NVIDIA A100 PCIe 80 GB vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 D Comparison

# NVIDIA A100 PCIe 80 GB vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 D

This comparison pits a server-focused Ampere accelerator against a consumer-oriented Ada Lovelace graphics card. While both carry the NVIDIA name, the data shows they target fundamentally different workloads. The A100 PCIe 80 GB sits in the 99th percentile of all GPUs, while the RTX 4090 D sits in the 98th percentile. The single head-to-head benchmark available — Geekbench OpenCL — favors the RTX 4090 D by 25.7%, but that result only tells part of the story.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The A100 PCIe 80 GB has an average benchmark score of 207,124, which is higher than the RTX 4090 D's average of 178,050. However, the RTX 4090 D wins the direct head-to-head OpenCL test with a score of 278,621 versus 207,124, indicating the average includes different test suites.

Q: How does the A100 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The A100 PCIe 80 GB is 5.7% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX 6000D and 6.5% ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla V100S PCIe 32 GB. It trails the AMD Radeon PRO W7900D by 5.8% and the NVIDIA PG506-232 by 8%.

Q: What are the key architecture differences between the two?

A: The A100 uses the GA100 chip on the Ampere architecture built on a 7 nm process, while the RTX 4090 D uses the AD102 chip on the Ada Lovelace architecture built on a 5 nm process. The A100 has 54,200 million transistors on an 826 mm² die, whereas the RTX 4090 D packs 76,300 million transistors on a smaller 609 mm² die.

Q: Which card offers higher raw FP32 compute?

A: The RTX 4090 D delivers 73.54 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, which is substantially higher than the A100's 19.49 TFLOPS. The RTX 4090 D also provides FP16 at the same 73.54 TFLOPS rate (1:1), while the A100 reaches 77.97 TFLOPS FP16 via a 4:1 ratio.

Q: How do memory configurations differ?

A: The A100 features 80 GB of HBM2e on a 5120-bit bus with 1.94 TB/s bandwidth. The RTX 4090 D has 24 GB of GDDR6X on a 384-bit bus with 1.01 TB/s bandwidth. The A100 has roughly 92% more memory bandwidth despite having less than half the FP32 throughput.

Q: What is the physical size difference?

A: The A100 is a dual-slot card measuring 267 mm in length and 111 mm in height. The RTX 4090 D is a triple-slot card that is 304 mm long, 137 mm tall, and 61 mm wide. The A100 uses an 8-pin EPS connector, while the RTX 4090 D uses a single 16-pin connector.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two GPUs is substantial. The A100 PCIe 80 GB is built on the Ampere architecture (GA100 chip) using TSMC's 7 nm process, while the RTX 4090 D employs the Ada Lovelace architecture (AD102 chip) on a 5 nm process. This process node difference allows the RTX 4090 D to achieve a transistor density of 125.3M per mm², nearly double the A100's 65.6M per mm², even though the A100's die is physically larger at 826 mm² versus 609 mm².

The transistor count tells a similar story: the RTX 4090 D packs 76,300 million transistors, compared to 54,200 million on the A100. Despite the A100's larger die area, the newer process node enables the RTX 4090 D to fit 40% more transistors into a smaller footprint. Clock speeds reinforce the generational leap. The RTX 4090 D runs at a 2280 MHz base and 2520 MHz boost, while the A100 operates at 1065 MHz base and 1410 MHz boost. This clock advantage contributes to the RTX 4090 D's massive FP32 throughput advantage.

The A100 is a compute-focused accelerator with 432 tensor cores and no dedicated ray tracing cores. It has 6,912 shading units, 432 TMUs, and 160 ROPs. The RTX 4090 D, by contrast, includes 114 ray tracing cores alongside 456 tensor cores, 14,592 shading units, 456 TMUs, and 176 ROPs. The RTX 4090 D's shading unit count is more than double the A100's, and its texture rate of 1,149.1 GTexel/s far exceeds the A100's 609.1 GTexel/s.

Memory architecture also diverges significantly. The A100 uses HBM2e memory with 80 GB capacity on a 5120-bit interface, delivering 1.94 TB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 4090 D uses GDDR6X with 24 GB on a 384-bit interface, providing 1.01 TB/s. The A100's memory bandwidth advantage is critical for data-center workloads, while the RTX 4090 D's higher compute throughput targets graphics rendering.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark result in the data is the Geekbench OpenCL test. The RTX 4090 D scores 278,621, while the A100 PCIe 80 GB scores 207,124. This gives the RTX 4090 D a 25.7% advantage in raw OpenCL compute performance. This is a substantial margin that reflects the RTX 4090 D's higher clock speeds, more shading units, and newer architecture.

However, the average benchmark scores tell a different story. The A100's average score of 207,124 matches its single OpenCL result, suggesting that is the only test in its benchmark suite. The RTX 4090 D's average of 178,050 is dragged down by its other two benchmark results: 8,587 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 and 246,941 in Geekbench Vulkan. The 3DMark result, while not directly comparable to the OpenCL scores, indicates the RTX 4090 D's graphics-specific performance.

Looking at the nearest rival data provides additional context. The A100 sits 5.7% above the RTX 6000D and 6.5% above the Tesla V100S PCIe 32 GB. It trails the Radeon PRO W7900D by 5.8% and the PG506-232 by 8%. The RTX 4090 D, meanwhile, is 2.2% ahead of the RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell, 3.1% ahead of the A100 SXM4 80 GB, 3.6% ahead of the RTX 5000 Ada Generation, and 4.9% ahead of the A100 SXM4 40 GB. Notably, the A100 SXM4 80 GB — a sibling of the PCIe version — beats the RTX 4090 D in average score despite losing the OpenCL head-to-head, suggesting the SXM4 version's benchmark suite favors different workloads.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA A100 PCIe 80 GB | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 D |

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

| Architecture | Ampere | Ada Lovelace |

| Process Node | 7 nm | 5 nm |

| Transistors | 54,200 million | 76,300 million |

| Die Size | 826 mm² | 609 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 65.6M / mm² | 125.3M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1065 MHz | 2280 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1410 MHz | 2520 MHz |

| Memory Size | 80 GB | 24 GB |

| Memory Type | HBM2e | GDDR6X |

| Memory Bus | 5120 bit | 384 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 1.94 TB/s | 1.01 TB/s |

| Shading Units | 6912 | 14592 |

| TMUs | 432 | 456 |

| ROPs | 160 | 176 |

| RT Cores | None | 114 |

| Tensor Cores | 432 | 456 |

| FP32 | 19.49 TFLOPS | 73.54 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 77.97 TFLOPS (4:1) | 73.54 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| Pixel Rate | 225.6 GPixel/s | 443.5 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 609.1 GTexel/s | 1,149.1 GTexel/s |

| TDP | 300 W | 425 W |

| Slot Width | Dual-slot | Triple-slot |

| Power Connectors | 8-pin EPS | 1x 16-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 700 W | 800 W |

| Display Outputs | No outputs | 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a |

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

| OpenGL Support | None | 4.6 |

| Vulkan Support | None | 1.4 |

| Length | 267 mm | 304 mm |

| Height | 111 mm | 137 mm |

| Release Date | 2021-06-27 | 2023-12-27 |

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

The Verdict

The data presents a clear separation of roles. The A100 PCIe 80 GB is designed for server environments where memory capacity and bandwidth dominate. Its 80 GB of HBM2e memory with 1.94 TB/s bandwidth and 5120-bit bus make it suitable for large-model inference and training workloads that require massive data resident on the GPU. Its 77.97 TFLOPS FP16 performance via the 4:1 ratio and 432 tensor cores target AI acceleration. The absence of display outputs confirms its compute-only purpose, and its 300 W TDP with an 8-pin EPS connector aligns with data-center power delivery.

The RTX 4090 D is a graphics-first card with display outputs, DirectX 12 Ultimate support, and 114 ray tracing cores. Its 73.54 TFLOPS FP32 and FP16 performance, along with 456 tensor cores, make it a strong compute device in its own right, but its 24 GB memory capacity and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth are significantly lower than the A100's. The 25.7% OpenCL victory demonstrates the RTX 4090 D's advantage in general compute tasks, but this comes at the cost of higher power consumption (425 W versus 300 W) and a larger physical footprint.

For buyers needing maximum memory capacity and bandwidth for server-side AI workloads, the A100 PCIe 80 GB is the data-backed choice. Its 99th percentile ranking and higher average benchmark score (207,124 versus 178,050) reflect its specialization. For users requiring graphics output, real-time ray tracing, or maximum FP32 throughput in a workstation context, the RTX 4090 D's 98th percentile ranking and OpenCL dominance make it the logical selection. The RTX 4090 D also carries a launch MSRP of 1,599 USD. The verdict hinges on workload: the A100 for memory-bound server tasks, the RTX 4090 D for compute-bound graphics and rendering workloads.