NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation vs NVIDIA RTX A4500 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark database records two direct head-to-head comparisons between the NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation and the NVIDIA RTX A4500, and in both tests the Ada Generation card comes out ahead. The most decisive result is in Geekbench Vulkan, where the RTX 4500 Ada Generation scores 171401 against 129980 for the RTX A4500, a 31.9% advantage. That is a substantial gap for a graphics API workload, and it suggests the newer architecture extracts significantly more performance from the same class of workstation hardware.

The Geekbench OpenCL result is closer but still clearly favors the RTX 4500 Ada Generation. It records 160786 points versus 141837 points for the RTX A4500, which works out to a 13.4% lead. While the Vulkan gap is roughly double the OpenCL gap, both margins point in the same direction: the RTX 4500 Ada Generation is the stronger compute part in these recorded workloads.

Looking at the overall average benchmark score, the picture becomes more complex. The RTX 4500 Ada Generation averages 166094 across its recorded tests, while the RTX A4500 averages only 91671. However, that average is skewed by the fact that the RTX A4500 has an additional benchmark in the database, the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, where it scores 3196. That low score drags down its average. The two cards only share the OpenCL and Vulkan tests, and on those shared tests the RTX 4500 Ada Generation wins by 13.4% and 31.9% respectively.

The percentile rankings reflect the overall averages. The RTX 4500 Ada Generation sits at the 97th percentile among all GPUs in the database, while the RTX A4500 sits at the 93rd percentile. That four-point gap in percentile is consistent with the Ada card being the faster of the two in most workloads, though the differing benchmark sets make direct percentile comparison less precise than the head-to-head deltas.

For context, the RTX 4500 Ada Generation's nearest rivals in the database include the AMD Radeon PRO W7800 at 164894 average score (0.7% behind) and the AMD Radeon Pro W6900X at 168574 average score (1.5% ahead). The RTX A4500's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX A4500 Mobile at 91134 (0.6% behind) and the AMD Radeon Instinct MI60 at 92466 (0.9% ahead). These neighboring scores show that both cards sit in competitive territory for their respective generations, but the Ada card is positioned higher in the overall ranking.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 4500 Ada Generation wins in every recorded head-to-head benchmark, so the use-case split is heavily one-sided. In compute-oriented workloads measured by Geekbench OpenCL, the Ada card leads by 13.4%. In graphics API workloads measured by Geekbench Vulkan, it leads by 31.9%. Any user choosing between these two on the basis of the database's recorded tests would favor the RTX 4500 Ada Generation for both general compute and Vulkan-based rendering tasks.

The RTX A4500 does have one recorded benchmark that the Ada card does not have in the head-to-head set: the 3Dmark Steel Nomad DX12 test, where it scores 3196. That single result means the RTX A4500 has demonstrated DX12 capability in the database, but there is no matching result for the RTX 4500 Ada Generation, so no direct comparison can be made in that specific workload. The absence of a matching DX12 score for the Ada card is a data limitation, not a performance verdict.

For users who rely on OpenCL compute, the RTX 4500 Ada Generation's 13.4% advantage translates into faster execution of OpenCL-based rendering, simulation, or analysis tasks. For users who rely on Vulkan, the 31.9% advantage is even more pronounced, making the Ada card the clear choice for Vulkan-driven applications. There is no recorded workload where the RTX A4500 comes out ahead.

The percentile data reinforces this. The RTX 4500 Ada Generation's 97th percentile placement means it ranks above roughly 97% of all GPUs in the database, while the RTX A4500's 93rd percentile places it above roughly 93%. In practical terms, the Ada card is positioned closer to the top of the overall GPU landscape, while the A4500 is a solid but lower-ranked workstation part.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different architectural generations and different manufacturing processes. The RTX 4500 Ada Generation uses the Ada Lovelace architecture built on TSMC's 5 nm process, while the RTX A4500 uses the Ampere architecture built on Samsung's 8 nm process. This process node difference is significant: the Ada card packs 45,900 million transistors into a 379 mm² die, producing a transistor density of 121.1 million transistors per square millimeter. The Ampere card, by contrast, has 28,300 million transistors on a much larger 628 mm² die, giving it a density of only 45.1 million transistors per square millimeter. The Ada chip achieves roughly 2.7 times the transistor density of the Ampere chip.

The chip identities differ as well. The RTX 4500 Ada Generation is built on the AD103 chip, while the RTX A4500 uses the GA102 chip. Both are large workstation-class dies, but the Ada implementation achieves its higher density on a smaller physical die. The RTX 4500 Ada Generation's 5 nm process allows more transistors in less space, which contributes to its higher clock speeds and compute throughput.

Shading resources also differ. The RTX 4500 Ada Generation has 7680 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 80 ROPs. The RTX A4500 has 7168 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. So the Ada card has more shaders and more TMUs, but fewer ROPs. In terms of ray tracing and tensor hardware, the Ada card has 60 RT cores and 240 tensor cores, while the A4500 has 56 RT cores and 224 tensor cores. The Ada card leads in both specialized hardware counts.

The clock behavior is dramatically different. The RTX 4500 Ada Generation runs at a 2070 MHz base clock and a 2580 MHz boost clock. The RTX A4500 runs at a 1050 MHz base clock and a 1650 MHz boost clock. That is roughly a 97% higher base clock and a 56% higher boost clock for the Ada card. These clock advantages, combined with the architectural improvements, explain much of the performance gap in the recorded benchmarks.

The RTX 4500 Ada Generation is the successor to the Workstation Ampere generation, and its own successor is listed as Blackwell PRO W. The RTX A4500 is part of the Workstation Ampere generation, with its predecessor listed as Quadro Turing and its successor as Workstation Ada. So the two cards sit on opposite sides of a generational transition: the A4500 is the older Ampere part, and the Ada card is its direct replacement within the workstation lineup.

Specification Differences

The memory subsystems differ in capacity, bus width, and bandwidth. The RTX 4500 Ada Generation has 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX A4500 has 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 320-bit bus, delivering 640.0 GB/s of bandwidth. So the Ada card has more memory capacity but less memory bandwidth, a trade-off that favors larger datasets on the Ada card and faster streaming on the A4500.

Memory clock rates also differ. The RTX 4500 Ada Generation runs its memory at 2250 MHz with 18 Gbps effective data rate. The RTX A4500 runs its memory at 2000 MHz with 16 Gbps effective. The Ada card has a higher memory clock, but the A4500's wider 320-bit bus compensates to give it higher overall bandwidth.

Compute throughput figures reflect the architectural and clock differences. The RTX 4500 Ada Generation delivers 39.63 TFLOPS of FP32 and 39.63 TFLOPS of FP16 with a 1:1 ratio. The RTX A4500 delivers 23.65 TFLOPS of FP32 and 23.65 TFLOPS of FP16, also at 1:1. The Ada card is roughly 67% higher in raw FP32 throughput. Pixel and texture rates follow the same pattern: the Ada card hits 206.4 GPixel/s and 619.2 GTexel/s, while the A4500 hits 158.4 GPixel/s and 369.6 GTexel/s.

Power draw is similar but not identical. The RTX 4500 Ada Generation has a TDP of 210 W, while the RTX A4500 has a TDP of 200 W. Both are dual-slot cards and both recommend a 550 W power supply. The Ada card draws its power through the PCIe slot with no additional power connectors, while the A4500 requires a single 8-pin connector. Both use a PCIe 4.0 x16 bus interface.

Physical dimensions differ slightly. The RTX 4500 Ada Generation is 245 mm long (9.6 inches) and 112 mm tall (4.4 inches). The RTX A4500 is 267 mm long (10.5 inches) and 112 mm tall (4.4 inches). The Ada card is shorter by 22 mm, which can matter for case compatibility. Both cards have the same display output configuration: 4x DisplayPort 1.4a.

The production status differs. The RTX 4500 Ada Generation is marked as Active, while the RTX A4500 is marked as End-of-life. Release dates also differ: the Ada card was released on 2023-08-08, while the A4500 was released on 2021-11-22. Both cards support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation scores 160786 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the NVIDIA RTX A4500 scores 141837. The Ada card leads by 13.4%.

Q: How large is the Vulkan performance gap?

A: In Geekbench Vulkan, the RTX 4500 Ada Generation scores 171401 versus 129980 for the RTX A4500, a 31.9% advantage for the Ada card.

Q: Does the RTX A4500 win any recorded benchmark?

A: No. In the two shared head-to-head benchmarks, the RTX 4500 Ada Generation wins both. The RTX A4500 has an additional recorded 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3196, but there is no matching score for the Ada card in that test.

Q: How do the memory capacities compare?

A: The RTX 4500 Ada Generation has 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 432.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX A4500 has 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 320-bit bus with 640.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: What are the FP32 throughput figures?

A: The RTX 4500 Ada Generation delivers 39.63 TFLOPS of FP32, while the RTX A4500 delivers 23.65 TFLOPS. The Ada card is roughly 67% higher in raw FP32 compute.

Q: Which card is still in production?

A: The RTX 4500 Ada Generation is marked as Active in the database. The RTX A4500 is marked as End-of-life.