NVIDIA RTX A4000 vs NVIDIA RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell Comparison

The Verdict

The recorded data presents a decisive outcome: the NVIDIA RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell wins all nine head-to-head benchmark comparisons against the NVIDIA RTX A4000. The average benchmark score for the RTX PRO 4500 is 31,532, compared to 26,683 for the RTX A4000, a difference of roughly 18%. The RTX PRO 4500 also holds a 76th percentile rank among all GPUs, while the RTX A4000 sits at the 72nd percentile. For any workload represented by these tests, the RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell is the clear choice based purely on performance metrics.

The RTX A4000 is listed as end-of-life, while the RTX PRO 4500 is active in production. The RTX PRO 4500 is the newer architecture, Blackwell 2.0, released in 2025, whereas the RTX A4000 is based on the older Ampere architecture from 2021. Users seeking maximum compute throughput, higher memory bandwidth, and modern API support will prefer the RTX PRO 4500. The RTX A4000, despite its lower performance, remains an option only where its single-slot form factor and lower power draw are absolute requirements, as those are the only measurable advantages it offers.

Architecture Differences

The two cards belong to different architectural generations. The RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell uses the GB203 chip on a 5 nm process from TSMC, while the RTX A4000 uses the GA104 chip on an 8 nm process from Samsung. This process difference is significant: the RTX PRO 4500 packs 45,600 million transistors into a 378 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 120.6 million per mm². The RTX A4000 has 17,400 million transistors on a larger 392 mm² die, resulting in a much lower density of 44.4 million per mm².

The compute resources differ substantially. The RTX PRO 4500 has 10,496 shading units, 328 texture mapping units, and 112 render output units. It also includes 82 ray tracing cores and 328 tensor cores. The RTX A4000 has 6,144 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, along with 48 ray tracing cores and 192 tensor cores. The RTX PRO 4500 essentially doubles the raw shader count and nearly doubles the ray tracing and tensor core counts.

Memory architecture also diverges. The RTX PRO 4500 offers 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 896.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX A4000 provides 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on the same 256-bit bus, but with only 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The effective memory speed is 28 Gbps for the newer card versus 14 Gbps for the older one. Clock speeds are also higher on the RTX PRO 4500, with a base clock of 1635 MHz and boost of 2407 MHz, compared to 735 MHz base and 1560 MHz boost on the RTX A4000.

The RTX PRO 4500 uses a PCIe 5.0 x16 interface, while the RTX A4000 uses PCIe 4.0 x16. Display outputs also differ: the RTX PRO 4500 supports 4x DisplayPort 2.1b, whereas the RTX A4000 has 4x DisplayPort 1.4a. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so API coverage is identical. The RTX PRO 4500 is a dual-slot card with a 16-pin power connector and a suggested PSU of 550 W, while the RTX A4000 is single-slot with a 6-pin connector and a 300 W suggested PSU.

FAQ

Q: Which card has more memory bandwidth?

A: The NVIDIA RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell has 896.0 GB/s of bandwidth, exactly double the 448.0 GB/s of the RTX A4000. This is driven by GDDR7 memory running at 28 Gbps effective versus GDDR6 at 14 Gbps effective.

Q: How much faster is the RTX PRO 4500 in DX12 performance?

A: In the Passmark DirectX 12 test, the RTX PRO 4500 scores 119 versus 72 for the RTX A4000, a 65.3% advantage. In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, the RTX PRO 4500 scores 7025 versus 2604, a 169.8% advantage.

Q: Is the RTX A4000 still in production?

A: No, the RTX A4000 is listed as end-of-life. The RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell is marked as active in production. The RTX A4000's successor is listed as "Workstation Ada," which is the predecessor of the RTX PRO 4500.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The RTX PRO 4500 has a TDP of 200 W and a suggested PSU of 550 W, using a 16-pin power connector. The RTX A4000 has a TDP of 140 W and a suggested PSU of 300 W, using a 6-pin connector.

Q: Which card has more ray tracing cores?

A: The RTX PRO 4500 has 82 ray tracing cores, compared to 48 on the RTX A4000. It also has 328 tensor cores versus 192 on the older card.

Q: What is the transistor count difference?

A: The RTX PRO 4500 has 45,600 million transistors, while the RTX A4000 has 17,400 million. The newer card uses a 5 nm process from TSMC, versus 8 nm from Samsung for the older card.

Specification Differences

The following fields differ between the two cards:

• Chip: GB203 (RTX PRO 4500) versus GA104 (RTX A4000)
• Architecture: Blackwell 2.0 versus Ampere
• Generation: Blackwell PRO W (x000) versus Workstation Ampere (Ax000)
• Process node: 5 nm (TSMC) versus 8 nm (Samsung)
• Transistors: 45,600 million versus 17,400 million
• Die size: 378 mm² versus 392 mm²
• Transistor density: 120.6M / mm² versus 44.4M / mm²
• Base clock: 1635 MHz versus 735 MHz
• Boost clock: 2407 MHz versus 1560 MHz
• Memory speed: 28 Gbps effective versus 14 Gbps effective
• Memory size: 32 GB versus 16 GB
• Memory type: GDDR7 versus GDDR6
• Memory bandwidth: 896.0 GB/s versus 448.0 GB/s
• Shading units: 10,496 versus 6,144
• TMUs: 328 versus 192
• ROPs: 112 versus 96
• RT cores: 82 versus 48
• Tensor cores: 328 versus 192
• Pixel rate: 269.6 GPixel/s versus 149.8 GPixel/s
• Texture rate: 789.5 GTexel/s versus 299.5 GTexel/s
• FP32: 50.53 TFLOPS versus 19.17 TFLOPS
• FP16: 50.53 TFLOPS (1:1) versus 19.17 TFLOPS (1:1)
• TDP: 200 W versus 140 W
• Slot width: Dual-slot versus Single-slot
• Power connector: 1x 16-pin versus 1x 6-pin
• Suggested PSU: 550 W versus 300 W
• Bus interface: PCIe 5.0 x16 versus PCIe 4.0 x16
• Display outputs: 4x DisplayPort 2.1b versus 4x DisplayPort 1.4a
• Dimensions: 267 mm / 111 mm / 40 mm versus 241 mm / 112 mm / width not recorded
• Production status: Active versus End-of-life
• Release date: 2025-03-17 versus 2021-04-11
• Predecessor: Workstation Ada versus Quadro Turing
• Successor: None versus Workstation Ada

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell wins every recorded benchmark. The largest gap appears in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, where the RTX PRO 4500 scores 7025 against 2604, a 169.8% delta. This is the single most decisive result in the dataset and suggests a fundamental advantage in modern DX12 rendering workloads.

In compute-oriented tests, the RTX PRO 4500 also dominates. Passmark GPU Compute shows 19,255 versus 9,760, a 97.3% advantage. The Geekbench Vulkan score is 221,768 against 127,645, a 73.7% lead. These results align with the FP32 throughput figures: 50.53 TFLOPS versus 19.17 TFLOPS, which is a 2.6x raw compute advantage.

The Passmark suite shows consistent wins across all API levels. DirectX 11 gives 320 versus 158, a 102.5% delta. DirectX 9 gives 397 versus 240, a 65.4% delta. DirectX 10 gives 204 versus 126, a 61.9% delta. DirectX 12 gives 119 versus 72, a 65.3% delta. The overall Passmark G3D score is 33,360 versus 19,459, a 71.4% improvement.

The 2D test is the closest result, but still favors the RTX PRO 4500: 1,336 versus 1,024, a 30.5% delta. This smaller margin reflects that 2D performance is less dependent on raw compute resources. Still, the RTX PRO 4500 never loses a single comparison in the recorded data.

Where Each One Wins

Based on the benchmark data, the RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell wins in every category measured: DX9, DX10, DX11, DX12, Vulkan, 3DMark, G2D, G3D, and GPU compute. There is no recorded test where the RTX A4000 comes out ahead. Therefore, for any workload that maps to these tests, the RTX PRO 4500 is the superior choice.

The RTX A4000 does have two physical advantages that are not reflected in the benchmark scores. It is a single-slot card, whereas the RTX PRO 4500 is dual-slot. It also has a lower TDP of 140 W versus 200 W and requires only a 300 W PSU versus 550 W. For compact workstation builds or systems with limited power delivery, the RTX A4000 may be the only physically compatible option.

However, in terms of pure performance, the RTX PRO 4500 is ahead by margins ranging from 30.5% in G2D to 169.8% in 3DMark Steel Nomad. The compute advantage is nearly double in Passmark GPU Compute. The memory bandwidth is doubled, and the FP32 throughput is more than 2.6 times higher. The RTX PRO 4500 also supports PCIe 5.0 and DisplayPort 2.1b, while the RTX A4000 is limited to PCIe 4.0 and DisplayPort 1.4a.

The RTX A4000's only realistic use case is where its single-slot physical profile and lower power draw are mandatory. Otherwise, the recorded data consistently favors the RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell across all nine benchmark comparisons, with zero wins for the older card.