NVIDIA A100 PCIe 80 GB vs NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation Comparison

The A100 PCIe 80 GB and the RTX 4500 Ada Generation target different corners of the professional GPU market. The data shows a clear split: the A100 leads in raw compute throughput for large-scale parallel workloads, while the RTX 4500 counters with a modern feature set, display outputs, and a far lower power draw. The A100 wins the only shared benchmark decisively, but the RTX 4500 is the more practical card for a workstation desktop.

The Verdict

Choose the NVIDIA A100 PCIe 80 GB if your work is dominated by massive matrix math, large memory-resident datasets, and headless compute nodes. Its 80 GB of HBM2e delivers 1.94 TB/s of bandwidth, which is over 4.5 times the 432.0 GB/s of the RTX 4500. The A100’s 19.49 TFLOPS FP32 and 77.97 TFLOPS FP16 (4:1) show it is built for throughput where the RTX 4500’s 39.63 TFLOPS FP32 and 39.63 TFLOPS FP16 (1:1) are more balanced but lower in aggregate. The Geekbench OpenCL score reflects this: the A100 posts 207,124 versus 160,786 for the RTX 4500, a 28.8% lead.

Choose the NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation if you need a single card for a desktop workstation that must also drive displays. It is the only one of the two with any display outputs (4x DisplayPort 1.4a), while the A100 has none. The RTX 4500 also costs less power: 210 W TDP versus 300 W, and it requires no power connectors at all, while the A100 needs an 8-pin EPS. Its 5 nm process node and 121.1M transistors per mm² density (versus 7 nm and 65.6M) show a modern design that hits higher clocks: 2070 MHz base and 2580 MHz boost, compared to 1065 MHz and 1410 MHz for the A100. If your tasks fit within 24 GB of GDDR6 and you want a card that is still in active production, the RTX 4500 is the rational pick.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in the shared benchmark?

A: The A100 PCIe 80 GB wins Geekbench OpenCL with a score of 207,124, which is 28.8% higher than the RTX 4500’s 160,786.

Q: Can the RTX 4500 be used for display output?

A: Yes, it has 4x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. The A100 has no display outputs at all, making it unsuitable for a standard desktop setup without a second GPU.

Q: How do their memory systems compare?

A: The A100 uses 80 GB of HBM2e on a 5120-bit bus, giving 1.94 TB/s bandwidth. The RTX 4500 uses 24 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, yielding 432.0 GB/s.

Q: Which card has higher FP32 compute?

A: The RTX 4500 leads in FP32 with 39.63 TFLOPS, more than double the A100’s 19.49 TFLOPS.

Q: What about FP16 performance?

A: The A100 offers 77.97 TFLOPS FP16 (4:1 ratio), while the RTX 4500 offers 39.63 TFLOPS FP16 (1:1 ratio). The A100’s peak is higher, but the RTX 4500’s 1:1 ratio means it does not rely on a rate-halving trick.

Q: What are the power requirements?

A: The A100 has a 300 W TDP and needs an 8-pin EPS connector, with a suggested 700 W PSU. The RTX 4500 has a 210 W TDP, no power connectors, and a suggested 550 W PSU.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different NVIDIA architectures. The A100 is based on Ampere (chip GA100), fabricated on a 7 nm process at TSMC. It packs 54,200 million transistors on an 826 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 65.6M per mm². The RTX 4500 uses Ada Lovelace (chip AD103) on a 5 nm process, also from TSMC. It contains 45,900 million transistors on a smaller 379 mm² die, achieving a much higher density of 121.1M per mm².

The A100 is part of the “Server Ampere (Axx)” generation, while the RTX 4500 belongs to the “Workstation Ada (x000A)” generation. Notably, the RTX 4500’s series is listed as “GeForce 40-series,” indicating a shared lineage with consumer gaming parts, whereas the A100 is a pure server part. The RTX 4500 includes 60 RT cores and 240 tensor cores, while the A100 lists 432 tensor cores and no RT core count. The A100’s tensor core count is nearly double, reinforcing its compute-first design.

API support also differs. The RTX 4500 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The A100 lists no API support in the data, consistent with a card that has no display outputs and is not aimed at graphics rendering. The A100’s predecessor is “Tesla Turing,” while the RTX 4500’s predecessor is “Workstation Ampere.” Their successors also differ: the A100’s is “Server Ada,” and the RTX 4500’s is “Blackwell PRO W.”

Specification Differences

| Specification | A100 PCIe 80 GB | RTX 4500 Ada Generation |

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

| Architecture | Ampere | Ada Lovelace |

| Process Node | 7 nm | 5 nm |

| Transistors | 54,200 million | 45,900 million |

| Die Size | 826 mm² | 379 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 65.6M / mm² | 121.1M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1065 MHz | 2070 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1410 MHz | 2580 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1512 MHz (3 Gbps effective) | 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 80 GB | 24 GB |

| Memory Type | HBM2e | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus | 5120 bit | 192 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 1.94 TB/s | 432.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 6912 | 7680 |

| TMUs | 432 | 240 |

| ROPs | 160 | 80 |

| RT Cores | None listed | 60 |

| Tensor Cores | 432 | 240 |

| Pixel Rate | 225.6 GPixel/s | 206.4 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 609.1 GTexel/s | 619.2 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 19.49 TFLOPS | 39.63 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 77.97 TFLOPS (4:1) | 39.63 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 300 W | 210 W |

| Power Connectors | 8-pin EPS | None |

| Suggested PSU | 700 W | 550 W |

| Display Outputs | No outputs | 4x DisplayPort 1.4a |

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

| Release Date | June 2021 | August 2023 |

| Length | 267 mm (10.5 inches) | 245 mm (9.6 inches) |

| Height | 111 mm (4.4 inches) | 112 mm (4.4 inches) |

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

| OpenGL | None listed | 4.6 |

| Vulkan | None listed | 1.4 |

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison available is Geekbench OpenCL. Here, the A100 PCIe 80 GB scored 207,124 against the RTX 4500’s 160,786. That is a 28.8% margin for the A100, which is a substantial gap. This aligns with the A100’s memory bandwidth advantage: 1.94 TB/s versus 432.0 GB/s. The A100’s FP16 throughput of 77.97 TFLOPS (4:1) also dwarfs the RTX 4500’s 39.63 TFLOPS, and that likely contributes to the OpenCL score.

However, the RTX 4500 has its own wins. Its FP32 performance of 39.63 TFLOPS is 103% higher than the A100’s 19.49 TFLOPS. Its texture rate of 619.2 GTexel/s edges out the A100’s 609.1 GTexel/s. The RTX 4500 also has more shading units (7680 versus 6912) and much higher clocks (2580 MHz boost versus 1410 MHz). In a workload that is FP32-bound and not memory-bandwidth-limited, the RTX 4500 should be faster, even though the A100 wins the single recorded benchmark.

The RTX 4500 also has a separate Vulkan score of 171,401, which is higher than its OpenCL score of 160,786. The A100 has no Vulkan score in the data, likely due to its lack of display outputs and graphics focus.

Where Each One Wins

The A100 PCIe 80 GB wins in:

• Memory capacity and bandwidth: 80 GB HBM2e at 1.94 TB/s is unmatched by the RTX 4500’s 24 GB GDDR6 at 432.0 GB/s. This matters for datasets that exceed 24 GB or require rapid streaming.
• FP16 throughput: 77.97 TFLOPS (4:1) versus 39.63 TFLOPS (1:1). For mixed-precision AI training or inference, the A100’s peak is far higher.
• Raw OpenCL score: 207,124 versus 160,786, a 28.8% advantage.
• Tensor core count: 432 versus 240, suggesting heavier matrix math acceleration.
• Standing among rivals: The A100 sits at the 99th percentile of all GPUs, while the RTX 4500 is at the 97th. Its nearest rival, the RTX 6000D, is 5.7% behind, and it beats the Tesla V100S by 6.5%. It loses only to the AMD Radeon PRO W7900D (-5.8%) and NVIDIA PG506-232 (-8%).

The RTX 4500 Ada Generation wins in:

• FP32 compute: 39.63 TFLOPS versus 19.49 TFLOPS, a 2x advantage for general compute and graphics.
• Power efficiency: 210 W TDP versus 300 W, with no power connector required. The suggested PSU drops from 700 W to 550 W.
• Display support: 4x DisplayPort 1.4a versus zero outputs. This is the only card you can plug a monitor into.
• Modern features: RT cores (60), DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6. The A100 lists no such API support.
• Production status: Active versus end-of-life. The RTX 4500 is current; the A100 is discontinued.
• Higher clocks: 2580 MHz boost versus 1410 MHz, which helps latency-sensitive tasks.
• Texture rate: 619.2 GTexel/s versus 609.1 GTexel/s, a slight edge in texture-heavy workloads.
• Rival positioning: The RTX 4500’s nearest rivals are close: RTX A5500 is 0.5% behind, AMD Radeon PRO W7800 is 0.7% behind, and it trails the AMD Radeon Pro W6900X by only 1.5%. It is also 2.2% ahead of the A100 PCIe 40 GB, showing that the 80 GB version is the one to beat.

In short, the A100 is a specialized compute accelerator with a massive memory pool and unmatched FP16 peak, while the RTX 4500 is a versatile, power-sipping workstation card with display outputs and strong FP32 performance. Choose based on whether your bottleneck is memory bandwidth or flexibility.