NVIDIA P102-100 vs NVIDIA RTX A1000 Mobile Comparison

The Verdict

The NVIDIA P102-100 is the clear performance leader in this comparison. The recorded data shows it wins both head-to-head benchmarks, with a decisive 44.2% advantage in Vulkan and a narrower 1.8% edge in OpenCL. Its average benchmark score of 58,528 places it in the 88th percentile of all GPUs, while the RTX A1000 Mobile sits at 47,743 and the 85th percentile. The P102-100 is the pick for anyone prioritizing raw compute throughput, especially in Vulkan workloads where its margin is overwhelming.

The RTX A1000 Mobile, however, is not without merit. It is a mobile-oriented part with a 60 W TDP, designed for portability and integration into laptops. It brings modern features like ray tracing cores and tensor cores, which the P102-100 lacks entirely. For users who need those specific capabilities, or who require a compact, low-power solution, the A1000 Mobile is the only option between the two. The data does not show it winning any performance contests, but its feature set and form factor define its purpose.

The choice is straightforward: the P102-100 for maximum performance in a desktop context, the RTX A1000 Mobile for a feature-rich, low-power mobile implementation. The P102-100 is end-of-life and has no display outputs, meaning it is strictly a compute or mining accelerator. The A1000 Mobile, while also end-of-life, is a more versatile part with display support dependent on the portable device it is integrated into.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs represent distinct architectural generations and design philosophies. The P102-100 is built on NVIDIA's Pascal architecture, fabricated on a 16 nm TSMC process. Its chip, the GP102, contains 11,800 million transistors on a die size of 471 mm². This results in a transistor density of 25.1 million per square millimeter. The RTX A1000 Mobile uses the newer Ampere architecture, built on Samsung's 8 nm process. Its GA107 chip packs 8,700 million transistors into a much smaller 200 mm² die, achieving a higher density of 43.5 million per square millimeter.

The memory subsystems differ substantially. The P102-100 uses 5 GB of GDDR5X memory on a 320-bit bus, delivering 440.3 GB/s of bandwidth. Memory clocks are rated at 1376 MHz, or 11 Gbps effective. The A1000 Mobile has 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, with bandwidth capped at 176.0 GB/s. Its memory clock is 1375 MHz, also 11 Gbps effective. The bandwidth gap is massive, and it directly contributes to the P102-100's performance lead.

Core configurations are also divergent. The P102-100 has 3,200 shading units, 200 texture mapping units, and 80 ROPs. The A1000 Mobile has 2,048 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. Critically, the A1000 Mobile includes 16 ray tracing cores and 64 tensor cores, while the P102-100 has none of either. This makes the A1000 Mobile capable of hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI workloads, features absent on the Pascal part.

Clock speeds favor the P102-100. It runs at a base clock of 1582 MHz with a boost of 1683 MHz. The A1000 Mobile is much lower, with a base of 630 MHz and a boost of 1140 MHz. This is typical of a low-power mobile design. The pixel rate for the P102-100 is 134.6 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 336.6 GTexel/s. The A1000 Mobile manages 36.48 GPixel/s and 72.96 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 10.77 TFLOPS for the P102-100 versus 4.669 TFLOPS for the A1000 Mobile.

API support differs as well. The P102-100 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the A1000 Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4. The bus interface is a notable oddity: the P102-100 uses PCIe 1.0 x4, a severely limited interface for a desktop card, while the A1000 Mobile uses PCIe 4.0 x8. Power requirements are opposite ends of the spectrum: the P102-100 is a dual-slot card with two 8-pin connectors and a 250 W TDP, suggesting a 600 W power supply, while the A1000 Mobile is an integrated graphics processor with no power connectors and a 60 W TDP. The P102-100 has no display outputs, while the A1000 Mobile's outputs are dependent on the host portable device.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two recorded benchmarks paint a clear picture of relative performance. In Geekbench OpenCL, the P102-100 scores 49,602 against the A1000 Mobile's 48,703. This is a 1.8% advantage for the P102-100. The margin is modest, suggesting that in this particular workload, the architectural differences and memory bandwidth advantages of the Pascal part do not translate into a large lead. The A1000 Mobile's higher transistor density and modern Ampere features likely help it close the gap in OpenCL.

The Geekbench Vulkan result is a different story entirely. The P102-100 scores 67,454, while the A1000 Mobile manages only 46,782. The delta is 44.2% in favor of the P102-100. This is a dominant victory. Vulkan workloads appear to heavily favor the P102-100's raw compute throughput, higher clock speeds, and vastly superior memory bandwidth. The A1000 Mobile's ray tracing and tensor cores do not appear to provide any benefit in this specific benchmark.

The average benchmark score, which combines the two tests, reflects this disparity. The P102-100 averages 58,528, while the A1000 Mobile averages 47,743. The P102-100's percentile rank of 88 versus the A1000 Mobile's 85 shows that while both are above average, the P102-100 sits in a higher performance tier. In the database, the P102-100 sits within 0.2% of the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT and 0.5% of the Intel Arc A570M. The A1000 Mobile is 1.5% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT and 2.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6550M.

The wins tally is 2 for the P102-100 and 0 for the A1000 Mobile. There is no benchmark in the recorded data where the A1000 Mobile comes out ahead. The performance hierarchy is unambiguous.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA P102-100 has an average benchmark score of 58,528, which is significantly higher than the NVIDIA RTX A1000 Mobile's 47,743.

Q: How large is the performance gap in Vulkan?

A: The P102-100 scores 67,454 in Geekbench Vulkan, while the A1000 Mobile scores 46,782. This gives the P102-100 a 44.2% lead in that specific test.

Q: Does the RTX A1000 Mobile support ray tracing?

A: Yes, the RTX A1000 Mobile has 16 ray tracing cores and 64 tensor cores. The P102-100 has no ray tracing or tensor cores.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The P102-100 has a memory bandwidth of 440.3 GB/s, while the RTX A1000 Mobile has 176.0 GB/s. The P102-100 uses 5 GB of GDDR5X on a 320-bit bus, while the A1000 Mobile uses 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus.

Q: Which GPU has a higher power consumption?

A: The P102-100 has a TDP of 250 W and requires two 8-pin power connectors. The RTX A1000 Mobile has a TDP of 60 W and uses no power connectors.

Q: Are both GPUs still in production?

A: No, both are end-of-life. The P102-100 was released in February 2018 and the RTX A1000 Mobile in March 2022.

Where Each One Wins

The P102-100 wins in every recorded performance benchmark. Its strengths are raw compute power, memory bandwidth, and clock speed. It is the clear choice for compute-heavy tasks that do not rely on modern graphics features. The data shows a 1.8% lead in OpenCL and a 44.2% lead in Vulkan. Its 10.77 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, 440.3 GB/s of bandwidth, and 1,683 MHz boost clock make it a formidable compute accelerator. It is best suited for scenarios where maximum throughput is required and where its lack of display outputs is not a hindrance.

The RTX A1000 Mobile wins in portability and feature set. Its 60 W TDP, IGP form factor, and lack of power connectors make it suitable for laptop integration. It has 16 ray tracing cores and 64 tensor cores, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI workloads that the P102-100 cannot handle. Its PCIe 4.0 x8 interface is more modern than the P102-100's PCIe 1.0 x4. For users who need these capabilities in a mobile form factor, the A1000 Mobile is the only viable option between the two.

The use-case split is clear: the P102-100 for stationary, power-hungry compute tasks where performance is paramount; the A1000 Mobile for mobile workstations or laptops where low power draw and modern features matter more than raw benchmark scores. The P102-100's 88th percentile ranking versus the A1000 Mobile's 85th confirms the former is the higher-performing part overall. The A1000 Mobile's advantages are qualitative, not quantitative, and are entirely absent from the benchmark results.