NVIDIA A100 PCIe 40 GB vs NVIDIA RTX 5000 Ada Generation Comparison

The data shows a clear split between these two NVIDIA professional GPUs: the RTX 5000 Ada Generation wins decisively in Vulkan workloads, while the A100 PCIe 40 GB edges ahead in OpenCL. The RTX 5000 Ada Generation posts an average benchmark score of 184,664, placing it in the 98th percentile of all GPUs, while the A100 PCIe 40 GB averages 162,504, landing in the 97th percentile. This 22,160-point gap in average scores, combined with the specific benchmark deltas, indicates that the Ada Lovelace workstation card is the stronger all-around performer for graphics-oriented tasks, whereas the Ampere server card retains a narrow lead in compute-style OpenCL testing.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most dramatic difference appears in the Geekbench Vulkan test. The RTX 5000 Ada Generation scores 194,041, while the A100 PCIe 40 GB manages 146,380. That is a 32.6% advantage for the Ada card — the single largest margin in this comparison. Vulkan is a low-level graphics API, and the RTX 5000 Ada Generation’s architecture is clearly better suited to it. The A100 PCIe 40 GB, with no display outputs and a server-focused design, trails badly here. For any workload that leverages Vulkan for rendering or compute, the RTX 5000 Ada Generation is the obvious choice based on this benchmark result.

The OpenCL test tells a different story, though the margin is much smaller. The A100 PCIe 40 GB scores 178,627, while the RTX 5000 Ada Generation scores 175,286. That gives the A100 a 1.9% lead. It is a win, but a narrow one. The two cards are nearly identical in raw OpenCL throughput, which is notable given their very different architectures and memory configurations. The A100’s 1.56 TB/s of memory bandwidth and HBM2e memory likely contribute to this edge, but the RTX 5000 Ada Generation’s higher clock speeds and newer design keep it within striking distance.

Looking at the broader context, the RTX 5000 Ada Generation’s average score of 184,664 puts it 0.5% ahead of the NVIDIA A100 SXM4 80 GB and 1.4% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell. It trails the A100 SXM4 40 GB by 1.3%. The A100 PCIe 40 GB, by contrast, sits 1.1% above the AMD Radeon Pro W6800X but 1.4% behind the AMD Radeon PRO W7800 and 1.6% behind the NVIDIA RTX A5500. In short, the RTX 5000 Ada Generation competes at the very top of the GPU hierarchy, while the A100 PCIe 40 GB is slightly lower in the rankings despite its strong OpenCL showing.

The Verdict

The verdict is straightforward: pick the RTX 5000 Ada Generation for any workload where Vulkan performance matters, and pick the A100 PCIe 40 GB only if your software is exclusively OpenCL-based and you need the slight edge it provides there. The data does not support choosing the A100 for general-purpose use. The RTX 5000 Ada Generation wins the Vulkan test by 32.6%, which is a massive gap, and it also has a higher average benchmark score overall (184,664 vs. 162,504). The A100’s OpenCL victory is real but marginal at just 1.9%.

For a workstation GPU, the RTX 5000 Ada Generation is the more versatile option. It has display outputs, a modern Ada Lovelace architecture, and a 98th percentile ranking. The A100 PCIe 40 GB is an end-of-life server part with no display outputs and a 97th percentile ranking. The benchmark results align with this positioning: the Ada card excels at graphics-oriented tasks, while the A100 holds a small edge in one compute-oriented API. Unless your workflow is locked into OpenCL and you require the A100’s specific memory configuration, the RTX 5000 Ada Generation is the superior choice based on the numbers.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 5000 Ada Generation wins in Vulkan-based applications. This includes modern game engines, CAD visualization tools, and any rendering software that uses Vulkan for GPU acceleration. The 32.6% performance lead is substantial enough to translate into real-world frame rate or render time improvements. Additionally, the RTX 5000 Ada Generation wins on overall average benchmark score, making it the better default choice for mixed workloads that include both graphics and compute.

The A100 PCIe 40 GB wins in OpenCL-based compute tasks. This includes scientific simulations, machine learning inference, and some professional rendering pipelines that rely on OpenCL. The 1.9% lead is small, but it is consistent, and the A100’s HBM2e memory with 1.56 TB/s bandwidth may provide advantages in memory-bound OpenCL kernels. The A100 also has a higher FP16 throughput at 77.97 TFLOPS compared to the RTX 5000 Ada Generation’s 65.28 TFLOPS, though this difference is not reflected in the Geekbench scores.

For users who need a single GPU for both graphics and compute, the RTX 5000 Ada Generation is the better fit. Its Vulkan advantage is too large to ignore, and its OpenCL deficit is negligible. For users running dedicated compute servers where OpenCL is the primary API and graphics output is irrelevant, the A100 PCIe 40 GB remains a viable option, especially given its higher memory bandwidth and larger FP16 compute capability.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA RTX 5000 Ada Generation averages 184,664, while the NVIDIA A100 PCIe 40 GB averages 162,504. The RTX 5000 Ada Generation also ranks in the 98th percentile of all GPUs, compared to the A100’s 97th percentile.

Q: How much faster is the RTX 5000 Ada Generation in Vulkan?

A: The RTX 5000 Ada Generation scores 194,041 in Geekbench Vulkan, which is 32.6% higher than the A100 PCIe 40 GB’s 146,380.

Q: Does the A100 PCIe 40 GB win any benchmark?

A: Yes, the A100 PCIe 40 GB wins the Geekbench OpenCL test with a score of 178,627, which is 1.9% higher than the RTX 5000 Ada Generation’s 175,286.

Q: What are the closest rivals to each GPU based on average score?

A: The RTX 5000 Ada Generation’s closest rival is the NVIDIA A100 SXM4 80 GB, which is 0.5% behind. The A100 PCIe 40 GB’s closest rival is the AMD Radeon Pro W6800X, which is 1.1% behind.

Q: Which GPU has more memory bandwidth?

A: The NVIDIA A100 PCIe 40 GB has 1.56 TB/s of memory bandwidth, while the RTX 5000 Ada Generation has 576.0 GB/s. The A100 uses HBM2e memory with a 5120-bit bus, while the RTX 5000 Ada Generation uses GDDR6 with a 256-bit bus.

Q: Are both GPUs the same physical size?

A: Both are dual-slot cards with a length of 267 mm (10.5 inches). The RTX 5000 Ada Generation is 112 mm tall, while the A100 PCIe 40 GB is 111 mm tall.

Architecture Differences

The RTX 5000 Ada Generation is built on the AD102 chip using the Ada Lovelace architecture and a 5 nm process from TSMC. It contains 76,300 million transistors on a 609 mm² die, giving it a transistor density of 125.3M per mm². The A100 PCIe 40 GB uses the GA100 chip with the older Ampere architecture and a 7 nm process. It has 54,200 million transistors on a larger 826 mm² die, resulting in a lower density of 65.6M per mm². The newer process node allows the Ada card to pack more transistors into a smaller area, which contributes to its higher clock speeds and better Vulkan performance.

The RTX 5000 Ada Generation features 100 ray tracing cores and 400 tensor cores, while the A100 PCIe 40 GB has no ray tracing cores and 432 tensor cores. The Ada card’s shading unit count is 12,800, nearly double the A100’s 6,912. The A100 compensates with a higher FP16 throughput of 77.97 TFLOPS (4:1 ratio) versus the RTX 5000 Ada Generation’s 65.28 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio). In FP32, the RTX 5000 Ada Generation is far ahead at 65.28 TFLOPS compared to the A100’s 19.49 TFLOPS. The Ada card also has higher pixel and texture rates: 448.8 GPixel/s and 1,020.0 GTexel/s versus the A100’s 225.6 GPixel/s and 609.1 GTexel/s.

The A100 PCIe 40 GB supports no DirectX, OpenGL, or Vulkan APIs in the data, while the RTX 5000 Ada Generation supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. This explains the Vulkan benchmark gap. The Ada card is a workstation part with display outputs, while the A100 is a server part with none.

Specification Differences

Clock speeds differ significantly. The RTX 5000 Ada Generation has a base clock of 1155 MHz and a boost clock of 2550 MHz. The A100 PCIe 40 GB runs at 765 MHz base and 1410 MHz boost. Memory clocks also differ: the Ada card uses 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective), while the A100 uses 1215 MHz (2.4 Gbps effective). The A100’s memory advantage comes from its wider 5120-bit bus and HBM2e type, delivering 1.56 TB/s versus the Ada card’s 576.0 GB/s over a 256-bit bus.

Memory capacity differs: the RTX 5000 Ada Generation has 32 GB of GDDR6, while the A100 PCIe 40 GB has 40 GB of HBM2e. The A100 has more texture mapping units (432 vs. 400) but fewer ROPs (160 vs. 176). Power consumption is identical at 250 W TDP, with the same suggested PSU of 600 W. Both are dual-slot cards with a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface. The RTX 5000 Ada Generation uses a 1x 16-pin power connector and has 4x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, while the A100 uses an 8-pin EPS connector and has no display outputs.

The RTX 5000 Ada Generation was released on 2023-08-08 and is still in active production. The A100 PCIe 40 GB was released on 2020-06-21 and is now end-of-life. The Ada card succeeds the Workstation Ampere line and is succeeded by Blackwell PRO W. The A100 succeeds Tesla Turing and is succeeded by Server Ada. The RTX 5000 Ada Generation belongs to the GeForce 50-series and Workstation Ada generation, while the A100 belongs to the Server Ampere generation.