 30.29 TFLOPS versus 17.66 TFLOPS
• FP16: 30.29 TFLOPS (1:1) versus 17.66 TFLOPS (1:1)
• TDP: 72 W versus 140 W
• Slot width: Single-slot versus not recorded
• Suggested PSU: 250 W versus not recorded
• Display outputs: No outputs versus Portable Device Dependent
• Dimensions: 169 mm length, 56 mm height versus not recorded
• Production status: Active versus End-of-life
• Release date: 2023-03-20 versus 2022-03-21
• Predecessor: Server Ampere versus Quadro Turing-M
• Successor: Server Hopper versus Ada-MW

Specifications that are identical include the manufacturer (NVIDIA), memory type (GDDR6), bus interface (PCIe 4.0 x16), power connectors (None), and all API support (DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, Vulkan 1.4).

The Verdict

The recorded data makes the choice straightforward for raw performance: the NVIDIA L4 is the stronger GPU. It wins both head-to-head benchmarks by margins of 33.7% and 57.6%, and its average benchmark score of 131072 sits far above the RTX A4500 Mobile's 91134. The L4 also holds advantages in shading units, tensor cores, RT cores, memory capacity, and FP32 compute, all while consuming half the power (72 W versus 140 W).

The RTX A4500 Mobile is not without merit. It offers substantially higher memory bandwidth (512.0 GB/s versus 300.1 GB/s), more ROPs (96 versus 80), and a higher base clock (930 MHz versus 795 MHz). These characteristics could benefit certain bandwidth-sensitive workloads or specific rendering patterns, but the benchmark data does not show any scenario where the mobile part wins.

For a system builder prioritizing compute throughput, API-agnostic performance, or Vulkan-specific workloads, the L4 is the clear pick. For a mobile workstation where portability is mandatory and the 140 W TDP is acceptable, the RTX A4500 Mobile remains a capable option, but the data shows it will trail the L4 in every recorded test. The L4's active production status and newer architecture also suggest longer-term relevance, while the RTX A4500 Mobile is listed as end-of-life. Based strictly on the measurements, the L4 is the superior accelerator.