NVIDIA N1 20SM vs NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The recorded data shows a decisive split between these two NVIDIA products. The NVIDIA N1 20SM holds the advantage in memory capacity and physical integration, while the NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation dominates in raw compute performance and software ecosystem support.

The N1 20SM is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) with 128 GB of LPDDR5X memory on a 256-bit bus. This memory configuration is the standout feature of the N1 20SM, as the RTX 4500 Ada Generation carries 24 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus. For workloads that require holding large datasets in local memory, the N1 20SM's capacity advantage is substantial, offering more than five times the memory of the RTX 4500.

The RTX 4500 Ada Generation wins in every measured performance category. Its FP32 throughput is 39.63 TFLOPS, while the N1 20SM delivers 12.01 TFLOPS. The texture rate of the RTX 4500 is 619.2 GTexel/s versus 375.4 GTexel/s for the N1 20SM. Pixel throughput measures 206.4 GPixel/s for the RTX 4500 and 56.30 GPixel/s for the N1 20SM. The RTX 4500 also has more shading units (7680 vs 2560), more texture mapping units (240 vs 160), more ROPs (80 vs 24), more ray tracing cores (60 vs 20), and more tensor cores (240 vs 80).

In benchmark scores, the RTX 4500 Ada Generation records 160786 in Geekbench OpenCL and 171401 in Geekbench Vulkan. These results place it at the 97th percentile among all GPUs in the database. The N1 20SM has an average benchmark score of zero and sits at the 50th percentile, as no benchmark entries are recorded for it.

The RTX 4500 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, while the N1 20SM lists no API support for any of these. The RTX 4500 is a dual-slot card with four DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, whereas the N1 20SM is an IGP with a single HDMI output.

Architecture Differences

The two products come from different generations of NVIDIA architecture. The N1 20SM uses the Blackwell 2.0 architecture on the GB20B chip, belonging to the Blackwell IGP (N1x) generation. The RTX 4500 Ada Generation uses the Ada Lovelace architecture on the AD103 chip, part of the Workstation Ada generation.

Both are fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. The die sizes are close: the N1 20SM measures 382 mm² and the RTX 4500 measures 379 mm². The RTX 4500 has a recorded transistor count of 45,900 million, while the N1 20SM's transistor count is unknown. The RTX 4500 has a transistor density of 121.1M per mm².

Clock behavior differs significantly. The N1 20SM runs at a 741 MHz base clock and boosts to 2346 MHz. The RTX 4500 starts at 2070 MHz base and boosts to 2580 MHz. Memory clocks also differ: the N1 20SM's LPDDR5X runs at 1067 MHz with 8.5 Gbps effective, while the RTX 4500's GDDR6 runs at 2250 MHz with 18 Gbps effective.

Memory bandwidth favors the RTX 4500 at 432.0 GB/s, despite its narrower 192-bit bus, because of the higher effective memory clock. The N1 20SM's 256-bit bus with LPDDR5X delivers 273.2 GB/s.

The bus interface differs: the N1 20SM uses PCIe 5.0 x16, while the RTX 4500 uses PCIe 4.0 x16. The RTX 4500 is a dual-slot card with dimensions of 245 mm in length and 112 mm in height, while the N1 20SM is an integrated part with no recorded dimensions. The RTX 4500 has a 210 W TDP and a suggested power supply of 550 W, whereas the N1 20SM's TDP is unknown and it uses no power connectors.

The RTX 4500 has a release date in August 2023, while the N1 20SM's release date is recorded as May 2026. The RTX 4500's predecessor is Workstation Ampere and its successor is Blackwell PRO W. The N1 20SM has no recorded predecessor or successor.

The Verdict

The data indicates two products with entirely different intended positions. The RTX 4500 Ada Generation is a workstation GPU with confirmed benchmark results, API support, and a 97th percentile ranking. The N1 20SM is an integrated Blackwell part with large memory capacity but no recorded benchmarks and no API support in the database.

For compute-intensive tasks, the RTX 4500 is the clear choice. Its FP32 throughput is approximately 3.3 times that of the N1 20SM. Its texture rate is roughly 1.6 times higher, and its pixel rate is about 3.7 times higher. The RTX 4500 also has three times the shading units, three times the ray tracing cores, and three times the tensor cores of the N1 20SM.

For applications that require holding very large working sets in memory, the N1 20SM offers a distinct advantage with its 128 GB capacity. This is the only category where the N1 20SM leads. Its memory bandwidth of 273.2 GB/s is lower than the RTX 4500's 432.0 GB/s, so the capacity advantage does not come with a speed advantage.

The RTX 4500's benchmark scores place it within a tight competitive cluster. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA RTX A5500, scores 165217, which is 0.5% higher than the RTX 4500's average of 166094. The AMD Radeon PRO W7800 scores 164894, 0.7% lower. The AMD Radeon Pro W6900X scores 168574, 1.5% higher. The NVIDIA A100 PCIe 40 GB scores 162504, which is 2.2% lower.

The N1 20SM has no rival data recorded, making direct competitive positioning impossible. Its 50th percentile ranking is based on no measured benchmarks.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has more memory?

A: The NVIDIA N1 20SM has 128 GB of LPDDR5X memory, while the NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation has 24 GB of GDDR6 memory.

Q: Which GPU has higher FP32 performance?

A: The NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation delivers 39.63 TFLOPS of FP32 throughput, compared to 12.01 TFLOPS for the NVIDIA N1 20SM.

Q: What API support does each GPU offer?

A: The RTX 4500 Ada Generation supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The N1 20SM has no recorded API support in the database.

Q: How do the benchmark scores compare?

A: The RTX 4500 Ada Generation scores 160786 in Geekbench OpenCL and 171401 in Geekbench Vulkan, with an average benchmark score of 166094. The N1 20SM has no recorded benchmark scores.

Q: What are the power requirements of each GPU?

A: The RTX 4500 Ada Generation has a TDP of 210 W and a suggested power supply of 550 W. The N1 20SM's TDP is unknown and it uses no power connectors.

Q: Which GPU has more ray tracing cores?

A: The RTX 4500 Ada Generation has 60 ray tracing cores, while the N1 20SM has 20 ray tracing cores.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records no direct head-to-head benchmark results between the N1 20SM and the RTX 4500 Ada Generation. However, the individual benchmark data for the RTX 4500 provides clear performance reference points.

The RTX 4500's Geekbench Vulkan score of 171401 is higher than its Geekbench OpenCL score of 160786, a difference of approximately 6.6%. This indicates stronger performance under the Vulkan API in the recorded tests.

For the N1 20SM, the absence of benchmark data means no comparison can be drawn from direct measurements. Its 50th percentile ranking versus all GPUs is a neutral midpoint, while the RTX 4500's 97th percentile ranking places it among the top performers in the database.

The closest rival comparisons for the RTX 4500 show a tight competitive field. The NVIDIA RTX A5500 scores 0.5% higher, and the AMD Radeon PRO W7800 scores 0.7% lower. The AMD Radeon Pro W6900X leads by 1.5%, and the NVIDIA A100 PCIe 40 GB trails by 2.2%. These small deltas indicate that the RTX 4500 sits in the middle of a closely matched group of high-end workstation GPUs.

The N1 20SM's 12.01 TFLOPS FP32 output is less than one-third of the RTX 4500's 39.63 TFLOPS. The texture rate comparison shows 375.4 GTexel/s versus 619.2 GTexel/s, a 61% advantage for the RTX 4500. The pixel rate difference is larger: 56.30 GPixel/s versus 206.4 GPixel/s, a 267% advantage for the RTX 4500.

Memory bandwidth favors the RTX 4500 by 58%, with 432.0 GB/s versus 273.2 GB/s. The RTX 4500 also has a faster boost clock at 2580 MHz versus 2346 MHz, and a base clock of 2070 MHz versus 741 MHz. The memory clock difference is substantial: 2250 MHz with 18 Gbps effective for the RTX 4500, versus 1067 MHz with 8.5 Gbps effective for the N1 20SM.

The RTX 4500's transistor count of 45,900 million, recorded for the AD103 chip, contrasts with the unknown transistor count of the GB20B chip in the N1 20SM. Die sizes are nearly identical at 379 mm² and 382 mm², which suggests the transistor density of the N1 20SM would need to be higher to reach a comparable count, but no density figure is recorded for it.

Specification Differences

The following specifications differ between the two GPUs:

• Architecture: Blackwell 2.0 for the N1 20SM, Ada Lovelace for the RTX 4500 Ada Generation
• Chip: GB20B for the N1 20SM, AD103 for the RTX 4500
• Generation: Blackwell IGP (N1x) for the N1 20SM, Workstation Ada for the RTX 4500
• Transistors: Unknown for the N1 20SM, 45,900 million for the RTX 4500
• Die Size: 382 mm² for the N1 20SM, 379 mm² for the RTX 4500
• Transistor Density: Not recorded for the N1 20SM, 121.1M per mm² for the RTX 4500
• Base Clock: 741 MHz for the N1 20SM, 2070 MHz for the RTX 4500
• Boost Clock: 2346 MHz for the N1 20SM, 2580 MHz for the RTX 4500
• Memory Clock: 1067 MHz with 8.5 Gbps effective for the N1 20SM, 2250 MHz with 18 Gbps effective for the RTX 4500
• Memory Size: 128 GB for the N1 20SM, 24 GB for the RTX 4500
• Memory Type: LPDDR5X for the N1 20SM, GDDR6 for the RTX 4500
• Memory Bus Width: 256 bit for the N1 20SM, 192 bit for the RTX 4500
• Memory Bandwidth: 273.2 GB/s for the N1 20SM, 432.0 GB/s for the RTX 4500
• Shading Units: 2560 for the N1 20SM, 7680 for the RTX 4500
• TMUs: 160 for the N1 20SM, 240 for the RTX 4500
• ROPs: 24 for the N1 20SM, 80 for the RTX 4500
• RT Cores: 20 for the N1 20SM, 60 for the RTX 4500
• Tensor Cores: 80 for the N1 20SM, 240 for the RTX 4500
• Pixel Rate: 56.30 GPixel/s for the N1 20SM, 206.4 GPixel/s for the RTX 4500
• Texture Rate: 375.4 GTexel/s for the N1 20SM, 619.2 GTexel/s for the RTX 4500
• FP32: 12.01 TFLOPS for the N1 20SM, 39.63 TFLOPS for the RTX 4500
• FP16: 12.01 TFLOPS for the N1 20SM, 39.63 TFLOPS for the RTX 4500
• TDP: Unknown for the N1 20SM, 210 W for the RTX 4500
• Slot Width: IGP for the N1 20SM, Dual-slot for the RTX 4500
• Power Connectors: None for both
• Suggested PSU: Not recorded for the N1 20SM, 550 W for the RTX 4500
• Bus Interface: PCIe 5.0 x16 for the N1 20SM, PCIe 4.0 x16 for the RTX 4500
• Display Outputs: 1x HDMI for the N1 20SM, 4x DisplayPort 1.4a for the RTX 4500
• DirectX: N/A for the N1 20SM, 12 Ultimate (12_2) for the RTX 4500
• OpenGL: N/A for the N1 20SM, 4.6 for the RTX 4500
• Vulkan: N/A for the N1 20SM, 1.4 for the RTX 4500
• Dimensions: Not recorded for the N1 20SM, 245 mm length and 112 mm height for the RTX 4500
• Release Date: 2026-05-31 for the N1 20SM, 2023-08-08 for the RTX 4500
• Predecessor: None for the N1 20SM, Workstation Ampere for the RTX 4500
• Successor: None for the N1 20SM, Blackwell PRO W for the RTX 4500
• Percentile: 50 for the N1 20SM, 97 for the RTX 4500
• Average Benchmark Score: 0 for the N1 20SM, 166094 for the RTX 4500