NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 D vs NVIDIA N1X 48SM Comparison

FAQ

Q: What is the core configuration difference between the RTX 4090 D and the N1X 48SM?

A: The RTX 4090 D uses the AD102 chip with 14,592 shading units, 456 TMUs, 176 ROPs, 114 RT cores, and 456 tensor cores. The N1X 48SM uses the GB20B chip with 6,144 shading units, 384 TMUs, 48 ROPs, 48 RT cores, and 192 tensor cores.

Q: How does memory capacity and bandwidth compare?

A: The RTX 4090 D has 24 GB of GDDR6X on a 384-bit bus with 1.01 TB/s bandwidth. The N1X 48SM has 128 GB of LPDDR5X on a 256-bit bus with 273.2 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: What are the FP32 compute figures for each card?

A: The RTX 4090 D delivers 73.54 TFLOPS FP32, while the N1X 48SM delivers 28.83 TFLOPS FP32.

Q: What is the process node and die size for each?

A: Both use a 5 nm process from TSMC. The RTX 4090 D has a 609 mm² die with 76,300 million transistors. The N1X 48SM has a 382 mm² die with transistor count listed as unknown.

Q: What API support does each card provide?

A: The RTX 4090 D supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The N1X 48SM lists DirectX, OpenGL, and Vulkan as N/A.

Q: What are the production statuses and release timelines?

A: The RTX 4090 D is end-of-life with a release date of 2023-12-27. The N1X 48SM is active with a release date of 2026-05-31.

Architecture Differences

The RTX 4090 D and N1X 48SM represent two distinct architectural generations from NVIDIA. The RTX 4090 D uses the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD102 chip, a design focused on maximum raster and ray tracing throughput. Its 76,300 million transistors are packed into a 609 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 125.3M per mm². The N1X 48SM uses the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with the GB20B chip, a 382 mm² die with transistor count marked as unknown. Both are fabricated on TSMC's 5 nm process, so the physical manufacturing node is identical, but the architectural priorities differ sharply.

The RTX 4090 D is a discrete, triple-slot add-in card with a 1x 16-pin power connector and an 800 W suggested PSU. It uses PCIe 4.0 x16 and outputs 1x HDMI 2.1 plus 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The N1X 48SM is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) with no power connectors and no slot width, using PCIe 5.0 x16 and a single HDMI output. This form factor difference is fundamental: one is a high-power discrete GPU, the other is an integrated solution.

Feature sets diverge substantially. The RTX 4090 D has 114 RT cores and 456 tensor cores, supporting full DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The N1X 48SM has 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores but lists API support as N/A for DirectX, OpenGL, and Vulkan, suggesting its rendering pipeline is not exposed through those standard graphics APIs. The N1X 48SM's Blackwell 2.0 architecture appears oriented toward compute and memory capacity rather than traditional graphics workloads.

Clock behavior also differs. The RTX 4090 D runs a 2280 MHz base and 2520 MHz boost. The N1X 48SM has a much lower 741 MHz base but boosts to 2346 MHz, indicating a wider dynamic range. Memory clocks show 1313 MHz with 21 Gbps effective for the RTX 4090 D versus 1067 MHz with 8.5 Gbps effective for the N1X 48SM. The RTX 4090 D's memory system is built for bandwidth, while the N1X 48SM's is built for capacity.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains no direct head-to-head benchmark comparisons between the RTX 4090 D and N1X 48SM. The RTX 4090 D has recorded results in three tests: 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 with a score of 8,587, Geekbench OpenCL with 278,621, and Geekbench Vulkan with 246,941. Its average benchmark score is 178,050. The N1X 48SM has no recorded benchmark scores, an average score of 0, and sits at the 50th percentile versus all GPUs. The RTX 4090 D sits at the 98th percentile.

Without direct comparative scores, the recorded data still allows meaningful inference. The RTX 4090 D's FP32 throughput of 73.54 TFLOPS is more than double the N1X 48SM's 28.83 TFLOPS. Texture rate shows 1,149.1 GTexel/s for the RTX 4090 D versus 900.9 GTexel/s for the N1X 48SM, a narrower gap but still a 27.5% advantage. Pixel rate tells a starker story: 443.5 GPixel/s versus 112.6 GPixel/s, a 3.9x difference. Memory bandwidth is 1.01 TB/s versus 273.2 GB/s, a 3.7x gap.

The nearest rivals for the RTX 4090 D in the database provide context for its standing. The RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell scores 182,109, which is 2.2% higher than the RTX 4090 D's average. The A100 SXM4 80 GB scores 183,725, 3.1% higher. The RTX 5000 Ada Generation scores 184,664, 3.6% higher. The A100 SXM4 40 GB scores 187,147, 4.9% higher. These are all modest deltas, placing the RTX 4090 D within a tight competitive cluster despite being end-of-life.

The N1X 48SM has no nearest rivals listed, which means the database has no comparable GPUs for it. Its 50th percentile ranking with zero recorded scores indicates it has not been benchmarked through the same suite. The data cannot support any quantitative comparison of its performance relative to the RTX 4090 D beyond the raw specification differences.

Specification Differences

Process Node: Both use 5 nm from TSMC.

Transistor Count: RTX 4090 D has 76,300 million; N1X 48SM is unknown.

Die Size: RTX 4090 D is 609 mm²; N1X 48SM is 382 mm².

Transistor Density: RTX 4090 D is 125.3M per mm²; N1X 48SM has no listed value.

Base Clock: RTX 4090 D is 2280 MHz; N1X 48SM is 741 MHz.

Boost Clock: RTX 4090 D is 2520 MHz; N1X 48SM is 2346 MHz.

Memory Clock: RTX 4090 D is 1313 MHz, 21 Gbps effective; N1X 48SM is 1067 MHz, 8.5 Gbps effective.

Memory Size: RTX 4090 D is 24 GB; N1X 48SM is 128 GB.

Memory Type: RTX 4090 D uses GDDR6X; N1X 48SM uses LPDDR5X.

Memory Bus Width: RTX 4090 D is 384-bit; N1X 48SM is 256-bit.

Memory Bandwidth: RTX 4090 D is 1.01 TB/s; N1X 48SM is 273.2 GB/s.

Shading Units: RTX 4090 D has 14,592; N1X 48SM has 6,144.

TMUs: RTX 4090 D has 456; N1X 48SM has 384.

ROPs: RTX 4090 D has 176; N1X 48SM has 48.

RT Cores: RTX 4090 D has 114; N1X 48SM has 48.

Tensor Cores: RTX 4090 D has 456; N1X 48SM has 192.

Pixel Rate: RTX 4090 D is 443.5 GPixel/s; N1X 48SM is 112.6 GPixel/s.

Texture Rate: RTX 4090 D is 1,149.1 GTexel/s; N1X 48SM is 900.9 GTexel/s.

FP32: RTX 4090 D is 73.54 TFLOPS; N1X 48SM is 28.83 TFLOPS.

FP16: RTX 4090 D is 73.54 TFLOPS (1:1); N1X 48SM is 28.83 TFLOPS (1:1).

TDP: RTX 4090 D is 425 W; N1X 48SM is unknown.

Slot Width: RTX 4090 D is triple-slot; N1X 48SM is IGP.

Power Connectors: RTX 4090 D uses 1x 16-pin; N1X 48SM uses none.

Suggested PSU: RTX 4090 D is 800 W; N1X 48SM has none listed.

Bus Interface: RTX 4090 D is PCIe 4.0 x16; N1X 48SM is PCIe 5.0 x16.

Display Outputs: RTX 4090 D has 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a; N1X 48SM has 1x HDMI.

API Support: RTX 4090 D supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, Vulkan 1.4; N1X 48SM lists N/A for all three.

Dimensions: RTX 4090 D is 304 mm length, 137 mm height, 61 mm width; N1X 48SM has no listed dimensions.

Production Status: RTX 4090 D is end-of-life; N1X 48SM is active.

Release Date: RTX 4090 D is 2023-12-27; N1X 48SM is 2026-05-31.

Launch MSRP: RTX 4090 D is 1,599 USD; N1X 48SM has none listed.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 4090 D wins decisively in raw graphics throughput. Its FP32 compute is 73.54 TFLOPS versus 28.83 TFLOPS, a 2.55x advantage. Pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s versus 112.6 GPixel/s gives it a 3.9x lead in fill-rate-bound scenarios. Texture rate of 1,149.1 GTexel/s versus 900.9 GTexel/s is a narrower but still clear 27.5% advantage. Memory bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s versus 273.2 GB/s means the RTX 4090 D can feed its shader array far more effectively in bandwidth-hungry workloads. It also has 114 RT cores versus 48, and 456 tensor cores versus 192, doubling ray tracing and AI acceleration resources. The RTX 4090 D supports standard graphics APIs including DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, while the N1X 48SM lists none of these as available. For gaming, 3D rendering, and any application that uses DirectX or Vulkan, the RTX 4090 D is the only viable option in this comparison.

The N1X 48SM wins in memory capacity. Its 128 GB of LPDDR5X is more than five times the RTX 4090 D's 24 GB. For workloads that require loading large datasets entirely into GPU memory, such as certain machine learning inference or large-scale data processing tasks, this capacity advantage is substantial. The N1X 48SM also uses PCIe 5.0 x16 versus PCIe 4.0 x16, offering a newer host interface. Its IGP form factor with no power connectors means it can be integrated into systems without discrete power delivery requirements, though its TDP is listed as unknown. The N1X 48SM is active production while the RTX 4090 D is end-of-life, so the N1X 48SM remains available for new designs. Its base clock of 741 MHz with a 2346 MHz boost suggests it is designed to scale dynamically, though the low base clock indicates it is not intended for sustained peak compute.

The RTX 4090 D's 98th percentile ranking versus all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 178,050, places it among the top tier of recorded hardware. Its nearest rivals are all within 4.9% of its average score, showing it competes closely with professional-grade accelerators like the A100 SXM4 80 GB and RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell. The N1X 48SM's 50th percentile with no recorded scores provides no such performance validation.

The Verdict

The recorded data presents a clear split. The RTX 4090 D is a high-performance discrete GPU with proven benchmark results, robust API support, and compute resources that dwarf the N1X 48SM. Its 73.54 TFLOPS FP32, 1.01 TB/s memory bandwidth, and 98th percentile standing make it the choice for any workload that relies on standard graphics APIs or demands maximum throughput. The 425 W TDP and 800 W suggested PSU indicate it requires serious power delivery, but that is the cost of its performance class. Its launch MSRP of 1,599 USD reflects its positioning as a flagship product.

The N1X 48SM is an integrated processor with an entirely different purpose. Its 128 GB memory capacity is its defining feature, far exceeding the RTX 4090 D's 24 GB. For applications that need massive on-device memory and do not require DirectX, OpenGL, or Vulkan support, it offers a path that the RTX 4090 D cannot match. Its PCIe 5.0 interface and active production status make it a current-generation option for system integrators, but the absence of benchmark scores and the N/A API listings mean its graphics performance is unvalidated in this database.

Users who need a discrete GPU for gaming, rendering, or compute with standard API access should select the RTX 4090 D. Its benchmark results confirm its capability. Users who need maximum memory capacity in an integrated form factor, and who do not depend on standard graphics APIs, should consider the N1X 48SM. The data does not support a general recommendation for the N1X 48SM in graphics-heavy workloads, as it has no recorded scores and no API support. The RTX 4090 D is the proven performer; the N1X 48SM is a specialized capacity play.