AMD Radeon PRO W7700 vs NVIDIA L40S Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data is unequivocal: the NVIDIA L40S dominates the AMD Radeon PRO W7700 in every recorded test. In Geekbench OpenCL, the L40S scores 330,727 against the W7700's 108,245, a staggering 205.5% advantage. This is not a marginal gap; it is a performance class difference that places the two cards in entirely different tiers of compute capability.

The Vulkan results tell a similar, though slightly less extreme, story. The L40S posts 260,799 while the W7700 manages 129,706, giving the NVIDIA card a 101.1% lead. In both APIs, the L40S more than doubles the AMD card's output. The database records 2 wins for the L40S and 0 for the W7700, with no test where the AMD card comes out ahead.

Contextualizing the L40S score against its nearest rivals shows it sits at a 99th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 295,763. It edges out the NVIDIA RTX 6000 Ada Generation (287,237, a 3% delta) and the NVIDIA L40 (284,111, a 4.1% delta). It trails the AMD Instinct MI300X (317,994, a -7% delta) and the NVIDIA H200 NVL (334,891, a -11.7% delta), but those are data-center-class accelerators with far larger memory footprints and different target workloads.

The W7700, by contrast, ranks at the 95th percentile with an average score of 118,976. Its nearest rivals are clustered tightly: the NVIDIA GB10 (117,393, a 1.3% delta), the NVIDIA RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation (117,088, a 1.6% delta), the NVIDIA Tesla V100 SXM2 16 GB (114,395, a 4% delta), and the NVIDIA RTX A5500 Mobile (113,944, a 4.4% delta). The W7700 leads that group, but the margins are slim, nothing like the multi-hundred-percent swings seen in the head-to-head against the L40S.

The practical implication is straightforward: any workload that relies on OpenCL or Vulkan compute will complete in roughly one-third the time on the L40S, or conversely, the W7700 would need over three times the runtime to match the L40S's output. For render farms, simulation batches, or AI inference loops, the difference in wall-clock time is transformative, not incremental.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs diverge fundamentally in their silicon design philosophy. The NVIDIA L40S uses the AD102 chip built on the Ada Lovelace architecture, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It packs 76,300 million transistors into a 609 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 125.3 million per square millimeter. The AMD Radeon PRO W7700 uses the Navi 32 chip on the RDNA 3.0 architecture, also on a TSMC 5 nm node, but with 28,100 million transistors spread across a 346 mm² die. That works out to 81.2 million transistors per square millimeter, a significantly lower density.

The compute resources reflect this disparity. The L40S carries 18,176 shading units, 568 texture mapping units, 192 render output units, 142 ray tracing cores, and 568 tensor cores. The W7700 has 3,072 shading units, 192 TMUs, 96 ROPs, and 48 ray tracing cores, with no tensor cores listed at all. The absence of tensor cores on the AMD card is notable for any machine learning workload, as the L40S's 568 tensor cores are purpose-built for matrix operations.

Memory architecture also differs sharply. The L40S comes with 48 GB of GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus, delivering 864.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The W7700 offers 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, with 576.0 GB/s. Both run the same memory clock at 2250 MHz with 18 Gbps effective speed, but the wider bus on the NVIDIA card directly translates to 50% more bandwidth. The L40S also has a 48 GB capacity, three times the W7700's 16 GB, which matters for large datasets that must reside in VRAM.

Clock behavior differs as well. The W7700 has a higher base clock at 1900 MHz versus the L40S's 1110 MHz, and a higher boost clock at 2600 MHz versus 2520 MHz. Yet the L40S compensates through sheer width and core count. Its pixel rate is 483.8 GPixel/s versus 249.6 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 1,431.4 GTexel/s versus 499.2 GTexel/s. FP32 throughput is 91.61 TFLOPS against 31.95 TFLOPS, nearly three times higher. In FP16, the L40S maintains 91.61 TFLOPS at a 1:1 ratio, while the W7700 reaches 63.90 TFLOPS at a 2:1 ratio, meaning the AMD card's FP16 figure relies on packed arithmetic.

Power and physical design also separate them. The L40S draws 300 W TDP with a single 16-pin connector and a suggested 700 W PSU. The W7700 is more modest at 190 W, using one 8-pin connector with a 450 W PSU suggestion. Both are dual-slot cards, but the L40S is longer at 267 mm (10.5 inches) versus 241 mm (9.5 inches). The W7700 offers four DisplayPort 2.1 outputs, while the L40S has one HDMI 2.1 and three DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Release timing shows the L40S launched on 2022-10-12, with the W7700 following on 2023-11-12. The L40S is marked as end-of-life, with its predecessor listed as Server Ampere and successor as Server Hopper. The W7700 lists a predecessor of Radeon Pro Vega and no successor.

The Verdict

The data supports one clear conclusion: the NVIDIA L40S is the superior compute card by every measured metric. It wins both head-to-head benchmarks by margins exceeding 100%, offers three times the memory capacity, delivers nearly three times the FP32 throughput, and occupies a higher percentile rank among all GPUs. For any workload that stresses OpenCL or Vulkan compute, the L40S is the unambiguous choice.

The AMD Radeon PRO W7700 is not a weak card in absolute terms. Its 95th percentile ranking and average score of 118,976 place it above most consumer GPUs, and it leads its nearest rivals by modest margins. But against the L40S, it is outclassed to a degree that no driver optimization or software tweak could bridge. The gap is architectural, not incidental.

Which GPU should you pick? If the workload involves large memory footprints, tensor-based operations, or high-throughput compute, the L40S is the only rational option. The 48 GB frame buffer alone justifies its selection for tasks like large language model inference or high-resolution rendering where the W7700's 16 GB would force constant memory swapping. If the workload is lighter, fits within 16 GB, and does not require tensor cores, the W7700's lower power draw and newer DisplayPort 2.1 outputs may suffice, but the performance ceiling is far lower.

There is no scenario in the recorded data where the W7700 wins. The verdict is a clean sweep for the L40S.

Specification Differences

The following fields differ between the two cards, based on the database records:

• Chip: AD102 (NVIDIA) vs Navi 32 (AMD)
• Architecture: Ada Lovelace vs RDNA 3.0
• Generation: Server Ada (Lxx) vs Radeon Pro Navi (Navi III Series)
• Transistors: 76,300 million vs 28,100 million
• Die Size: 609 mm² vs 346 mm²
• Transistor Density: 125.3M / mm² vs 81.2M / mm²
• Base Clock: 1110 MHz vs 1900 MHz
• Boost Clock: 2520 MHz vs 2600 MHz
• Memory Size: 48 GB vs 16 GB
• Memory Bus Width: 384 bit vs 256 bit
• Memory Bandwidth: 864.0 GB/s vs 576.0 GB/s
• Shading Units: 18,176 vs 3,072
• TMUs: 568 vs 192
• ROPs: 192 vs 96
• Ray Tracing Cores: 142 vs 48
• Tensor Cores: 568 vs none listed
• Pixel Rate: 483.8 GPixel/s vs 249.6 GPixel/s
• Texture Rate: 1,431.4 GTexel/s vs 499.2 GTexel/s
• FP32: 91.61 TFLOPS vs 31.95 TFLOPS
• FP16: 91.61 TFLOPS (1:1) vs 63.90 TFLOPS (2:1)
• TDP: 300 W vs 190 W
• Power Connectors: 1x 16-pin vs 1x 8-pin
• Suggested PSU: 700 W vs 450 W
• Display Outputs: 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a vs 4x DisplayPort 2.1
• Length: 267 mm (10.5 inches) vs 241 mm (9.5 inches)
• Production Status: End-of-life vs not listed
• Release Date: 2022-10-12 vs 2023-11-12
• Predecessor: Server Ampere vs Radeon Pro Vega
• Successor: Server Hopper vs none listed
• Launch MSRP: none listed vs 999 USD

Fields that match include process node (5 nm), foundry (TSMC), memory type (GDDR6), memory clock (2250 MHz, 18 Gbps effective), slot width (dual-slot), bus interface (PCIe 4.0 x16), height (111 mm, 4.4 inches), and all three API versions (DirectX 12 Ultimate 12_2, OpenGL 4.6, Vulkan 1.4).

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has more memory?

A: The NVIDIA L40S has 48 GB of GDDR6, three times the 16 GB found on the AMD Radeon PRO W7700.

Q: How much faster is the L40S in OpenCL?

A: The L40S scores 330,727 versus the W7700's 108,245, a 205.5% advantage.

Q: Does the AMD card have tensor cores?

A: No tensor cores are listed for the Radeon PRO W7700. The L40S has 568 tensor cores.

Q: What is the power draw difference?

A: The L40S has a 300 W TDP, while the W7700 draws 190 W. The L40S requires a 700 W suggested PSU, and the W7700 needs 450 W.

Q: Which card ranks higher among all GPUs?

A: The L40S sits at the 99th percentile with an average benchmark score of 295,763. The W7700 is at the 95th percentile with an average score of 118,976.

Q: What is the W7700's launch MSRP?

A: The database lists a launch MSRP of 999 USD for the Radeon PRO W7700. The L40S has no launch MSRP recorded.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA L40S wins in every compute benchmark recorded. Its advantages are most pronounced in OpenCL, where the 205.5% delta means workloads complete in under one-third the time. The Vulkan gap of 101.1% is also decisive. For any task that involves tensor operations, the L40S's 568 tensor cores provide hardware acceleration that the W7700 simply lacks. Memory-heavy workloads, such as training or inference with models exceeding 16 GB, can only run on the L40S's 48 GB frame buffer. The L40S also wins on raw throughput metrics: 91.61 TFLOPS FP32 versus 31.95 TFLOPS, 1,431.4 GTexel/s texture rate versus 499.2 GTexel/s, and 483.8 GPixel/s pixel rate versus 249.6 GPixel/s.

The AMD Radeon PRO W7700 has no benchmark wins in the recorded data. Its strengths are limited to characteristics not captured in performance scores. It has a higher boost clock at 2600 MHz versus 2520 MHz, which suggests better responsiveness in lightly threaded or latency-sensitive scenarios, though no benchmark confirms this. It draws 110 W less power, making it easier to cool and integrate into systems with smaller power supplies. It offers four DisplayPort 2.1 outputs, which supports higher refresh rates and newer display standards than the L40S's trio of DisplayPort 1.4a and single HDMI 2.1. Its shorter length at 241 mm versus 267 mm may fit smaller chassis. The W7700 also has a listed launch MSRP of 999 USD, though this article does not analyze cost-effectiveness.

For users deciding between these two, the split is simple: if the task is compute-heavy, rendering, AI, or simulation, the L40S is the only choice that the data supports. If the task is display-centric with multiple modern monitors, or if power efficiency is paramount, the W7700 has tangible advantages, but those advantages do not translate into any performance win in the database's benchmark suite. The L40S wins where it matters most, and it wins by margins that define product categories rather than merely separating competitors.