NVIDIA A100 SXM4 80 GB vs NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation Comparison

The NVIDIA A100 SXM4 80 GB and the NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation target different corners of the professional GPU market, and the benchmark data reflects that split. The A100 SXM4 is a server accelerator built for massive compute throughput, while the RTX 4500 Ada is a workstation card designed for interactive graphics and general-purpose compute. In the single head-to-head benchmark available, the A100 SXM4 80 GB wins, but the broader score distribution and architectural differences tell a more nuanced story about which card fits which workload.

Where Each One Wins

The data shows a clear division of labor. The NVIDIA A100 SXM4 80 GB wins the only direct benchmark comparison, posting a Geekbench Vulkan score of 183,725 against the RTX 4500 Ada's 171,401, a 7.2% advantage. This places the A100 in the 98th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 183,725. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA RTX 5000 Ada Generation, which scores 184,664 (0.5% higher), and it also edges out the RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell (182,109, 0.9% lower). The A100's strength lies in raw, sustained compute—its 80 GB HBM2e memory with 2.04 TB/s bandwidth and 19.49 TFLOPS FP32 performance are typical of a data-center part optimized for large-scale simulation and AI training.

The NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation does not win the head-to-head, but it is no slouch. It sits in the 97th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 166,094 across two tests: 160,786 in Geekbench OpenCL and 171,401 in Geekbench Vulkan. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA RTX A5500, which scores 165,217 (0.5% lower), and it is also comparable to the AMD Radeon PRO W7800 (164,894, 0.7% lower) and the AMD Radeon Pro W6900X (168,574, 1.5% higher). The RTX 4500's win condition is efficiency and versatility—it delivers higher FP32 throughput (39.63 TFLOPS) than the A100 while drawing less power and supporting modern graphics APIs like DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4, making it suitable for real-time rendering and CAD work.

Architecture Differences

The two cards are built on fundamentally different architectures, which explains their performance profiles. The A100 uses the Ampere architecture on the GA100 chip, fabricated on a 7 nm process at TSMC. This is a massive die—826 mm²—packing 54,200 million transistors, though the transistor density is a relatively modest 65.6M per mm². The A100 has 6912 shading units, 432 texture mapping units, and 160 ROPs, but it lacks dedicated RT cores. Instead, it focuses on tensor cores, with 432 of them, driving FP16 performance to 77.97 TFLOPS (4:1 ratio). Memory is 80 GB of HBM2e on a 5120-bit bus, yielding 2.04 TB/s bandwidth—a figure that dwarfs the RTX 4500's.

The RTX 4500 Ada uses the Ada Lovelace architecture on the AD103 chip, built on a 5 nm process at TSMC. The die is much smaller at 379 mm², containing 45,900 million transistors, but the transistor density is nearly double at 121.1M per mm². It has 7680 shading units (more than the A100), 240 TMUs, and 80 ROPs, plus 60 dedicated RT cores and 240 tensor cores. FP32 performance is 39.63 TFLOPS, and FP16 is the same 39.63 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio), indicating a balanced design. Memory is 24 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, providing 432.0 GB/s bandwidth—far lower than the A100 but more than sufficient for graphics workloads. The RTX 4500 also includes modern API support (DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, Vulkan 1.4) and four DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, while the A100 has no display outputs at all.

FAQ

Q: Which card has higher memory bandwidth?

A: The NVIDIA A100 SXM4 80 GB offers 2.04 TB/s bandwidth, which is roughly 4.7 times the 432.0 GB/s of the RTX 4500 Ada Generation, due to its HBM2e memory on a 5120-bit bus versus GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus.

Q: Does the RTX 4500 Ada support ray tracing?

A: Yes, it has 60 dedicated RT cores, while the A100 SXM4 has no RT cores listed. Additionally, the RTX 4500 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, whereas the A100's API support fields are null.

Q: Which card is more power-efficient?

A: The RTX 4500 Ada has a TDP of 210 W and a suggested PSU of 550 W, versus the A100's 400 W TDP and 800 W suggested PSU. The RTX 4500 also delivers higher FP32 throughput (39.63 TFLOPS) at that lower power draw.

Q: Can the A100 SXM4 be used for display output?

A: No, the A100 SXM4 has no display outputs. It is an OAM module, whereas the RTX 4500 Ada is a dual-slot card with 4x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs.

Q: How do their production statuses differ?

A: The A100 SXM4 is listed as end-of-life, with a release date of 2020-11-15, while the RTX 4500 Ada is active, released on 2023-08-08. The A100's predecessor is Tesla Turing, and its successor is Server Ada; the RTX 4500's predecessor is Workstation Ampere, and its successor is Blackwell PRO W.

Q: What is the form factor difference?

A: The A100 SXM4 is an OAM Module with no power connectors, while the RTX 4500 Ada is a dual-slot card measuring 245 mm in length and 112 mm in height, also with no power connectors listed.

Specification Differences

The two cards diverge sharply on nearly every major specification. The A100 uses the older 7 nm process, while the RTX 4500 uses 5 nm. Die size differs by 447 mm² (826 mm² vs 379 mm²), and transistor count is higher on the A100 (54,200 million vs 45,900 million), but the RTX 4500 has a much higher transistor density (121.1M / mm² vs 65.6M / mm²). Clock speeds are significantly higher on the RTX 4500: base clock is 2070 MHz vs 1275 MHz, and boost clock is 2580 MHz vs 1410 MHz. Memory is the biggest gap: 80 GB HBM2e vs 24 GB GDDR6, with bus widths of 5120 bits vs 192 bits, and bandwidth of 2.04 TB/s vs 432.0 GB/s.

Compute resources also differ. The A100 has 6912 shading units, 432 TMUs, and 160 ROPs, while the RTX 4500 has 7680 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. The A100 has 432 tensor cores and no RT cores; the RTX 4500 has 240 tensor cores and 60 RT cores. FP32 performance is 19.49 TFLOPS on the A100 vs 39.63 TFLOPS on the RTX 4500, but FP16 is 77.97 TFLOPS (4:1) on the A100 vs 39.63 TFLOPS (1:1) on the RTX 4500. Pixel rate is 225.6 GPixel/s vs 206.4 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 609.1 GTexel/s vs 619.2 GTexel/s. TDP is 400 W vs 210 W, and suggested PSU is 800 W vs 550 W. The A100 is an OAM module with no display outputs; the RTX 4500 is dual-slot with 4x DisplayPort 1.4a.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison is Geekbench Vulkan, and the A100 SXM4 80 GB takes it with a score of 183,725 against the RTX 4500 Ada's 171,401, a 7.2% margin. This is a meaningful gap, but it is not overwhelming—it is smaller than the 0.5% delta between the A100 and the RTX 5000 Ada, and it is comparable to the 3.2% gap between the A100 and the GeForce RTX 4090 D. For context, the RTX 4500's own Vulkan score of 171,401 is only 6.7% lower than the A100's, which suggests that in real-world graphics workloads, the two are closer than the raw specs might imply.

The average benchmark scores tell a similar story. The A100 averages 183,725 across its single benchmark, while the RTX 4500 averages 166,094 across two benchmarks. The RTX 4500's OpenCL score of 160,786 is notably lower than its Vulkan score, indicating that its performance is API-dependent. In contrast, the A100's Vulkan score is its only data point, so no such comparison is possible. The delta between the two cards' average scores is 17,631 points, or about 10.6%, which is larger than the head-to-head delta but still places both cards within the top 3% of all GPUs.

The Verdict

The data points to distinct buyer profiles. The NVIDIA A100 SXM4 80 GB is the choice for workloads that demand massive memory capacity and bandwidth—its 80 GB HBM2e and 2.04 TB/s are unmatched by the RTX 4500's 24 GB GDDR6 and 432.0 GB/s. It also wins the Vulkan benchmark by 7.2%, and its FP16 performance of 77.97 TFLOPS suggests it is optimized for AI and deep learning tasks. However, it is end-of-life, consumes 400 W, and offers no display outputs, making it unsuitable for desktop graphics work.

The NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation is a more balanced, current-generation card. It delivers 39.63 TFLOPS FP32 performance—more than double the A100's 19.49 TFLOPS—and does so at 210 W, nearly half the power. It has RT cores, modern API support, and display outputs, making it a fit for workstations that handle 3D rendering, CAD, or video editing alongside compute tasks. Its Vulkan score is 6.7% lower than the A100's, but that deficit is offset by its higher clock speeds (2580 MHz boost vs 1410 MHz) and smaller, more efficient die.

If the priority is raw memory throughput and sustained FP16 compute, the A100 SXM4 80 GB is the data-backed winner. If the priority is a versatile, power-efficient card that can handle graphics and compute with modern features, the RTX 4500 Ada is the logical pick. The benchmark data does not declare an overall champion—it declares a specialization, and the right choice depends entirely on whether the workload is server-side compute or workstation graphics.