NVIDIA A100 PCIe 40 GB vs NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada Generation Comparison

The NVIDIA A100 PCIe 40 GB and the NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada Generation represent two distinct philosophies within NVIDIA’s professional lineup: one is a server-oriented compute accelerator from the Ampere generation, while the other is a power-efficient workstation card built on Ada Lovelace. The benchmark data available for this comparison, while limited to two compute-oriented tests, reveals a clear performance hierarchy, but the underlying architectural and specification differences tell a more nuanced story about their respective use cases.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

In the two head-to-head tests available, the NVIDIA A100 PCIe 40 GB demonstrates a commanding lead over the RTX 4000 Ada Generation. The most significant margin appears in the Geekbench OpenCL test, where the A100 scores 178,627 points against the RTX 4000’s 146,593 points. This represents a 21.9% advantage for the A100, a substantial gap that underscores its role as a high-throughput compute engine. The delta is not a marginal difference; it is a decisive win that places the A100 in a different performance tier for raw general-purpose GPU compute workloads.

The Vulkan test shows a similar, though slightly narrower, outcome. Here, the A100 scores 146,380, while the RTX 4000 Ada Generation trails at 123,842. The resulting delta is 18.2% in favor of the A100. While Vulkan is more commonly associated with graphics rendering than with the scientific and AI workloads the A100 targets, the result still reflects the A100’s superior raw hardware resources. In both tests, the A100 wins outright, securing a 2-0 record in the head-to-head comparison.

Contextualizing these scores against their respective nearest rivals provides further insight. The A100’s average benchmark score of 162,504 places it in the 97th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival is the AMD Radeon Pro W6800X, which averages 160,671, a mere 1.1% behind. The A100 also edges out the AMD Radeon PRO W7800 (164,894, -1.4% delta) and the NVIDIA RTX A5500 (165,217, -1.6% delta). This indicates that while the A100 is a leader, the competition within its immediate performance class is tight, with deltas under 2.2%.

The RTX 4000 Ada Generation, meanwhile, holds a 95th percentile ranking with an average benchmark score of 135,218. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA A10M, which scores 135,230, a negligible 0.0% delta. The AMD Radeon PRO W6800 (135,396, -0.1%) and the AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo (135,774, -0.4%) are also within a percentage point. This positioning shows that the RTX 4000 sits in a highly competitive performance band, where the difference between cards is often within the margin of error, but it is clearly a step below the A100 in absolute compute throughput.

Where Each One Wins

The data paints a clear picture: the NVIDIA A100 PCIe 40 GB wins in every benchmark category measured. Its victories in both Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan are consistent, which points to a fundamental advantage in processing power. The A100’s 21.9% lead in OpenCL is particularly noteworthy for compute-heavy tasks such as simulation, scientific analysis, and machine learning training, where the API is a primary interface. The 18.2% lead in Vulkan, while less central to the A100’s intended server role, still demonstrates its overall superiority in handling parallel workloads.

The RTX 4000 Ada Generation, despite losing these tests, has strengths that are not captured by this limited benchmark suite. Its architectural features, such as dedicated ray tracing cores and a full display output suite, are not exercised by OpenCL and Vulkan compute tests. The data shows no scenario where the RTX 4000 wins, but the specification sheet suggests its domain lies in professional graphics, content creation, and workstation visualization, where its feature set would be more relevant than raw compute FP32 throughput alone. In the context of these specific benchmarks, however, the A100 is the definitive winner.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA A100 PCIe 40 GB has a significantly higher average benchmark score of 162,504, compared to the RTX 4000 Ada Generation’s 135,218.

Q: How large is the performance gap in the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The A100 leads by 21.9%, scoring 178,627 versus the RTX 4000’s 146,593.

Q: Does the RTX 4000 Ada Generation win in any benchmark category?

A: No. Based on the available data, the RTX 4000 loses both the Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan tests, giving it zero wins against the A100’s two wins.

Q: What is the percentile ranking for each card among all GPUs?

A: The A100 is in the 97th percentile, while the RTX 4000 Ada Generation is in the 95th percentile, indicating both are high-performing cards overall.

Q: How does the RTX 4000 Ada Generation compare to its closest rival, the NVIDIA A10M?

A: The RTX 4000’s average score of 135,218 is essentially tied with the A10M's 135,230, showing a 0.0% delta.

Q: Is the A100’s lead consistent across different APIs?

A: Yes, the A100 wins by 21.9% in OpenCL and by 18.2% in Vulkan, showing a consistent performance advantage across both APIs.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ substantially in nearly every core specification. The A100 features a larger memory capacity of 40 GB, while the RTX 4000 has 20 GB. Memory type also differs: the A100 uses HBM2e with a 5120-bit bus and a bandwidth of 1.56 TB/s, whereas the RTX 4000 uses GDDR6 with a 160-bit bus and a bandwidth of 360.0 GB/s. The A100’s memory subsystem is designed for massive data throughput, while the RTX 4000’s is more conventional for a workstation card.

Thermal and power characteristics are also divergent. The A100 has a TDP of 250 W and requires a dual-slot cooler with an 8-pin EPS power connector, while the RTX 4000 is far more efficient, with a TDP of 130 W, a single-slot design, and a single 16-pin connector. The suggested power supply differs as well: 600 W for the A100 and 300 W for the RTX 4000. Physically, the A100 is longer at 267 mm, while the RTX 4000 measures 245 mm. Both are 111 mm and 112 mm in height, respectively.

The compute resources show a trade-off. The A100 has 6912 shading units, 432 TMUs, and 160 ROPs, whereas the RTX 4000 has 6144 shading units, 192 TMUs, and only 64 ROPs. However, the RTX 4000 includes 48 dedicated ray tracing cores, which are absent from the A100’s specification list. The A100 counters with 432 tensor cores, more than double the RTX 4000’s 192. Clock speeds are another differentiator: the A100 has a base clock of 765 MHz and a boost of 1410 MHz, while the RTX 4000 operates at 1500 MHz base and 2175 MHz boost. Consequently, the RTX 4000 achieves higher FP32 throughput at 26.73 TFLOPS versus the A100’s 19.49 TFLOPS, but the A100’s FP16 performance is far higher at 77.97 TFLOPS (4:1) compared to the RTX 4000’s 26.73 TFLOPS (1:1). The A100 also has no display outputs, while the RTX 4000 offers 4x DisplayPort 1.4a.

Architecture Differences

The fundamental architecture separates these two GPUs. The A100 is built on the Ampere architecture using the GA100 chip, manufactured on a 7 nm process at TSMC. It belongs to the Server Ampere generation. The RTX 4000 Ada Generation uses the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD104 chip, built on a more advanced 5 nm process, also at TSMC, and is part of the Workstation Ada generation. The process node difference is significant, as the RTX 4000 achieves a much higher transistor density of 121.8M per mm² compared to the A100’s 65.6M per mm², despite having fewer total transistors (35,800 million versus 54,200 million) and a smaller die size (294 mm² versus 826 mm²).

In terms of feature support, the RTX 4000 is the more modern card, supporting DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The A100’s API support is not listed, reflecting its primary focus on compute rather than graphics rendering. The RTX 4000’s inclusion of ray tracing cores is a key architectural addition that the A100 lacks. The cards also differ in their production lifecycles: the A100 is end-of-life, released in June 2020, while the RTX 4000 is active, released in August 2023. The A100’s predecessor is Tesla Turing, and its successor is Server Ada, while the RTX 4000 succeeds Workstation Ampere and is followed by Blackwell PRO W. These differences highlight that the A100 is a specialized compute accelerator, while the RTX 4000 is a versatile workstation GPU with modern graphics features.