NVIDIA Quadro GP100 vs NVIDIA RTX A4500 Mobile Comparison

The NVIDIA RTX A4500 Mobile and NVIDIA Quadro GP100 represent two very different approaches to professional mobile and workstation graphics. The former is a modern Ampere-generation laptop part built on a 8 nm Samsung process, while the latter is a Pascal-generation desktop card from 2016 on TSMC’s 16 nm node. Benchmark data shows the A4500 Mobile holds a clear performance edge in the available OpenCL test, but the GP100 counters with unique memory architecture and compute capabilities that matter in specific workloads. This analysis breaks down where each card stands.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in the available benchmark data?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A4500 Mobile scores 105,307 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 20.4% higher than the Quadro GP100’s score of 87,445. The A4500 Mobile also wins the only head-to-head benchmark comparison between the two.

Q: How does each card compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The A4500 Mobile’s average benchmark score of 91,134 places it 4.2% ahead of the Quadro GP100 (87,445) and 4.6% ahead of the AMD Radeon PRO W7600 (87,108), while sitting 0.6% behind the desktop NVIDIA RTX A4500 (91,671). The GP100’s average of 87,445 is 0.4% ahead of the Radeon PRO W7600 and 2.1% ahead of the NVIDIA CMP 40HX (85,637), but 4.6% behind the desktop RTX A4500.

Q: What are the memory differences between these two cards?

A: The A4500 Mobile uses 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 512.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Quadro GP100 uses 16 GB of HBM2 on a massive 4096-bit bus, delivering 732.2 GB/s bandwidth — a 43% bandwidth advantage for the older card.

Q: Which card supports ray tracing and Tensor cores?

A: Only the NVIDIA RTX A4500 Mobile has them. It includes 46 RT cores and 184 Tensor cores. The Quadro GP100 has neither, as it predates those technologies.

Q: What is the power draw and physical size difference?

A: The A4500 Mobile is rated at 140 W TDP with no power connectors, reflecting its mobile design. The Quadro GP100 is a dual-slot desktop card at 235 W TDP, requiring a single 8-pin power connector and a 550 W suggested power supply, with a length of 267 mm (10.5 inches) and height of 111 mm (4.4 inches).

Q: Which card has better API support?

A: The A4500 Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the GP100 supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.3. Both support OpenGL 4.6.

Architecture Differences

The fundamental split here is Ampere versus Pascal. The RTX A4500 Mobile uses the GA104 chip on a 8 nm Samsung process, packing 17,400 million transistors into a 392 mm² die. The Quadro GP100 uses the GP100 chip on a 16 nm TSMC process, with 15,300 million transistors spread across a much larger 610 mm² die. Transistor density tells the story: the A4500 Mobile achieves 44.4 million transistors per mm² versus 25.1 million for the GP100, reflecting the newer manufacturing process.

The A4500 Mobile’s architecture brings modern features that the GP100 simply lacks. It has 46 RT cores for hardware ray tracing and 184 Tensor cores for AI acceleration. The GP100 has neither. This is a generation-defining gap: the A4500 Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the GP100 tops out at DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.3. The A4500 Mobile also uses the PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, double the bandwidth of the GP100’s PCIe 3.0 x16.

The GP100’s architecture, while older, has its own distinctive strengths. Its 4096-bit memory bus with HBM2 is a workstation-oriented design that prioritizes raw memory throughput. The GP100 also has a unique FP16 capability: it delivers 20.69 TFLOPS at 2:1 ratio, which is double its FP32 rate of 10.34 TFLOPS. In contrast, the A4500 Mobile runs FP16 and FP32 at the same rate of 17.66 TFLOPS (1:1). The GP100’s higher texture rate of 323.2 GTexel/s versus 276.0 GTexel/s on the A4500 Mobile shows that raw texture throughput is not always determined by generation.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison available is Geekbench OpenCL, and it is decisive. The RTX A4500 Mobile scores 105,307 against the Quadro GP100’s 87,445, a 20.4% advantage. This is a substantial margin that aligns with the A4500 Mobile’s modern architecture and higher shading unit count. The A4500 Mobile has 5,888 shading units versus 3,584 on the GP100, and its FP32 throughput of 17.66 TFLOPS dwarfs the GP100’s 10.34 TFLOPS — a 70.8% raw compute advantage.

However, the GP100 does not lose everywhere. Its memory bandwidth of 732.2 GB/s is 43% higher than the A4500 Mobile’s 512.0 GB/s, which can matter in bandwidth-bound workloads like large data sets or certain compute tasks. The GP100’s texture rate of 323.2 GTexel/s is also 17.1% higher than the A4500 Mobile’s 276.0 GTexel/s, and its FP16 throughput of 20.69 TFLOPS exceeds the A4500 Mobile’s 17.66 TFLOPS by 17.2%. The pixel rates are nearly identical: 144.0 GPixel/s for the A4500 Mobile versus 138.5 GPixel/s for the GP100.

The A4500 Mobile also wins on efficiency. It achieves its 17.66 TFLOPS FP32 within a 140 W TDP, while the GP100 needs 235 W for 10.34 TFLOPS FP32. That means the A4500 Mobile delivers roughly 126 GFLOPS per watt versus 44 GFLOPS per watt for the GP100 — a nearly 3x efficiency advantage, even though the specific power figures are not directly comparable given the mobile versus desktop form factor.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every major specification category. The A4500 Mobile uses the GA104 chip on 8 nm Samsung process, while the GP100 uses the GP100 chip on 16 nm TSMC. Transistor counts are close (17,400 million versus 15,300 million), but die size differs dramatically: 392 mm² versus 610 mm². The A4500 Mobile has 5,888 shading units, 184 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The GP100 has 3,584 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 96 ROPs.

Clock speeds favor the GP100 at base (1304 MHz versus 930 MHz) but the A4500 Mobile boosts slightly higher (1500 MHz versus 1443 MHz). Memory is where the GP100 shines on paper: both have 16 GB, but the GP100 uses HBM2 on a 4096-bit bus with 732.2 GB/s bandwidth, versus GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 512.0 GB/s for the A4500 Mobile. The GP100’s memory clock is 715 MHz (1430 Mbps effective) versus 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) for the A4500 Mobile, though the bus width difference overwhelms the clock speed advantage.

Compute rates diverge sharply. The A4500 Mobile produces 17.66 TFLOPS FP32 and 17.66 TFLOPS FP16 (1:1). The GP100 produces 10.34 TFLOPS FP32 and 20.69 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1). The A4500 Mobile has 46 RT cores and 184 Tensor cores; the GP100 has none. Power and physical specs also differ: 140 W TDP with no connectors for the mobile part, versus 235 W TDP with a single 8-pin connector and 550 W suggested PSU for the dual-slot desktop card. The GP100 is 267 mm long and 111 mm tall. The A4500 Mobile’s display outputs are portable-device dependent, while the GP100 offers 1x DVI and 4x DisplayPort 1.4a. The A4500 Mobile uses PCIe 4.0 x16; the GP100 uses PCIe 3.0 x16.

The Verdict

The data points to the RTX A4500 Mobile as the stronger overall performer. Its 20.4% lead in the Geekbench OpenCL head-to-head, combined with substantially higher FP32 compute (17.66 versus 10.34 TFLOPS) and modern features like RT cores and Tensor cores, makes it the better choice for most professional workloads. The A4500 Mobile also achieves this within a 140 W TDP, making it viable for high-end laptops, while the GP100 requires a desktop chassis with dual-slot cooling and a 550 W power supply.

The Quadro GP100 is not without merit, but its advantages are narrow. Its 732.2 GB/s memory bandwidth and 20.69 TFLOPS FP16 throughput are the only areas where it meaningfully exceeds the A4500 Mobile. For workloads that are heavily memory-bandwidth-bound or that can exploit the 2:1 FP16 rate, the GP100 could still be relevant. Its 16 GB of VRAM matches the A4500 Mobile, so capacity is not a differentiator.

The A4500 Mobile’s 93rd percentile ranking among all GPUs matches the GP100’s 93rd percentile, but the A4500 Mobile’s average benchmark score of 91,134 versus 87,445 shows it sits in a higher performance tier. The desktop RTX A4500 (91,671 avg) is the only nearby rival that edges out the mobile part, and only by 0.6%. For a mobile GPU to nearly match its desktop sibling is notable.

Where Each One Wins

NVIDIA RTX A4500 Mobile wins in: raw FP32 compute (17.66 versus 10.34 TFLOPS), the OpenCL benchmark (105,307 versus 87,445), ray tracing (46 RT cores versus none), AI acceleration (184 Tensor cores versus none), API support (DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4 versus 12_1 and 1.3), interface bandwidth (PCIe 4.0 versus 3.0), and power efficiency (140 W versus 235 W TDP). It is the clear choice for modern 3D rendering, AI inference, and any workload that can leverage RT or Tensor cores.

NVIDIA Quadro GP100 wins in: memory bandwidth (732.2 GB/s versus 512.0 GB/s), FP16 throughput (20.69 versus 17.66 TFLOPS), texture rate (323.2 versus 276.0 GTexel/s), and physical connectivity (1x DVI and 4x DisplayPort 1.4a versus portable-device dependent outputs). It also has a higher base clock (1304 versus 930 MHz). The GP100 is better suited for workloads that are memory-bandwidth-limited, such as certain scientific simulations or large data processing tasks, and for legacy environments where its specific display outputs are required.

The GP100’s 4096-bit HBM2 bus is its defining feature, and it remains competitive in that specific niche despite being nearly six years older. However, the A4500 Mobile’s combination of higher compute, modern features, and lower power draw makes it the more versatile and future-proof option. For a new purchase today, the data favors the A4500 Mobile; for a specialized bandwidth-heavy compute node using existing GP100 inventory, the older card still has a role.