NVIDIA B200 SXM6 vs NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation Comparison

The Verdict

The NVIDIA B200 SXM6 and the NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation serve fundamentally different roles, and the recorded data makes that split clear. The B200 SXM6 is a server-grade accelerator built around the Blackwell architecture, with a 1000 W TDP, no display outputs, and an SXM module form factor. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation is a workstation card with a 285 W TDP, dual-slot design, four DisplayPort outputs, and full DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 API support.

The B200 SXM6 is the choice for compute-heavy server workloads where memory capacity and bandwidth dominate. It carries 180 GB of HBM3e memory across an 8192-bit bus, delivering 8.19 TB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation offers 48 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus with 864.0 GB/s bandwidth, which is substantial but an order of magnitude smaller in capacity. The data shows the B200 SXM6 also has more shading units (18944 versus 14080), more TMUs (592 versus 440), and more tensor cores (592 versus 440).

The RTX 5880 Ada Generation is the pick for workstation visualization and interactive workloads. It has 110 RT cores, a pixel rate of 433.0 GPixel/s versus 43.92 GPixel/s for the B200 SXM6, and a boost clock of 2460 MHz versus 1830 MHz. The B200 SXM6 has no API support listed for DirectX, OpenGL, or Vulkan, making it unsuitable for traditional graphics workloads. The RTX 5880 also sits at the 85th percentile among all GPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 45972, while the B200 SXM6 has no recorded benchmark scores and sits at the 50th percentile.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations and chip designs. The B200 SXM6 uses the GB100 chip on the Blackwell architecture, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It packs 208,000 million transistors on a die size of 1628 mm², yielding a transistor density of 127.8M / mm². The RTX 5880 Ada Generation uses the AD102 chip on the Ada Lovelace architecture, also on a 5 nm TSMC process, but with 76,300 million transistors on a 609 mm² die, for a density of 125.3M / mm².

The B200 SXM6 is a server Blackwell (Bxx) generation part with a PCIe 6.0 x16 bus interface. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation belongs to the workstation Ada (x000A) generation and uses PCIe 4.0 x16. The B200 SXM6 has no display outputs, while the RTX 5880 Ada Generation provides four DisplayPort 1.4a outputs.

Clock behavior differs sharply. The B200 SXM6 has a base clock of 120 MHz and a boost clock of 1830 MHz. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation starts at 975 MHz base and boosts to 2460 MHz. Memory clocks also diverge: the B200 uses 2000 MHz (8 Gbps effective) HBM3e, while the RTX 5880 uses 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) GDDR6.

The B200 SXM6 has 18944 shading units, 592 TMUs, and only 24 ROPs. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation has 14080 shading units, 440 TMUs, and 176 ROPs. The B200 lists no RT core count, while the RTX 5880 has 110 RT cores. Both have tensor cores, with the B200 at 592 and the RTX 5880 at 440.

The B200 SXM6 uses a 1000 W TDP with a suggested PSU of 1400 W and is an SXM module. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation uses a 285 W TDP with a suggested PSU of 600 W, a dual-slot design, and a single 16-pin power connector. The RTX 5880 measures 267 mm in length and 112 mm in height.

Where Each One Wins

The B200 SXM6 wins decisively in memory capacity and bandwidth. It offers 180 GB of HBM3e versus 48 GB of GDDR6, and 8.19 TB/s versus 864.0 GB/s. That is a 3.75x capacity advantage and a 9.5x bandwidth advantage. For large model training, big batch inference, or massive in-memory datasets, the B200 SXM6 is the clear leader.

The B200 SXM6 also wins on raw shader and tensor throughput in terms of resource count. It has 18944 shading units versus 14080, and 592 tensor cores versus 440. Its FP32 and FP16 throughput are both 69.34 TFLOPS, nearly identical to the RTX 5880's 69.27 TFLOPS. So the B200 achieves similar compute throughput with more resources at a lower clock.

The RTX 5880 Ada Generation wins on rasterization and graphics throughput. It has a pixel rate of 433.0 GPixel/s versus 43.92 GPixel/s, a 9.9x advantage. Its texture rate of 1,082.4 GTexel/s is nearly identical to the B200's 1,083.4 GTexel/s. The RTX 5880 also has 176 ROPs versus 24, and 110 RT cores dedicated to ray tracing.

The RTX 5880 Ada Generation wins on power efficiency in the database. It delivers 69.27 TFLOPS at 285 W, while the B200 SXM6 delivers 69.34 TFLOPS at 1000 W. The RTX 5880 also has a much higher boost clock at 2460 MHz versus 1830 MHz, which contributes to its graphics performance advantage.

The RTX 5880 Ada Generation has recorded benchmark data. Its Geekbench OpenCL score is 326898, Passmark G3D is 25096, and Passmark GPU Compute is 14208. The B200 SXM6 has no benchmark entries in the database, so its real-world measured performance cannot be compared directly.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has more memory and bandwidth?

A: The NVIDIA B200 SXM6 has 180 GB of HBM3e memory with 8.19 TB/s bandwidth. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation has 48 GB of GDDR6 with 864.0 GB/s.

Q: Which GPU supports graphics APIs like DirectX and Vulkan?

A: The RTX 5880 Ada Generation supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The B200 SXM6 lists N/A for all three APIs and has no display outputs.

Q: How do their compute throughputs compare?

A: The B200 SXM6 delivers 69.34 TFLOPS FP32 and FP16 (1:1). The RTX 5880 Ada Generation delivers 69.27 TFLOPS FP32 and FP16 (1:1). The difference is minimal.

Q: What are the power requirements?

A: The B200 SXM6 has a 1000 W TDP with a suggested PSU of 1400 W. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation has a 285 W TDP with a suggested PSU of 600 W.

Q: What benchmark scores exist for the RTX 5880 Ada Generation?

A: The RTX 5880 scores 326898 in Geekbench OpenCL, 25096 in Passmark G3D, and 14208 in Passmark GPU Compute. The B200 SXM6 has no recorded benchmark scores.

Q: Which GPU is better for pixel-heavy rendering?

A: The RTX 5880 Ada Generation has a pixel rate of 433.0 GPixel/s, nearly ten times the B200 SXM6's 43.92 GPixel/s, and has 176 ROPs versus 24.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains no direct head-to-head benchmark entries between the B200 SXM6 and the RTX 5880 Ada Generation. The B200 SXM6 has zero benchmark scores and zero wins recorded. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation has eight benchmark scores and sits at the 85th percentile among all GPUs.

The largest wins for the RTX 5880 Ada Generation come in graphics throughput. Its pixel rate of 433.0 GPixel/s is 9.9x the B200's 43.92 GPixel/s. Its 176 ROPs compare to just 24 on the B200. Its boost clock of 2460 MHz is 34% higher than the B200's 1830 MHz.

The B200 SXM6 counters with massive memory advantages. Its 8.19 TB/s bandwidth is 9.5x the RTX 5880's 864.0 GB/s. Its 180 GB memory is 3.75x the RTX 5880's 48 GB. Its 8192-bit memory bus is 21.3x wider than the 384-bit bus on the RTX 5880.

In compute throughput, the two are nearly tied. The B200 SXM6 posts 69.34 TFLOPS FP32, and the RTX 5880 Ada Generation posts 69.27 TFLOPS FP32. The B200 has 18944 shading units versus 14080, and 592 tensor cores versus 440, but the RTX 5880 compensates with higher clocks.

Texture throughput is essentially identical: 1,083.4 GTexel/s for the B200 versus 1,082.4 GTexel/s for the RTX 5880. The B200 has 592 TMUs versus 440, but the RTX 5880's higher boost clock closes the gap.

The RTX 5880 Ada Generation's nearest rivals in the database are all workstation and mobile parts. It sits 0.2% behind the NVIDIA RTX A2000 (average score 46043), 0.8% ahead of the Intel Arc A730M (45592), 1.3% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT (45384), and 1.4% behind the AMD Radeon RX 5600M (46601). Its average benchmark score is 45972, placing it 85th percentile among all GPUs.

The B200 SXM6 has no nearest rivals listed and no average benchmark score. Its percentile rank of 50 reflects the absence of measured data rather than actual performance. The recorded information indicates the B200 is built for server compute density, not for benchmark rankings in the consumer or workstation space.

The transistor counts tell a story of scale. The B200 SXM6 uses 208,000 million transistors, 2.7x the 76,300 million in the RTX 5880. The die size is 1628 mm² versus 609 mm², a 2.7x difference. The transistor density is nearly identical at 127.8M / mm² versus 125.3M / mm², indicating both use similarly dense 5 nm TSMC processes.

The release dates place the RTX 5880 Ada Generation first at 2024-01-04, followed by the B200 SXM6 at 2024-10-31. Both are listed as Active production status. The B200 SXM6 has a launch MSRP of 34,999 USD, while the RTX 5880 Ada Generation has no listed launch MSRP.

The API support gap is complete. The B200 SXM6 lists N/A for DirectX, OpenGL, and Vulkan. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation lists DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. This alone determines that the B200 is not a graphics card in the traditional sense, while the RTX 5880 fully supports workstation graphics pipelines.