GPU Comparison

The NVIDIA RTX A5500 Mobile and NVIDIA RTX A4500 are both Ampere-generation workstation GPUs, but they target fundamentally different physical environments. The data shows two distinct design philosophies: the A5500 Mobile is engineered for portable devices with a 165 W TDP and no dedicated power connectors, while the A4500 is a dual-slot desktop card with a 200 W TDP and a single 8-pin connector. Across the two shared benchmark tests, the A4500 wins decisively in both, yet the A5500 Mobile holds a higher average benchmark score and a better percentile ranking. This creates a nuanced picture where raw compute performance favors the desktop card, but the mobile part’s efficiency and overall standing in the broader GPU landscape tell a different story.

The Verdict

From the benchmark data, the NVIDIA RTX A4500 is the clear performance winner in direct comparison. It beats the A5500 Mobile by 12.4% in Geekbench OpenCL (141,837 vs 124,287) and by 20.3% in Geekbench Vulkan (129,980 vs 103,601). If the primary use case is maximum compute throughput in a stationary workstation, the A4500 is the data-supported choice.

However, the A5500 Mobile deserves attention for a different reason. Its average benchmark score of 113,944 is substantially higher than the A4500’s 91,671. This apparent contradiction, winning both head-to-head tests yet having a lower average, indicates the A4500’s score is dragged down by other workloads not reflected in the two shared tests. The A5500 Mobile also ranks in the 94th percentile of all GPUs, one point higher than the A4500’s 93rd percentile. For users constrained by power envelopes or physical space, the A5500 Mobile delivers competitive performance at a 17.5% lower TDP (165 W vs 200 W) without requiring external power connectors.

The verdict hinges on the deployment scenario. The A4500 wins on raw speed in both measured APIs, making it the pick for fixed workstations where space and power are not limiting factors. The A5500 Mobile is the rational choice for mobile workstations or compact systems where the absence of power connectors and lower thermal footprint are decisive advantages, especially given its superior average benchmark score across the full test suite.

Architecture Differences

Both GPUs share the Ampere architecture and are fabricated on Samsung’s 8 nm process, but they use different physical chips. The A5500 Mobile is built on the GA103 die, which measures 496 mm² and contains 22,000 million transistors, yielding a transistor density of 44.4 million per mm². The A4500 uses the larger GA102 die, measuring 628 mm² with 28,300 million transistors and a slightly higher density of 45.1 million per mm².

The core configurations reflect these die differences. The A5500 Mobile has more shading units (7,424 vs 7,168), more texture mapping units (232 vs 224), and more ray tracing cores (58 vs 56). The tensor core count also favors the mobile part at 232 versus 224. Both GPUs have identical 96 raster output pipelines.

Clock speeds tell the opposite story. The A4500 runs at a 1050 MHz base clock and 1650 MHz boost, compared to the A5500 Mobile’s 975 MHz base and 1500 MHz boost. This 10% boost clock advantage (1650 vs 1500 MHz) helps the A4500 overcome its slightly lower core counts.

Memory configurations diverge significantly. The A5500 Mobile has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 512.0 GB/s bandwidth. The A4500 offers 20 GB on a wider 320-bit bus, achieving 640.0 GB/s, 25% more bandwidth. Both use 16 Gbps effective memory speed. The A4500’s higher pixel rate (158.4 GPixel/s vs 144.0) and texture rate (369.6 GTexel/s vs 348.0) further reflect its clock advantage.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The Geekbench OpenCL test shows the A4500 scoring 141,837 against the A5500 Mobile’s 124,287, a 12.4% advantage. This delta is larger than the raw FP32 difference would suggest, the A4500’s 23.65 TFLOPS is only 6.2% above the A5500 Mobile’s 22.27 TFLOPS. The gap likely stems from the A4500’s 25% higher memory bandwidth (640.0 vs 512.0 GB/s), which benefits compute workloads that are memory-bound.

The Geekbench Vulkan test produces an even larger margin. The A4500 scores 129,980 versus 103,601 for the A5500 Mobile, a 20.3% lead. Vulkan workloads often stress memory bandwidth and sustained clock speeds, both areas where the A4500 excels due to its higher boost clock (1650 vs 1500 MHz) and wider memory bus (320 vs 256 bit). The A4500’s lower core count (7,168 vs 7,424) is clearly not a hindrance in this test.

The wins are lopsided: 0 for the A5500 Mobile and 2 for the A4500 in the shared tests. Yet the average benchmark scores complicate this picture. The A5500 Mobile’s average of 113,944 exceeds the A4500’s 91,671 by 24.3%. This implies that in other benchmarks not shared between the two, the A5500 Mobile performs significantly better relative to the A4500, possibly due to driver optimizations or workload characteristics that favor the GA103 chip’s higher core counts.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A5500 Mobile has 7,424 shading units, while the NVIDIA RTX A4500 has 7,168, a difference of 256 units in favor of the mobile part.

Q: What is the memory capacity difference?

A: The A4500 offers 20 GB of GDDR6 memory, while the A5500 Mobile has 16 GB. The A4500 also has a wider 320-bit bus versus 256-bit, providing 640.0 GB/s bandwidth compared to 512.0 GB/s.

Q: How do their power requirements differ?

A: The A5500 Mobile has a 165 W TDP and requires no power connectors, whereas the A4500 has a 200 W TDP and uses a single 8-pin connector. The A4500 also suggests a 550 W power supply.

Q: What do the Geekbench results show?

A: In Geekbench OpenCL, the A4500 scores 141,837 versus 124,287 for the A5500 Mobile (12.4% higher). In Geekbench Vulkan, the A4500 scores 129,980 versus 103,601 (20.3% higher).

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The A5500 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 113,944, which is 24.3% higher than the A4500’s 91,671, despite losing both direct head-to-head tests.

Q: What are the release dates?

A: The A5500 Mobile was released on 2022-03-21, while the A4500 came earlier on 2021-11-22. Both are end-of-life products.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA RTX A4500 wins in every directly comparable benchmark. Its 12.4% OpenCL lead and 20.3% Vulkan lead make it the superior choice for compute-heavy rendering, simulation, or machine learning workloads that rely on raw throughput and memory bandwidth. The 640.0 GB/s bandwidth is a decisive factor for large datasets, and the dual-slot form factor with active cooling allows sustained boost clocks of 1650 MHz without thermal throttling concerns. The 20 GB memory capacity also provides more headroom for massive scenes or models that exceed 16 GB.

The NVIDIA RTX A5500 Mobile wins on efficiency and overall benchmark standing. Its 165 W TDP is 17.5% lower than the A4500’s 200 W, and the absence of power connectors makes it far easier to integrate into portable systems. The 94th percentile ranking versus 93rd indicates that across the entire GPU landscape, the mobile part performs more consistently relative to its peers. The higher average benchmark score (113,944 vs 91,671) suggests that in workloads not covered by the two shared tests, the A5500 Mobile is substantially stronger, possibly due to its 256 additional shading units and 2 additional RT cores.

For mobile workstations, the A5500 Mobile is the only viable option given its portable device-dependent display outputs. For desktop workstations, the A4500’s 4x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs and dual-slot design are more conventional. The choice ultimately depends on whether the user prioritizes the A4500’s raw performance in known benchmarks or the A5500 Mobile’s lower power draw and superior average score across a broader test suite.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every physical and performance specification. The A5500 Mobile uses the GA103 chip (496 mm², 22,000 million transistors), while the A4500 uses GA102 (628 mm², 28,300 million transistors). The A5500 Mobile has higher core counts: 7,424 shading units, 232 TMUs, 58 RT cores, and 232 tensor cores, versus 7,168 shading units, 224 TMUs, 56 RT cores, and 224 tensor cores on the A4500. Both have 96 ROPs.

Clock speeds favor the A4500, with a 1050 MHz base and 1650 MHz boost, compared to 975 MHz base and 1500 MHz boost on the A5500 Mobile. This results in higher pixel rate (158.4 vs 144.0 GPixel/s) and texture rate (369.6 vs 348.0 GTexel/s) for the A4500, along with higher FP32 performance (23.65 vs 22.27 TFLOPS). Both support identical FP16 performance at 1:1 ratio.

Memory is a major differentiator: the A4500 has 20 GB on a 320-bit bus with 640.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the A5500 Mobile has 16 GB on a 256-bit bus with 512.0 GB/s. Both use GDDR6 at 16 Gbps effective. Power profiles differ substantially: the A5500 Mobile draws 165 W with no connectors, while the A4500 draws 200 W with a single 8-pin connector and a 550 W suggested PSU.

Physical dimensions apply only to the A4500, which measures 267 mm in length and 112 mm in height as a dual-slot card. The A5500 Mobile has no listed dimensions and uses portable device dependent display outputs, whereas the A4500 provides 4x DisplayPort 1.4a. Both share PCIe 4.0 x16 interfaces, DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 support. The A5500 Mobile predates the A4500 by about four months, with release dates of 2022-03-21 and 2021-11-22 respectively.