NVIDIA RTX A2000 12 GB vs NVIDIA T550 Mobile Comparison

The NVIDIA RTX A2000 12 GB and NVIDIA T550 Mobile represent two very different approaches to workstation graphics. The A2000 is a dual-slot desktop card built on the Ampere architecture, while the T550 is a mobile IGP chip based on the older Turing design. The data shows a decisive performance gap, with the A2000 winning the only shared benchmark by a massive margin, but the T550’s low power draw and portability make it a distinct option for specific use cases.

The Verdict

The NVIDIA RTX A2000 12 GB is the clear choice for any desktop workstation where raw compute performance is the priority. Its average benchmark score of 34154 places it in the 79th percentile of all GPUs, while the T550 Mobile sits at 33161 in the 77th percentile. The A2000 delivers more than double the FP32 throughput (7.987 TFLOPS vs 3.410 TFLOPS) and offers 12 GB of GDDR6 memory compared to just 4 GB on the T550. In the only direct head-to-head benchmark available, Geekbench OpenCL, the A2000 scores 66998 against the T550’s 35521, a 88.6% advantage.

However, the T550 Mobile is not without merit. It is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) designed for laptops, with a 23 W TDP compared to the A2000’s 70 W. This makes it suitable for mobile workstations where battery life and thermal limits are more critical than peak performance. The T550’s FP16 throughput of 6.820 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio) is notably higher than its FP32 figure, which could benefit certain compute workloads that leverage half-precision math.

For a desktop user seeking maximum workstation performance, the RTX A2000 12 GB is the obvious pick. For a laptop user needing a modest discrete GPU with low power consumption, the T550 Mobile serves that niche. The data does not support choosing the T550 for raw speed; it wins no benchmarks in the head-to-head comparison.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A2000 12 GB has an average benchmark score of 34154, which is 2.99% higher than the T550 Mobile’s 33161.

Q: How does the A2000 perform in Geekbench OpenCL compared to the T550?

A: The A2000 scores 66998 versus the T550’s 35521, giving the A2000 an 88.6% higher score in this specific test.

Q: What is the memory capacity difference between the two cards?

A: The RTX A2000 12 GB features 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, while the T550 Mobile has 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus.

Q: Are there any architectural features present in the A2000 but missing in the T550?

A: Yes, the A2000 has 26 ray tracing cores and 104 tensor cores, while the T550 has none of either.

Q: Which GPU has a higher boost clock?

A: The T550 Mobile has a higher boost clock of 1665 MHz, compared to the A2000’s 1200 MHz boost.

Q: What is the TDP difference between the two?

A: The T550 Mobile has a 23 W TDP, while the RTX A2000 has a 70 W TDP.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on fundamentally different architectures from NVIDIA. The RTX A2000 uses the GA106 chip based on the Ampere architecture, fabricated on an 8 nm process at Samsung. It contains 12,000 million transistors on a 276 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 43.5 million per mm². The Ampere architecture brings support for DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and includes dedicated ray tracing and tensor cores.

In contrast, the T550 Mobile uses the TU117 chip from the Turing architecture, manufactured on a 12 nm process at TSMC. This chip packs 4,700 million transistors onto a 200 mm² die, with a lower density of 23.5 million per mm². The Turing architecture in this implementation supports DirectX 12 (12_1) but lacks the ray tracing and tensor core hardware found in the A2000. The T550’s FP16 performance is double its FP32 rate (6.820 TFLOPS versus 3.410 TFLOPS), indicating a 2:1 ratio, while the A2000 achieves identical FP16 and FP32 figures at 7.987 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio).

The A2000 also features a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, whereas the T550 uses the older PCIe 3.0 x16 standard. Display outputs differ as well: the A2000 provides four mini-DisplayPort 1.4a connectors, while the T550’s outputs are described as “Portable Device Dependent,” reflecting its mobile nature. The A2000 supports a wider range of modern APIs, including Vulkan 1.4 and DirectX 12 Ultimate, while the T550 lags in DirectX feature level.

Specification Differences

The specification sheets for these two GPUs reveal stark contrasts across nearly every field. The A2000 has 3328 shading units, 104 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs, while the T550 has only 1024 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The A2000’s 26 ray tracing cores and 104 tensor cores have no equivalent in the T550, which lists none for either.

Memory configuration is another major divergence. The A2000 offers 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, producing a bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s. The T550 has 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus, yielding just 96.00 GB/s — exactly one-third of the A2000’s bandwidth. Both cards run their memory at 1500 MHz with 12 Gbps effective speed, but the wider bus on the A2000 makes the difference.

Clock speeds tell a different story. The T550 has a higher base clock of 1065 MHz and boost clock of 1665 MHz, compared to the A2000’s 562 MHz base and 1200 MHz boost. Despite lower clocks, the A2000 achieves higher pixel and texture rates: 57.60 GPixel/s and 124.8 GTexel/s versus the T550’s 53.28 GPixel/s and 106.6 GTexel/s. The A2000’s FP32 compute of 7.987 TFLOPS is more than double the T550’s 3.410 TFLOPS.

Physical specifications differ as well. The A2000 is a dual-slot card measuring 167 mm in length and 69 mm in height, requiring no external power connectors and a suggested 250 W PSU. The T550 is an IGP with no dimensions listed and no suggested PSU, drawing just 23 W. Both are end-of-life products, but the A2000 has a launch MSRP of 449 USD.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison available is Geekbench OpenCL, and it is not close. The NVIDIA RTX A2000 12 GB scores 66998, while the NVIDIA T550 Mobile scores 35521. This gives the A2000 an 88.6% advantage, meaning it performs nearly 1.9 times better in this compute-oriented test. The margin is so large that it overshadows any other comparison.

Looking at average benchmark scores across all tests, the A2000’s 34154 average is 993 points higher than the T550’s 33161, a roughly 3% difference. However, this narrow gap in averages belies the massive OpenCL disparity, likely because the averages include different test suites for each card. The A2000 also has a Geekbench Vulkan score of 30801 for the T550, though no Vulkan score is listed for the A2000.

The A2000’s nearest rivals in the database are the AMD Radeon RX 560 XT (34133, delta 0.1%), NVIDIA RTX A1000 (34207, delta -0.2%), AMD Radeon RX 480 (33997, delta 0.5%), and NVIDIA TITAN V (34355, delta -0.6%). This places the A2000 in a tight pack of mid-range desktop GPUs, all within 0.6% of each other. The T550 Mobile’s nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile (33170, delta 0%), AMD Radeon Pro 570 (33207, delta -0.1%), NVIDIA P104-100 (32982, delta 0.5%), and NVIDIA T600 Mobile (32849, delta 1%). This shows the T550 is competitive with other mobile and older desktop parts but in a lower performance tier overall.

The wins tally confirms the A2000’s dominance: it wins 1 benchmark and loses 0, while the T550 wins none. For any workload that relies on OpenCL compute — such as rendering, scientific simulation, or data processing — the A2000 is the superior choice by a wide margin. The T550’s only potential advantages are its lower power draw and mobile form factor, which are not captured in raw benchmark scores.