NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Max-Q vs NVIDIA H20 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains no recorded benchmark scores for either the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Max-Q or the NVIDIA H20. Both GPUs have an average benchmark score of zero and a percentile ranking of 50 among all GPUs in the database. With no head-to-head benchmark entries, no direct performance comparisons can be derived from recorded measurements. The wins count stands at zero for each product, indicating the absence of any comparative test data.

What the recorded data does show is a stark contrast in raw compute specifications that would inform any future benchmark results. The H20 delivers 39.54 TFLOPS of FP32 throughput, which is roughly 4.8 times the 8.218 TFLOPS of the RTX 4050 Max-Q. In FP16 compute, the gap widens further: the H20 reaches 79.07 TFLOPS, while the RTX 4050 Max-Q manages 8.218 TFLOPS. That puts the H20 ahead by a factor of approximately 9.6 in FP16 workloads, a difference driven not only by raw shader count but also by the H20's 2:1 FP16 ratio compared to the RTX 4050 Max-Q's 1:1 implementation.

The H20 also dominates in memory bandwidth. Its 4.03 TB/s of HBM3 bandwidth represents a 21-fold advantage over the RTX 4050 Max-Q's 192.0 GB/s of GDDR6. Memory capacity differs by an order of magnitude as well: 96 GB versus 6 GB. Texture throughput tells a similar story, with the H20 delivering 617.8 GTexel/s against the RTX 4050 Max-Q's 128.4 GTexel/s, a 4.8x margin.

However, the RTX 4050 Max-Q wins in pixel throughput. Its 77.04 GPixel/s exceeds the H20's 47.52 GPixel/s, a 1.6x advantage. This result stems from the RTX 4050 Max-Q having 48 ROPs versus the H20's 24 ROPs, even though the H20 has far more shading units and texture mapping units. The RTX 4050 Max-Q also carries dedicated ray tracing cores (20) and a much higher pixel rate, while the H20 records no ray tracing core count in the database.

The RTX 4050 Max-Q operates with a boost clock of 1605 MHz, while the H20 boosts to 1980 MHz. Base clocks differ as well: 1140 MHz for the RTX 4050 Max-Q and 1830 MHz for the H20. Despite the H20's higher clocks, the RTX 4050 Max-Q's pixel rate advantage shows that clock speed alone does not determine every metric.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 4050 Max-Q is positioned for graphics-oriented tasks. Its 48 ROPs and 77.04 GPixel/s pixel fill rate indicate a design optimized for rasterization-heavy workloads. The 20 ray tracing cores give it a capability that the H20 does not list at all, making it the only one of the two with explicit hardware support for ray-traced rendering. Its 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 96-bit bus with 192.0 GB/s bandwidth suits portable graphics workloads where power constraints limit memory subsystem size. The 35 W thermal design power confirms this is a low-power part intended for thin-and-light systems.

The H20 is built for compute density. Its 9984 shading units, 312 tensor cores, and 312 TMUs point to massive parallel throughput for server workloads. The 79.07 TFLOPS FP16 performance, enabled by the 2:1 ratio, indicates a design aimed at AI inference and training where reduced precision is standard. The 96 GB HBM3 memory with 4.03 TB/s bandwidth provides the memory capacity and bandwidth required for large model matrices and datasets. A 500 W TDP with a suggested PSU of 900 W confirms a data center form factor with no display outputs.

The split is clear: the RTX 4050 Max-Q wins in pixel processing and ray tracing, while the H20 wins in every compute throughput metric, memory capacity, memory bandwidth, and texture processing. The H20's 4.8x advantage in both FP32 and texture rate, combined with its 9.6x FP16 advantage, makes it the dominant choice for compute-heavy workloads. The RTX 4050 Max-Q's 1.6x pixel rate advantage gives it an edge in graphics-centric applications.

Architecture Differences

The RTX 4050 Max-Q uses the AD107 chip built on the Ada Lovelace architecture, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. The H20 uses the GH100 chip built on the Hopper architecture, also fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. Both GPUs share the same process node and foundry, but the underlying architectures target different market segments.

The AD107 chip contains 18,900 million transistors on a 159 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 118.9 million transistors per mm². The GH100 chip contains 80,000 million transistors on an 814 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 98.3 million transistors per mm². The H20's die is over five times larger in area, but its transistor density is lower, which indicates a different design trade-off between logic density and memory integration, given the HBM3 stack attached to the H20.

The RTX 4050 Max-Q belongs to the GeForce 40 Mobile generation, with a predecessor in GeForce 30 Mobile and a successor in GeForce 50 Mobile. The H20 belongs to the Server Hopper (Hxx) generation, with its predecessor listed as Server Ada and successor as Server Blackwell. These lineage differences reflect the divergent product families: consumer mobile graphics versus server accelerator modules.

Ray tracing hardware exists only on the RTX 4050 Max-Q, which lists 20 RT cores. The H20's database entry shows no RT core count. Tensor core counts differ as well: the RTX 4050 Max-Q has 80 tensor cores, while the H20 has 312 tensor cores. The H20's tensor core count matches its TMU count, suggesting a design where each tensor core pairs with a texture mapping unit.

API support diverges completely. The RTX 4050 Max-Q supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The H20 lists N/A for DirectX, OpenGL, and Vulkan, confirming it is not intended for graphics API workloads. The H20 has no display outputs, while the RTX 4050 Max-Q's display outputs are listed as portable device dependent.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every recorded specification field. Process node and foundry are the same (5 nm, TSMC), but all other metrics diverge.

Transistor count: the H20's 80,000 million transistors is 4.2 times the RTX 4050 Max-Q's 18,900 million. Die size: 814 mm² versus 159 mm², a 5.1x difference. Transistor density: 118.9M per mm² for the RTX 4050 Max-Q versus 98.3M per mm² for the H20, meaning the RTX 4050 Max-Q packs transistors more densely.

Base clock: 1140 MHz for the RTX 4050 Max-Q, 1830 MHz for the H20. Boost clock: 1605 MHz versus 1980 MHz. Memory clock: 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) for the RTX 4050 Max-Q, 1313 MHz (5.3 Gbps effective) for the H20.

Memory configuration: 6 GB GDDR6 on a 96-bit bus versus 96 GB HBM3 on a 6144-bit bus. Bandwidth: 192.0 GB/s versus 4.03 TB/s.

Compute units: shading units 2560 versus 9984, TMUs 80 versus 312, ROPs 48 versus 24. RT cores: 20 versus not listed. Tensor cores: 80 versus 312.

Pixel rate: 77.04 GPixel/s versus 47.52 GPixel/s. Texture rate: 128.4 GTexel/s versus 617.8 GTexel/s. FP32: 8.218 TFLOPS versus 39.54 TFLOPS. FP16: 8.218 TFLOPS (1:1) versus 79.07 TFLOPS (2:1).

Power: 35 W TDP for the RTX 4050 Max-Q, 500 W TDP for the H20. The H20 lists a suggested PSU of 900 W; the RTX 4050 Max-Q lists no suggested PSU. Slot width: IGP for the RTX 4050 Max-Q, SXM Module for the H20. Power connectors: none for the RTX 4050 Max-Q, not listed for the H20.

Bus interface: PCIe 4.0 x8 for the RTX 4050 Max-Q, PCIe 5.0 x16 for the H20. Release dates: the RTX 4050 Max-Q launched on 2023-01-02, the H20 on 2024-01-31, roughly 13 months apart. Production status for both is Active.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher FP32 compute performance?

A: The NVIDIA H20 delivers 39.54 TFLOPS of FP32 throughput, which is 4.8 times the 8.218 TFLOPS of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Max-Q.

Q: How do the memory subsystems compare?

A: The H20 uses 96 GB of HBM3 on a 6144-bit bus with 4.03 TB/s bandwidth. The RTX 4050 Max-Q uses 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 96-bit bus with 192.0 GB/s bandwidth. The H20 has 16 times the memory capacity and approximately 21 times the bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU supports ray tracing?

A: The RTX 4050 Max-Q lists 20 ray tracing cores. The H20 records no ray tracing core count in the database.

Q: What is the power requirement difference?

A: The RTX 4050 Max-Q has a 35 W TDP and uses no power connectors. The H20 has a 500 W TDP and lists a suggested PSU of 900 W.

Q: Which GPU has a higher pixel fill rate?

A: The RTX 4050 Max-Q achieves 77.04 GPixel/s, while the H20 achieves 47.52 GPixel/s. The RTX 4050 Max-Q is 1.6 times faster in pixel throughput, despite having fewer shading units and a lower boost clock.

Q: What are the release dates for each product?

A: The RTX 4050 Max-Q was released on 2023-01-02. The H20 was released on 2024-01-31. Both remain in Active production status.