NVIDIA B300 SXM6 AC vs NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only directly comparable benchmark in the database is Geekbench OpenCL, and the NVIDIA B300 SXM6 AC takes a decisive win. The B300 scores 369,831 points against the RTX 5880 Ada Generation's 326,898, a 13.1% advantage. That gap reflects the B300's position at the very top of the performance hierarchy: it holds the 100th percentile among all GPUs in the database, while the RTX 5880 sits at the 85th percentile.

The B300's nearest rivals contextualize this lead. It outperforms the NVIDIA B200 by 7%, the NVIDIA H200 NVL by 10.4%, the AMD Instinct MI300X by 16.3%, and the NVIDIA L40S by 25%. These deltas show a consistent tier separation, not a marginal edge. The RTX 5880, by contrast, sits in a much more crowded and lower-performing segment. Its average benchmark score of 45,972 places it within 1.4% of the AMD Radeon RX 5600M, 1.3% of the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT, 0.8% of the Intel Arc A730M, and 0.2% of the NVIDIA RTX A2000. That clustering means the RTX 5880's OpenCL result is not an outlier; it is squarely in a mid-range workstation bracket.

The B300 also holds a wider margin in the head-to-head than any of its own nearest rivals show against it. Its 13.1% lead over the RTX 5880 is nearly double the 7% gap it holds over the B200. Meanwhile, the RTX 5880's closest competitor, the RTX A2000, trails by just 0.2%, indicating that the Ada card is essentially tied with a much older product in aggregate compute performance.

The passmark results for the RTX 5880 add texture to its profile. Its G3D score of 25,096 and GPU compute score of 14,208 show a card optimized for rasterized graphics workloads, while its DirectX 12 score of 70 and DirectX 11 score of 228 suggest API-specific strengths that the B300 cannot match, since the B300 has no DirectX or OpenGL support at all. The B300's single benchmark entry, however, represents pure compute throughput, which is its stated purpose.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different design philosophies. The B300 uses the GB110 chip on the Blackwell Ultra architecture, built on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It integrates 208,000 million transistors on a 1628 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 127.8M per mm². The RTX 5880 uses the AD102 chip on Ada Lovelace, also fabricated on TSMC's 5 nm node, but with 76,300 million transistors on a 609 mm² die, a density of 125.3M per mm². The B300's die is more than two and a half times larger, and its transistor count is nearly three times higher.

Memory separates them further. The B300 packs 288 GB of HBM3e across an 8192-bit bus, delivering 8.19 TB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 5880 has 48 GB of GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus, with 864.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The B300's memory bandwidth is nearly ten times greater, which matters for data-heavy compute workloads. The RTX 5880's memory clock runs at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective), while the B300's memory runs at 2000 MHz (8 Gbps effective), but the B300's massive bus width dwarfs the frequency advantage.

Compute resources follow the same pattern. The B300 has 18,944 shading units, 592 TMUs, and 592 tensor cores, but only 24 ROPs. The RTX 5880 has 14,080 shading units, 440 TMUs, 440 tensor cores, and 176 ROPs. The B300's ROP count is exceptionally low for its shading unit count, reflecting a design aimed at compute rather than pixel output. Its pixel rate is 48.77 GPixel/s versus the RTX 5880's 433.0 GPixel/s, a massive inversion. Texture rates are closer: 1,202.9 GTexel/s for the B300 against 1,082.4 GTexel/s for the RTX 5880.

Clock speeds show a different trade-off. The RTX 5880 boosts to 2460 MHz with a 975 MHz base, while the B300 boosts to 2032 MHz with a 1665 MHz base. The RTX 5880's higher boost clock helps it reach 69.27 TFLOPS FP32, not far behind the B300's 76.99 TFLOPS. Both deliver FP16 at a 1:1 ratio with FP32. The B300's power envelope is 1100 W versus 285 W for the RTX 5880, and the suggested PSU is 1500 W versus 600 W.

Form factors diverge completely. The B300 is an SXM module with no display outputs and no power connectors listed, requiring a server chassis. The RTX 5880 is a dual-slot card, 267 mm long and 112 mm tall, with a single 16-pin power connector and four DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. The B300 uses PCIe 6.0 x16, while the RTX 5880 uses PCIe 4.0 x16. The B300 has no DirectX, OpenGL, or Vulkan support; the RTX 5880 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Where Each One Wins

The B300 wins in raw compute throughput, memory capacity, and memory bandwidth. Its 288 GB HBM3e pool and 8.19 TB/s bandwidth make it suitable for large model inference and training data sets that would not fit in the RTX 5880's 48 GB GDDR6 frame buffer. The 13.1% OpenCL lead over the RTX 5880, combined with its 100th percentile ranking, positions it as the top compute accelerator in the database. Its nearest rivals, the B200 and H200 NVL, are also server-class parts, confirming that the B300 competes exclusively in that segment.

The RTX 5880 wins in graphics-oriented workloads. Its 176 ROPs and 433.0 GPixel/s pixel rate are roughly nine times higher than the B300's 24 ROPs and 48.77 GPixel/s. The four DisplayPort 1.4a outputs enable direct display connections, which the B300 lacks entirely. Its API support for DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 allows it to run graphics applications, while the B300 has no API support recorded. The passmark DirectX scores, while low in absolute terms, show functional graphics capability: 335 in DirectX 9, 228 in DirectX 11, 167 in DirectX 10, and 70 in DirectX 12.

The RTX 5880 also wins on efficiency per watt in the recorded data. Its 285 W TDP delivers 69.27 TFLOPS FP32, roughly 0.243 TFLOPS per watt. The B300's 1100 W TDP delivers 76.99 TFLOPS, approximately 0.070 TFLOPS per watt. The Ada card is more than three times as energy-efficient in this metric, and its 600 W suggested PSU is far below the B300's 1500 W requirement. The RTX 5880's physical dimensions, 267 mm length and 112 mm height, fit standard workstation chassis, while the SXM module requires specialized server infrastructure.

The RTX 5880's transistor density is slightly lower at 125.3M per mm² versus 127.8M per mm², but its smaller die and lower power draw make it far more accessible in physical terms. Its release date of January 2024 also predates the B300's September 2025 launch, meaning it has been available for a longer production cycle.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear split. The NVIDIA B300 SXM6 AC is designed for compute-heavy server workloads where memory capacity and bandwidth dominate. Its 288 GB HBM3e, 8.19 TB/s bandwidth, and 76.99 TFLOPS FP32 place it at the top of the database, and its 13.1% lead over the RTX 5880 in OpenCL underscores that compute advantage. Its 100th percentile ranking and consistent margins over the B200, H200 NVL, MI300X, and L40S confirm it as the highest-performing GPU in the database.

The NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation serves a different purpose. Its 176 ROPs, 433.0 GPixel/s pixel rate, and display outputs make it a graphics workstation card. Its 48 GB GDDR6 memory is ample for many professional visualization tasks, and its 69.27 TFLOPS FP32 is close to the B300's compute output at a fraction of the power draw. The RTX 5880's support for DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL, and Vulkan means it can handle real-time rendering, while the B300 cannot.

For buyers who need maximum compute throughput, massive memory capacity, and the highest possible benchmark score, the B300 is the only choice in this comparison. For buyers who need graphics output, API compatibility, and a physically installable card in a standard workstation, the RTX 5880 is the functional option. The 85th percentile ranking for the RTX 5880 and its tight clustering with mid-range rivals indicate it is not a top-tier compute part, but it does not need to be for graphics work.

The B300's nearest rival, the B200, is 7% slower, and the H200 NVL is 10.4% slower. The RTX 5880's nearest rival, the RTX A2000, is 0.2% faster, meaning the Ada card essentially ties with a previous-generation product in aggregate compute. That comparison illustrates the performance gulf between the two cards in this matchup.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher Geekbench OpenCL score?

A: The NVIDIA B300 SXM6 AC scores 369,831, which is 13.1% higher than the RTX 5880 Ada Generation's 326,898.

Q: How much memory does each card have?

A: The B300 has 288 GB of HBM3e, while the RTX 5880 has 48 GB of GDDR6.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The B300 delivers 8.19 TB/s over an 8192-bit bus, while the RTX 5880 provides 864.0 GB/s over a 384-bit bus.

Q: Does the B300 support display outputs?

A: No, the B300 has no display outputs. The RTX 5880 has four DisplayPort 1.4a outputs.

Q: What are the FP32 performance figures?

A: The B300 reaches 76.99 TFLOPS, and the RTX 5880 reaches 69.27 TFLOPS, a difference of about 11%.

Q: How does the RTX 5880 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: Its average benchmark score of 45,972 is 0.2% below the RTX A2000, 0.8% above the Intel Arc A730M, 1.3% above the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT, and 1.4% below the AMD Radeon RX 5600M.