NVIDIA A100 PCIe 40 GB vs NVIDIA L4 Comparison

NVIDIA’s server lineup spans two very different design philosophies. The A100 PCIe 40 GB is a data-center heavyweight built for massive parallel compute, while the L4 is a low-profile, power-efficient workhorse aimed at inference and edge deployments. Benchmark data shows the A100 wins both head-to-head tests, but the L4 counters with a dramatically smaller footprint and far lower power draw. The choice between them is less about raw speed and more about what your server room can physically and electrically support.

Where Each One Wins

The A100 PCIe 40 GB takes the performance crown in every recorded benchmark. It wins the Geekbench OpenCL test with a score of 178,627 against the L4’s 140,838, a 26.8% advantage. It also wins Geekbench Vulkan with 146,380 versus 121,306, a 20.7% lead. If your workload is purely about maximum throughput per card, the A100 is the clear victor.

The L4’s win is not in raw compute but in deployment flexibility. It is a single-slot card measuring 169 mm in length, compared to the A100’s dual-slot, 267 mm design. The L4 draws only 72 W and requires no power connectors, while the A100 needs a 250 W budget and an 8-pin EPS connector. The L4’s suggested PSU is 250 W versus the A100’s 600 W. In a dense server with limited physical space and power headroom, the L4 can fit where the A100 cannot. The L4 also carries a DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) API rating, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 support, whereas the A100 lists no API support in the data. For any workload touching modern graphics APIs, the L4 has a functional advantage despite its lower raw scores.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different manufacturing generations and design eras. The A100 uses the GA100 chip on the Ampere architecture, built on TSMC’s 7 nm process. It packs 54,200 million transistors onto a 826 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 65.6M per mm². The L4 uses the AD104 chip on the Ada Lovelace architecture, fabricated on TSMC’s 5 nm process. It contains 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die, achieving a much higher density of 121.8M per mm². The L4’s newer process node allows it to fit more transistors per square millimeter, but the A100’s sheer die size gives it more absolute hardware resources.

Memory architecture is fundamentally different. The A100 uses 40 GB of HBM2e on a 5120-bit bus, delivering 1.56 TB/s of bandwidth. The L4 uses 24 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, with 300.1 GB/s of bandwidth. The A100 has over five times the memory bandwidth, which explains its dominance in compute-heavy benchmarks. The L4 counters with higher clock speeds: its boost clock is 2040 MHz versus the A100’s 1410 MHz, and its base clock is 795 MHz versus 765 MHz. The L4 also has more shading units (7424 vs 6912) and includes 60 ray-tracing cores, which the A100 lacks entirely. The A100 has more TMUs (432 vs 240), more ROPs (160 vs 80), and more tensor cores (432 vs 240). The L4’s FP32 throughput is 30.29 TFLOPS versus the A100’s 19.49 TFLOPS, but the A100’s FP16 throughput is 77.97 TFLOPS (4:1) versus the L4’s 30.29 TFLOPS (1:1). The A100’s memory type and bus width are designed for data-center-scale workloads, while the L4’s higher clocks and newer architecture serve lighter, latency-sensitive tasks.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The Geekbench OpenCL test shows the A100’s advantage most clearly. The A100 scores 178,627 against the L4’s 140,838, a 26.8% delta. This margin likely stems from the A100’s 1.56 TB/s memory bandwidth and 5120-bit bus, which feed its 6912 shading units far faster than the L4’s 300.1 GB/s GDDR6 can manage. The L4’s higher boost clock (2040 MHz vs 1410 MHz) helps narrow the gap, but it cannot overcome the memory throughput deficit.

The Vulkan test shows a tighter race, but the A100 still wins. The A100 scores 146,380 versus the L4’s 121,306, a 20.7% delta. The L4’s advantage here is its native Vulkan 1.4 API support, which the A100 lacks. Despite this software edge, the A100’s raw compute resources—more ROPs (160 vs 80), more TMUs (432 vs 240), and superior memory bandwidth—carry it to victory. The L4’s 60 RT cores do not appear to offset the A100’s brute-force pixel and texture rates in this test. The A100’s pixel rate is 225.6 GPixel/s and texture rate is 609.1 GTexel/s, both higher than the L4’s 163.2 GPixel/s and 489.6 GTexel/s.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher memory bandwidth?

A: The NVIDIA A100 PCIe 40 GB has 1.56 TB/s of bandwidth from its HBM2e memory on a 5120-bit bus. The NVIDIA L4 has 300.1 GB/s from GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus. The A100’s bandwidth is approximately five times higher.

Q: Does the L4 support any graphics APIs?

A: Yes. The L4 lists DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 support. The A100’s API fields are all null, meaning no API support is documented in the data.

Q: What are the physical size differences?

A: The A100 is a dual-slot card measuring 267 mm in length and 111 mm in height. The L4 is a single-slot card measuring 169 mm in length and 56 mm in height. The L4 is substantially shorter and slimmer.

Q: Which card requires more power?

A: The A100 has a 250 W TDP and requires an 8-pin EPS power connector, with a suggested PSU of 600 W. The L4 has a 72 W TDP, requires no power connectors, and has a suggested PSU of 250 W.

Q: How do their FP32 and FP16 performance compare?

A: The L4 has higher FP32 performance at 30.29 TFLOPS versus the A100’s 19.49 TFLOPS. The A100 has higher FP16 performance at 77.97 TFLOPS (4:1) versus the L4’s 30.29 TFLOPS (1:1). The L4’s FP16 is 1:1, meaning it does not use a rate-reduction ratio.

Q: Which card has more tensor cores?

A: The A100 has 432 tensor cores. The L4 has 240 tensor cores. The A100 also has more TMUs (432 vs 240) and ROPs (160 vs 80).

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA A100 PCIe 40 GB | NVIDIA L4 |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | Ampere | Ada Lovelace |

| Process Node | 7 nm | 5 nm |

| Transistors | 54,200 million | 35,800 million |

| Die Size | 826 mm² | 294 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 65.6M / mm² | 121.8M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 765 MHz | 795 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1410 MHz | 2040 MHz |

| Memory Size | 40 GB | 24 GB |

| Memory Type | HBM2e | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus Width | 5120 bit | 192 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 1.56 TB/s | 300.1 GB/s |

| Memory Clock | 1215 MHz / 2.4 Gbps effective | 1563 MHz / 12.5 Gbps effective |

| Shading Units | 6912 | 7424 |

| TMUs | 432 | 240 |

| ROPs | 160 | 80 |

| RT Cores | None | 60 |

| Tensor Cores | 432 | 240 |

| Pixel Rate | 225.6 GPixel/s | 163.2 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 609.1 GTexel/s | 489.6 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 19.49 TFLOPS | 30.29 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 77.97 TFLOPS (4:1) | 30.29 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 250 W | 72 W |

| Slot Width | Dual-slot | Single-slot |

| Power Connectors | 8-pin EPS | None |

| Suggested PSU | 600 W | 250 W |

| DirectX | None | 12 Ultimate (12_2) |

| OpenGL | None | 4.6 |

| Vulkan | None | 1.4 |

| Length | 267 mm / 10.5 inches | 169 mm / 6.7 inches |

| Height | 111 mm / 4.4 inches | 56 mm / 2.2 inches |

| Production Status | End-of-life | Active |

| Release Date | 2020-06-21 | 2023-03-20 |

| Predecessor | Tesla Turing | Server Ampere |

| Successor | Server Ada | Server Hopper |

The Verdict

The data points to a clear split. Choose the NVIDIA A100 PCIe 40 GB if your priority is maximum compute performance per card. Its 26.8% OpenCL lead and 20.7% Vulkan lead over the L4 are decisive. The A100 also offers 40 GB of HBM2e memory with 1.56 TB/s bandwidth, which is essential for large models or datasets that cannot fit in the L4’s 24 GB GDDR6. The A100’s higher FP16 throughput (77.97 TFLOPS) makes it better suited for workloads that leverage mixed-precision training. Its 432 tensor cores provide more parallel matrix math capability than the L4’s 240.

Choose the NVIDIA L4 if your constraints are physical and thermal. The L4 is a single-slot, 169 mm card that draws only 72 W and requires no external power. It fits in servers where the A100’s 267 mm dual-slot design and 250 W draw are impossible. The L4’s 5 nm process gives it a higher transistor density (121.8M per mm²) and a much higher boost clock (2040 MHz), which helps it achieve 30.29 TFLOPS FP32—more than the A100’s 19.49 TFLOPS. Its API support for DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 means it can handle graphics workloads the A100 cannot. The L4’s 60 RT cores add ray-tracing capability, though the A100’s higher pixel and texture rates suggest it still wins in raw rasterization. The L4 is also an active product, while the A100 is end-of-life. For inference at the edge, or any deployment where power density is the bottleneck, the L4 is the practical choice. For pure compute density in a well-powered server, the A100 remains the stronger option.