NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 vs NVIDIA RTX A4500 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The three recorded head-to-head comparisons show a consistent, decisive advantage for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. In the DirectX 12 test, 3DMark Steel Nomad, the RTX 4090 scores 9,223 against the RTX A4500's 3,196. That is a 65.3% deficit for the workstation card, meaning the GeForce part delivers nearly three times the raw throughput in this workload. This is the largest single gap in the dataset, and it reflects the fundamental performance tier difference between the two products.

The compute-oriented benchmarks tell a similar story, though the margins shrink somewhat. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 4090 posts 255,416 versus 141,837 for the RTX A4500, a 44.5% advantage for the GeForce card. The Vulkan result shows the RTX 4090 at 271,631 against the A4500's 129,980, which works out to a 52.1% lead. Across all three tests, the RTX 4090 wins unconditionally. The RTX A4500 does not take a single head-to-head victory, and the data records 0 wins for the workstation card and 3 for the GeForce part.

It is worth remembering the average benchmark scores in the database place these cards in very different overall contexts. The RTX A4500 has an average benchmark score of 91,671, which puts it in the 93rd percentile of all GPUs. The RTX 4090, despite its dominant head-to-head showing, has an average score of 60,347 and sits in the 88th percentile. This apparent contradiction comes from the fact that the average score aggregates a wider set of tests, including older and lighter workloads where the RTX 4090's massive compute resources are not fully exercised, and where its driver or test-specific quirks may reduce efficiency. The head-to-head results, however, are unambiguous: in the three workloads measured directly, the RTX 4090 is faster by margins ranging from 44.5% to 65.3%.

The Verdict

The data points to a straightforward conclusion for most users: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the superior performer in every benchmark recorded here. If the task is pure speed in DirectX 12, OpenCL, or Vulkan, the RTX 4090 wins by wide margins. The RTX A4500's 93rd percentile ranking and its average score of 91,671 indicate it is a capable card in absolute terms, but it cannot match the RTX 4090's raw output.

Who should pick the RTX A4500? The database shows it has a 0.6% edge over the NVIDIA RTX A4500 Mobile, a 4.8% lead over the NVIDIA Quadro GP100, and a 5.2% advantage over the AMD Radeon PRO W7600. If the workload is specifically tuned for the Ampere architecture, or if the system requires the A4500's dual-slot profile and single 8-pin power input, then it remains a viable option. The card's 20 GB of memory and 320-bit bus provide 640.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which may be sufficient for certain professional applications that do not demand the RTX 4090's scale.

Who should pick the RTX 4090? Anyone whose priority is maximum benchmark performance. The GeForce card beats the A4500 by 65.3% in Steel Nomad, and it also holds a 44.5% lead in OpenCL and a 52.1% lead in Vulkan. The RTX 4090's launch MSRP is 1,599 USD, and the data shows it outperforms its nearest rivals in the database, including the Intel Arc Pro A60 (0% delta), the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 (0.3% delta), and the AMD Radeon PRO V710 (2.9% delta). For a builder optimizing for raw compute and gaming-class performance, the RTX 4090 is the clear choice from these measurements.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different design generations and foundries. The RTX A4500 uses the GA102 chip on Samsung's 8 nm process, with 28,300 million transistors on a 628 mm² die. The transistor density is 45.1 million per mm². The RTX 4090 uses the AD102 chip on TSMC's 5 nm process, packing 76,300 million transistors into a slightly smaller 609 mm² die, yielding a density of 125.3 million per mm². That is nearly three times the transistor density, which explains much of the performance gap.

The RTX A4500 is built on the Ampere architecture, specifically the Workstation Ampere generation. The RTX 4090 uses Ada Lovelace, from the GeForce 40-series. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so their API feature sets are identical in the database. The difference is in the underlying hardware blocks. The A4500 has 7,168 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, 96 ROPs, 56 ray tracing cores, and 224 tensor cores. The RTX 4090 scales up to 16,384 shading units, 512 TMUs, 176 ROPs, 128 RT cores, and 512 tensor cores. Every compute resource is at least doubled on the GeForce card.

Clock speeds also diverge sharply. The A4500 runs at a 1050 MHz base and 1650 MHz boost, while the RTX 4090 operates at 2235 MHz base and 2520 MHz boost. This higher clock rate, combined with the larger shader count, produces the FP32 throughput difference: 23.65 TFLOPS for the A4500 versus 82.58 TFLOPS for the RTX 4090. FP16 figures match the FP32 numbers on both cards at a 1:1 ratio. The pixel rate is 158.4 GPixel/s for the A4500 and 443.5 GPixel/s for the RTX 4090. Texture rate is 369.6 GTexel/s versus 1,290.2 GTexel/s.

Specification Differences

Memory configuration is a key differentiator. The RTX A4500 has 20 GB of GDDR6 on a 320-bit bus, delivering 640.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 4090 has 24 GB of GDDR6X on a 384-bit bus, delivering 1.01 TB/s. The GeForce card has both more capacity and significantly higher bandwidth.

Power and physical requirements differ substantially. The A4500 has a TDP of 200 W, uses a dual-slot cooler, and draws power from a single 8-pin connector. The suggested PSU is 550 W. The RTX 4090 has a TDP of 450 W, uses a triple-slot cooler, and requires a 16-pin connector. The suggested PSU is 850 W. Physical dimensions also change: the A4500 is 267 mm long and 112 mm tall, while the RTX 4090 is 304 mm long, 137 mm tall, and 61 mm wide. The A4500 has four DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, while the RTX 4090 has one HDMI 2.1 and three DisplayPort 1.4a outputs.

Both cards use a PCIe 4.0 x16 bus interface. The RTX A4500 was released on 2021-11-22, and the RTX 4090 followed on 2022-09-19. The A4500's production status is end-of-life, as is the RTX 4090's. The A4500's predecessor is Quadro Turing and its successor is Workstation Ada. The RTX 4090's predecessor is GeForce 30 and its successor is GeForce 50.

FAQ

Q: In which benchmark does the RTX 4090 have its largest advantage over the RTX A4500?

A: The largest margin is in 3DMark Steel Nomad (DirectX 12), where the RTX 4090 scores 9,223 versus 3,196 for the A4500, a 65.3% deficit for the workstation card.

Q: Does the RTX A4500 win any head-to-head benchmark against the RTX 4090?

A: No. The recorded data shows 0 wins for the RTX A4500 and 3 wins for the RTX 4090 across the three tests: Steel Nomad, Geekbench OpenCL, and Geekbench Vulkan.

Q: How do the average benchmark scores compare between the two cards?

A: The RTX A4500 has an average benchmark score of 91,671 and sits in the 93rd percentile of all GPUs. The RTX 4090 has an average score of 60,347 and sits in the 88th percentile.

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

A: The RTX A4500 has 640.0 GB/s of bandwidth from 20 GB of GDDR6 on a 320-bit bus. The RTX 4090 has 1.01 TB/s from 24 GB of GDDR6X on a 384-bit bus.

Q: What power supply is recommended for each card?

A: The RTX A4500 has a 200 W TDP and a suggested PSU of 550 W. The RTX 4090 has a 450 W TDP and a suggested PSU of 850 W.

Q: What is the FP32 compute throughput for each card?

A: The RTX A4500 delivers 23.65 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. The RTX 4090 delivers 82.58 TFLOPS.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 4090 wins every measured workload. In 3DMark Steel Nomad, it is 65.3% faster, making it the better choice for DirectX 12 gaming or real-time rendering workloads that stress the GPU pipeline. In Geekbench OpenCL, the 44.5% lead suggests a substantial advantage for general compute tasks that use the OpenCL framework. In Geekbench Vulkan, the 52.1% lead indicates the RTX 4090 is also stronger for Vulkan-based applications, which include many modern games and cross-platform compute tools.

The RTX A4500 does not have a single benchmark win, but its profile suggests specific use cases where it may still be preferable. Its 200 W TDP and dual-slot design make it easier to fit into dense workstation builds or systems with limited power delivery. The single 8-pin connector is more universally compatible with existing power supplies, whereas the RTX 4090's 16-pin connector and 850 W PSU recommendation require more planning. The A4500's four DisplayPort outputs support multi-monitor professional setups directly, while the RTX 4090 offers one HDMI and three DisplayPorts.

For a builder weighing these two cards, the decision comes down to whether raw performance or physical integration matters more. The RTX 4090 is the clear winner in all recorded benchmarks, with margins that are impossible to ignore. The RTX A4500 remains a reasonable choice for a system that needs workstation-class stability, lower power draw, and a slimmer cooler, provided the workload does not demand the RTX 4090's level of throughput. The database shows no scenario where the A4500 outperforms the RTX 4090, so the GeForce card is the default recommendation for performance-oriented builds.