NVIDIA A10G vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 D Comparison

# NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 D vs NVIDIA A10G

The GeForce RTX 4090 D and A10G are both NVIDIA data-center-oriented graphics cards, but they occupy very different positions in the product stack. The RTX 4090 D is a consumer-derived Ada Lovelace part with a 98th-percentile standing, while the A10G is a server Ampere accelerator sitting at the 97th percentile. Their average benchmark scores diverge sharply: the RTX 4090 D averages 178,050 across its benchmark set, while the A10G averages 151,963. That 26,087-point gap translates to a roughly 17% advantage for the newer card, a figure that becomes more meaningful when examining the individual tests where the two actually meet.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The data provides two direct comparisons between these cards, both in Geekbench workloads, and the results are lopsided in favor of the RTX 4090 D. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the RTX 4090 D scores 278,621 against the A10G's 158,063. That is a delta of 76.3%, meaning the 4090 D delivers more than three-quarters again as much performance in this compute-heavy, graphics-agnostic workload. The Vulkan test tells a similar story: the 4090 D posts 246,941, while the A10G manages 145,863, a 69.3% advantage for the Ada part. These are not marginal wins; they are decisive margins that reflect fundamental architectural and clock-speed differences.

Looking at the raw specifications, the reasons for this gap become clear. The RTX 4090 D runs a base clock of 2280 MHz and a boost of 2520 MHz, whereas the A10G operates at 1320 MHz base and 1710 MHz boost. The 4090 D also carries 14,592 shading units against the A10G's 9,216, and 456 tensor cores versus 288. The FP32 throughput figures underline the disparity: the 4090 D delivers 73.54 TFLOPS, while the A10G produces 31.52 TFLOPS — a 2.33x raw compute advantage. Even the memory subsystem favors the newer card: both have 24 GB, but the 4090 D uses GDDR6X at 21 Gbps effective, yielding 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, while the A10G uses GDDR6 at 12.5 Gbps effective for 600.2 GB/s.

The 4090 D also holds a distinct advantage in the broader benchmark landscape. Its average score of 178,050 places it just 2.2% behind the RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell, and 3.1% behind the A100 SXM4 80 GB. The A10G's 151,963 average is only 1.1% ahead of the Tesla V100 PCIe 32 GB, and it trails the A100 PCIe 40 GB by 6.5%. In percentile terms, both cards sit near the top of the GPU hierarchy — 98th and 97th respectively — but that one-percentile gap masks a substantial performance chasm in the tests where they overlap.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the RTX 4090 D is the faster card in every head-to-head metric available. It wins both Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan by margins exceeding 69%, and its average benchmark score is 17.2% higher. For any workload that relies on raw FP32 compute, tensor operations, or memory bandwidth, the 4090 D is the superior choice based on the numbers. Its 73.54 TFLOPS FP32 output, 1.01 TB/s bandwidth, and 114 RT cores give it a commanding lead over the A10G's 31.52 TFLOPS, 600.2 GB/s, and 72 RT cores.

However, the A10G is not without rationale for specific buyers. Its 150 W TDP is dramatically lower than the 4090 D's 425 W, and it fits in a single slot with an 8-pin EPS connector, while the 4090 D is a triple-slot card requiring a 16-pin connector and an 800 W suggested PSU. In dense server environments where power and physical space are at a premium, the A10G's efficiency profile may be more important than raw speed. The A10G also has no display outputs, which positions it purely as a compute or inference accelerator, whereas the 4090 D includes HDMI 2.1 and three DisplayPort 1.4a outputs.

The choice comes down to whether the workload demands maximum performance per card or maximum density per rack. The data shows the 4090 D wins outright on performance; the A10G wins on power and form factor. Neither card is a compromise — they are simply aimed at different deployment scenarios.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 4090 D wins every benchmark where both cards are present. In Geekbench OpenCL, its 76.3% lead indicates a massive advantage in general-purpose GPU compute, including tasks like physics simulations, financial modeling, and scientific processing that rely on FP32 throughput. The Vulkan advantage of 69.3% points to strong performance in graphics-adjacent workloads, real-time rendering, and compute shaders. The 4090 D's higher pixel rate (443.5 GPixel/s vs 164.2 GPixel/s) and texture rate (1,149.1 GTexel/s vs 492.5 GTexel/s) further cement its position for any rasterization-heavy task.

The A10G's wins are not found in the benchmark scores but in its deployment characteristics. Its 150 W TDP means it can be air-cooled in a single slot, enabling higher card density per server chassis. Its 267 mm length and 112 mm height are more compact than the 4090 D's 304 mm by 137 mm footprint. For inference workloads that are memory-bound rather than compute-bound, the 24 GB GDDR6 pool at 600.2 GB/s is still substantial, even if it trails the 4090 D's bandwidth. The A10G also uses a standard 8-pin EPS power connector, which is common in server power supplies, whereas the 4090 D's 16-pin connector may require adapter cables.

For cloud providers or enterprises running many concurrent inference tasks, the A10G's lower power draw and smaller physical profile allow more cards per node, potentially increasing total throughput across a fleet even though each individual card is slower. The 4090 D, by contrast, is better suited to workstations or single-GPU servers where maximum performance per card is the priority.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the RTX 4090 D in OpenCL?

A: The RTX 4090 D scores 278,621 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the A10G scores 158,063. That represents a 76.3% performance advantage for the 4090 D.

Q: Do both cards have the same memory capacity?

A: Yes, both have 24 GB of VRAM. However, the 4090 D uses GDDR6X with 1.01 TB/s bandwidth, while the A10G uses GDDR6 with 600.2 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card has a higher transistor count?

A: The RTX 4090 D has 76,300 million transistors on a 609 mm² die, while the A10G has 28,300 million transistors on a 628 mm² die. The 4090 D achieves a transistor density of 125.3M per mm² versus 45.1M per mm² for the A10G.

Q: Is the A10G suitable for display output?

A: No. The A10G has no display outputs, making it a pure compute accelerator. The RTX 4090 D includes 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a.

Q: What is the power draw difference?

A: The RTX 4090 D has a 425 W TDP, while the A10G has a 150 W TDP. The suggested PSU requirements are 800 W for the 4090 D and 450 W for the A10G.

Q: How do these cards compare to their nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 4090 D averages 178,050, sitting 2.2% behind the RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell and 3.1% behind the A100 SXM4 80 GB. The A10G averages 151,963, which is 1.1% ahead of the Tesla V100 PCIe 32 GB and 6.5% behind the A100 PCIe 40 GB.

Architecture Differences

The two cards are built on different architectures from different process nodes. The RTX 4090 D uses the AD102 chip on the Ada Lovelace architecture, fabricated by TSMC on a 5 nm process. The A10G uses the GA102 chip on the Ampere architecture, fabricated by Samsung on an 8 nm process. This process difference is significant: the 5 nm node allows the 4090 D to pack 76,300 million transistors into a 609 mm² die, achieving a density of 125.3M transistors per mm². The A10G's 8 nm process holds 28,300 million transistors in a slightly larger 628 mm² die, yielding just 45.1M transistors per mm².

The compute resources differ accordingly. The 4090 D has 14,592 shading units, 456 TMUs, 176 ROPs, 114 RT cores, and 456 tensor cores. The A10G has 9,216 shading units, 288 TMUs, 96 ROPs, 72 RT cores, and 288 tensor cores. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so API compatibility is identical.

Memory architecture also diverges. The 4090 D uses GDDR6X with a 384-bit bus and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth, while the A10G uses GDDR6 with the same 384-bit bus but only 600.2 GB/s bandwidth. The 4090 D's memory clock is 1313 MHz with 21 Gbps effective, while the A10G runs at 1563 MHz with 12.5 Gbps effective. The higher effective data rate of the GDDR6X is what gives the 4090 D its bandwidth advantage despite a lower base memory clock.

The 4090 D is a GeForce 40-series product released on 2023-12-27, with a predecessor in GeForce 30 and a successor in GeForce 50. The A10G belongs to the Server Ampere generation, released on 2021-04-11, with a predecessor in Tesla Turing and a successor in Server Ada. Both are end-of-life production status, meaning neither is currently being manufactured.

Specification Differences

The most striking specification difference is power consumption. The 4090 D is rated at 425 W TDP, nearly three times the A10G's 150 W. This drives the physical design: the 4090 D is a triple-slot card measuring 304 mm by 137 mm by 61 mm, while the A10G is a single-slot card at 267 mm by 112 mm with no specified width. The power connectors reflect this: the 4090 D uses a single 16-pin connector, while the A10G uses an 8-pin EPS connector.

Clock speeds are another major divider. The 4090 D runs at 2280 MHz base and 2520 MHz boost, while the A10G runs at 1320 MHz base and 1710 MHz boost. This 960 MHz base-clock gap and 810 MHz boost-clock gap contribute heavily to the performance difference.

The display outputs are a categorical difference. The 4090 D provides 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, making it usable in a workstation with monitors attached. The A10G has no display outputs, confirming its role as a headless server accelerator.

The launch MSRP for the 4090 D was 1,599 USD; the A10G has no listed launch MSRP in the data. The 4090 D's average benchmark score of 178,050 places it at the 98th percentile of all GPUs, while the A10G's 151,963 sits at the 97th percentile. Both cards use a PCIe 4.0 x16 bus interface. The 4090 D's FP32 and FP16 performance are both 73.54 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio), while the A10G achieves 31.52 TFLOPS in both, also at 1:1.