NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti vs NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada Generation Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score, the RTX 4000 Ada Generation or the RTX 3090 Ti?

A: The RTX 4000 Ada Generation posts an average benchmark score of 135,218, which is ahead of the RTX 3090 Ti's 131,938. This places the RTX 4000 Ada 2.4% above the RTX 3090 Ti in the average-score comparison.

Q: How do the two cards compare in the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The RTX 3090 Ti wins with a score of 174,441 versus the RTX 4000 Ada's 146,593, a 16% margin in favor of the Ampere card. The RTX 4000 Ada trails by that same 16% delta.

Q: What is the Geekbench Vulkan result difference?

A: The RTX 3090 Ti dominates in Vulkan, scoring 215,633 against 123,842 for the RTX 4000 Ada — a 42.6% lead. This is the largest single-test gap between the two cards.

Q: Which card is built on a smaller manufacturing process?

A: The RTX 4000 Ada uses a 5 nm TSMC process, while the RTX 3090 Ti uses an 8 nm Samsung process. The RTX 4000 Ada packs 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die, whereas the RTX 3090 Ti has 28,300 million transistors on a 628 mm² die.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference?

A: The RTX 3090 Ti has 24 GB of GDDR6X on a 384-bit bus with 1.01 TB/s bandwidth. The RTX 4000 Ada has 20 GB of GDDR6 on a 160-bit bus with 360.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 3090 Ti's memory bandwidth is nearly three times higher.

Q: Which card has a higher pixel fill rate?

A: The RTX 3090 Ti achieves 208.3 GPixel/s, far exceeding the RTX 4000 Ada's 139.2 GPixel/s. The RTX 3090 Ti also leads in texture rate at 625.0 GTexel/s versus 417.6 GTexel/s.

Architecture Differences

The RTX 4000 Ada Generation is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using the AD104 chip, manufactured on a 5 nm TSMC process. It integrates 35,800 million transistors into a 294 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 121.8M per mm². The RTX 3090 Ti, by contrast, uses the Ampere architecture with the GA102 chip on an 8 nm Samsung process, housing 28,300 million transistors across a much larger 628 mm² die. Its transistor density is only 45.1M per mm². The Ada card's denser packing is a direct result of the newer process node.

The compute configuration diverges sharply. The RTX 4000 Ada has 6,144 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. It also carries 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores. The RTX 3090 Ti is far larger in raw counts: 10,752 shading units, 336 TMUs, 112 ROPs, 84 RT cores, and 336 tensor cores. This gives the Ampere card roughly 75% more shading units and double the ROP count. In terms of raw FP32 throughput, the RTX 3090 Ti reaches 40.00 TFLOPS, while the RTX 4000 Ada delivers 26.73 TFLOPS.

Clock behavior also differs. The RTX 4000 Ada has a base clock of 1500 MHz and a boost of 2175 MHz. The RTX 3090 Ti runs a base of 1560 MHz and boosts to 1860 MHz. The Ada card's higher boost clock partially compensates for its fewer cores, but the arithmetic still favors the larger Ampere chip in peak throughput. Both cards support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so API-level feature parity is complete.

Memory subsystems are fundamentally different. The RTX 4000 Ada uses 20 GB of GDDR6 at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) on a 160-bit bus, producing 360.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 3090 Ti uses 24 GB of GDDR6X at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective) on a 384-bit bus, producing 1.01 TB/s — nearly triple the bandwidth. The memory type, bus width, and capacity all favor the RTX 3090 Ti.

Power and physical design are stark contrasts. The RTX 4000 Ada is a single-slot card with a 130 W TDP, requiring a 300 W power supply. The RTX 3090 Ti is a triple-slot card with a 450 W TDP and an 850 W recommended PSU. The Ada card measures 245 mm in length and 112 mm in height, while the RTX 3090 Ti stretches to 336 mm long, 140 mm tall, and 61 mm wide. The RTX 4000 Ada has four DisplayPort 1.4a outputs; the RTX 3090 Ti has one HDMI 2.1 and three DisplayPort 1.4a.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

Two benchmark tests are available for direct comparison, and the RTX 3090 Ti wins both. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 3090 Ti scores 174,441 against the RTX 4000 Ada's 146,593, a 16% advantage. This is a substantial margin, reflecting the Ampere card's higher shading unit count and memory bandwidth. The OpenCL workload appears to scale with raw compute resources, which favors the larger chip.

The Geekbench Vulkan test shows an even wider gap. The RTX 3090 Ti scores 215,633, while the RTX 4000 Ada manages only 123,842. That is a 42.6% deficit for the Ada card. The Vulkan result is striking because it suggests the RTX 4000 Ada's architecture, despite its newer node and higher boost clock, does not translate into comparable graphics API performance in this specific benchmark. The RTX 3090 Ti's memory bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s likely plays a significant role in Vulkan workloads that are memory-intensive.

The aggregate benchmark picture tells a different story. The RTX 4000 Ada's average benchmark score of 135,218 is higher than the RTX 3090 Ti's 131,938, giving the Ada card a 2.4% edge in the overall metric. This is despite losing both head-to-head tests. The explanation lies in the benchmark weighting: the RTX 4000 Ada's two Geekbench scores are 146,593 and 123,842, averaging to 135,218, while the RTX 3090 Ti's scores include a third test (3DMark Steel Nomad DX12) at 5,741, which pulls its average down. The RTX 3090 Ti's Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan scores are both higher, but the 3DMark result drags its aggregate below the Ada card's.

The RTX 4000 Ada's nearest-rival comparison reinforces its position. It sits within 0.9% of the AMD Radeon PRO V620 (136,472) and 0.4% of the Radeon Pro W6800X Duo (135,774). The RTX 3090 Ti, meanwhile, is 0.7% above the NVIDIA L4 (131,072) and 2.4% below the RTX 4000 Ada. Both cards occupy the 95th percentile among all GPUs, indicating they are near the top of the performance distribution, but the RTX 4000 Ada's aggregate score is more competitive against its workstation-class rivals than the RTX 3090 Ti's is.

Specification Differences

| Field | RTX 4000 Ada Generation | RTX 3090 Ti |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | Ada Lovelace | Ampere |

| Process Node | 5 nm (TSMC) | 8 nm (Samsung) |

| Transistors | 35,800 million | 28,300 million |

| Die Size | 294 mm² | 628 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 121.8M / mm² | 45.1M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1500 MHz | 1560 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2175 MHz | 1860 MHz |

| Memory Size | 20 GB GDDR6 | 24 GB GDDR6X |

| Memory Bus | 160 bit | 384 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 360.0 GB/s | 1.01 TB/s |

| Shading Units | 6144 | 10752 |

| TMUs | 192 | 336 |

| ROPs | 64 | 112 |

| RT Cores | 48 | 84 |

| Tensor Cores | 192 | 336 |

| FP32 | 26.73 TFLOPS | 40.00 TFLOPS |

| Pixel Rate | 139.2 GPixel/s | 208.3 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 417.6 GTexel/s | 625.0 GTexel/s |

| TDP | 130 W | 450 W |

| Slot Width | Single-slot | Triple-slot |

| Suggested PSU | 300 W | 850 W |

| Dimensions | 245 mm x 112 mm | 336 mm x 140 mm x 61 mm |

| Display Outputs | 4x DisplayPort 1.4a | 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a |

| Release Date | 2023-08-08 | 2022-01-26 |

| Production Status | Active | End-of-life |

| Launch MSRP | — | 1,999 USD |

The Verdict

The data presents a split decision. The RTX 3090 Ti wins both direct benchmark comparisons, with a 16% lead in OpenCL and a 42.6% lead in Vulkan. Its raw compute resources — 10,752 shading units, 40.00 TFLOPS, and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth — are simply overwhelming in those tests. If the priority is raw graphics API performance, the RTX 3090 Ti is the clear choice.

However, the RTX 4000 Ada Generation has the higher aggregate benchmark score (135,218 vs. 131,938) and a better position relative to its nearest rivals. It sits within 0.9% of the AMD Radeon PRO V620 and 0.4% of the Radeon Pro W6800X Duo, whereas the RTX 3090 Ti's closest rival is the NVIDIA L4 at 0.7% above it. The Ada card also offers a dramatically lower power envelope: 130 W TDP versus 450 W, with a 300 W suggested PSU versus 850 W. It is a single-slot card versus a triple-slot design, and it is 91 mm shorter. For workstation deployments where space, power, and cooling are constrained, the RTX 4000 Ada is the more practical option.

The RTX 3090 Ti is end-of-life, while the RTX 4000 Ada is active. The RTX 3090 Ti's launch MSRP was 1,999 USD. The RTX 4000 Ada has no MSRP listed. The RTX 3090 Ti's Ampere architecture is a generation older, and its 8 nm process is less dense. The RTX 4000 Ada's Ada Lovelace architecture on 5 nm offers higher transistor density (121.8M per mm² vs. 45.1M per mm²) and a higher boost clock (2175 MHz vs. 1860 MHz). These architectural advantages do not show up as wins in the two Geekbench tests, but they contribute to the Ada card's superior aggregate score.

Where Each One Wins

RTX 4000 Ada Generation wins on:

• Aggregate benchmark score: 135,218 vs. 131,938, a 2.4% advantage.
• Transistor density: 121.8M per mm² vs. 45.1M per mm², reflecting a far more modern process.
• Power efficiency: 130 W TDP vs. 450 W, with a 300 W suggested PSU vs. 850 W.
• Physical footprint: single-slot, 245 mm length vs. triple-slot, 336 mm length.
• Production status: active vs. end-of-life.
• Boost clock: 2175 MHz vs. 1860 MHz.
• Display outputs: four DisplayPort 1.4a vs. one HDMI 2.1 plus three DisplayPort 1.4a (more DisplayPort connections).

RTX 3090 Ti wins on:

• Geekbench OpenCL: 174,441 vs. 146,593, a 16% margin.
• Geekbench Vulkan: 215,633 vs. 123,842, a 42.6% margin.
• Memory capacity: 24 GB vs. 20 GB.
• Memory bandwidth: 1.01 TB/s vs. 360.0 GB/s.
• Shading units: 10,752 vs. 6,144.
• FP32 throughput: 40.00 TFLOPS vs. 26.73 TFLOPS.
• Pixel rate: 208.3 GPixel/s vs. 139.2 GPixel/s.
• Texture rate: 625.0 GTexel/s vs. 417.6 GTexel/s.
• RT cores: 84 vs. 48.
• Tensor cores: 336 vs. 192.

The RTX 3090 Ti is the performance king in raw compute and memory-bound tasks, as evidenced by its benchmark wins. The RTX 4000 Ada is the efficiency and integration champion, with a higher aggregate score and a far smaller physical and power footprint. The choice depends on whether the workload prioritizes raw throughput (RTX 3090 Ti) or power/space efficiency with competitive aggregate performance (RTX 4000 Ada).