NVIDIA RTX A500 Embedded

The NVIDIA RTX A500 Embedded is an Ampere-architecture GPU built on Samsung's 8 nm process, packing 8,700 million transistors into a 200 mm² die. It sits at the 50th percentile of all GPUs in the benchmark database, placing it exactly mid-pack among every GPU tracked. Released on March 29, 2022, it is now marked end-of-life, with the Ada-MW generation as its successor and the Quadro Turing-M line as its predecessor. The card uses the GA107S chip, a 2048-shader design that targets embedded and portable systems via the MXM module form factor.

How It Compares

The available data lists no nearest-rival entries for the RTX A500 Embedded, so direct score-to-score comparisons are not possible from the recorded information. Instead, its position must be read from the percentile field: 50. That places the A500 Embedded at the exact median of the entire GPU population in the database — half of all GPUs scored above it, half below. For a component drawing only 20 W, this mid-pack standing is notable; it means the card punches well above its power class in raw compute.

Generational context comes from the predecessor and successor fields. The Quadro Turing-M line preceded it, and the Ada-MW generation follows it. The database does not record score deltas between these generations, so the performance gap cannot be quantified. What is clear is the architectural position: the A500 Embedded brings Ampere's feature set — 16 RT cores and 64 tensor cores — to the embedded segment, with the GA107S chip as the implementation.

Within its own specifications, the A500 Embedded shows a balanced design. Its 5.468 TFLOPS FP32 throughput equals its FP16 figure at a 1:1 ratio, a configuration that favors compute workloads. The 50th percentile ranking reflects this balanced approach: not a specialist card, but a generalist that handles a wide range of tasks at a moderate performance level. The 435 MHz base clock and 1335 MHz boost clock define a wide dynamic range, allowing the card to idle efficiently and scale up under load.

Ray Tracing and Feature Set

The RTX A500 Embedded includes 16 RT cores and 64 tensor cores, the hardware blocks that enable ray tracing and AI-accelerated workloads. These are the architectural elements found across the Ampere lineup, adapted to the embedded power envelope. The tensor cores handle neural-network-based compute tasks, while the RT cores process ray-traced effects in supported applications.

API support is comprehensive for the card's generation. The A500 Embedded supports DirectX 12 Ultimate at feature level 12_2, along with OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4. This API coverage means the card can run modern games and professional applications that rely on these interfaces, including those using the latest rendering features. The DirectX 12 Ultimate tier is the highest feature level in the DirectX 12 specification, which is a meaningful capability for an embedded part.

The compute side is defined by 2048 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. FP32 and FP16 both run at 5.468 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio, so half-precision workloads run at the same rate as full-precision ones. For workloads that mix precision levels — common in AI inference and certain compute shaders — this parity is an advantage. The texture fill rate of 85.44 GTexel/s and pixel fill rate of 42.72 GPixel/s round out the rendering pipeline.

Power and Cooling

The RTX A500 Embedded has a TDP of 20 W, an extremely low figure for a GPU with 2048 shading units. This low power draw is achieved through aggressive clocking: a 435 MHz base clock and a 1335 MHz boost clock. The card requires no power connectors — the MXM module slot supplies all necessary power. This makes installation simple in systems designed for MXM modules, as no additional PCIe power cables are needed.

The MXM form factor means the card is not a standard desktop expansion card. It is designed to slot into embedded systems, laptops, and other portable devices. Display outputs are listed as "Portable Device Dependent," meaning the physical video outputs are determined by the host device rather than the card itself. Cooling is likewise the responsibility of the host system; a 20 W TDP is low enough that a capable air cooler or passive cooling in a well-ventilated chassis would suffice.

The bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x8, providing a connection that is well matched to the card's 96.00 GB/s memory bandwidth. The 8-lane interface reduces pin count and power compared to a full x16 slot, appropriate for the embedded target market. The slot width is listed as MXM Module, confirming the card's intended installation environment.

FAQ

Q: How much memory does the RTX A500 Embedded have?

A: It has 4 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 64-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 96.00 GB/s and an effective memory speed of 12 Gbps.

Q: What APIs does the card support?

A: It supports DirectX 12 Ultimate at feature level 12_2, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Q: What is the power consumption?

A: The TDP is 20 W, and the card requires no power connectors — power is supplied through the MXM slot.

Q: Is the RTX A500 Embedded still in production?

A: No, it is marked end-of-life. It was released on March 29, 2022.

Q: Does the card support ray tracing?

A: Yes, it includes 16 RT cores and 64 tensor cores, providing hardware ray tracing and AI acceleration.

Q: What form factor does it use?

A: It uses an MXM Module slot width, with display outputs dependent on the portable device it is installed in.

Benchmark Performance

The database contains no benchmark scores for the RTX A500 Embedded — the benchmarks array is empty and the average benchmark score is 0. With no nearest-rival deltas available, performance analysis must rely on the card's compute metrics and its 50th percentile ranking.

The headline compute figure is 5.468 TFLOPS of FP32 throughput, a number that also applies to FP16 thanks to the 1:1 ratio. Texture fill rate is 85.44 GTexel/s, and pixel fill rate is 42.72 GPixel/s. These figures are derived from the 2048 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 32 ROPs operating at the 1335 MHz boost clock.

The 50th percentile ranking is the most direct performance indicator available. It tells us the A500 Embedded outperforms half of all GPUs in the database and trails the other half. For an embedded part, this is a strong result — the card delivers mid-pack performance while consuming only 20 W. The 435 MHz base clock and 1335 MHz boost clock show a wide boost range, allowing the card to scale up under load when thermal headroom permits.

Comparing the compute metrics internally, the texture rate of 85.44 GTexel/s relative to the FP32 throughput suggests a well-balanced pipeline. The pixel rate of 42.72 GPixel/s is consistent with the 32 ROPs. These ratios indicate the card is not bottlenecked by any single stage in its rendering pipeline, at least at the architectural level. The transistor density of 43.5M per mm² on the 200 mm² die reflects the 8 nm Samsung process, which enables this level of performance within the 20 W envelope.

Memory Subsystem

The RTX A500 Embedded pairs its 2048-shader Ampere core with 4 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 64-bit bus. The memory clock is 1500 MHz, translating to 12 Gbps effective, and total bandwidth is 96.00 GB/s.

This is a modest memory configuration by desktop standards, but it must be judged in context. The 20 W TDP and embedded form factor constrain both the memory capacity and the bus width. A 64-bit bus with 96.00 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for the card's compute throughput — the FP32 rate of 5.468 TFLOPS does not require an enormous memory pipeline to stay fed in typical workloads.

For high-resolution rendering, the 4 GB capacity is the more significant limitation. Modern games and professional applications at high resolutions can exceed 4 GB of VRAM usage, forcing the card to fall back to system memory over the PCIe 4.0 x8 link. The 96.00 GB/s bandwidth will also become a constraint in texture-heavy scenes, where the card's 85.44 GTexel/s texture fill rate can outpace the memory's ability to supply texture data.

The 12 Gbps effective memory speed is the GDDR6 standard for this generation, and the 1500 MHz memory clock is the listed figure. The card does not use a memory overclock out of the box. For embedded applications — which typically prioritize power efficiency and reliability over peak memory performance — this configuration is appropriate. The 64-bit bus width, while narrow, keeps the memory controller power draw low, contributing to the overall 20 W TDP budget.