NVIDIA P104-100 vs NVIDIA RTX A2000 12 GB Comparison

The NVIDIA RTX A2000 12 GB and the NVIDIA P104-100 are fundamentally different tools. The RTX A2000 is a modern, feature-rich workstation card built for professional applications and compute, while the P104-100 is a mining-specific relic with no display outputs. The data shows a split decision: the RTX A2000 wins decisively in OpenCL compute, while the P104-100 edges ahead in one specific DX12 gaming benchmark. The RTX A2000 is the only sensible choice for anyone needing a functional, versatile GPU; the P104-100 is a niche curiosity for those who only care about raw performance in a narrow set of tasks and have no need for video output.

The Verdict

From the benchmark data, the RTX A2000 12 GB is the clear overall winner for any general-purpose or professional use case. It delivers a 27.9% higher score in Geekbench OpenCL, a strong indicator of compute and rendering performance, and it carries the architectural features and memory capacity required for modern workloads. Its 79th percentile ranking among all GPUs versus the P104-100's 77th percentile reinforces this, as does its higher average benchmark score of 34,154 compared to 32,982. The P104-100's sole victory comes in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, where it scores 1,413 versus the A2000's 1,309, a 7.4% advantage. However, this win is practically irrelevant because the P104-100 has no display outputs, making it impossible to use for actual gaming or any task requiring a monitor. Therefore, the RTX A2000 is the pick for professionals, creators, and anyone building a functional system. The P104-100 is only worth considering for a headless compute farm where its higher pixel rate and texture rate in that one benchmark might offer marginal benefits, but its lack of outputs and older architecture make it a poor investment for nearly everyone else.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two cards is massive, representing two distinct eras of NVIDIA design. The RTX A2000 is built on the Ampere architecture using an 8 nm process from Samsung, featuring the GA106 chip with 12,000 million transistors on a 276 mm² die. In contrast, the P104-100 uses the older Pascal architecture on TSMC's 16 nm process, with the GP104 chip housing 7,200 million transistors on a larger 314 mm² die. This translates to a transistor density of 43.5M per mm² for the A2000 versus just 22.9M per mm² for the P104-100, showing a clear generational leap in manufacturing efficiency.

The feature set diverges sharply. The RTX A2000 includes 26 RT cores and 104 tensor cores, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI workloads, while the P104-100 has none of these. The A2000 also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), whereas the P104-100 is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4, but the A2000's feature set is far more future-proof. The P104-100's specification as a "Mining GPUs" generation product is telling: it lacks any display outputs, making it unsuitable for standard desktop use. The RTX A2000 offers four mini-DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, while the P104-100 has none. The A2000 also has a significantly lower TDP of 70 W with no power connectors, whereas the P104-100 requires an 8-pin connector, though its TDP is not listed.

FAQ

Q: Which card has more memory and does it matter?

A: The RTX A2000 has 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, while the P104-100 has only 4 GB of GDDR5X on a 256-bit bus. The A2000's larger capacity is crucial for modern workloads like large datasets and high-resolution textures, though the P104-100 does have higher raw bandwidth at 320.3 GB/s versus 288.0 GB/s.

Q: Can the P104-100 be used for gaming?

A: No, not in a practical sense. The P104-100 has no display outputs, so it cannot be connected to a monitor. While it scores higher in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, this result is meaningless for gaming without a way to see the output.

Q: Which card supports ray tracing?

A: Only the RTX A2000 supports ray tracing, thanks to its 26 dedicated RT cores. The P104-100, based on the older Pascal architecture, has no RT cores and cannot perform hardware-accelerated ray tracing.

Q: What is the difference in compute performance?

A: The RTX A2000 is significantly faster in compute tasks. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 66,998 compared to the P104-100's 52,368, a 27.9% advantage. The A2000 also offers 7.987 TFLOPS of FP32 performance versus 6.655 TFLOPS for the P104-100.

Q: How do their power requirements compare?

A: The RTX A2000 has a TDP of 70 W and requires no power connectors, with a suggested PSU of 250 W. The P104-100's TDP is not listed, but it requires a single 8-pin power connector and a suggested PSU of 200 W.

Q: Which card has better driver and software support?

A: The RTX A2000 is from the Ampere generation and is a workstation product, meaning it benefits from NVIDIA's professional driver branch and features like RT cores and tensor cores. The P104-100 is from the mining generation and is end-of-life, with no display outputs and likely minimal software support for anything beyond its intended mining use.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA RTX A2000 12 GB | NVIDIA P104-100 |

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

| Architecture | Ampere | Pascal |

| Process Node | 8 nm | 16 nm |

| Foundry | Samsung | TSMC |

| Transistors | 12,000 million | 7,200 million |

| Die Size | 276 mm² | 314 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 43.5M / mm² | 22.9M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 562 MHz | 1607 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1200 MHz | 1733 MHz |

| Memory | 12 GB GDDR6 | 4 GB GDDR5X |

| Memory Bus | 192 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 288.0 GB/s | 320.3 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 3328 | 1920 |

| TMUs | 104 | 120 |

| ROPs | 48 | 64 |

| RT Cores | 26 | None |

| Tensor Cores | 104 | None |

| Pixel Rate | 57.60 GPixel/s | 110.9 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 124.8 GTexel/s | 208.0 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 7.987 TFLOPS | 6.655 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 7.987 TFLOPS (1:1) | 104.0 GFLOPS (1:64) |

| Power Connectors | None | 1x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 250 W | 200 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x16 | PCIe 1.0 x4 |

| Display Outputs | 4x mini-DisplayPort 1.4a | No outputs |

| DirectX Support | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | 12 (12_1) |

| Release Date | 2021-11-22 | 2017-12-11 |

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two benchmarks where both cards have results tell a clear story of trade-offs. In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, the P104-100 comes out ahead with a score of 1,413 against the RTX A2000's 1,309, a delta of -7.4% for the A2000. This is likely due to the P104-100's higher pixel rate (110.9 GPixel/s versus 57.60 GPixel/s) and texture rate (208.0 GTexel/s versus 124.8 GTexel/s), which are nearly double the A2000's figures. The P104-100's higher base and boost clocks (1607 MHz and 1733 MHz versus 562 MHz and 1200 MHz) also contribute to this win.

However, the Geekbench OpenCL test shows a decisive reversal. The RTX A2000 scores 66,998, which is 27.9% higher than the P104-100's 52,368. This massive margin is explained by the A2000's superior architecture: it has 3,328 shading units versus 1,920, and it supports FP16 at a 1:1 ratio, delivering 7.987 TFLOPS, whereas the P104-100's FP16 performance is a paltry 104.0 GFLOPS at a 1:64 ratio. The A2000's tensor cores and RT cores likely also accelerate certain compute workloads, though the benchmark itself is OpenCL-based. Overall, the data shows one win for each card, but the nature of the wins is key: the P104-100's is in a synthetic DX12 test, while the A2000's is in a general-purpose compute benchmark that better reflects real-world professional and creative workloads.

Where Each One Wins

The P104-100 wins in scenarios that heavily favor raw pixel and texture throughput. Its 110.9 GPixel/s pixel rate and 208.0 GTexel/s texture rate are significantly higher than the A2000's 57.60 GPixel/s and 124.8 GTexel/s. This explains its victory in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, which likely stresses those specific fill-rate-limited operations. If you were building a headless rendering farm where the GPU output is never displayed and the workload is purely about rasterization throughput, the P104-100 might edge ahead. Its higher memory bandwidth of 320.3 GB/s versus 288.0 GB/s could also help in bandwidth-bound tasks. However, this advantage comes with severe caveats: the P104-100 has only 4 GB of memory, uses a PCIe 1.0 x4 interface, and lacks any display outputs, making it a one-trick pony.

The RTX A2000 wins in virtually every other practical scenario. Its 27.9% lead in Geekbench OpenCL indicates superior compute performance for tasks like rendering, simulation, and AI inference. The 12 GB memory capacity is three times larger than the P104-100's 4 GB, allowing it to handle larger datasets and more complex scenes without running out of VRAM. Its support for DirectX 12 Ultimate and the presence of RT and tensor cores make it suitable for modern gaming (with proper display outputs), ray-traced content creation, and machine learning workloads. The A2000's lower power draw of 70 W with no external power connector also makes it easier to integrate into small-form-factor or low-power systems, whereas the P104-100 requires an 8-pin connector. For any user needing a functional, versatile, and capable GPU for a workstation or general-purpose build, the RTX A2000 is the definitive winner.