NVIDIA GB10 vs NVIDIA L40S Comparison

FAQ

Q: How does the NVIDIA L40S compare to the NVIDIA GB10 in overall benchmark performance?

A: The database records show the L40S has an average benchmark score of 295,763, while the GB10 averages 117,393. The L40S wins both recorded head-to-head tests, with a 175.3% advantage in Geekbench OpenCL and a 127.5% advantage in Geekbench Vulkan.

Q: Which GPU has more memory, and does that affect its benchmark standing?

A: The GB10 has 128 GB of LPDDR5X memory, compared to 48 GB of GDDR6 on the L40S. Despite having less capacity, the L40S achieves a much higher memory bandwidth of 864.0 GB/s versus 273.2 GB/s, which helps explain its commanding lead in compute-oriented workloads.

Q: What are the architectural generations of these two NVIDIA parts?

A: The L40S is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD102 chip, while the GB10 uses the newer Blackwell 2.0 architecture with the GB20B chip. Both are manufactured by TSMC on a 5 nm process node.

Q: How does the GB10's die size compare to the L40S?

A: The GB10 has a die size of 382 mm², which is notably smaller than the L40S's 609 mm² die. The L40S packs 76,300 million transistors into its larger die, while the transistor count for the GB10 is listed as unknown in the database.

Q: What is the performance percentile ranking for each GPU?

A: The L40S sits in the 99th percentile among all GPUs in the database, while the GB10 ranks in the 95th percentile. This places both in the upper echelon of recorded hardware, though the L40S maintains a clear tier of separation.

Q: Which GPU is currently in active production?

A: The GB10 is listed as active in production with a release date of October 14, 2025, whereas the L40S is marked as end-of-life, having been released on October 12, 2022.

Architecture Differences

The NVIDIA L40S and GB10 represent two distinct architectural philosophies within NVIDIA's server lineup. The L40S is based on Ada Lovelace, the architecture that powered NVIDIA's professional workstation and server offerings during that generation. It uses the AD102 chip, which the database lists as a 609 mm² die containing 76,300 million transistors, yielding a transistor density of 125.3M per mm². The GB10, by contrast, moves to the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with the GB20B chip. Its die is substantially smaller at 382 mm², and the database does not record a transistor count or density for this part.

The compute resources differ dramatically between the two. The L40S fields 18,176 shading units, 568 texture mapping units, and 192 ROPs. It also carries 142 RT cores and 568 tensor cores. The GB10 is far leaner in these counts: 6,144 shading units, 384 TMUs, 48 ROPs, 48 RT cores, and 384 tensor cores. These raw unit counts explain why the L40S produces such a large compute advantage in the recorded benchmarks.

Clock behavior also differs. The L40S has a base clock of 1110 MHz and a boost clock of 2520 MHz. The GB10 starts higher at 1665 MHz base but boosts to 2418 MHz, slightly lower than the L40S's ceiling. Memory clocks follow a similar pattern of divergence: the L40S runs its GDDR6 at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective), while the GB10's LPDDR5X runs at 1067 MHz (8.5 Gbps effective).

The memory subsystems are built around different philosophies. The L40S uses a 384-bit bus with 48 GB of GDDR6, delivering 864.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GB10 opts for a 256-bit bus with 128 GB of LPDDR5X, but only reaches 273.2 GB/s. The L40S prioritizes bandwidth for compute throughput, while the GB10 prioritizes capacity for large model residency.

Power and physical design further separate the two. The L40S is a dual-slot card with a 300 W TDP and a single 16-pin power connector, requiring a suggested 700 W power supply. The GB10 is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) form factor with a 140 W TDP, no power connectors, and a suggested 300 W PSU. The L40S measures 267 mm in length and 111 mm in height, while the GB10 is a compact 150 mm by 51 mm by 150 mm package.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded head-to-head data is unambiguous: the L40S wins both benchmark tests, securing 2 wins to 0 for the GB10. The margin, however, is worth examining closely because it reveals how differently these GPUs behave under different graphics APIs.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the L40S scores 330,727 against the GB10's 120,137. This is a 175.3% delta, meaning the L40S more than doubles the GB10's output in this compute-oriented test. OpenCL tends to stress raw compute throughput, and the L40S's 91.61 TFLOPS of FP32 performance versus the GB10's 29.71 TFLOPS provides a structural explanation for this gap. The L40S also has roughly three times the shading units and substantially higher memory bandwidth, all of which feed directly into OpenCL workloads.

The Vulkan test narrows the gap somewhat, though the L40S still wins decisively. The L40S scores 260,799, while the GB10 scores 114,648, a 127.5% delta. Vulkan workloads often exercise geometry processing, rasterization, and driver efficiency in addition to raw compute. The L40S's 1,431.4 GTexel/s texture rate and 483.8 GPixel/s pixel rate vastly outpace the GB10's 928.5 GTexel/s and 116.1 GPixel/s, which explains why the L40S maintains a strong lead even when the workload shifts toward graphics-centric paths.

Context from the nearest rivals in the database adds perspective. The L40S's average benchmark score of 295,763 places it 3% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX 6000 Ada Generation (287,237) and 4.1% ahead of the NVIDIA L40 (284,111). It trails the AMD Instinct MI300X by 7% (317,994) and the NVIDIA H200 NVL by 11.7% (334,891). These deltas show that the L40S is a top-tier compute card, competitive with the fastest accelerators in the database.

The GB10's average score of 117,393 places it in a different competitive bracket. It sits 0.3% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation (117,088) and 2.6% ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla V100 SXM2 16 GB (114,395). It trails the AMD Radeon PRO W7700 by 1.3% (118,976) and the NVIDIA RTX A5500 Mobile by 3% (113,944). The GB10 is a capable mid-tier compute device, but it is not competing in the same performance class as the L40S.

Specification Differences

The specification table between these two GPUs shows differences in nearly every measurable category. The L40S uses the AD102 chip under the Ada Lovelace architecture, while the GB10 uses the GB20B chip under Blackwell 2.0. Process nodes are identical at 5 nm from TSMC, but the L40S carries 76,300 million transistors on a 609 mm² die, whereas the GB10 die is 382 mm² with an unknown transistor count.

Clock speeds differ in both base and boost. The L40S runs at 1110 MHz base and 2520 MHz boost. The GB10 runs at 1665 MHz base and 2418 MHz boost. Memory clocks also diverge: 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) for the L40S versus 1067 MHz (8.5 Gbps effective) for the GB10.

Memory configuration is one of the most striking differences. The L40S offers 48 GB of GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus with 864.0 GB/s bandwidth. The GB10 offers 128 GB of LPDDR5X on a 256-bit bus with 273.2 GB/s bandwidth. The L40S trades capacity for bandwidth; the GB10 does the reverse.

Compute unit counts are heavily skewed toward the L40S: 18,176 shading units versus 6,144, 568 TMUs versus 384, 192 ROPs versus 48, 142 RT cores versus 48, and 568 tensor cores versus 384. Pixel rate is 483.8 GPixel/s for the L40S versus 116.1 GPixel/s for the GB10. Texture rate is 1,431.4 GTexel/s versus 928.5 GTexel/s. FP32 and FP16 performance both sit at 91.61 TFLOPS for the L40S and 29.71 TFLOPS for the GB10, with both parts offering 1:1 FP16 to FP32 ratios.

Power and form factor differ substantially. The L40S is a dual-slot card with a 300 W TDP, a 16-pin power connector, and a 700 W suggested PSU. The GB10 is an IGP with a 140 W TDP, no power connectors, and a 300 W suggested PSU. The L40S uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while the GB10 uses PCIe 5.0 x16. Display outputs also differ: the L40S has 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the GB10 has only 1x HDMI.

API support is another divergence. The L40S supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The GB10 lists all three as N/A. Production status reflects their lifecycles: the L40S is end-of-life, and the GB10 is active.

The Verdict

The data presents a clear hierarchy. The NVIDIA L40S is the performance leader by a wide margin, winning both recorded head-to-head benchmarks with deltas of 175.3% in OpenCL and 127.5% in Vulkan. Its average benchmark score of 295,763 places it in the 99th percentile of all GPUs in the database, within 3% of the RTX 6000 Ada Generation and 4.1% of the L40, while trailing the H200 NVL by 11.7% and the Instinct MI300X by 7%. For workloads that demand maximum compute throughput, texture throughput, and memory bandwidth, the L40S is the clear choice from these two options.

The NVIDIA GB10 is not without its own strengths. Its 128 GB of LPDDR5X memory dwarfs the L40S's 48 GB, making it the better candidate for applications that need to hold very large datasets or model weights in local memory. Its 95th percentile ranking and proximity to the RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation (0.3% ahead) and Radeon PRO W7700 (1.3% behind) show that it is a respectable performer in its own class. Its compact IGP form factor, 140 W TDP, and lack of external power connectors make it far easier to integrate into dense or power-constrained systems.

The choice depends on the workload profile. For compute-heavy tasks where raw throughput is the bottleneck, the L40S wins decisively: its 91.61 TFLOPS FP32 output, 864.0 GB/s bandwidth, and 1,431.4 GTexel/s texture rate are all more than triple the GB10's corresponding figures. For memory-capacity-bound tasks where the model or dataset must fit in local memory, the GB10's 128 GB capacity is the deciding factor. The GB10 also offers a newer architecture in Blackwell 2.0 and PCIe 5.0 connectivity, though the database does not record API support for it.

The L40S remains the stronger compute accelerator on every measured benchmark. The GB10 offers a different value proposition centered on capacity, power efficiency, and compactness. Buyers who need maximum performance per benchmark point should choose the L40S. Buyers who need maximum memory capacity in a low-power integrated form factor should choose the GB10. The recorded data cannot support any other conclusion.