NVIDIA A100 PCIe 80 GB vs NVIDIA RTX A5500 Comparison

# NVIDIA A100 PCIe 80 GB vs NVIDIA RTX A5500

The NVIDIA A100 PCIe 80 GB and NVIDIA RTX A5500 are both Ampere-generation accelerators, but they target fundamentally different segments. The A100 is a server-class compute part built on the GA100 chip, while the A5500 is a workstation GPU based on the GA102 die. In the single available head-to-head benchmark, the A100 PCIe 80 GB posts a Geekbench OpenCL score of 207,124, which is 18.6% ahead of the A5500's 174,637. The A100 also sits in the 99th percentile of all GPUs, compared to the A5500's 97th percentile. However, the A5500 counters with display outputs, a modern API feature set, and a much lower power draw, making it the more versatile workstation option.

The Verdict

The data clearly separates these two cards by workload and environment. The NVIDIA A100 PCIe 80 GB is the compute-focused choice, delivering 207,124 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 18.6% higher than the RTX A5500's 174,637. Its 99th-percentile ranking places it among the fastest accelerators ever tested, and it beats the NVIDIA RTX 6000D by 5.7% and the Tesla V100S PCIe 32 GB by 6.5%. For pure compute throughput, particularly in AI, HPC, or data-center tasks where display output is irrelevant, the A100 is the pick.

The RTX A5500, meanwhile, is the workstation card for professionals who need a GPU on their desk. It scores 174,637 in OpenCL and 155,797 in Vulkan, landing in the 97th percentile. Its closest rivals include the AMD Radeon PRO W7800 (within 0.2%) and the NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation (within 0.5%), showing it is competitive with modern workstation parts. Critically, the A5500 has 4x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, while the A100 has none. If you need to drive monitors, the A5500 is the only option here. Also, the A5500's 230 W TDP versus the A100's 300 W means it is easier to cool and power in a standard workstation chassis.

Choose the A100 for headless compute density and raw OpenCL performance. Choose the A5500 for interactive workstation use, rendering pipelines that benefit from display output, and lower system power requirements.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs share the Ampere architecture but implement it very differently. The A100 uses the GA100 die, built on a 7 nm process at TSMC, packing 54,200 million transistors into an 826 mm² die. That yields a transistor density of 65.6M per mm². The A5500 uses the GA102 chip, fabricated on an 8 nm process at Samsung, with 28,300 million transistors on a 628 mm² die, for a density of 45.1M per mm². The A100's more advanced process node allows it to fit nearly twice the transistors in a larger package.

Memory configurations diverge sharply. The A100 comes with 80 GB of HBM2e on a 5120-bit bus, delivering 1.94 TB/s of bandwidth. The A5500 has 24 GB of GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus, providing 768.0 GB/s. That is a 2.5x bandwidth advantage for the A100, which matters heavily in memory-bound compute workloads. The A5500's memory clock is 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective), while the A100's is 1512 MHz (3 Gbps effective), but the A100's enormous bus width more than compensates.

Compute resources also differ. The A100 has 6912 shading units, 432 TMUs, and 160 ROPs, plus 432 tensor cores. The A5500 has 10,240 shading units, 320 TMUs, 96 ROPs, 80 RT cores, and 320 tensor cores. The A5500 has more shading units and adds dedicated RT cores, which the A100 lacks entirely. This explains the A5500's higher FP32 throughput of 34.10 TFLOPS versus the A100's 19.49 TFLOPS. However, the A100's FP16 performance of 77.97 TFLOPS (4:1 ratio) dwarfs the A5500's 34.10 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio), reflecting the A100's focus on mixed-precision AI workloads. Pixel rate favors the A100 at 225.6 GPixel/s versus 159.8 GPixel/s, while texture rates are close: 609.1 GTexel/s for the A100 and 532.8 GTexel/s for the A5500.

Clock speeds tell part of the story. The A100 runs at a 1065 MHz base and 1410 MHz boost. The A5500 boosts higher at 1665 MHz with a 1080 MHz base, which helps its FP32 throughput. Power and connectivity also differ: the A100 draws 300 W with an 8-pin EPS connector and requires a 700 W PSU, while the A5500 draws 230 W with a single 8-pin and a 550 W PSU recommendation. Both are dual-slot cards at 267 mm length, but the A100 has no display outputs whereas the A5500 has 4x DisplayPort 1.4a. The A5500 also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4; the A100's API support is not specified.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

Only one benchmark directly compares these two cards: Geekbench OpenCL. The A100 PCIe 80 GB scores 207,124, while the RTX A5500 scores 174,637. That is an 18.6% advantage for the A100. This is a substantial margin, placing the A100 clearly ahead in compute-heavy OpenCL tasks. The A5500 does, however, have a Vulkan score of 155,797 in its own benchmark suite, but there is no direct A100 Vulkan result to compare, so cross-card conclusions for Vulkan are not possible from the data.

Looking at the A100's rivals, its 207,124 OpenCL score beats the NVIDIA RTX 6000D (195,964) by 5.7% and the Tesla V100S PCIe 32 GB (194,415) by 6.5%. It trails the AMD Radeon PRO W7900D (219,827) by 5.8% and the NVIDIA PG506-232 (225,124) by 8%. This places the A100 in a competitive band just below the fastest AMD workstation accelerators but well above older NVIDIA server parts.

For the A5500, its 174,637 OpenCL score is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon PRO W7800 (164,894, within 0.2%) and the NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation (166,094, within 0.5%). It slightly edges out the NVIDIA A100 PCIe 40 GB (162,504) by 1.7% and trails the AMD Radeon Pro W6900X (168,574) by 2%. The A5500's Vulkan score of 155,797 is notably lower than its OpenCL score, suggesting OpenCL is the stronger API for this card.

The overall win count is 1-0 in favor of the A100 in the head-to-head. But the A5500's Vulkan result and its display outputs add dimensions the A100 cannot match.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw OpenCL performance?

A: The NVIDIA A100 PCIe 80 GB scores 207,124 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 18.6% higher than the RTX A5500's 174,637.

Q: Can the A100 drive a display?

A: No. The A100 has no display outputs. The RTX A5500 has 4x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs.

Q: How do their memory bandwidths compare?

A: The A100 offers 1.94 TB/s from 80 GB of HBM2e on a 5120-bit bus. The A5500 offers 768.0 GB/s from 24 GB of GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus.

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: The RTX A5500 has 10,240 shading units, compared to the A100's 6,912. The A5500 also has 80 RT cores, while the A100 has none.

Q: What is the power draw difference?

A: The A100 has a 300 W TDP and requires a 700 W PSU. The A5500 has a 230 W TDP and requires a 550 W PSU.

Q: How does the A100 compare to the RTX 6000D?

A: The A100 scores 207,124 in OpenCL, which is 5.7% ahead of the RTX 6000D's 195,964.

Where Each One Wins

NVIDIA A100 PCIe 80 GB wins on:

• Raw compute throughput: 18.6% ahead in OpenCL (207,124 vs 174,637).
• Memory bandwidth: 1.94 TB/s versus 768.0 GB/s, critical for large matrix operations or dataset processing.
• FP16 performance: 77.97 TFLOPS (4:1) versus 34.10 TFLOPS (1:1), making it superior for mixed-precision AI training.
• Memory capacity: 80 GB versus 24 GB, allowing larger models or datasets to reside on-card.
• Pixel fill rate: 225.6 GPixel/s versus 159.8 GPixel/s.
• Percentile ranking: 99th versus 97th among all GPUs.
• Server-class positioning: no display outputs, 8-pin EPS power, designed for data-center racks.

NVIDIA RTX A5500 wins on:

• FP32 throughput: 34.10 TFLOPS versus 19.49 TFLOPS, better for single-precision workstation tasks.
• Display outputs: 4x DisplayPort 1.4a versus none, enabling direct monitor connection.
• API support: DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 are listed, whereas the A100's API support is unspecified.
• RT cores: 80 dedicated ray-tracing cores versus zero on the A100, relevant for rendering workloads.
• Power efficiency: 230 W TDP versus 300 W, with a 550 W PSU recommendation versus 700 W.
• Shading unit count: 10,240 versus 6,912, boosting shader-bound workloads.
• Boost clock: 1665 MHz versus 1410 MHz, aiding latency-sensitive tasks.
• Vulkan performance: scores 155,797 in Geekbench Vulkan, a capability the A100 lacks a result for.

The split is clear: the A100 dominates memory-bound and mixed-precision compute, while the A5500 offers higher single-precision throughput, display connectivity, and modern graphics APIs. For a headless server or AI cluster, the A100 is the data-driven choice. For an interactive workstation with monitors and rendering needs, the A5500 covers more ground.